Montana
Senate leader says Montana judges are doing such a great job, they need more investigating • Daily Montanan
Being confused by government is an American birthright.
That’s where journalism comes in — to explain the process and the procedure.
But even I can’t tell you what, exactly, happened at a recent legislative audit committee meeting, and from the sounds of others on the committee, they may have been equally flummoxed by Montana Senate President Jason Ellsworth, a Republican from Hamilton.
Here’s my summary:
During a meeting last Wednesday, Ellsworth appreciated the legislative auditing staff’s work so much he couldn’t accept it.
Ellsworth thinks that the “vast, vast, vast majority” of judges in the state work hard and make great decisions.
He even believes that the majority of complaints filed against judges at the Judicial Standards Commission are frivolous.
But he just can’t accept that the commission can function on its own without the approval or oversight of the Legislature. And in an odd and contorted meeting last week, he got fellow Republicans to go along with not approving a Legislative Audit Committee report that, according to Ellsworth, did a 100% correct job in its totality of reviewing the Judicial Standards Commission. (The committee deadlocked 6-to-6, an unusual, but not unprecedented outcome.)
To attempt summarization here, which could give you the mistaken impression that I understood Ellsworth’s position completely, the legislative auditors had opened his eyes to the fact that the judiciary is a separate branch of government, not beholden to the expectations of any political party.
The audit process is laid out in state law, so Ellsworth and Republicans’ disapproval of the report is largely symbolic because the audit happened and was released regardless. The deadlocked vote was merely another display of petulance by Republicans who have registered their dissatisfaction of the judiciary in numerous ways throughout the past few years, including seizing emails of the judiciary and then not giving them back, despite orders to do so.
But, you know, in case anyone was wondering: The Republicans are mad at the judiciary.
Still.
During the meeting, Ellsworth didn’t gin up outrage so much as confusion, as he had repeatedly tried to explain his rationale, and attempted a parliamentary trick of using a substitute motion, which had members scurrying to find their rulebooks and one representative to ask for a parliamentarian like a burning man would request water.
“It’s established in our rules. We would need parliamentarian … it’s just an alternate motion. But per our rules, it’s a non-debatable motion,” Ellsworth said, trying to cut off any conversation.
Rep. Emma Kerr-Carpenter, D-Billings, asked for some clarification, which didn’t go well.
“I’m not asking for debate, just clarification from legal counsel, who is our de facto parliamentarian, about what this actually does,” she said.
“It’s a non-debatable motion. So the rules are the rules are the rules. I made it because I sat on rules committee,” Ellsworth said.
How ironic is it that Ellsworth, who has been a one-man vendetta against the judiciary because they are following the law, would chastise another member of the Legislature with the “rules are the rules” when that’s exactly what the audit report found the judges to be doing — following the rules?
He insults the people of the state who judiciously decided that they wanted their judges and courts to be beyond the reach of garden-variety politics.
Ellsworth seems to forget that for the first century of Montana politics, the judiciary was never far from the reach of rich corporations and the politicians who could manipulate the courts. He forgot that one of the copper kings, F. Augustus Heinze, was said to have more lawyers on staff than geologists. Or that citizens had to rise up in 1911 and 1913 to demand a ballot and initiative process to get around a court system that had been corrupted by the political system.
The audit that Republicans asked for showed that next to Wyoming and Tennessee, Montana has one of the highest rates of judicial discipline in the nation, certainly something that doesn’t fit very conveniently into a narrative that Montana’s judiciary has somehow gone rogue or is beyond the reach of discipline.
The auditors found that most of Montana’s practices mirror other states, and that if there is a flaw, it’s that more information isn’t released when the members of the JSC mete out some sort of corrective action.
Ellsworth wants to convince voters that the judiciary gets to police itself via the Judicial Standards Commission, but that, too, is nifty sound bite because citizens hold two seats on the five-person commission and a lawyer also sits on it, making the judges outnumbered.
Watching Ellsworth try to twist his mangled logic into some sort of coherence on Wednesday was poor political theater as even members of his own party asked repeatedly for him to explain the motion and his rationale. One member even joked that he wanted to vote “maybe,” because he was as apparently as confused as the rest of us.
What we’re seeing has two problematic outcomes, though.
First, these stunts discredit the work of judges and the judiciary. Constantly questioning the judiciary’s motives, especially when politicians know that some of the court’s work must be done privately and confidentially to protect those who are vulnerable or whose privacy is not a political football, has a corrosive effect. We have heard so often that we cannot trust judges or the courts that it becomes a sort of urban legend.
Second, we’re seeing in real time what happens when politicians don’t get the answers they want — it’s apparent they’ll keep wasting our time and money investigating something that’s simply not there.
But if you don’t believe my words, then at least listen to Ellsworth’s:
“We know vast majority of complaints are not legit. But there are legit complaints. I have met a constituent with a complaint on a judge. It’s very rare because I think judges do a great job in this state. I want to be able to tell them we’re taking it serious.”
