Alaska reports 1,095 COVID cases, a new daily high
It's Alaska's highest-ever daily tally of new cases, and it comes a day after doctors at Providence Alaska Medical Center announced the hospital was rationing care due to staffing shortages and an overload of patients infected with the coronavirus.
Officials arrest ‘drug kingpin’ who’s accused of trafficking drugs from Mexico to Alaska
Federal prosecutors say Miguel Baez Guevara recruited Alaskans through social media and encrypted texting apps to help smuggle drugs to the state from Mexico.
I Lived in Whittier, Alaska: A Town Under One Roof | INDIE ALASKA
Erika Fitzgerald jumped at the opportunity to teach in Alaska after graduate school. She didn't expect she'd be living and working in Whittier, a town where nearly all residents live in the same building, and the only way in and out is through a tunnel that closes each night.
COVID spike prompts Fairbanks hospital to convert meeting rooms into patient rooms
"We are in a spike far bigger than anything that we have seen to date," says chief medical officer of Foundation Health Partners. "And unfortunately we’re in it at the same time as many places across the country and Alaska.”
Adak — the nation’s westernmost city — made it 18 months with only one COVID case, until now
City Manager Layton Lockett said the city has nine new cases of the virus — all of them visitors to the remote island. It's the first time the virus has reached the community of roughly 100 people since they recorded their first case last December.
Two more cases of Alaskapox reported in Fairbanks area
It's the third and fourth known Alaskapox infections.
With low stocks and closures looming, Bering Sea crab fleet braces for another blow
In 55 years, there have been just two other closures: once in the 1980s and again in the 1990s.
Alaska lawmakers land on $1,100 PFDs, Dunleavy calls another special session
Gov. Mike Dunleavy called the Legislature into a fourth special session starting on Oct. 1. He issued the call on Tuesday after the Legislature passed a bill setting the PFD amount for this year.
Anchorage School District ditches quarantine requirement for asymptomatic close contacts
Now, parents are still notified when their child is a close contact of a positive case in school. But if their child isn't showing symptoms, quarantine is not longer a requirement. Instead, parents can decide whether they want their child to remain in class, quarantine or test for the virus.
Alaska’s largest hospital now rationing care due to COVID surge
Doctors at Providence Alaska Medical Center said Tuesday that they’ve begun to ration care as Alaska endures one of the worst surges of COVID-19 in the country.
Coast Guard encountered Chinese warships in the Aleutians in August
The Coast Guard encountered a flotilla of Chinese warships 46 miles off the Aleutian Islands at the end of August, inside of the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone.
Former Anchorage epidemiologist says mayor’s inability to help with rising COVID hospitalizations ‘doesn’t quite make sense’
Janet Johnston is now senior epidemiologist at the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium. She says it's important for any city to have sufficient hospital capacity, but in Anchorage it's particularly important.
Mu variant is fizzling in Alaska
Mu was detected in Alaska in May but lost ground to the delta variant of the virus that causes COVID-19.
Private company to take over operations at Anchorage’s largest shelter
99 Plus 1, a private company, was awarded the contract to operate the Sullivan Arena shelter for the next six months, taking over the job from Bean’s Cafe.
Up to 100 Afghanistan evacuees to settle in Alaska
Catholic Social Services of Alaska said the evacuees will stay at military bases in the Lower 48 until they’re ready to move north. The agency is also asking for volunteers to welcome the new arrivals and help them settle in.
Alaska PFD remains unresolved as special session nears end
The Legislature's third special session must end by midnight.
All Anchorage ICU beds fill as hospitalizations continue to climb
Alaska ranked second in the nation on Monday for the largest increase in COVID-19 hospitalizations over the prior two weeks, behind just North Dakota, according to The New York Times.
Chignik residents fear for their communities’ future if abysmal salmon runs persist
Chignik residents are questioning how long their community can survive if low salmon runs persist. "How can the state let this happen?" said 80-year-old Elder Vivian Brandal. "I have grandchildren that thought this was their legacy."
Watching patients die of COVID-19 is taking a toll on Alaska’s hospital workers
Doctors, nurses and technicians who are treating the sickest patients in Anchorage say public apathy and denial of COVID-19 is stretching their empathy and professionalism.
Rent up, vacancy down: How the pandemic impacted Alaska’s rental market
The biggest increase was in Ketchikan, where the median rent went up more than 10% between 2020 and 2021. In Anchorage, rent rose 2.8%.