Economy

Kodiak can look forward to the return of cruise ships in 2021. While the recently published schedule is still extremely tentative in the context of the global pandemic, cruise ships may reach the dock of Kodiak as early as May 1st this upcoming year. Many small businesses downtown and around the island benefit from the tourism that the ships provide. …

A Kodiak elementary school has been closed temporarily, after someone at the school tested positive for COVID-19. School Superintendent Larry LeDoux says public health officials notified the district Wednesday afternoon that a person at Peterson Elementary School has tested positive for the virus. He says privacy guidelines prevent him from saying whether that person is a student or a staffer. …

Tuesday night, five candidates for three seats on the Borough Assembly presented their cases at a candidate forum sponsored by KMXT and the Kodiak Daily Mirror. Candidates answering questions at the forum were Alex Hartman, Geoff Smith, and Aimee Williams, with incumbents Julie Kavanaugh and Rebecca Skinner. Joe Delgado and Sandra Katelnikoff-Lester were unable to attend, but did submit candidate …

Today, on KMXT’s Midday News, stay tuned for: Reactions to the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. A look in to the specialization of SAVE Anchorage. Updates with the Donlin Gold Project. All that and more on this Monday’s 12pm news.

Normally the Kodiak Convention Center is packed with people who come to check out the extravaganza of ComFish Alaska — huge marine engines on display, tanks filled with salmon to showcase the latest in research, and big crowds outside the center to watch the safety demonstrations along the waterfront. But this year, there’s none of that. Due to the coronavirus …

It’ll be a tough winter for a lot of coastal communities that depend on state ferry service. “It’s greatly reduced,” said Amanda Becker, the ferry terminal manager in Kodiak. “There’s no two ways about it.” That’s how Becker sums up the new winter schedule, which was finalized after a brief five-day public comment period. Although the Alaska Marine Highway System …

Today, on KMXT’s Midday News, stay tuned for: A weekly update from Emergency Services Director. Information on the updated ferry schedule. More local essays from Kodiak’s “Culture and Covid-19”. And details on Alaska’s economic recovery lag. All that and more, this Thursday on KMXT.

The Alaska Marine Highway System is at a critical crossroads, as the first round of hearings on restructuring the ferry system gets underway this Wednesday. A nine-member working group is reviewing a $250,000 study commissioned by the Dunleavy administration, one that’s already ruled out privatizing the state ferry fleet, because it doesn’t pencil out. Now they will hear what the …

It happens. You get in the grocery line with just a few items, and the couple in front of you has a great, big, cart load – so, you settle in to wait. Then suddenly, the groceries go flying out of the bags, and the clerk is swiping codes again, to deduct items. The man looks terribly uncomfortable. Apologizes profusely. …

The Alaska Aerospace Corporation says the windows for last week’s attempted rocket launches at the Kodiak Pacific Spaceport were too narrow. Astra, a California-based company, tried to send its 3.1 Rocket into space on four different days, each within a two-hour window. The president of Alaska Aerospace, Mark Lester, says it’s not unusual to have launches called-off during the testing …