Montana

The biggest public secret in Montana is one that has no easy answer • Daily Montanan

Published

1 year ago

October 3, 2024

The biggest public secret in Montana is one that has no easy answer • Daily Montanan

I’ll let you in on a little media secret: One of the most asked questions we get is exactly the one we can’t answer.

Here’s the question we get a lot, and we’re not alone in our inability to get answers: How much does the state of Montana spend on attorneys defending itself in court?

I get the question. The number of jobs the state has single-handedly created for attorneys should help boost the state’s monthly jobs and unemployment rate statistics. For four years of Republican control in almost all aspects of government, no bad idea has been denied the opportunity of legislation.

A lot of nonsense flew through the Legislature to the open arms of Gov. Greg Gianforte, who seemed only too happy to add his signature for the sake of furthering the alleged Republican mandate. For example, the Montana Supreme Court has repeatedly affirmed its decision to keep abortion legal through the 1999 case Armstrong vs. State of Montana, which hasn’t seemed to dampen the Republican enthusiasm to pass bills to restrict the practice, and thereby re-test the resolve of the courts. That has literally cost the taxpayers of Montana millions by re-litigating that which was already well established.

The logic, if you’ll excuse the abuse of that word, is that even the lawmakers know much of what they’re passing runs contrary to case law and the Constitution. That doesn’t matter. Their own legal staff have expressed concerns through legal notes. That doesn’t matter either.

These are show-bills that demonstrate how committed Republicans are to their own policies and satisfying a riled-up base. What happens after that truly becomes a matter for the courts and the state’s treasury.

The danger and fallacy of a supermajority is the belief that just because Montanans have generally supported Republicans, they support every single position that Republicans coalesce around. There are notable exceptions, for example, support for public lands even though the GOP has tried to curtail our natural resources and access. And, of course, Montanans seemed repeatedly enthusiastic about marijuana, leading to a tug-of-war where the people won the right to weed and the state’s coffers filled with a different type of green, despite the GOP’s attempts at paternalism.

But the challenge with all these challenges is that the taxpaying Montana public is supporting a cottage industry centering on state litigation, but no one — and I mean no one — can say what that means for certain. In other words, how much is bad legislation costing us?

Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen can hold onto his cowboy hat at this point: As much as he continues to add his name to any lawsuit that would seem to antagonize the Biden administration throughout the country, he’s got plenty of work here at home. And he doesn’t necessarily have a choice.

The Attorney General, by definition, is forced to defend the state, and by extension, the lawmakers who author and support some of these legally dubious bills, as well as the poor bureaucrats who are tasked with implementing them.

There have been so many lawsuits, it’s hard to track them all. Two years ago, after the contentious 2021 Legislature, we were tracking more than 40 lawsuits dealing with the state, the Gianforte administration and the courts.

One may think the exercise should be as easy as looking toward the state’s budget for the Montana Department of Justice and finding the literal bottom line. But that ignores how most people think the Montana Attorney General’s Office works and how it actually works in practice.

We get asked: How many lawsuits is the state fighting? How much has Montana spent on outside counsel? How much have these struck-down bills cost us?

We don’t know. We have asked repeatedly, and by “we,” I mean multiple members of the media.

The problem is one of budgets and categories. When asking the Legislative Auditor about it, they said the answer is not clear, and that Austin Amestoy of Montana Public Radio wrote a story about it a couple of years ago where the best he could do was estimate.

I have been and continue to be critical of the way Knudsen handles the Attorney General’s Office, but this time, he probably has a point.

Lawsuits come to his office in a variety of ways — from direct challenges to other officials getting sued in their official capacity, which then obligates the state’s legion of attorneys, housed under the Attorney General, to defend them. Which department specifically pays the bills depends on how the lawsuit is filed.

The other complicating factor, of course, is that sometimes the costs are borne by in-house counsel — that is, attorneys who work for Knudsen. Some other times, the counsel comes from the private sector.

And as anyone who has ever covered a lawsuit knows, the courts have their own pace, which can grind along for years, but the attorneys submit bills every month. Those attorney billing cycles may not overlap with budget years neatly. Now, compound that by dozens of cases and getting any sort of answer about how much we’re spending becomes nearly impossible.

