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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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District court judge blocks new Montana GOP bylaws – WTOP News

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District court judge blocks new Montana GOP bylaws – WTOP News


A restraining order has been issued that blocks the Montana Republican Party from enacting new bylaws intended to drive nonconformists…

A restraining order has been issued that blocks the Montana Republican Party from enacting new bylaws intended to drive nonconformists out of the party ranks.

Lewis and Clark County District Judge Michael F. McMahon issued the restraining order Wednesday morning. The order had been requested by county precinct committees and officers suing the state party organization over the new bylaws. The plaintiffs are the Yellowstone County Republican Central Committee, the Choteau County Republican Central Committee, and individual committee members Jeff Essmann, Ted Kronebusch, James Wilson and state Rep. Brad Barker, R-Red Lodge.

At issue are bylaws passed during MTGOP’s June platform convention that the litigating party members say amount to “fraudulent and corrupt practices.” The new bylaws require members to pay $20 in annual membership dues and pledge a loyalty oath, and subject members to removal from elected party positions for nonpayment of dues or for “conduct deemed inconsistent with party purposes,” as determined by executive party party officers. The new bylaws allow charges for removal to be brought by any 20 official Republican Party members.

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Montana Republican Party Chairman Art Wittich, the only official spokesperson for the state party, has not responded to voicemails and texts sent to his cell phone Wednesday. Wittich, elected party chairman in June 2025, has long been emphatic about exposing “Democrats disguised as Republicans” — for Wittich a now decade-old battle that spun into a bitter multimillion-dollar war between party hardliners and relative centrists in this spring’s Republican legislative primaries.

The centrists drew the ire of the hardliners in 2025 by collaborating with Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte and legislative Democrats to pass a balanced state budget and key pieces of legislation, including increased taxes on second homes and property tax reductions for primary residences and small businesses.

What constitutes disqualifying conduct isn’t fully spelled out in the bylaws, but they do specify that “collaborating with Democrats” in the Legislature, the governor’s office, the courts, or elections can get members disciplined or removed.

The lawsuit alleges that “The 2026 bylaws empower a small group within the party to revoke Republican affiliation from candidates or office holders, undoing primary nominations by the electorate.”

The plaintiffs argue that Montana voters, not party bylaws, should determine who represents the Republican Party in general elections and who represents voting precincts on the publicly elected county-level Republican committees that coordinate local political activity.

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The Montana Legislature in 2019 passed a bill protecting publicly elected party precinct committee officers from being arbitrarily removed from office and defined attempts to do so as “fraudulent and corrupt practices.” That law, sparked by Republican Party infighting 10 years ago, is the foundation of the current lawsuit.

There has been a surge of public interest in Republican precinct-level politics following a perceived lack of support by party hardliners for Republican candidates in conservative strongholds like Flathead County, where more than 60 new precinct committeemen and committeewomen were elected in June. That wave of new officers was preceded by Flathead County Republican Central Committee members considering an endorsement of Libertarian Sid Daoud for Kalispell mayor over Republican Kisa Davison in late 2025. The Kalispell mayor’s race is nonpartisan, but Republicans have gone to court to secure the party’s right to endorse candidates in nonpartisan races.

Wittich’s own campaign for precinct committeeman representing Whitefish was a casualty of that new wave of public interest. He lost to Republican Giuseppe “G-man” Caltabiano, who serves on the Whitefish City Council.

Caltabiano’s wife, Roxanne Ross, defeated Candace Wittich, wife of the Republican chair, in the same election.

State law gives precinct officers two-year terms and specifies that they can be removed only for death, written resignation or loss of residency. The new bylaws state that participation in party governance, including service as a precinct official, “is a privilege of association, not a right conferred by public office or candidacy. Members must act in good faith to support the Party’s purpose and must not engage in conduct materially inconsistent with the Party’s interests, including conduct that undermines its platform, policy positions, election operations, or internal governance.”

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The recent changes to the party bylaws allow precinct officeholders to be suspended from voting in party matters and replaced by party leadership for noncompliance. Empty precinct seats can be filled by the Republican Party chair.

“Every Republican candidate sells their version of Republicanism to the people in a primary campaign, and the voter chooses which version to buy,” the lawsuit states. “The party cannot dictate what brands of Republicanism are on the market.”

Former MTGOP chair Jeff Essmann, a plaintiff who is also a long-serving precinct officer, said in his affidavit that members of the Republican State Central Committee weren’t given a required notification about attempts to amend the bylaws. He said he would have attended the platform convention and argued against amending the bylaws if he had known.

“The 2026 Bylaws empower any twenty members of the Party to recommend any other member of the Party for expulsion from the party, to be determined by the State Central Committee, even people who do not reside in Yellowstone County and who have never met me,” Essmann said in the affidavit.

Other central committee members produced pre-convention emails about potential changes to the bylaws, but no details about the amendments.

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In issuing the order, McMahon indicated that Republicans challenging the bylaws are likely to succeed. He set a July 13 hearing on whether to make the order permanent.

“Plaintiffs have shown a likelihood of success on the merits of their claims that the challenged provisions are inconsistent with Montana election law and constitutional protections governing candidacy, nomination, speech, association, due process, and elected precinct committee representatives,” McMahon ruled.

___

This story was originally published by Montana Free Press and distributed through a partnership with The Associated Press.

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© 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.

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Montana Lottery Powerball, Lotto America results for July 8, 2026

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

Here’s a look at July 8, 2026, results for each game:

Winning Powerball numbers from July 8 drawing

12-29-37-43-55, Powerball: 18, Power Play: 4

Check Powerball payouts and previous drawings here.

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Winning Lotto America numbers from July 8 drawing

17-26-31-32-37, Star Ball: 01, ASB: 02

Check Lotto America payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Big Sky Bonus numbers from July 8 drawing

03-13-16-17, Bonus: 10

Check Big Sky Bonus payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Powerball Double Play numbers from July 8 drawing

06-27-33-44-69, Powerball: 23

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Check Powerball Double Play payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Montana Cash numbers from July 8 drawing

08-16-17-22-27

Check Montana Cash payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Millionaire for Life numbers from July 8 drawing

16-18-43-48-50, Bonus: 01

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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Montana signs onto data center energy cost protection pledge

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Montana signs onto data center energy cost protection pledge


Gov. Greg Gianforte is backing a new effort to keep data centers from driving up Montanans’ power bills.

This week, Gianforte announced Montana is signing on to the Ratepayer Protection Pledge — an initiative endorsed by President Trump.

Several major technology companies like Amazon, Google, Meta, Microsoft, OpenAI, Oracle, and XAI first signed the pledge back in March.

The pledge comes as data center development continues to grow — raising questions about how much new energy will be needed and who will pay for it.

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NBC Montana spoke with Julia Haggerty, professor of geography and department head of earth sciences at Montana State University, about whether Montana’s power grid is ready for that growth.

“Not without resolution of significant transmission bottlenecks and massive amounts of new generation. So, while our grid is adequately, relatively adequately equipped to serve the needs of our current load base, it’s definitely not equipped to accommodate the new demands without a lot of expansion,” she said.

According to the pledge, data center developers will pay for new power generation, and infrastructure needed to support their operations.

“It does align with ongoing regulatory efforts to ensure that the cost of new generation associated with data centers is borne by the developers of those data centers and not customers,” Haggerty said.

The governor’s office says Gianforte’s support of the pledge is designed to encourage responsible data center investments while protecting Montana ratepayers from long-term costs.

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