Montana
Listen to Llew – public trust funds make good sense • Daily Montanan
A widely published column by Rep. Llew Jones, who will chair the House Appropriations Committee in the coming legislative session, deserves serious attention by Montanans and our legislators. Why? Because Jones, R-Conrad, is breaking with 50 years worth of Republican opposition to establishing trust funds for state government. He says they make good sense for the state, the taxpayers, and the future — and he’s right.
The history of trust funds in Montana is long, starting with the 1972 Constitution’s establishment of both the Permanent Coal Tax Trust Fund and the Resource Indemnity Trust as well as the Public School Fund. In 2005 citizens voted to add the Noxious Weed Management Trust Fund to the Constitution.
These funds are protected so they cannot be ripped off by any given legislature to balance the budget in a fiscally tight year. It requires a three-fourths vote of both chambers of the legislature to bust the Coal Tax Trust, while the Resource Indemnity Trust “shall forever remain inviolate in an amount of $100,000,000.” Likewise the Public School fund “shall forever remain inviolate.”
The revenue for these trusts come from a variety of sources. The Constitution mandates “at least 50%” of the coal severance tax is dedicated to the Coal Trust. The Resource Indemnity Fund comes from “taxes on the extraction of natural resources.” The School Fund comes from revenue derived from school trust lands.
These trusts make sense because the funds are invested and earn interest that can be spent on the various purposes for which they were established — revenue that, as Jones pointed out, is from earned interest and has accomplished enormous, long-term good for our state and citizens.
What makes Jones’ support for more trusts exceptional is the break with past GOP opposition, primarily because Republicans have long sought smaller government, primarily by “starving the beast” through tax reductions. And indeed, they went well beyond that by continually trying to bust the Coal Trust throughout the ’80s.
Nor were they alone, as Democratic Gov. Ted Schwinden tried to use the Resource Indemnity Tax, which is meant to fund reclamation activities, for purposes of general government. He failed thanks to opposition from an “unholy alliance” of oil, gas, and hard-rock mining industries on which the tax was levied and environmentalists who wanted the thousands of historic mining and toxic waste sites throughout the state reclaimed.
Given that the Republicans are now completely in charge of Montana, the onus to deal with the plethora of needs falls entirely on them. It’s one thing to rail against government when the Democrats were in charge, quite another to deal with the realities of running a state when you own the Legislature, the executive, and the entire Congressional delegation.
Indeed, what Jones is suggesting is a proven method of producing revenue without continuous tax increases and should be “used for roads, bridges and water systems.”
He’s right, but as the quickly escalating impacts of the climate crisis hit Montana, we should establish an Instream Flow Trust to buy or lease water rights to keep our rivers flowing. Instream flows are critical for wild trout, but also provide the dilution for municipal and industrial discharges. Without dilution we just get pollution — and the consequences are stacking up — from the neon green Gallatin downstream from Big Sky to the algae covered bottom of the Smith River and the chronically-dewatered Big Hole.
Jones is right and the Legislature should listen to Llew and establish new trust funds to address new issues, with water quantity and quality being right at the top of the list.
GREAT FALLS — Blowing dust is becoming a major issue again on the Hi-Line as winds gust to 60–70+ mph, especially from Phillips County eastward.
Visibility has dropped to very low to near zero at times, and there have already been several crashes east of Glasgow near Nashua and Frazer. People are urged to avoid unnecessary travel in these areas if possible.
This is a very dangerous situation for travelers across northeast Montana. Blowing dust is causing near-zero visibility in many locations.
WATCH:
Hazardous driving along the Hi-Line
Highway 2 from Dodson to Wolf Point is closed until further notice, with only emergency travel allowed in these areas.
All red- and black-shaded roads and highways are experiencing severe driving conditions because of the low visibility.
MDT
Click here to visit the MDT 511 site.
(WEDNESDAY, MAY 13) A fast-moving front rolled through north-central Montana on Wednesday, May 13, 2026. The powerful winds gusted to more than 80 miles per hour in some areas.
