Montana

Water’s Edge Winery in Evergreen to be featured on America’s Best Restaurants

Published

2 years ago

May 5, 2024

Water’s Edge Winery in Evergreen to be featured on America’s Best Restaurants

Water’s Edge Winery owner Angela Zuba was shocked when she was contacted by producers on “America’s Best Restaurants,” a show that highlights eateries and bars all across the country.

“To be on a show that is broadcast all over the world, so it’s not even limited to American TV … It was elation,” Zuba said.

Zuba and her husband Trevor opened Water’s Edge Winery in 2020, the franchise has 11 locations throughout the United States. The award-winning business is known for its large wine menu and made-in-house blends, and is a popular place for locals to grab a bite to eat. They make all their wines on location, using grape varieties from all over the world to create a truly unique product.

For her, creating a good menu to go with their wines was just as important as the drink itself.

“I am a foodie, always have been. And in my world, wine can’t be drunk without food and food can’t be enjoyed without wine. So I developed the menu, and it’s constantly rotating — it’s all about what is going to pair best with your wine. But the key is simple. A lot of times you get things that are really over complicated and it can take away from the beauty of the natural essence of the food,” Zuba said.

That’s why they don’t fry anything or buy frozen food, Zuba said everything is made fresh as much as possible, including all of their sauces and salad dressings. She said wine is incorporated whenever possible too, like their baked white wine cheese dip.

That freshness was on full display when the “America’s Best Restaurant” crew came to film at the winery in April. Host Theo Williams said they were setting up to film him trying some of what their menu has to offer.

“We’re going to be drinking some wine. I know Angela, the owner here, she has a blended wine that she’s making with grapes imported from Italy and from South America. So I’m gonna get to try that,” Theo said.

There are three different ways a restaurant can get on their show: it can be scouted by the TV’s team, owners can submit a request themselves or they can be nominated by a customer. Zuba said for Water’s Edge, she reached out to them after seeing an ad on social media. When she asked if they’d ever been to Montana, that spurred a conversation with the show’s producers.

“They contacted me and then did research on us, our restaurant, our story and concept. Then it went back and forth,” Zuba said. “We had about six different interviews. And at that point, they said, ‘Yeah, you have something really special.’ And so they wanted to feature us.”

Customers think so too — Water’s Edge Winery has won Best Winery and Best Wine Selection in the Best of Flathead competition for three years running. Zuba said she wants to keep the food and wine menus fresh, while appealing to a wide range of tastes. When it comes to the wine, she said she’s got a wine for every kind of pallet. And for those who just aren’t wine drinkers, Zuba said they also make a hard cider.

“Right down from the sweet line all the way up to those big, bold red wines, because I want everybody to enjoy the world of wine. And the wine palette is a circle, most people start their journey with sweet wines, then they progress to the drier whites, then they go to the sweeter or little bit darker reds. Then they go to the dry reds and then they start back over again,” she said.

During the springtime and summertime, her mind is on sangrias. But, she said they take a different approach to the drink by infusing the wine with natural plant extracts, as opposed to soaking fruit in the wine.

“So for summertime, we’ve actually done coconut rum sangria. We do pineapple yuzu, raspberry dragon fruit, mango citrus and we have a new one coming out for summertime— a kiwi strawberry. They’re slightly sweet and just really refreshing,” Zuba said.

The winery’s giant stainless steel tanks can be viewed from the dining area, as a reminder that Zuba and her team are always coming up with new combinations for blends. She’s decided to name their selections after birds in Montana, so if she comes across a cool bird name, she’ll start thinking about how the wine can best emulate it. But, her inspiration comes from all kinds of places.

“Sometimes it’s my mood, a lot of times it’s music or the weather. I look for inspiration in nature, and that sounds kind of corny and cheesy, but it’s just how I feel that day,” Zuba said.

Since opening in 2020, Zuba said they’ve expanded the business to include catering. She said her “answer is always yes” and that she’s open to everything, an ethos for her business overall.

