Montana

Truth Be Told: PACs vs. candidate ads in Montana's U.S. Senate race

Published

2 years ago

October 7, 2024

Press Room

Truth Be Told: PACs vs. candidate ads in Montana's U.S. Senate race

BILLINGS- With a month until the November, general election, Montanans are being inundated with political advertising.

“It’s constant. It’s every ad break on television,” said Paul Pope.

Pope, a professor at MSU Billings and political analyst, said voters can’t get a break from it.

“You need to protect your mental health,” he said.

But parties are in the end stretch of the election cycle with spending topping into the billions for Montana’s U.S. Senate race.

“We are seeing $3 billion election cycles now and a lot of it is buying ad time,” he said.

Pope says sometimes it’s hard for voters to know the difference between facts and untruths.

First, it’s important to know who is sponsoring the ad.

“A PAC or a political action committee is a group specifically formed for political advocacy,” explains Pope. “A candidate’s ad is something that comes from its campaign.”

Perhaps one of the most memorable PAC ads in recent weeks is one centering around a claim that white farmers in Montana didn’t receive crucial funding based on race.

The ad doesn’t come from Tester’s Republican opponent, Tim Sheehy, but instead comes from a Super PAC called the Senate Leadership Fund, whose goal is building a Republican senate majority.

Pope says PACs use the muscle of the First Amendment to toe an unethical line about their opponents.

“The PAC ads are often very exaggerating with the claims that they make, and in some cases, they are outright lies,” said Pope.

The claim made in the ad is false, according to Tester’s voting record and Walter Schweitzer with the Montana Farmer’s Union.

Schweitzer says the Discrimination Financial Assistance Program, which is referenced but not named in the ad, was born out of good intentions.

Initially it never went into effect, so no farmers were turned away from funding.

“For decades, disadvantaged farmers and ranchers have been denied financial assistance,” said Schweitzer.

Under the Inflation Reduction Act, the USDA gave money to 228 Montana farmers who reported discrimination.

Schweitzer says white farmers were never denied funding and received thousands of dollars in aid from the agency through the years.

“I am sure there were some women farmers who used this funding, I am sure there were some Native American farmers who received funds from this,” he said.

In 2022, Tester voted for the Inflation Reduction Act, which replaced an earlier version of the Discrimination Financial Assistance Program with one that doesn’t discriminate based on race.

The program is currently in effect today with recipients reporting discrimination including age, gender, and religion.

The attack ads go both ways.

In 2023, the Last Best Place Super PAC was found to violate finance reporting requirements for ads calling Sheehy, “Shady Sheehy”. The complaint alleges the PAC failed to file required pre-election independent expenditure reports.

“The voter has to use more than these campaign ads to figure out what they want from a candidate,” said Pope.

He says voters must look beyond the salacious language and follow the money.

“They have to go to the candidate’s web page. They have to look at the candidate’s history,” he said.

Source link

Montana

Montana Lottery Powerball, Lotto America results for May 13, 2026

Published

8 hours ago

May 14, 2026

Press Room

The Montana Lottery offers multiple draw games for those aiming to win big.

Here’s a look at May 13, 2026, results for each game:

Winning Powerball numbers from May 13 drawing

22-31-52-56-67, Powerball: 15, Power Play: 2

Check Powerball payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Lotto America numbers from May 13 drawing

17-18-28-37-42, Star Ball: 04, ASB: 02

Check Lotto America payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Big Sky Bonus numbers from May 13 drawing

02-06-10-16, Bonus: 16

Check Big Sky Bonus payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Powerball Double Play numbers from May 13 drawing

08-13-39-63-66, Powerball: 02

Check Powerball Double Play payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Montana Cash numbers from May 13 drawing

02-04-13-17-32

Check Montana Cash payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Millionaire for Life numbers from May 13 drawing

21-24-29-42-49, 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.

Source link

Montana

Public Meeting at Hub on Smith Concerning Montana Water Call Prompting Priority Administration in Tongue Basin

Published

20 hours ago

May 13, 2026

Press Room

Public Meeting at Hub on Smith Concerning Montana Water Call Prompting Priority Administration in Tongue Basin

Wyoming State Engineer Brandon Gebhart announced that on May 5, 2026, the State of Montana placed a call under Article V(A) of the Yellowstone River Compact to fill Tongue River Reservoir in Montana. As a result, priority administration is in effect on post-1950 water rights in Wyoming that divert water from the Tongue River and its tributaries and are not excluded from the compact.

A public meeting will be held from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. Monday, May 18, in the dining room of The Hub on Smith. Attendees are asked to enter on the north side of the building.

The Tongue River Basin has been experiencing drought conditions over the past year with historically low winter snowpack and streamflow conditions. According to the release, those conditions led to Montana’s interstate call and prompted the administration of the Tongue River Basin in Wyoming.

The priority administration will affect post-1950 water rights within the Tongue River Basin, including reservoir storage, stream diversions and groundwater withdrawals, all of which affect river flows. Post-1950 water rights will be regulated off or prevented from turning on. Wyoming hydrographer-commissioners will continue to administer reservoir storage and post-1950 diversions throughout the spring and work with affected water users until the administration is lifted.

As provided in the compact, domestic uses less than one-half acre in area and livestock uses, including stock reservoirs less than 20 acre-feet in capacity, are excluded from this administration. The release noted these excluded rights could be subject to future regulation to satisfy priority calls by senior Wyoming water rights.

Beginning May 5, 2026, Wyoming hydrographer-commissioners have worked to record the current storage levels of reservoirs with post-1950 water rights. Going forward, those reservoirs can continue to accrue storage so long as post-1950 storage gained after the interstate call on May 5 remains in storage until either the water is released to satisfy the Montana call or Montana lifts the call because Tongue River Reservoir will fill.

Reservoirs with unfulfilled pre-1950 water rights can continue to store water and that storage will not be subject to release to satisfy Montana’s call. However, that storage and other direct flow rights could be subject to regulation to satisfy priority calls by senior Wyoming water rights.

The priority administration will be carried out pursuant to state law by hydrographer-commissioners assigned to various portions of the Tongue River Basin, working under the direction of Division II Superintendent David Schroeder.

The Wyoming State Engineer’s Office can be contacted at:

Jack Morey, deputy state engineer, 307-777-5032, jack.morey2@wyo.gov

David Schroeder, Division II superintendent, 307-674-7012, d.schroeder@wyo.gov

Jeff Cowley, interstate streams administrator, 307-777-1942, jeff.cowley@wyo.gov

Source link

Montana

Montana Lottery Mega Millions, Big Sky Bonus results for May 12, 2026

Published

1 day ago

May 13, 2026

Press Room

The Montana Lottery offers multiple draw games for those aiming to win big.

Here’s a look at May 12, 2026, results for each game:

Winning Mega Millions numbers from May 12 drawing

17-32-35-40-47, Mega Ball: 17

Check Mega Millions payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Big Sky Bonus numbers from May 12 drawing

04-12-17-24, Bonus: 11

Check Big Sky Bonus payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Millionaire for Life numbers from May 12 drawing

19-21-35-38-53, 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.

Source link