Montana

Billings Clinic Bozeman forced to lay off employees amid financial struggles

Published

2 years ago

June 8, 2024

Billings Clinic Bozeman forced to lay off employees amid financial struggles

BOZEMAN — Inflation and rising labor costs are just some of the reasons that Billings Clinic Bozeman is forced to lay off employees across multiple departments.

“If you look at it nationwide, about half the healthcare institutions in the country are losing money this year, and we have not been immune to that,” Says Zach Benoit, community relations manager for Billings Clinic.

This past April, the clinic let 15 members of their Bozeman staff know that their positions were being eliminated.

Affected departments include urgent care, behavioral health, ophthalmology, pediatric cardiology, general surgery, urology, and neurology. Positions range from leadership to support staff to specialty practitioners.

Benoit says, “Labor and supply costs have continued to go up. That’s not just here in Montana or even in the region. Again, that’s across the country; those costs just continue to go up.”

He tells MTN that insurance reimbursements, lower than expected patient volumes, and a changing healthcare landscape post-COVID all played a part.

“All of those really combine together to lead to what is really a difficult decision that we had to make to really ensure that we can stay in Bozeman to meet the needs of Gallatin Valley long into the future,” Benoit says.

Benoit says this restructuring of the clinic will focus mostly on primary care, pediatrics, and OB/GYN services. But many other support services will still be available, in person or virtually.

“One example would be that while this affects urgent care, we still offer same-day appointments through pediatrics and primary care, so that would be for adults and children. So we still have those services, they might just look a little bit different in that case,” he says.

Patients whose provider’s contract is ending will also be notified and employees who have lost their jobs in Bozeman can apply to other jobs within the Billings Clinic network.

I spoke with Bozeman Health about these layoffs. Dr. Kathryn Bertany, CEO of Bozeman Health comments, “Bozeman Health will be very welcoming of interested folks who apply for open positions, including clinical and nonclinical positions. We want to do anything we can to support valuable services remaining accessible for patients in this community.”

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Montana

Montana Lottery Powerball, Lotto America results for March 2, 2026

Published

2 hours ago

March 3, 2026

Press Room

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

Here’s a look at March 2, 2026, results for each game:

Winning Powerball numbers from March 2 drawing

02-17-18-38-62, Powerball: 20, Power Play: 2

Check Powerball payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Lotto America numbers from March 2 drawing

03-08-17-24-34, Star Ball: 06, ASB: 02

Check Lotto America payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Big Sky Bonus numbers from March 2 drawing

06-12-19-29, Bonus: 11

Check Big Sky Bonus payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Powerball Double Play numbers from March 2 drawing

21-28-58-65-67, Powerball: 25

Check Powerball Double Play payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Millionaire for Life numbers from March 2 drawing

28-41-42-50-55, 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.

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Montana

Apparent AI Glitch in Filing by Montana Public Defender, Recent Congressional Candidate

Published

14 hours ago

March 2, 2026

Press Room

Apparent AI Glitch in Filing by Montana Public Defender, Recent Congressional Candidate

Everyone makes mistakes, even experienced professionals; a good reminder for the rest of us to learn from those mistakes. The motion in State v. Stroup starts off well in its initial pages (no case law hallucinations), but is then followed by several pages of two other motions, which I don’t think the lawyer was planning to file, and which appear to have been AI-generated: It begins with the “Below is concise motion language you can drop into …” language quoted above.

Griffen Smith (Missoulian) reported on the story, and included the prosecutor’s motion to strike that filing, on the grounds that it violates a local rule (3(G)) requiring disclosure of the use of generative AI:

The document does not include a generative artificial intelligence disclosure as required. However, page 7 begins as follows: “Below is concise motion language you can drop into a ‘Motion to Admit Mental-Disease Evidence and for Related Instructions’ keyed to 45-6-204, 45-6-201, and 4614-102. Adjust headings/captions to your local practice.” Page 10 states “Below is a full motion you can paste into your pleading, then adjust names, dates, and styles to fit local practice.” These pages also include several apparent hyperlinks to “ppl-ai-file-upload.s3.amazonaws,” “ppl-ai-fileupload.s3.amazonaws+1,” and others. The document includes what appears to be an attempt at a second case caption on page 12. It is not plausible on its face that any source other than generative AI would have created such language for a filed version of a brief….

There’s more in that filing, but here’s one passage:

While generative AI can be a useful tool for some purposes and may have greater application in the future, when used improperly, and without meaningful review, it can ultimately damage both the perception and the reality of the profession. One assumes that Mr. Stroup has had, or will at some point have, an opportunity to review the filing made on his behalf. What impression could a review of pgs. 12-19 leave upon a defendant who struggles with paranoia and delusional thinking? While AI could theoretically one day become a replacement for portions of staff of experienced attorneys, it is readily apparent that this day has not yet arrived.

The Missoulan article includes this response:

In a Wednesday interview, Office of Public Defender Division Administrator Brian Smith told the Missoulian the AI-generated language was inadvertently included in an unrelated filing. And he criticized the county attorney’s office for filing a “four-page diatribe about the dangers of AI” instead of working with the defense to correct her mistake.
“That’s not helping the client or the case,” Smith said, “and all you are doing is trying to throw a professional colleague under the bus.”

As I mentioned, the lawyer involved seems quite experienced, and ran for the Montana Public Service Commission in 2020 (getting nearly 48% of the vote) and for the House of Representatives in Montana’s first district in 2022 (getting over 46% of the vote) and in 2024 (getting over 44%). “Его пример другим наука,” Pushkin wrote in Eugene Onegin—”May his example profit others,” in the Falen translation.

Thanks to Matthew Monforton for the pointer.

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