Montana
Driscoll robs Eastern Montana of a real political race • Daily Montanan
Isn’t it just swell that John Driscoll, the no-show Democratic candidate in Montana’s Second Congressional District election, took the time to inform voters that if elected he would work to ensure U.S. nuclear weapons would not be used in a first-strike manner unless approved by Congress.
What’s puzzling is that the Sept. 11 Billings Gazette opted to print his nothing-burger musings when every inch of newsprint is increasingly valuable as we near the Nov. 5 election.
You see, it is not an issue Driscoll will face anytime for the rest of his life because he essentially folded his congressional-campaign tent the day he filed to run, planning not to spend more than $5,000 to promote his candidacy.
In a very real sense, veteran politician Driscoll robbed Eastern Montana.
His vanity won over common sense in choosing a low-budget campaign in the apparent belief that he is well-enough known and admired that he would win. But as the song by Taj Mahal goes, Republican Troy Downing has secured “A Cake Walk into Town.”
Holly Michels, chief of the Lee State Bureau in Helena, correctly wrote on Sept. 1 that the election is effectively over.
Voters in Eastern Montana were robbed of the opportunity to witness a vigorous contest with a focus on issues affecting our part of the state. We got only crickets.
True, any Democrat faced a huge obstacle in opposing the Trump-endorsed, well-financed (including his own money), Afghanistan veteran and incumbent state government officer Troy Downing.
Driscoll gained 13,317 votes in the Democrat primary election, closely followed by Broadus rancher Steve Held with 10,583 and Billings resident Ming Cabrera with 8,341 – Cabrera with perhaps the most-germane qualifications and experience for the position.
Downing, replicating Matt Rosendale’s opportunistic moves to state Insurance Commissioner and then the U.S. House, trounced his eight competitors in the Republican primary. Several factors favored Downing– an endorsement from Donald Trump whom he once opposed and support from Republicans Gov. Greg Gianforte, First District Rep. Ryan Zinke and junior U.S. Sen. Steve Daines.
Downing’s dominant campaign ad recited his credentials as an Air Force veteran who enlisted after 9/11 and served in Afghanistan. But his role wasn’t exactly clear: The ad projected an image of an Air Force pilot in a flight suit wearing Tom Cruise sunglasses with a jet in the background.
A closer look reveals private-pilot Downing wearing his civilian Nomex flight suit sporting a patch advertising YAHOO, which in 1998 purchased his technology company. Behind him is his personal Czech L39 jet trainer. Just slightly deceptive — he was never an Air Force pilot.
Instead, Downing enlisted as an airman basic in the California Air National Guard’s 129th Air Rescue Squadron, not the Air Force per se. Nonetheless, he is an Air Force veteran since the ANG is a component of the active Air Force and deserves commendation for his patriotism and honorable service. He went on two combat deployments to Afghanistan with his Air Guard unit as a helicopter flight engineer. Back in the States as a “traditional Guardsman,” Downing had time to build a commercial real estate company and a securities company, he recently told the Explore the Big Sky publication.
Facts also were a little blurry in 2018 when he was fined $2,110 and lost hunting privileges for illegally securing a resident hunting license as a non-resident. Downing argued that the case was based on mistakes made by accountants who prepared his income tax returns.
Downing, a native Californian, likely would have faced direct questioning about his biography as he would have fairly inquired of Driscoll who has been politically active since 1972.
However, it looks like Downing will get a pass on tougher questions from a would-be feisty opponent. To date, he has been successfully vague: National abortion ban? Raising tariffs? An immigration policy beyond building a wall? Aid to Ukraine? Concern with Russian aggression? Eliminate the federal departments of Education and Homeland Security? Repeal of the Affordable Care Act? Investment in alternative energy? And the list goes on.
Downing is to become one of only four people in Washington working for and representing Montanans. He should have to work for that responsibility and honor beyond simple self-promotion.
Instead, Driscoll gave him a cake walk into Congress.
Peter D. Fox of Big Timber spent 25 years as daily newspaper editor and journalist in Wisconsin and Montana including the Billings Gazette. He later served as a Wisconsin cabinet secretary, an officer with the University of Wisconsin System, and as a non-profit executive. After four years active duty in the U.S. Army Security Agency 1967-1971, and went on to serve 25 years in the Army National Guard. He retired as a colonel in 2004.
DILLON, Mont. — Low oxygen levels and excess nutrients led the Montana Department of Environmental Quality to officially determine that the Big Hole River is impaired, state officials said.
The conditions are affecting aquatic life and recreation along parts of the river. Officials said the nutrients can fuel algae and plant growth, especially during hot, low-water conditions.
The Big Hole has been the focus of water quality restoration efforts for decades, with more than $1.3 million in federal Clean Water Act funding invested since 1988.
The impairment will be included in DEQ’s next water quality report. Restoration work and funding for the watershed will continue.
In these Montana towns a stranger rarely stays a stranger for long. Shopkeepers in Philipsburg know their regulars by name. Bigfork neighbors fill the same theater seats every summer. Livingston locals still swap trail tips with visitors over coffee. The welcome here comes from people who greet newcomers like they belong. These eight communities show what small-town Montana hospitality looks like up close.
Whitefish
Whitefish sits within an hour of Glacier National Park, and that proximity shapes everything about the town. Central Avenue runs on covered Old West walkways lined with local shops, restaurants, and galleries, and the crowd shifts with the seasons as skiers give way to summer hikers.
