As of Saturday, March 20, 2021, Montana reports 102,966 confirmed COVID-19 cases, with 203 new cases reported in the last day: 53 in Cascade County, 37 in Gallatin County, 22 in Missoula County, 20 in Yellowstone County, and more new cases in 16 more Montana counties. The number of active coronavirus cases in Montana is 1,015. Currently, 54 people are being treated in Montana hospitals for COVID-19. The most active cases are in Gallatin, Missoula, and Yellowstone Counties. 1,414 people have died in Montana of COVID-19. Five more deaths have been reported since yesterday. Nationwide, more than 541,000 Americans have died of COVID-19. There have been 29,800,000 cases of coronavirus in the US, and counting.

Gallatin County residents stymied by a shortage of available appointments in the area have taken to traveling across the state and taking other extraordinary measures to get a COVID-19 vaccination. Tens of thousands of people in Gallatin County are eligible to get a vaccine but there are just a few thousand available appointments each week through the county and other local health care providers. The high demand outpacing a lagging supply is causing fear and anxiety in residents trying to get an appointment, with some concerned about what may happen if they are unable to get an appointment before the eligibility is opened on April 1 to every person over 16. State officials use a formula that considers a county’s population and the number of residents eligible for the vaccine to determine how much COVID-19 vaccine to allocate. State officials say that the state’s allocation is intended to make sure there’s enough vaccine in different jurisdictions. The state does not control allocations from the federal government to pharmacies.

Carroll College, a Catholic college in Helena, Montana, rolled past William Penn to advance to the quarterfinals of the NAIA National Championship Tournament on Friday. Carroll took down the second-ranked team in the country and the No. 2 seed in the 2021 NAIA Men’s Basketball National Championship Tournament by a score of 85-62. Down 18-15 mid-way through the first half, the Saints reeled off a 10-2 run to grab a six-point advantage. The final 20 minutes were simply pure punishment from the 15th-seeded Saints, as they out-scored the Statesmen 45-32 and knocked down seven 3-pointers as a team. Carroll showcased the never-flinching attitude that got the program to Kansas City this season. The Saints had their third-straight 80-plus point performance. Carroll moves to 20-7 on the season with the victory and is now one of just eight men’s basketball teams still playing for an NAIA National Championship. Next up is SAGU.

In the Montana Legislature, Republicans are drafting the marijuana legalization bill. It’s a hulking 264-page cannabis implementation bill, still in draft form, that took less than a day to stir up opposition against its proposed tax revenue allocations, while the medical marijuana community has its eye on where the regulatory lines will eventually fall. Voters supported marijuana legalization in last fall’s election, and conservation groups also turned out for the legalization ballot initiative that dedicated roughly $18 million in tax revenue on a 20% tax on marijuana for public lands and conservation easements, but the bill draft that surfaced Wednesday allocates less than $2 million for state parks, trails and nongame wildlife, leaving new access funding out entirely. Democrats, too, said in recent weeks their priority in implementing a recreational marijuana program is to keep the legislation aligned with the initiative that 57% of voters passed last year. The bill draft’s regulatory framework has also raised questions from the medical marijuana community, with constraints on everything from labeling to where cannabis can be grown. The Republican bill draft also bans providers from growing marijuana outdoors, as well as prohibiting home grown marijuana for consumers. Any cannabis transported in a vehicle must be locked in a container in the trunk. The limitations on THC content in the cannabis is also a diversion from the initiative voters passed last year.