The schedule of shows expected to fill up the covered grandstand at the Flathead County Fairgrounds this summer will go on, following some repairs to enhance the integrity of the century-old structure. On July 8, construction crews will begin the first phase of work to extend the life of the venue’s primary seating area, “ensuring it remains a community hub for many years to come,” according to a county press release, which announced that the Northwest Montana Rodeo and summer concerts will proceed as planned.

In May, county officials announced the closure of the covered grandstand, and the north bleachers, after a preliminary safety inspection found significant signs of deterioration of the wooden framing and beams. The inspection came as part of a long-planned project to demolish and rebuild the north bleachers, which will remain closed this summer.

Fairgrounds Manager Sam Nunnally said in an interview that the structure will be removed after the Northwest Montana Fair concludes in August; it will be replaced with a new aluminum and steel bleacher set.

On June 13, specialists from Martin Consulting Engineers conducted a detailed onsite visual assessment of the grandstand and its supporting framework in accordance with the International Code Council (ICC). The inspection report concluded that the observable portions of the structure are in “fair condition,” and although there are no areas considered “an immediate life safety concern,” several sections require immediate repairs and maintenance to eliminate potential hazards and maintain the structure’s integrity.

“We got the inspection report back and there are a few things we absolutely have to make safe in order to use the grandstands again,” fairgrounds manager Sam Nunnally told the Beacon. “There’s a couple things we need to address — bracing up the north wall of the grandstands, a little bit of bracing underneath the roof itself. Not enough to cause a structural question, but enough that we want to make sure there’s nothing falling on people.”

The list of immediate repairs includes replacing loose and split bridging elements found throughout the grandstand canopy; bracing the north wall of the grandstand, which leans outward from the structure; and closing or rebuilding an office storage room that has “failed structurally,” but does not impact the grandstand’s operability. The report also notes that the vomitorium stairs leading to the office building inside the grandstand are deteriorated to the point of requiring full replacement and should be closed until repairs can be made.

Nunnally said there is a tiered checklist of work to be done with next month’s construction addressing the most immediate concerns, followed by projects to tackle within the next two years.

According to the report, a number of high-priority repairs will be required to address structural concerns within the next year, including replacing rotted and split two-by-four boards that support the structure, installing support elements where they are missing, replacing boards throughout the seating area, replacing the stair treads to meet ICC standards, and rebuilding the railing walls at the base of the grandstand.

“Safety is the number one thing for us, and we wouldn’t let people back in the grandstands if that was a concern,” Nunnally said.

Per the ICC, all “existing bleachers, folding and telescopic seating, and grandstands” require annual inspections. According to Nunnally, however, he cannot find any documentation of a structural inspection for the grandstand or the north bleachers.

Over the last decade, the fair board, on which Nunnally served prior to becoming fairgrounds manager, understood the 60-year-old north bleachers needed to be replaced and began saving for renovations. That reconstruction project kicked off over the winter, which was when the extent of the grandstand deterioration came to light.

Nunnally is confident the repairs will go forward as planned and hopes that renovations over the next few years will keep the historic structure preserved for generations to come.

“The fair started in 1902, so for 122 years this is where people have come together as a community. We have multiple generations coming to these fairgrounds every year and I don’t want to lose sight of that,” Nunnally said. “I would hate to have our historic grandstand no longer part of Kalispell and this community. If we can keep them and preserve, that’s what my goal is. But at the same time, I have to respect that if we can’t do that safely, we can’t do it at all.”

The latest updates can be found on the Flathead County Fairgrounds website.

HELENA — On Friday, representatives with the U.S. Department of Agriculture were in Helena, getting a firsthand look at an effort bringing together federal, state and local partners to make sure children are getting meals through the summer months.

They visited Memorial Park and the Lewis and Clark Library, two sites where Helena’s summer meal program hands out free meal bags to any families with children. Each child received six meals to take home for Friday and the weekend.

It’s part of the national “SUN Meals to Go” program, one of three summer nutrition programs the USDA is highlighting.

“The piece that’s most impressive, and what we see in places like Montana, is how incredibly adaptable the programs are when you have these big geographic expanses and a lot of varied need, the programs finding ways to operate very creatively,” said Mario Ramos, acting regional administrator for the USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service.

