Montana
Secretary of state sought to sway Cascade County election administrator vote
Maxine Speier With Montana news, I’m Maxine Speier. Last month, Cascade County commissioners capped a tumultuous year of election discord when they hired a new nonpartisan election administrator. But according to new reporting from online publication The Electric, Montana Secretary of State Christi Jacobsen emailed commissioners before they made their choice and advised them against hiring two of the four candidates for the job.
Reporter for The Electric, Jenn Rowell, joined MTPR’s Austin Amestoy to share more about the email and the response from the county’s commissioners.
Austin Amestoy Jenn, thanks so much for being on today.
Jenn Rowell Yeah, of course. Thanks for having me.
Austin Amestoy So, Jenn, tell us a little bit more about this email that Secretary of State Jacobsen sent to Cascade County’s commissioners. That’s Jim Larson, Joe Briggs, and Rae Grulkowski. When did she send this email and what exactly did it say?
Jenn Rowell She sent an email to the county commissioners on February 14th. So the day before they were scheduled to meet and make a selection for their new hire, she asked them not to hire Rina Moore, who was the former clerk and recorder in the county or anyone from her administration, which was one other candidate for the job. And she said that doing so would undermine the will of the voters, among other reasons. But she did not specify what those reasons were.
Austin Amestoy Interesting. And I want to remind listeners here, catch them up on the background of this story. Rina Fontana Moore was the former Democratic election administrator in Cascade County, back when that job was still held by an elected official. She was narrowly defeated by a Republican in 2022, and now Secretary of State Jacobsen apparently advised Cascade County commissioners to not hire her for the new nonpartisan election administrator job. Jen, how did commissioners react to getting that email? I assume you checked in with them?
Jenn Rowell I did. I called Jim Larson and Joe Briggs. I had sent an email to Rae and Sandra and didn’t hear back from them, but Jim and Joe were both, they told me they were surprised. Jim Larson said shocked was the word he used, to get that email.
Austin Amestoy Yeah. Did they say if the Secretary of State’s email swayed their final decision at all?
Jenn Rowell Right. They I asked both of them that and they said that it did not impact their decision. They use, like a scoring matrix when they do their interviews. And Terry scored highest. They told me that it didn’t factor into their decision making.
Austin Amestoy And that’s, Terry Thompson, the new election administrator, the former head of the Great Falls Realtors Organization. Jenn, did you get a sense for how common it is for Jacobsen or really any secretary of state, for that matter, to weigh in on the hiring process for county election administrators?
Jenn Rowell I called a few people that kind of worked in that realm longer than I had, or covered politics, or had had this job before, and asked them if they’d ever heard of that. And everyone gave me the impression that that was not something that had happened before, or at least not that they had heard of. I also called Yellowstone County because they had in fall of 2020, their hired election administrator had resigned. So they also had to appoint a new or hire a new person. So I called and asked them if the Secretary of State had offered thoughts during that process, and they said no.
Austin Amestoy Once again, reporter for The Electric, Jenn Rowell sharing her reporting with us. Jenn, thank you so much.
Jenn Rowell Yeah, of course.
Update: In a statement, Secretary of State spokesperson Richie Melby said Jacobsen was “focused on working with Cascade County’s new election administrator” and did not clarify if Jacobsen sent the email in her official role as secretary of state.
Montana
Montana Lottery Powerball, Lotto America results for March 4, 2026
The Montana Lottery offers multiple draw games for those aiming to win big.
Here’s a look at March 4, 2026, results for each game:
Winning Powerball numbers from March 4 drawing
07-14-42-47-56, Powerball: 06, Power Play: 4
Check Powerball payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Lotto America numbers from March 4 drawing
33-38-39-47-51, Star Ball: 07, ASB: 02
Check Lotto America payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Big Sky Bonus numbers from March 4 drawing
01-07-08-27, Bonus: 12
Check Big Sky Bonus payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Powerball Double Play numbers from March 4 drawing
05-10-26-53-59, Powerball: 06
Check Powerball Double Play payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Montana Cash numbers from March 4 drawing
03-04-06-08-10
Check Montana Cash payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Millionaire for Life numbers from March 4 drawing
12-13-36-39-58, Bonus: 03
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.
Montana
University of Montana president job draws high interest • Daily Montanan
The search for a new University of Montana president has drawn more than 60 applicants, according to a spokesperson for the Office of the Commissioner of Higher Education.
“We do not have an exact count at this time, as several applications are still being completed and additional submissions are expected,” said spokesperson and Deputy Commissioner Galen Hollenbaugh in an email earlier this week.
In January, then-UM-President Seth Bodnar announced his resignation to pursue other public service. Wednesday, the final day of filing, he announced he was running as an independent for the U.S. Senate to try to unseat Republican incumbent Steve Daines.
