Alaska

LaFrance appoints retired municipal lawyer to Anchorage Equal Rights Commission

Mayor Suzanne LaFrance appointed retired attorney Linda Johnson to the Anchorage Equal Rights Commission. The Assembly votes on her confirmation Wednesday.

by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago2 min read

Kenai Peninsula school board votes Monday on 10-year renewal of Fireweed Academy charter

Kenai school board votes Monday on a 10 year charter renewal for Homer's Fireweed Academy, through 2037. • Same meeting, district leaders recommend denying a proposed Soldotna Elementary charter over budget and compliance issues.

by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago1 min read

Kenai Peninsula district leaders urge school board to reject Soldotna Elementary charter

District leaders urge the school board to reject turning Soldotna Elementary into a charter school. They cite a $1.1 million budget gap and no secured building. Board votes Monday.

by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago2 min read

Follows: Soldotna Elementary parents and staff propose a charter that keeps neighborhood enrollment

Weather service downgrades Broad Pass storm warning, forecasts 3 to 6 more inches

Weather service downgraded its Broad Pass storm warning to an advisory, with 3 to 6 more inches of snow expected. By early Saturday, the heavy snow had tapered off to scattered showers.

by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago1 min read

Juneau's all-winter recreation pass goes on sale at $250, up $50

Juneau's all-you-can-swim-and-skate Winter Pass is back, now $250 plus tax, $50 more than last year. A regular adult swimmer breaks even in about 30 visits.

by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago2 min read

Wind and rain forecast for southern Southeast a day after gusts up north

Ketchikan and Prince of Wales were under wind advisories Sunday as a storm headed their way, a day after gusts topped 40 mph from Skagway to Yakutat.

by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago2 min read

Troopers list three Two Rivers children as missing runaways after they left home on foot

Troopers listed three Two Rivers children, ages 14 to 16, as missing runaways after they walked out of their home late Saturday following an argument.

by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago1 min read

Appeals send both Woodland Subdivision short-term rental permits to Kenai City Council

Both Woodland Subdivision short-term rental permits, approved by Kenai planners Oct. 14, face appeals heading to City Council.

by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago2 min read

Follows: Kenai planners approve two Woodland Subdivision short-term rentals, one 3-2

Anonymous texts push Eric Hafner, but no group has reported spending to support him

Alaskans got texts telling Democrats to vote for Eric Hafner, who's in federal prison. No group has reported paying to support him, and the texts don't say.

by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago4 min read

Juneau memo puts glacial flood fight at $933,965 a year, plus barrier upkeep

Juneau's glacial flood response will cost $933,965 a year, plus $1.2 million for HESCO barrier upkeep, a city memo says.

by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago3 min read

Assembly to vote Wednesday on McDonald Center contract after audit's 11 findings

Eagle River's rink operator could get 10 more years at the McDonald Center, 10 months after a city audit listed 11 findings. The Assembly takes it up Wednesday.

by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago2 min read

Citizen board that advises on Kachemak Bay State Park meets Nov. 10 in Homer

The citizen board advising on Kachemak Bay State Park meets Nov. 10 in Homer. In March it backed a bill rewriting state habitat laws, Kachemak Bay's included.

by Maggie AlaskaNews1w ago1 min read

Cook Inlet Tribal Council seeks a bigger K'teya center for the same $36.5 million

Cook Inlet Tribal Council restarted its builder search for the K'teya center with a bigger building, the same $36.5 million and more for that money to cover.

by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago2 min read

Citizen board that advises the state on the Kenai River meets Nov. 12 in Soldotna

The citizen board that advises the state on the Kenai River, on everything but who gets the fish, meets Nov. 12 in Soldotna and online and takes comments.

by Maggie AlaskaNews1w ago2 min read

Northrim still expects its Oregon bank purchase to close around Jan. 1

Northrim told the SEC it still expects to own an Oregon bank around New Year's, its first step outside Alaska. Deal costs ran about $1 million last quarter.

by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago2 min read

Regulators approve ENSTAR plan to borrow MEA's gas to shore up winter storage

Regulators OK'd ENSTAR borrowing MEA's gas from Hilcorp this winter to top off storage. MEA gets it back by 2028, and gas customers cover the cost.

by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago2 min read

Follows: ENSTAR asks regulators to fast-track a deal to borrow MEA's gas for this winter

Regulators cut Manley Hot Springs power surcharge and let utility count its solar

Manley Hot Springs' power surcharge drops about $43 a month for a typical home, and regulators are letting the utility count the solar power it already makes.

by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago1 min read

Anchorage Assembly weighs just under $300,000 to help price a trash-burning power plant

The Anchorage Assembly may pay its only bidder just under $300,000 to help price a trash-burning power plant, on top of up to $700,000 it approved to design it.

by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago3 min read

Follows: Anchorage Assembly to consider $700,000 to start designing trash-burning power plant

Assembly to weigh a helipad for military helicopters at the Port of Alaska

Anchorage's port could get its own helipad so Army and Air Force helicopters can deploy through it. The Assembly votes Wednesday on a deal worth up to $3.9M.

by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago2 min read

Windstorm cut power to at least 11,800 Chugach Electric members in Anchorage

Friday's windstorm drove trees into power lines, cutting power to at least 11,800 Chugach Electric members. A few hundred were still out early Saturday.

