Economy

After a year of searching, The Kuskokwim Corporation has named a new President and CEO: Andrea Gusty, who will step into the responsibilities immediately.

There are no injuries following a minor Grant Aviation incident in Hooper Bay on Tuesday. One pilot and seven passengers were on board the Cessna 208 when the plane’s propeller apparently struck something. Little information about the incident is known at this time.

Three Lower Kuskokwim River communities lost power around 7 p.m. on Jan. 28 during extreme subzero temperatures and severe wind chill. Alaska Village Electric Cooperative CEO Meera Kohler confirmed that the outage shut down power across Bethel, Oscarville, and Napakiak.

The U.S. Census began on Tuesday, Jan. 21, in Toksook Bay. Inclement weather kept the census workers from flying into the community in the morning as scheduled. By the afternoon, the clouds lifted, allowing the census crew to land. 

A fire severely damaged a home on Kilbuck Street near the Faulkner Walsh buildings on the evening of Jan. 17. The next morning, Acting Fire Chief Daron Solesbee said that there were no injuries. 

Two fire engines and six water trucks arrived on the scene, along with an ambulance. Solesbee said that the fire began when a tenant was attempting to thaw a frozen p-trap in a bathroom. The tenant was able to get out quickly. 

Bethel’s first marijuana store opens for business on Friday, Jan. 17. It took a year and a half to jump through all the bureaucratic hoops, but ALASKABuds, located on Third Avenue by Stan’s Barbershop, will start selling weed in all of its forms in Bethel at noon on Jan. 17.

“Eighteen months. That’s a long time,” said company owner Nick Miller. “And it’s obviously the first retail store in Bethel. It’s a lot of work. You wouldn’t think it would take that long to open a business, but it really, really does in the marijuana industry.”