Community Corner

🌱 Patch AM: How Helena volunteers turned fabric into 180 Christmas smiles this year

Coming up: 2026 Business Days at the Capitol on the Helena Patch calendar

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Hello Helena! Stay connected with the latest updates from around town. Let's dive in! ☀️

In today's newsletter:

  • How Helena volunteers turned fabric into 180 Christmas smiles this year
  • What kept Helena police so busy on Christmas Eve?
  • How new state lease rules could reshape Helena’s historic Reeder’s Alley

Also on today's calendar: Celebrate & Release 2025! .

Find out what's happening in Helenafor free with the latest updates from Patch.

Today's riddle: How many sheep does it take to make a sweater? 🤔 (Answer below!)

Weather forecast:

Find out what's happening in Helenafor free with the latest updates from Patch.

  • Saturday: Much colder with snow showers, with a high of 30 and low of 5 degrees. ⛄️ Brr!
  • Sunday: Times of sun and clouds, temps: high: 27, low: 16.
  • Monday: Partly sunny, with a high of 37 and low of 26 degrees.

📰 News we're reading

1. Seventy-two years of sewing, stockings, and celebration (ktvh.com) — At St. Peter’s Health in Helena, volunteers have kept a 72-year tradition alive by sewing festive stockings for every baby born in December and for patients spending Christmas in the hospital. More than 70 community members joined this year’s Arlene Matthews Sock Sew, creating 70 baby stockings and 110 patient stockings to spread holiday cheer.
   

2. Female driver strikes police vehicle: Here are Helena police incidents from Dec. 24 (helenair.com) — Helena police handled a busy Dec. 24, including arresting three local women on suspected DUI charges after separate crashes and traffic stops, one involving a patrol car with lights activated. Officers also investigated a restraining order violation, shoplifting, trespassing downtown, a dog bite, criminal mischief, and more, responding to 76 total calls for service.
   

3. Cash crunch triggers lease hikes for vendors in Montana's state-owned ghost towns (postregister.com) — Helena’s historic Reeder’s Alley is caught up in a statewide push to raise lease revenues at Montana-owned heritage sites, leaving at least one local restaurant owner struggling after costly accessibility delays. The same new 15% gross-sales lease model is alarming vendors in Virginia City and Nevada City, as lawmakers question whether the state is overreaching in its effort to fix past mismanagement and budget shortfalls.
   

4. MT judge allows wolf hunting regulations to stand (wlj.net) — A Helena district judge has decided to keep Montana’s current wolf hunting and trapping regulations in place while a major lawsuit over wolf management continues. The ruling notes serious concerns about how the state estimates wolf populations but concludes this season’s quotas likely won’t drive numbers to unsustainable levels. Environmental groups say the decision is a setback yet believe it strengthens their broader case.
   

5. Our Favorite Photography of 2025 (flatheadbeacon.com) — Several striking images from inside the Capitol in Helena anchor this year’s statewide photo roundup, capturing lawmakers, staff and the building’s ornate rotunda. The gallery then ranges across Montana, from Glacier peaks and Flathead Lake to protests, sports championships and everyday life, offering a visual recap of 2025 that still keeps Helena’s political heart in the frame.
   

📸 Around Helena

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💬 Chatter

What your neighbors are talking about on social media

  • In about 2 hours my dog will be missing for 24 hours.
    Any help looking or keeping a key out is a great help!! (Nextdoor North East)
  • He’s home!!
    Missing dog (not currently wearing a sweater) he got out cross streets wilder and Lincoln if you see him call 623-374-1996 or 623-337-3254 Responds… (Nextdoor Westside/Euclid Ave North)
  • Hilton posted a job opening for Houseperson - Home2 Suites Helena in Helena. Apply here.
  • CBRE Group, Inc. posted a job opening for Customer Service Supervisor in Helena. Apply here. You can search for other jobs near Helena here.

Ok Helena! So now you're in the loop about what's happening today. Thanks for reading, and see you in your inbox next time! Oh -- and if you like what you're reading, invite a friend to Patch AM!

-- The Patch AM Team

P.S. The answer to today's riddle: I have no idea. I didn’t even know sheep could knit.
Got a good riddle for PatchAM? Send it to us!

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