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Op Ed: The Credit Card Competition Act Threatens Montana’s Tourism Industry

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We call Montana “The Last Best Place” for good reason. Millions of visitors come to share in our state’s breathtaking landscapes and vibrant communities each year, supporting nearly 50,000 Montana jobs and bringing at least $5 billion to our state annually, according to a study by the University of Montana. This revenue fueled our post-pandemic recovery, providing a lifeline to our hotels, local restaurants, and countless small businesses.

I know how crucial these visitors are to our state’s economic health. Many tourists can afford trips to Big Sky Country thanks to credit card rewards points. About one-third of Americans have travel rewards credit cards, allowing them to subsidize flights and hotel stays with earned points.

Unfortunately, Congress is considering legislation that could jeopardize these rewards programs. That would have devastating ripple effects on Montana’s tourism sector and by extension, our whole economy. The Credit Card Competition Act (CCCA) mimics a 2010 piece of legislation called the Durbin Amendment, named for its sponsor, Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois. This measure imposed routing mandates on debit cards, forcing banks to open debit transaction processing to less secure payment networks.

When banks and credit unions saw their interchange revenue drop because of the Durbin Amendment, they tried to make up for it by slashing services like no-fee debit cards and debit card rewards, and free checking accounts. The real winners of the Durbin Amendment were mega retailers, who were able to rake in an additional $106 billion, and counting. However, they did not lower costs for consumers, according to a study by the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond.

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Unfortunately, Congress is still considering doubling down on this policy mistake by expanding routing mandates to credit card transactions with the CCCA.

This isn’t speculation – we can look to other countries that have implemented similar policies. After Australia enacted this type of regulation on credit cards, rewards point values dropped by nearly 25 percent and no-fee credit cards all but disappeared.

If the CCCA passes, the nation’s largest retailers – Home Depot, Walmart, Amazon, and Costco – stand to gain over $1 billion, while consumers face the loss of no-fee credit cards and valuable travel rewards. Montana’s economy can’t afford these losses. We need policies that encourage visitors to explore our national parks and charming small towns, not make travel more difficult.

I urge our Congressional delegation to reject this handout to big box stores and stand up for Montana’s vital tourism sector. Our local businesses and hardworking families are counting on it.

Senator Mark Noland is the vice chairman of the Senate Business, Labor, and Economic Affairs committee. He represents Senate District 5 in the Flathead.

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Christi Jacobsen enters race for Western House seat

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Christi Jacobsen enters race for Western House seat


Montana Secretary of State Christi Jacobsen is running for Montana’s Western Congressional District seat, entering the race a day after U.S. Rep. Ryan Zinke announced he would not seek reelection.

Jacobsen’s announcement sets up a new contest for the open seat after Zinke, a Republican, said he would seek reelection.

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“As your Secretary of State, I’ve stood up to Washington overreach, defended election integrity, and delivered real results for Montanans. In 2020, voters gave me a mandate to clean up our elections, grow Montana business, and push back against radical liberal special interests. I delivered. Now it’s time to take that same results-driven, America First leadership to Congress.”



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Montana Lottery Powerball, Lotto America results for March 2, 2026

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The Montana Lottery offers multiple draw games for those aiming to win big.

Here’s a look at March 2, 2026, results for each game:

Winning Powerball numbers from March 2 drawing

02-17-18-38-62, Powerball: 20, Power Play: 2

Check Powerball payouts and previous drawings here.

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Winning Lotto America numbers from March 2 drawing

03-08-17-24-34, Star Ball: 06, ASB: 02

Check Lotto America payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Big Sky Bonus numbers from March 2 drawing

06-12-19-29, Bonus: 11

Check Big Sky Bonus payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Powerball Double Play numbers from March 2 drawing

21-28-58-65-67, Powerball: 25

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Check Powerball Double Play payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Millionaire for Life numbers from March 2 drawing

28-41-42-50-55, Bonus: 02

Check Millionaire for Life payouts and previous drawings here.

Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results

When are the Montana Lottery drawings held?

  • Powerball: 8:59 p.m. MT on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.
  • Mega Millions: 9 p.m. MT on Tuesday and Friday.
  • Lucky For Life: 8:38 p.m. MT daily.
  • Lotto America: 9 p.m. MT on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
  • Big Sky Bonus: 7:30 p.m. MT daily.
  • Powerball Double Play: 8:59 p.m. MT on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.
  • Montana Cash: 8 p.m. MT on Wednesday and Saturday.
  • Millionaire for Life: 9:15 p.m. MT daily.

Missed a draw? Peek at the past week’s winning numbers.

This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a Great Falls Tribune editor. You can send feedback using this form.

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Apparent AI Glitch in Filing by Montana Public Defender, Recent Congressional Candidate

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Apparent AI Glitch in Filing by Montana Public Defender, Recent Congressional Candidate


Everyone makes mistakes, even experienced professionals; a good reminder for the rest of us to learn from those mistakes. The motion in State v. Stroup starts off well in its initial pages (no case law hallucinations), but is then followed by several pages of two other motions, which I don’t think the lawyer was planning to file, and which appear to have been AI-generated: It begins with the “Below is concise motion language you can drop into …” language quoted above.

Griffen Smith (Missoulian) reported on the story, and included the prosecutor’s motion to strike that filing, on the grounds that it violates a local rule (3(G)) requiring disclosure of the use of generative AI:

The document does not include a generative artificial intelligence disclosure as required. However, page 7 begins as follows: “Below is concise motion language you can drop into a ‘Motion to Admit Mental-Disease Evidence and for Related Instructions’ keyed to 45-6-204, 45-6-201, and 4614-102. Adjust headings/captions to your local practice.” Page 10 states “Below is a full motion you can paste into your pleading, then adjust names, dates, and styles to fit local practice.” These pages also include several apparent hyperlinks to “ppl-ai-file-upload.s3.amazonaws,” “ppl-ai-fileupload.s3.amazonaws+1,” and others. The document includes what appears to be an attempt at a second case caption on page 12. It is not plausible on its face that any source other than generative AI would have created such language for a filed version of a brief….

There’s more in that filing, but here’s one passage:

While generative AI can be a useful tool for some purposes and may have greater application in the future, when used improperly, and without meaningful review, it can ultimately damage both the perception and the reality of the profession. One assumes that Mr. Stroup has had, or will at some point have, an opportunity to review the filing made on his behalf. What impression could a review of pgs. 12-19 leave upon a defendant who struggles with paranoia and delusional thinking? While AI could theoretically one day become a replacement for portions of staff of experienced attorneys, it is readily apparent that this day has not yet arrived.

The Missoulan article includes this response:

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In a Wednesday interview, Office of Public Defender Division Administrator Brian Smith told the Missoulian the AI-generated language was inadvertently included in an unrelated filing. And he criticized the county attorney’s office for filing a “four-page diatribe about the dangers of AI” instead of working with the defense to correct her mistake.

“That’s not helping the client or the case,” Smith said, “and all you are doing is trying to throw a professional colleague under the bus.”

As I mentioned, the lawyer involved seems quite experienced, and ran for the Montana Public Service Commission in 2020 (getting nearly 48% of the vote) and for the House of Representatives in Montana’s first district in 2022 (getting over 46% of the vote) and in 2024 (getting over 44%). “Его пример другим наука,” Pushkin wrote in Eugene Onegin—”May his example profit others,” in the Falen translation.

Thanks to Matthew Monforton for the pointer.



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