Montana

Headwaters Classic hosts Montana's largest youth lacrosse tournament

Published

10 months ago

April 28, 2025

Headwaters Classic hosts Montana's largest youth lacrosse tournament

BOZEMAN, Mont. — Lacrosse athletes from all over the upper Rocky Mountains flocked to Bozeman for the weekend for the Headwaters Classic.

“We try and host a tournament in Bozeman every year, unfortunately, with schedules it doesn’t happen every single year,” Headwaters Lacrosse president Mike Bonville said. “This is the first time we’ve had a tournament this size though.”

The Headwaters Classic was put together primarily by Headwaters Lacrosse and Treasure State Lacrosse , with help from Bozeman Lacrosse and Montana State University.

The tournament brought in over 800 athletes from Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming to compete on the campus of MSU. There were over 70 youth teams from 11 different club programs for both boys and girls, ranging from kindergarten through high school.

“This is the biggest spring tournament in the state’s history I believe, which is super cool, and we’re happy to be a part of it,” Treasure State Lacrosse event coordinator Hailey Blachly said.

But the Headwaters Classic wasn’t the only tournament that MSU was hosting that weekend.

Montana State’s club lacrosse competed with seven other colleges in the Rocky Mountain Lacrosse Championship on the Bobcats’ field. The college club conference championship along with the Headwaters Classic gives kid an inspiration for their future lacrosse careers.

“You can see yourself in their shoes and I think that’s really cool for kids out here to be able to see that there’s a path outside of high school lacrosse. They can go to college, and they can continue to play the sport they love,” Blachly said.

“The thing that’s very special is they get to see the path progression of the game,” Bonville said. “They’re working hard as kids and if they stick with it, there’s an opportunity to play at a pretty high level for the Bobcats or maybe somebody else.”

But the tournament of this size not only helps with the level of competition for the youth, it also invites more athletes to grab a stick and help grow the sport in Montana.

“Having these types of events where we have teams coming from out of state, playing all of the talent in state is really important just to keeping the momentum going with the sport,” Bonville said. “It’s a very fun sport, lots of action, and kids are busy out there on the field, and once they get the taste of lacrosse, it’s tough to beat it as a spring sport.”

It is unknown at the time whether or not the Headwaters Classic will return in 2026 to fit other club schedules. However, this tournament set the new standard for what lacrosse can be in the Treasure State.

“Having all of these teams come to Bozeman is great sign that Bozeman’s a great place for people to come, bring their kids, and play lacrosse,” Bonville said. “Our goal is to make this something that people plan on every year and it’s on the calendar, and it doesn’t matter if you live in Bozeman, Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, or beyond, you’re circling this weekend that you’re going to be playing in Bozeman at the Headwaters Classic.

“Sometimes its hard to get everyone from different areas of the state together in one spot, because there’s tons of different challenges,” Blachly said. “Headwaters, Bozeman, Treasure State, and MSU all being on the same page to support an event like this is awesome, and I think that bodes well for other places in the state in the future to say, ‘Hey, we can bring the youth, high school, and college together to have one event. We can work together,’ and that’s going to create awesome growth going forward.”

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Montana

Evacuation orders issued as 5,000-acre wildfire burns near Roundup, Montana

Published

29 minutes ago

February 27, 2026

Press Room

Evacuation orders issued as 5,000-acre wildfire burns near Roundup, Montana

ROUNDUP, Mont. —
The Rehder Creek Fire is burning 16 miles southeast of Roundup has grown to about 5,000 acres, prompting evacuation orders for residents in the Bruner Mountain Area/Subdivision.

The fire started Feb. 26, the cause is unknown and containment was at 0%.

Evacuation orders are in effect for all residents in the Bruner Mountain Area/Subdivision. The Musselshell County Sheriff’s Office is coordinating the evacuation orders, and 911 reverse calls have been sent out to advise people in the area.

A shelter is opening at the Roundup Community Center. Residents were told to contact Musselshell County DES for further information.

Firefighter and public safety remain the top priority. The public is asked to avoid the Fattig Creek and Rehder Road area so emergency personnel can safely and effectively perform their work.

Fire resources assigned to the incident include 40 total personnel, 11 engines, one Type 2 helicopter, three tenders and two dozers.

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Montana

February 26 recap: Missoula and Western Montana news you may have missed today

Published

13 hours ago

February 27, 2026

Press Room

February 26 recap: Missoula and Western Montana news you may have missed today

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Montana

Escobar, Jayapal, Members of Congress Call on Camp East Montana to be Shut Down – Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal

Published

1 day ago

February 26, 2026

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Escobar, Jayapal, Members of Congress Call on Camp East Montana to be Shut Down – Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal

(Washington, D.C.) – Today, Congresswoman Veronica Escobar (TX-16) – joined by Representative Pramila Jayapal, the Ranking Member of the Immigration Integrity, Security, and Enforcement Subcommittee, and 22 other Members of Congress – sent a letter to Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Acting Director Todd Lyons calling for the immediate closure of Camp East Montana in El Paso. They cite urgent humanitarian concerns following multiple deaths in custody, documented unsafe conditions, and serious deficiencies in medical care.