“Because you need to be relevant and you need to be fresh, and you have to constantly be changing and evolving,” Zuba said. “That’s how we keep our audience engaged, you don’t just hang a sign that says ‘we’re open,’ it’s active. Hustle, promotion and getting out there being present in the community. I sit on multiple boards, I try to donate as much as I can back to the community.”

Zuba calls it a “givers game,” she said if she is always asking the community what they can provide to make people’s lives easier, they in turn might think of them when they want to go out somewhere.

It’s rare to see Zuba not working, according to her staff. But she’s not ready to slow down any time soon. She said when she thinks about the future of her winery and restaurant, she has goals of possibly expanding to other locations or getting a bigger kitchen to accommodate more catering events.“But, we’re not going anywhere, we’re here for the long haul,” Zuba said.

Water’s Edge Winery is set to be featured on “America’s Best Restaurants” sometime in June. That episode can be watched on “America’s Best Restaurants” Youtube channel or Facebook, and will also be posted to Water’s Edge Winery’s Facebook page.

To learn more about Water’s Edge Winery, visit their website www.wewinerykalispell.com/.

Reporter Taylor Inman can be reached at 406-758-4433 or by emailing tinman@dailyinterlake.com

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Montana

Montana pediatrician group pushes back against CDC vaccine changes

Published

1 hour ago

January 9, 2026

Press Room

Montana pediatrician group pushes back against CDC vaccine changes

This story is excerpted from the MT Lowdown, a weekly newsletter digest containing original reporting and analysis published every Friday.

On Monday, Jan. 5, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced it would downgrade six vaccines on the routine schedule for childhood immunizations. The changes scale back recommendations for hepatitis A and B, influenza, rotavirus, RSV and meningococcal disease.

That decision — shared by top officials at the federal Department of Health and Human Services — took many public health experts by surprise, in part because of how the administration of President Donald Trump departed from the CDC’s typical process for changing childhood vaccine recommendations.

Montana Free Press spoke to Atty Moriarty, a Missoula-based pediatrician and president of the Montana Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, about her perspective on the CDC’s changes. The interview has been edited for length and clarity.

MTFP: What happened in this most recent change and how does that differ from the CDC’s normal process for adjusting childhood vaccination schedules?

Moriarty: The way that vaccines have traditionally been recommended in the past is that vaccines were developed, and then they traditionally went through a formal vetting process before going to the [CDC]’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, or ACIP, which did a full review of the safety data, the efficacy data, and then made recommendations based on that. Since November 2025, that committee has completely been changed and is not a panel of experts, but it is a panel of political appointees that don’t have expertise in public health, let alone infectious disease or immunology. So now, this decision was made purely based unilaterally on opinion and not on any new data or evidence-based medicine.

MTFP: Can you walk through some of the administration’s stated reasons for these changes?

Moriarty: To be honest, these changes are so nonsensical that it’s really hard. There’s a lot of concern in the new administration and in the Department of Health and Human Services and the CDC that we are giving too many immunizations. That, again, is not based on any kind of data or science. And there’s a lot of publicity surrounding the number of vaccines as compared to 30 years ago, and questioning why we give so many. The answer to that is fairly simple. It’s because science has evolved enough that we actually can prevent more diseases. Now, some comparisons have been made to other countries, specifically Denmark, that do not give as many vaccines, but also are a completely different public health landscape and population than the United States and have a completely different public health system in general than we do.

MTFP: Where is the American Academy of Pediatrics [AAP] getting its guidance from now, if not ACIP?

Moriarty: We really started to separate with the [CDC’s] vaccine recommendations earlier in 2025. So as soon as they stopped recommending the COVID vaccine, that’s when [AAP] published our vaccine schedule that we have published for the last 45 years, but it’s the first time that it differed from the CDC’s. We continue to advocate for immunizations as a public health measure for families and kids, and are using the previous immunization schedule. And that schedule can be found on the [AAP’s] healthychildren.org website.