Shaylan Verploegen shared video from north of Havre, showing a huge “wall” of dirt and dust in a unique weather phenomenon known as a haboob; watch the video and see other viewer photos here:
Fast-moving front kicks up walls of dust
The strong winds caused some damage. There were trees blown over in Havre, Great Falls, and Helena. Part of a roof was blown off in Box Elder, and there were several carports that were destroyed in Havre. There were also numerous power outages reported across the area, some of which lasted for several hours.
Check out more photos and videos shared by KRTV viewers:
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The Montana Lottery offers multiple draw games for those aiming to win big.
Here’s a look at May 13, 2026, results for each game:
Winning Powerball numbers from May 13 drawing
22-31-52-56-67, Powerball: 15, Power Play: 2
Check Powerball payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Lotto America numbers from May 13 drawing
17-18-28-37-42, Star Ball: 04, ASB: 02
Check Lotto America payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Big Sky Bonus numbers from May 13 drawing
02-06-10-16, Bonus: 16
Check Big Sky Bonus payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Powerball Double Play numbers from May 13 drawing
08-13-39-63-66, Powerball: 02
Check Powerball Double Play payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Montana Cash numbers from May 13 drawing
02-04-13-17-32
Check Montana Cash payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Millionaire for Life numbers from May 13 drawing
21-24-29-42-49, Bonus: 01
Check Millionaire for Life 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
Public Meeting at Hub on Smith Concerning Montana Water Call Prompting Priority Administration in Tongue Basin
Wyoming State Engineer Brandon Gebhart announced that on May 5, 2026, the State of Montana placed a call under Article V(A) of the Yellowstone River Compact to fill Tongue River Reservoir in Montana. As a result, priority administration is in effect on post-1950 water rights in Wyoming that divert water from the Tongue River and its tributaries and are not excluded from the compact.
A public meeting will be held from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. Monday, May 18, in the dining room of The Hub on Smith. Attendees are asked to enter on the north side of the building.
The Tongue River Basin has been experiencing drought conditions over the past year with historically low winter snowpack and streamflow conditions. According to the release, those conditions led to Montana’s interstate call and prompted the administration of the Tongue River Basin in Wyoming.
The priority administration will affect post-1950 water rights within the Tongue River Basin, including reservoir storage, stream diversions and groundwater withdrawals, all of which affect river flows. Post-1950 water rights will be regulated off or prevented from turning on. Wyoming hydrographer-commissioners will continue to administer reservoir storage and post-1950 diversions throughout the spring and work with affected water users until the administration is lifted.
As provided in the compact, domestic uses less than one-half acre in area and livestock uses, including stock reservoirs less than 20 acre-feet in capacity, are excluded from this administration. The release noted these excluded rights could be subject to future regulation to satisfy priority calls by senior Wyoming water rights.
Beginning May 5, 2026, Wyoming hydrographer-commissioners have worked to record the current storage levels of reservoirs with post-1950 water rights. Going forward, those reservoirs can continue to accrue storage so long as post-1950 storage gained after the interstate call on May 5 remains in storage until either the water is released to satisfy the Montana call or Montana lifts the call because Tongue River Reservoir will fill.
Reservoirs with unfulfilled pre-1950 water rights can continue to store water and that storage will not be subject to release to satisfy Montana’s call. However, that storage and other direct flow rights could be subject to regulation to satisfy priority calls by senior Wyoming water rights.
The priority administration will be carried out pursuant to state law by hydrographer-commissioners assigned to various portions of the Tongue River Basin, working under the direction of Division II Superintendent David Schroeder.
The Wyoming State Engineer’s Office can be contacted at:
Jack Morey, deputy state engineer, 307-777-5032, jack.morey2@wyo.gov
David Schroeder, Division II superintendent, 307-674-7012, d.schroeder@wyo.gov
Jeff Cowley, interstate streams administrator, 307-777-1942, jeff.cowley@wyo.gov
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