Montana

Zooey Zephyr’s Defense of Trans Lives in a Deep-Red State

Published

1 year ago

October 2, 2024

Early last year, on a slushy predawn morning, I drove to the Montana state capitol building, in Helena, to see the legislature in action. The body is made up of a hundred and fifty “citizen legislators” who meet for no more than ninety days every other year, a schedule designed to accommodate their other, full-time jobs. The session has been described to me as a gathering of friends—there are only a million or so people in the state—or at least it felt that way, for a time. What I witnessed on the floor of the House of Representatives, against the literal backdrop of an enormous settlers-meet-Indians mural, was considerably more tense.

I had come to report on battles over L.G.B.T.Q.-oriented books in a local library system—a small front in the culture wars spreading across the state and the country. Montana’s bicameral Republican super-majority was pushing bills that criminalized the distribution of “obscene materials” by public-school employees, prohibited drag shows in public libraries and schools, and exempted public-school students from having to call classmates by their preferred names or pronouns. Another bill sought to bar medical providers from treating trans minors with hormones or gender-affirming surgeries, which some Republicans referred to as “amputation.” “I wouldn’t call that health care,” the House speaker, Matt Regier, whose sister and father were also members of the legislature, told me in an interview at the time. At the start of the session, the Republican governor, Greg Gianforte, had preëmptively requested 2.6 million dollars to cover the expected cost of defending the state against lawsuits by civil-liberties groups.

The day I visited, legislators were debating the names-and-pronouns bill. Zooey Zephyr, a Democrat and a trans woman representing Missoula, and one of two trans or nonbinary members of the House, called it “inherently discriminatory” and tantamount to bullying. In the following weeks, she continued to speak during floor debate, rising from her seat, No. 31, with increasing fervor. When, in April, the legislature took up Senate Bill 99, the one concerning medical care for trans minors, Zephyr said to its proponents, “If you vote yes on this bill, and yes on these amendments, I hope the next time there’s an invocation, when you bow your heads in prayer, you see the blood on your hands.” She quickly became a national symbol of L.G.B.T.Q. resistance.

Regier responded by refusing to give her the floor unless she apologized. Protesters showed up a few days later to yell “Let her speak”; seven were arrested. House members then voted to bar Zephyr from the chamber for the remainder of the legislative session. As the New Yorker contributor Abe Streep wrote, it was “the latest in a string of incidents involving Republican-controlled legislatures muzzling elected Democratic colleagues. In Tennessee, legislators expelled Black representatives speaking about gun control; in Nebraska, a Democrat who testified against a bill similar to S.B. 99, and who has a transgender child, was investigated for having a conflict of interest.”

Zephyr’s journey through the final weeks of the 2023 legislative session is the subject of “Seat 31: Zooey Zephyr,” a short documentary by Kimberly Reed, herself a trans woman from Montana. I first encountered Reed through her feature-length film “Dark Money” (released after a book of the same title by my colleague Jane Mayer), which examines the impact of the Supreme Court’s 2010 decision in Citizens United v. F.E.C. on campaign finance, journalism, and public accountability in Montana. More recently, Reed directed an episode of the miniseries “Equal” (now on Max) that’s in part about the trans Montanan Jack Starr, who, between the nineteen-twenties and forties, was repeatedly arrested for dressing as a dapper frontiersman. In Zephyr, Reed identified a similarly courageous figure. “It was clear Montana was turning redder, Trumpier, scarier,” Reed told me. “The political backslapping, the ‘aw, shucks,’ still-have-drinks-at-the-end-of-the-day thing was really eroding.”

As a matter of politics, “Seat 31” tells a gloomy tale: S.B. 99 gets passed, and Zephyr is forced to finish out the session from a bench next to the tiny statehouse snack bar. Yet Reed’s character study manages to show Zephyr’s sense of humor—and faith in the eventual triumph of Montanans’ live-and-let-live attitude. When Zephyr is relegated to the bench, she jokes, “Finally, transparency in government! Open doors!” When the session concludes, she clears out the seat she was barred from and chats cordially with a few fellow-legislators. A sweet, personal moment arrives soon afterward, when Zephyr and her long-distance girlfriend, the trans journalist Erin Reed, take the stage at Missoula’s Queer Prom.

Zephyr is running for reëlection this fall, as is the Democrat SJ Howell, who represents a neighboring district in Missoula and identifies as trans and nonbinary. The two are minorities within a super-minority—but they’ll likely be back at the statehouse in 2025. ♦

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Related Topics:Featured l.g.b.t.q. rights Montana State Legislatures

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Montana

Oregon women earn 11th victory with win over Montana State

Published

5 hours ago

December 15, 2025

Press Room

Oregon women earn 11th victory with win over Montana State

Oregon women’s basketball moved to 11-1 following a 69-44 win over Montana State Sunday at Matthew Knight Arena.

Four of Oregon’s starters scored in double figures, led by guard Sofia Bell’s 15 points.

Mia Jacobs added 13 points and 10 rebounds. Katie Fiso and Ari Long each scored 10 points. Fiso added five assists.

Oregon (11-1) struggled shooting, hitting 19 of 58 field goal attempts (32.8%), including 9 of 31 from three-point range (29%). However, those numbers were mainly dragged down in the fourth quarter when the game was well in hand.

Oregon, which led 37-14 at halftime, shot just 22.2% from the field in the final quarter and missed all seven of its three-point attempts. MSU won the quarter 16-11.

Bell went 4 of 8 from long distance, Jacobs went 3 of 8 and Long made both of her three-point attempts. The rest of the team went 0-for-13.

