KALISPELL, Mont. — A carnival ride accident in Butte two months ago has fair organizers taking a closer look at ride safety.

The Butte incident happened in June, when a 13-year-old boy fell from a Yo-Yo ride.

Operated by Midway West Amusements, the carnival at the Northwest Montana Fair is operated by Dreamland Amusements, a different company.

Fair officials say they wanted to add another layer of oversight this year.

“We want this to be a safe environment, so prior to the fair, we were looking at what we could do to try to step up this safety a little bit more than what we normally do,” said Flathead County Fairgrounds manager Sam Nunnally.

That meant bringing in an independent inspector, separate from the carnival’s own inspection team, before the fair opened.

Nunnally says each ride also has its own inspection report, and the carnival’s team includes three certified inspectors who check the rides before they open each day.

“They mark down everything, even if it’s a small adjustment, even if it’s not a safety thing, they will go in and do that adjustment before the ride opens to the public,” said Nunnally.

Those daily checks include verifying parts and running the rides without passengers.

Nunnally says the inspectors will look for anything that’s loose or out of place, and they’ll run the ride with nobody on it for awhile and make sure it’s moving correctly.

This Yo-Yo has operated at the Northwest Montana Fair before.

Despite the Butte incident, fair managers say they haven’t noticed much of a change in how people are approaching the carnival.

The Northwest Montana Fair goes through Sunday August 16, and will continue to have safety checks, law enforcement, and medical personnel on site.

BUTTE, Mont. — Montana’s premiere Irish festival returns to Butte this weekend for three days of family-friendly fun, culture, and music.

The free An Ri Ra festival kicks off at noon on Friday at the city-county courthouse and runs through Sunday afternoon.

There will be a mix of local and internationally known Irish bands, including The Byrne Brothers, The Prodigals, Murphy & Mancuso, Socks in the Frying Pan, and Dublin Gulch, that will be performing at the Original Mineyard.

Other fun events include a speaker series, Irish road bowling, performances from the Tiernan Irish Dancers, and an outdoor catholic mass.

“I love to see the people come out and enjoy Irish music, Irish dance, Irish culture. And you get to learn a little something about where Butte’s Irish Americans came from in a very wholesome, friendly, high-energy situation, and its family friendly,” said Tom Powers, An Ri Ra executive committee member. “My 8-week-old grandson will be here, and people’s 90-year-old grannies will be here. We run the gamut.”

Three speakers will be giving presentations during the weekend: Professor James Walsh, who will be telling the story of the Leadville Irish Memorial; Tommy Byrne, the descendant of a participant in the 1916 Easter Rising; and photographer Sean McKernan, who will talk about “The Troubles” in Northern Ireland.

Traditional Irish food will be available for purchase, as will your typical fair food, beer, and wine.

This event is made free thanks to donors and sponsors. Anyone looking to volunteer is welcome to show up at the Original Mineyard and offer their services.

A courtesy shuttle is also available that will travel in a loop around Uptown on Friday from 5-10:30 p.m. and Saturday from 12-10:30 p.m.

Organizers are also looking for the next generation to help take over running the festival in the coming years, and anyone interested should reach out.

GREAT FALLS — Over the last few weeks, most of the attention in Montana’s U.S. Senate race was focused on whether Democratic candidate Alani Bankhead and independent candidate Seth Bodnar would both remain on the ballot. Republican nominee Kurt Alme told MTN that question hadn’t affected the way he’s approached the campaign.

“We’ve been out there focusing on our race and focusing on the issues that are important to Montana,” he said.

(Watch the video to hear more from Alme.)

Alme prepares for next phase of Montana U.S. Senate campaign after candidate field finalized

Alme was in Great Falls Thursday, meeting with agriculture and business groups. MTN caught up with him there for the first time since the candidate withdrawal deadline passed – confirming four names will be on the ballot for U.S. Senate: Alme, Bankhead, Bodnar and Libertarian nominee Kyle Austin.

While Bodnar seeks appeal to voters frustrated with the two major parties, Alme paints both him and Bankhead as being Democrats. Alme said he believes Montanans remain supportive of “commonsense conservative” ideas.

“I know that the people in Montana, when I travel around the state, do not want to go back to the destructive Democrat policies that we had under President Biden,” he said. “They don’t want to go back to open borders and defunding the police and higher taxes.”

Alme is Republican U.S. Sen. Steve Daines’ chosen successor, jumping into the race when Daines withdrew just before the filing deadline in March. A former U.S. attorney and state budget director, he has made public safety and reducing taxes centerpieces of his campaign.

Alme told MTN affordability remains one of the biggest concerns for voters. He said the way to address the issue is by reining in government spending, with the goal of slowing inflation. On rising gas prices, he wants to focus on increasing domestic energy production. He supported President Donald Trump taking military actions against Iran as a way to prevent them from developing nuclear weapons, and he says leaders should continue backing Trump as his administration negotiates with Iran on their nuclear program and the Strait of Hormuz.

Republicans have dominated Montana elections over the last decade, and national election forecasters have projected Alme as the favorite to win in November – especially with Bankhead and Bodnar both staying in the race.

MTN asked Alme if he was interested in debates with the other Senate candidates.

“We need to be able to have the opportunity with all four candidates to put forward our proposals and be sure that the voters know who they’re voting for and what we’re going to support,” he answered.