Briefs: The People’s Center gets a new name
The Tribal Council of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes recently approved a name change for the Tribal culture center formerly known as The People’s Center.
The center is now called the Three Chief’s Culture Center, Museum and Gift Shop. It has been moved from its previous site in Pablo to the building that was once Altitude Restaurant, on Highway 93 in St. Ignatius. The previous center was destroyed by an arson fire in September.
The center is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Jam sessions set in Ronan
Classic Country Jamming will hold a jam session open to all musicians/singers from 1 to 4 p.m. Sunday at The Red Poppy, 1 Eisenhower St. SW in Ronan. Musicians must bring their own equipment. Spectators are welcome. Another jam session at the same site has been scheduled for Feb. 21.
Town Pump raffle for Special Olympics underway
Town Pump, a 15-year sponsor of the annual MTN Chevy Raffle to benefit Special Olympics Montana, hopes to sell 40,000 tickets at its businesses in February and March to raise $200,000 for Special Olympics.
Grand prize for the annual raffle is a 2021 Chevrolet Silverado. In addition, Town Pump is donating a $5,000 cash prize and multiple $1,000 Town Pump gift cards.
Tickets are on sale through March 31 at all Town Pump businesses, including its convenience stores, Lucky Lil’s Casinos, Montana Lil’s Casinos, Magic Diamond Casinos, Lucky Logger Casinos and Town Pump-operated hotels. Raffle tickets are also available at www.somt.org/raffle/ and can be purchased with cash, check or debit cards, but not credit cards. The 2021 raffle runs through May 14 with the drawing May 15.
DLI warns Montanans of text message scam
The Montana Department of Labor & Industry is warning Montanans of a widespread text message scam that masquerades as a message from the department.
Officials believe scammers are sending fraudulent text messages to phone numbers with a 406 area code in the hopes that one is a current UI claimant. These text messages attempt to persuade recipients to click on a link, which may install malware on their devices.
One example begins with the message: “We noticed an error in your Unemployment Claim.”
DLI is warning all Montanans, not just those with active UI claims, to beware of these fraudulent text messages. All official Department links end in the mt.gov domain. Potential fraudulent links may end in .php, .net, or .com.
DLI advises those that receive these messages to not click the link or respond to the text.
DLI encourages those who believe they may be a victim of unemployment fraud to immediately report it at uid.dli.mt.gov/report-fraud, or call the UI fraud hotline at (406) 444-0072.
State parks see record visitation in 2020
Montana State Parks recorded more than 3.4 million visitors in 2020, a 29.5 percent increase over 2019.
Visitation increased every month in 2020 over 2019, despite temporary closures at a small handful of parks and the absence or sharp decline in school field trips, events and other group activities.
Park visitation was up all around the state as people flocked to the outdoors.
The top five most visited state parks in 2020 were:
- Flathead Lake State Park (all units), Flathead Lake – 471,690 visits (up 32.9%)
- Giant Springs State Park, Great Falls - 384,309 visits (up .1%)
- Cooney Reservoir State Park, Roberts - 359,607 visits (up 104.5%)
- Lake Elmo State Park, Billings - 231,388 visits (up 27.1%)
- Spring Meadow Lake State Park, Helena - 178,156 visits (up 32%)