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Montana Department of Labor and Industry responds to federal layoffs

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Montana Department of Labor and Industry responds to federal layoffs



Twenty current and former federal workers gathered at state Department of Labor and Industry offices across Montana at 9 a.m. on March 12 for a “Rapid Response Event” aimed at “assist[ing] those impacted by federal layoffs.” Another 23 people attended virtually.

In all, they represented a negligible percentage of the 10,129 federal workers that live in Montana. 

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The conference room at the back of the Job Services office in downtown Kalispell was nearly vacant. Dozens of folders stuffed with flyers advertising job services remained unopened. 

“It’s hard for people to seek [the department’s] support right now,” explained one of the two federal workers that attended the Kalispell event. 

The worker asked that their name and job title not appear in print. Despite being among 360 other Montana Forest Service workers fired in February, they had been temporarily reinstated to their job position and were not authorized to talk to the press.  

While thrilled to return to work, the Forest Service employee said that the reinstatement had also created more uncertainty. The future state of their employment hinges on the outcome of a federal lawsuit, alleging that the mass termination of probationary U.S. Forest Service workers was unlawful. A federal board is expected to hand down a verdict by April 18. 

Until then, their job is akin to Schrödinger’s cat, both existent and non-existent. That makes it hard to do things like file for unemployment or send out resumes. 

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“It’s overwhelming for me still to try to look for a job,” they said. 

The Forest Service worker hoped the event might provide some answers. After a series of presentations from state staff, they typed a question into the chat, asking whether employees affected by the lawsuit should file for unemployment. A flood of similar questions filtered onscreen, asking about the language in termination letters, the documents required to file for unemployment and the impending threat of a government shutdown.  

Nearly all the inquiries were met with similar catechisms about reviewing things on a “case-by-case basis.” A morose sense of humor crept into the conference room. 

“It’s going to be years before this gets sorted,” said the second Kalispell attendee, an employee of U.S. Agency for International Development. 

The Department of Labor and Industry has helped workers navigate mass layoffs before. Last year, about 250 lumber workers found themselves unemployed after two mills shuttered in quick succession. Another 700 workers were laid-off a few months later when the Sibayne-Stillwater mill downsized. Both times, the state agency hosted similar rapid response events to help those affected file for unemployment, revamp resumes and find new jobs. 

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Those efforts benefited from $5.5 million worth of federal grants administered through the U.S. Department of Labor. The federal government reportedly froze some of those grant funds in late February, making future payments uncertain.  

In a March 6 statement, the department also acknowledged that federal employees may face extra challenges navigating more traditional employment routes.  

“Unlike many Rapid Response events the agency hosted over the last year, the layoff of federal workers requires specialized support to translate the skills and duties of a federal employee to the private sector or work in other public sector and nonprofit professions,” reads the statement. 

The state Labor Department’s existing challenges could multiply, as Thursday marked the deadline for several agencies to submit “Agency Reorganization Plans” that include measures to reduce full-time positions.  

There is no information as to how these plans may affect Montana workers, but there are new additions to the state Labor Department’s website. A page titled “Federal Worker Resources” now lists the number for a hotline for federal workers seeking help with unemployment insurance and other benefits as well as a dropdown menu for “Upcoming Rapid Response Events.”  

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The department was unable to provide the Daily Inter Lake with comment by its print deadline. 

Reporter Hailey Smalley can be reached at hsmalley@dailyinterlake.com or 758-4433.



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Montana Lottery Powerball, Lucky For Life results for Oct. 25, 2025

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The Montana Lottery offers multiple draw games for those aiming to win big. Here’s a look at Oct. 25, 2025, results for each game:

Winning Powerball numbers from Oct. 25 drawing

02-12-22-39-67, Powerball: 15, Power Play: 2

Check Powerball payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Lucky For Life numbers from Oct. 25 drawing

21-32-34-35-44, Lucky Ball: 05

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Check Lucky For Life payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Lotto America numbers from Oct. 25 drawing

02-31-33-35-50, Star Ball: 07, ASB: 02

Check Lotto America payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Big Sky Bonus numbers from Oct. 25 drawing

01-02-21-22, Bonus: 07

Check Big Sky Bonus payouts and previous drawings here.

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Winning Powerball Double Play numbers from Oct. 25 drawing

03-24-46-58-61, Powerball: 07

Check Powerball Double Play payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Montana Cash numbers from Oct. 25 drawing

02-08-19-26-41

Check Montana Cash payouts and previous drawings here.

Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results

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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.

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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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Montana cannot ‘meet the demand’ to supply more water to new developments • Daily Montanan

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Montana cannot ‘meet the demand’ to supply more water to new developments • Daily Montanan


This week’s news brings us another story that’s starting to get very old — especially for Montana’s existing residents.  Namely, the City of East Helena finds itself unable to “meet the demand” for water for the 6,250 new homes plus new businesses that theoretically will be built on former ASARCO lands the city annexed when the company went bankrupt. 

