Montana
Is Montana’s Budget on Fire? – Flathead Beacon
Americans for Prosperity (AFP), a libertarian special interest group, would have you think so. And it is sending out postcards and online ads claiming that Republicans who worked with Governor Greg Gianforte to produce a balanced budget are “pouring gasoline on the fire.”
The problem is that the “accountability information” AFP is peddling is false.
Did the state budget “explode” by $16.5 billion? NO! That number is the two-year appropriation in the General Appropriations Act (HB 2). It is not how much the budget increased. The actual increase in the total state budget was $142 million over two years—a tiny fraction of the amount claimed by AFP—according to the official budget comparison as calculated per state law (17-7-151, MCA) and validated by analysts at the legislature’s nonpartisan Legislative Fiscal Division. Was there a 13.5% increase in state spending? NO! AFP’s number comes from considering only part of the state budget. The total state budget grew by only 0.7%, according to the official budget comparison cited above.
Did the budget grow at “2x the rate of inflation and 7x the pace of population growth”? NO! Budget growth was 0.7%—obviously much less than what AFP claims.
Is Montana running “massive deficits”? NO! he state constitution requires a balanced budget, and the budget we passed is balanced. Montana does not engage in deficit spending. Furthermore, Montana is the only bond debt-free state in the nation because of legislative actions taken over the past two sessions.
Was this the “biggest budget in Montana’s history”? Yes. But that could be said about any year in at least the recent past (I looked back 10 years). Why is that? A big reason is that inflation drives up the cost of providing the services that most Montanans expect, e.g., law enforcement, a corrections system, mental health and drug treatment, an education system, and management of our public lands, to name only a few. Good government is about providing those services as cost effectively as possible. Governor Gianforte and his allies in the legislature have been doing just that.
Americans for Prosperity might be forgiven if they simply misunderstood a thing or two about state finance. But AFP got so much wrong that one can only conclude that it willfully distorted the truth in order to mislead Montana citizens. Where I come from in Montana that’s called lying.
David Bedey is a Republican state Representative from Hamilton.
The Beacon’s 2025 photographic landscape stretched from the stark expanses of the Blackfeet Nation, to the marbled halls of the state Capitol, across the vast waters of Flathead Lake, to the tops of Glacier’s highest peaks, and onto protester-filled streets. The year delivered its share of turbulence in both politics and nature. Montana’s dynamic range reinforces photography is as much an art of capturing moments as it is an exercise in distillation. Of 50,000+ presses of the shutter this year, only about 5,000 of the resultant images made the cut for toning, captioning and filing into the archives. Those 5,000 frames were further culled to less than 50 for the end-of-year gallery.
The Montana Lottery offers multiple draw games for those aiming to win big. Here’s a look at Dec. 24, 2025, results for each game:
Winning Powerball numbers from Dec. 24 drawing
04-25-31-52-59, Powerball: 19, Power Play: 2
Check Powerball payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Lucky For Life numbers from Dec. 24 drawing
03-05-07-17-34, Lucky Ball: 09
Check Lucky For Life payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Lotto America numbers from Dec. 24 drawing
01-18-27-41-49, Star Ball: 09, ASB: 02
Check Lotto America payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Big Sky Bonus numbers from Dec. 24 drawing
05-25-26-31, Bonus: 12
Check Big Sky Bonus payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Powerball Double Play numbers from Dec. 24 drawing
03-15-19-29-35, Powerball: 21
Check Powerball Double Play payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Montana Cash numbers from Dec. 24 drawing
07-09-14-15-16
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 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.
The Montana at Montana State FCS semifinal game on ABC was the most-watched FCS playoff game on record, averaging 2.8 million viewers.
ESPN2’s Illinois State at Villanova game averaged about 400,000 viewers. The average of 1.6M viewers is the most-watched semifinals since 2009.
For comparison, last year’s FCS semifinals had two games on ABC, which draws more eyeballs than ESPN2. SDSU at NDSU on ABC averaged 1.58M viewers. South Dakota at Montana State on ABC averaged 1.37M. Last season’s title game of NDSU vs. Montana State on ESPN drew 2.41M.
This comes a week after the quarterfinal round drew its highest average audience since 2011.
Viewership for the six FCS playoff games so far on national TV is up 13% from the comparable six games on networks prior to the title game last year.
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