As of Tuesday, May 25, 2021, it’s important to remember that we’re not yet out of the coronavirus pandemic, with more cases in Montana: In total, there have been 111,377 confirmed COVID-19 cases in Montana, with 159 new cases reported in the last day: 42 in Yellowstone County, 22 in Gallatin County, 13 in Missoula County, 11 in Cascade County, 11 in Roosevelt County, 9 in Lewis & Clark County, and more new cases in 18 more Montana counties. The number of active coronavirus cases in Montana is 814. Currently, 65 people are being treated in Montana hospitals for COVID-19. The most active cases are in Cascade, Yellowstone, and Flathead Counties. 1,606 people have died in Montana of COVID-19. Nationwide, more than 590,000 Americans have died of COVID-19. There have been 33,200,000 cases of coronavirus in the US, and counting.

The United States reached another milestone in its Covid-19 vaccination efforts, with half of adults now fully vaccinated, according to data released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Tuesday. The milestone comes almost two weeks after CDC officials relaxed social distancing and mask requirements for the 129 million adults now fully vaccinated, laying the groundwork for many states to further ease restrictions.

On this date in Montana history, gold was discovered in Alder Gulch! On May 26, 1863, six men discovered gold along a stream fringed with alder trees roughly 50 miles west of Big Sky, Montana in the Ruby River valley. A 16 ton granite monument in Virginia City now marks the spot of that incredible discovery of May 26, 1863.

The moon is about to put on a bit of a show. The first total lunar eclipse on Wednesday, May 26, will be the first in two and a half years, since January 2019. It will take the moon just under three hours to cross through the Earth’s shadow, but the actual lunar eclipse will last for about 15 minutes.