Montana

Helena Capital’s Vaughn Wirkus signs with Montana State football

Published

1 year ago

December 4, 2024

Helena Capital’s Vaughn Wirkus signs with Montana State football

HELENA — The man who protected Merek Mihelish’s right during a Gatorade Player of the Year-caliber season officially became a Montana State Bobcat on Wednesday.

Vaughn Wirkus, Helena Capital’s 6-foot-6 right tackle, was tabbed a three-star recruit by 247Sports, ranked the best offensive lineman in the state of Montana’s 2025 class, and the fourth-best recruit overall.

All three recruits (Grant Vigen, Vinnie Souza, Malachi Claunch) ranked ahead of Wirkus join him in Bozeman.

“It feels amazing, committing to the team you grew up watching,” Wirkus said. “Now you get to play for them? It’s a pretty great feeling…

“The DonJoy Mafia, [MSU’s] O-line, it’s a pretty crazy group and I’m really excited to play for them.”

Wirkus was a two-year starter and three-year contributor for the Bruins, helping pave a path for a team that averaged 6.8 yards per carry and scored 31 rushing touchdowns during a state championship-winning 2024 campaign.

Committed since July, Wirkus officially signed early Wednesday morning, becoming one of 24 athletes to sign early with MSU and one of four offensive linemen.

Helena Capital OT Vaughn Wirkus was one of 24 athletes to sign with Montana State University football on Wednesday as part of early National Signing Day. Wirkus started at right tackle during the Bruins’ 11-1 Class AA state championship-winning 2024 campaign.

Daniel Shepard

Those other three offensive lineman are: Nicholas Maloff (Meridian High; Idaho), Nate Thornton (North Kitsap High; Washington); Ben Winters (Kalispell Glacier High).

“It’s pretty surreal,” Wirkus said. “You wake up in the morning and you sign the real document…

“You’re like, ‘man I’m a Bobcat.’ It’s pretty crazy to go from a Bruin to a Bobcat.”

Wirkus was a second-team All-Conference selection a season ago, honors likely improved upon with 2024 Class AA football honors teams still unknown.

Weighing between 240 and 250 pounds, Wirkus said his priority this off-season and after stepping foot on campus will be adding size and speeding up footwork to match the Division I level.

Vaughn Wirkus Signing 2 — Helena Capital OT Vaughn Wirkus was one of 24 athletes to sign with Montana State University football on Wednesday as part of early National Signing Day. Wirkus started at right tackle during the Bruins’ 11-1 Class AA state championship-winning 2024 campaign.

Daniel Shepard

“That all comes with coaching,” Wirkus said. “The facilities there at Montana State are really fantastic, so I don’t think I’ll have any problem doing that.”

Wirkus reunites with former Capital players Tom Carter and Talon Marsh at MSU, standouts on the Bruins’ 2022 title-winning team. He is Capital’s second Division I offensive line signee in three seasons, joining Austin Buehler, who signed with the University of Montana as part the Griz’s 2023 recruiting class.

Other recent Capital offensive line commits include: Cole Dawes (Montana Tech, 2024), Barrett Hageman (Montana Tech, 2024), and Jack Gollehon (Montana Tech, 2025).

“He’s been a solid part of that offensive line here for three years,” Capital head coach Kyle Mihelish said of Wirkus. “We’ve gotten a lot of mileage out of Vaughn, he’s a good football player…

Vaughn Wirkus Signing 3 — Advertisement

Helena Capital OT Vaughn Wirkus was one of 24 athletes to sign with Montana State University football on Wednesday as part of early National Signing Day. Wirkus started at right tackle during the Bruins’ 11-1 Class AA state championship-winning 2024 campaign.

Daniel Shepard

“He has good feet. Usually guys who are that size don’t have good feet. He’s quick, he can move, he can run. The Bobcats got a good one.”

Email Daniel Shepard at daniel.shepard@406mtsports.com and find him on X/Twitter @IR_DanielS.

Source link

Click to comment

Montana

California woman sentenced for smuggling attempt at border in Montana

Published

9 hours ago

January 7, 2026

Press Room

California woman sentenced for smuggling attempt at border in Montana

MISSOULA, Mont. — A California woman who tried to smuggle her husband into the United States through northwest Montana has been sentenced to six months of probation, according to U.S. Attorney Kurt Alme.

