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Sarah Palin, left, a Republican, is shown before a debate for Alaska’s sole U.S. House seat on Oct. 26, 2022, in Anchorage, Alaska. Palin re-emerged in Alaska politics over a decade after resigning as governor with hopes of winning the state’s U.S. House seat. She had unbeatable name recognition, the backing of former President Donald Trump and an unrivaled ability to attract national media attention. But she struggled to catch fire with voters and ran what critics saw as a lackluster campaign against a breakout Democrat who pitched herself as a regular Alaskan and a Republican backed by state GOP leaders. (AP Photo/Mark Thiessen, File)

Next act for Palin unclear after Alaska House losses

Palin lost two elections for the House seat Republican Don Young held for 49 years before his death in March

Sarah Palin, left, a Republican, is shown before a debate for Alaska’s sole U.S. House seat on Oct. 26, 2022, in Anchorage, Alaska. Palin re-emerged in Alaska politics over a decade after resigning as governor with hopes of winning the state’s U.S. House seat. She had unbeatable name recognition, the backing of former President Donald Trump and an unrivaled ability to attract national media attention. But she struggled to catch fire with voters and ran what critics saw as a lackluster campaign against a breakout Democrat who pitched herself as a regular Alaskan and a Republican backed by state GOP leaders. (AP Photo/Mark Thiessen, File)
Clockwise from upper left: Mary Peltola, Lisa Murkowski, Mike Dunleavy and Jesse Bjorkman

After ranked-choice tabulation, Murkowski, Peltola win reelection

The tabulation process was streamed live by KTOO

Clockwise from upper left: Mary Peltola, Lisa Murkowski, Mike Dunleavy and Jesse Bjorkman
COVID-19. (Image courtesy CDC)

COVID-19: Hospitalizations rise for 3 consecutive weeks

For the period of Nov. 13 to Nov. 19, 434 new resident COVID-19 cases were reported

COVID-19. (Image courtesy CDC)
Cook Inlet is seen from Clam Gulch State Recreation Area on Feb. 7, 2020, in Clam Gulch, Alaska. (Photo by Erin Thompson/Peninsula Clarion file)

Free parking at Alaska State Parks the day after Thanksgiving

The move aims to encourage Alaskans to get outside during the Thanksgiving holiday weekend

Cook Inlet is seen from Clam Gulch State Recreation Area on Feb. 7, 2020, in Clam Gulch, Alaska. (Photo by Erin Thompson/Peninsula Clarion file)
This composite image shows mopheads recently flushed down toilets in Juneau that are creating problems at the Auke Bay wastewater treatment facility. (Courtesy Photos / City and Borough of Juneau)

Flushing of mopheads down toilets causes sewage system clogs

City officials to ask for the culprits to clean up their act

This composite image shows mopheads recently flushed down toilets in Juneau that are creating problems at the Auke Bay wastewater treatment facility. (Courtesy Photos / City and Borough of Juneau)
Nurse Sherra Pritchard gives Madyson Knudsen a bandage at the Kenai Public Health Center after the 10-year-old received her first COVID-19 vaccine on Friday, Nov. 5, 2021. (Camille Botello/Peninsula Clarion file)

Fewer than 50% of Alaska kids completing routine vaccines

This was compared to 2013, when more than 60% were completing routine vaccinations

Nurse Sherra Pritchard gives Madyson Knudsen a bandage at the Kenai Public Health Center after the 10-year-old received her first COVID-19 vaccine on Friday, Nov. 5, 2021. (Camille Botello/Peninsula Clarion file)
Nurse Tracy Silta draws a dose of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine at the walk-in clinic at the intersection of the Kenai Spur and Sterling Highways in Soldotna, Alaska on Wednesday, June 9, 2021. (Camille Botello/Peninsula Clarion file)

Health officials urge vaccination and mitigation ahead of virus trio

Health officials hope to mitigate the strain on hospitals this winter due to COVID-19, influenza and respiratory syncytial virus

Nurse Tracy Silta draws a dose of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine at the walk-in clinic at the intersection of the Kenai Spur and Sterling Highways in Soldotna, Alaska on Wednesday, June 9, 2021. (Camille Botello/Peninsula Clarion file)
COVID-19. (Image courtesy CDC)

23 new resident COVID-19 deaths reported this week

For the period of Nov. 6 to Nov. 12, 383 new resident COVID-19 cases were reported

