Sign up for the free Great Falls This Week newsletter and stay in the loop on Great Falls city government, public school meetings, business news and upcoming entertainment and events. Sign up 02/02/2026 Child care center eyes next chapter Contractors, board members and other community partners of Toby’s House Crisis Nursery held a groundbreaking ceremony on Jan. 28 for its new building. The child care nonprofit is in the middle of construction on a 5,000-square-foot building at Second Street and Seventh Avenue South. The building will allow Toby’s House to expand its capacity, which is currently licensed for about a dozen children. The project has been supported through donated labor, materials and financial gifts, including $500,000 from Jimmy and Debbie Filipowicz. “That speaks a lot to this community,” Scott Dunbar, a project manager with Walsh Group, said at the ceremony last week. Executive Director Leesha Ford (center in Toby’s House shirt) and other partners scoop ceremonial dirt at a groundbreaking event on Jan. 28, 2026. Credit: Matt Hudson/MTFP The temperate winter has been favorable to construction, and Dunbar said they will be working throughout the season. Toby’s House Executive Director Leesha Ford said they hope to open in summer 2026. Toby’s House is a no-cost, drop-in child care facility that serves parents who need short-term care and can’t afford traditional daycare. It opened in 2020 and currently operates out of a renovated home along Fifth Street in downtown Great Falls. The facility has been at or near capacity in recent months, Ford told Montana Free Press. In 2025, Toby’s House services increased significantly compared to the previous year, Ford said. The facility nearly doubled the number of meals served to children and saw 1,829 visits last year, up from 849 in 2024. Read MTFP’s feature story about Toby’s House here. Photo Op  Credit: Matt Hudson/MTFP Chunks of ice moved at a quick pace along the Missouri River during a Jan. 23 visit to Fort Benton. Calling all photographers: Submit a photo for Great Falls This Week to [email protected]. Verbatim “The community responded more than I ever thought. They’re giving us help I didn’t know we needed.” — Roberto Orozco Lazcano, an 18-year-old freshman at Williston State College, speaking outside a Great Falls courthouse last week Orozco Lazcano made the trip to Great Falls last week in support of his father, 42-year-old Roberto Orozco-Ramirez, who was arrested by U.S. Border Patrol in January for being in the country illegally. An initial hearing for Orozco-Ramirez was held Jan. 28 in U.S. District Court. Orozco Lazcano wasn’t alone. A group of family and community members also made the trip from Froid, a small northeast Montana community where Orozco-Ramirez has lived for more than a decade and runs an automotive repair shop. They expressed frustration that the Trump administration’s avowed immigration enforcement against the “worst of the worst” ensnared a father of four with no criminal history in Froid. Read the full story from MTFP reporter Nora Mabie. 5 Things to Know in Great Falls Gov. Greg Gianforte toured classrooms for trade programs at Great Falls College MSU last week. He stopped at the welding building, spoke with instructors of a flooring program and sat behind the wheel of a driving simulator that’s part of the commercial driver’s license program. Montana Office of Public Instruction Superintendent Susie Hedalen was also along for the visit. Credit: Matt Hudson/MTFP During another stop on his Great Falls visit, Gianforte and Lt. Gov. Kristen Juras honored Norma Smith with a Spirit of Montana award. Smith had a long career in media that included work in New York and Montana, where she hosted thousands of episodes of “Today in Montana” for KRTV in Great Falls. Smith was named Television Broadcaster of the Year in 1985 and in 2010 and was the second woman inducted into the Montana Broadcasters Hall of Fame, according to a release from the governor’s office. Jeremiah Johnson Brewing announced that it will pursue a production facility and tasting room in one of the industrial condos being developed by the Great Falls International Airport. The project could break ground this spring, according to a video from the airport. The company has roots in Great Falls but currently only has taprooms in Whitefish and Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. This project will bring a taproom to Great Falls and support the expansion of the beer company, according to founder Jeremiah Johnson. The Great Beyond Film Festival will hold its inaugural event Feb. 5-7. The festival is a “celebration of cinema that dares to explore the unexplained,” according to organizers. Films shown at the festival will touch on themes of the paranormal and the extraterrestrial — something that has historical roots in Great Falls. Tickets, event information and previews can be found here. Time to update your bookmarks as the city of Great Falls has a new website and URL. The former website (greatfallsmt.net) has been replaced by www.greatfallsmt.gov. For those who like to stay updated on public meetings, the live stream page is here, and agenda documents can be found here. The post Toby’s House breaks ground on new facility appeared first on Montana Free Press. ...read more read less