As of Wednesday, March 23, 2022, Montana reports 272,311 confirmed COVID-19 cases, with 58 new cases of coronavirus infection reported since yesterday: 10 new cases in Flathead County, 7 new cases in Cascade County, 7 new cases in Gallatin County, 7 new cases in Yellowstone County, and more new cases in 17 more Montana counties.The number of active coronavirus cases in Montana is 464. Currently, 32 people are being treated in Montana hospitals for COVID-19. 3,238 people have died in Montana of COVID-19. Nationwide, more than 973,000 Americans have died of COVID-19. There have been 79,700,000 cases of coronavirus in the US, and counting.

Madeleine Albright, the first female US secretary of state who helped steer Western foreign policy in the aftermath of the Cold War died Wednesday of
cancer. She was 84 years old.

A district court judge ruled that a law that intended to ask Montana voters to decide how they want to vote for Supreme Court justices was
unconstitutional. The new law, House Bill 325, was passed by the Republican majority Montana Legislature last year. It intended to use a legislative
referendum to charge voters with deciding if Supreme Court justices should continue being elected statewide or be confined to district-based voting.

A snowmobiler died while riding near Big Sky on Monday. Gallatin County 911 responded to a call for an injured snowmobiler in the McAtee Basin south of
Big Sky at about 2 p.m. on Monday. The caller had found the victim unresponsive on the trail and had attempted CPR for more than 15 minutes
before leaving the area to try to get cell phone service and call 911. A team of search and rescue volunteers from the Big Sky area, including helicopter volunteers, responded and recovered the victim’s body using a helicopter because of the rough terrain the rider was in.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has proposed increasing federal protections for northern long-eared bats in the face of white-nose syndrome,
a deadly disease that affects cave-dwelling bats across much of North America, including eastern Montana.