Alaska

Kenai faces 29% jump in employee health premiums as council weighs Premera renewal

Kenai's employee health premiums are set to jump 29%, and that's after the broker negotiated Premera down from 36%. The council votes Wednesday.

by Walter AlaskaNews4w ago2 min read

Aleutians East Borough seeks contractors to repair Cold Bay Dock, closed since August

Cold Bay's dock, the town's only fuel source, has been closed since August. The borough wants repair bids now; a new dock isn't due until 2030.

by Walter AlaskaNews4w ago2 min read

Trump says oil will "drop like a rock" after the Iran war, citing Alaska oil

Trump says oil will "drop like a rock" once the Iran war ends. If he's right, drivers win and Alaska's treasury loses about $35 million per dollar.

by Bill AlaskaNews4w ago2 min read

Alaska sets final rules for $75 million in rural health grants, due Oct. 28

Alaska has $75 million in rural health grants to hand out this fall. Last round, applicants asked for about nine times what was available. Due Oct. 28.

by Walter AlaskaNews4w ago1 min read

Follows: Alaska will score rural health grant applications on cost-effectiveness

State office closure alerts switch systems Nov. 1, and subscribers must sign up again

State office closure alerts are switching systems Nov. 1, and your subscription isn't coming along. Five minutes and an email address fixes it.

by Walter AlaskaNews4w ago1 min read

NOAA seeks small-business bids to operate its Fairbanks satellite ground station

NOAA wants a company to run the Fairbanks station that talks to its polar satellites about 135 times a day. Small businesses with security clearances only.

by Melinda Communities.News4w ago2 min read

Sitka to post 'Do Not Enter' signs at two Monastery Street entrances

Sitka will post Do Not Enter signs at two Monastery Street entrances once Lake Street reopens Oct. 21, blocking turns from Arrowhead and DeGroff onto Monastery.

by Walter AlaskaNews4w ago1 min read

Kodiak Assembly certifies election, swears in three as fourth winner waits

Kodiak certified its election and swore in three Assembly members. A fourth winner hasn't been seated yet, and two incumbents lost their seats.

by Walter AlaskaNews4w ago2 min read

Follows: Unofficial Kodiak Island Borough election results posted, canvass set for Oct. 14

Kodiak Island Borough Assembly approves $4.2 million hospital chiller replacement

Kodiak Island Borough Assembly approved $4.2 million in contracts to replace the failing chiller at Providence Kodiak Island Medical Center.

by Walter AlaskaNews4w ago2 min read

Follows: Kodiak Island Borough Assembly to vote on $4.2 million hospital chiller contracts

Park Service final rule allows bear baiting again in Alaska national preserves

Bear baiting is back in Alaska's national preserves, the fourth switch in 11 years. The Park Service expects no more than 10 bears a year taken over bait.

by Walter AlaskaNews4w ago3 min read

Aleutians East draft hazard plan says Unga Island dam rated poor has no known owner

A seeping dam on Unga Island has no known owner, and the state proposes rating it high hazard. The borough's draft plan proposes finding out who it belongs to.

by Walter AlaskaNews4w ago2 min read

State proposes splitting Fairbanks-area air pollution zone, separating North Pole

The state wants separate air pollution zones for Fairbanks and North Pole, split roughly along Badger Road. North Pole would keep the violations.

by Walter AlaskaNews4w ago2 min read

Norton Sound salmon season draws the fewest commercial permit holders since 2007

Just 72 permit holders fished Norton Sound salmon commercially this year, the fewest since 2007, and king salmon missed every escapement goal in the region.

by Walter AlaskaNews4w ago2 min read

At Senate debate, Sullivan suggests Peltola had questions; moderator says no

At a Senate debate, Sullivan implied Peltola had gotten questions ahead of time as she read answers from note cards. Moderators flatly denied it, and voting starts in four days.

by Cale Green4w ago3 min read

Juneau man charged with felony assault after Savikko Park hit-and-run

Juneau police charged a 32-year-old man with first-degree assault after a hit-and-run at Savikko Park. The pedestrian, 49, was medevaced to Seattle with a broken pelvis.

by Walter AlaskaNews4w ago1 min readFrom Oct 12

A second power link to Kenai would run under Cook Inlet

Alaska wants a second power line between Kenai and Anchorage, under Cook Inlet's tides and ice. First it needs builders, and $142.5 million more.

by Walter AlaskaNews4w ago2 min read

Anchorage Assembly to weigh asking Congress to let disaster aid support relocation

A year after Typhoon Halong, an Anchorage Assembly resolution would urge Congress to let disaster aid help villages relocate, not only rebuild where they were.

by Walter AlaskaNews4w ago2 min read

Alaska school boards to weigh tax-credit scholarships, immigration enforcement near schools

Alaska's school boards vote Nov. 8 on 14 proposed positions, from tax-credit scholarships to immigration enforcement near schools. Sitka sent half of them.

by Walter AlaskaNews4w ago3 min read

Fairbanks borough mayor proposes pause on large data center permits through 2027

Fairbanks' mayor wants no big new data centers permitted through 2027. Houston already hit pause, and Petersburg is drafting a pause of its own.

by Walter AlaskaNews4w ago2 min read

Soldotna police say Kodiak man fired gun in bar parking lot before fleeing

Soldotna police say a Kodiak man fired a gun in a bar parking lot and drove off in a Dodge Charger. He didn't get far, and he's being held without bail.

by Maggie AlaskaNews4w ago1 min read

Acting attorney general asks Legislature to clarify suppressor law after federal ruling