Commissioner of Higher Education Clayton Christian earlier said that with the advice of AGB Search, a firm that’s helped the Montana University System conduct other executive searches, he would undertake an expedited process to appoint a new president.
Christian has been providing brief updates on a website dedicated to the search. Last week, he said he and AGB Search are reviewing applications, and the pool of candidates was “strong and diverse.”
The commissioner also announced he was convening a small working group to assist in the search, members who “represent a variety of perspectives to assist in vetting and narrowing this field of exceptional candidates.”
In an email this week, Hollenbaugh identified the members of the working group who are assisting Christian with application review as:
- Community member and former Regent Joyce Dombrouski
- Faculty Senate Chairperson Valerie Moody
- Staff Senate President Dominic Beccari
- Administration Representative John DeBoer (Vice President of Academic Affairs)
- ASUM (Associated Students of the University of Montana) President Buddy Wilson
Hollenbaugh declined to comment on the way the rest of the process would unfold or the role the working group members would play.
Christian earlier said he anticipated an appointment within one to three months, or as soon as early this month.
Montana
Montana Supreme Court allows ballot measure on initiative process to move forward
HELENA — The Montana Supreme Court has ruled in favor of a proposed ballot measure intended to simplify the process for introducing ballot measures in the future.
Justices ruled 5-2 that the measure, currently called Ballot Issue #8, did not violate state requirements that a single constitutional amendment can’t make multiple separate changes to the Montana Constitution.
“We’re very grateful to the Montana Supreme Court for agreeing with us that the attorney general’s finding of legal insufficiency for Ballot Issue #8 was incorrect,” said SK Rossi, a spokesperson for Montanans Decide, the group sponsoring the measure.
Montanans Decide argues the Montana Legislature has passed laws making it harder for the public to propose and pass ballot issues. The Montana Constitution already guarantees the people the right to pass laws and amendments through ballot measures, but Ballot Issue #8 would expand that to include a right to “impartial, predictable, transparent, and expeditious processes” for proposing those measures. It would seek to prevent “interference from the government or the use of government resources to support or oppose the ballot issue.”
Attorney General Austin Knudsen’s office argued the measure “implicitly amended” multiple provisions in the state constitution, including by limiting the “power and authority of public officials to speak officially on ballot issues that affect those officials’ public duties” and by putting restrictions on judges and on the Legislature. Montanans Decide, the group sponsoring Ballot Issue #8, disagreed – and the majority of justices sided with them.
“Its provisions operate together to define and protect a single constitutional right—the people’s exercise of initiative and referendum,” wrote Justice Katherine Bidegaray in the majority opinion. “They are closely related components of one constitutional design.”
Bidegaray’s majority opinion was joined by Justices Jim Shea, Laurie McKinnon, Beth Baker and Ingrid Gustafson.
Chief Justice Cory Swanson and Justice Jim Rice each wrote dissenting opinions, saying they would have upheld Knudsen’s decision to disallow Ballot Issue #8. Rice said the language restricting government interference with a ballot issue was not closely related and should have been a separate vote. Swanson agreed with Rice and said the measure’s attempt to fix a timeline for legal cases surrounding ballot measures was also a separate substantial change.
In a statement, Chase Scheuer, a spokesperson for Knudsen’s office, reacted to the decision.
“This decision only further muddies the courts’ jurisprudence on ballot issue questions,” he said. “This initiative would violate the separate vote requirement by amending multiple parts of the Montana Constitution, but the court contradicted its prior rulings. Attorney General Knudsen will continue to neutrally apply the separate vote requirement in his review of ballot initiatives.”
The court’s decision means that Knudsen’s office will now need to approve ballot language for Ballot Issue #8. Once that language is finalized, Montanans Decide could begin gathering signatures to qualify the measure for the November ballot.
However, last year, sponsors of another initiative went to the Supreme Court to argue that the ballot statements Knudsen prepared were misleading. If Montanans Decide object to their ballot statements, that could further delay signature gathering while the case plays out in court.
“Regardless, we’re going to push as hard as we can to get those petitions into the hands of voters and let them sign and support if they so choose,” said Rossi.
Rossi said the legal battle this measure has gone through – and the possibility of more to come – shows why Ballot Issue #8 is needed.
“The state Legislature, and also statewide elected officials, have taken every opportunity to create burdens and hurdles and rigamarole for campaigns to get through in order to just get to the signature gathering phase, and then to get through the signature gathering phase onto the ballot, and then get through the election phase,” said Rossi. “The reason we filed this initiative is just to make sure that the process is simple, that the timeline is clear, and that Montanans can have their will heard when they want to propose and pass laws that they deem worthy.”
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