This marks the fourth letter Congresswoman Escobar has sent to DHS and ICE leadership. The previous three letters have gone unanswered.

The letter can be found in its entirety below and here.

“Secretary Noem and Acting Director Lyons:

We are urgently calling on the Department of Homeland Security (DHS or the Department) and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to shut down Camp East Montana in El Paso, Texas.

Camp East Montana has been operational for six months, and at least three people have died at the site since December 2025: Francisco Gaspar-Andres, Geraldo Lunas Campos, and Victor Manuel Diaz. The El Paso County Medical Examiner has officially ruled Lunas Campos’ death a homicide, citing “asphyxia due to neck and torso compression.”

Camp East Montana was constructed in a matter of weeks and opened before construction was complete and it does not have enough federal staff on-site to provide adequate oversight. Over the last several months, Congresswoman Veronica Escobar, in whose district this facility is located, has sent multiple letters to DHS and ICE regarding concerns about the conditions at Camp East Montana, and has received no responses.

According to detainees, there have been constant and consistent problems at the facility since it opened, beginning with the facility’s poor construction and poor ambient temperature control. Upon opening, the drinking water at Camp East Montana tasted foul and made some detainees sick. Detainees continue to be served inadequate meals, including food that is rotten or frozen; last fall, the facility was also consistently failing to make dietary accommodations for detainees. Detainees have shared that they have sporadic access to outside spaces and recreational areas, and that their dormitory pods are cleaned only once every eight days, despite pods housing up to 72 people at a time. Laundry services are not consistent, and people are washing their clothes in the facility showers. Additionally, the facility experiences flooding and sewage backups when it rains, leading to stagnant water.

One of the biggest concerns with the Camp East Montana facility is the inadequate medical care being provided to detainees. Our offices have heard that only the most ill detainees are referred to the medical unit and that there are inconsistencies as to how soon after arriving detainees are able to undergo initial medical screenings. Detainees with chronic health issues who rely on regimented medications for their health have had difficulty accessing necessary medications, including blood pressure medication and insulin.

At least one of the deaths that occurred in ICE custody, the death of Francisco Gaspar-Andres, appears to partially be the result of poor medical care by staff at the facility. According to ICE’s own account, Gaspar-Andres sought medical attention from facility staff for increasingly serious symptoms, but was only transferred to an area hospital once his condition had severely deteriorated.

In addition to our concerns about poor medical care, we are also aware that detainees have experienced irregular access to their legal counsel, including instances of detainees having only two minutes allotted per phone call every 8 days, which is contrary to ICE’s Detention Standards on access to counsel, and that the belatedly created law library lacks adequate resources for the amount of people currently held at the facility. In January 2026, ICE announced the on-site death of Geraldo Lunas Campos “after experiencing medical distress.” ICE opened an investigation into the death, but did not provide a cause of death. However, The Washington Post later reported that another man detained at Camp East Montana had witnessed guards choking Lunas Campos when he refused to enter a segregated housing unit. Weeks later, the El Paso County Medical Examiner ruled that Lunas Campos had experienced “asphyxia due to neck and torso compression” and ruled his death a homicide.

Lunas Campos is the first detainee to die at Camp East Montana as a result of a use-of-force incident, but we are strongly concerned that he will not be the last if ICE is allowed to continue operating Camp East Montana.

ICE was given $45 billion in taxpayer dollars in the reconciliation bill, $1.2 billion of which were awarded to Acquisition Logistics, LLC, a company with no previous experience managing immigration detention facilities, to build and oversee Camp East Montana. However, in the wake of three deaths in custody so far, continued concerns about conditions at the facility, and ICE’s apparent disinterest in responding to oversight letters from Congress, we do not believe Camp East Montana is being run professionally or responsibly.

Camp East Montana must be shut down. For the safety of everyone at the facility, for an end to abuses to detainees, and for fiscal responsibility to the American people, the site cannot continue to operate. We are calling on DHS and ICE to move to immediately close operations at Camp East Montana.

We look forward to hearing from the Department promptly on this matter.

The other co-signers include Representatives Yassamin Ansari, Nanette Barragán, Yvette Clarke, Lloyd Doggett, Maxwell Frost, Jesús “Chuy” García, Sylvia Garcia, Daniel Goldman, Jimmy Gomez, Henry Johnson, Stephen Lynch, Seth Moulton, Eleanor Holmes Norton, Delia Ramirez, Andrea Salinas, Janice Schakowsky, Darren Soto, Rashida Tlaib, Paul Tonko, Lauren Underwood, Gabe Vasquez, and Nydia Velázquez.

Issues: Immigration

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