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Alaska Senate Majority sets Anchorage press availability on stalled gas session
Alaska's fourth special session on the gas pipeline tax has gone two weeks without a vote, as a looming Cook Inlet supply cliff raises the stakes.

Anchorage pushes for an emergency boat launch on Turnagain Arm after a drowning
After a drowning where rescuers had no way to launch a boat, Anchorage is pushing for federal money to build an emergency water-access point on Turnagain Arm.

Prince William Sound's purse seine fleet stays closed, waiting on weather
Prince William Sound's seine fleet stays closed, grounded because the weather's too poor to fly the aerial surveys Fish and Game needs before it will open.

Juneau moves to repair Mendenhall riverbank and protect flood-hit homes
Juneau moves to repair 1,300 feet of Mendenhall riverbank to protect flood-hit homes, one of several recovery measures on the agenda after the 2024 flood.

Driver escapes uninjured after vehicle overturns and burns on Steese Highway in Fox
Burning vehicle, scary when you're the one in it. Pretty wild when you're a person coming across it and you're not at risk of being burned.

Heavy military flying returns over Anchorage as Red Flag-Alaska war games resume
Multinational war games return over Anchorage through Aug. 28 — expect concentrated jet noise on flying days. The last drew 2,100 troops and 75 aircraft.

A Petersburg-area drift gillnet fishery opens for about 40 hours
The state will open a fishing section near Petersburg to about 40 hours of unrestricted drift gillnet fishing, from Tuesday evening through Thursday noon.

Heat advisory covers Lower Matanuska Valley through Monday
I'm gonna be hot if you in the Matsu, don't be surprised if heat stroke finds you.

A hiker was carried off a Hatcher Pass trail, the second rescue there this summer
An incapacitated hiker was carried off a Hatcher Pass trail Thursday by four agencies — the second rescue on the same demanding route this summer.

ADF&G closes Northern District set gillnet fishing for 12 hours Monday
Alaska closes Northern District set gillnet fishing for 12 hours Monday to protect coho salmon escapement into Cook Inlet streams.

Palmer man arrested on DUI, refusal and 2021 warrant after Palmer-Wasilla Highway report
State Troopers arrested a Palmer man on DUI and refusal charges after a swerving report on Palmer-Wasilla Highway, and also served a 2021 warrant for DUI and weapons misconduct.

Alaska Peninsula salmon fishing keeps opening and closing as managers work around sockeye returns
Alaska Peninsula salmon fishing keeps opening and closing — 20 advisories in this season — as managers work around sockeye returns near Port Moller.

Anchorage Assembly weights resolution would back JBER buildout as base housing nears full
Anchorage weighs committing to planning for a military buildup of up to 1,050 personnel, on a base whose family housing is already 98% full.

A sockeye surge doubles the Fish Creek salmon limit for a week
A strong sockeye run means Fish Creek anglers can keep six salmon a day through Aug. 15 — double the usual limit — before it drops back to three.

The state closes Kuskokwim subsistence coho fishing as the run lags
The state closed subsistence coho fishing on the Kuskokwim River, cutting off a key food source mid-run as the coho run comes in far below average.

UAF will lead a project to mine critical minerals out of old mine waste
UAF will lead a federally funded project to recover critical minerals from old mine tailings, starting at $15 million and possibly growing to $160 million.

Juneau pilots pay $12 a gallon for fuel, and want an alternative to the airport's only seller
Juneau pilots pay over $12 a gallon for avgas, about 50% more than Anchorage, from the airport's only seller. Fifty-plus want a self-serve option added.

Bethel weighs fixes or demolition for three problem properties
Bethel holds a hearing Sept. 1 on three problem properties it's chased for months — one nearly two years — to decide on fixes or demolition.

The state will renew a Sitka hatchery's Deep Inlet lease for 10 years, not the 25 it wanted
The state will renew a Sitka hatchery's Deep Inlet net pen lease for 10 years, less than half the 25 it asked for, and the notice doesn't say why.

Kodiak posts a 7% sales tax. Businesses effectively pay less than 3%
Kodiak advertises a 7% sales tax, but so much is exempt that businesses effectively pay under 3%, and the shrinking taxable base can't keep up with city costs.

