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Montana could be an energy leader, but we’ve fallen behind

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Montana could be an energy leader, but we’ve fallen behind



A blast of Arctic air is nothing new for Montana – most of us have plenty of practice dealing with extreme cold and working together to keep ourselves and our neighbors safe.

But something rang different this time. Instead of reassurance that we’ll get through this together, and that Montanans always have each other’s backs, some of our statewide leaders used the dangerous weather as another opportunity to snipe at their constituents and make divisive comments.

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Matt Rosendale posed in front of an idle wind farm on Saturday, braving the cold weather to make potshots at one of Montana’s most valuable resources. In a separate post that same day, Rosendale mocked Montana’s new electric school buses, which will help protect our kids from air pollution. His point, in both cases, is that fossil fuels are the only way we can survive.

But Rosendale may not have been aware that Colstrip had been running at half speed for nearly a week before he made his posts. Around midnight on Jan. 6, Colstrip’s output began to decrease, and it remained around half its normal capacity until Friday night. By Saturday morning, the power plant was back to full steam.

Later that same day, a major natural gas storage hub in Washington State went offline, halting gas distribution to the 1,500 mile long Northwest Pipeline. This pipeline serves millions of homes throughout a multistate region, and the outage triggered immediate calls for reduced energy use.

But the lights stayed on. We all remained warm and safe. No one except energy nerds like me noticed these disruptions. Why? Because we have an amazing, interconnected electricity grid that allows energy from different sources and regions to go where it’s needed. It’s a great example of the power of cooperation.

While some people can’t resist the temptation to use an emergency to prop their favorite energy source (or major political donor, in Rosendale’s case), events like this stress the entire system. There is no single type of energy that solves every problem. But what does solve these problems is a diverse blend of energy sources connected by a robust grid. Want proof? Just look at Texas with their isolated grid – and frequent electricity shortages. 

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Meanwhile, Sen. Steve Daines used the subzero temperatures as an opportunity to mock the whole idea of global warming. This cringeworthy comment came while many people in his hometown were suffering in the cold in camping trailers and makeshift housing. But Daines at least got one part right: Global warming is indeed a global problem. When Arctic air flows southward, the Artic becomes unusually warm. So while Montana was frigid, it was raining in Greenland. As the globe continues to warm, it will continue to drive extreme weather events, even above and beyond our normal extremes. 

But there are solutions to these problems, thankfully. Energy is shifting from fewer, larger (and heavily polluting) power plants to smaller, more diverse, and more nimble power generation. We’re seeing exciting innovations in efficiency, energy storage, and ways to capture energy from wind, sun and geothermal heat. Montana has tremendous potential – thanks to our natural resources, our location near energy-hungry markets on the West Coast, and most of all from our hardworking people. We could be national leaders in today’s energy technology. Alas, we are not. States all around us have passed us in manufacturing and deployment of modern and cleaner energy infrastructure. Montana seems stuck in the past, unable to envision a cleaner future, while places like South Dakota, Iowa, and Georgia have become the new wave of energy leaders. 

Montana has almost everything we need to catch up with other states. But perhaps the first step is for our leadership to want to make Montana better and stronger, and help steer us toward new areas of expertise. Instead of using the cold weather as an opportunity to learn and plan, they used it as a means to divide and diminish us. And that, sadly, is a complete waste of energy.

Karin Kirk is a geologist, science journalist, and ski instructor from Bozeman.



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Montana Lottery Powerball, Lotto America results for March 4, 2026

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The Montana Lottery offers multiple draw games for those aiming to win big.

Here’s a look at March 4, 2026, results for each game:

Winning Powerball numbers from March 4 drawing

07-14-42-47-56, Powerball: 06, Power Play: 4

Check Powerball payouts and previous drawings here.

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Winning Lotto America numbers from March 4 drawing

33-38-39-47-51, Star Ball: 07, ASB: 02

Check Lotto America payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Big Sky Bonus numbers from March 4 drawing

01-07-08-27, Bonus: 12

Check Big Sky Bonus payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Powerball Double Play numbers from March 4 drawing

05-10-26-53-59, Powerball: 06

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Check Powerball Double Play payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Montana Cash numbers from March 4 drawing

03-04-06-08-10

Check Montana Cash payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Millionaire for Life numbers from March 4 drawing

12-13-36-39-58, Bonus: 03

Check Millionaire for Life payouts and previous drawings here.

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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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University of Montana president job draws high interest • Daily Montanan

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University of Montana president job draws high interest • Daily Montanan


The search for a new University of Montana president has drawn more than 60 applicants, according to a spokesperson for the Office of the Commissioner of Higher Education.

“We do not have an exact count at this time, as several applications are still being completed and additional submissions are expected,” said spokesperson and Deputy Commissioner Galen Hollenbaugh in an email earlier this week.

