Moving forward together in East Helena

East Helena’s popular summer events like Food Truck Thursdays and Tuesday and Saturday farmers’ markets have been drawing thousands as our community moves forward into fall.

Mayor Kelly Harris, Councilmember Wes Feiss, and others are jumping through hoops to retain that $10 million federal grant that former U.S. Senator Jon Tester secured to improve Valley Drive. The road is unsafe for kids and families going to Prickly Pear Elementary and East Helena High School. 

Previously promised by the feds, the current administration is reevaluating the grant money. Fingers crossed, construction might start by summer 2027. This is just one of the many tenuous federal grants the legislative Local Government Interim Committee that I serve on will examine over the next year and a half.

Good news is breaking at schools. The high school just hired a community engagement person to coordinate work-based learning where students earn school credit while working. Schools continue to partner with Prickly Pear Land Trust providing outdoor environmental education next door at The Grove—2,000 hours so far. There’s so much demand that PPLT needs more volunteers. Stay tuned for PPLT fireside chats starting in October as part of the organization’s 30th Anniversary celebration.

Some 20,000 people visited the new Prickly Pear Park in its first three months. Located at the old smelter site, youth groups do calisthenics, folks meander along with the remediated creek or power walk before or after work, and picnic during lunch break. Enjoy a tranquil nature walk on the 1.5 mile, ADA compliant trail.

Dogs aren’t allowed, which got my goat early on. Now I realize how important it is to protect the delicate balance of wildlife—sandhill cranes and other waterfowl, fish, deer, and reclaimed riparian areas—nature put back in her place after a century of contamination. (My hound dog Gray’s favorite place is The Grove anyway, where he can sniff, wade, and sip from the creek).

The parks are part of the super successful cleanup of the former ASARCO footprint that, this summer, won the 2025 Phoenix Award, sponsored by the International City Management Association, as the best brownfields redevelopment in our region. A shoutout to Montana Environmental Trust lead Cindy Brooks, PPLT’s Mary Hollow, folks at EPA, DEQ, the community, and other local and state officials.

The Environmental Protection Agency is further cleaning up yards. It’s free and comes with landscaping. You might’ve talked with project staffers going door-to-door this summer. Even if your kids and grandkids are grown and don’t play in the yard anymore, in case of resale, you’d be able to document cleanup if you opt in. 

Community-minded Galaxy Coffee on Main Street hosts EPA open houses each Thursday from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Stop by and ask about your yard. Galaxy also welcomes the Helena Area Chamber of Commerce monthly public meeting every third Tuesday at 9 a.m. Police meet folks there too and the department just hired a new officer. 

Up the street, the East Helena library finished summer programs and is launching a fall schedule. Look forward to a new, more spacious library at Kennedy Park in about five years. The current building is cramped at 2,500 square feet. East Helena’s population is expected to triple, so a new, 11,000 sq. ft. building will accommodate that growth. And no worries about higher taxes – officials plan to finance the new library with private donations. 

Speaking of taxes, remember to file for your property tax rebate soon at getmyrebate.mt.gov. The deadline is October 1, 2025. Time flies, so why wait? And as we ease into fall, please make sure you do all the public health things, like vaccinate your kids. Lewis & Clark County Public Health found measles in wastewater during its testing for disease. Immunization protects your kids and everyone’s kids and families, so we all move forward together safely. 

Mary Ann Dunwell is a Montana state senator representing East Helena and eastern Lewis & Clark County.