As of Wednesday, June 30, 2021, Montana reported 113,755 confirmed COVID-19 cases, with 64 new cases reported in the last day: 20 new cases in Yellowstone County, 9 new cases in Cascade County, 7 new cases in Flathead County, 4 new cases in Missoula County, and more new cases in 12 more Montana counties. The number of active coronavirus cases in Montana is 411. Currently, 54 people are being treated in Montana hospitals for COVID-19. The most active cases are in Yellowstone, Cascade, Flathead, and Missoula Counties. 1,665 people have died in Montana of COVID-19. Nationwide, more than 604,000 Americans have died of COVID-19. There have been 33,600,000 cases of coronavirus in the US, and counting.

The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday declined to end the federal government’s temporary ban on evictions, which now is scheduled to expire in July. The moratorium on evictions was put in place due to the financial hardship and required lockdown orders of the Covid-19 pandemic.

West Yellowstone is prohibiting ALL personal fireworks over the Fourth of July weekend due to high fire danger.

Montana regulators are still pursuing the complete removal of 6.7 million cubic yards of toxic coal ash from the waste storage ponds of Colstrip Power Plant Units 1 and 2. The Montana Department of Environmental Quality has spent six months in negotiations with plant operator Talen Energy. Talen had balked last December at posting a $285 million cleanup bond to cover costs. Combined with the Unit 3 and 4 coal ash ponds, the pollution complex spans 800 acres, with an estimated cleanup cost between $400 million and $700 million. Remediation is expected to take decades.