Local artist Lance Johnson is coming to town during Stampede weekend. He was to be a featured artist at Art in the Park, which was canceled late last week. He’ll be painting at Bryan’s most of the day Friday and Saturday. His typical subjects include cascading waterfalls, fly fishermen, Native American subjects, wildlife, florals, high country landscapes, old structures and more. Johnson

According to Montana health officials, another 80 COVID-19 cases in the state were confirmed on Tuesday, July 7. This bumped the state’s total number of known cases over 1,327. Tuesday’s count is the highest one-day number recorded in the state, with 55 cases in Yellowstone County. More than 40 residents and an additional 15 staff members at Canyon Creek Memory Care Community in Billings

A handful of protesters ages 14-40 held signs featuring “Black Lives Matter” and “Indigenous Lives Matter” on Third Avenue South near the stoplight and at the Third Avenue/U.S. Highway 2 intersection in Wolf Point July 3-4. Nineteen year-old protester Alexis Payne, of Wolf Point, told the Northern Plains Independent that the actions were a show of solidarity with Black Lives Matter protests

Bigger Sky Kids has received a 2020 artist-in-community award from the Montana Arts Council. BSK received a $1,500 one-to-one matching grant support for a class titled “Nakoda Dance, Stories and Their History.” It will focus on several Native American dances and the stories, protocols and history that accompany them. Winona Runsabove, an instructor for the Fort Peck Tribes Language and Culture

Montana State University Billings Associate Dean of City College and Coordinator for Native American Student Services Florence Garcia retired July 2 after over 30 years of service to the Montana University System. Garcia attended Wolf Point High School and served as president of Fort Peck Community College. Garcia’s tenure in the MUS, including 16 years at MSUB, gave her vast system-wide knowledge,