Montana Evening Newscast for March 20, 2020.

Evening newscast for March 19, 2020.

Evening newscast for March 18, 2020.

The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will send $4.5 million to Montana to help slow the spread of the novel coronavirus. The Irish flag is flying over the Montana Capitol for St. Patrick's Day, but celebrations were subdued Tuesday to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Crews in northwestern Montana are still restoring services to customers and clearing hundreds of trees downed by a storm last week.

Governor Steve Bullock says disruptions of day-to-day life in Montana are adding up as part of ongoing efforts to slow the spread of the new coronavirus. In Butte, Silver Bow health officials said bars, restaurants, casinos and gyms in the city and county will close down for a week starting Monday. The Montana High School Association has suspended all spring extracurricular activities until further notice, including contests, meets and festivals.

The proposed Black Butte Copper Mine, located along a Smith-River tributary near White Sulphur Springs, is moving towards permitting. Montana Democratic Senator Jon Tester says rural America is now one step closer to better broadband coverage. The Malmstrom Air Force Base in Great Falls declared a public health emergency Friday. Base officials say the base does not have any confirmed cases of the COVID-19 illness.

Montana Public Radio evening newscast for March 12, 2020.

Two women were killed and one man was shot near Stevensville Tuesday evening. A Canadian company starting work on the proposed Keystone XL pipeline anticipates construction at a northern Montana border crossing will start next month. There are no confirmed cases of the COVID-19 illness in Montana. However, a Montana resident from Lake County visiting Maryland has tested positive for the novel coronavirus.

Montana Public Radio evening newscast for March 10, 2020.

Montana Gov. Steve Bullock has filed to run for the U.S. Senate. It didn't take long for the fallout to begin after Gov. Bullock announced he was going to seek the Democratic nomination in Montana's U.S. Senate race. The U.S. District Court in Great Falls will allow a lawsuit from two women who claim they were detained for speaking Spanish to proceed against U.S. Customs and Border Protection.