As of Thursday, March 10, 2022, Montana reports 271,590 confirmed COVID-19 cases, with 132 new cases of coronavirus infection reported since yesterday: 37 new cases in Cascade County, 13 new cases in Yellowstone County, 12 new cases in Missoula County, 9 new cases in Gallatin County, 9 new cases in Richland County, and more new cases in 20 more Montana counties. The number of active coronavirus cases in Montana is 859. Currently, 79 people are being treated in Montana hospitals for COVID-19. 3,221 people have died in Montana of COVID-19. Ten more people’s deaths have been reported since yesterday. Nationwide, more than 962,000 Americans have died of COVID-19. There have been 79,300,000 cases of coronavirus in the US, and counting.

The mask mandate on public transportation is being extended until April 18 by the Transportation Security Administration. Masks must continue to be
worn on airplanes, subways, busses, and other means of public transportation.

John Engen, Missoula’s longest-serving mayor, has been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Engen was elected as Missoula’s 50th mayor in 2005 after serving one term on the Missoula City Council. He was born in Missoula in 1964 and is a graduate of the University of Montana.

A man in Yellowstone County has been charged with more than a dozen counts of animal abuse. Michael Bigelow, 34, is charged with four felonies and nine
misdemeanors after local law enforcement found him earlier this month on a property scattered with dogs and farm animals dead, starving and maimed.

The Montana Districting and Apportionment commission has laid out a timeline to begin the work of redrawing the state’s legislative districts in time for the 2024 election. The commission redraws the state’s districts every ten years to balance new census data and make the number of voters in each district as even as possible.