COVID-19. (Image courtesy CDC)
Pat Tynan, left, and Tom Melville, review absentee ballots Tuesday, Nov. 15, 2022, at the Division of Elections office at the Mendenhall Mall in Juneau, Alaska. The review process is taking place in a separate room from where ballots are being tallied for the official results. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire) Pat Tynan, left, and Tom Melville, review absentee ballots Tuesday, Nov. 15, 2022, at the Division of Elections office at the Mendenhall Mall in Juneau, Alaska. The review process is taking place in a separate room from where ballots are being tallied for the official results. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)

Murkowski, Tshibaka in dead heat; Peltola inches toward 50% in latest election results

The Alaska Division of Elections updated results with newly counted absentee, early and question ballots

Pat Tynan, left, and Tom Melville, review absentee ballots Tuesday, Nov. 15, 2022, at the Division of Elections office at the Mendenhall Mall in Juneau, Alaska. The review process is taking place in a separate room from where ballots are being tallied for the official results. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire) Pat Tynan, left, and Tom Melville, review absentee ballots Tuesday, Nov. 15, 2022, at the Division of Elections office at the Mendenhall Mall in Juneau, Alaska. The review process is taking place in a separate room from where ballots are being tallied for the official results. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
U.S. Senate candidate Kelly Tshibaka, a Republican, emerges from a voting booth with her son, Joseph, after casting her ballot Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2022, in Anchorage, Alaska. Tshibaka is trying to unseat U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, also a Republican, in the general election. Also in the race is Democrat Pat Chesbro. (AP Photo/Mark Thiessen)

Alaska’s Trump-backed candidates take different post-election tracks

Dunleavy’s reelection all but official, while Tshibaka and Palin prepare to fight over “shenanigans”

U.S. Senate candidate Kelly Tshibaka, a Republican, emerges from a voting booth with her son, Joseph, after casting her ballot Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2022, in Anchorage, Alaska. Tshibaka is trying to unseat U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, also a Republican, in the general election. Also in the race is Democrat Pat Chesbro. (AP Photo/Mark Thiessen)
Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire Two Dungeness crabs charge one another while standing on the deck of Charlie Blattner’s boat named “Marco” berthed at the Aurora Harbor on Monday afternoon. According to data from the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, this summer’s Dungeness crab fishery dropped around $10 million in value compared to last year.

Dungeness crab summer harvest drops $10M from previous season

Some Southeast fishermen skipping fall season entirely, other’s say season has been “hit or miss”

Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire Two Dungeness crabs charge one another while standing on the deck of Charlie Blattner’s boat named “Marco” berthed at the Aurora Harbor on Monday afternoon. According to data from the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, this summer’s Dungeness crab fishery dropped around $10 million in value compared to last year.
State Sen. Jesse Kiehl of Juneau, right, and lifelong Juneau resident Andrea Ebona Michel monitor election returns Tuesday night at a watch party hosted by U.S. Rep. Mary Peltola’a campaign at McGivney’s Sports Bar Grill downtown. Kiehl, a Democrat, was the lone state senator who was unopposed in his race. Both of Juneau’s Democratic state House representatives also won reelection. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)

Alaskans embrace red, blue and wait

Voters lean both left and right, with a lot to be decided in two weeks, in ranked choice election

State Sen. Jesse Kiehl of Juneau, right, and lifelong Juneau resident Andrea Ebona Michel monitor election returns Tuesday night at a watch party hosted by U.S. Rep. Mary Peltola’a campaign at McGivney’s Sports Bar Grill downtown. Kiehl, a Democrat, was the lone state senator who was unopposed in his race. Both of Juneau’s Democratic state House representatives also won reelection. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
COVID-19. (Image courtesy CDC)

COVID-19: Only 7% of borough residents have new booster

The state reported no new resident deaths from COVID-19 this week

COVID-19. (Image courtesy CDC)
Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, a Republican candidate for Alaska’s sole seat in the U.S. House, meets with supporters waving signs Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2022, in Anchorage, Alaska. Palin faced U.S. Rep. Mary Peltola, a Democrat, Republican Nick Begich and Libertarian Chris Bye in the general election. (AP Photo/Mark Thiessen)