Tracy Routh Lautenslager, 54, pleaded guilty in August 2025 to conspiracy to bring an alien into the United States at a location other than a designated port of entry. U.S. District Judge Dana L. Christensen presided over the case.

Court documents allege Lautenslager entered the U.S. through the Roosville Port of Entry on April 1, 2025, then drove to the Swisher Lake area near Lake Koocanusa. Border Patrol agents later learned a man had crossed the border on foot nearby. Canadian authorities eventually apprehended the man, identified as Lautenslager’s husband, a citizen of Great Britain with no legal status in the U.S.

Investigators say Lautenslager admitted the couple planned to avoid the port of entry by having her husband cross illegally while she drove into the U.S. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Katy Stack and investigated by the U.S. Border Patrol as part of Operation Take Back America.

Source link

Montana

Miley Cyrus teases Hannah Montana 20th anniversary: ‘You see the bangs’

Published

21 hours ago

January 7, 2026

Press Room

Miley Cyrus teases Hannah Montana 20th anniversary: ‘You see the bangs’

Move over Miley Cyrus, Hannah Montana is coming.

The “Flowers” singer is revisiting her Disney Channel roots, donning the signature blonde look of the fictional popstar ahead of the sitcom’s 20th anniversary in March.

At the Annual Palm Springs International Film Festival on Jan. 3, Cyrus confirmed she is involved with plans for the milestone date.

“Absolutely. We’re working hard on them,” she told Variety.

While she said she couldn’t say more about what’s in store for fans, Cyrus pointed to her blonde hairstyle, adding, “You see the bangs.”

Cyrus starred in the series alongside Emily Osment, Mitchel Musso and father Billy Ray Cyrus, between March 2006 and January 2011, and starred in the 2009 feature film “Hannah Montana: The Movie.” Under the Hannah Montana persona, she also released multiple platinum-selling soundtracks and headlined the Best of Both Worlds Tour, which grossed over $54 million.

What’s happening for the Hannah Montana 20th anniversary?

The Grammy-winning musician first teased plans for the anniversary in a July 22 interview on SiriusXM.

“I want to design something really, really special for it because it really was the beginning of all of this,” she said. “Without Hannah, there wouldn’t really be this me.”

“It’s crazy to think that I started as a character that I thought was going to be impossible to shed, and now that’s something that when I walk into a space, it’s looked at as this sense of kind of, like, nostalgia or something that you have from your childhood,” she added. “So, that’s exciting to get to celebrate that.”

Will there be a Hannah Montana tour in 2026?

Cyrus has not announced plans to tour as “Hannah Montana” for the show’s 20th anniversary.

While exact anniversary plans remain under wraps, a tour seems unlikely, as Cyrus has previously expressed a lack of interest in touring.

During a May 2023 interview with British Vogue, the “Something Beautiful” singer added that while she enjoys performing for her friends, noting that “singing for hundreds of thousands of people isn’t really the thing that I love.”

Contributing: Edward Segarra, USA TODAY

Source link

Montana

Montana State’s Taylee Chirrick earns second straight Big Sky Conference weekly honor

Published

1 day ago

January 6, 2026

Press Room

Montana State’s Taylee Chirrick earns second straight Big Sky Conference weekly honor

BOZEMAN — For the second consecutive week, Montana State sophomore guard Taylee Chirrick has been named Big Sky Conference player of the week, the league office announced Tuesday.

The 5-foot-11 product of Roberts scored the game-winning basket with 1.7 seconds remaining to lift the Bobcats to a 71-70 upset of Big 12 member Colorado on Sunday afternoon at the CU Events Center. Chirrick finished the contest with 21 points, which included a 7-for-7 effort at the free throw line.

Chirrick once again stuffed the stat sheet, pulling down a team-best six rebounds, while adding four steals, three assists and a pair of 3-pointers in the victory.

Chirrick is currently ranked third in the nation averaging 4.5 steals per game, and her 27 total steals rank 14th overall. Her 19.8 points per game rank second in the Big Sky and 28th in the nation.

Montana State opens the Big Sky Conference/Summit League Challenge on Wednesday at North Dakota State in Fargo. Tip is slated for 6 p.m. (MT) in the Scheels Center. The game will air live on the CBS Sports Network.

Source link