As of Wednesday, January 13, 2021, Montana reports 87,653 confirmed COVID-19 cases, with 597 new cases reported in the last day: 130 in Gallatin County, 97 in Cascade County, 65 in Yellowstone County, 62 in Missoula County, and more new cases in 37 more Montana counties. The number of active coronavirus cases in Montana is 4,908. Statewide, 3,903 people have been hospitalized. Currently, 199 people are being treated in Montana hospitals for COVID-19. The most active cases are in Yellowstone, Gallatin, Cascade and Lewis & Clark Counties. 1,069 people have died in Montana of COVID-19. Twelve more deaths have been reported in the past two days. Nationwide, more than 381,000 Americans have died of COVID-19. There have been 22,900,000 cases of coronavirus in the US, and counting.

Congress impeached President Donald Trump Wednesday for a second time, charging the president with “incitement of insurrection” for his role in the violent riot by a pro-Trump mob of the U.S. Capitol that left five people dead and terrorized lawmakers as they sought to affirm President-elect Joe Biden’s victory.
The vote to impeach passed the Democratically-controlled House 232 to 197, with 10 Republicans voting against the president and for impeachment. The House is expected to immediately send the article of impeachment to the Senate to begin the process of holding a Senate trial to determine whether to convict Trump and potentially bar him from ever running for any office again, but it’s unlikely that the trial will begin before the Senate plans to reconvene on Jan. 19th, just one day before President-elect Joe Biden is sworn into office.

A bill to allow guns on college campuses and elsewhere passed the Montana House on second reading today, with one more vote in the House before the bill advances to the state Senate. During discussion, the debate went off the rails and into a ruckus over the rules. Rep. Seth Berglee, a Republican lawmaker from Joliet, had introduced House Bill 102, which would expand locations where both permitted and permitless concealed handguns may be carried. Of particular contention is the bill’s function that blocks the Montana Board of Regents from prohibiting firearms on campus. The bill ultimately passed the House on a 67-33 party line vote. Rep. Jim Keane, D-Butte, had stood in opposition of the bill when he asked Berglee, an Army combat veteran, if Berglee had ever suffered a gunshot wound. Breaking the sudden silence in the house, Rep. Derek Skees, R-Kalispell, who was chairing the House for the day, asserted Keane’s question was off-topic. Keane then turned to the House floor and asked for a show of hands for anyone who has suffered a gunshot wound. He got no answer, but Skees again told Keane that was an “intensely personal subject” and that it was not in decorum for the House Floor.

Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte, a Republican who took office Jan. 4, has removed restrictions on occupancy capacity and hours of operation at bars, restaurants, casinos, breweries, distilleries and other businesses, protections that were put into place by Governor Bullock and supported by county health departments to prevent the transmission of coronavirus. The changes take effect Jan. 15. In November, former Democratic Gov. Steve Bullock had issued a directive closing those businesses at 10 p.m. and limiting capacity at those operations. Gianforte last week said he would rescind the statewide mask mandate when the vaccine is more widely distributed and the Legislature sends him a bill that protects businesses and other organizations following health mandates from being sued over possible exposure to the virus. Ironically, governor Gianforte had been out of the Capitol quarantining following possible exposure to the virus, but returned to the capitol Wednesday after negative tests for COVID-19.