Montana
Former Montana State QB Sean Chambers gets NFL rookie minicamp invite from Carolina Panthers
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BOZEMAN — Former Montana State quarterback Sean Chambers was extended a rookie minicamp invitation by the Carolina Panthers on Wednesday.
The 6-foot-3, 221-pound Chambers, from Kerman, Calif., finished his career with 33 rushing touchdowns, the program’s second-most all time. He was was a first-team All-Big Sky Conference selection following his senior season in 2023 after finishing with 23 total touchdowns (14 rushing), 896 yards throwing and 671 yards rushing.
Slim Kimmel/MTN Sports
He also earned AP second-team All-America and Stats Perform third-team All-America honors for his performance last season. In 2022, he earned the Big Sky newcomer of the year accolade after transferring from Wyoming.
Throughout his career with the Bobcats, Chambers finished with 50 total touchdowns, 1,519 yards throwing and 1,516 yards rushing.
He joins former teammates Treyton Pickering and Clevan Thomas Jr., in getting a minicamp invites.
Pickering announced on Saturday he got an invite with the New York Giants.Thomas announced on Wednesday he received an invite with the Cleveland Browns.
No players from the Bobcats or the Montana Grizzlies were drafted, and none have signed rookie free-agent contracts as of Wednesday. All tryout invitations were reported by the Montana State football program via its X account.
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Montana
Montana Lottery Powerball, Lucky For Life results for Feb. 19, 2025
The Montana Lottery offers multiple draw games for those aiming to win big. Here’s a look at Feb. 19, 2025, results for each game:
Winning Powerball numbers from Feb. 19 drawing
06-21-28-49-60, Powerball: 20, Power Play: 2
Check Powerball payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Lucky For Life numbers from Feb. 19 drawing
07-21-30-41-42, Lucky Ball: 02
Check Lucky For Life payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Lotto America numbers from Feb. 19 drawing
03-22-23-35-41, Star Ball: 02, ASB: 03
Check Lotto America payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Big Sky Bonus numbers from Feb. 19 drawing
16-18-19-20, Bonus: 09
Check Big Sky Bonus payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Powerball Double Play numbers from Feb. 19 drawing
15-21-34-43-60, Powerball: 23
Check Powerball Double Play payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Montana Cash numbers from Feb. 19 drawing
02-13-19-20-21
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.
Missed a draw? Peek at the past week’s winning numbers.
Winning lottery numbers are sponsored by Jackpocket, the official digital lottery courier of the USA TODAY Network.
Where can you buy lottery tickets?
Tickets can be purchased in person at gas stations, convenience stores and grocery stores. Some airport terminals may also sell lottery tickets.
You can also order tickets online through Jackpocket, the official digital lottery courier of the USA TODAY Network, in these U.S. states and territories: Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Idaho, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Puerto Rico, Texas, Washington, D.C., and West Virginia. The Jackpocket app allows you to pick your lottery game and numbers, place your order, see your ticket and collect your winnings all using your phone or home computer.
Jackpocket is the official digital lottery courier of the USA TODAY Network. Gannett may earn revenue for audience referrals to Jackpocket services. GAMBLING PROBLEM? CALL 1-800-GAMBLER, Call 877-8-HOPENY/text HOPENY (467369) (NY). 18+ (19+ in NE, 21+ in AZ). Physically present where Jackpocket operates. Jackpocket is not affiliated with any State Lottery. Eligibility Restrictions apply. Void where prohibited. Terms: jackpocket.com/tos.
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.
Montana
FWP Unveils Second Phase of Project to Preserve 85,000 Acres of Private Timberland in Flathead, Lincoln Counties – Flathead Beacon
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Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks (FWP) is seeking public input on a proposal to put 53,000 acres of private timberland in Flathead and Lincoln counties under a conservation easement that would keep the land in production while protecting public access and wildlife habitat.
Last week, FWP published a draft environmental assessment that outlines the proposed second phase of the project, dubbed the Montana Great Outdoors Conservation Easement. In total, the project would encompass 85,752 acres of private timberland owned by Green Diamond Resource Company. The first phase of the project, which protected 32,981 acres in the Salish and Cabinet mountains, received final approval from the Montana Land Board in December. The new easement would encompass forestlands in the Cabinet Mountains between Kalispell and Libby.
Proponents of the Montana Great Outdoors Act’s first phase included timber interests, hunting and angling advocates, conservation groups, business leaders, and neighbors to the proposed land deal. The project is the culmination of a years-long effort by FWP, the nonprofit Trust for Public Land (TPL) and landowner Green Diamond Resource Company, which in 2021 purchased 291,000 acres of private timberland from Southern Pine Plantations (SPP), the real estate and investment company that in 2019 bought 630,000 acres from Weyerhaeuser Co., which acquired the land in 2016 from Plum Creek.
Despite the succession of private ownership, the land has been managed for de facto public access for more than a quarter century, in large part because the timber companies have been invested in long-term forest management as opposed to piecemeal development deals. But as demand for land intensifies in this corner of the state, so has a campaign to furnish permanent protections on northwest Montana’s working forests, which under a conservation easement can continue to produce lumber for local mills while allowing public access and preserving wildlife habitat, even as the state collects property taxes.
The property currently provides approximately 15,000 days per year of public hunting and angling use which would be secured in perpetuity under the easement, according to Jane Stoddard, bureau chief of the Montana Office of Tourism.
“This project has the potential to positively impact the tourism and recreation industry economy if properly maintained,” Stoddard wrote in a tourism report in support of the easement. “The opportunity to recreate in Montana is marketed to destination visitors from around the world. This includes emphasizing recreational opportunities in accessible locations.”
