Montana

Report: Montana is sitting on millions in funds to combat the opioid crisis

Published

2 years ago

January 23, 2024

Report: Montana is sitting on millions in funds to combat the opioid crisis

Millions of dollars have flowed into Montana over the last year to help combat the opioid crisis, but the vast majority remains unspent. That’s according to reporting from KFF Health News, which found some states are off to a slow start in distributing settlement money paid by opioid manufacturers and sellers. Reporter Katheryn Houghton joined Montana Public Radio’s Austin Amestoy with the details.

AUSTIN AMESTOY: Katheryn, help put this into context for us. How much money has Montana received from these settlements at this point, and how much has actually been distributed so far?

KATHERYN HOUGHTON: So, at this point, we know there’s more than $13 million that has arrived in Montana, and the biggest share of that remains untouched. So, most of Montana’s settlement dollars — 70% — are going into an opioid abatement trust. And, the goal behind that trust is that local governments or organizations can request funding through it. So, there’s actually a grant portal where they submit their ideas of ways to respond to the crisis and how this money could get used. At this point, that trust is only met once, and it was to really define their basic rules of operation. They’re not due to meet again until April, so we’ve still got a couple of months. And, we’re now looking more than a year in, but we’ve still got a couple of months before any of this money would actually make it out into the communities.

AUSTIN AMESTOY: And, $13 million over the course of a year — I mean, that’s a lot of money. But, how much more are we talking about, and how long is that expected to be rolling in to the state?

KATHERYN HOUGHTON: Montana’s due to receive $80 million over the next, roughly, two decades. So, it’s a pretty slow process. The money is coming in very gradually, and I should say that there are small slices of the pie that are being sent directly to local governments, but that funding is not being tracked. And then, another slice that’s going directly to a state fund. But, when I talked to officials by the end of November, they had yet to touch their share as well.

AUSTIN AMESTOY: I mean, that’s a pretty substantial amount of money. And, we know from your reporting this is coming from settlements with opioid sellers, manufacturers — what do we know about the scale of the actual opioid crisis in Montana at this point?

KATHERYN HOUGHTON: So, we know that these drugs are getting stronger and less expensive. So, they’re getting the hands of more people and they’re more deadly. So, in Montana, we’ve actually seen a large jump in the number of people who are hospitalized because of an overdose. And with that, we’ve also seen an increase of people who are actually dying from an overdose. So, in 2021, we saw 200 people die of an overdose. And when you’re talking about a state of a little more than a million, that’s a pretty big impact.

AUSTIN AMESTOY: It’s pretty apparent that the crisis is not unwinding on its own, which is part of what this pool of settlement money is intended to help solve. I am curious, though – what’s the holdup in Montana with distributing those funds? And, have other states been issuing their dollars up to this point?

KATHERYN HOUGHTON: The the biggest reason I’ve gotten from those in charge of doling out this money is that, you know, “This is a lot of money over a long time. We need to make sure to set up the system well, so that it’s done right; so that we make sure this money is going to be used in a way that’s actually going to help curb this problem.” We know that Montana isn’t alone. There are a few states that have really taken their time in setting up systems. That means they haven’t actually touched the lion’s share of their funding. But, we did find other states that have been distributing this funding for months.

AUSTIN AMESTOY: It’s actually very reminiscent of COVID-19 relief dollars in some ways. And, I think with that, you know, the urgency felt very built-in and present, given it being a pandemic-scale event. But, the opioid overdose epidemic is similar in a lot of ways. I think it’s just a little bit more behind-the-scenes than something like COVID-19 was. I just think that comparison there is kind of interesting.

KATHERYN HOUGHTON: No, I think that is interesting, because you are talking about, like, unprecedented pools of money coming into Montana like you were with the pandemic. So, one of the things that I heard from somebody who’s on the board of the trust, who is also working in, kind of, local efforts in a rural county in eastern Montana, was that, you don’t get a chance to right a wrong like this very often with this big of a backing, with this many resources. And so, you want to make sure you don’t mess it up.

