‘Rainboffalo’ along Great Falls trail vandalized

The “rainboffalo” statue that has greeted passers-by along the River’s Edge Trial at the east end of the 1st Avenue North Bridge since 2009 was vandalized sometime in the past several days, losing its fins to criminal mischief.

The damage occurred in two waves, River’s Edge Trail board member Karen Wicks said Tuesday afternoon. A leg fin was broken off but recovered late last week, she said, and the other fin and tail torn off and stolen over the weekend. The damage was reported to Great Falls police Monday.

Wicks estimates the value of the damage is in the range of several thousand dollars, meaning the crime would carry a felony charge if the vandal or vandals are apprehended.

For now, the plan is to move the statue to a secure location and repair it if possible, Wicks said. “We’re going to take care of it.”

Designed by artist Chris Miller, the statue was gifted to the River’s Edge Trail by Tina Schott and Peter Horst in 2009.

Miller modified the fiberglass statue from a bison cast used in several other statues displayed around Great Falls to take on a resemblance to a rainbow trout. He estimates it took four to six months of his free time to complete the art piece, and the damage represents about half that work.

When asked how he felt about the damage, Miller said his only comment was that “I’m not sure I have (an) answer that you can print.”

Rachel Kaiser has created a number of public art pieces around Great Falls, including a brightly colored pterodactyl at the skate park in 2012 that was covered with gray paint less than 24 hours after she finished the piece. She is “bummed” for Miller, someone she’s known for years and whose art she’s always loved.

Kaiser saw tremendous community support after her art was vandalized in 2012 and felt the community’s proactive response to her situation helped curb some of that — or so she thought. She doesn’t consider vandalism of public art to be a huge issue in Great Falls, but when it happens it’s frustrating.

“The majority of the community, I do believe, really loves (public art),” she said. “Of course you feel a little vulnerable as an artist, but you can’t let that stop you. (Vandalism) hasn’t stopped public art in Great Falls.”

Police did not have a suspect in the case as of the initial report.

Anyone with information on the incident should call GFPD at 771-1180 or the Crime Stoppers hotline at 727-TIPS.

“We’re all very upset,” Wicks said. “It’s just kind of a shame.”