Greg Kim, KYUK - Bethel
Mertarvik residents didn’t get primary ballots. The state says it didn’t know people lived there.
Materials for voting never arrived in Newtok, a sister village, from where absentee ballots were supposed to be taken to Mertarvik.
Flying to Bethel? You could win $1,000 if you get tested for COVID-19
But the number of passengers getting tested at the airport hasn’t changed.
Bethel cab drivers get unwanted duty of enforcing testing mandate
Cab drivers say having to enforce a mandate to unwilling customers puts them in an awkward position.
In wake of scandals, Y-K school district revamps protocols for sexually inappropriate behavior
The policy proposals identify specific examples of what “sexual grooming” behavior is, and it spells out how the district should respond to reports of such behavior, following the arrest in 2019 of a Bethel school principal on charges of sexual abuse.
3-week power outage in Newtok leads to spoiled meat in freezers
Families have seen a summer's worth of subsistence catches go to waste.
Kuskokwim 300 sled dog race is still on
But there will be some changes to the Bethel-based race that has grown in popularity in recent years.
‘Black Lives Matter’ dumpster next to Bethel City Hall is causing a stir
Last week, someone crossed out the words 'Black Lives Matter' with spray paint.
Bethel mandates face masks in public and airport testing
The move follows discussions about the city's legal authority to enforce such mandates.
‘Are stimulus checks allowed?’ How tribes are spending CARES Act money
Some tribes say the U.S. Treasury's rules make it unclear whether mass payouts to tribal members are allowed.
In Newtok and Mertarvik, nothing gets in the way of basketball
Sinking permafrost has caused basketball hoops to tilt and fall in Newtok, but kids are still finding ways to play their favorite sport.
With virus funds, Newtok will build more homes in Mertarvik
Despite the CARES Act money, there are still questions about equity and efficiency when it comes to relocating the remaining residents.
Bethel City Council passes mask resolution
The resolution says that people should wear masks in public spaces, like at work if you interact with the public, or while riding taxis, but the city doesn't have the authority to enforce it.
Inequity in alcohol enforcement in Mertarvik and Newtok causes frustration
Newtok Village Council owns most of the homes in Mertarvik, so it can evict tenants who violate its alcohol prohibition.
Mertarvik’s lack of a commercial airport may have already cost lives
The DOT said it would only fund one airport between Newtok and Mertarvik.
After moving to new village, Mertarvik residents say they are living healthier, more traditional lives
A year after Newtok's residents were forced to move, they say they're living healthier, more traditional lives.
Lower Kuskokwim resumes school construction projects after COVID-19 restrictions lift
Construction crews are balancing the need for the work on the schools threatened by things like riverbank erosion with the village's fears of a COVID-19 outbreak.
COVID-19 case in Mountain Village shuts down commercial fishing in some Yukon communities
Kwik’pak, a plant that processes Yukon River salmon, has stopped purchasing fish in District 2 of the Yukon River, which includes Mountain Village, Pitkas Point, St. Mary’s, Pilot Station, and Marshall.
Napaskiak says residents are facing discrimination after announcement of likely community spread
Officials from the village say they've heard that Napaskiak residents have been turned away from Bethel businesses after two positive tests last week. But one of those results was potentially a false positive.
Bethel to offer free hotel quarantine to travelers headed from Anchorage to villages
The city manager says Bethel is in a unique position since all traffic to smaller villages goes through town.
City of Bethel misses payday for employees, will hire help to stabilize finance department
The city finance director missed the deadline to make payments while on partial maternity leave.