Note: KTNA, as well as some identified businesses, are recipients of PPP funds.
This week, the Small Business Administration released figures for where funds for the Paycheck Protection Program went throughout the country.
The federal loan program was introduced in response to the economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, and is intended to aid businesses with reduced income in continuing to paying their employees to come to work. If employers use the money as intended, the loans are forgiveable.
Data for funds distributed by the PPP is divided into two groups. For businesses receiving under $150,000, the location, amount of money received, and number of jobs retained is made public, but not the business name. In Trapper Creek, Willow, and Talkeetna, a total of eighty-five businesses were approved for two-point-two million dollars under the PPP. The federal data says the funds are being used to retain 431 jobs.
For businesses that received higher amounts of funding, the exact number is not public, but the business name is. The largest recipient of PPP funds in the Northern Susitna Valley is Sunshine Community Health Center. According to federal data, SCHC received between 350,000 and one million dollars. Eight businesses fall into the category below that, receiving $150,000 and less than $350,000. Those businesses include AK Clearwater Mechanical LLC, Newmans Hilltop Services, and Willow Personal Care Assistants LLC in Willow as well as Alaska Resource Group LLC (dba D&S Road Service), K2 Adventures, Kiska Supplies & Services (dba Cubby’s Marketplace), Talkeetna Restaurant, LLC, and Twister Creek, Inc. (dba Denali Brewing Company) The larger loan amounts account for a total of 300 jobs, according to the SBA.
The Paycheck Protection Program reopened on Monday, and the new application deadline is August 8th.
