As of Monday, January 24, 2022. Montana reports 227,094 confirmed COVID-19 cases, with 5,057 new cases of coronavirus infection reported since Friday: 1,094 new cases in Yellowstone County, 699 new cases in Gallatin County, 534 new cases in Missoula County, 401 new cases in Cascade County, 372 new cases in Silverbow County, 301 new cases in Flathead County, 257 new cases in Lewis & Clark County, 130 new cases in Park County, and more new cases in 48 more Montana counties. The number of active coronavirus cases in Montana is 14,602. Currently, 292 people are being treated in Montana hospitals for COVID-19. 2,985 people have died in Montana of COVID-19. Nine more people’s deaths have been reported since Friday. Nationwide, more than 866,000 Americans have died of COVID-19. There have been 70,700,000 cases of coronavirus in the US, and counting.

Gonzaga University has suspended season tickets for one of its most notable alumni and Hall of Fame basketball player John Stockton after he refused to comply with the school’s mask mandates at games.

New Zealand’s Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has canceled her wedding as her country sees a new wave of Omicron cases.

Two books in school libraries in Kalispell and in Billings are the subject of controversy, with Montana’s largest public school district, Billings, considering removing the books after a subcommittee recommended keeping one book and pulling another.

In Minnesota, snowplows are given names and snowplow drivers are local celebrities. Plowy McPlowface, Darth Blader and F. Salt Fitzgerald, are among the snowplows’ names. The idea came from Scotland, which has more than 50 plows named.