AUSTIN AMESTOY: Well, on that note, are the health care providers that you spoke with in Montana confident that, once all this money’s paid out to the state, once it’s in the hands of people who can make change — are they confident the money can be successful in, sort of, reversing the trends we’ve seen with the opioid crisis?

KATHERYN HOUGHTON: Well, yes. First off, more money is always a good thing when you’re trying to increase access to services or treatment, especially in a broad, rural state like Montana, where everything’s really far-scattered at this point. I will say, there’s a lot of questions on how this money’s going to be used, but I talked to behavioral health and addiction treatment providers who are frustrated that this money hasn’t been tapped into yet. They’re seeing a workforce shortage, they’re seeing waitlists for their services, they’re seeing too few resources for people once they’re discharged from their services. And, they say that money now, even if it’s just from this initial pool of funding, would be really helpful if they could start getting that cash.

AUSTIN AMESTOY: Reporter Katheryn Houghton with KFF Health News. Katheryn, thank you so much for sharing your reporting with us.

KATHERYN HOUGHTON: Thank you so much for the time.

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Montana

Montana nurse and Guard member earns national Air Force recognition

Published

47 minutes ago

June 28, 2026

Press Room

Montana nurse and Guard member earns national Air Force recognition

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.”

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.

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Montana

Montana Lottery Powerball, Lotto America results for June 27, 2026

Published

11 hours ago

June 28, 2026

Press Room

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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Montana

Iron (MN) HS ATH Isaiah Asuma Commits to Montana State

Published

21 hours ago

June 27, 2026

Press Room

Iron (MN) HS ATH Isaiah Asuma Commits to Montana State

Iron (MN) Cherry High School athlete Isaiah Asuma announced his commitment to Montana State on Monday, adding to an already impressive recruiting class for the reigning FCS national champions.

“I committed to Montana State because I love what the football program has been and has to offer,” Asuma said. “I love Bozeman, and I really fell in love with the coaching staff and what they had for future plans for me. I really think they can develop me for the next level.”

The 5-foot-11, 180-pounder, who is also a standout basketball player for the Tigers, received an offer from the Bobcats on April 17, after speaking with head coach Brent Vigen when he was in Bozeman for a Junior Day.

“My family and I had a conversation with Coach Vigen in his office, and he was just telling me that he really liked my game and really thought I could make an impact for them! That was when he offered me. Being around him a couple of times now, we have developed a good relationship, and I love who he is as a person and a coach. He’s always gonna shoot you straight, and he’s never gonna lie to you.”

Let’s do it, Cat Nation. 💙💛🤍#AGTG #COMMITTED pic.twitter.com/20f54Xvmrz
— isaiahasuma (@AsumaIsaiah) June 22, 2026
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Asuma has yet to take his official visit with the Bobcats, but even after just a few visits to Bozeman, he saw enough and decided to announce his commitment.

“I have not taken my official visit yet, but I have been out there two times, and I love Bozeman. The first time I went out there, I fell in love with it. I come from a small town in Minnesota, so that’s like nothing I’ve ever seen before out there. It is pretty amazing!”

Last season, the Tigers finished 4-5, but Asuma had a great season, finishing with 1,233 passing yards, 13 touchdowns, 1,044 rushing yards, and 12 rushing touchdowns, while adding 58 tackles and four interceptions.

“Last season was solid, but we were a .500 team. I had a good individual year, and since I go to a smaller school, I played both quarterback and free safety.”

This season, he is hoping to lead the Tigers to a winning record, as well as have another big season, which could be a challenge as they will have a young squad.

“The offseason has been good. I just started summer practice and weights again with the team, in addition to training with my trainer, Dre Sherril, with explosive agility stuff and weightlifting. My goals for this upcoming season are to try to rush for 1,000 yards again and be a .500 team. Our team is super young this year, so I’m just hoping to have a solid year again.”

Asuma adds to a Bobcats recruiting class that includes three-star wide receiver Kase Betz, defensive lineman Dax Yeager, offensive lineman Kade Leibrand, EDGE Dominick Webb, defensive back Kei’Dryn Edmond, offensive lineman Maciah Keene, tight end Carter Zollar, running back DaKari Releford, among others.