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U.S. Department of Agriculture Under Secretary for Rural Development Xochitl Torres Small speaks at a news conference at the Alaska State Library and Museum on Thursday, March 31, 2022, to announce roughly $9 million in development grants to 25 programs throughout Southeast Alaska. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire)

USDA announces $9M investment in 25 Southeast programs

Grants are meant to diversify local economies

U.S. Department of Agriculture Under Secretary for Rural Development Xochitl Torres Small speaks at a news conference at the Alaska State Library and Museum on Thursday, March 31, 2022, to announce roughly $9 million in development grants to 25 programs throughout Southeast Alaska. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire)
State and municipal public safety employees gathered on the steps of the Alaska State Captiol on Thursday, March 31, 2022, to urge senators to act on a bill to rework the state’s pension system for police, fire fighters and other public safety employees. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire)

Public safety employees promote pension plan

Police, firefighters urge action on bill for defined benefits for pensions

State and municipal public safety employees gathered on the steps of the Alaska State Captiol on Thursday, March 31, 2022, to urge senators to act on a bill to rework the state’s pension system for police, fire fighters and other public safety employees. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire)
Peter Segall / Juneau Empire The chamber of the Alaska House of Represenatives was empty on Wednesday after floor sessions in the body were canceled as three Republican lawmakers refuse to comply with masking requirements reinstated amid an outbreak of COVID-19 among House members and their staff.

House cancels floor sessions until next week

Some lawmakers refuse to comply with temporarily reinstated masking requirements

Peter Segall / Juneau Empire The chamber of the Alaska House of Represenatives was empty on Wednesday after floor sessions in the body were canceled as three Republican lawmakers refuse to comply with masking requirements reinstated amid an outbreak of COVID-19 among House members and their staff.
Sen. David Wilson, R-Wasilla, speaks on the floor of the Alaska Senate on Wednesday, March 30, 2022, in favor of a bill that would prohibit discrimination against people for wearing their natural hairstyles in schools and workplaces. The bill passed with only one nay vote. (Screenshot)

Natural hairstyles bill passes Senate

Bill prohibits dress codes restricting natural hairstyles in schools, workplaces

Sen. David Wilson, R-Wasilla, speaks on the floor of the Alaska Senate on Wednesday, March 30, 2022, in favor of a bill that would prohibit discrimination against people for wearing their natural hairstyles in schools and workplaces. The bill passed with only one nay vote. (Screenshot)
An aerial photo of the 102-acre Loon Lake Fire footprint taken at approximately 11:30 a.m. Tuesday, June 15, 2021. (Kale Casey/Alaska DNR-Division of Forestry)

Burn permits required starting Friday

The wildfire season ends on Aug. 31 — unless extended via an emergency order

An aerial photo of the 102-acre Loon Lake Fire footprint taken at approximately 11:30 a.m. Tuesday, June 15, 2021. (Kale Casey/Alaska DNR-Division of Forestry)
COVID-19. (Image courtesy CDC)

State officials report cases leveling off

CDC updated its COVID booster information Tuesday, and authorized additional doses for certain groups

COVID-19. (Image courtesy CDC)
House Chaplain Margaret G. Kibben speaks during a ceremony for the late Rep. Don Young, R-Alaska, as he lies in state in Statuary Hall, Tuesday, March 29, 2022, at the Capitol in Washington. Young, the longest-serving member of Alaska’s congressional delegation, died Friday, March 18, 2022. He was 88. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via AP, Pool)

Washington honors Young

The fiery, tireless defender in U.S. House lies in state in the Capitol

House Chaplain Margaret G. Kibben speaks during a ceremony for the late Rep. Don Young, R-Alaska, as he lies in state in Statuary Hall, Tuesday, March 29, 2022, at the Capitol in Washington. Young, the longest-serving member of Alaska’s congressional delegation, died Friday, March 18, 2022. He was 88. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via AP, Pool)
A notice board at the Alaska State Capitol on Tuesday, March 29, 2022, shows the cancellation of the House of Representatives floor session for that morning. For the second day running the House has canceled floor sessions over disagreements between caucuses over masking rules amid an outbreak of COVID-19 among some lawmakers and their staff. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire)

House again cancels floor session amid masking debate

Some lawmakers resist mask requirements amid COVID-19 outbreak

A notice board at the Alaska State Capitol on Tuesday, March 29, 2022, shows the cancellation of the House of Representatives floor session for that morning. For the second day running the House has canceled floor sessions over disagreements between caucuses over masking rules amid an outbreak of COVID-19 among some lawmakers and their staff. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire)
AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson smiles during a meeting with Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., at the Capitol in Washington, Monday, March 28, 2022. Following Judge Jackson’s confirmation hearing last week, the Senate Judiciary Committee meets today to begin moving her nomination to the floor but Republicans on the panel are expected to delay the process.

