Welcome to The Wednesday Read! Here are the topics for today’s column:
- Great Falls Parking
- Welcome to Montana
- Hegseth & Scouting America
- Happy Thanksgiving
- One More Thing
GREAT FALLS PARKING:
Get ready, Great Falls – the Great Falls City Commission may be sticking it to us again. This time, it may be in the form of increased parking fees and heftier fines.
The Montana Free Press (MTFP) is reporting that Great Falls’ parking fund is expected to exceed a $100,000 budget deficit by January, according to a city official, and has been losing as much as $20,000 each month.
The MTFP also reports that while the parking system’s issues have been mounting for years, the Great Falls City Commission may take action soon, which could include raising hourly parking rates, increasing fines, and shedding operations that heavily rely on personnel costs.
One question is, why did they wait this long to address the issue?
I am sure the commission will have no problem sticking it to the people who park downtown. The sad thing is that it will drive people away from a downtown area that seems to be doing well, despite the city commission.
WELCOME TO MONTANA:
Visit Montana has a “Welcome to Montana” sign contest where you can select the “Welcome to Montana” sign that you feel is most welcoming.
Check out the signs to pick from HERE.
I like the one with the orange line across the top of Montana, showing the mountains and the plains.
HEGSETH & SCOUTING AMERICA:
NPR is reporting that U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is planning for the military to sever all ties with Scouting America, saying the group once known as the Boy Scouts is no longer a meritocracy and has become an organization designed to “attack boy-friendly spaces,” according to documents reviewed by NPR. In a draft memo to Congress, which sources shared with NPR but which has not yet been sent, Hegseth criticizes Scouting for being “genderless” and for promoting diversity, equity and inclusion.
The so-called Secretary of War has too much time on his hands.
Columnist David Mastio writes in the Kansas City Star:
The Scout Law begins, “A Scout is trustworthy.” You only have to go four words in to see how the Trump administration might come into conflict with an organization that expects its young charges to be “Trustworthy. Loyal. Helpful. Friendly. Courteous. Kind. Obedient. Cheerful. Thrifty. Brave. Clean. And reverent.” Scouting America represents everything Trump is not.
Mastio closes his opinion piece with:
Every day it seems Trump exploits our divisions. Liberties like free speech, even for senators, becomes ever more in doubt and Justice for All becomes more joke than patriotic rhetorical flourish. Of course the Trump administration is severing ties with Scouting America — even Trump’s role as the honorary leader of Scouting America — and the young people it serves. It can’t happen soon enough. If Trump’s influence seeps in, who knows what damage it could cause.
HAPPY THANKSGIVING:
Happy Thanksgiving! I’m grateful for all your support and hope you have a wonderful holiday. If your travels take you anywhere, please be safe. I’ll be taking a few days off, but I’ll keep you updated with any breaking news on X @TheWesternWord and on The Western Word Facebook page. Talk to you next week!
ONE MORE THING:
I am really getting into the Thanksgiving spirit. I’ve given the bird to lots of people in the last week or so.
## HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND ##
The Western Word 
The parking district downtown is a joke in that it’s just too small to support this whole grandiose notion of making money.
Nobody downloads the phone app or carries quarters — they simply park around the block and walk.
When I went down to pay my property taxes recently I was hopeful of having a quick go of it because all of the parking on 2nd Ave N in front of the courthouse was totally empty.
When I got into the tax office there were 9 or 10 folks already there. I mentioned my surprise at the amount of folks in there because I thought the office would be as empty as the street was. That’s when I learned that none of those folks paid to park — they parked a block further over and walked.
For a city the size of Great Falls I might venture to guess that not even 1/16 of the total population has the app for parking on their phone, and 1/4 more just parks around the block and walks — the rest of the population only sees Central Ave on Independence Day or when the Parade of Lights rolls around.
Parking meters are so 70’s — they’re pathetic and a waste of time — they’re like a tax you can choose not to pay, and based on the numbers, more and more people are choosing to keep their money in their pocket where it belongs.
There are a good number of things that we here in Great Falls might pile in on and parking isn’t one of them. Not once have I ever heard anyone say, “Hey gang, lets all pile in to our rigs so we can go pay to park”.
Businesses downtown might be doing great because folks are walking that extra block (or even half a block) in order to get what they want without having to give City a single penny in the process.
I agree. Maybe they will decide to do away with meters and only charge for parking in lots or garages. I can’t see it taking too many parking staff to do this plan. -JmB
Hegseth is really on a roll this week of further degrading the entire Department of Defense. First the threat to court martial Kelly and now this move to cut off the Scouts simply because it isn’t boys only anymore. Way to make it crystal clear to little girls that they are not valued as much as boys in Trump’s America.