“Tiny towns tucked into Oregon’s windswept plains and cattle ranches miles from anywhere in South Dakota might not have had a single case of the new coronavirus, but their main streets are also empty and their medical clinics overwhelmed by the worried.” AP: Rural America watches pandemic erupt in cities as fear grows.

+ “In many ways, it’s been a combination of the state’s relative remoteness, small population, and political will that has allowed it to get out front of some other places in its pandemic response.” In Montana, distance is shaping the coronavirus response.

+ Coronavirus is a Waffle House ‘Index Red’: Restaurant chain shutters 418 stores. “If you get there and the Waffle House is closed? That’s really bad. That’s where you go to work.”