The Montana State Parks and Recreation Board will meet in person on Thursday, Oct. 7, beginning at 1 p.m. The meeting will be held at the Montana State Capitol in Room 303. Interested members of the public may comment during the meeting in person or via Zoom. To listen to the meeting and for information on how to join the meeting via Zoom, click on the Montana State Parks and Recreation Board’s

Statewide According to Montana health officials, the state’s total number of known cases now stands at 153,479 since the start of the pandemic. There have been 1,846,814 tests conducted. Around the state, there are 11,498 active cases. There are 419 active hospitalizations. By Monday, Oct. 4, a total of 2,022 deaths have been reported statewide. A total of 139,959 people have recovered.

Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks reminds landowners, watershed groups and others that this winter’s deadline to apply for Future Fisheries Improvement Program grants is Nov. 15. The goal of FWP’s Future Fisheries Program is to restore rivers, streams and lakes to improve Montana’s wild fish habitat. Entities can receive funding for qualifying projects that benefit Montana’s wild fish.

Fulfilling Sidney Health Center’s formal request for National Guard resources, Governor Greg Gianforte has announced he is sending four Montana National Guardsmen to aid the medical center in its COVID-19 response. “As Sidney Health Center and hospitals across the state face strains to their systems, the men and women of the Montana National Guard are playing an important support role,”

Due to increasing natural gas prices, nitrogen fertilizer prices are relatively high compared to recent years and are expected to remain high and possibly increase through next spring, says Dave Franzen, North Dakota State University Extension soil science specialist. “China has supplied about a third of the world’s phosphate, and it has essentially banned exports through 2022,” Franzen

U.S. Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., is urging President Biden and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer to protect Montanans’ financial privacy and abandon the Biden administration’s proposal to force banks and other financial institutions to report customer information, such as deposits or withdrawals of as little as $600, directly to the IRS. At a U.S. Senate hearing, Daines raised his concerns

community and museum education coordinator, will speak to Native associations, particularly Salish myths and stories, with the species represented in both art and scientific specimens in the shows. This perspective will be in sharp contrast with 19th century strategies in the natural sciences that called for the killing and harvesting of specimens and re-“naturalizing” them through works of art

Following his request to President Joe Biden in mid-September, Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte has announced he secured a major disaster declaration for the state of Montana as a result of the Richard Spring Fire. “This major disaster declaration is great news for the Northern Cheyenne Tribe and communities in Rosebud County impacted by the Richard Spring Fire in early August,” Gianforte said.