As of Wednesday, September 1, 2021, Montana reports 128,098 confirmed COVID-19 cases, with 895 new cases reported in the last day: 201 new cases in Yellowstone County, 141 new cases in Cascade County, 125 new cases in Flathead County, 85 new cases in Missoula County, 63 new cases in Gallatin County, and more new cases in 40 more Montana counties. The number of active coronavirus cases in Montana is 5,494. Montana hasn’t seen that high a number since January. Currently, 249 people are being treated in Montana hospitals for COVID-19. 1,803 people have died in Montana of COVID-19. Sixteen deaths have been reported in the last two days. Nationwide, more than 640,000 Americans have died of COVID-19. There have been 39,300,000 cases of coronavirus in the US, and counting.

Missoula County Commissioners appointed Tom Steenberg to Senate District 50 Tuesday, replacing state Sen. Bryce Bennett, who resigned his seat to take a job with a voting rights organization in Washington, D.C. State law requires that whenever a vacancy occurs in the Legislature, the county commission must fill the seat. The central committee of the political party that holds the seat sends three prospective appointees to that county’s commissioners. Steenberg previously served in the Montana House of Representatives, representing House District 95 in 2013 and HD 99 in 2015.

Glacier National Park is ending its reservation requirement to travel on the Going-to-the-Sun Road after Labor Day as the busy summer season winds down. The reservation system has been in place for anyone wanting to travel on the scenic highway since May 28.

More than 100 current and former residents of Colstrip are suing the Colstrip coal-fired power plant and coal mine, around which the community is built, alleging damage from coal dust. The lawsuit filed in Rosebud County alleges that dust from coal piled at the Colstrip Power Plant, as well as trucks delivering coal from the Rosebud mine, poses a health risk and has damaged personal property over time.

The Hubble Space Telescope has photographed a stunning “Einstein Ring” billions of light-years from Earth — a phenomenon named after Albert Einstein, who predicted that gravity could bend light. The phenomena makes three galaxies appear as seven, with four separate distant galaxies forming a visible ring around the others.