So, this isn’t the case of government officials trying to “hide the ball” so as not to cause sticker-shock at the amount of taxpayer money we’re spending on attorneys.

Yet maybe the “how much” question, though, isn’t quite as important as the question: Why have we seen such a dramatic rise in challenged legislation? Or, what do Montanans have to show for all this legislation besides mounting legal costs?

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Montana

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

Published

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

Published

22 hours 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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Griz outlast power outage, surge to big win – University of Montana Athletics

Published

1 day ago

December 13, 2025

Press Room

Griz outlast power outage, surge to big win – University of Montana Athletics

The power went out inside Dahlberg Arena on Wednesday evening, delaying the opening tip of the Montana men’s basketball game by nearly two hours. Once the electricity returned to campus, the Grizzly men lit things up inside Dahlberg Arena.

Montana reached the 100-point mark for the third time this season, winning 102-46 over the Salish Kootenai Bison. The Grizzlies improved to 6-5 on the season with the win.

As a team, Montana shot 70.5 from the floor and 44.0 percent from three-point range. It’s the first time since 1968 that Montana has shot over 70 percent from the floor in a game. It’s also the 5^th best shooting percentage by a D-I team this season.

Money Williams had a double-double, his third of the season, finishing with 10 points and 11 assists. It’s the second time in Williams’ career that he has finished with 10 assists in a single game.

He wasn’t the only Grizzly to reach double figures in the assist department. Tyler Isaak recorded his first career double-double with a new career high 10 assists to go along with 16 points. It’s the first time in program history that two different players have recorded 10 or more assists in the same game.

It was a highly efficient night for Isaak, who played just 24 minutes and went 6-of-7 from the floor.

It was a complete team effort for Montana with 10 of the 11 players dressed scoring in the contest. Connor Dick (15) and Amari Jedkins (13) both scored career highs in the victory.

The Missoula kid can get 🆙#GrizHoops | @ConnorDick9 pic.twitter.com/YOg1yczxKD

— Montana Griz Basketball (@MontanaGrizBB) December 11, 2025

The Grizzlies had seven players reach double figures, the most in a single game in program history. Te’Jon Sawyer (13), Brooklyn Hicks (13), and Tyler Thompson (11) joined the previously four mentioned players in double figures.

The assists played a big role in that with Montana sharing the ball plenty. They recorded 30 team assists on the night, the second most in a game in program history. The Grizzlies had a 5:1 assist-to-turnover ratio on the night.

alley oop ☝️➡️👇 pic.twitter.com/xRz6XC0yyQ

— Montana Griz Basketball (@MontanaGrizBB) December 11, 2025

The Grizzlies held Salish Kootenai to just 27 percent shooting and a 6-of-30 (.200) mark from three-point range. Montana’s size played a huge factor on the night as the Grizzlies outrebounded the Bison 47-25 and outscored them 60-20 in the paint.

Montana scored 16 points off dunks as they broke out into the open court on several occasions for highlight reel slams. They also owned a 22-0 advantage in fastbreak points.

Montana jumped out to a 13-2 lead before the first media timeout and never looked back in win. They set the tone early from the three-point line, opening the game 4-of-7 from the arc to help build the early lead.

It was a balanced first half offensively and the Griz were able to go on five individual runs of at least six straight points with nine different players scoring in the opening 20 minutes. The Grizzlies went 8-of-17 from the arc and shot 65.5 percent from the field in the first half.

Williams’ 8^th assist of the opening half went to Amari Jedkins. The Grizzly forward knocked down a corner three to send Montana into the halftime break ahead 50-17.

8th assist of the first half from @mxney___ as he finds Amari Jedkins for the corner three to send us into the half 🔥 pic.twitter.com/UO9WGlnDeh

— Montana Griz Basketball (@MontanaGrizBB) December 11, 2025
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The Grizzlies didn’t let up in the second half, going on two separate 12-0 runs and winning the second period 52-29 for the big victory.

Montana will get a week off before returning home next Wednesday night to face Montana Tech at 7:00 p.m. The Orediggers are 8-3 on the season.

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