- Idaho counted 21 more confirmed or probable cases of COVID-19 on May 19, pushing the state total to 2,476 since reporting began in mid-March. Follow the state coronavirus updates here. No new cases have been reported in Bonner County, and none of the four lab-confirmed local cases are being monitored, according to the Panhandle Health District — however, Kootenai County added cases over the weekend, bringing the district-wide total to 70 since reporting started, 66 of which are no longer being monitored.
- Protesters have gathered around the county in recent weeks to push back against COVID-19 “stay-at-home” orders. One consistent feature of those demonstrations has been the “Don’t Tread on Me,” or, more accurately, Gadsden flag. Former regional, now national, journalist Leah Sottile — whose podcast Bundyville earned a National Magazine Award finalist spot in 2019 — wrote a piece for High Country News looking at the history and many meanings of the Gadsden flag. Find it here.
- Mount St. Helens blew its top 40 years ago today, on May 19, 1980, prompting newspapers around the Northwest to look back at the day our region was blanketed with volcanic ash from the eruption. The Spokane-based Pacific Northwest Inlander has a fine retrospective with some great pictures here.
- Stonehenge, in the south-central English county of Wiltshire, is one of the most iconic spots on Earth. Each summer, people come from around the world to welcome the solstice at the Neolithic monument, but that won’t happen this year due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. However, for the first time in its more than 5,000-year history, the midsummer sunrise at Stonehenge will be live streamed Sunday, June 21 (sunrise, GMT+1) via the English Heritage Facebook page here.
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