LEWISTOWN — 27 teams of cheerleaders from across Montana gathered at Fergus High School for Cheerfest.

Justin Robicheau reports – watch the video here:

Cheerleaders showcase talent at Cheerfest

“It’s the largest interscholastic cheerleading competition for Montana. We’re very excited that schools can come and show what they’ve been working all season for. This is our state, this is our divisional. So we’re very excited and can’t wait to see what Montana brings to the mat,” Cheerfest Director Rayna Phelps said.

Phelps said this year’s event is different from last year.

“We were really focusing on ways that we can really up this experience for cheerleaders and dancers across the state of Montana. This year, we included a backdrop, and lots of beautiful accents all throughout. We have a judging table, so it looks really nice,” Phelps said.

“There’s a high school mascot competition. Junior high team competition. There’s all classes of high schools. Class B, class A, double A, small group and large group. There’s dance solos, dance teams from across the state. And we have a college showcase,” Phelps said.

Glasgow High School senior Annika Smith said her school finished third in last year’s Cheerfest.

“I’m so excited. This last year we got third. So I’m really excited to come back and really go and try and get first. And it’s a little sad because it’ll be my last year, but I’m really excited to go out and give it my all,” Smith said.

For Fergus High School senior Miriam Pavlovick, being surrounded by other cheerleaders from across the state is uplifting.

“It’s nice to see, like, a lot so many cheerleaders who enjoy the same thing. So much. And we just all come together and support one another,” Pavlovick said.

“Obviously when we go travel for basketball and state, like that, we’re cheering on our team. And this is a cool opportunity to show what cheerleaders can do and our stunting on all of our dancing and really get to show off a different side of cheerleading,” Smith said.

Registration for next year’s competition will open after Christmas.

MTN News

KALISPELL, Mont. — Flathead Electric reports more than 9,000 customers in Flathead County are currently without power.

Officials say the outage is due to a transmission service disruption from Bonneville Power Administration.

Their outage map currently shows 9,700 outages.

The BPA outage is also affecting Lincoln Electric customers Eureka, Rexford and Trego. Close to 6,000 outages are reported on their outage map.

NBC Montana will continue following this story for updates.

HELENA, Mont. — Montana’s 2026 primary election ballot is taking shape after a busy candidate filing period that drew hundreds of hopefuls.

Secretary of State Christi Jacobsen and the Montana election team finalized the list of candidates after 380 total candidates filed between Feb. 17 and March 4. Of those candidates, 19 withdrew from their races.

Six independent candidates are still waiting to qualify via petition before being added to the general election ballot.

The following was sent out by the Office of the Montana Secretary of State:

Montana Secretary of State Christi Jacobsen and the Montana Election Team have completed ballot certification for Montana’s 2026 Primary Election, finalizing the list of candidates who will appear before voters on Tuesday, June 2.

Pursuant to Montana law, county election administrators certify local candidates for the primary ballot in their respective counties, while the Secretary of State’s Office certifies the names and designations of statewide and state district candidates, including candidates for federal, legislative, and certain judicial offices.

The Montana Commissioner of Political Practices (COPP) notified the Secretary of State’s Office and the county election administrators of any candidate(s) whose name(s) may not appear on the ballot pursuant to Montana law.

“The ballot certification process is a key step in ensuring Montana’s elections are accurate, secure, and transparent,” said Secretary Jacobsen. “I’m grateful to our state election officials and the county election administrators and their teams across the state for their hard work preparing for the 2026 Primary Election.”

A total of 380 candidates filed with the Secretary of State’s Office during the candidate filing period (Tuesday, February 17 – Wednesday, March 4). Several candidates withdrew from their respective races, while Independent candidates are pending petition requirements to qualify for the general election ballot.

Filings with the Secretary of State’s Office included:

• United States Senator: Twelve total candidates filed for the office, though one withdrew and one is pending petition requirements. Five Democrats, three Republicans, and two Libertarians will appear on Montanans’ Primary Election ballots. One Independent candidate must meet Montana’s petition requirements.
• United States Representative: Sixteen total filings in the 1st and 2nd Congressional races.
• 1st Congressional (MT-01) Ten candidates submitted paperwork for the Congressional seat – four Democrats, four Republicans, and one Libertarian. One Independent candidate must meet petition requirements. The incumbent did not file for re-election.
• 2nd Congressional (MT-02) Six candidates submitted filing paperwork, including the incumbent, who is the lone Republican to file for the race. Three Democrats and one Libertarian filed, while one Independent also submitted their paperwork for the race and is pending petition requirements.
• Public Service Commission: Seven candidates will appear on the ballot for the two PSC seats.
• PSC District 1: Two Republicans and one Democrat will appear before voters for the open seat.
• PSC District 5: The incumbent is one of three Republicans to file for the seat, while one Democrat also filed.
• Supreme Court Justice: Two candidates filed for the Supreme Court Justice No. 4 race – Judge Dan Wilson was the first to file for Montana’s high court, and Judge Amy Eddy followed suit later the same day.
• District Court Judge: Thirteen candidates submitted filings, including several judges currently on the bench.
• Legislature: The majority of candidate filings were for Legislative seats, where 329 total filings were submitted to the Secretary of State’s Office, nearly 130 of which came on the opening day.
• Montana State Senate: Sixty-six candidates qualified for the 2026 Primary Election, including more than 10 incumbents.
• Montana State House: A total of 235 candidates qualified for the 2026 Primary Election. Three Independent candidates are pending petition requirements. Dozens of incumbents filed for re-election.

For more information, visit the candidate filing page on the Secretary of State’s website at https://sosmt.gov/elections/filing/.