Alaska sued to end federal suppressor registration and won. Its own law still leans on that registration, so the acting AG wants lawmakers to sort it out.

by Walter AlaskaNews4w ago3 min read

State scheduled Dalton Highway closures near Mile 7.5 Thursday night for a load recovery

DOT&PF plans intermittent closures on the Dalton Highway near Mile 7.5 from 7:30 to 9:30 pm Thursday for load recovery. Expect delays in both directions.

by Walter AlaskaNews4w ago1 min read

Kenai Peninsula Borough and Soldotna man agree to end lawsuit over trespass ordinance

A Soldotna "First Amendment Auditor" and the Kenai borough agreed to walk away from his lawsuit. Each side pays its own lawyers, and the trespass law stays.

by Walter AlaskaNews4w ago2 min read

State to survey Craig households on subsistence harvests for the first time since 1998

State researchers will survey 128 Craig households in February about what they hunt, fish and gather, the first full count there since 1998.

by Walter AlaskaNews4w ago2 min read

Corps has no 2027 maintenance dredging money for Nome yet, port director says

The Corps hasn't budgeted 2027 maintenance dredging for Nome and several other Alaska ports. Anchorage got its money. Nome says "all is not lost."

by Bill AlaskaNews4w ago3 min read

Federal money would cover 96% of Wasilla's $20 million runway extension, staff says

Wasilla's runway extension would cost the city about 4% of $20 million, staff says. First come the surveys that have to wait for leaves on the trees.

by Walter AlaskaNews4w ago3 min read

Magnitude 5.6 earthquake near Lake Minchumina is felt in Fairbanks and Wasilla

A magnitude 5.6 quake hit near Lake Minchumina early Thursday and was felt from Fairbanks to Wasilla. USGS gives a magnitude 4 aftershock 7% odds within a week.

by Walter AlaskaNews4w ago2 min read

Peltola takes in $14.1 million in two months, nearly 7 times Sullivan's haul

Peltola took in about seven times what Sullivan did in the latest two-month reports. Both spent more than they took in, and Sullivan still has more cash.

by Alaska News4w ago4 min read

Like Vance and Trump, Cruz will campaign for Sullivan in a Republican-leaning region

Vance hit Fairbanks, Trump hit the Mat-Su and Cruz heads to Kenai. All three picked parts of Alaska where Republicans did best in 2024. We ran the numbers.

by Walter AlaskaNews4w ago3 min read

DOE awards ASRC subsidiary up to $49.8 million for Prudhoe Bay hydrate test site

The feds are paying an ASRC company up to $49.8 million to maintain a Prudhoe Bay methane hydrate test site and plan a possible second production test.

by Walter AlaskaNews4w ago2 min read

Commission recommends naming Anchorage Assembly Chambers for Dick Traini, 3-2

Anchorage's naming commission voted 3-2 to recommend naming the Assembly Chambers for Dick Traini, despite a city rule to wait 36 months after a death.

by Walter AlaskaNews4w ago3 min read

Troopers arrest Kasilof resident on DUI, weapons charges near Clam Gulch

Troopers arrested a Kasilof man near Clam Gulch after finding his car in a ditch, him asleep inside. He faces DUI and weapons charges for a loaded firearm while impaired.

by Walter AlaskaNews4w ago1 min read

Fish and Game closes Hodzana Hills caribou hunt as Dalton snowmachine access opens

Winter snowmachine use opens on Dalton corridor trails Nov. 1, so Fish and Game is closing the small Hodzana Hills caribou herd's hunt the night before.

by Bill AlaskaNews4w ago2 min read

Federal managers move 700 tons of unused Atka mackerel to Bering Sea trawlers

Boats that catch Atka mackerel by accident barely caught any, so federal managers are handing 700 tons to the trawl co-op that catches it on purpose.

by Walter AlaskaNews4w ago2 min read

Park Service makes Denali's 160-vehicle daily road cap official before full reopening

Denali's 160-vehicle daily road cap is now regulation. The Park Service says it has followed that number since 2012; the new access is a day or two of season.

by Maggie AlaskaNews4w ago3 min read

Mat-Su Platting Board approves six-lot subdivision near Engstrom Road

Six new lots near Engstrom Road got the OK. Neighbors worry about the Bogard-Engstrom intersection; the road meant to ease it is picked but not funded.

by Walter AlaskaNews4w ago2 min read

Merrill Field planners propose King Air 200 as design aircraft for 20-year plan

Merrill Field's 20-year plan will be built around the King Air 200. Also learned: the first stop for many rural flyers landing there is Costco.

by Walter AlaskaNews4w ago2 min read

Follows: Anchorage will take public comment on Merrill Field's next 20 years Oct. 15

Port of Alaska asks federal regulators to shrink Terminal 1 beluga shutdown zone

The Port of Alaska wants the beluga shutdown zone for Terminal 1 pile driving cut from 9,000 meters to 1,300. Federal fisheries regulators will decide.

by Walter AlaskaNews4w ago2 min read

Anchorage Assembly to consider $1.2 million for two fire tenders replacing aging trucks

Two Anchorage fire tenders are past the 25-year mark. The Assembly considers $1.2 million for replacements Tuesday, with delivery about 20 months out.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Anchorage Assembly takes up rewritten Chugach access board plan Tuesday

Who gets a say over Chugach park access money? The Assembly tries again Tuesday, now with two seats for road board veterans from neighborhoods next to the park.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago3 min read