Author: Joe Viechnicki, KFSK

Community members have another chance to weigh in tonight on the potential transfer of Tongass National Forest land to five new urban Native corporations.

Health officials are calling on Petersburg to maintain health precautions to get through the local COVID-19 outbreak. The community saw active case numbers drop over the weekend but local emergency and state officials say masking, social distancing and COVID testing are still needed to keep case numbers from expanding again.

Petersburg is among the top hotspots for COVID-19 cases in the country, according to the New York Times.

The Petersburg Economic Development Council has released its final version of a community plan for responding to growth in the visitor industry. That plan presents a range of recommendations for managing more tourists and cruise ships.

Petersburg’s active COVID-19 case count was back up to 65 on Tuesday. That reflects 11 new cases identified Tuesday, an additional case added to the count for Monday and three people who have recovered.