As of Wednesday, February 24, 2021, Montana reports 99,242 confirmed COVID-19 cases, with 209 new cases reported in the last day: 54 in Gallatin County, 38 in Yellowstone County, 24 in Silver Bow County, 14 in Missoula County, 13 in Ravalli County, 12 in Flathead County, 12 in Lewis & Clark County, and more new cases in 17 more Montana counties. The number of active coronavirus cases in Montana is 1,854. Statewide, 4,559 people have been hospitalized. Currently, 97 people are being treated in Montana hospitals for COVID-19. The most active cases are in Yellowstone, Flathead, Gallatin, and Lewis & Clark Counties. 1,348 people have died in Montana of COVID-19. Five more deaths have been reported since yesterday. Nationwide, more than 503,000 Americans have died of COVID-19. There have been 28,300,000 cases of coronavirus in the US, and counting.

The sister of the Mayor Muriel Bowser of Washington, D.C. has died at age 64 from Covid-19. Mercia Bowser way Mayor Bowser’s only sister and eldest sibling. Her death also comes the same week that the US hit 500,000 Covid-19 deaths.

Lawyers have found the parents of 105 separated migrant children in the past month. The steering committee of pro-bono lawyers and advocates working on reunification from the Trump administration’s policy of separating parents and children at the southern border said it had yet to find the parents of 506 children. The parents of 322 of the kids were likely to have been deported, making it more difficult to find them. One reason it has been so hard to find parents is that many agreed to be deported without their children to allow their children to remain in the U.S. to claim asylum, their lawyers say.

A Bozeman state senator is hoping a new local option sales tax bill will find favor in the Montana Legislature this session. Sen. Chris Pope, D-Bozeman, introduced a Senate Bill 313, that would give local governments the ability to enact a local sales tax with voter approval. Similar bills have failed in the past, including one earlier this session. Opponents of local option taxes have cited concerns that a sales tax in some Montana cities would be regressive and would unfairly burden rural residents who come to cities and towns to shop. Supporters have stressed that property tax relief is sorely needed, and that a sales tax would allow cities to benefit from tourist dollars. Pope emphasized during a committee hearing Wednesday that he is bringing a new proposal to the table: His bill would allocate 50% of the funds raised from a local option tax for infrastructure and affordable housing needs, 25% to property tax relief, 5% to administrative costs and the rest to counties to use for a rural revenue fund.