Evel Knievel

With all we've seen and survived, Butte is becoming accustomed to seeing itself on the big or small screen. But even so, when the production crews start rolling, it is still truly a sight to behold. And we caught something happening today on South Harrison Avenue at the old Royal Motel location on Elizabeth Warren. (It was the Royal, wasn't it?)

Downtown Las Vegas has a distinct 1970s vibe to it. Sure, "Glitter Gulch" has all of the modern slot machines and LED lights that you'll find on the Strip, but it's a lot more like the Vegas that many remember from years ago. You can move from place to place without a 20-minute walk. You can get reasonably priced food. And it was 1970s Las Vegas where a young daredevil from Butte, Montana became a worldwide phenomenon by attempting to jump over the fountains at Caesar's Palace on his Harley Davidson motorcycle.

It's not unusual for politicians to speak in extreme and divisive terms, especially in an election year. We're used to outrageous claims like Al Gore inventing the internet. We've heard Nixon claim that he is not a crook. Well, at least the older among us have. We're used to extreme analogy and comparisons that may seem a bit batty but earlier today when addressing the weekly Republican Senate Leadership press conference, Montana Senator Steve Daines claimed that President Joe Biden and Senate Democrats are using political stunts to hide what he called failing "the American people in every way from inflation to the border to national security." He then went on to compare their "stunts" to Evel Knievel.

Monty Klistoff has gradually been bringing this spirit of stunts, fun and music to Butte with Brawls and Kickstart Days which has been taking place at the Butte Depot the first weekend of August over the last couple of years and this year may be the biggest yet. Brawls and Kickstart Days 2023 will be August 4th and 5th.

Today would have been Evel Knievel's 84th birthday. Here are some of our Evel memories.