Nat Herz, Alaska Public Media

While a number of economists have pushed Alaska lawmakers to bring revenues in line with spending over the past few years, many now agree that setting aside normal fiscal discipline during the pandemic is justified.

There’s a growing chorus of political conservatives at both the state and national level who are calling on policymakers to quickly relax some of the social distancing measures that have helped contain COVID-19’s spread.

More than 700 companies in Alaska want exemptions to a public health mandate that quarantined employees coming from out of state. But the state has so far refused to release companies’ plans publicly, even as municipal leaders press for access.

Saturday’s Democratic presidential primary in Alaska was the first since Sanders announced earlier this week that he was dropping out of the presidential race.

Alaska’s largest rural airline is $90 million in debt and could be forced to sell its assets and shut down permanently, putting rural travel and supply lines in peril unless the government or new investors come to the aid of the bankrupt company, according to documents filed in federal court.

This work is known as “contact tracing,” and it’s a critical piece of public health officials’ battle against COVID-19.