Montana

Preparing for fire season in Montana

Published

2 years ago

June 11, 2024

With fire season rapidly approaching, it’s important to be prepared whether you live in a city or in a rural area.

“In wildland we have a saying ‘if you own the fuel, you own the fire,’ so what we want you to do right now, I mean right now, is starting with mitigating the fuels around your house. Getting those piles of firewood from against the house, clean up underneath your decks, keep your grass cut short, or trim back, and keep it watered, if you can. That’s buying us time to help you guys out,” said Ken Hanks, assistant fire chief for Vaughn Fire.

North-central Montana saw a few showers in May, which allowed for a decent amount of precipitation, but with June being drier, the grass around central Montana is beginning to dry out.

Lead meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Great Falls, Jim Brusda, said Great Falls is currently listed as abnormally dry for this time of year.

There are several things we can do to help prevent fires including practicing safe outdoor cooking, following city and county burn ordinances, and having safe backyard campfires at least 15 feet away from homes.

“Going into summer, we have had a kind of a relatively wet spring, which means a lot of the fuels, lightweight fuels, meaning grasses, shrubs and those types of things in town and surrounding town; they grew very well, now they’re drying out at a rapid pace, so they’re going to be fire ready. One hot day is all it takes and everything’s ready to burn,” said Bob Shupe, assistant fire chief for Great Falls Fire Rescue.

The grass around central Montana is drying out and with dryer, warmer, and windier conditions, fires are more likely as we go into July.

“To prevent a big wildfire season, we need rainfall over the next few weeks. We do have a weather system coming in next week that has potential to give us some rain, but we need a good half of an inch to even up to an inch and a half of rain to make a difference, to have a good impact on our fire season that’s been coming up,” Brusda added.

Click here for more information on current drought conditions.

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Montana

Governor Gianforte Announces Montana Ranks as Top 10 State for Job Growth

Published

10 hours ago

July 15, 2026

Press Room

Governor Gianforte Announces Montana Ranks as Top 10 State for Job Growth

Governor’s Office

HELENA, Mont. – Governor Greg Gianforte today announced Montana ranks in the top ten states with the highest year-over-year job growth rates.

“Montana continues to rank as one of the best states to start or grow a business, earn a competitive wage, and secure a good-paying job,” Gov. Gianforte said. “As we continue to reform our regulatory environment to support job creators and cut taxes to give money back to the hardworking Montanans who earned it, we see the results of conservative policies at work as the Treasure State ranks in the top ten states with the strongest job growth.”

According to a report by Stat Ranker, which compared all 50 states based on year-over-year growth in total nonfarm payroll employment between February 2025 and February 2026, Montana ranked ninth in the nation for both jobs added and overall job growth adding more than 2,100 jobs over the year, representing a 0.4 percent job growth rate.

Last week, the governor attended the groundbreaking for Janicki Industries in Great Falls to celebrate the aerospace manufacturers’ investment expected to create more than 2,000 jobs over the next ten years and the ribbon cutting for Amazon’s sixth delivery station in Montana that brings the company’s total employment in the state to over 800.

Last month, the governor announced Montana was ranked in the top five states with the fastest-growing economies since 2021. The report from Visual Capitalist found that between 2021 and 2025, Montana’s GDP grew 16.1 percent while the national average in the same time period was 10.8 percent. When it comes to wage growth, Montana ranks third in the nation for fastest wage growth and is only one of two states in the nation where wage growth has outpaced inflation since 2020. The average wage earned by Montana workers reached $60,037 in 2024.

Earlier this year, Gov. Gianforte also announced Montana’s fiscal health surged into the top ten states nationally under his leadership, rising from 22nd in 2021 to 8th in 2025. Since taking office, the governor has paid off the state’s general obligation debt, making Montana debt-free in 2023 and saving Montanans $40 million over a period of two years.

Montana also consistently ranks in the top fifteen states with the lowest unemployment rates. Last month, the governor announced Montana’s unemployment rate ticked down to 3.4 percent in May, lower than the national unemployment rate which remained at 4.3 percent.

The full Stat Ranker report can be read here.

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Montana

Montana Lottery Mega Millions, Big Sky Bonus results for July 14, 2026

Published

22 hours ago

July 15, 2026

Press Room

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

Here’s a look at July 14, 2026, results for each game:

Winning Mega Millions numbers from July 14 drawing

02-04-10-48-56, Mega Ball: 22

Check Mega Millions payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Big Sky Bonus numbers from July 14 drawing

15-20-26-27, Bonus: 02

Check Big Sky Bonus payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Millionaire for Life numbers from July 14 drawing

12-13-15-16-41, 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

Get Smitten With a Kitten at Humane Society of Western Montana

Published

1 day ago

July 14, 2026

Press Room

Get Smitten With a Kitten at Humane Society of Western Montana

If a furry, playful, hugg-able, lovable kitten would be a great addition to your place, now’s the time to visit the Humane Society of Western Montana.

MEET BAKER AND BUSBOY

It was another Take Me Home Tuesday at the radio stations with the Humane Society. Katie brought in “Baker” (black kitty) and “Busboy” (gray kitty), who along with their two siblings “Chef” and “Cook” form a Fantastic Four of pure joy.

DENNY BEDARD

These two-month-old little ones were found in the Polson area and surrendered to the shelter. They just had their spay/neuter surgeries Monday (July 13) and they will be looking for their forever homes starting Wednesday (July 15).

KITTENS FOR ADOPTION IN MISSOULA — DENNY BEDARD

Whether you are looking for one kitten or the whole “kitchen,” visit the shelter and fall in love with Baker, Busboy, Chef and Cook.

EVER CONSIDERED BEING A FOSTER HOME FOR SHELTER PETS?

It is kitten season at the Humane Society of Western Montana. The Humane Society is always looking for Fosters to take care of tiny kittens until they are old enough to be adopted. They currently have some that are with mom cats, and some that are bottle babies. And there is always a need for volunteers willing to nurture them until they are of adoption age.

And of course one of the perks of being a Foster is, if you fall in love with a kitten, you pretty much get first dibs.

READ MORE: Volunteers Hit ‘The Ridge’ To Improve Montana Elk Hunting Opportunities

So, whether you are looking to adopt or would like more information about being a foster home, be sure to visit the Humane Society of Western Montana soon. They are open from 1:00 – 6:00 pm Wednesdays through Sundays at 5930 Highway 93 South in Missoula. See more cats AND dogs waiting to be adopted on the shelter’s ADOPT webpage here.