Yes, judges are doing a great job in this state, Sen. Ellsworth.
But, can the same be said for the Legislature?
Montana
How one Montanan has tapped into the market of bison shearing — and turned it into a successful business
CLYDE PARK — You might be familiar with alpaca shearing, but did you know there’s a man right here in Montana who also shears bison? And has made it into a successful business?
“This bail right here, that is 500 pounds of bison fiber that is going to Italy,” said Peter Connelly.
WATCH: Montana man turns bison shearing into a business, calls it the last unexplored natural fiber
Montana man turns bison shearing into a business, calls it the last unexplored natural fiber
Connelly has been shearing for 21 years.
“About 13 years ago, I had an opportunity to start shearing bison hides,” said Connelly. “It was the most amazing thing. Like, they look rough and rugged, which they are… but when you get into their winter coat that they grow, it’s as soft as cashmere.”
As Connelly explains, he was first contracting for companies as a bison shearer. But, he noticed they would mostly use the bison fibers for beanies and socks. He saw more potential.
“Bison has been gate-kept essentially by the people that we were shearing for,” said Connelly. “There’s a lot of interest. It’s the last natural fiber that has not been explored.”
So, he decided to expand, partnering with various companies to do research and development with bison fiber.
“We know what we want to do with it, but we want to see what other people can do with it,” said Connelly.
In addition to selling bison fiber, Connelly founded a company last October called Ember Heritage to sell his own products, such as shirts and blankets.
“We’ve built this company vertically. So, at a point in our manufacturing chain, we can sell,” said Connelly.
Besides breaking into an untapped market, Connelly says bison shearing helps reduce waste, as it is a byproduct of the meat industry.
“If we don’t shear it, it goes to the tannery, and the tannery just uses chemicals to melt off the fiber to get to the leather,” he said.
End-to-end, Connelly says shearing bison benefits everyone involved.
“What we’re doing by basically renting the hide from them is adding value to the animal so the rancher gets more money when he brings the animal in on the hoof,” said Connelly.
“All the way around, everyone is doing better because we just added one more step,” he added.
If you’re interested in learning more about Ember Heritage, visit this link.
The Montana Lottery offers multiple draw games for those aiming to win big.
Here’s a look at June 13, 2026, results for each game:
Winning Powerball numbers from June 13 drawing
03-13-44-50-53, Powerball: 02, Power Play: 4
Check Powerball payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Lotto America numbers from June 13 drawing
06-13-31-35-48, Star Ball: 07, ASB: 05
Check Lotto America payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Big Sky Bonus numbers from June 13 drawing
05-11-14-31, Bonus: 03
Check Big Sky Bonus payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Powerball Double Play numbers from June 13 drawing
24-55-56-57-67, Powerball: 15
Check Powerball Double Play payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Montana Cash numbers from June 13 drawing
08-28-40-43-44
Check Montana Cash payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Millionaire for Life numbers from June 13 drawing
03-05-11-13-49, Bonus: 01
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.
LAUREL — Firefighters gathered shoulder-to-shoulder in Laurel to honor Ruben Romero.
Romero was a wildland firefighter from Oregon who died of a heart attack while fighting the Bivens Fire in the Tobacco Root Mountains.
The solemn ceremony took place at the Montana State Firefighters Memorial, where Romero’s name was added to a wall that now carries nearly 100 names.
Watch the full story below:
Montana State Firefighters Memorial honor fallen firefighters at ceremony
Jamie Swecker, board chair of the Montana State Firefighters Memorial, said every name on that wall represents more than the fallen — it represents the families left behind.
“Honoring their sacrifice, not only their sacrifices, we have almost 100 names on the wall and the families. Their sacrifices that they’ve gone through after they’ve lost their love to a fire,” Swecker said Saturday.
Swecker said even one name added is too many.
“One of these years we’re hoping that we have none to add,” Swecker said.
The ceremony drew people from across the state, including Missoula Fire Chief Lonnie Rash, who said the fire service does not let distance stand in the way of honoring its own.
“As the brotherhood, the sisterhood, the fire service, regardless, when one of our own is deceased, we drop everything and try to make sure that they, their family are comforted and that we can recognize the sacrifice that they made,” Rash said.
Rash said the ceremony also serves as a reminder to every firefighter still serving.
“The importance is to remind everybody else who continues to serve that there is a dangerous job, that they need to pay attention and make sure that they’re safe, that they’re taking care of their physical and their mental well-being so that they’re able to go out and help our community,” Rash said.
Romero was not from Montana. He was a contract firefighter from Keizer, Oregon.
Rash said that does not matter to the fire service.
“That it shows the resilience of firefighters across the nation that we’re all doing the same job. We’re doing the same (thing), have the same impacts. Regardless of where we’re from, we recognize the importance of the sacrifice that Ruben made here in Montana,” Rash said.
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