Glacier National Park draws visitors with hundreds of miles of hiking trails, alpine lakes, and the scenic Going-to-the-Sun Road. Closer to town, Whitefish Lake offers public beaches, boat rentals, paddleboarding, and fishing during the warmer months. When winter arrives, Whitefish Mountain Resort becomes the area’s main attraction, with ski runs, snowboarding terrain, and gondola rides overlooking the Flathead Valley. Even after a day outdoors, many visitors return to downtown Whitefish to browse local shops or settle in at the town’s restaurants and breweries.
Bigfork
Sitting on the northeastern shore of Flathead Lake, Bigfork pairs a working harbor with a downtown built around its artists. Galleries and studios cluster within a few walkable blocks, and the water is never out of sight for long.
Flathead Lake is the town’s biggest draw, with boating, kayaking, fishing, and swimming on the largest natural freshwater lake west of the Mississippi River in the lower 48 states. Just offshore, Wild Horse Island State Park lets visitors hike among native wildlife, including wild horses, bighorn sheep, bald eagles, and mule deer. Theater lovers can catch a Broadway-style production at Bigfork Summer Playhouse, which has staged live performances for decades. Before leaving town, visitors can browse the independently owned galleries and studios showcasing paintings, sculptures, ceramics, and other work by Montana artists.
Philipsburg
Philipsburg made its money in silver, and the painted storefronts along Broadway Street date to those boom years. The old buildings now hold local businesses, and the mining past is easy to trace from one block to the next.
A visit to Gem Mountain Sapphire Mine lets visitors sift through mining gravel for Montana sapphires, many of which can be cut into finished gemstones. Just outside town, Granite Ghost Town State Park preserves the remains of a silver mining community, with abandoned buildings that mark the region’s boom years. Those interested in local history can stop at the Granite County Museum, where exhibits cover the area’s mining industry and early settlement. Before leaving, many visitors make time for The Sweet Palace, a candy store that has become one of the town’s signature stops.
Livingston
Livingston sits on the Yellowstone River and serves as a northern gateway to Yellowstone National Park. Restored commercial buildings house an active arts scene, and the Absaroka Range rises just south of the rooflines.
The historic downtown works as the town’s main visitor area, with independent bookstores, outfitters, cafes, and long-standing local businesses inside restored commercial buildings. At the Yellowstone Gateway Museum, exhibits trace the region’s history through Indigenous presence, railroad expansion, and early settlement in the Yellowstone Valley. Small galleries across the downtown core show work by regional artists whose subjects often reflect the river valley and the mountains around it.
Red Lodge
Red Lodge marks the start of the Beartooth Highway, one of the highest paved roads in the country. Its compact, walkable downtown keeps locally owned shops and restaurants busy in every season.
The Beartooth Highway climbs into the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness and continues toward Yellowstone National Park, with steep mountain passes, alpine lakes, and long-range views. In winter, Red Lodge Mountain becomes a major recreation area for skiing and snowboarding, with terrain that draws residents and visitors alike. During the warmer months, hiking trails in the surrounding mountains open onto forests, ridgelines, and wildlife viewing areas. Downtown Red Lodge stays active year-round, with local businesses and historic buildings packed into a walkable core.
Choteau
Choteau sits where the prairie meets the Rocky Mountain Front, and dinosaurs put it on the map. Fossil beds nearby produced some of the most important dinosaur nesting discoveries in North America, and the town leans into that history.
At the Old Trail Museum, exhibits cover the region’s natural history, including fossil finds and artifacts tied to its prehistoric past. The surrounding country is known for wildlife viewing, with elk, deer, and many bird species in the foothills and open plains near town. Just outside Choteau, fossil sites linked to major dinosaur discoveries have built the area’s reputation in paleontology research. The Rocky Mountain Front opens onto hiking routes and wide viewpoints where the plains give way to the peaks.
Stevensville
Stevensville is the oldest permanent settlement in Montana, founded in 1841 as St. Mary’s Mission. It sits in the Bitterroot Valley between the Bitterroot and Sapphire mountains, and the town center still runs at a slower pace.
St. Mary’s Mission is the town’s most significant landmark, preserving the mission’s early buildings and marking the first permanent Euro-American settlement in what became Montana. The Bitterroot Valley around Stevensville is known for its orchards, farmland, and mountain views, and it serves as a corridor to nearby communities and recreation areas. Local boutiques and small shops fill a compact town center that reflects its long history. Hiking trails in the nearby foothills reach forested terrain, open meadows, and views of the Bitterroot Mountains, drawing the most traffic during the warmer months.
Virginia City
Virginia City boomed after an 1863 gold strike in Alder Gulch, and much of that town survived. Wooden boardwalks, original storefronts, and period buildings still line the Main Street, so a walk here doubles as a walk through the 1860s.
Historic structures throughout the town can be toured to see how miners, shopkeepers, and early settlers lived during the gold rush era. Several small museums and preserved buildings cover mining equipment, frontier life, and local governance during the 1800s. Costumed interpreters run seasonal reenactments as well, recreating daily routines and events from Virginia City’s early years.
Small Towns Worth the Detour
These eight towns show how much Montana packs into its smaller communities. Livingston and Whitefish put national parks within reach of a walkable downtown, while Philipsburg and Virginia City keep their mining-era streets intact and open to visitors. Choteau turns fossil country into a point of local pride, and Stevensville carries the state’s oldest roots. Anyone looking for genuine small-town hospitality will find plenty of it across these Montana communities.
The Montana Lottery offers multiple draw games for those aiming to win big.
Here’s a look at July 9, 2026, results for each game:
Winning Big Sky Bonus numbers from July 9 drawing
08-21-24-29, Bonus: 16
Check Big Sky Bonus payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Millionaire for Life numbers from July 9 drawing
02-15-22-54-58, Bonus: 04
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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