Kodiak has crossed 100 active COVID-19 cases for the first time since late 2020. The Kodiak Emergency Operations Center announced 34 new cases today (FRIDAY), bringing the total active case count to 105. Three people are currently hospitalized in Kodiak. Half of the 34 new cases are close contacts of previously reported cases. Only two are reported as community transmission, …

The Kodiak Emergency Operations Center announced this (THURSDAY) afternoon that they have raised the community risk level from green to yellow. According to the EOC’s Community Mitigation Plan, the yellow risk level indicates a “Pandemic Alert Period”, prompting mask recommendations and limiting gatherings of people to fewer than 20 people. However, the EOC said that they are not restricting indoor …

Sockeye counts at the Buskin Lake weir as of June 11, 2021, indicate numbers far from escapement goal of 5,000-8,000 sockeye. (ADF&G) The Buskin River will close for sockeye salmon fishing. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game announced today (Friday) that only 114 sockeye have passed through the weir at Buskin Lake. The ten-year average count for mid-June is …

Capt.John Mayer, one of the Tustamena ferry’s two captains. Masks will no longer be mandated in outdoor maritime areas. The Coast Guard announced today (Friday) that they have received permission from the CDC to no longer enforce the mandate that requires anyone travelling on commercial maritime vessels, including ferries, to wear a mask in outdoor areas. The requirement for most …

As food trucks continue to pop up around Kodiak, with ten active trucks operating now plus a brand new pizza truck opening just this week, the city is taking steps to regulate the growing industry. Listen:  In this week’s city work session, the city council discussed ways to standardize how food trucks operate in city limits, and most notably, on …

Sen. Gary Stevens. The Republican lawmaker has represented Kodiak since 2003. A state budget will likely be passed at the end of this month’s special legislative session, but the PFD question may not be answered by then. That’s according to Kodiak Senator Gary Stevens, who sat down with Jared Griffin at KMXT to talk about recent developments in the legislature …

Pandemic disrupted Alaska’s typical hiring pattern. (Source: Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development, Research and Analysis Section) We continue to get a better idea of just how much the pandemic has affected Kodiak’s economy. Jobs numbers released this month show a picture of Kodiak’s new hires trends before and after COVID-19 mitigation controls hit the state in 2020. According …

Nation Sega (center) and others pose with USCG crew after being rescued in Monashka Bay. (Photo: USCG) Listen here: While rare, being rescued by the Coast Guard while out on the water or on a hike is not an unusual event in Kodiak. Unless you are being dragged out to sea on a giant inflatable pink flamingo. It was a …

On a narrow 4-3 vote, the Kodiak Island Borough Assembly passed a budget last week. The budget hotpoints concerned funding for Kodiak College, nonprofits, new assessing software, facilities maintenance (called “R&R”, or “renewal and replacement”) and, of course, the possibility of a mill rate increase, which did not sit well with assembly member Aimee Williams. “I love that we’re funding …

No increase to borough-wide property taxes. That’s the big news from this week’s vote on the borough’s budget. While other budgets proposed by the borough manager and other assembly members included various increases to the mill rate, the assembly ultimately decided to approve the budget proposed by assembly members James Turner, Scott Arndt, and Aimee Williams, which maintained the 10.75 …