Montana

Child care challenges continue in Montana

Published

2 years ago

August 8, 2024

Child care challenges continue in Montana

HELENA — Child care is a tricky issue. A conference in Helena brought together industry leaders throughout the state to address the issues faced by businesses and parents alike.

“For parents, it’s an expensive service. A lot of parents rely on child care. So, when they don’t have access to child care then they’re not able to participate in the workforce, which has a big impact on our local and statewide economy,” says Caitlin Jensen, Executive Director at Zero to Five Montana.

The Montana Child Care Business Connect Summit aims to support child care businesses and address issues faced by the industry and parents.

Jessica Dehn owns 11 child care centers in Montana, Washington, and North Dakota and was at the conference on Wednesday. She’s found it difficult to balance keeping her prices affordable and paying her employees a living wage, especially in cities like Bozeman.

“Wages have gone up at my facilities about 50% or more, sometimes 100% depending on the role, over the last four years. And it’s still not necessarily a living wage in Bozeman, Montana,” says Dehn.

Dehn adds that she helps bridge the affordability gap through scholarships for qualifying families, but that the funding for those scholarships comes from inside the company. Covid relief that helped offset that burden is disappearing. She is also looking at other ways to offset costs, like partnerships with other businesses. She’ll be headed to Washington D.C. soon to possibly speak with lawmakers about other possible solutions.

“For the time being, I think the wins will be in the business sector more quickly, and helping government to see the state of the Montana economy is reliant upon this as well. I think people know that intellectually, but when it comes down to individual pocketbooks or funding like different budgets of different organizations at the state that gets more challenging,” says Dehn.

Other organizations are also working to provide parents with additional childcare options. The Helena Family YMCA has offered summer camps and after-school care in previous years but is preparing to launch before-school care and looking for a new space to host child care during work hours. The Y supports many low-income families, saying about 56% of their after-school children receive Best Beginnings child care scholarships.

Ashley Callison, Senior Youth Development Director at Helena Family YMCA, says child care is an essential cornerstone of our society.

“Just that it’s really important work and it’s valuable work that I think gets overseen a lot. And people don’t realize what a vital role that child care is in families lives and in our society because that’s how parents get to work every day and someone has to care for their kiddos and help them have great experiences throughout their childhood,” says Callison.

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Montana

Montana Lottery Powerball, Lotto America results for April 11, 2026

Published

2 hours ago

April 11, 2026

Press Room

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

Here’s a look at April 11, 2026, results for each game:

Winning Powerball numbers from April 11 drawing

06-47-49-53-60, Powerball: 06, Power Play: 2

Check Powerball payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Lotto America numbers from April 11 drawing

01-21-26-29-32, Star Ball: 06, ASB: 03

Check Lotto America payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Big Sky Bonus numbers from April 11 drawing

05-06-07-30, Bonus: 04

Check Big Sky Bonus payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Montana Cash numbers from April 11 drawing

18-20-26-37-39

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.
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

Missoula and Western Montana neighbors: Obituaries for April 11

Published

14 hours ago

April 11, 2026

Press Room

Missoula and Western Montana neighbors: Obituaries for April 11

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Montana

Federal Approval of Montana Logging Project Survives Lawsuit

Published

1 day ago

April 10, 2026

Press Room

Federal Approval of Montana Logging Project Survives Lawsuit

A 16,700-acre logging project outside Missoula, Mont. will continue after a federal judge ruled the US Bureau of Land Management adequately reviewed potential impacts to endangered grizzly bears and Canada lynx.

The agency properly calculated road density and the increased traffic through the Garnet Mountain range even if several routes have since become impassible through vegetation growth and will have to be cleared in critical habitat areas, according to an order issued Thursday by the US District Court for the District of Montana.

Judge Dana L Christensen granted summary judgment for the bureau in 2024 lawsuit over its approval of …

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