Nathaniel Herz, Alaska Public Media
Nathaniel Herz is an Anchorage-based journalist. He's been a reporter in Alaska for a decade, and is currently reporting for Alaska Public Media. Find more of his work by subscribing to his newsletter, Northern Journal, at natherz.substack.com. Reach him at natherz@gmail.com.
The first COVID-19 vaccine shipment has arrived in Alaska; shots could start Tuesday
Alaska health officials say the first shipment of the COVID-19 vaccine from drug company Pfizer arrived in the state late Sunday on a UPS plane, and shots are expected to begin this week.
As deaths and cases rise, pressure grows on Dunleavy to mandate masks
Municipal and health care leaders are pushing Alaska GOP Gov. Mike Dunleavy to take a new approach to contain Alaska’s COVID-19 outbreak, as case counts rise, schools remain closed, businesses clash with customers over face coverings and hospitals warn that they're stretched thin.
Hope, hesitancy as first vaccine shipments grow near for Alaska
Providers charged with giving the vaccine say they’re eager to use the first doses to protect their front-line workers. But they also say workers are hesitant about being among the first to receive doses on a nationwide scale, and add that the first shipment will do little to ease the current demands of the pandemic.
Alaska will get special first shipment of 35,000 doses of Pfizer vaccine as soon as next week
State officials say that the federal government is treating Alaska as a "territory" and sending its initial batch of COVID-19 vaccines all at once, instead of once a week. The vaccine will be prioritized for front-line health care workers and residents of long-term care centers like nursing homes.
Alaska officials say hackers stole voter info, didn’t compromise election integrity
State officials said Thursday hackers stole personal information such as birth dates and driver's license numbers of more than 100,000 Alaska voters, though they stressed the hack had no effect on the results of last month's election.
As pandemic worsens, 40,000 Alaskans endure “inexcusable” wait for relief
Frustration and impatience with Congress is building among out-of-work Alaskans and local leaders, who say the lack of a social safety net has made it far more painful to maintain health mandates aimed at limiting the spread of COVID-19.
Alaska’s geography poses unique challenge in getting COVID-19 vaccine, treatments to rural areas
Vaccines and a new antibody treatment hold promise in fighting COVID-19. But health-care providers face unique challenges in distributing those medicines across Alaska, with its hundreds of communities that lack road access and hospitals.
Initiative to overhaul Alaska elections jumps to narrow lead after Thursday’s ballot counts
It’s not certain that the roughly 30,000 remaining uncounted ballots will follow the same trends as the ones counted Thursday. But if they do, the election initiative would win by thousands of votes.
Alaska Rep. Don Young, 87, says he’s been diagnosed with COVID-19
Congressman Don Young has been diagnosed with coronavirus. At 87, Young is the oldest member of the U.S. House of Representatives and faces an elevated risk of severe illness from COVID-19.
Trailing legislative Democrats pull ahead in Alaska ballot count; Sullivan, Young keep seats
But the races for president and Congress appear increasingly locked up by the Republican candidates.
Alaska Gov. Dunleavy backs Trump after claims of election theft, as other Republicans congratulate Biden
Top Alaska Republicans have split on President Donald Trump’s claims that the election was stolen, with U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski and U.S. Rep. Don Young both congratulating Democrat Joe Biden on his apparent victory while Gov. Mike Dunleavy says he’s standing by Trump for now.
Here’s why Alaska is the slowest in the nation when it comes to vote counting
Questions, confusion and speculation about Alaska’s vote-counting process are erupting this week as state officials wait to count more than 100,000 absentee and other ballots until next week -- long after other U.S. states count the vast majority of their votes.
Alaska counted less than half of all ballots on Election Night. Now the waiting starts.
Usually on Alaska’s Election Night, the big story is the votes that are counted. But in a year unlike any other, Tuesday’s big story was about the votes that still remained to be counted.
Mysterious mailer boosts Alaska’s third party U.S. Senate candidate at Sullivan’s expense
John Wayne Howe, a Fairbanks machinist, finished a distant third in last month’s New York Times poll of the race. But it appears that allies of Al Gross, the Democratic Party-endorsed independent, are now trying to boost him among conservative-leaning voters at Sullivan’s expense.
On masks, Alaska Gov. Dunleavy tells local leaders to use power they say they don’t have
Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy has resisted imposing a mask mandate and maintains that such decisions are best made by local governments. But municipal officials in pockets of the state where COVID-19 is spreading fastest say they lack the legal power to require mask-wearing.
In tele-rally, Trump calls on Alaska ‘patriots’ to vote Young, Sullivan
In his remarks, Trump called Young and Sullivan “two very special people” and asked “every patriot in Alaska” to get out and vote for them.
Friends mourn Jack Roderick, who helped build Anchorage government
Roderick packed what seems like three different lives into his 94 years: military service, college football, truck driving, a law practice, the Peace Corps in India, publishing an oil industry newsletter and serving as mayor of the Greater Anchorage Area Borough.
Rematch: This Alaska legislative race could make or break the next House speaker
Lance Pruitt, the East Anchorage Republican, could become the next speaker of the Alaska House when the state Legislature convenes in Juneau next year. But first, Pruitt, the leader of the House GOP minority, has to win re-election.
Federal officials: Emails threatening Alaska voters to “vote for Trump” came from Iran
The Iranian government was behind the barrage of emails Tuesday that threatened Alaska voters in more than a dozen communities to “vote for Trump or else,” the Washington Post reported Wednesday.
Emails sent to Alaskans on Tuesday warned them to “vote for Trump or else”
Several Alaskans in communities across the state posted screenshots of the emails early Tuesday, and news reports from Florida indicated that the same messages were sent to some voters there.