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Montana man records shocking up-close footage of UFO rotating in air that made his wife ‘cry’

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Montana man records shocking up-close footage of UFO rotating in air that made his wife ‘cry’


A man in small-town Montana has captured footage of an Unidentified Flying Object (UFO) and shared the shocking video that made his wife ‘cry’ on Reddit.

The video was recorded on Friday between 10:10 and 10:15 pm, and showed what appears to be a blinking craft streaking across the clear night sky.

Said to have been spinning and adorned with a series of rotating lights, the apparent object flew over tiny Choteau, home to a population of just over 1,700 people.

The videos, along with the original poster’s in-depth account of the sighting, reveals how the man and his wife first mistook the unknown object for a meteor. 

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It comes after Montana was singled out as a hotspot for UFO sightings, with visitors recording some of the most significant and well-documented footage. 

A man in small-town Montana has captured footage of an Unidentified Flying Object. Filmed Friday between 10:10 and 10:15 pm, the video seemingly shows a blinking craft streaking across the sky

Said to have been spinning and adorned with a series of rotating lights, the apparent aircraft flew over tiny Choteau

Said to have been spinning and adorned with a series of rotating lights, the apparent aircraft flew over tiny Choteau

‘On Friday night my wife and I were sitting on the deck out back looking at the stars – we do this every night,’ wrote the unnamed poster, who goes by the user name PoneThePoon.

‘Just after 10pm my wife said “is that a shooting star??”, which I found odd, because if it was I wouldn’t have time to look at it. 

‘The tree near me was blocking the direction she was staring so I got up and looked, and my jaw dropped,’ he continued. 

‘I said ‘Holy s**t. Holy s**t!!’ and we both jumped off of the deck and got into the yard for a better view.’

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Three separate clips show a light in the distance that appeared to be rotating in mid-air and the edge of what appeared to be a craft.

The town is sparsely populated, with a population of just over 1,700, and boasts an exceedingly clear sky

The town is sparsely populated, with a population of just over 1,700, and boasts an exceedingly clear sky

The sight, he said, left his spouse in tears after it lingered for a few minutes before flying away.

‘The craft seemed huge, miles away,’ he recalled – adding how it had several blinking and spinning lights, and a rotating orange-red light on the bottom. 

‘You can only see the orange/red light in the video,’ he explained, revealing, ‘We observed it for 2-3 minutes as it continued flying away, and then it was just gone. 

‘No noise, it was just gone.’

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He also recalled how once the photos and video were secured on his wife’s Galaxy Fold 4, he tried to do the same on his Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra.

However, he said, the phone ‘died right in front of my eyes’.

The man who filmed the clips posted them to Reddit, and was soon met with awe

The man who filmed the clips posted them to Reddit, and was soon met with awe

Rushing to retrieve his charger, he continued to use his wife’s phone to take ‘tons of various zoomed photos and videos,’ he recalled.  

‘What I have here is the best that came out of all that, this thing was really far away for a night time phone shot, so I’m pleased with what we did get.’

Speaking about the possibility that the craft was an Elon Musk-made satellite, he said: ‘I don’t believe this was Starlink.’

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‘I’ve watched a ton of Starlink videos since observing this, and our lights were rotating/blinking, not a static line of unchanging lights.

‘After we got inside to see what we actually captured, my wife was shaking and crying from the experience,’ he concluded.

‘It was kind of scary, I couldn’t fall asleep until 4am and it was my night to do the early feed for our twin boys.’

The Reddit post was soon met with awe by commenters.

Pictured: The Rocky Mountain range just outside of Choteau

Pictured: The Rocky Mountain range just outside of Choteau

‘Really cool footage. Good explanation too,’ wrote viewer impressed by the post.

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‘Kudos. Now don’t let them disappear into the abyss. Good footage has a way of inexplicably going missing,’ the person added.

‘Download it, keep copies,’ another chimed in, as the post received more than 3,200 upvotes in less than a day.

‘This could have been the best UFO video ever if the sky was just a little bit lighter,’ added a third top commenter. ‘Frustrating, but definitely interesting.’ 

After asking what others thought of the sighting, most appeared to be at least be open to the idea the craft being something that cannot be explained.

‘Awesome!’ one such commenter wrote on Monday, as the post was bombarded with a bevy of replies.

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As of writing, the origins and nature of the aircraft in the sparsely populated remained unknown. No other reports of the sighting have surfaced

As of writing, the origins and nature of the aircraft in the sparsely populated remained unknown. No other reports of the sighting have surfaced

‘You should download the app Phenom and post this there!’ the person added. ‘It cant be taken down by anyone online or banned… This is great footage.’

The origins and nature of the apparent craft remain unknown. No other reports of the sighting have surfaced.

Montana has emerged in recent years as a hotspot for UFO activity, potentially due to the state’s sparse population and roaming, vacant plains.

In 1950, two spinning disks seemingly flew over Great Falls and were captured on a hand-held camera – yielding clips that continue to defy conventional explanation to this day 

In the ’60s, apparent UFOs were seen over the Minuteman missile silos – then home to a vast arsenal of nuclear missiles in the midst of the Great Plains.  

