Kavitha George presents the Midday Report featuring an update from Kodiak’s Emergency Operation Center, and state and local stories on: update on Kodiak’s third COVID-19 case and other COVID-19 updates in coastal Alaska rent and mortgage relief program oil tax ballot initiative Juneau’s police use of force policy bicycle shortages plus, Alaska Fish Radio, updates from Alaska Dept. of Fish …

Data from the state health department shows the total number of coronavirus cases among Alaska residents by date reported (Graphic by David Purdy/KTOO) By Tegan Hanlon, Alaska Public Media – Anchorage This is not the time to let your guard down, public health officials say. The number of active COVID-19 cases in Alaska reached a new high this week since the state recorded …

By ELIZABETH EARL-KDLL-Kenai CREDIT ALASKA DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND GAME Starting Wednesday, king salmon fishing on the Kenai River will be closed entirely through the end of June. So far, only 583 large kings have come back to the river, according to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. That’s a little more than a third of the number that had …

By Hope McKenney, KUCB – Unalaska The employee of Peter Pan Seafoods is not a resident of Alaska, and will therefore be listed separately from the state’s total case count. The individual joins 45 other people from out-of-state who have tested positive for the virus in Alaska. (Berett Wilber/KUCB) The Alaska Peninsula village of King Cove has confirmed its first local …

By Nathaniel Herz, Alaska’s Energy Desk – Anchorage Crew members shovel pollock on the deck of a trawler on a Bering Sea fishing trip last year. (Nat Herz/Alaska Public Media) As America’s meat producers contend with thousands of COVID-19 cases among processing workers, seafood companies have drafted rigorous plans to ward off similar spread of the disease as their summer season looms in Alaska. …

by Robert Woolsey, KCAW Tail of a Chinook. (Photo by Matana_and_Jes / Flickr) A federal judge heard oral arguments on Thursday (5-28-20) in a lawsuit brought by a Washington state environmental group seeking to shut down king salmon fishing in Alaska this summer, to protect the food supply of endangered killer whales. US Magistrate Judge Michelle Peterson heard testimony from …

By Lex Treinen, Alaska Public Media – Anchorage The Port in Whittier, Alaska (Graelyn Brashear, KSKA – Anchorage) Eleven workers at a Whittier seafood processor tested positive for the coronavirus, according to City Manager Jim Hunt. The individuals, who worked at Whittier Seafood, were immediately isolated and have been transported to Anchorage, where they are being monitored under quarantine. “Everything’s being …

By Lex Treinen, Alaska Public Media – Anchorage Screenshot from Department of Health and Social Services on June 4. The state health department on Thursday reported 24 new coronavirus cases, 18 of which were among nonresidents. All but one of those were seafood workers, with 12 located on the Kenai Peninsula. The numbers are based on positive tests reported throughout the day …

By Eric Stone, KRBD – Ketchikan There’s a lot to keep track of when it comes to COVID-19 and Alaska’s response to the pandemic. Reporters all over the state are talking to experts and local Alaskans every day about the impact the virus is having on our lives. And still, there are questions. Lots and lots of unanswered questions. We’re trying …

By Nathaniel Herz, Alaska’s Energy Desk – Anchorage Salmon sits on ice at an Anchorage market. (Liz Ruskin/Alaska Public Media) In a normal fishing season, Dan Martin would fly straight from the Pacific Northwest to the Aleutian Islands, where his pollock trawler, the Commodore, would be waiting for him to take the wheel. But this year, the veteran skipper is stepping …