Pablo Arauz Peña, KTOO

In this newscast: Counting for the 2020 Census ends today. That’s following a Supreme Court ruling earlier this week that allows the federal government to end the count early; More than 17,000 Alaskans’ absentee ballots have already been returned to the state Division of Elections. That leaves hundreds of thousands who still have a chance to vote; The so-called “Pebble Tapes” that came out last month revealed how the company talked to potential investors about its sway over elected officials, among other things.

In this newscast: State health officials reported that four more Alaskans died of COVID-19 recently; A staff member at Blatchley Middle School in Sitka has tested positive for coronavirus; Ravn Alaska says it could resume scheduled flights between Anchorage and Unalaska in two weeks; The final votes have been tallied for the municipal elections in Haines and Skagway; Officials say eligible Alaska residents receiving unemployment checks from the state are expected to get a $300 increase in weekly payments beginning next week; State transportation officials are holding a virtual meeting tonight to talk about safety improvements to the highway intersection near Juneau’s Fred Meyer.

In this newscast: A Juneau woman in her sixties died of COVID-19 at Bartlett Regional Hospital on Tuesday; Following a historic voter turnout, the Southeast community of Hoonah is holding a runoff election for a city council seat later this month; This year, the Elders and Youth Conference went virtual for the first time in response to the COVID-19 pandemic; A watchdog group hopes a lawsuit will shake loose more evidence of lost revenue from timber sales on the Tongass National Forest in Southeast Alaska.

In this newscast: Voting in Juneau’s first by-mail local election ended Tuesday, but results aren’t expected until later Friday; Yakutat has a new health center after nearly six years of planning and construction; Alaska’s U.S. Senate race this year was not expected to be especially competitive — incumbent Republican Dan Sullivan was predicted to cruise to victory; Industry opponents of a ballot measure to raise oil taxes have donated most of the money given to all Alaska political campaigns at the state level this year.