Anchorage has the fourth-busiest cargo airport in the world. Could it get busier?

Plus: More Anchorage graduates are honoring their heritage with regalia at graduation ceremonies. Email not displaying correctly? [View the web version]( [Anchorage Daily News]( [Today's sponsor: Northrim Bank]( Support independent reporting on what Alaskans care about most. [Subscribe today.]( Good afternoon. It’s Monday, May 17. In today's newsletter: - Anchorage has the fourth-busiest cargo airport in the world. Could it get busier? - More Anchorage graduates are honoring their heritage with regalia at graduation. - The Dunleavy administration pitches a 100,000-acre farming project. Local historian [David Reamer]( has answered over 1,000 ADN reader-submitted history questions in the past year. [This week, Reamer highlights a few of the stand-outs.]( His latest piece includes answers to questions about the origin of the Municipality of Anchorage flag, the first Alaskan drafted by a Major League Baseball team and the fate of the famed Amodt table. Anchorage weather: It's a sunny Monday afternoon, with a high temperature around 59. Skies will stay clear tonight and mostly clear tomorrow. Expect a high above 60 degrees on Tuesday. Here’s what else is making headlines in Alaska today. — Ryan Cunningham, rcunningham@adn.com [ Why Anchorage’s airport is such a big cargo destination — and how it could get bigger]( [Why Anchorage’s airport is such a big cargo destination — and how it could get bigger]( The Anchorage airport’s growth far outpaced the competition during the COVID-19 pandemic, making it the world’s fourth-busiest for cargo, up from sixth place. Despite that growth, the airport's director says it lacks the services of its competitors, and that many jets use Anchorage as a gas-up-and-go stop on the way to other airports. But a series of projects, valued at $1 billion, could help transform the Anchorage airport into more of an all-purpose stop for cargo jets. [Read More]( [Anchorage graduates are showing cultural pride more than ever. But officials are rethinking a regalia rule that failed some. ]( [Anchorage graduates are showing cultural pride more than ever. But officials are rethinking a regalia rule that failed some.]( Anchorage School District graduates are increasingly incorporating traditional regalia or other cultural references with their caps and gowns, due in part to a [2019 regulation]( to allow it in a limited way. But the district's superintendent halted enforcement of the new policy after two students were mistakenly denied the chance to wear regalia at graduation. “We can say we have the best of intentions all the time, but that’s not good enough for the people that it harms,” Superintendent Deena Bishop says. [Read More]( [ Dunleavy administration proposes biggest Alaska farming project in decades]( [Dunleavy administration proposes biggest Alaska farming project in decades]( Gov. Mike Dunleavy's administration is seeking $5 million for a 100,000-acre farming project west of Nenana. The project would be a step toward goals Dunleavy set in his [State of the State speech]( earlier this year, when he said he would seek to open more state land to farming and make the state more self-sufficient. Alaska currently [imports about 95% of its food](. The governor’s capital budget also includes millions of dollars for the Ambler Road project, road work in Mat-Su and lawsuits fighting portions of the Endangered Species Act. [Read More]( [ Anchorage bakery Fire Island plans move to a new downtown location, opening an indoor market with other businesses]( [Anchorage bakery Fire Island plans move to a new downtown location, opening an indoor market with other businesses]( Fire Island plans to leave its longtime South Addition location and open shop in a single-story medical building at 718 K Street after the facility undergoes a monthslong renovation. The bakery will share space with La Bodega, That Feeling Co. and Johnny’s Produce. A Fire Isand co-owner says the move comes with important goals in mind, including working with like-minded companies to support the revitalization of downtown. [Read More]( [Want to stand out in Alaska’s job market? Try these tips.]( [SPONSORED: Want to stand out in Alaska’s job market? Try these tips.]( Presented by Cook Inlet Tribal Council: Good jobs and top talent are in high demand. Here’s how employers and job-seekers alike can set themselves apart from the crowd. [Read More]( More from the ADN [Tracking COVID-19 in Alaska: 140 cases reported Saturday through Monday; 11 deaths, including 1 recent, identified through certificate review]( [Tracking COVID-19 in Alaska: 140 cases reported Saturday through Monday; 11 deaths, including 1 recent, identified through certificate review]( A statement from the Anchorage School District said that district would continue to require masks indoors for both students and staff through the last few days of the school year. [Read More]( [Dunleavy declares disaster for Buckland after ice-jam flooding]( [Dunleavy declares disaster for Buckland after ice-jam flooding]( [Read More]( [ A day after graduating from medical school, Stephanie Arnold becomes a two-time Gold Nugget Triathlon champ]( [A day after graduating from medical school, Stephanie Arnold becomes a two-time Gold Nugget Triathlon champ]( [Read More]( [Child cash benefit payments will begin hitting millions of parents’ bank accounts July 15]( [Child cash benefit payments will begin hitting millions of parents’ bank accounts July 15]( [Read More]( [ That new hybrid office may not be as flexible as you hoped]( [That new hybrid office may not be as flexible as you hoped]( [Read More]( The ADN relies on readers like you. [Get digital access to the ADN for about $4 per week]( and help us cover the news that matters most here in Alaska. 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