by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago2 min read

Follows: Windstorm gusts hit 70 mph south of Eagle River, cutting power to over 13,500 MEA members

Board of Fisheries to weigh pushing commercial nets back from the Homer Spit

Proposals say commercial nets off the Homer Spit block the way to the harbor, and the Board of Fisheries will weigh pushing them back as far as a mile.

by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago2 min read

Kodiak sea cucumber divers get a 13-day opening after forecasts show no gale warnings

No gale warnings in the forecast, so Kodiak's sea cucumber divers get 13 days. Fifty divers fished it in 1993; eight permits did in the 2023/24 season.

by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago1 min read

Seward moves toward transferring Jesse Lee orphanage cemetery to the Qutekcak Native Tribe

Seward takes a first step Tuesday toward transferring the Jesse Lee Cemetery, which holds burials from a former orphanage, to the Qutekcak Native Tribe.

by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago2 min readFrom Apr 13

Windstorm gusts hit 70 mph south of Eagle River, cutting power to over 13,500 MEA members

Gusts up to 70 mph knocked out power to more than 13,500 MEA members from Eagle River to Willow early Friday. About 4,800 were still out at noon.

by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago2 min read

Judge rules ICE's policy discouraging detention of pregnant women isn't binding

A federal judge in Anchorage ruled ICE's policy discouraging detention of pregnant women isn't binding, denying the petition of a woman ICE held three days.

by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago3 min read

Mat-Su won't shelve two children's books its library board flagged before purchase

Mat-Su's library director won't shelve "The Gender Wheel" or "Families, Families, Families!" after board members flagged them. Most others in the same memo got through.

by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago2 min read

Pogo gold mine seeks to fill 9 more acres of wetlands for rock and equipment storage

Pogo gold mine's owner wants to fill 9 more acres of wetlands near the Goodpaster River to make room for waste rock and equipment. Comments are due Dec. 1.

by Maggie AlaskaNews1w ago3 min read

Kodiak spaceport looks for a site to make liquid oxygen for rockets from the air

Kodiak's spaceport wants to make its own liquid oxygen for rockets, literally out of thin air, and is looking for engineers to find the best spot for the plant.

by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago2 min read

Bill named for Don Young to help tribes restore buffalo heads to the full House

A bill named for the late Don Young that would help tribes restore buffalo herds is headed to the full House. An earlier $14 million authorization got cut.

by Maggie AlaskaNews1w ago2 min read

Valdez declares it's 'officially snow season' and asks residents to clear snow lots

Valdez declared it "officially snow season" and wants boats, trailers and cars out of neighborhood snow lots so crews can keep up with plowing.

by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago1 min read

Troopers investigate report that man pepper-sprayed a woman off Knik Goose Bay Road

Initial reports say a Wasilla man pepper-sprayed a woman off Knik Goose Bay Road on Friday and fled, troopers say. He also has a warrant from another case.

by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago1 min read

Whittier council to discuss buying railroad land in closed session Nov. 17

Whittier wants to buy about 85 acres in town from the Alaska Railroad. The council discusses it behind closed doors Nov. 17, and the price hasn't been released.

by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago2 min readFrom Oct 20

Troopers cite driver after red-light crash on Palmer-Wasilla Highway

Troopers cited a driver for running a red light and crashing into another vehicle at Palmer-Wasilla Highway and Equestrian Avenue Friday. No injuries were reported, but the highway briefly closed.

by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago1 min read

Southeast charter fleet tops its halibut share for a sixth straight year

Southeast's charter halibut fleet has topped its catch share six years running as size limits tightened. Fishery managers take up 2027 limits in December.

by Maggie AlaskaNews2w ago2 min read

Sitka School Board extends Superintendent Deidre Jenson's contract through June 2029

Sitka's school board voted to keep Superintendent Deidre Jenson through June 2029, giving her a shot at beating Alaska's average three-year superintendent run.

by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago1 min read

Fairbanks City Council accepts $728,000 federal grant for ambulance bus

Fairbanks council accepted $728,000 in federal funds for a fire department ambulance bus holding up to 22 patients. • Bus aids mass-casualty response, city must fund crewing after year one. • Council also backed statewide e-bike rules and a plan for blighted properties.

by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago1 min readFrom Oct 12

Up to 14 inches of snow possible on the Klondike Highway through Sunday morning

p to 14 inches of snow and 40 mph gusts could make the Klondike Highway over White Pass very difficult to impossible to drive until Sunday morning.

by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago2 min read

Minor geomagnetic storm could bring northern lights to Fairbanks and Nome Saturday night

Halloween's geomagnetic storm came early. Fairbanks and Nome have the best shot at northern lights tonight, with the peak forecast from 10 pm to 1 am.

by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago2 min read

Fairbanks police will hand out glow sticks to trick-or-treaters Halloween night

Fairbanks and North Pole police will hand out glow sticks to trick-or-treaters Saturday night to keep kids visible to drivers. Alaska logged 15 pedestrian deaths in 2024, up from 13 the year before.

by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago1 min read

Weather service forecasts 3 to 6 inches of snow on Dalton Highway through Saturday night

Weather service forecasts 3 to 6 inches of snow on Atigun Pass and the Dalton Highway through Saturday night, with blowing snow cutting visibility.

by Maggie AlaskaNews2w ago2 min read