As of Wednesday, March 16, 2022. Montana reports 271,948 confirmed COVID-19 cases, with 86 new cases of coronavirus infection reported since yesterday: 18 new cases in Yellowstone County, 17 new cases in Missoula County, 14 new cases in Lewis & Clark County, and more new cases in 20 more Montana counties. 40 of Montana’s 56 counties report active cases. The number of active coronavirus cases in Montana is 647. Currently, 47 people are being treated in Montana hospitals for COVID-19. 3,228 people have died in Montana of COVID-19. Nationwide, more than 965,000 Americans have died of COVID-19. There have been 79,500,000 cases of coronavirus in the US, and counting.

The U.S. Senate on Tuesday passed a measure that would make Daylight Savings Time permanent across the United States. The Sunshine Protection Act
passed the chamber by unanimous consent. The bill would still need to pass the House and be signed by President Joe Biden to become law.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has awarded nearly $70 million in Indian Community Development Block Grants to 49 tribal communities, including the Blackfeet, Fort Belknap, Fort Peck and Northern Cheyenne tribes in Montana. The block grants, made possible through the American Rescue Plan, aim to help Indigenous communities prevent, prepare for and respond to the pandemic through funding housing construction, rehabilitation and water infrastructure.

March 17 is St. Patrick’s Day, but it’s also St. Gertrude’s Day. St. Gertrude of Nivelles is the patron saint of cats and also the patron of
travellers and gardeners. So while you’re celebrating St. Patrick on March 17, celebrate St. Gertrude and cats, too.