Montana
The Montana Ballot Packet: What to Do
Voters have waited with baited breaths for their ballot to arrive in their mailboxes. A caller this morning inspired me to this post about the ballots just mailed out…all three of them.
Credit: Travis Lee, TSM
A coworker agreed with this topic choice, then added, “My father-in-law called me last night, asking questions about the ballots.” I suppose it’s understandable. We expect something pretty clearcut and it’s not quite. For those new to voting, or anyone confused by what they received, let’s see if I can help.
The state of Montana does not document party affiliation for a resident when they register to vote. The voter cards mailed earlier do not list party. In the primary election, such as now in May, a voter is free to decide which party races they will vote in. So a Montanan can cast a ballot for either Democrat, Republican or Green. Others in the state have four ballots in their packet.
The most important sheet of paper in the ballot packet is the Voting Instructions. Follow these steps and your choices will be respected and counted.
While the steps are pretty straightforward, number 1 states “Choose ONE Ballot to Vote.”
Credit: Travis Lee, TSM
Translated: No, please don’t mark all three or four and send them in. Waste of your vote. The Elections office will not count them. A voter is free to choose the one party‘s races they care about and will participate in by voting.
Another caller this morning urged listeners to fill out their ballot and turn it in as soon as possible. Why? The only reason a voter should sent it in ASAP is if they will mail it. The Postal Service will need days for delivery. Like the Instructions clearly says at the top “a postmark is not accepted.” The best practice is to deliver in person. That being said, you have until June 4th to carefully think about your choices and fill out the ballot, then turn it in to the Elections Office or drop it in an official ballot box. As of the date of this article, you have time.
“Who Should I Vote For?”
This is a risky question to ask. A radio guest suggested that if you absolutely don’t know who to vote for in a particular race, ask someone who follows all this political stuff and who can tell you who to vote for. I’m a little bothered by this advice because at first blush it seems like ceding control of your vote to another person. But then who do you ask? I will therefore add that you should ask someone who is knowledgeable and whom you trust, and they should give you concrete information or point you where to look for yourself. Answers like “Vote for him, he’s a (political view)” or “I met her, nice lady” is not nearly enough to make an informed choice.
Perhaps a better question is “Who do you recommend for this specific race, and why?”
Still, do your homework. An incumbent candidate has a voting record; look it up. How did they vote on key issues when it mattered most? What they say in news articles and on media should again be taken with salt. Politicians say all manner of things. Their social media may give some insight. Their votes and their actions are their true voice. And again, you have time.
The key message I have is that you should be in control of your vote. Don’t give your power to someone else with an unfilled ballot or have someone other than the Postal Service deliver it for you. That piece of paper, that ballot, is truly your power in these elections.
Plant Some Of These In Your Montana Garden to Keep Mosquitoes Away
Gallery Credit: Michelle Heart
Safety Town 2024 Great Falls, Montana
Safety Town 2024 Great Falls, Montana
Gallery Credit: Tammie Toren
The Montana Lottery offers multiple draw games for those aiming to win big.
Here’s a look at July 10, 2026, results for each game:
Winning Mega Millions numbers from July 10 drawing
02-39-44-46-56, Mega Ball: 23
Check Mega Millions payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Big Sky Bonus numbers from July 10 drawing
10-13-23-30, Bonus: 02
Check Big Sky Bonus payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Millionaire for Life numbers from July 10 drawing
14-42-46-47-57, 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.
DILLON, Mont. — Low oxygen levels and excess nutrients led the Montana Department of Environmental Quality to officially determine that the Big Hole River is impaired, state officials said.
The conditions are affecting aquatic life and recreation along parts of the river. Officials said the nutrients can fuel algae and plant growth, especially during hot, low-water conditions.
The Big Hole has been the focus of water quality restoration efforts for decades, with more than $1.3 million in federal Clean Water Act funding invested since 1988.
The impairment will be included in DEQ’s next water quality report. Restoration work and funding for the watershed will continue.
In these Montana towns a stranger rarely stays a stranger for long. Shopkeepers in Philipsburg know their regulars by name. Bigfork neighbors fill the same theater seats every summer. Livingston locals still swap trail tips with visitors over coffee. The welcome here comes from people who greet newcomers like they belong. These eight communities show what small-town Montana hospitality looks like up close.
Whitefish
Whitefish sits within an hour of Glacier National Park, and that proximity shapes everything about the town. Central Avenue runs on covered Old West walkways lined with local shops, restaurants, and galleries, and the crowd shifts with the seasons as skiers give way to summer hikers.
Glacier National Park draws visitors with hundreds of miles of hiking trails, alpine lakes, and the scenic Going-to-the-Sun Road. Closer to town, Whitefish Lake offers public beaches, boat rentals, paddleboarding, and fishing during the warmer months. When winter arrives, Whitefish Mountain Resort becomes the area’s main attraction, with ski runs, snowboarding terrain, and gondola rides overlooking the Flathead Valley. Even after a day outdoors, many visitors return to downtown Whitefish to browse local shops or settle in at the town’s restaurants and breweries.
Bigfork
Sitting on the northeastern shore of Flathead Lake, Bigfork pairs a working harbor with a downtown built around its artists. Galleries and studios cluster within a few walkable blocks, and the water is never out of sight for long.