In 2021, Montana’s 12.5 million non-resident visitors spent over $5 billion in the state, according to a 2022 report from the University of Montana’s Institute for Tourism and Recreation Research (ITRR).
“The intent to visit has dramatically increased due to the pandemic and a desire for safe outdoor recreation experiences,” according to Stoddard. “Recreation access and activities are in high demand for both non-resident and resident visitors. Public access, vital to resident and non-resident visitors, could be limited or excluded if this project does not move forward.”
Jason Callahan, Green Diamond’s policy and communications manager, said the Seattle-based company’s support for the project, as well as a suite of other conservation easements either proposed or completed on its checkerboard of Montana timberland, is rooted in its tradition as a family-owned forest management company.
“This conservation easement is attractive to us because we retain full ownership of the land and full management discretion. It’s called a conservation easement but that’s just the name we’re given. We consider it a working forest easement,” Callahan said.
Despite setbacks to the timber industry, it remains a critical sector of the economy in Flathead and Lincoln counties, which produced 37% of Montana’s timber volume in 2022, with Flathead County producing 69 million board feet and Lincoln County producing 48 million board feet, according to the Bureau of Business and Economic Research (BBER) at the University of Montana. In 2018, sales from Montana’s forest products industry totaled $553 million and forest industry employment was 7,981 workers.
FWP is hosting a public informational meeting on March 5 from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. at the agency’s regional office in Kalispell, located at 490 N. Meridian. The public is invited to attend and ask questions about the project.
“The private property provides abundant public hunting and angling opportunities that would be permanently secured under this proposal,” according to FWP’s request for comment. “This project would conserve wildlife winter range and a movement corridor for elk, mule deer, white-tailed deer, and moose. It would provide critical habitat for federally threatened species found on or near the property including bull trout, grizzly bear, Canada lynx, and wolverine as well as protect streams for westslope cutthroat trout and Columbia River redband trout, both Montana Species of Concern.”
If the project is approved, Green Diamond would maintain ownership of the land under an easement owned by FWP. The easement would allow Green Diamond to sustainably harvest wood products from these timberlands, preclude development, protect important wildlife habitat and associated key landscape connectivity, and provide permanent free public access to the easement lands.
The appraised value of the proposed second phase of the Montana Great Outdoors Conservation Easement is $57,544,144.20. Secured funding amounts and sources include: $1,500,000 from Habitat Montana, $200,000 from the Montana Fish and Wildlife Conservation Trust, and $35,805,000 from the U.S. Forest Service Forest Legacy Program. The Landowner, Green Diamond Resource Company, will provide $20,039,144.20 (which is approximately 35% of the value) of in-kind contribution in the form of donated land value arising from the sale of the easement.
Completion of this project would build on the success of the nearby 142,000-acre Thompson-Fisher Conservation Easement (FWP), the 100,000-acre U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Lost Trail Conservation Area and other protected lands including the Kootenai and Lolo national forests, and the Thompson Chain of Lakes State Park.
The deadline to comment on the proposal is 5 p.m., March 15. To comment and learn more, visit https://fwp.mt.gov/news/public-notices.
FWP will review comments and forward a recommendation to the Montana Fish and Wildlife Commission on April 24, with a review and decision due by June 19. The Montana Land Board would then review the project and issue a decision on Aug. 18.
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Montana
Montana Slammed With 10th Polar Vortex
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Has this winter felt a little harsher than usual here in Montana? You’re not imagining things. There have been some major irregularities in polar vortex patterns this year, making for an extra brutal season.
I’ve lived in the West off and on for a few years now, specifically near Alpine, Wyoming, so I thought I was fairly prepared for whatever Montana had to throw at me. But I won’t lie—this winter has felt a little extra. So, I did some digging.
A polar vortex occurs when frigid air that usually stays locked in the North Pole gets disrupted by unusual weather patterns and shifts south.
Normally, this happens two or three times a winter. This year? The U.S. has been hit with ten polar vortex events—and winter isn’t over yet.
Meteorologists are studying why it’s happening more frequently this season, but for now, it seems to be an unusual but natural phenomenon.
Just last week, Montanans saw temperatures consistently dropping below -20°F, even setting a new daily record. Of course, that’s still a long way from Montana’s coldest-ever recorded temperature—a bone-chilling -70°F in Rogers Pass.
While we’re bundling up here in the southwest region, northeastern Montana is bracing for even more extreme conditions, with temperatures expected to plunge between -20°F and -60°F through Wednesday. And Glacier is under a winter storm watch, with winds gusting up to 60 miles per hour.
So, in comparison, maybe we should consider ourselves lucky… and break out the shorts.
Credit: APnews
Montana’s Top 10 Record-Setting Wild Weather Events
Montana is named Big Sky Country for several reasons, not only grandiose Sunsets but impressive weather events as well! Ask any Montana resident who has scoffed at the idea of tossing a blanket or snow shovel in the trunk of the car ” just in case”. Here is a list of Montana’s Top 10 Record-Setting Wild Weather Events
Gallery Credit: Brian Lee
6 Winter Weather Activities Bozeman Residents Love
Whether you’re looking for a thrill or something slower paced, Bozeman has plenty of incredible winter weather activities to keep you active and busy.
Gallery Credit: Will Gordon
10 Helpful Montana Weather Terms You Need to Know
Weather in Montana can be unpredictable. Here are 10 weather terms that you need to know.
Gallery Credit: Jesse James
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