News

As coronavirus disruptions stoke food security fears, seed sellers are inundated with orders.

The Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska recently created an emergency response center to keep tribal citizens updated about the pandemic in the state and across the country.

Instead of riding out the coronavirus in towns or cities, some Alaskans are opting out: Relocating to cabins, second homes, or remote camps.

Kotzebue police work a little differently than in bigger cities in Alaska. For starters, most of them aren’t residents of the city, or even the state.

As COVID-19 continues to spread across the country, independent news organization EdWeek estimates over 50 million students have been impacted by school closures.

In an emergency order signed Sunday by Mayor Harry Brower, the borough says that under its authority during a disaster declaration, it is “commandeering” all of Ravn’s “hangars, equipment, operations manuals, parts, supplies, vehicles, (and) airplanes.”

The plan is to use Juneau’s Centennial Hall to isolate people who have tested positive for COVID-19 but do not require hospitalization, and to quarantine those who may have been exposed. 

The state of Alaska’s list includes several other types of surgeries — including cancer, cardiac and children’s procedures such as circumcisions — that could be postponed.

Fairbanks Superior Court Judge Michael MacDonald dismissed Vezey’s lawsuit on four grounds. 

Gov. Mike Dunleavy and administration officials discussed the state’s COVID-19 response plan in rural Alaska, as well as the latest numbers of coronavirus tests, confirmed cases and hospitalizations.

Police around Alaska are under temporary, coronavirus-related orders to not jail anyone on misdemeanor charges except for domestic violence or stalking.

Alaska’s largest private-sector employer, Arctic Slope Regional Corp., has laid off employees and cut charitable giving due to the collapse in oil prices and the economic shutdown caused by the global coronavirus pandemic.

The number of Alaskans diagnosed with COVID-19 rose by 22 on Monday — the largest one-day increase in reported cases in the state.

In an email to staff, Anchorage Daily News President and CEO Ryan Binkley cited drastic losses that COVID-19 has inflicted on the company’s revenues from advertising and events.

Self-employed workers or those working in the gig economy who lost work due to the coronavirus will have to wait at least four weeks before applying for benefits, Alaska’s Department of Labor and Workforce Development said.

The City of Dillingham and the Curyung Tribal Council urged Governor Mike Dunleavy Monday to consider closing Bristol Bay’s commercial fishery to protect the community from the coronavirus pandemic. Bristol Bay’s summer fishing season brings with it an influx of thousands of fishermen and processor workers into small communities around the region. The sockeye fishery…

With oil prices expected to stay under $30 per barrel through June, that will mean roughly $500 million less for the budget ending in June than expected. Compared with what the department forecast in December, there’s $800 million less for the next budget.

Gov. Dunleavy said the vast majority of the money he vetoed will be replaced with funding under the federal CARES Act.

It’s prime time for starting herbs, onions, shallots, celery and parsley.

With schools closed statewide until at least May 1, many parents have been thrust into the unexpected role of being guiding their children’s day-to-day education.