KTOO News Update

In this newscast: After a year unlike any other, teachers, students and parents across the country are hoping for a less surprising school year this fall; Alaska will join at least 12 other states in opting out of extra federal benefits for unemployed workers, citing workforce shortages; Legislators and others in the Capitol are no longer required to wear face masks to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

In this newscast: New guidelines for masking in Juneau are a breath of fresh air for vaccinated people; In 2020, Bartlett Regional Hospital braced for a surge of COVID-19 patients -- instead, it got a surge of mental health crises; Wrangell's middle and high school music groups recently held their first performance in almost a year and a half.

In this newscast: Some Ketchikan businesses have shut their doors and community events have been canceled after emergency officials raised the community's pandemic risk level to its highest level; Across Alaska, internet users are being offered $75-per-month discounts as pandemic relief; Guardian Flight has settled a wrongful death lawsuit over a 2019 air ambulance crash in Southeast Alaska that killed three people; Former Republican Governor Sean Parnell will be the new leader of the University of Alaska Anchorage, the state's largest public university.

In this newscast: The small cruise ship season has started in Juneau and the visitor industry is gearing up for it -- though it's not clear how many people are coming; The Admiralty Island village of Angoon has received nearly $2 million in federal funding to build a visitor center; The proposal to tamp down on the sale and use of fireworks in Juneau is headed to a public hearing and final vote; Authorities in Ketchikan have for the first time raised the community's pandemic risk level to its highest mark.

In this newscast: Nearly two weeks after a cyberattack, the Alaska Court System's email came back online today; Two born and raised Skagwegians have developed an e-commerce website for Alaska businesses to help their parents stay afloat during the pandemic; The Alaska House passed the operating budget bill yesterday.

In this newscast: Many Instagram users reported that content they shared about Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons Day had disappeared; The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says its latest guidance for cruise ship operators could allow passenger voyages to resume by midsummer; Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy's administration has granted the governor's former chief of staff a waiver from state ethics laws in his new job at ConocoPhillips.

In this newscast: An invasive fungus is threatening Alaska's frogs, toads, newts and salamanders; Tiny homes have gained traction in recent years as an affordable housing alternative, but building them legally poses a challenge in many communities; About half of Alaskans who responded to an online survey say they had not gotten a COVID-19 vaccine yet; The chief justice of the Alaska Supreme Court says the court system did not receive a ransom demand or any direct message from those involved in a cybersecurity attack last week.

In this newscast: Alaska Fashion Week kicks off Thursday night in Juneau and event organizers hope it's just the first in an annual tradition; New details are emerging about a COVID-19 outbreak associated with a regional high school sports tournament held in Ketchikan; The Biden administration issued a conversation report and it's the centerpiece of a goal conservating 30 percent of the nation's lands and waters by 2030; Alaska Native veterans of the Vietnam War era would be able to receive state land under a proposal Governor Mike Dunleavy announced Wednesday.

In this newscast: More than 2,300 Juneau residents weighed-in on the city's COVID-19 vaccine survey; The council that manages Alaska's federal fisheries has tightened its public comment policies because of profanity; Ketchikan emergency officials are sounding the alarm about growing numbers of COVID-19 cases in the community; The Anchorage mayoral runoff election is next Tuesday and candidates are collecting last-minute campaign donations.

In this newscast: Norweigan Cruise Line Holdings announced today that it's donating $10 million across six Alaska port towns, including Juneau; The locals who want to limit cruise ship traffic in Juneau can begin collecting signatures to get their three proposals on to the next municipal election ballot; A World War II-era tug boat that had gone from a familiar landmark in Juneau's Gastineau Channel to a derelict nuisance is sitting on the ocean floor; Organizers have rescheduled a Native Youth Olympics event in Ketchikan after the initial Southern Regional Games were postponed because of a COVID-19 outbreak at the high school.