Montana

Increase in illegally-taken mountain lions in central Montana

Published

2 months ago

March 13, 2026

Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks says there was an increase in illegally-taken mountain lions in central Montana in 2025.

According to wardens, five mountain lions were harvested in Region 4, and three hunters admitted they purchased their lion license only after shooting the animal.

The hunters were cited for hunting without a valid license or unlawful possession of wildlife. Total fines and restitution amounted to $3,605.

All of the illegally-taken lions were confiscated.

Game Warden Sgt. Trent Farmer said in a news release: “These are really just crimes of opportunity. Hunters are encountering lions while hunting deer or elk and then trying to buy a license after the fact. Hunters who want to harvest a lion need to plan ahead and purchase a license before the season begins.”

Full details on 2026 mountain lion hunting regulations, seasons, and quotas will be released later this summer.

Region 4 stretches from Glacier County to Petroleum County, and includes Lewistown, Great Falls, Havre, and Fort Benton.

From the Montana Field Guide:

A large cat with an elongate body, powerful limbs, small head, short face, short rounded ears, long neck and long, round, black-tipped tail.
Two color phases: buff, cinnamon, and tawny to cinnamon rufous and ferruginous, and silvery gray to bluish and slaty gray; young are buffy with dark spots, and the eyes are blue for the first few months; color of upperparts is most intense midorsally; sides of muzzle and backs of ears are black; underparts are dull whitish with buff wash across the belly; end of tail is dark brown or blackish; adult total length 171 to 274 cm in males, 150 to 233 cm in females; adult tail length 53 to 81 cm; greatest length of skull 172 to 237 mm in males, 158 to 203 mm in females.
Advertisement

Eyes set forward on head for sight hunting. Adult males weigh 150 to 190 lbs., females 70 to 120 lbs. Solitary, except for females accompanied by males or kittens. Females den in caves, rock crevices, brush piles, etc. with kittens and leave them there while hunting; usually hunt by stealth at night and cover unused food for later use. Males territorial, and large male home ranges may overlap smaller ones of females.

Residents should report any possible mountain lion sightings immediately to law enforcement or to Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks.

Source link

Montana

Montana Lottery Big Sky Bonus, Millionaire for Life results for April 30, 2026

Published

2 hours ago

May 1, 2026

Press Room

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

Here’s a look at April 30, 2026, results for each game:

Winning Big Sky Bonus numbers from April 30 drawing

07-09-18-28, Bonus: 07

Check Big Sky Bonus payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Millionaire for Life numbers from April 30 drawing

05-19-21-42-55, Bonus: 03

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

Belgrade tap water named best in Montana

Published

14 hours ago

April 30, 2026

Press Room

Belgrade tap water named best in Montana

BUTTE, Mont. — The city of Belgrade has earned some serious bragging rights.

The city of Belgrade’s tap water won a blind taste test on Thursday morning at a joint conference of the Montana Section of the American Water Works Association (MSAWWA) and the Montana Water Environment Association (MWEA).

Belgrade now moves onto the national AWWA annual conference in Washington D.C. in June, where they will compete for the People’s Choice and Best of The Best Awards.

Montana tap water has scored well at the national conference in the past. In 2015, the Big Sky County Water and Sewer District won the Best of the Best award. In 2019, Bozeman won third place in the Best of the Best competition.

Water is judged based on taste, clarity, aftertaste, and odor.

“It is definitely a point of pride and a little bit competitive between communities around Montana. It’s pretty fun to see the operators that work so hard on their water sources and bringing that into their communities to be able to take that to even the state level and the national level, and take home a prize for that,” said Carrie Gardner, national director for the Montana section of the AWWA and a water/wastewater regional team manager for Great West Engineering. “So, it’s truly important to everyone here just to deliver clean, safe, water. But that’s also a fun aspect, to be able to have some bragging rights, too.”

Belgrade was one of only three cities that provided samples of their water to the conference this year, joining Missoula and Kalispell.

Thursday’s taste test was part of the final day of the conference, where operators, engineers, consultants, and regulators from across the state work together to protect Montana’s water resources.

This year’s conference theme was Resiliency and Risk.

“All of us are here because we care about the communities we live in in Montana and being able to have drought resistant systems,” said Gardner. “Water is a critical resource. So our focus is delivering clean water, public health, and safety. Making sure we have sources available, and, that we’re cleaning that water going back so we can have less environmental impacts and be able to reduce the issues that drought causes.”

Source link

Montana

Montana Lottery Powerball, Lotto America results for April 29, 2026

Published

1 day ago

April 30, 2026

Press Room

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

Here’s a look at April 29, 2026, results for each game:

Winning Powerball numbers from April 29 drawing

03-19-35-51-67, Powerball: 15, Power Play: 2

Check Powerball payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Lotto America numbers from April 29 drawing

06-19-24-30-48, Star Ball: 04, ASB: 05

Check Lotto America payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Big Sky Bonus numbers from April 29 drawing

16-18-27-28, Bonus: 05

Check Big Sky Bonus payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Powerball Double Play numbers from April 29 drawing

07-52-56-67-69, Powerball: 03

Check Powerball Double Play payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Montana Cash numbers from April 29 drawing

11-14-24-29-45

Check Montana Cash payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Millionaire for Life numbers from April 29 drawing

05-10-17-21-42, Bonus: 02

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