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In separate incidents that occurred while the alleged UFO hung overhead, a series of armed and ready nuclear missiles were suddenly deactivated – leaving missile launch officers at a loss. 

The US Air Force allegedly ordered these men never to tell anyone what happened, books like Joan Bird’s Montana UFO’s and Extraterrestrials have claimed.

The account examines such events and why they occur in the state, with many reports remaining unexplained in both government and private circles.



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Newly released documents shed light on Montana PSC dispute

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Newly released documents shed light on Montana PSC dispute


MISSOULA — Four out of five members of Montana’s Public Service Commission were in a federal courtroom in Missoula Thursday morning, as the PSC’s former president challenges the disciplinary action taken against him earlier this year. Now, newly released documents are shedding more light on to what led up to this point.

(Watch the video for a closer look at the case.)

New documents shed light Montana PSC dispute

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Commissioner Brad Molnar has sued President Jeff Welborn, Vice President Jennifer Fielder and Commissioner Annie Bukacek – the three PSC members who voted in May to require him to work remotely, after an investigation into complaints about his workplace conduct. Molnar has claimed he is being unfairly punished for constitutionally protected speech, and he asked Senior U.S District Judge Donald Molloy to allow him to return to the PSC offices.

Matthew Monforton, Molnar’s attorney, told the judge that barring Molnar from the building was limiting his ability to do his job.

“He has not been officially kicked out of office, but his voice has clearly been diminished,” said Monforton.

But Natasha Jones, an attorney representing the other three commissioners, said the findings were about behavior, not just speech, and that the PSC’s action was a reasonable response.

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“These are serious concerns about a pattern of conduct that has made employees quit,” she said.

Jonathon Ambarian

Montana Public Service Commissioner Brad Molnar (right) speaks with his attorney Matthew Monforton (left) outside the Russell Smith Federal Courthouse in Missoula, June 18, 2026.

On Tuesday, Molloy ordered the release of redacted versions of two full investigative reports into Molnar’s conduct – more than 100 pages of documents. Monforton had moved for the full reports to be made public, and Molloy ruled attorneys for the other PSC members hadn’t shown a compelling reason to keep the documents under seal as long as the names of people involved in the investigation were obscured.

While the names remained redacted in the investigation reports, the attorneys for Welborn, Fielder and Bukacek also filed additional documents – including a public declaration from Bukacek and from former PSC executive director Alana Lake, providing information about their allegations against Molnar.

The two reports, from an outside investigator, cover Molnar’s alleged actions over two periods: the first from February to August 2025, and the second from August to October 2025. The investigation began after the first formal complaint, filed by Bukacek in May 2025 – though the reports say employees had been bringing up concerns about Molnar’s behavior informally for several months prior.

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Bukacek’s complaint claimed Molnar had repeatedly made what she called “sexualized and demeaning comments.” The examples she cited included saying the PSC should replace “Taco Tuesdays” with “Topless Tuesdays,” reminiscing about watching girls in bikinis as a teenager, and commenting about the beauty of women in areas of China who didn’t get “old and wrinkly.”

In her declaration, Bukacek also claimed Molnar had “maliciously disseminated false information” about her and “engaged in behavior that was dismissive, derisive and otherwise abusive.”

“My primary concern now is not for my safety nor my feelings, but for the rest of the staff who may not have the temperament to speak up or may feel too intimidated to speak up given concerns over job security,” Bukacek said in her declaration.

Molnar Docs

MTN News

On June 16, 2026, a federal judge ordered that two full investigative reports into Montana Public Service Commissioner Brad Molnar be unsealed, as long as the names of people involved in the case remain redacted.

The investigators determined Molnar had violated the PSC’s code of conduct by making comments of a sexual nature, and that it appeared his behavior had continued for some time after he was warned about it. They also found he had behaved unprofessionally and in a belittling manner toward Bukacek, though they said Bukacek herself had at times used “language that could be considered inappropriate” in emails to staff or other commissioners. Bukacek told MTN she “readily self corrected” any behaviors that were brought to her attention.

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The investigation also found a violation in connection with a complaint from a PSC staff member, who said he “felt bullied” by Molnar when the commissioner sent an email complaining about his team not being “people with competence.”

However, much of the first report and the entire second report was focused on conduct after the initial complaints, when Molnar was accused of retaliating against people who participated in the investigation. Lake said in her declaration that she saw “an immediate and significant change in his behavior toward staff involved in the process.” She claimed he said he would use an attorney and private investigator to go after people who filed complaints, and she accused him of publicly criticizing her in interviews and removing her job responsibilities because of her handling of the investigation.

Lake said Molnar’s actions led to “declining morale within the agency,” undermined staff members’ ability to do their jobs and damaged her reputation. She said that led her to resign as executive director.

“I believe no employee should be forced to choose between reporting misconduct and protecting their career, reputation, or personal well-being,” she said in her declaration.

Lake has since become Helena city manager.

