Montana
Increase in illegally-taken mountain lions in central Montana
Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks says there was an increase in illegally-taken mountain lions in central Montana in 2025.
According to wardens, five mountain lions were harvested in Region 4, and three hunters admitted they purchased their lion license only after shooting the animal.
The hunters were cited for hunting without a valid license or unlawful possession of wildlife. Total fines and restitution amounted to $3,605.
All of the illegally-taken lions were confiscated.
Game Warden Sgt. Trent Farmer said in a news release: “These are really just crimes of opportunity. Hunters are encountering lions while hunting deer or elk and then trying to buy a license after the fact. Hunters who want to harvest a lion need to plan ahead and purchase a license before the season begins.”
Full details on 2026 mountain lion hunting regulations, seasons, and quotas will be released later this summer.
Region 4 stretches from Glacier County to Petroleum County, and includes Lewistown, Great Falls, Havre, and Fort Benton.
From the Montana Field Guide:
A large cat with an elongate body, powerful limbs, small head, short face, short rounded ears, long neck and long, round, black-tipped tail.
Two color phases: buff, cinnamon, and tawny to cinnamon rufous and ferruginous, and silvery gray to bluish and slaty gray; young are buffy with dark spots, and the eyes are blue for the first few months; color of upperparts is most intense midorsally; sides of muzzle and backs of ears are black; underparts are dull whitish with buff wash across the belly; end of tail is dark brown or blackish; adult total length 171 to 274 cm in males, 150 to 233 cm in females; adult tail length 53 to 81 cm; greatest length of skull 172 to 237 mm in males, 158 to 203 mm in females.
Eyes set forward on head for sight hunting. Adult males weigh 150 to 190 lbs., females 70 to 120 lbs. Solitary, except for females accompanied by males or kittens. Females den in caves, rock crevices, brush piles, etc. with kittens and leave them there while hunting; usually hunt by stealth at night and cover unused food for later use. Males territorial, and large male home ranges may overlap smaller ones of females.
Residents should report any possible mountain lion sightings immediately to law enforcement or to Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks.
Montana
Montana Lottery Powerball, Lotto America results for April 15, 2026
The Montana Lottery offers multiple draw games for those aiming to win big.
Here’s a look at April 15, 2026, results for each game:
Winning Powerball numbers from April 15 drawing
13-21-27-43-45, Powerball: 26, Power Play: 5
Check Powerball payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Lotto America numbers from April 15 drawing
17-18-31-46-51, Star Ball: 02, ASB: 02
Check Lotto America payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Big Sky Bonus numbers from April 15 drawing
02-07-11-21, Bonus: 07
Check Big Sky Bonus payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Montana Cash numbers from April 15 drawing
02-13-18-38-42
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.
Montana
Kalshi sues Montana AG to prevent gambling enforcement
Jonathan Ambarian
HELENA (KPAX) — An increasingly popular online prediction market has filed suit against Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen, seeking to stop his office from enforcing state gambling laws against them.
The company Kalshi has filed a case in federal court, arguing that the state has no authority to regulate their operations.
Kalshi offers “event contracts,” where users buy a contract based on whether a predicted future event will or will not happen by a set time. If it does happen, users who bought “yes” contracts are paid out, and if it doesn’t, those who bought “no” contracts are paid out. Before the final resolution, the value of the contracts can vary based on the market, and users can sell them early based on that value.
Kalshi’s contracts cover everything from business and economic indicators to election results and other news events to sports. As the company has received more attention, it has also faced scrutiny from some states that consider its model too close to gambling. Kalshi has maintained it’s not the same because users’ contracts are financial “swaps” with other traders, rather than a bet against the market itself.
“Because traders do not take a position against the exchange itself, traders’ ability to hedge risk requires counterparties willing to assume risk in the hope of seeing a return,” the company’s attorneys said in their complaint.
Last year, an attorney representing the Montana Department of Justice’s Gambling Control Division sent Kalshi a cease-and-desist letter, saying that they had found probable cause that the company’s operations were gambling, “because participants risk money or other things of value for a gain that is contingent in whole or in part upon lot, chance, or the operation of a gambling enterprise.” They asked the company to stop offering event contracts in the state, saying they were seeking “voluntary compliance.”
Kalshi argues their operations are regulated by the federal Commodity Futures Trading Commission, like other financial markets, and that federal law overrides any attempts by states to implement additional restrictions.
“One of Congress’s avowed goals in creating the CFTC was to avoid the ‘chaos’ that would result from subjecting exchanges to a patchwork of 50 different—and potentially conflicting—state law,” the company’s attorneys wrote in their federal complaint.
In the complaint, attorneys said Kalshi believed it had reached an agreement with the state to delay any enforcement while a federal appeals court hears arguments in a similar case centered on Kalshi’s operations in Nevada. However, they said the state sent another cease-and-desist letter last week, so they filed this action seeking to prevent Montana regulators from taking any enforcement action.
In the Nevada case, a judge barred Kalshi from offering contracts on sports. However, an appeals court ruled in a separate case last week that New Jersey did not have the authority to regulate Kalshi.
In addition, the CFTC has announced lawsuits of its own against states that sought to regulate prediction markets.
MTN reached out to Kalshi’s media contact, but as of Tuesday evening had not received a response.
Montana
Montana Lottery Mega Millions, Big Sky Bonus results for April 14, 2026
The Montana Lottery offers multiple draw games for those aiming to win big.
Here’s a look at April 14, 2026, results for each game:
Winning Mega Millions numbers from April 14 drawing
17-21-24-57-69, Mega Ball: 12
Check Mega Millions payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Big Sky Bonus numbers from April 14 drawing
02-04-30-31, Bonus: 16
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.
- 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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