Wrangell Sentinel -

The deadline to apply for this year’s Alaska Permanent Fund dividend is Thursday. Applications must be submitted online by 11:59 p.m. Thursday, or mailed and postmarked that day.

As of Tuesday afternoon, more than 570,000 Alaskans had applied for the annual payment from earnings of the state’s 45-year-old oil-wealth savings account — which means a lot more applications are expected in the final week.

About 670,000 people have submitted applications in recent years, with about 640,000 determined eligible and approved for payment.

Last year’s dividend was $1,114. This year’s amount...