Montana

Montana Grizzlies' Evan Todd breaks program javelin record

Published

2 years ago

April 20, 2024

Montana Grizzlies' Evan Todd breaks program javelin record

(Editor’s note: University of Montana news release)

MISSOULA — There has been a sense for a few years now that the Montana men’s javelin school record was not safe. Evan Todd, the two-time defending Big Sky Conference champion in the event, has had it in his sights since arriving on campus.

Last week, Todd hit 70 meters for the first time in his career, but came up inches short of Jensen Lillquist’s 2019 record of 232-6. On Friday afternoon, in what may be his final event at his home venue and in blistering winds, Todd made history.

His second throw of the day carried 71.45 meters, or 234 feet and 5 inches, to set a new program record.

“It felt great. It was a long time coming, I’ve been waiting on that throw for a while,” Todd said.

The crowd at Dornblaser provided him with a clap as he made his approach. The first throw of the day had power, but was turned a bit sideways in the wind and came down quickly. He had no such problems with the second attempt.

He dove to the ground on release. When he looked up and saw the flight, he shouted “get out there,” and his javelin listened. When the distance was announced, Todd, his teammates and coaches, and all those watching erupted into cheers.

There were hugs all around, including to Todd’s family who had traveled down from Kalispell to watch him compete at home one final time.

“It was awesome. I’m so glad they were able to make it,” Todd said. “During the week, I was talking with my coach and thinking whether it was smart for me to throw or not. I knew I wasn’t going to be able to throw at my last home meet so I wanted to give it one last hurrah. It’s super fulfilling to finally get that, and crazy to do it in my last meet here.”

He had a sense that it would be a new record when he saw it land, but still had to wait for the official word. He stood off to the side and waited for the official measurement. 71.45 meters.

“Once I heard 71, I knew it was a record,” Todd said. “I threw it, looked up, and could see that it was still fishtailing up there so I knew it had some serious power. I knew it was a big one.”

The senior has been a leader on Montana’s team for several years now and had checked off nearly every box possible in his javelin career. Now, he gets to add yet another accolade to his impressive resume.

“Great things happen to great guys, and he’s one of the great guys,” head coach Doug Fraley said. “He’s a tremendous leader on our team and I’m just really proud of him for breaking that school record here in what will likely be his last meet at Dornblaser. To see his parents come up and give him a hug as soon as the distance came up on the board, that’s a really special thing for a family.”

Todd was one of three Grizzlies to win an event on the first day of competition of the Montana Open. The men’s and women’s hammer and javelin events were contested on a cool, windy afternoon in Missoula.

Ariel Clark opened up the day with a dominant win in the women’s hammer. Clark threw 184-10 to win, and freshman Morgan Thomas finished fourth with a PR throw of 152-8. Freshmen Scout Nadeau and Mary Mickelson also had season-best throws in the hammer.

In the women’s javelin, Lea Moose topped a 15-athlete field with a throw of 142-7. In the same stiff headwind that Todd faced, Moose missed out on her personal record by just two inches. It’s a season best for Moose and moves her into the top 80 in the West qualifying region.

Ashley Carroll had a PR in the event with a throw of 131-5.

Walker McDonald had a big throw in the men’s hammer to finish second in the field. McDonald set a new PR with a mark of 184-11, and had two throws that beat his previous career best mark.

Todd provided the big highlight of the day in the final competition, but Everett Fred also finished fourth with a throw of 189-1. Porter Coffield, who is training for the decathlon at the Big Sky Championships, set a new PR with a throw of 163-1.

“It was really a fine day for our throws crew in both the hammer and javelin. Coach Kolb is doing a really good job bringing that crew along and we got off to a really good start to our Montana open today.”

The bulk of the meet will be on Saturday with field events starting at 11:00 a.m. and track events beginning at 11:20 a.m.

Men’s Javelin- Evan Todd (234-5^, 1^st), Everett Fred (189-1, 4^th), Porter Coffield (163-1, 8^th)

Men’s Hammer- Walker McDonald (184-11*, 2^nd), Wade Rykal (151-11, 5^th), Alex Shields (139-6, 9^th)

Women’s Hammer- Ariel Clark (184-10, 1^st), Morgan Thomas (152-8*, 4^th), Scout Nadeau (147-6*, 6^th), Mary Mickelson (145-4*, 7^th), Molly O’Dell (139-0, 9^th)

Women’s Javelin- Lea Moose (142-7, 1^st), Ashley Carroll (131-5*, 5^th), Tatum McNamara (108-2, 11^th), Brooke Stayner (79-9, 15^th)

^School Record

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Montana

Evacuation orders issued as 5,000-acre wildfire burns near Roundup, Montana

Published

2 hours ago

February 27, 2026

Press Room

Evacuation orders issued as 5,000-acre wildfire burns near Roundup, Montana

ROUNDUP, Mont. —
The Rehder Creek Fire is burning 16 miles southeast of Roundup has grown to about 5,000 acres, prompting evacuation orders for residents in the Bruner Mountain Area/Subdivision.

The fire started Feb. 26, the cause is unknown and containment was at 0%.

Evacuation orders are in effect for all residents in the Bruner Mountain Area/Subdivision. The Musselshell County Sheriff’s Office is coordinating the evacuation orders, and 911 reverse calls have been sent out to advise people in the area.

A shelter is opening at the Roundup Community Center. Residents were told to contact Musselshell County DES for further information.

Firefighter and public safety remain the top priority. The public is asked to avoid the Fattig Creek and Rehder Road area so emergency personnel can safely and effectively perform their work.

