As of Friday, December 11, 2020, Montana reports 71,870 confirmed COVID-19 cases, with 991 new cases reported in the last day: 159 in Lewis & Clark County, 127 in Yellowstone County, 96 in Missoula County, 85 in Flathead County, 77 in Gallatin County, 68 in Cascade County, 36 in Lake County, 28 in Silver Bow County, and more new cases in 38 more Montana counties. Statewide, 3,039 people have been hospitalized, and 372 people are being treated in Montana hospitals for COVID-19. The most active cases are in Yellowstone and Cascade Counties and in Flathead and Lewis & Clark Counties. 805 people have died in Montana of COVID-19. Twenty-four more deaths have been logged since yesterday. Nationwide, more than 296,000 Americans have died of COVID-19. There have been 15,900,000 cases of coronavirus in the US, and counting.

The speaker of the New Hampshire House of Representatives has died of COVID-19, raising concerns that other members of one of the world’s largest legislative bodies might have been exposed at their swearing-in last week. Dick Hinch, who was sworn in Dec. 2 as leader of the state’s newly Republican-led, 400-member Legislature, died Wednesday. He was 71. Hinch is the first New Hampshire speaker to die during the session, according to House Clerk Paul Smith. The swearing-in of the House and the 24-member state Senate was held outdoors at the University of New Hampshire because of the coronavirus pandemic. Hinch was photographed wearing a mask, though it did not cover his nostrils. More than a quarter of House members, most of them Democrats, skipped the ceremony after learning the day before that several Republican lawmakers had tested positive for the virus after attending a Nov. 20 indoor GOP caucus meeting where many attendees weren’t wearing masks. At least one Republican blamed Hinch’s death on a culture pushed by anti-mask forces. Republican Rep. William Marsh, a retired doctor, said, “I believe the peer pressure exerted by those in the Republican Party who refuse to take reasonable precautions is the ultimate cause of Speaker Hinch’s passing.”

One Bozeman resident is doing all he can to put others in the Christmas mood by putting on a Christmas lights show synchronized to music. Tim Gray is the homeowner that created the light show. People can drive by his home and tune their radios to 90.1 FM. There’s a sign in the front that gives the radio frequency. This holiday spectacle light show is located at 313 Powder River Avenue and will go on until January 1st, 2021.

On Saturday, December 12, a Christmas Convoy will spread joy throughout neighborhoods in Belgrade. The convoy will include dump trucks, big trucks, pickups, and other vehicles that will be lit up and driving around town. If you live in the Belgrade area, there’s a map of the 7-mile-long Christmas Convoy route. Organizers say that if your home is not along the route, there will be plenty of room for spectators to park somewhere along the route and watch the convoy safely from your own vehicle. The Christmas Convoy is the first of its kind, and will begin at 6:00 p.m. this Saturday. belgreat.org/convoy-route for a route map.