Montana
FWP announces emergency fishing restrictions on some SW Montana rivers

HELENA, Mont. — Fish, Wildlife and Parks officials announced new emergency fishing regulations are in place on the Big Hole, Beaverhead and Ruby rivers.
It comes after the Fish and Wildlife Commission adopted new regulations limiting fishing during the brown trout spawning season and harvest.
FWP released the following information:
New emergency fishing regulations are in place for the Big Hole, Beaverhead and Ruby rivers.
The Montana Fish and Wildlife Commission adopted the new regulations during its June 8 meeting. These restrictions limit angling during the brown trout spawning season and harvest in some stretches of the rivers.
Trout abundances in several areas of the three rivers have steadily declined since 2011 and are at or near historical lows. Meanwhile, fishing pressure in these areas has increased. The emergency fishing regulations aim to be responsive to fish populations in accordance with Montana’s draft statewide fisheries management plan.
The current fishing regulations for the three rivers are as follows:
Big Hole River
- Entire river
- oCatch-and-release for Arctic grayling
- Headwaters to Dickie Bridge
- oCombined trout: five daily and in possession
- Dickie Bridge to the mouth
- oOpen April 1 through Sept. 30
- oCatch-and-release only
- oArtificial lures and single-pointed hooks only. No treble or double hooks. Anglers may remove treble or double hooks from the lure and replace them with a single hook, or the shanks may be cut off the other hook points to leave a single hook. Lures with multiple hook attachments may still be used but any treble hook must be replaced by a single hook.
Beaverhead River
- Entire river
- oCatch-and-release for rainbow trout
- oArtificial lures and single-pointed hooks only. No treble or double hooks. Anglers may remove treble or double hooks from the lure and replace them with a single hook, or the shanks may be cut off the other hook points to leave a single hook. Lures with multiple hook attachments may still be used but any treble hook must be replaced by a single hook.
- Clark Canyon Dam to Pipe Organ Bridge
- oOpen third Saturday in May through Sept. 30
- Clark Canyon Dam to High Bridge
- oCatch-and-release only
- High Bridge to Barretts Diversion
- oFive brown trout daily and in possession; all fish must be less than 18 inches
- Pipe Organ Bridge to Barrett’s Diversion
- oOpen all year under standard Central District regulations
- Barrett’s Diversion to mouth
- oOpen April 1 through Sept. 30
- oCatch-and-release only
- High Bridge FAS to Henneberry FAS
- oClosed to float fishing by nonresidents and float outfitting on each Saturday from the third Saturday in May through Labor Day
- Henneberry FAS to Pipe Organ Bridge
- oClosed to float fishing by nonresidents and float outfitting on each Sunday from the third Sunday in May through Labor Day
- Highway 91 South Bridge (Tash Bridge) to Selway Bridge
- oClosed to float outfitting from the third Saturday in May through Labor Day
Ruby River
- Upstream from Ruby Reservoir
- oCombined trout: all may be cutthroat trout
- Downstream from Ruby Dam
- oCatch-and-release for rainbow trout. Angling is closed the entire year just below Ruby Dam, from its confluence with Ruby Dam outlet channel upstream to the dam, including the outlet channel.
- From Ruby Dam to Alder Bridge (Ruby Island FAS)
- oCatch-and-release for brown trout
- oOpen April 1 through Sept. 30
- From Alder Bridge (Ruby Island FAS) to the mouth
- oBrown trout: one daily and in possession, must be less than 18 inches
For more information, visit fwp.mt.gov/fish.