In January, then-UM-President Seth Bodnar announced his resignation to pursue other public service. Wednesday, the final day of filing, he announced he was running as an independent for the U.S. Senate to try to unseat Republican incumbent Steve Daines.

Commissioner of Higher Education Clayton Christian earlier said that with the advice of AGB Search, a firm that’s helped the Montana University System conduct other executive searches, he would undertake an expedited process to appoint a new president.

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Christian has been providing brief updates on a website dedicated to the search. Last week, he said he and AGB Search are reviewing applications, and the pool of candidates was “strong and diverse.”

The commissioner also announced he was convening a small working group to assist in the search, members who “represent a variety of perspectives to assist in vetting and narrowing this field of exceptional candidates.”

In an email this week, Hollenbaugh identified the members of the working group who are assisting Christian with application review as:

  • Community member and former Regent Joyce Dombrouski
  • Faculty Senate Chairperson Valerie Moody
  • Staff Senate President Dominic Beccari
  • Administration Representative John DeBoer (Vice President of Academic Affairs)
  • ASUM (Associated Students of the University of Montana) President Buddy Wilson

Hollenbaugh declined to comment on the way the rest of the process would unfold or the role the working group members would play.

Christian earlier said he anticipated an appointment within one to three months, or as soon as early this month.

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Montana Supreme Court allows ballot measure on initiative process to move forward

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Montana Supreme Court allows ballot measure on initiative process to move forward


HELENA — The Montana Supreme Court has ruled in favor of a proposed ballot measure intended to simplify the process for introducing ballot measures in the future.

Justices ruled 5-2 that the measure, currently called Ballot Issue #8, did not violate state requirements that a single constitutional amendment can’t make multiple separate changes to the Montana Constitution.

“We’re very grateful to the Montana Supreme Court for agreeing with us that the attorney general’s finding of legal insufficiency for Ballot Issue #8 was incorrect,” said SK Rossi, a spokesperson for Montanans Decide, the group sponsoring the measure.

Montanans Decide argues the Montana Legislature has passed laws making it harder for the public to propose and pass ballot issues. The Montana Constitution already guarantees the people the right to pass laws and amendments through ballot measures, but Ballot Issue #8 would expand that to include a right to “impartial, predictable, transparent, and expeditious processes” for proposing those measures. It would seek to prevent “interference from the government or the use of government resources to support or oppose the ballot issue.”

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Attorney General Austin Knudsen’s office argued the measure “implicitly amended” multiple provisions in the state constitution, including by limiting the “power and authority of public officials to speak officially on ballot issues that affect those officials’ public duties” and by putting restrictions on judges and on the Legislature. Montanans Decide, the group sponsoring Ballot Issue #8, disagreed – and the majority of justices sided with them.

“Its provisions operate together to define and protect a single constitutional right—the people’s exercise of initiative and referendum,” wrote Justice Katherine Bidegaray in the majority opinion. “They are closely related components of one constitutional design.”

Bidegaray’s majority opinion was joined by Justices Jim Shea, Laurie McKinnon, Beth Baker and Ingrid Gustafson.

Chief Justice Cory Swanson and Justice Jim Rice each wrote dissenting opinions, saying they would have upheld Knudsen’s decision to disallow Ballot Issue #8. Rice said the language restricting government interference with a ballot issue was not closely related and should have been a separate vote. Swanson agreed with Rice and said the measure’s attempt to fix a timeline for legal cases surrounding ballot measures was also a separate substantial change.

In a statement, Chase Scheuer, a spokesperson for Knudsen’s office, reacted to the decision.

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“This decision only further muddies the courts’ jurisprudence on ballot issue questions,” he said. “This initiative would violate the separate vote requirement by amending multiple parts of the Montana Constitution, but the court contradicted its prior rulings. Attorney General Knudsen will continue to neutrally apply the separate vote requirement in his review of ballot initiatives.”

The court’s decision means that Knudsen’s office will now need to approve ballot language for Ballot Issue #8. Once that language is finalized, Montanans Decide could begin gathering signatures to qualify the measure for the November ballot.

However, last year, sponsors of another initiative went to the Supreme Court to argue that the ballot statements Knudsen prepared were misleading. If Montanans Decide object to their ballot statements, that could further delay signature gathering while the case plays out in court.

“Regardless, we’re going to push as hard as we can to get those petitions into the hands of voters and let them sign and support if they so choose,” said Rossi.

Rossi said the legal battle this measure has gone through – and the possibility of more to come – shows why Ballot Issue #8 is needed.

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“The state Legislature, and also statewide elected officials, have taken every opportunity to create burdens and hurdles and rigamarole for campaigns to get through in order to just get to the signature gathering phase, and then to get through the signature gathering phase onto the ballot, and then get through the election phase,” said Rossi. “The reason we filed this initiative is just to make sure that the process is simple, that the timeline is clear, and that Montanans can have their will heard when they want to propose and pass laws that they deem worthy.”





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