Fire resources assigned to the incident include 40 total personnel, 11 engines, one Type 2 helicopter, three tenders and two dozers.

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Montana

February 26 recap: Missoula and Western Montana news you may have missed today

Published

14 hours ago

February 27, 2026

Press Room

February 26 recap: Missoula and Western Montana news you may have missed today

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Escobar, Jayapal, Members of Congress Call on Camp East Montana to be Shut Down – Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal

Published

1 day ago

February 26, 2026

Press Room

Escobar, Jayapal, Members of Congress Call on Camp East Montana to be Shut Down – Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal

(Washington, D.C.) – Today, Congresswoman Veronica Escobar (TX-16) – joined by Representative Pramila Jayapal, the Ranking Member of the Immigration Integrity, Security, and Enforcement Subcommittee, and 22 other Members of Congress – sent a letter to Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Acting Director Todd Lyons calling for the immediate closure of Camp East Montana in El Paso. They cite urgent humanitarian concerns following multiple deaths in custody, documented unsafe conditions, and serious deficiencies in medical care.

This marks the fourth letter Congresswoman Escobar has sent to DHS and ICE leadership. The previous three letters have gone unanswered.

The letter can be found in its entirety below and here.

“Secretary Noem and Acting Director Lyons:

We are urgently calling on the Department of Homeland Security (DHS or the Department) and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to shut down Camp East Montana in El Paso, Texas.

Camp East Montana has been operational for six months, and at least three people have died at the site since December 2025: Francisco Gaspar-Andres, Geraldo Lunas Campos, and Victor Manuel Diaz. The El Paso County Medical Examiner has officially ruled Lunas Campos’ death a homicide, citing “asphyxia due to neck and torso compression.”

Camp East Montana was constructed in a matter of weeks and opened before construction was complete and it does not have enough federal staff on-site to provide adequate oversight. Over the last several months, Congresswoman Veronica Escobar, in whose district this facility is located, has sent multiple letters to DHS and ICE regarding concerns about the conditions at Camp East Montana, and has received no responses.

According to detainees, there have been constant and consistent problems at the facility since it opened, beginning with the facility’s poor construction and poor ambient temperature control. Upon opening, the drinking water at Camp East Montana tasted foul and made some detainees sick. Detainees continue to be served inadequate meals, including food that is rotten or frozen; last fall, the facility was also consistently failing to make dietary accommodations for detainees. Detainees have shared that they have sporadic access to outside spaces and recreational areas, and that their dormitory pods are cleaned only once every eight days, despite pods housing up to 72 people at a time. Laundry services are not consistent, and people are washing their clothes in the facility showers. Additionally, the facility experiences flooding and sewage backups when it rains, leading to stagnant water.

One of the biggest concerns with the Camp East Montana facility is the inadequate medical care being provided to detainees. Our offices have heard that only the most ill detainees are referred to the medical unit and that there are inconsistencies as to how soon after arriving detainees are able to undergo initial medical screenings. Detainees with chronic health issues who rely on regimented medications for their health have had difficulty accessing necessary medications, including blood pressure medication and insulin.

At least one of the deaths that occurred in ICE custody, the death of Francisco Gaspar-Andres, appears to partially be the result of poor medical care by staff at the facility. According to ICE’s own account, Gaspar-Andres sought medical attention from facility staff for increasingly serious symptoms, but was only transferred to an area hospital once his condition had severely deteriorated.

In addition to our concerns about poor medical care, we are also aware that detainees have experienced irregular access to their legal counsel, including instances of detainees having only two minutes allotted per phone call every 8 days, which is contrary to ICE’s Detention Standards on access to counsel, and that the belatedly created law library lacks adequate resources for the amount of people currently held at the facility. In January 2026, ICE announced the on-site death of Geraldo Lunas Campos “after experiencing medical distress.” ICE opened an investigation into the death, but did not provide a cause of death. However, The Washington Post later reported that another man detained at Camp East Montana had witnessed guards choking Lunas Campos when he refused to enter a segregated housing unit. Weeks later, the El Paso County Medical Examiner ruled that Lunas Campos had experienced “asphyxia due to neck and torso compression” and ruled his death a homicide.

Lunas Campos is the first detainee to die at Camp East Montana as a result of a use-of-force incident, but we are strongly concerned that he will not be the last if ICE is allowed to continue operating Camp East Montana.

ICE was given $45 billion in taxpayer dollars in the reconciliation bill, $1.2 billion of which were awarded to Acquisition Logistics, LLC, a company with no previous experience managing immigration detention facilities, to build and oversee Camp East Montana. However, in the wake of three deaths in custody so far, continued concerns about conditions at the facility, and ICE’s apparent disinterest in responding to oversight letters from Congress, we do not believe Camp East Montana is being run professionally or responsibly.

Camp East Montana must be shut down. For the safety of everyone at the facility, for an end to abuses to detainees, and for fiscal responsibility to the American people, the site cannot continue to operate. We are calling on DHS and ICE to move to immediately close operations at Camp East Montana.

We look forward to hearing from the Department promptly on this matter.

The other co-signers include Representatives Yassamin Ansari, Nanette Barragán, Yvette Clarke, Lloyd Doggett, Maxwell Frost, Jesús “Chuy” García, Sylvia Garcia, Daniel Goldman, Jimmy Gomez, Henry Johnson, Stephen Lynch, Seth Moulton, Eleanor Holmes Norton, Delia Ramirez, Andrea Salinas, Janice Schakowsky, Darren Soto, Rashida Tlaib, Paul Tonko, Lauren Underwood, Gabe Vasquez, and Nydia Velázquez.

Issues: Immigration

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