Katheryn Houghton, Kaiser Health News
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![Montana Lt. Gov. Mike Cooney speaks from a distance with a woman outside. He wears a blue cloth face mask that reads "I [heart] public lands" over the shape of the state of Montana.](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==)
Government & PoliticsJust 15 days ahead of the election, Montana Lt. Gov. Mike Cooney laid out his ideas on how he’d handle the COVID-19 pandemic if elected governor. Details were few, but the Democrat’s plan became one of only a handful being offered by candidates in the 11 U.S. governor’s races about how they’ll approach what’s certain to be the dominant issue of their terms, should they win. -
HealthWhile the president and vice president forgo masks at rallies, the White House is quietly encouraging governors to implement mask mandates and, for some, enforce them with fines.
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WildfiresSEELEY LAKE, Mont. — When researchers arrived in this town tucked in the Northern Rockies three years ago, they could still smell the smoke a day after it cleared from devastating wildfires. Their plan was to chart how long it took for people to recover from living for seven weeks surrounded by relentless smoke.
![Montana Lt. Gov. Mike Cooney speaks from a distance with a woman outside. He wears a blue cloth face mask that reads "I [heart] public lands" over the shape of the state of Montana.](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/4fef6f9/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1257x700+0+17/resize/560x312!/format/webp/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Ff9%2Fb9%2F43f332034ff7abd31041431a1a14%2F200913-mikecooneymask-shayleeragar.jpeg)
