Fairbanks schools will join Anchorage's by requiring masks while other COVID-hit districts in Southcentral keep voluntary policies

Mat-Su and Kenai schools, both grappling with surging COVID-19 infections, are still going without mask requirements. Plus: Anchorage Mayor Dave Bronson criticizes President Biden's vaccine mandate. 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, September 10. In today's newsletter: - Fairbanks schools will start requiring masks next week while Mat-Su and Kenai schools, both grappling with surging COVID-19 infections, are still going without. - The state's redistricting board draws two proposals for Alaska’s new legislative boundaries. - Anchorage Mayor Dave Bronson criticizes President Biden's vaccine mandate. Are you an apple-picker? ADN visual journalist Marc Lester recently stopped by The Apple Patch in Palmer and got [the story behind the Gore family's 130-tree orchard](. The apple farm opens to pick-your-own customers for about a month each fall — if you're lucky, you might catch the owners launching apples from their potato gun. 🌧️ Anchorage weather There's a 40% chance of rain today, with a high near 61. Expect some fog early tomorrow, then partly sunny skies and a high in the low 60s. There's a 30% to 50% chance of rain on Sunday. Here’s what else is making headlines in Alaska today. — Ryan Cunningham, rcunningham@adn.com [Fairbanks schools will start requiring masks next week. Mat-Su and Kenai, both grappling with surging COVID-19 infections, are still going without. ]( [Fairbanks schools will start requiring masks next week. Mat-Su and Kenai, both grappling with surging COVID-19 infections, are still going without.]( Fairbanks North Star Borough School District will start requiring masks in all school buildings and at activities Monday, through the first semester. Matanuska-Susitna Borough and Kenai Peninsula Borough school districts are operating under mitigation plans that don’t require universal masking but require face coverings if COVID-19 outbreaks start. [Read More]( [Redistricting board draws 2 proposals for Alaska’s new legislative boundaries]( [Redistricting board draws 2 proposals for Alaska’s new legislative boundaries]( Alaska's redistricting board has drafted two proposals redrawing the state's legislative districts, closing the first step in the process of setting the boundaries of political fights and representation for the next decade. The board is seeking ideas and feedback from the public, and a final draft must be approved by mid-November. [Read More]( [Anchorage Mayor Bronson criticizes Biden vaccine mandate]( [Anchorage Mayor Bronson criticizes Biden vaccine mandate]( Mayor Dave Bronson calls President Joe Biden’s newly announced [vaccine mandate]( "wrong and immoral." Bronson also says that the municipality "will not comply" with the president’s directive, although a spokesman for the mayor later said attorneys for the city are still evaluating whether it applies to Anchorage municipal employees. Bronson [has resisted calls]( to urge Anchorage residents to get vaccinated, saying it is not the government’s role to do so. [Read More]( [Alaska Senate fails to pass telehealth bill intended to address pandemic needs]( [Alaska Senate fails to pass telehealth bill intended to address pandemic needs]( The bill was defeated by a 9-8 vote after senators added amendments that would allow Alaskans to opt out of vaccine requirements from businesses, hospitals and local governments. A re-vote is possible, and shortly after the bill failed, the Senate president called for a temporary break to allow for further negotiations. [Read More]( [For years she had to run slow to run long. Now that Meg Inokuma is healthy, she’s a trail-running beast.]( [For years she had to run slow to run long. Now that Meg Inokuma is healthy, she’s a trail-running beast.]( Meg Inokuma was 7 years old when she and her family traveled from Japan for a two-week vacation in Alaska. Now 41, she's an Alaska resident and one of the state’s top trail and mountain runners. Inokuma has enjoyed a recent string of triumphs in local races, but not long ago she was so anemic it was a struggle to walk from one room to another. [Read More]( More from the ADN [Alaska’s COVID-19 hospitalizations top 200 as health care facilities brace for the worst]( [Alaska’s COVID-19 hospitalizations top 200 as health care facilities brace for the worst]( [Read More]( [Banned from Alaska Airlines, state Sen. Lora Reinbold asks to be excused from votes at Capitol]( [Banned from Alaska Airlines, state Sen. Lora Reinbold asks to be excused from votes at Capitol]( [Read More]( [Driver charged after four people hurt in multivehicle crash on Fifth Avenue]( [Driver charged after four people hurt in multivehicle crash on Fifth Avenue]( [Read More]( [Unvaccinated people 11 times more likely to die of COVID-19, CDC finds]( [Unvaccinated people 11 times more likely to die of COVID-19, CDC finds]( [Read More]( [What is ivermectin, and where did people get the idea it can treat COVID?]( [What is ivermectin, and where did people get the idea it can treat COVID?]( [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. [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Instagram]( [Click here to unsubscribe and manage your email subscriptions.]( Anchorage Daily News Anchorage Daily News 300 W 31st Avenue, Anchorage, AK 99503