But here’s the rub: The land the city annexed did not come with water rights.  In Montana, no water means no new developments because we can barely provide water to existing residents.  The rapidly changing climate’s longer, hotter, and drier summers combined with lower winter snowpacks and earlier, diminished runoff is simply a reality that municipalities and developers don’t want to acknowledge.  But just because you don’t want to admit reality doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist.

As reported, Montana’s Lt. Governor Kristen Juras sent a letter to the city telling them the Natural Resources Damage settlement with ASARCO for the lead smelter’s Superfund site pollution requires “natural resource restoration and long-term stewardship.” Part of that restoration process, which was public, determined that certain water rights should go to restore instream flows on Prickly Pear Creek, which flows right past the giant slag piles remaining at the smelter site. 

Ironically, the state and EPA offered the city 40% of the water rights, but the offer was refused.  Now, the state and the Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks are moving forward to change those consumptive water rights to instream flows and restore the battered creek.

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That the city and developers are demanding the water for future development makes little sense since the mayor was quoted saying East Helena has an “already strained municipal water system.”  Since the theoretical developments would require four times the water the city currently supplies to existing residents and businesses it may also require a new and very expensive water treatment facility for which existing residents will pay. 

If this sounds familiar, one need only look to Bozeman, where residents will soon vote on the Water Adequacy for Residential Development initiative that will require new developments to either provide lower income units or bring new water rights to the city to “meet the demand” of the new developments.

Like Bozeman, East Helena is in a “closed basin” — meaning no new water rights can be issued without harming existing water rights holders and users.  You can’t give away more water than you have — and Montana has less every year, as the record low flows and closures of our major rivers proves.

None of this is a mystery.  In 1878 John Wesley Powell, who had explored the West’s great rivers and made the first descent of the Colorado River, published his “Report on the Lands of the Arid Regions of the United States” in which he estimated only 2% of the land in the arid West could support agriculture or development due to the lack of water.  There’s simply no excuse for Montana’s development-crazed municipalities to ignore the facts of our increasingly limited water supply. 

Finally, one might wonder why the burdens of “meeting the demand” of developers – including data centers – falls on existing residents.  Or why the Superfund impacts from past extractive industries shouldn’t be remediated.  Or why existing residents and their kids in East Helena shouldn’t have a clean stream they can walk to and enjoy a genuine “Montana” experience?

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There are very real limits to growth.  In the West, that’s a dwindling water supply – and it’s obviously time for Montanans to realize that fact and live with it.



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Trump nominates Montana corrections director Gootkin as U.S. Marshal

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Trump nominates Montana corrections director Gootkin as U.S. Marshal


HELENA — President Donald Trump has announced he’ll appoint the director of the Montana Department of Corrections as the state’s U.S. Marshal.

Brian Gootkin will now need to be confirmed by the U.S. Senate.

Gov. Greg Gianforte named Gootkin as Corrections director in 2021. In that role, he’s overseen the Montana State Prison and other state correctional facilities.

Gootkin previously spent 21 years with the Gallatin County Sheriff’s Office, including serving as sheriff from 2012 to 2021.
In statements, Montana’s two U.S. senators praised Gootkin’s nomination.

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“Brian Gootkin is an exceptional choice by President Trump to serve as Montana’s U.S. Marshal,” said Sen. Steve Daines. “As Director of Montana’s Department of Corrections and Sheriff of Gallatin County, Brian demonstrates a sincere commitment to public safety and the rule of law, and his leadership in our state leaves no doubt that he will continue to serve the people of Montana with excellence. I look forward to his confirmation by the U.S. Senate.”

“Brian Gootkin has served Montana proudly for years, and I’m glad to hear he’s been nominated by President Trump to continue to serve and keep our streets safe as Montana’s U.S. Marshal,” said Sen. Tim Sheehy. “Senate Republicans have overcome historic obstruction to get President Trump’s picks in place, and we are eager to add Brian to list of fantastic nominees that have been confirmed.”

Gianforte released a statement, thanking Gootkin for his work at Corrections.

“Under his direction, we’ve made historic investments to protect and promote a public safety system that supports inmates, corrections officers, and all Montana families,” he said. “From securing overdue improvements to aging infrastructure, expanding capacity at our jails, and increasing collaboration with local partners, Gootkin has been at the helm of our work. I know he will continue to serve our state with dignity in his new role having already exemplified his commitment to Montana communities. I wish him success and a swift confirmation.”

The U.S. Marshals Service is a law enforcement agency that serves the federal judicial system. They are responsible for providing security in federal court, transporting federal prisoners and apprehending fugitives. The president nominates a U.S. Marshal for each federal judicial district to supervise the agency’s activities there. The entire state of Montana is a single district.

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