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Missoula Federal Courthouse

Jonathon Ambarian

Four out of five members of the Montana Public Service Commission were at the Russell Smith Federal Courthouse in Missoula June 18, 2026, for a hearing on Commissioner Brad Molnar’s lawsuit challenging disciplinary action taken against him.

The report said there was evidence to show Molnar had retaliated, including by “making disparaging statements about investigation participants” including Lake, by sending an email warning he could file complaints of his own against people involved, and by taking other actions investigators said could dissuade employees from reporting behavior in the future.

Monforton said during Thursday’s hearing that the initial comments Bukacek complained about were jokes Molnar had admitted were inappropriate, that he regretted saying them, and that he hasn’t made any similar comments in about a year. But he argued the vast majority of the findings against Molnar were about retaliation – and that those were primarily based on speech that the other commissioners don’t have the right to interfere with.

Monforton said it’s unreasonable to punish Molnar for what he said in the July news conference where he announced he was under investigation, in interviews with the media or in commission meetings. He said Molnar’s conduct doesn’t rise to the level of actual retaliation.

“This is an elected official, engaging in speech in his forum,” Monforton said.

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He said Molnar may have made harsh comments toward staff, but that he had the right to raise objections about the way the agency does business.

Montana Public Service Commission

Jonathon Ambarian

Monforton also argued the retaliation claims no longer justify keeping Molnar out of the office, since Welborn, Fielder and Bukacek voted to remove him as president in October and he no longer has the authority he’s accused of misusing. He said there haven’t been further complaints about his behavior since that time.

“We’re not asking for the moon and stars, we’re asking for the status quo as it existed for the last seven months,” he said.

Jones said there is enough evidence to show Molnar would have been punished regardless of whether any protected speech was excluded.

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“This is not about a couple of jokes,” she said.

Jones said Molnar made maliciously false statements about people like Lake, and that type of statement isn’t covered by free speech protections.

She also said Molnar’s exclusion from the PSC offices is temporary, and that the PSC will reconsider whether to let him return if he apologizes for his actions, accepts the agency’s code of conduct and undergoes training.

Molloy indicated he saw indications that there was “acrimony” on both sides of the situation, and said he was skeptical it would be resolved easily.

“It would be nice if instead of juvenile behavior, there was professional behavior,” he said.

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However, the judge said there was an avenue for Molnar to pursue if he wanted to reach a resolution.

Molloy took no immediate action Thursday. He told the parties he would rule as quickly as he could.





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Cancer Support Community Montana names new executive director to lead statewide expansion

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Cancer Support Community Montana names new executive director to lead statewide expansion


Carrie Gilbertson has been executive director of Cancer Support Community Montana for just under two months, stepping into the role in April with more than 15 years of nonprofit experience and a lifetime of Montana roots.

The organization provides psychosocial and mental health support to anyone affected by cancer — not just those with a diagnosis, but also family members and others walking alongside them.

WATCH: Meet the new leader of Cancer Support Community Montana 🎗️

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Cancer Support Community Montana names new executive director

“This mission of providing psycho-social supports and mental health supports for anyone impacted by cancer, not just that person who has the diagnosis, but also family members, anyone who is walking alongside someone as they experience that often scary diagnosis, that’s just something that’s important to me,” Gilbertson said.

Gilbertson’s role extends beyond the Bozeman office. Cancer Support Community Montana’s Missoula location is already up and running, and a Helena location is expected to be operating soon. Each presents its own set of challenges.

“Each hospital is different. They might have different resources. Their social workers might be connecting to things in a different way. So understanding what those hospitals need, what different participants need in each community, is going to be different just because the communities are different, resources are different,” Gilbertson said.

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The Bozeman office has been operating for more than 20 years, providing a foundation that supports the organization’s broader statewide efforts.

“I think this is a crew that looks at what does this community need what do our participants need what are some of the changing landscapes in cancer care what things are the gaps that we see that we can maybe just jump right in and you know let’s see if we can provide that for people so that’s something I really love about this crew that I work with and just this mission that there is some flexibility in being able to adjust and adapt as we learn more,” Gilbertson said.

Those adaptations show up in unexpected ways. The organization converts its parking lot into a pickleball court every Friday morning.

“I didn’t know there was a pickleball court. I pulled in actually with my daughter pulled in and she was is that pickleball court and I was like oh, it kind of looks like it is so yeah that’s fun, every Friday morning we clear out the parking lot and put up the net and I haven’t played yet I’ve been watching just to kind of see how that game works but they take it pretty seriously,” Gilbertson said.

This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.

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Montana Lottery Powerball, Lotto America results for June 17, 2026

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

Here’s a look at June 17, 2026, results for each game:

Winning Powerball numbers from June 17 drawing

03-26-49-53-61, Powerball: 12, Power Play: 2

Check Powerball payouts and previous drawings here.

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Winning Lotto America numbers from June 17 drawing

11-16-18-33-51, Star Ball: 09, ASB: 05

Check Lotto America payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Big Sky Bonus numbers from June 17 drawing

01-16-17-27, Bonus: 01

Check Big Sky Bonus payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Montana Cash numbers from June 17 drawing

13-22-35-36-39

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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.
  • 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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