The holidays are here, but in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, response efforts in Roosevelt County and on the Fort Peck Reservation continue. The arrival of the COVID-19 vaccine to the area is anticipated this week, just days before Christmas. Roosevelt County Health Department (RCHD), Indian Health Services (IHS), Roosevelt Medical Center (RMC), and Northeast Montana Health Services (NEMHS)

The Montana Department of Revenue reminds individuals that many charitable contributions are eligible for deduction from your federal and state adjusted gross income. If you itemize your deductions, donations made by Dec. 31 to qualifying charities may reduce your 2020 taxable income and could help bring you a larger refund in 2021. If you claim the standard deduction on your federal income

The Roosevelt County commissioners accepted the resignation of Rick Gilbert off the fair board during the meeting on Tuesday, Dec. 22. Gilbert of Culbertson has served a couple of terms, said Commissioner Gordon Oelkers. The county is advertising for the position to replace Gilbert on the five-member board. During the meeting, commissioners approved the reappointments for Dana Salivar

While the arrival of new vaccines for COVID-19 should enable a return to in-person events, the sheer mechanics of their mass distribution mean that early 2021 events are still primarily virtual. That’s certainly true for the fourth annual MonDak Agricultural Research Summit, typically held late in the year, but now moved online and converted to a webinar series, beginning Thursday, Jan. 14.

The U.S. Surgeon General expressed his concern for the impact of COVID to Native Americans during his visit to Montana last week. Vice Admiral Jerome Adams was scheduled to take part in the opening of a search testing site on the Fort Peck Reservation on Friday, Dec. 11, but his flight was canceled due to weather conditions. He spoke about COVID concerns during a press conference on Thursday,