Montana State (6-3) received 14 points and four rebounds from Jamison Philip. The Bobcats shot 1 of 19 from three-point range and committed 23 turnovers that the Ducks converted into 25 points.

Next up: The Ducks host Portland (7-4) at 11 a.m. on Thursday. The Pilots defeated Kent State 88-78 on Sunday.

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Montana

FCS playoffs roundup: There will be an all-Montana semifinal in the FCS playoffs

Published

17 hours ago

December 14, 2025

Press Room

FCS playoffs roundup: There will be an all-Montana semifinal in the FCS playoffs

MISSOULA, Mont. — The No. 3-seeded Montana Grizzlies proved too much to handle on Saturday afternoon, overwhelming the No. 11-seeded South Dakota Coyotes 52-22 in the FCS playoff quarterfinals at Washington-Grizzly Stadium.

The Griz used the home crowd to their advantage in an all-around dominant performance in all three phases of the game in front of a home crowd of 22,750 fans. The win sets up an all-Montana semifinal in the FCS playoffs as the Griz will go to face No. 2 Montana State on Dec. 20 for a trip to the national championship.

Montana’s Keali’i Ah Yat had 305 yards and three passing scores, as Michael Wortham had 11 catches for 201 yards and two receiving touchdowns, as well as 43 rushing yards and a score.

All told, the Coyotes had 63 plays on offense for 351 total yards, but the 10 offensive penalties seemed to be a key difference in finding any consistency.

Montana State advances with decisive victory

BOZEMAN, Mont. — Montana State ran for 227 yards as the Bobcats dominated the third-ranked rush defense in the country en route to beating Stephen F. Austin 44-28 on Friday to advance to the FCS playoff semifinals.

Adam Jones finished with 117 yards and Julius Davis had 96 on the ground for Montana State, which jumped out to a 24-0 lead. Justin Lamson had 246 passing yards for the Bobcats.

Villanova holds down Tarleton State to advance

STEPHENVILLE, Texas — Villanova overcame a 14-0 deficit as the No. 12 Wildcats beat fourth-seeded Tarleton State 26-21 on Saturday.

It is the fourth time in program history and the first time since 2010 that ‘Nova advanced to the semifinals. The Wildcats held Tarleton State to 56 yards rushing and 266 total yards while racking up 426 overall on their own.

Ja’briel Mace had a 47-yard run to trim Tarleton State’s lead to 21-19 in the third quarter and Braden Reed hauled in an 11-yard TD pass in the fourth to complete the comeback.

Dawson runs Illinois State past UC Davis

DAVIS, Calif. — Victor Dawson carried 29 times for 148 yards and Tommy Rittenhouse threw a 93-yard TD pass as Illinois State beat UC-Davis 42-31 on Saturday, one week after the Redbirds upset North Dakota State in Fargo.

Rittenhouse finished 15 of 20 for 266 yards and three touchdowns and one interception. Daniel Sobkowicz had six receptions for 150 yards and two scores.

Davis quarterback Caden Pinnick was 24 of 41 for 402 yards with three touchdowns and a pick.

Trey Houchin of the Mitchell Republic contributed to this report.

Our newsroom occasionally reports stories under a byline of “staff.” Often, the “staff” byline is used when rewriting basic news briefs that originate from official sources, such as a city press release about a road closure, and which require little or no reporting. At times, this byline is used when a news story includes numerous authors or when the story is formed by aggregating previously reported news from various sources. If outside sources are used, it is noted within the story.

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Montana

Montana Lottery Powerball, Lucky For Life results for Dec. 13, 2025

Published

1 day ago

December 14, 2025

Press Room

The Montana Lottery offers multiple draw games for those aiming to win big. Here’s a look at Dec. 13, 2025, results for each game:

Winning Powerball numbers from Dec. 13 drawing

01-28-31-57-58, Powerball: 16, Power Play: 2

Check Powerball payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Lucky For Life numbers from Dec. 13 drawing

12-18-19-24-35, Lucky Ball: 17

Check Lucky For Life payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Lotto America numbers from Dec. 13 drawing

20-26-27-32-46, Star Ball: 08, ASB: 02

Check Lotto America payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Big Sky Bonus numbers from Dec. 13 drawing

04-06-11-31, Bonus: 09

Check Big Sky Bonus payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Montana Cash numbers from Dec. 13 drawing

01-16-18-31-37

Check Montana Cash 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.

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

Winning lottery numbers are sponsored by Jackpocket, the official digital lottery courier of the USA TODAY Network.

Where can you buy lottery tickets?

Tickets can be purchased in person at gas stations, convenience stores and grocery stores. Some airport terminals may also sell lottery tickets.

You can also order tickets online through Jackpocket, the official digital lottery courier of the USA TODAY Network, in these U.S. states and territories: Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Idaho, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Puerto Rico, Washington D.C., and West Virginia. The Jackpocket app allows you to pick your lottery game and numbers, place your order, see your ticket and collect your winnings all using your phone or home computer.

Jackpocket is the official digital lottery courier of the USA TODAY Network. Gannett may earn revenue for audience referrals to Jackpocket services. GAMBLING PROBLEM? CALL 1-800-GAMBLER, Call 877-8-HOPENY/text HOPENY (467369) (NY). 18+ (19+ in NE, 21+ in AZ). Physically present where Jackpocket operates. Jackpocket is not affiliated with any State Lottery. Eligibility Restrictions apply. Void where prohibited. Terms: jackpocket.com/tos.

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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