Montana

Montana superintendent candidates ramp up campaigns, report earnings – Daily Montanan

Published

2 years ago

February 10, 2024

Montana superintendent candidates ramp up campaigns, report earnings – Daily Montanan

A Democrat running for Montana Superintendent of Public Instruction continued to outpace both Republicans in fundraising in the most recent quarter, and candidates are touting top endorsements as campaign season gets underway.

Democrat Shannon O’Brien, an educator and earlier policy advisor to former Gov. Steve Bullock, raised more than twice as much money through the end of the year as Republican and Townsend superintendent Susie Hedalen.

O’Brien raised $52,343 in the most recent quarter compared to Hedalen’s $20,175 for the primary election, according to the most recent reports filed with the Montana Commissioner of Political Practices.

O’Brien also outraised Hedalen in the third quarter of 2023.

However, Democrats have not secured statewide offices in Montana in recent election cycles. U.S. Sen. Jon Tester, up for re-election this year, is the only Democrat to have won statewide since 2018.

Republican Elsie Arntzen won the superintendent of public instruction post the last two elections. Arntzen is termed out from that office but is among the Republicans running for U.S. House in the state’s eastern district since U.S. Rep. Matt Rosendale announced he’s stepping into the U.S. Senate race.

Also in the race for superintendent, Republican Sharyl Allen raised $1,450. Allen, former deputy superintendent for the Office of Public Instruction, has a history of controversial departures from education positions including petitions for her termination.

In recent years, rising political tensions across the country are increasingly evident in education.

Some of the more controversial bills in Montana in 2023 focused on education, including ones currently being litigated as attempts to privatize public education.

Montana also has struggled with low starting teacher pay and ways to recruit educators, including teachers, to rural classrooms.

In the race for superintendent, Libertarian Kevin Leatherbarrow is listed as withdrawn, but Hedalen and O’Brien have been active on social media highlighting their big-name supporters and their work in education.

“I had the privilege of joining Governor Greg Gianforte and industry leaders yesterday in a roundtable discussion about how our schools can take their career and technical programs to the next level,” said Hedalen this week on social media. “Incredible partnerships and recent legislation allow us to build a brighter future for Montana students that positively impacts our workforce. #SusieForSchools.”

Republicans Gianforte and Attorney General Austin Knudsen both have endorsed Hedalen, who also serves on the Board of Public Education as a Gianforte appointment.

This week, O’Brien talked about history and justice in her social media campaign.

“During Black History Month, we take purposeful time to recognize and respect the history and vital contributions of Black Americans, and reflect on their legacy within our communities,” O’Brien said in a post. “As Montanans, we support and honor each other, and this month we highlight Black American stories so we all work towards understanding and acknowledging historical injustices in our history. In doing so, we can build a better understanding of the present day, and grow and celebrate community bonds throughout Montana.”

O’Brien also highlighted support from former Superintendents of Public Instruction Denise Juneau and Nancy Keenan, also former head of the Montana Democratic Party.

O’Brien enters this quarter with $34,790 in the bank for the primary election and $7,350 for the general. She does not have a Democratic opponent for the primary.

Hedalen has $8,760 for the primary and $7,460 for the general.

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Montana

Montana Lottery Powerball, Lotto America results for March 2, 2026

Published

10 hours ago

March 3, 2026

Press Room

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

Here’s a look at March 2, 2026, results for each game:

Winning Powerball numbers from March 2 drawing

02-17-18-38-62, Powerball: 20, Power Play: 2

Check Powerball payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Lotto America numbers from March 2 drawing

03-08-17-24-34, Star Ball: 06, ASB: 02

Check Lotto America payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Big Sky Bonus numbers from March 2 drawing

06-12-19-29, Bonus: 11

Check Big Sky Bonus payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Powerball Double Play numbers from March 2 drawing

21-28-58-65-67, Powerball: 25

Check Powerball Double Play payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Millionaire for Life numbers from March 2 drawing

28-41-42-50-55, Bonus: 02

Check Millionaire for Life 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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Montana

Apparent AI Glitch in Filing by Montana Public Defender, Recent Congressional Candidate

Published

22 hours ago

March 2, 2026

Press Room

Apparent AI Glitch in Filing by Montana Public Defender, Recent Congressional Candidate

Everyone makes mistakes, even experienced professionals; a good reminder for the rest of us to learn from those mistakes. The motion in State v. Stroup starts off well in its initial pages (no case law hallucinations), but is then followed by several pages of two other motions, which I don’t think the lawyer was planning to file, and which appear to have been AI-generated: It begins with the “Below is concise motion language you can drop into …” language quoted above.

Griffen Smith (Missoulian) reported on the story, and included the prosecutor’s motion to strike that filing, on the grounds that it violates a local rule (3(G)) requiring disclosure of the use of generative AI:

The document does not include a generative artificial intelligence disclosure as required. However, page 7 begins as follows: “Below is concise motion language you can drop into a ‘Motion to Admit Mental-Disease Evidence and for Related Instructions’ keyed to 45-6-204, 45-6-201, and 4614-102. Adjust headings/captions to your local practice.” Page 10 states “Below is a full motion you can paste into your pleading, then adjust names, dates, and styles to fit local practice.” These pages also include several apparent hyperlinks to “ppl-ai-file-upload.s3.amazonaws,” “ppl-ai-fileupload.s3.amazonaws+1,” and others. The document includes what appears to be an attempt at a second case caption on page 12. It is not plausible on its face that any source other than generative AI would have created such language for a filed version of a brief….

There’s more in that filing, but here’s one passage:

While generative AI can be a useful tool for some purposes and may have greater application in the future, when used improperly, and without meaningful review, it can ultimately damage both the perception and the reality of the profession. One assumes that Mr. Stroup has had, or will at some point have, an opportunity to review the filing made on his behalf. What impression could a review of pgs. 12-19 leave upon a defendant who struggles with paranoia and delusional thinking? While AI could theoretically one day become a replacement for portions of staff of experienced attorneys, it is readily apparent that this day has not yet arrived.

The Missoulan article includes this response:

In a Wednesday interview, Office of Public Defender Division Administrator Brian Smith told the Missoulian the AI-generated language was inadvertently included in an unrelated filing. And he criticized the county attorney’s office for filing a “four-page diatribe about the dangers of AI” instead of working with the defense to correct her mistake.
“That’s not helping the client or the case,” Smith said, “and all you are doing is trying to throw a professional colleague under the bus.”

As I mentioned, the lawyer involved seems quite experienced, and ran for the Montana Public Service Commission in 2020 (getting nearly 48% of the vote) and for the House of Representatives in Montana’s first district in 2022 (getting over 46% of the vote) and in 2024 (getting over 44%). “Его пример другим наука,” Pushkin wrote in Eugene Onegin—”May his example profit others,” in the Falen translation.

Thanks to Matthew Monforton for the pointer.

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