The SUN Meals program serves meals at neighborhood locations like parks, schools and community centers. They’re free to all children under age 18, who eat on site. The Meals to Go program is available in some rural areas and allows for pickups and deliveries – ideas that developed out of the changes made to meal programs during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Helena Public Schools and Sodexo sponsor the program in Helena. Robert Worthy, the school district’s food service director, says the area narrowly qualifies as rural because of its population, allowing them to use a “to go” option. He says that’s made a huge difference for them.

“Having the multi-meals allowed people to come, and it was worth their time, and all of a sudden people started showing up,” he said. “We were doubling the numbers.”

Worthy says they handed out 64,000 meals in Helena alone last summer, and they’ve already provided more than 20,000 this year.

“It’s really good when people show up with their families – even though you don’t have to have the kids with you present, a lot of them do come to help carry the food off, and to see the kids’ faces when they pick up the meals,” he said.

Overall, the Montana Office of Public Instruction says summer meal programs served more than 950,000 meals statewide last year – up by 27% from 2022 – at more than 250 sites. You can find a site near you on the USDA website.

Worthy says they’ll sign people up for the program at meal sites on distribution days, but he encourages families to sign up in advance. That lets them get the meals ready before they’re picked up and prepare if kids have any specific dietary needs.

Jonathon Ambarian

Montana is also one of 30 states participating in “SUN Bucks,” the new summer EBT program that provides $120 per eligible child for families to buy groceries. It evolved out of the P-EBT program that provided similar benefits during the pandemic.

SUN Bucks will be automatically available to families enrolled in programs like SNAP and TANF, as well as those eligible for free and reduced-price school meals. Other families can apply directly if they meet income limits and other requirements. You can find more information on the program here.

State leaders estimate about 70,000 children in Montana will be eligible for the summer EBT program this year.

Montana’s participation in P-EBT was uncertain the last two years. State leaders originally opted out in 2022 before getting back in when the federal government provided more flexibility. They then opted out again in 2023, citing administrative hurdles.

Ramos said USDA is working to support state partners as they introduce SUN Bucks.

“I think part of what really makes us a little bit more administratively manageable is knowing that this isn’t specific to pandemic-era benefits, but this is something that we’re committed to long-term in support of food security through the summer months – and in turn being able to build longer-term infrastructure and administrative apparatus to help support program implementation,” he said.

The Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services says families will receive their allotments in late summer or early fall. A spokesperson said they had to switch from one EBT vendor to another, but they were committed to getting the program launched in 2024 as planned.

A Montana-based abortion rights group is reaching out to neighboring states announcing abortion and contraception are legal and available there.

South Dakota has a near total abortion ban, which extends to pregnancies caused by rape or incest. Health care professionals say the state’s current abortion exception is unclear.

“Minnesota and Colorado are being so inundated with volume from other states that they might have wait times,” said Nicole Smith, executive director of Montanans for Choice.

Smith said the number of South Dakota women travelling to Montana is quite small. That’s why the group is raising awareness that the state is an option to procure the procedure, which includes a billboard campaign that welcomes those seeking the procedure.

 “In Montana, we can see people same day that they get here, pretty much,” Smith said. “We just want folks to know that we do have a lot of availability and if they don’t want to wait and they can get into Montana—we can probably see them pretty quickly.”

Since September last year, 280 South Dakotans travelled to Minnesota for an abortion and 170 travelled to Colorado for the procedure. That’s according to the Guttmacher Institute, a sexual and reproductive health group.

The closest abortion facilities to South Dakota in Montana are located in Billings. Smith says clinics also offer abortion medication through telemedicine.

Smith said Montana’s constitution has strong health care privacy rights.

“We have almost unfettered access to abortion in Montana,” Smith added. “There’s no mandatory waiting periods. There’s no mandatory counselling. We have telehealth for medication abortion. We’re very grateful that our constitution has protected those rights—that doctors and providers are able to give best practice medicine to us without politicians interfering in that way.”

South Dakota voters are set to vote on whether to enshrine abortion access in the state constitution this November. Constitutional Amendment G grants South Dakota women access to abortion in the first two trimesters of pregnancy. It allows the state to restrict the procedure in the third trimester, with exceptions for health and life of the mother.

Planned Parenthood North Central States believe the measure will not “adequately reinstate” abortion access in the state. Abortion opponents call the measure extreme.