Thumbs up, thumbs down

by The 100 Companies January 27, 2020

January 27, 2020

Blueprint Alaska's Sarah Erkmann Ward provides ups and downs from the past couple of weeks.

Thumbs up:

GDP growth: It looks like Alaska is emerging from its recession.

Indigenous emojis: Don’t see yourself represented in emojis? Haida artist creates his own.

Deep freeze: Yes, temperatures were uncomfortable, but the cold may have killed some of those pesky spruce bark beetles.

Rural DMV: First-of-its-kind partnership brings a mobile DMV to rural Alaska.

Thumbs down:

Population: We keep losing people, and Alaska’s birth rate has slowed.

Layoffs: There have been more layoffs in local journalism. Time to renew that subscription.

Cancer: Alaska ranks near the bottom when it comes to lung cancer survival rates. Getting screened helps.