Alaska

Ketchikan mayor asks PeaceHealth to account for summer crowds in ER remodel

Ketchikan's mayor asked PeaceHealth to mind cruise season in its ER remodel. Nearly a third of summer Priority Care clinic patients had outside addresses.

by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago2 min read

Juneau reopens Lemon Creek playground with fencing meant to keep out bikes

Sigoowu Ye Park was closed more than a year for a renovation, and bikes damaged its new surface within weeks. It's open again, with fencing meant to stop them.

by Alaska News2w ago2 min readFrom Oct 21

Juneau police become first Alaska agency in Georgetown peer-intervention program

Juneau police say they're first in Alaska to join Georgetown's ABLE program, training officers to step in on colleagues. Georgetown is testing whether it works.

by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago2 min read

Homer's Fireweed Academy asks Kenai Peninsula school district to renew its charter for 10 years

Fireweed Academy asked the Kenai Peninsula school district to renew its charter for 10 years, through 2037. The district board and state board of education must still approve it.

by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago2 min read

Fairbanks advisory committee to elect seven, with Ambler no-hunting corridor on agenda

Fairbanks' fish and game advisory committee elects seven members Nov. 11, then turns to the Ambler Road no-hunting corridor it already voted 13-0 against.

by Maggie AlaskaNews2w ago3 min read

Alaska may drop 58 education rules, including a 90-day charter school deadline

The state school board wants comment on scrapping 58 education rules, including a 90-day charter school deadline and how library grants are split up.

by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago2 min readFrom Oct 14

Northwest Arctic Borough energy plan finds fuel use down 2.1%, short of 10% goal

The Northwest Arctic cut imported fuel use 2.1% from 2008 to 2024, missing a 10% goal. Stove oil costs $27.60 a gallon in Ambler, the borough's plan says.

by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago3 min readFrom Sep 14

Skeetawk gondola tops Mat-Su's $3.33 million list of community projects

A mile-long gondola at Hatcher Pass's Skeetawk ski area tops the community project list Mat-Su planners sent to the Assembly. Funding isn't promised.

by Walter AlaskaNews3w ago3 min readFrom Oct 19

Petro Marine wants a new Wrangell fuel dock, saying its floats nearly touch bottom

Petro Marine says its Wrangell fuel floats nearly touch bottom at low tide, which isn't great for fuel barges. It wants to tear them out and build new ones.

by Walter AlaskaNews3w ago2 min read

Ketchikan planners to rehear parking variance for KIC's planned shelter after notice error

Ketchikan planners will rehear KIC's request to build a four-story shelter with one parking space instead of 24, after some neighbors weren't mailed notice.

by Walter AlaskaNews3w ago2 min read

Santos will hold Pikka near 70,000 barrels a day for now, short of its 80,000 target

Pikka briefly hit an 80,000-barrel daily rate, then bad weather and a road crash intervened. Santos will hold near 70,000 so water injection can catch up.

by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago2 min readFrom Oct 21

Shareholders sign off on Northrim's purchase of Oregon bank, its first move outside Alaska

Shareholders of both banks signed off on Northrim buying an Oregon bank Oct. 20. Now four regulators get a say before Northrim plants its flag outside Alaska.

by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago2 min read

Follows: Northrim takes $8.8 million hit on one customer days before vote on Oregon bank deal

Murkowski says Justice Department shouldn't have sued over two Sullivans

Murkowski says the Justice Department never should have sued over Alaska's two Senate Sullivans. Alaskans can pick their own candidate, she says.

by Walter AlaskaNews3w ago2 min read

Three candidates for governor pledge tribal affairs offices or liaisons at AFN forum

Three governor candidates told AFN delegates they'd add tribal affairs offices, advisors or liaisons to state government. Bernadette Wilson didn't take part.

by Maggie AlaskaNews3w ago3 min read

Mat-Su sets aside $704,763 for opioid settlement grants, two-thirds of its total

Mat-Su has collected $1.06 million in opioid settlement money and spent $89,461. Now it will offer local groups $704,763, up to $75,000 apiece.

by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago3 min readFrom Oct 20

Western Gulf pot boats' cod season ends for 2026, two days after they got more fish

Feds gave Western Gulf pot cod boats 600 more tons this month. On Friday, two days after the last top-up, NOAA shut their directed cod fishery for 2026.

by Walter AlaskaNews3w ago2 min read

Follows: Feds move more Western Gulf cod from trawlers to pot boats, second time this month

Southeast charter halibut limit could shrink to 32 inches or less under 2027 options

Southeast charter anglers could keep halibut up to 34 inches this year. Regulators are now studying 32 or smaller for 2027. One operator calls 34 "rock bottom."

by Walter AlaskaNews3w ago3 min read

Sitka planners recommend banning data centers in every zone, not by permit

Sitka's planners want data centers banned in every zone, not allowed by permit. Most people who testified agreed. Now it's up to the Assembly.

by Walter AlaskaNews3w ago3 min read

Follows: Sitka Planning Commission takes testimony on requiring permits for data centers

Palmer Project companies ask the state to extend their exploration approval to 2033

Two companies want until 2033, not 2028, for the drilling and test pits the state approved at the Palmer copper prospect near Haines. Comments due Nov. 6.

by Walter AlaskaNews3w ago2 min read

Kodiak school board names Damon Hargraves superintendent on one-year contract

Kodiak's school board gave acting superintendent Damon Hargraves the job Monday on a one-year contract. He's the third person to lead the district this year.