Votes still being tallied in statewide races

Thousands of absentee ballots have not yet been counted

Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, a Republican candidate for Alaska’s sole seat in the U.S. House, meets with supporters waving signs Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2022, in Anchorage, Alaska. Palin faced U.S. Rep. Mary Peltola, a Democrat, Republican Nick Begich and Libertarian Chris Bye in the general election. (AP Photo/Mark Thiessen)
A copy of the Constitution of the State of Alaska rests on a table at a constitutional convention forum at the Kenai Chamber of Commerve and Visitor Center on Wednesday, Oct. 12, 2022 in Kenai, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

Early results: Constitutional convention question failing

The once-every-decade vote that generated unusual attention this year

A copy of the Constitution of the State of Alaska rests on a table at a constitutional convention forum at the Kenai Chamber of Commerve and Visitor Center on Wednesday, Oct. 12, 2022 in Kenai, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
U.S. Rep. Mary Peltola waves a sign during the morning rush hour in Anchorage, Alaska, on Tuesday Nov. 8, 2022. Peltola, who became the first Alaska Native elected to Congress when she won a special election earlier this year, faces Republicans Sarah Palin and Nick Begich and Libertarian Chris Bye in the general election. (AP Photo/Mark Thiessen)

Peltola holds early lead in Alaska House race

Peltola embraced the legacy of her Republican predecessor, the late Rep. Don Young

U.S. Rep. Mary Peltola waves a sign during the morning rush hour in Anchorage, Alaska, on Tuesday Nov. 8, 2022. Peltola, who became the first Alaska Native elected to Congress when she won a special election earlier this year, faces Republicans Sarah Palin and Nick Begich and Libertarian Chris Bye in the general election. (AP Photo/Mark Thiessen)
A sign directs early voters to the polling station at the Mendenhall Mall on Monday. The mall is one of two early voting locations in Juneau, but more than a dozen polling locations will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Tuesday. (Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire)

Election Day is finally here

Many winners of Alaska’s first ranked choice general election won’t be known until Thanksgiving

A sign directs early voters to the polling station at the Mendenhall Mall on Monday. The mall is one of two early voting locations in Juneau, but more than a dozen polling locations will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Tuesday. (Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire)
A variety of fliers with varying amounts of accuracy from candidates and groups are filling mailboxes leading up to the Nov. 8 general election. TV and other ads also range from pure nonsense to completely accurate, although many fall into the “true from a certain point of view” category. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)

Fact-checking political advertisements

What’s accurate, what’s nonsense and what’s “true from a certain point of view”

A variety of fliers with varying amounts of accuracy from candidates and groups are filling mailboxes leading up to the Nov. 8 general election. TV and other ads also range from pure nonsense to completely accurate, although many fall into the “true from a certain point of view” category. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
Former Alaska Gov. Bill Sheffield smiles as he holds a The Anchorage Times newspaper in his Capitol office in Juneau, Alaska, on Aug. 5, 1985, after he survived an impeachment effort during July and August 1985. A statement provided by friends says he died Friday, Nov. 4, 2022, at his home in Anchorage. He was 94. Sheffield was governor from 1982 to 1986. (Brian Wallace/The Juneau Empire via AP, File)

Bill Sheffield, former Alaska governor, dies at age 94

Sheffield was governor from 1982 to 1986

Former Alaska Gov. Bill Sheffield smiles as he holds a The Anchorage Times newspaper in his Capitol office in Juneau, Alaska, on Aug. 5, 1985, after he survived an impeachment effort during July and August 1985. A statement provided by friends says he died Friday, Nov. 4, 2022, at his home in Anchorage. He was 94. Sheffield was governor from 1982 to 1986. (Brian Wallace/The Juneau Empire via AP, File)
Steller Secondary School seniors gather in the sunshine outside their school on Oct. 27. From left are Pauline Mallari, Samantha Antonio and Zane Barber, all bound for college. They all enjoy the Alaska outdoors lifestyle, but they all expressed lack of confidence in Alaska as a place for young people to build careers. Demographic data shows that young adults are leaving Alaska, contributing to nine straight years of net outmigration. (Photo by Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon)

Angst over youth outmigration emerges in Alaska campaign rhetoric and debates

University funding, career prospects and lifestyle amenities are factors cited as important to young Alaskans pondering their futures

Steller Secondary School seniors gather in the sunshine outside their school on Oct. 27. From left are Pauline Mallari, Samantha Antonio and Zane Barber, all bound for college. They all enjoy the Alaska outdoors lifestyle, but they all expressed lack of confidence in Alaska as a place for young people to build careers. Demographic data shows that young adults are leaving Alaska, contributing to nine straight years of net outmigration. (Photo by Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon)