Without cruises to Southcentral Alaska, how much will independent travelers boost summer tourism?

Also: How will the Anchorage School District spend over $112 million in COVID-19 relief? Email not displaying correctly? [View the web version]( [Anchorage Daily News]( Support independent reporting on what Alaskans care about most. [Subscribe today.]( Good afternoon. It’s Friday, May 28. In today's newsletter: - Without cruises to Southcentral Alaska, how much will independent travelers boost summer tourism? - How will the Anchorage School District spend over $112 million in COVID-19 relief? - What caused the sinkhole on Fifth Avenue in Anchorage yesterday? You could say this is our first rodeo: Alaska's first Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association event takes place in Palmer this weekend, [bringing some of the world's best bull riders — and rankest bulls — to our backyard](. In terms of the talent on display, one organizer compared it to bringing Major League Baseball to Alaska. The four-day event begins today at the Alaska State Fairgrounds. Giddyup! Anchorage weather It's cloudy and rainy this afternoon, with a high near 54. Rain and scattered showers will likely persist tonight into tomorrow, but Sunday could bring a short dry spell before more rain comes in on [Memorial Day](. Here’s what else is making headlines in Alaska today. — Ryan Cunningham, rcunningham@adn.com [Big cruise ships aren’t coming to Southcentral Alaska this year. But local tourism operators say independent travelers are helping offset the loss.]( [Big cruise ships aren’t coming to Southcentral Alaska this year. But local tourism operators say independent travelers are helping offset the loss.]( Tourism-dependent companies along the state’s road system are expecting a drop in business without cruise travelers — cruise lines made more than 125 voyages to Southcentral Alaska in 2019. But many are seeing a dramatic surge in bookings by travelers arriving by air. One tour company's bookings rose 50% in May compared to 2019, which the owner says was a record year for the company. [Read More]( [The Anchorage School District will get over $112 million in additional COVID-19 relief. How will it be spent?]( [The Anchorage School District will get over $112 million in additional COVID-19 relief. How will it be spent?]( Federal guidelines say 20% of the relief funds — about $22.5 million — must be used to address learning loss. Andy Ratliff, the district's budget director, says that could include summer school, before- and after-school programs, and “specific targeted interventions for students that need to get up to grade level or need more support.” “The other 80% is pretty flexible,” Ratliff says. [Read More]( [Decades-old wooden septic structure caused sinkhole on Fifth Avenue, officials say]( [Decades-old wooden septic structure caused sinkhole on Fifth Avenue, officials say]( Back in Alaska’s territorial days, handmade underground wooden structures were sometimes part of household wastewater systems. An engineer with the state Department of Environmental Conservation says the structures inevitably fail as the wood rots, causing problems like [sinkholes](. A spokesperson for Alaska DOT says this septic structure was deep underground, and they didn't know it was there when crews built a road over it. [Read More]( [ Alaska creeps toward July 1 government shutdown as state budget remains unresolved]( [Alaska creeps closer to July 1 government shutdown as state budget remains unresolved]( A shutdown could mean the closure of the Alaska Permanent Fund Corporation, no ferry service, no pull-tab or cigarette sales, trouble for the management of Alaska’s billion-dollar salmon fisheries, and more, according to one analysis. Legislators and a spokesman for the governor say a shutdown isn’t likely, but a lack of urgency has been apparent in the state Capitol. Several negotiators left Juneau last weekend and are again scheduled to leave town over the Memorial Day weekend. [Read More]( [ Bean’s Cafe weighs purchase of downtown property for temporary food production facility ]( [Bean’s Cafe weighs purchase of downtown property for temporary food production facility]( The CEO of Bean's Cafe says the former LED Ultra Lounge & Grill building would serve as a temporary food production facility — not as a soup kitchen or a place where homeless services are provided. Bean’s would use the kitchen for about a year while it renovates a Ship Creek property to replace it. If purchased, the downtown building's main space could eventually become a library branch, the CEO says. [Read More]( More from the ADN [Senate Republicans block bipartisan probe of deadly Jan. 6 riot at Capitol]( [Senate Republicans block bipartisan probe of deadly Jan. 6 riot at Capitol]( [Read More]( [ Anchorage airport expects surge in travel over Memorial Day weekend and into summer]( [Anchorage airport expects surge in travel over Memorial Day weekend and into summer]( [Read More]( [ Hiker rolls hundreds of feet down mountain in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park]( [Injured hiker rescued after rolling down mountain in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park]( [Read More]( [ JBER paratroopers hike Gold Star Peak to honor 77 fallen brothers and sisters in arms]( [JBER paratroopers hike Gold Star Peak to honor 77 fallen brothers and sisters in arms]( [Read More]( [ State will pay $75,000 to settle lawsuit prompted by Dunleavy administration’s 2018 request for resignation letters]( [State will pay $75,000 to settle lawsuit prompted by Dunleavy administration’s 2018 request for resignation letters]( [Read More]( The ADN relies on readers like you. 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