Bright Spots

There’s so much to celebrate in our region! Here are some highlights from across our service territory.

Yankton: We donated $3,000 to the Missouri Sedimentation Action Coalition, a nonprofit focused on alleviating the sedimentation-caused problems of the Missouri River main-stem reservoirs.

Madison: NorthWestern Energy’s Madison employees dressed up as Vikings for a fundraiser called Winter Feast, which supports the Renaissance Festival in Sioux Falls.

Grand Island: We celebrated the 150th anniversaryof Arbor Day, which was founded in Nebraska,by planting trees at our Grand Island office.

Missoula: Garrett Smith, Safety & Environmental Professional for NorthWestern, instructed an electrical safety class at SafetyFestMT in Missoula. SafetyFestMT provides free safety training to employers and employees to reduce workplace injuries in Montana.

Butte: NorthWestern Energy sponsored Empty Bowls, a fundraiser for the Butte Emergency Food Bank. We’ve been supporting this event since its inception eight years ago. In addition to our monetary sponsorship, five NorthWestern employees volunteered at the event.

Helena: Each year, Carroll College recognizes young women graduating from high school who want to go into STEM fields, as part of an effort to encourage more women to choose careers in technology. NorthWestern Energy is proud to partner with Carroll College and the National Center for Women & Information Technology to sponsor these awards.

Missoula and Warm Springs: NorthWestern Energy employees participated in the Clark Fork Coalition’s annual Clark Fork River Cleanup in the Missoula and Warm Springs areas on Earth Day. We recognized our employees’ volunteerism with a donation of $2,000 to the Clark Fork Coalition.

Butte: In 1987, the Butte High Altitude Speed Skating Center was completed to serve as a training center for elite speed skaters destined for the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary. Today, thanks to dedicated Butte residents, including Dr. Dave Silk, an emergency room doctor in Butte, the center has transformed into a community skating rink where families can skate for free. NorthWestern Energy recently purchased 30 pairs of skates. As the number of skaters has grown, the availability of rental skates became a problem. These skates will help the center continue to offer affordable rental skates.

Great Falls: We made a $500 donation to the Alliance for Youth to support the remodel of the new Youth Resource Center, a drop-in center for homeless and disadvantaged youth.

Great Falls: We donated $500 to the Great Falls College MSU Regional Science and Engineering Fair, an event for elementary, middle and high school students from across northcentral Montana.

Billings: We are sponsoring a dance team for Big Sky Senior Services’ Dancing with the Big Sky Stars. Dancing with the Big Sky Stars is a virtual event this year with videos of teams’ dances released May 14. The event raises funds for Big Sky Senior Services, which provides services to senior citizens to promote independence, enhance quality of life and prevent elder abuse.

Belgrade: Mike Meis, NorthWestern Energy Director of Operation Technology, was awarded the 2022 Spirit of the Community Award by the Belgrade Chamber of Commerce. Mike is a past board of director and served as Belgrade Chamber of Commerce Board president in 2019. He is active with the Economic Development Committee and volunteers at Fall Festival and other Chamber events, in addition to coordinating the hanging and take down of the Christmas swags in Belgrade.

Bozeman: We were the sponsor for Montana Ballet Company’s “Share the Dance” program for “Snow White” performances in February. “Share the Dance” enables low-income kids to attend the ballet.