KTOO News Department

Lawmakers decided on an $1,100 permanent fund dividend for Alaskans on the last day of a special session,
The Juneau Assembly has committed $700,000 to converting a local warehouse into a ballot processing center to hold elections by-mail,
The U.S. Coast Guard reported encountering Chinese warships within 50 miles of the Aleutians in August, 
Scientists are seeing a massive phytoplankton bloom in the Gulf of Alaska,
Alaska’s redistricting board recently drew new political boundaries that place four sitting House members in two districts, that’s because the the new maps put two lawmakers homes in different districts than they currently are — in one case by just a few hundred yards. 
Alaska health officials say the mu variant of the virus that causes COVID-19 does not appear to be spreading in the state. 

The legislative special session is scheduled to end on Tuesday and several things are still unresolved, 
A new survey from the state labor department says rents across Alaska have risen during the pandemic,
Southeast Conference’s annual summit bringing together civic and business leaders from across the region is scheduled to open on Tuesday in Haines,
After a year off due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Alaska Symphony of Seafood is back.

Under the first draft of a state redistricting plan Southeast Alaska keeps all four of its current House seats despite losing population in most of those constituencies since 2010, 
Wrangell’s newspaper is having a changing of the guard, 
Eagle River Republican Senator Lora Reinbold has been excused from attending Senate floor sessions starting this weekend through next January because she has been banned from Alaska Airlines for refusing to wear a mask and says she doesn’t have another way to get to Juneau,
The number of Alaskans hospitalized with COVID-19 reach a new high in a string of record totals this week

Juneau’s 9/11 memorial got an upgrade,
Bartlett Regional Hospital opened a clinic to treat COVID-19 patients using monoclonal antibody therapy, 
The Environmental Protection Agency is planning to resume its efforts to veto large-scale mining upstream from Bristol Bay, 
Alaska’s state government may have trouble paying its bills over the next year

The social isolation caused by COVID-19 has many feeling Zoom fatigue and yearning for real-life interactions. But for those who struggle with mental health disorders, the isolation can feel amplified, 
The Senate passed the $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill last month. Now, the House of Representatives is set to vote on it at the end of September and some in Alaska see the bill’s potential for funding ferries and energy projects, 
Alaska residents have another reason to get vaccinated against COVID-19: a chance to win $49,000 each week. 
Democrats in the U.S. House want to use a budget bill to reverse the 2017 law that required the government to hold oil lease sales in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, 
Peter Pan Seafood Co., a seafood processing company with operations in Alaska and Washington state, will require its employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19. 

Most commercial property owners in Juneau are smarting from their tax bills this year after the city raised the assessed value of their land by 50%, and hundreds of them are fighting it,
Tlingit artist and Juneau local Kaasteen Jill Meserve recently had her beadwork featured in the Native comedy series Reservation Dogs, 
Juneau Board of Education meetings could begin with a land acknowledgement soon. 

In the Swiss Alps, there’s a phenomenon known as the Maloja Snake. It’s a cloud formation that slithers through the valleys. A Curious Juneau listener wrote in saying they witnessed something similar along the Gastineau Channel and wondered if there are any Lingít stories or a name for this cloud feature,

The U.S. evacuation in Afghanistan tha tended Monday got some help over the past from weeks from Alaska National Guard unit based at Joint Base Elmendorf Richardson, 
Alaska residents still don’t know how much money they might get from the state’s Permanent Fund this year, or even when they might get the payout, 
Fully vaccinated employees in the Anchorage School District will receive up to 10 extra days of paid time off if they test positive for COVID-19 but can’t work from home while quarantining. 

Juneau’s power company is preparing to test its disaster plan should a 168-foot hydroelectric dam fail and flood a largely commercial district near the regional hospital, 
As a super-contagious strain of the coronavirus sweeps across America, there are no mask or vaccine requirements for state and Anchorage city workers, that’s left a patchwork of protections and policies and according to unions, some workers are scared as the new strain threatens vaccinated Alaskans. 

It has been three months since a cyber attack crippled the state health department’s systems and for Alaskans who need vital records — this has put things on hold, 
Strolling around one of Juneau’s sandy beaches you might see footprints, remnants of bonfires, or a variety of birds but what about what’s underneath the sand, 
Denali National Park has canceled its annual road lottery, 
A 17-year-old boy has been arrested in a months-long investigation over a string of arsons near Fairbanks, 
Booking is now open for winter ferry service on the Alaska Marine Highway System