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The U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Kimball calls Honolulu home, but recently it’s seen a lot of action in the Aleutians. Just last month while on a routine patrol, the vessel encountered a group of Russian and Chinese warships traveling together through the Bering Sea. The Kimball’s commander, Capt. Thomas D’Arcy, recalled the encounter during a port call in Unalaska last weekend.D’Arcy didn’t comment on the strategic implications of the foreign warships the Kimball encountered last month. But he said the cutter is staged for just about anything and will continue monitoring the area for foreign military activity.

With 37 absentee and questioned ballots still uncounted, just one race in Unalaska’s Municipal Election is too close to call; Aleutian Airways says they’re starting scheduled flights to Unalaska next month; and Alaska law enforcement seized almost 2.5 million fatal doses of fentanyl this summer, part of a statewide effort targeting the deadly opioid.

With 37 absentee and questioned ballots still uncounted, just one race in Unalaska’s Municipal Election is too close to call; Aleutian Airways says they’re starting scheduled flights to Unalaska next month; and Alaska law enforcement seized almost 2.5 million fatal doses of fentanyl this summer, part of a statewide effort targeting the deadly opioid.

Aleutian Airways plans to start regularly scheduled service between Unalaska and Anchorage next month, according to a statement released by the airline Tuesday morning. Fares for a one-way ticket will start at $659, while a refundable ticket will cost $939. Those fares are about the same as the ones offered by Ravn Alaska — the other airline currently servicing the island. The new regional carrier, which is operated by Sterling Airways, will offer daily flights Monday through Friday, on its Saab 2000 aircraft, which is a high-speed turboprop plane that holds around 50 passengers.

Unalaska declared October as Domestic Violence Awareness Month — a tradition the city has observed for about 20 years. M. Lynn Crane is the executive director of Unalaskans Against Sexual Assault and Family Violence. Crane gave a presentation at last week’s city council meeting, when Mayor Vince Tutiakoff Sr. officially proclaimed October as Domestic Violence Awareness Month.

Unalaska declared October as Domestic Violence Awareness Month; six more communities are being added to telecommunications company GCI’s Aleutian Fiber Project, including Cold Bay and False Pass; and Congresswoman Mary Peltola, the nation’s first Alaska Native elected to Congress, will serve as the keynote speaker at the Alaska Federation of Natives conference.

A mid-September storm caused major damage in parts of Western Alaska. In Unalaska though, it brought strangely warm temperatures and a warning sign about future storm activity in the region. Wreckage from the historic storm spans about 1,000 miles of coastline from the Lower Kuskokwim area, up north to the Norton Sound region. Flooding and strong winds caused power outages, road and home damage and destroyed subsistence harvests and the means to replace those. While Unalaska was preparing for similar conditions and possible devastation, locals got lucky as the storm passed further west, near Shemya Island. Rick Thoman, a climate specialist at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, said the high seas and strong winds were the remnants of Typhoon Merbok. And while they missed the Eastern Aleutians, they did push subtropical air into the region.

A Coast Guard crew encountered a Chinese guided missile cruiser in the Bering Sea last week. The Coast Guard Cutter Kimball was on a routine patrol on Sept. 19, when the vessel encountered the Renhai CG 101 about 75 miles north of Kiska Island, in the Western Aleutians, according to a Coast Guard statement Monday morning. The statement said the Coast Guard crew identified two more Chinese naval vessels and four Russian naval vessels, including a Russian Federation Navy destroyer.

The superintendent of Unalaska’s schools, Robbie Swint Jr., has resigned; Aleutian Airways will soon start scheduled flights to Unalaska; and a University of Alaska Southeast professor launched a podcast last month in an attempt to bring the Lingít language—and real talk about decolonization—to mainstream media.

Aleutian Airways has been granted approval from the Federal Aviation Administration to start charter and scheduled air service to Unalaska. That’s according to a statement released by the new regional airline Wednesday morning. While charters will start immediately, the company says it will announce scheduled routes within the next two weeks. The news comes just one week after the company ran a successful test flight of its Saab 2000 aircraft to Unalaska’s Tom Madsen airport.