Montana
Montana Lottery Mega Millions, Lucky For Life results for May 20, 2025
The Montana Lottery offers multiple draw games for those aiming to win big. Here’s a look at May 20, 2025, results for each game:
Winning Mega Millions numbers from May 20 drawing
18-30-33-55-64, Mega Ball: 11
Check Mega Millions payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Lucky For Life numbers from May 20 drawing
05-06-16-29-34, Lucky Ball: 08
Check Lucky For Life payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Big Sky Bonus numbers from May 20 drawing
01-15-20-25, Bonus: 12
Check Big Sky Bonus 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 York, Ohio, Oregon, Puerto Rico, 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
Montana Viewpoint: The Big (true) Beautiful (not really) Bill

Jim Elliott
After all the concern about runaway government spending and the hand wringing about the budget deficit why on earth would Congress want to pass a tax bill that cuts taxes for the 400-plus American billionaires, pays for it by penalizing sick and lower income people and STILL increases the deficit by $3 trillion?
And, why on earth would the administration want to cut the IRS, the people that actually collect the taxes and root out tax fraud?
There’s an easy answer—to cut government by lowering the amount of money available to spend.
And that doesn’t sound like a bad thing until you look at what the American people ask government to do. When I talked to people who decried government spending years ago, I would ask them what government programs that they used would they recommend for elimination. Oh, well, that’s different. Ask your own self that question.
There is, and has been for a long time, a movement that wants to reduce government to the point where they can “drown it in a bathtub”. That’s a cute way to put it, but they are serious and now they are being successful. The reason for doing that is to get government out of the way and let them make as much money as they want.
Billionaires don’t need government like regular people do. They do not need government health care insurance, they do not have to rely on local police, they can pay out of their own vast wealth for all the things that regular people need. They can hire their own security, live in gated communities, keep a doctor on their personal staff. Well, good for them, but why should they make it hard for the rest of us?
It is hard to find a calm analysis of the “Big Beautiful Bill” Most of the Republicans think it is wonderful, for the Democrats it will be the end of the world as we know it. In truth, there will be tax advantages for most people, but there will also be increased hardship for those Americans who are sick and poor. The “deserving” sick or poor, I mean.
There will be work requirements for Medicaid and SNAP (which used to be called food stamps). That’s to lower the cost to the government and to cut down on fraud. Perhaps that’s to make being sick and hungry more attractive. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-Louisiana has claimed that there is an annual $50 billion in “fraudulent payments” to Medicaid. But that flies in the face of reality because such fraud as is being committed is committed by Medicaid providers, not patients. At the same time the President is cutting the number of Inspectors General who are the people who are supposed to ride herd on fraud. All this from the Kaiser Family Foundation.
So, America’s taxpayers with incomes over a million dollars a year will get a huge tax cut. They already award themselves an estimated $150 billion a year through tax evasion according to the IRS. In 2022 (the last year for which I can find information) the IRS estimated that there was $609 billion lost to tax evaders. Collecting that would offset the projected deficit in the bill in five years.
We will see what we will get, but I will always be amazed at those American billionaires for whom too much is not enough.
Montana Viewpoint has appeared in weekly and online newspapers across Montana for over 30 years. Jim Elliott served sixteen years in the Montana Legislature as a state representative and state senator. He lives on his ranch in Trout Creek.
Montana
New Montana law could see millions for public hunter access funding

HELENA — A new Montana law will increase the cost for nonresidents to hunt in Big Sky Country. The revenue generated will help fund public hunter access programs.
(Watch the video to learn more)
New Montana law could see millions for public hunter access funding
House Bill 145, sponsored by Rep. Gary Parry, R-Colstrip, was signed into law last week by Gov. Greg Gianforte.
The bipartisan-backed bill increases the base hunting license fee from $15 to $50 for nonresidents. Resident hunters are charged $10 for their base hunting licenses.
Nonresident hunters make up around one-seventh of the total number of hunting licenses sold yearly. In 2023, they represented around 80% of the revenue from deer and elk licenses sold.
Eighty percent of the funds will go toward funding block management programs, which provide payments to landowners who open their land to public hunters.
According to a fiscal note attached to HB 145, the new law is estimated to generate around $2.9 million in new revenue for the state each year, and would see around $2.5 million go into the state’s hunting access account.
HB 145 will go into effect on October 1, 2025.
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