Kodiak fish waste hauler is only applicant for former cannery site
A fish waste hauler is the only applicant for Kodiak's deteriorating former cannery site, and the city council must decide whether to sell.

A Kodiak homeowner takes his flooded yard to the borough board
A Kodiak homeowner is fed up with a too-small, often-clogged borough pipe flooding his yard, and he's taking his complaint to the service-area board Tuesday.

A company is drilling near Cantwell for the source of half a million ounces of gold
A company wants to drill near Cantwell for the lost source of 500,000+ ounces of gold pulled from the Valdez Creek district's creeks.

Alaska's senators split as Senate confirms Blanche 50-49
The Senate confirmed Todd Blanche as attorney general 50-49 Saturday, with Sen. Lisa Murkowski voting no and Sen. Dan Sullivan voting yes.

Matanuska Electric goes on taproom tour as members absorb rising rates and a looming gas cliff
MEA's CEO is hitting the taprooms to meet members — right as they absorb a rate hike, brace for 5%-a-year increases, and face a 2029 gas cliff.

State proposes five-year lease extension for Noatak school site at airport
Alaska is proposing a five-year lease extension for Noatak's school and fuel tank farm on airport land, even though the airport itself is scheduled to close once a replacement facility opens.

Big Lake man charged with 21 theft counts after Mat-Su traffic stop
Big Lake man Jonathan Meeks faces 25 criminal counts after troopers found stolen credit cards, IDs, checks and prescription drugs in his impounded vehicle.

Crews deploy to protect Native allotment near Tatlanika Fire
A remote Alaska fire left to burn has grown nearly 30-fold to 28,168 acres and now threatens a single Native allotment, drawing 14 firefighters to protect it.

Yentna River crest ties to flood risk for Lake Creek lodges
Yentna River crested at 22.52 feet Thursday near Lake Creek, two feet above flood stage and high enough to push water into cabins at seven fishing lodges along the Western Susitna Valley.

Shaktoolik and Unalakleet subsistence fishers must pull beach seines Tuesday
Shaktoolik and Unalakleet subsistence fishers must pull beach seines by Tuesday, part of Norton Sound's king salmon conservation effort. Gillnets stay open.

Wasilla woman charged in storage-unit burglary that netted stolen firearms
A Wasilla woman faces 14 counts in a December storage-unit burglary that took multiple firearms, troopers say — with an accomplice still at large.

A woman lost overnight near Port Heiden was found alive, her dog by her side
A woman lost overnight near Port Heiden was found alive five miles off a trail, her dog beside her the whole time, having chased off a bear at one point.

A Fairbanks blood-draw arrest raises a question about the evidence-tampering charge
A Fairbanks driver fought a court-ordered blood draw and was charged with evidence tampering — but a 2000 Alaska Supreme Court ruling raises a real question about whether that charge holds.

Father and daughter rescued by boat from Kenai River island at mile 73
A father and daughter stranded on a Kenai River island at mile 73 on July 27 when rising water cut off their return were rescued by boat the same day.

Kodiak will homeport the Coast Guard's first Arctic Security Cutters
Kodiak will homeport the Coast Guard's first two Arctic Security Cutters, part of a multibillion-dollar Arctic buildup, with a third headed to Seward.

A proposed cap would limit how high Mat-Su can set its property tax rate
A proposed ordinance would cap Mat-Su's areawide property tax rate at 7 mills, or $700 a year per $100,000 of value, capping what future assemblies could set.

The Legislature let local voters decide school board term lengths — and Mat-Su is first in line
Mat-Su asked the Legislature to let it extend school board terms, and got it: SB 143 becomes law by Aug. 12 unless vetoed, just before a borough vote to use it.

Lower Cook Inlet seiners are shut down while set netters keep fishing, days before the season ends
Lower Cook Inlet's purse seiners are shut down while set netters in the same district keep fishing, right as the salmon season closes out Aug. 15.

A stopgap pauses a rule that would let appointees veto grants, protecting billions bound for Alaska
A Senate stopgap pauses a rule letting political appointees veto federal grants, keeping billions bound for Alaska under existing rules through Dec. 11.

Upper Cook Inlet reopens to a one-king limit after a spring closure
Upper Cook Inlet anglers north of Bluff Point can keep one king salmon from Aug. 16 through Sept. 15, after a closure meant to protect declining king stocks.
