The past year has been a challenge around the world. While medical professionals and frontline workers of all kinds have been hailed for their efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic, volunteers and non-profits also have stepped up in significant ways to help others. Following are just a few of those efforts from around the West.

California: In Sonoma Country more than 650 volunteers, most but not all active or retired medical professionals, have done contact tracing, N95 mask fit testing and vaccinating. The Sonoma News reports they have also staffed the COVID-19 hotline, packed and transported vaccine materials, and assisted with tech work at the Public Health Lab. “About 130 of them have put in some 10,000 hours since March,” said Claire Etiene, the County’s coordinator of the national Medical Reserve Corps volunteer program. More

Arizona: The past year has been hard for Phoenix-area chef Keri Frazier and her husband, who saw their restaurant close and catering business dry up. But that didn’t keep her from spending eight hours on her feet working during January at a mass vaccination site at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, a day she told azcentral.com was “one of the most meaningful in her life.” And now 2021 looks a little brighter for her: In February, she and her husband took on a new job at the Arizona American Italian Club.  "My greatest feeling is there’s a light at the end of the tunnel," she said. More

Oregon: “At the beginning of the pandemic, we saw the number of households seeking food assistance in some places go up as much as 300%,” said Melissa Carlson-Swanson, Tillamook County branch manager for the Oregon Food Bank. “We’ve settled down to about 40% increase throughout most of the year.” The Tillamook County Pioneer reports that the county’s hunger-relief programs, despite new safety rules and increased need, have continued to serve thousands of individuals during the pandemic much like they would in a typical year. More

Idaho: The College of Southern Idaho's Office on Aging has seen how the pandemic has left many seniors feeling depressed, experiencing anxiety due to isolation in their homes. To combat this, KIVI TV reports that the Office on Aging has started a Friendly Callers Program, with volunteers calling nearly 50 people biweekly or monthly to provide them with a social outlet. “A lot of it is just conversations about 'how are you doing?’ ” explained program coordinator JoAnn Medine. “We want them to feel like they have a friend there for them.” More

New Mexico: A group of Albuquerque musicians formed the New Mexico Musicians Relief Fund to benefit state musicians and performers impacted by COVID-19.  Last March, musician and educator Thomas Goodrich started the fund: “I thought even if I raised $500, it’s going to help somebody,” he said. A month later, reports KRQE, the Go Fund Me account had raised $30,000 that Goodrich and a board he assembled have since begun to disburse to nearly 100 artists of various backgrounds and genres. More

Utah: The American Red Cross of Utah says people have stepped up to address the emotional needs of families “reeling from the coronavirus and 2020’s record-breaking disasters.” ABC4 reports that Red Cross officials say that “in Utah and across the country, trained American Red Cross disaster mental health and spiritual care volunteers had more than 53,000 conversations to provide emotional support to people in 2020.” More

Alaska: Sometimes help is as simple as a hug. Alaska Public Radio reports that pandemic restrictions prevented “Cuddle Corps” volunteers from coming to the neonatal intensive care unit at Providence Alaska Medical Center in Anchorage to hold the hospital’s sickest newborns. So workers, like hospital administrator Nathan Johnson, volunteered to step in and hold the newborns. As the story notes: “Some found they needed the babies as much as the babies needed them.” More

BETTER BROADBAND: The past year has emphasized the inequality that results for those without a reliable broadband connection. Jeffrey Westling, in a column for Governing about improvements that could help rectify that reality, writes that “Lawmakers should ensure that cumbersome state and local regulations and review processes don't prevent providers from building out and upgrading the infrastructure that high-speed, reliable connectivity requires.” Western Governors address the issue thoroughly in their policy resolution, Broadband Connectivity, which encourages improved broadband data and mapping, investments in scalable infrastructure, and strategies to help connect tribal communities.

BURNING ISSUE: Record wildfires have ravaged the West in recent years, but Idaho has avoided major damage. In fact, an Idaho Statesman story notes that "Idaho hasn’t burned more than 1 million acres in a single season since 2012, its worst fire season on record." State officials, while acknowledging that streak can end at any time, agree on one method that might extend it: prescribed fire. “It’s the closest thing to a consensus in the fire community,” said Timothy Ingalsbee of Firefighters United for Safety, Ethics & Ecology. “We need more of it.” Learn what they're thinking in Idaho, then listen to the WGA podcast, Reintroducing Natural Fire in Western Landscapes, about the benefits of prescribed fire, managed fire, and cultural burning.

EYES IN THE SKY: Avalanche forecasting has become more sophisticated since the days of simply relying on a weather report. The Colorado Sun reports that forecasters at the Colorado Avalanche Information Center are now testing how to use satellite imagery to detect avalanches. Learn how the technology developed in Norway works, the challenges faced by those in Colorado trying to use it, and what comes next.

STATE OF THE STATE: Earlier this week Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon became the latest Western Governor to deliver a State of the State address. Watch all addresses to date and see a ‘word cloud’ of the top issues discussed by Jared Polis of Colorado, Kevin Stitt of Oklahoma, Mike Dunleavy of Alaska, Greg Gianforte of Montana, Doug Burgum of North Dakota, Brad Little of Idaho, Doug Ducey of Arizona, Laura Kelly of Kansas, Kristi Noem of South Dakota, Steve Sisolak of Nevada, Kate Brown of Oregon, Spencer Cox of Utah, David Ige of Hawaii, Michelle Lujan Grisham of New Mexico, Jay Inslee of Washington, and Lemanu Mauga of American Samoa. Read, watch all addresses.

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