Montana
Psychic Totalitarian Madness Infects Rural Montana
Photograph Source: Feetyouwear – CC BY 2.0
The line it is drawn, the curse it is cast
The slowest now will later be fast
As the present now will later be past
The order is rapidly fadin’
And the first one now will later be last
‘Cause the times, they are a-changin’.– Bob Dylan
On Tuesday, January 30, the Gallatin County Commission met in Bozeman, Montana and approved an 8,000-square-foot indoor commercial tennis facility over the objections of long-time rural resident-taxpayers.
Our rural quality of life and mule deer winter range were “thrown under the bus” for yuppie colonial settlers who want an indoor commercial tennis facility in a rural, agricultural district — vital mule deer winter range.
In an instant uncertainty and anxiety replaced a decades-long, relatively stable, relationship between the County Commission and resident-taxpayers living on the west bench of the Bridger Mountain Range.
I am ashamed of our county government and their bullying tactics, apparently aimed at deregulation, social destabilization, and seizure of rural land for the exclusive private benefit of Bozeman’s expanding ruling elite.
“New variant” totalitarianism is pathologized, weaponized and masked to conceal its true political essence. To exist, it must not appear as authoritarian. It simulates beneficence responding to a legitimate “growth crisis” or “homeless crisis,” any “emergency” capable of driving anxious commoners into a frantic state of order-following panic.
Self-righteous “new variants,” i.e. our commissioners, constantly remind themselves and each other that they’re the true “defenders of democracy” as they drive us like livestock down the commercial path to colonial conquest.
On February 1, 1996, the Gallatin County Commission approved the Middle Cottonwood Zoning District and Regulation but insisted that our zoning regulation include a section providing for “Conditional Use Permits” (CUP), which was defined as follows: “…specific uses, other than those specifically permitted in each District or Zone, which may be appropriate under certain safeguards or conditions.”
The Zoning District was formed to stop the rapid expansion of residential subdivisions. Huge tracts of farmland were being converted into hundreds of ‘McMansions’ on 1-acre lots.
Since 1996, commissioners generally honored and respected the values, intent, and purposes of our zoning regulation. The plan was to 1) limit density to preserve wildlife habitat and prevent overcrowding, 2) ensure adequate water quality and quantity, and 3) preserve agricultural lands — all key constituent elements one associates with a quiet, slow-paced rural environment.
Mule deer winter range is explicitly featured and protected with a density limit of 40 acres per parcel of record on February 1, 1994.
One commercial exemption (CUP) just cancelled out 28 years of trust and mutual respect by seriously undercutting the regulatory mechanisms in place to protect agricultural land, mule deer winter range and the rural atmosphere.
CUPs, unavoidably, cause problems. They appear on the surface like other zoning mechanisms, such as special exemptions and variances. However, CUPs function and operate differently.
Their primary purpose is to provide flexibility. True, flexibility can provide public benefits (schools, churches, etc.), but flexibility also hands great power and discretion to county commissioners to grant or deny undesirable/unwanted land uses. County government has been asleep at the wheel, operating with no wildlife standards, “moving fast and break things” and maximizing tax revenue at the expense of rural resident-taxpayers and wildlife.
Commissioners are signaling their hegemonic goals to the masses by doubling down on discretionary power, which threatens wildlife, rural residents, and their land.
Rural residents want recognition, greater respect, and the bad attitude to cease. Stand up and join the resistance against “new variant” totalitarianism or prepare to be herded about on “all fours” among the sheep, goats, and cattle.
French Montana, Rick Ross & Max B Turn the BET Awards Into “
06/28/2026
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GREAT FALLS — For Staff Sgt. Brianna St. Lawrence-Brody, service does not only happen in uniform.
Outside the gates of the base, she works at Benefis as a nurse, Great Falls Public Schools as a school nurse, and comes home as a wife and mom of four. For the Montana Air National Guard, she serves as a command post controller with the 120th Airlift Wing in Great Falls.
(WATCH: Montana nurse and Guard member earns national Air Force recognition)
Montana nurse and Guard member earns national Air Force recognition
This year, St. Lawrence-Brody was named the U.S. Air National Guard’s Outstanding Airman of the Year in the Non-Commissioned Officer category.
She said the recognition came as a surprise, especially because her path into the Guard started later than others.
“I joined very late in life,” St. Lawrence-Brody said. “I joined the Guard right before I turned 40. So for me, every opportunity that’s presented, I want to take the bull by the horns and just run with it and do the best of my ability.”
During the COVID-19 pandemic, she joined the Guard after finishing nursing school. She said she went straight from nursing school into helping open a COVID unit, while also working at Benefis.
She said that experience was the start of one journey, but not the whole of what she wanted to accomplish.
St. Lawrence-Brody joined the Guard for the opportunities, the challenge and to help build a future for her four children.
“It’s a little bit of a competition for myself,” she said. “Like, if I can do it, why not try my best to achieve it?”
120th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
As a command post controller, she assists in helping move information during emergencies and major events.
“Outside, obviously, I’m a nurse. Inside the Guard, I have nothing to do with the medical field, which is kind of amazing,” St. Lawrence-Brody said. “It keeps me on my toes.”
She explained balancing the Guard, two civilian jobs and four children takes support from her family, her employers and her unit. She said Benefis and GFPS have been supportive of her military service.
Her nomination included her deployment experience, training work overseas and involvement across the wing. St. Lawrence-Brody said she deployed to Ramstein Air Base in Germany, where she worked with an operations center supporting entities connected to Africa.
But, she says this recognition is not the finish line.
“This award, it’s not necessarily a landing pad for me,” St. Lawrence-Brody said. “I want to use it as a springboard.”
120th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
St. Lawrence-Brody hopes her story encourages others to keep taking on new opportunities, even when they feel uncertain.
“Get comfortable with being uncomfortable and be okay with doing things afraid,” she said. “I think when you get to be okay with doing things afraid, that’s where you’re going to find the growth.”
She has already won at the Air National Guard level, but she recently traveled to Washington, D.C., as part of the broader Air Force Outstanding Airman of the Year process, which includes nominees from the Guard, Reserve and major commands across the Air Force.
The Montana Lottery offers multiple draw games for those aiming to win big.
Here’s a look at June 27, 2026, results for each game:
Winning Powerball numbers from June 27 drawing
03-16-28-30-59, Powerball: 11, Power Play: 2
Check Powerball payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Lotto America numbers from June 27 drawing
03-08-18-22-39, Star Ball: 06, ASB: 02
Check Lotto America payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Big Sky Bonus numbers from June 27 drawing
05-16-19-27, Bonus: 08
Check Big Sky Bonus payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Powerball Double Play numbers from June 27 drawing
02-26-34-43-45, Powerball: 15
Check Powerball Double Play payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Montana Cash numbers from June 27 drawing
05-09-10-15-35
Check Montana Cash payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Millionaire for Life numbers from June 27 drawing
26-32-38-51-52, Bonus: 05
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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