MTFP: Do any of the recent vaccine scheduling changes concern you more than others?

Moriarty: I think that any pediatrician will tell you that 20-30 years ago, hospitals were completely full of babies with rotavirus infection. That is an infection that is a gastrointestinal disease and causes severe dehydration in babies. I’m nervous about that coming roaring back because babies die of dehydration. It’s one of the top reasons they’re admitted to the hospital. I’m nervous about their recommendation against the flu vaccine. [The U.S. is] in one of the worst flu outbreaks we’ve ever seen currently right now and have had many children die already this season.

MTFP: Do you think, though, that hearing this changed guidance from the Trump administration will change some families’ minds about what vaccines they’ll elect to get for their children?

Moriarty: Oh, absolutely. We saw that before this recommendation. I mean, social media is such a scary place to get medical information, and [listening to] talking heads on the news is just really not an effective way to find medical information, but we see people getting it all the time. I meet families in the hospital that make decisions for their kids based on TikTok. So I think that one of the effects of this is going to be to sow more distrust in the public health infrastructure that we have in the United States that has kept our country healthy.

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Montana

Montana Lottery Lucky For Life, Big Sky Bonus results for Jan. 8, 2026

Published

13 hours ago

January 9, 2026

Press Room

The Montana Lottery offers multiple draw games for those aiming to win big. Here’s a look at Jan. 8, 2026, results for each game:

Winning Lucky For Life numbers from Jan. 8 drawing

05-12-13-39-48, Lucky Ball: 13

Check Lucky For Life payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Big Sky Bonus numbers from Jan. 8 drawing

05-15-20-28, Bonus: 16

Check Big Sky Bonus 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.

Missed a draw? Peek at the past week’s winning numbers.

Winning lottery numbers are sponsored by Jackpocket, the official digital lottery courier of the USA TODAY Network.

Where can you buy lottery tickets?

Tickets can be purchased in person at gas stations, convenience stores and grocery stores. Some airport terminals may also sell lottery tickets.

You can also order tickets online through Jackpocket, the official digital lottery courier of the USA TODAY Network, in these U.S. states and territories: Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Idaho, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Puerto Rico, Washington D.C., and West Virginia. The Jackpocket app allows you to pick your lottery game and numbers, place your order, see your ticket and collect your winnings all using your phone or home computer.

Jackpocket is the official digital lottery courier of the USA TODAY Network. Gannett may earn revenue for audience referrals to Jackpocket services. GAMBLING PROBLEM? CALL 1-800-GAMBLER, Call 877-8-HOPENY/text HOPENY (467369) (NY). 18+ (19+ in NE, 21+ in AZ). Physically present where Jackpocket operates. Jackpocket is not affiliated with any State Lottery. Eligibility Restrictions apply. Void where prohibited. Terms: jackpocket.com/tos.

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.

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Montana

Montana minimum wage increases to $10.85 | Explore Big Sky

Published

1 day ago

January 8, 2026

Press Room

Montana minimum wage increases to .85 | Explore Big Sky

By Micah Drew DAILY MONTANAN

With the start of the new year, Montanans on the lowest end of the pay scale will get a small boost as the state’s mandatory minimum wage increase goes into effect.

As of Jan. 1, Montana’s minimum wage increased from $10.55 to $10.85.

Stemming from a 2006 law, Montana’s minimum wage is subject to a cost-of-living adjustment, based on the national increase in the consumer price index published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

According to state law, Montana businesses not covered by the federal Fair Labor Standards Act are those whose gross annual sales are $110,000 or less may pay $4 per hour.

Montana is one of 30 states — plus Washington D.C., Puerto Rico, Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands — that have a minimum wage higher than the federal rate of $7.25.

Twelve states, plus D.C. adjust their wages annually based on set formulas.

Montana has one of the lowest minimum wages that exceeds federal levels, with only West Virginia coming in lower among states at $8.75. The highest minimum wage is in D.C., at $17.25.

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