Flathead Lake is the town’s biggest draw, with boating, kayaking, fishing, and swimming on the largest natural freshwater lake west of the Mississippi River in the lower 48 states. Just offshore, Wild Horse Island State Park lets visitors hike among native wildlife, including wild horses, bighorn sheep, bald eagles, and mule deer. Theater lovers can catch a Broadway-style production at Bigfork Summer Playhouse, which has staged live performances for decades. Before leaving town, visitors can browse the independently owned galleries and studios showcasing paintings, sculptures, ceramics, and other work by Montana artists.
Philipsburg
Philipsburg made its money in silver, and the painted storefronts along Broadway Street date to those boom years. The old buildings now hold local businesses, and the mining past is easy to trace from one block to the next.
A visit to Gem Mountain Sapphire Mine lets visitors sift through mining gravel for Montana sapphires, many of which can be cut into finished gemstones. Just outside town, Granite Ghost Town State Park preserves the remains of a silver mining community, with abandoned buildings that mark the region’s boom years. Those interested in local history can stop at the Granite County Museum, where exhibits cover the area’s mining industry and early settlement. Before leaving, many visitors make time for The Sweet Palace, a candy store that has become one of the town’s signature stops.
Livingston
Livingston sits on the Yellowstone River and serves as a northern gateway to Yellowstone National Park. Restored commercial buildings house an active arts scene, and the Absaroka Range rises just south of the rooflines.
The historic downtown works as the town’s main visitor area, with independent bookstores, outfitters, cafes, and long-standing local businesses inside restored commercial buildings. At the Yellowstone Gateway Museum, exhibits trace the region’s history through Indigenous presence, railroad expansion, and early settlement in the Yellowstone Valley. Small galleries across the downtown core show work by regional artists whose subjects often reflect the river valley and the mountains around it.
Red Lodge
Red Lodge marks the start of the Beartooth Highway, one of the highest paved roads in the country. Its compact, walkable downtown keeps locally owned shops and restaurants busy in every season.
The Beartooth Highway climbs into the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness and continues toward Yellowstone National Park, with steep mountain passes, alpine lakes, and long-range views. In winter, Red Lodge Mountain becomes a major recreation area for skiing and snowboarding, with terrain that draws residents and visitors alike. During the warmer months, hiking trails in the surrounding mountains open onto forests, ridgelines, and wildlife viewing areas. Downtown Red Lodge stays active year-round, with local businesses and historic buildings packed into a walkable core.
Choteau
Choteau sits where the prairie meets the Rocky Mountain Front, and dinosaurs put it on the map. Fossil beds nearby produced some of the most important dinosaur nesting discoveries in North America, and the town leans into that history.
At the Old Trail Museum, exhibits cover the region’s natural history, including fossil finds and artifacts tied to its prehistoric past. The surrounding country is known for wildlife viewing, with elk, deer, and many bird species in the foothills and open plains near town. Just outside Choteau, fossil sites linked to major dinosaur discoveries have built the area’s reputation in paleontology research. The Rocky Mountain Front opens onto hiking routes and wide viewpoints where the plains give way to the peaks.
Stevensville
Stevensville is the oldest permanent settlement in Montana, founded in 1841 as St. Mary’s Mission. It sits in the Bitterroot Valley between the Bitterroot and Sapphire mountains, and the town center still runs at a slower pace.
St. Mary’s Mission is the town’s most significant landmark, preserving the mission’s early buildings and marking the first permanent Euro-American settlement in what became Montana. The Bitterroot Valley around Stevensville is known for its orchards, farmland, and mountain views, and it serves as a corridor to nearby communities and recreation areas. Local boutiques and small shops fill a compact town center that reflects its long history. Hiking trails in the nearby foothills reach forested terrain, open meadows, and views of the Bitterroot Mountains, drawing the most traffic during the warmer months.
Virginia City
Virginia City boomed after an 1863 gold strike in Alder Gulch, and much of that town survived. Wooden boardwalks, original storefronts, and period buildings still line the Main Street, so a walk here doubles as a walk through the 1860s.
Historic structures throughout the town can be toured to see how miners, shopkeepers, and early settlers lived during the gold rush era. Several small museums and preserved buildings cover mining equipment, frontier life, and local governance during the 1800s. Costumed interpreters run seasonal reenactments as well, recreating daily routines and events from Virginia City’s early years.
Small Towns Worth the Detour
These eight towns show how much Montana packs into its smaller communities. Livingston and Whitefish put national parks within reach of a walkable downtown, while Philipsburg and Virginia City keep their mining-era streets intact and open to visitors. Choteau turns fossil country into a point of local pride, and Stevensville carries the state’s oldest roots. Anyone looking for genuine small-town hospitality will find plenty of it across these Montana communities.
-
News20 minutes agoUS congressman says he was detained by armed Israeli settlers in occupied West Bank
-
Los Angeles, Ca2 hours agoNew details emerge in fatal stabbing of boy in El Monte
-
Detroit, MI2 hours ago1 dead, 1 injured after two-vehicle crash at Collingwood and Belleterre in Detroit
-
San Francisco, CA2 hours ago4 arrested, 3 cited after brawl following Giants vs. Rockies game at Oracle Park
-
Dallas, TX2 hours agoMark Cuban takes legal action against Dallas Mavericks ownership over potential new arena deal
-
Miami, FL2 hours agoSouth Florida Dirt: A timeline of the Vacchi vs. Stern legal battle
-
Boston, MA2 hours agoTall Ships begin historic Boston parade of sails
-
Denver, CO3 hours agoLakers Proposed to Land Peyton Watson in Massive 9-Player Blockbuster Trade