Alaska’s senators say minds aren’t made up as Jackson’s confirmation pushes ahead

No Republican senators have signaled support for Jackson

AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson smiles during a meeting with Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., at the Capitol in Washington, Monday, March 28, 2022. Following Judge Jackson’s confirmation hearing last week, the Senate Judiciary Committee meets today to begin moving her nomination to the floor but Republicans on the panel are expected to delay the process.
Teressa Minnich, left, speaks to another poll worker at a precinct at Soldotna Prep School on Tuesday, Oct. 5, 2021, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

Division of Elections: Now is the time to verify voter registration information

People must be registered to vote by May 12 to vote in the special primary election

Teressa Minnich, left, speaks to another poll worker at a precinct at Soldotna Prep School on Tuesday, Oct. 5, 2021, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
A floor session of the Alaska House of Representatives was canceled on Monday, March 28, 2022, after some lawmakers refused to wear face masks in the chamber. House Speaker Louise Stutes, R-Kodiak, reinstated the masking rule for the floor after several members of the body tested positive for COVID-19. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire)

COVID cases, mask debates delay House

Lawmaker absences push back timeline for budget bill

A floor session of the Alaska House of Representatives was canceled on Monday, March 28, 2022, after some lawmakers refused to wear face masks in the chamber. House Speaker Louise Stutes, R-Kodiak, reinstated the masking rule for the floor after several members of the body tested positive for COVID-19. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire)
This March 16, 2022, drone photo provided by Alyeska Pipeline Co. shows snow covering 62-foot tall and acre-wide oil tanks at the Valdez Marine Terminal in Valdez, Alaska. Workers at the endpoint of the trans-Alaska oil pipeline are using saws to cut up large blocks of hard-packed snow on top of the oil storage tanks so they can shove the chunks off the tanks, some of which have damaged infrastructure after more than 4 feet of snow fell in Valdez in a month. (Alyeska Pipeline Service Company via AP)

Crews remove snow from damaged Alaska pipeline oil tanks

More than 4 feet of snow fell in the community of Valdez between mid-February and mid-March

This March 16, 2022, drone photo provided by Alyeska Pipeline Co. shows snow covering 62-foot tall and acre-wide oil tanks at the Valdez Marine Terminal in Valdez, Alaska. Workers at the endpoint of the trans-Alaska oil pipeline are using saws to cut up large blocks of hard-packed snow on top of the oil storage tanks so they can shove the chunks off the tanks, some of which have damaged infrastructure after more than 4 feet of snow fell in Valdez in a month. (Alyeska Pipeline Service Company via AP)
In this Sept. 16, 2015 file photo, Elvi Gray-Jackson, of Anchorage, Alaska, speaks at the White House complex in Washington as part of former first lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move! initiative. Gray-Jackson, a Democrat, announced Friday, March 25, 2022, that she is ending her run for U.S. Senate in Alaska and instead will seek reelection to the state Senate. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File)

Democrat Gray-Jackson ends US Senate run in Alaska

Gray-Jackson had been the only Democrat so far to file with the state Division of Elections to run for the seat

In this Sept. 16, 2015 file photo, Elvi Gray-Jackson, of Anchorage, Alaska, speaks at the White House complex in Washington as part of former first lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move! initiative. Gray-Jackson, a Democrat, announced Friday, March 25, 2022, that she is ending her run for U.S. Senate in Alaska and instead will seek reelection to the state Senate. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File)
COVID-19. (Image courtesy CDC)

Small uptick in COVID cases; hospitalizations still down

There were 559 news cases in Alaska sequenced Wednesday and Thursday

COVID-19. (Image courtesy CDC)
Screenshot / Alaska Redistricting Board A map from the Alaska Redistricting Board shows proposed House Districts in Anchorage, two of which were the subject of a lawsuit against the board for their being paired together in a single senate seat.The Alaska Supreme Court Ruled Friday the board acted unconstitutionally in one of its Senate district pairings.

