Montana

Fentanyl still on the rise in Northwest Montana

Published

1 year ago

February 7, 2025

Fentanyl still on the rise in Northwest Montana

KALISPELL — Northwest Montana Drug Task Force Commander Alan Brooks said they seized their first load of fentanyl in Northwest Montana back in 2021.

“And I think there was 1,900 pills in that seizure alone, over the last four years we’ve seen that dramatically increase,” said Brooks.

“Probably seized close to 200,000 dosage units last year, where it was something that we didn’t even deal with before, now it makes up about 90% of our work,” added Brooks.

The Northwest Montana Drug Task Force is a partnership with regional law enforcement, tribal communities and the Department of Homeland Security to stop the flow of dangerous drugs entering Montana.

Watch the full story:

Fentanyl still on the rise in Northwest Montana

“Narcotics, dealing with other drugs, methamphetamine is still large, but the fentanyl one is the one that’s impactful obviously because of the accompanying overdoses that are growing and tragic,” said Brooks.

Brooks said the majority of fentanyl they seize originates from Mexico and works its way up the West Coast before entering Montana.

“Now we’re seeing a lot of powder, so the raw fentanyl compound. And that’s obviously alarming for us, there’s a greater risk of overdose, the effect on the street is a lot stronger,” Brooks noted.

Brooks said drug trafficking organizations are preying on Montanans as they see a high demand for product and fewer law enforcement patrols compared to other states.

He calls it a modern-day gold rush for drug traffickers.

Watch related coverage: Montana drug task force talks about drugs coming from Canada into Montana

Montana drug task force talks about drugs coming from Canada into Montana

“We’re seeing profit margins increase a hundred-fold, dosage units that would cost less than a dollar down in southern states are going as much as $10 to $20 on the reservations, so the price margin is huge,” said Brooks.

Brooks said the fentanyl they are seizing is extremely potent, leading to an increase in overdoses, especially in young adults and teenagers.

“Where we’ve had overdoses with juveniles and that’s just obviously something that we haven’t navigated in years prior, but because of the dangers in potency associated with this drug, it’s now occurring.”

The task force — which covers an area from Lake County all the way to the Canadian border — relies on grant funding to operate. Brooks said more support on a city, county and state level would help them fight this epidemic.

“Many a times I’ve sat with many a family and many of individuals who become victim to this and wondering what more can be done, and again having more resources is going to be helpful.”

Source link

Click to comment

Montana

Montana Lottery Powerball, Lotto America results for July 8, 2026

Published

10 hours ago

July 9, 2026

Press Room

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

Here’s a look at July 8, 2026, results for each game:

Winning Powerball numbers from July 8 drawing

12-29-37-43-55, Powerball: 18, Power Play: 4

Check Powerball payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Lotto America numbers from July 8 drawing

17-26-31-32-37, Star Ball: 01, ASB: 02

Check Lotto America payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Big Sky Bonus numbers from July 8 drawing

03-13-16-17, Bonus: 10

Check Big Sky Bonus payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Powerball Double Play numbers from July 8 drawing

06-27-33-44-69, Powerball: 23

Check Powerball Double Play payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Montana Cash numbers from July 8 drawing

08-16-17-22-27

Check Montana Cash payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Millionaire for Life numbers from July 8 drawing

16-18-43-48-50, Bonus: 01

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.

Source link

Montana

Montana signs onto data center energy cost protection pledge

Published

20 hours ago

July 8, 2026

Press Room

Montana signs onto data center energy cost protection pledge

HELENA, Mont — Gov. Greg Gianforte is backing a new effort to keep data centers from driving up Montanans’ power bills.

This week, Gianforte announced Montana is signing on to the Ratepayer Protection Pledge — an initiative endorsed by President Trump.

Several major technology companies like Amazon, Google, Meta, Microsoft, OpenAI, Oracle, and XAI first signed the pledge back in March.

The pledge comes as data center development continues to grow — raising questions about how much new energy will be needed and who will pay for it.

NBC Montana spoke with Julia Haggerty, professor of geography and department head of earth sciences at Montana State University, about whether Montana’s power grid is ready for that growth.

“Not without resolution of significant transmission bottlenecks and massive amounts of new generation. So, while our grid is adequately, relatively adequately equipped to serve the needs of our current load base, it’s definitely not equipped to accommodate the new demands without a lot of expansion,” she said.

According to the pledge, data center developers will pay for new power generation, and infrastructure needed to support their operations.

“It does align with ongoing regulatory efforts to ensure that the cost of new generation associated with data centers is borne by the developers of those data centers and not customers,” Haggerty said.

The governor’s office says Gianforte’s support of the pledge is designed to encourage responsible data center investments while protecting Montana ratepayers from long-term costs.

Source link