by Walter AlaskaNews3w ago2 min read

Follows: Kodiak school board accepts superintendent's resignation less than three months into his tenure

Homer may ask the federal government to review its air service as boardings drop

Homer's mayor wants the city to ask the feds to review its air service. Boardings there have fallen by more than a third in two years. Valdez did the same in 2024.

by Walter AlaskaNews3w ago2 min read

State proposes a 25-year tidelands lease for Goldbelt's Douglas Island cruise port

The state wants to lease Goldbelt 152 acres of tidelands for its west Douglas cruise port, for 25 years, not the 55 it asked for. Crabbers may feel it.

by Walter AlaskaNews3w ago3 min read

Forecasters track four more storms headed for western Alaska through next week

Forecasters are tracking four more storms behind the one that flooded Hooper Bay's roads Friday. The state's emergency center is staying on alert.

by Maggie AlaskaNews3w ago2 min read

Bethel residents press for higher firefighter pay as union contract talks continue

Six Bethel residents asked the council to pay firefighters more, as union talks continue and the fire department prepares for staffing reductions.

by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago2 min readFrom Oct 13

Kenai nonprofit seeks permit to open a therapeutic daycare on Beaver Loop Road

A Kenai nonprofit wants to turn an empty former group home into a daycare for up to 20 kids, including kids with disabilities. The city takes it up Wednesday.

by Walter AlaskaNews3w ago2 min read

Kuskokwim Corporation hosts Zoom craft night Oct. 29 through its TKC ROOTS program

The Kuskokwim Corporation is hosting a Zoom craft night Oct. 29 through its TKC ROOTS program. Bring beading, sewing, knitting, drawing or whatever else.

by Maggie AlaskaNews3w ago1 min read

BBNC hosts youth and young adult event on careers and scholarships in Kenai

BBNC and the Bristol Bay Foundation are hosting shareholders and descendants ages 14 to 26 in Kenai on Nov. 21 to talk careers and scholarships, with pizza.

by Alaska News3w ago1 min read

Ex-Polar LNG chief says Russia's Novatek supplied undisclosed startup funding

Polar LNG Russian financing

by Cale Green3w ago4 min read

Judge rules Dahlstrom couldn't override APOC on Tagle, a move she also made for Taylor

A judge ruled Lt. Gov. Dahlstrom couldn't override APOC's finding against Jose Tagle. She overrode its finding against Treg Taylor the very same day.

by Walter AlaskaNews3w ago3 min read

Murkowski tells AFN fuel prices are wrong and ties them to the Iran war

Murkowski told AFN high fuel prices are wrong and blamed the Iran war. She said she's voted for six months to end it. The Senate record says closer to five.

by Walter AlaskaNews3w ago2 min read

Alaskans can drop off unused prescription drugs Saturday at DEA take-back sites

DEA and Alaska troopers host a no questions asked prescription drug take back day Saturday 10am to 2pm at seven sites statewide.

by Walter AlaskaNews3w ago1 min read

Bering Sea storm floods roads in Hooper Bay, Teller and Wales, with gusts to 71 mph

Friday's Bering Sea storm flooded roads in Hooper Bay, Teller and Wales, and gusts hit 71 mph at Wales. The wind has eased, but more storms are coming.

by Maggie AlaskaNews3w ago2 min read

AFN weighs late resolutions on permitting bill's historic review title and census plan

Southeast delegates asked AFN to oppose a Senate bill's historic review rewrite and a census plan. Delegates first had to agree to take the resolutions up.

by Walter AlaskaNews3w ago2 min read

Committee drops visitors bureau chief from Ketchikan's planned tourism board

A Ketchikan committee cut the visitors bureau chief from the city's planned tourism board, with a member saying the board may someday review the bureau's work.

by Walter AlaskaNews3w ago2 min read

Troopers arrest man, 52, after exhuming two stabbed dogs in Anchor Point

Troopers arrested a 52 year old Anchor Point man Friday after exhuming two buried dogs with stab wounds to the head and neck.

by Maggie AlaskaNews3w ago1 min read

State budget sends $24.3 million to fix up Mt. Edgecumbe's aging Sitka campus

Mt. Edgecumbe is getting $24.3 million in state money to fix up a Sitka campus whose dorms include World War II barracks, plus new mattresses and washers.

by Walter AlaskaNews3w ago2 min read

Valdez budget proposal sets aside $6.5 million for special litigation

Valdez's proposed 2027 budget sets aside $6.5 million for special litigation, out of $7.5 million for legal costs. The presentation doesn't say which cases.

by Walter AlaskaNews3w ago2 min read

State lets seismic survey near Beluga reach across the Castle Mountain Fault

The state let a Houston seismic company redraw its lines in the Susitna Flats refuge so one reaches across the Castle Mountain Fault. Nobody commented.

by Walter AlaskaNews3w ago2 min read

Follows: State takes comment on expanding Western Cook Inlet geophysical survey near Beluga

Anchorage fire chief expects two recruit academies in 2027 as about 50 can retire

Anchorage's fire chief expects two recruit academies in 2027 as about 50 firefighters can retire. Even that may fall short, and a third costs about $2 million.

by Walter AlaskaNews3w ago3 min read

Anchorage budget office lists pool closures and bus cuts as possible options for 2028 gap

Anchorage budget office outlined cuts that could close a $15 to $30 million 2028 gap. • Options include closing 3 pools, cutting a bus route and axing 21 police community officer jobs. • None are in the 2027 budget. Assembly votes Nov. 17.

by Walter AlaskaNews3w ago3 min read