As of Tuesday, September 7, 2021, Montana reports 130,705 confirmed COVID-19 cases, with 1,223 new cases of coronavirus infection reported since Friday: 183 new cases in Missoula County, 146 new cases in Lewis & Clark County, 131 new cases in Gallatin County, 116 new cases in Cascade County, 110 new cases in Yellowstone County, and more new cases in 39 more Montana counties. The number of active coronavirus cases in Montana is 6,366. That’s the highest active-case count since December 23, 2020. Currently, 274 people are being treated in Montana hospitals for COVID-19. 1,814 people have died in Montana of COVID-19. Three more deaths have been reported since last Friday. Nationwide, more than 649,000 Americans have died of COVID-19. There have been 40,100,000 cases of coronavirus in the US, and counting.

Montana hospitals are struggling amid increased COVID-19 hospitalizations, with some large hospitals in the state seeing record high patient occupancy. Montana hospitals, including the Billings Clinic, have asked for staffing help from the Montana National Guard. The 266 active COVID-19 hospitalizations in Montana as of last Friday marked a 29% increase over the last 14 days.

Former Montana State linebacker Alex Singleton, who now plays in the National Football League, has been named a Philadelphia Eagles team captain. Singleton, 27, played at MSU from 2011 to 2014 and earned an all-Big Sky Conference first-team selection as a senior.

Dedicated crews of volunteers called Stream Teams monitor water quality and quantity in the creeks, streams, and tributaries of the Gallatin River. Members of the Gallatin Stream Teams regularly measure water flows, water temperatures, bacteria levels, conductivity, pH and algae growth across the lower Gallatin River watershed. The Gallatin Local Water Quality District leads the teams of citizen scientists, whose fieldwork helps inform the county’s Surface Water Monitoring Program.