There has been concern in the greater Kenai / Soldotna area for the fate of Soldotna’s Wednesday Market due to proposed precautionary measures because of COVID-19, but the market will still be taking place on Wednesday, June 24. Among the topics to be discussed during Wednesday night’s Soldotna City Council meeting will be the safety of large gatherings.

The Alaska Department of Health and Social Services announced 16 new resident cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday. One of the cases is in Homer. The state’s cumulative case count is now 778.

Registration is taking place online at KenaiRiverMarathon.org. There is no race day registration. Also, due to road construction and the new course, the 2020 Kenai River Marathon will not be a Boston Marathon Qualifier.

The Alaska Department of Health and Social Services announced 14 new resident cases of COVID-19 on Friday. Alaska’s active case count is now 253. As the counts rise, Alaska remains in its “highest active case count” status. 46 of those active cases are on the Kenai Peninsula, a decrease of six cases from Thursday’s report.

Revive Alaska Community Services has partnered with Alaska school districts to support the Child-in-Transition Program. As the COVID-19 pandemic begins to wane in Alaska, many families are still in need of daily assistance.  There are more than 950 families who are in between homelessness and finding a permanent location for housing.

Alaska’s May job count was down 12.2 percent from last May, a loss of 40,900 jobs. The state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate declined from a revised rate of 13.5 percent in April to 12.6 percent in May. The comparable U.S rate decreased from 14.7 percent to 13.3 percent.

The Alaska Department of Health and Social Services Child Care Program Office has received an additional $10.5 million to be distributed to Alaska’s child care providers to offset revenue lost during April and May for the care of children who are not eligible for child care assistance. This funding is for April and May combined.  

Kenai Peninsula Borough Superintendent John O’Brien is assuring parents, students, and communities that although it may be summer break, significant work is underway to plan for the August start of all of the district’s 42 schools. This is despite the same global pandemic that led to so many unprecedented changes to the way students learn towards the end of the 2020 school year.