Aaron Bolton

When the tribe closed some the roads to Glacier National Park, businesses worried for their future. But it worked, and with one of the nation's highest COVID-19 vaccination rates, they've reopened.

The highest rates of vaccine hesitancy are concentrated in Western states. Local health officials in Montana are going the extra mile to make it easier for people to get shots.

The Blackfeet tribe in Montana, nearly 100% vaccinated, controls half of Glacier National Park's entrances, which closed last year. Now they can re-open, benefitting people on and off the reservation.

An entire county health department in Montana quit because local elected leaders undermined their virus prevention advice. That's making it tough for the county to successfully distribute vaccines.

A pastor from California is touring the country to urge evangelical congregations to defy state and local COVID-19 public health rules. He hopes to force a case before the U.S. Supreme Court.

With coronavirus infections five times higher than a month ago, Montana's hospitals are scrambling, and the state is having a hard time finding enough health care workers.

Montana has one of the country's lowest coronavirus infection rates, and is reopening to tourists. But the Blackfeet Nation, whose reservation borders Glacier National Park, is moving more cautiously.

Alaska fishermen who took advantage of new regulations allowing them to fish with a previously banned piece of gear are happy they saved their catch from hungry whales.