Alaska Supreme Court says redistricting board acted unconstitutionally

A tight timeline.

Screenshot / Alaska Redistricting Board A map from the Alaska Redistricting Board shows proposed House Districts in Anchorage, two of which were the subject of a lawsuit against the board for their being paired together in a single senate seat.The Alaska Supreme Court Ruled Friday the board acted unconstitutionally in one of its Senate district pairings.
Riley Dyche, a musher from Fairbanks, Alaska, takes his sled dogs through a snowstorm in downtown Anchorage, Alaska, March 5, 2022, during the ceremonial start of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. A fierce winter storm in the last stretch of this year’s Iditarod that ultimately forced six mushers to scratch the same day now has cost three other mushers for sheltering their dogs instead of leaving them outside in the harsh conditions. Dyche; Mille Porsild, of Denmark; and Michelle Phillips, of Canada, were penalized for taking dogs inside shelter cabins to ride out the storm, the Anchorage Daily News reported Friday, March 25, 2022. (AP Photo/Mark Thiessen, File)

Iditarod punishes 3 mushers for sheltering dogs in windstorm

Race marshal Mark Nordman, said the indoor rest for the dogs amounted to a competitive advantage

Riley Dyche, a musher from Fairbanks, Alaska, takes his sled dogs through a snowstorm in downtown Anchorage, Alaska, March 5, 2022, during the ceremonial start of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. A fierce winter storm in the last stretch of this year’s Iditarod that ultimately forced six mushers to scratch the same day now has cost three other mushers for sheltering their dogs instead of leaving them outside in the harsh conditions. Dyche; Mille Porsild, of Denmark; and Michelle Phillips, of Canada, were penalized for taking dogs inside shelter cabins to ride out the storm, the Anchorage Daily News reported Friday, March 25, 2022. (AP Photo/Mark Thiessen, File)
Screenshot A map from the Bureau of Land Management shows lands that may be available for selection by Alaska Native veterans from the Vietnam War-era. Veterans have been waiting a long time to be able to select lands, and some have expressed frustration at the length of the process.

Land selection process for Alaska Native veterans moves ahead, but slowly

Still a long time coming.

Screenshot A map from the Bureau of Land Management shows lands that may be available for selection by Alaska Native veterans from the Vietnam War-era. Veterans have been waiting a long time to be able to select lands, and some have expressed frustration at the length of the process.
Don Young talks during a visit to the Empire offices in June of 2021. Memorials for Alaska’s longtime at-large congressman are planned for Washington and Anchorage. (Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire File)

Public memorials set for late-US Rep Don Young next week

On Saturday, April 2, a memorial is scheduled to be held at Anchorage Baptist Temple, in Anchorage

Don Young talks during a visit to the Empire offices in June of 2021. Memorials for Alaska’s longtime at-large congressman are planned for Washington and Anchorage. (Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire File)
This Feb. 16, 2022, photo shows a plume of smoke being emitted into the air from a power plant in Fairbanks, Alaska, which has some of the worst polluted winter air in the United States. Over seven weeks this winter, nearly 50 scientists from the continental U.S. and Europe descended on Fairbanks to study the sources of air pollution. (AP Photo/Mark Thiessen)

Alaska air pollution holds clues for other Arctic climates

The Fairbanks North Star Borough routinely exceeds limits set by the EPA for particle pollution

This Feb. 16, 2022, photo shows a plume of smoke being emitted into the air from a power plant in Fairbanks, Alaska, which has some of the worst polluted winter air in the United States. Over seven weeks this winter, nearly 50 scientists from the continental U.S. and Europe descended on Fairbanks to study the sources of air pollution. (AP Photo/Mark Thiessen)
Michael S. Lockett / Juneau Empire The deadline for the Alaska Permanent Fund Dividend, which comes from the fund managed by the Alaska Permanent Fund Corporation, is coming up fast, landing on March 31.

Deadline approaching to apply for PFD

This year’s payout is still being decided.

Michael S. Lockett / Juneau Empire The deadline for the Alaska Permanent Fund Dividend, which comes from the fund managed by the Alaska Permanent Fund Corporation, is coming up fast, landing on March 31.