Alaska

Anchorage Assembly approves standard hiring rules for clerk and ombudsman

Anchorage Assembly voted 12-0 to set one hiring process for the municipal clerk and ombudsman, requiring a selection committee for both offices.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Guard Black Hawk flies two stranded boaters and their dog to Kotzebue

Alaska Army National Guard Black Hawk crew rescued two boaters and their dog stranded 75 miles east of Kotzebue on Oct. 6 after their vessel became stuck in icy water.

by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

Goldbelt earns Pentagon cyber certification as Pentagon pauses its next phase

Juneau's Goldbelt earned a Pentagon cybersecurity certification for defense contractors, just as the Pentagon put the program's next phase on hold.

by Melinda Communities.News1mo ago2 min read

Denali Borough staff propose raising landfill fee to $165 a ton

Denali Borough finance staff recommended raising the landfill tipping fee 10% to $165 per ton, effective May 2027, to meet the landfill's cost-recovery target as operating costs climb.

by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Denali Borough staff plan to waive tour permit user fees again, drawing committee pushback

Denali Borough land staff plan to waive commercial tour permit fees again in 2027, but all three Finance Committee members objected Wednesday, saying the delay wastes years of work on the fee program.

by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Boat owner suing Cordova over travel lift failure asks council to push mediation

A Cordova business owner suing the city over a 2023 travel lift failure asked the council to push for mediation. His business also owes the city money.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Cordova council waives protest of Moose Caboose liquor license despite doubts about its hours

Cordova's council won't fight the Moose Caboose's liquor license renewal, though members doubt it's open much. Proving that is the hard part.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Fish and Game reopens Baranof Island's Necker Bay goat zone after clerical error

Fish and Game reopened Necker Bay's mountain goat hunt zone Sept. 8 after discovering a clerical error had wrongly closed it, with zero goats actually harvested against a quota of two.

by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min readFrom Sep 14

Southeast Alaska sea cucumber dive fishery opens with a 1.4 million-pound cap

Alaska opened its 2026/27 Southeast sea cucumber dive fishery Monday with a 1.4 million-pound cap, down 18% from last season, with weekly openings by area until March 31, 2027.

by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

Follows: Chignik District red sea cucumber divers get first fishing period Sept. 30 to Oct. 7

Kenai awards $98,000 contract to move shallow water line on eroding bluff

Kenai awarded Peninsula Construction $98,000 to move a water line on the bluff before it freezes and ruptures this winter.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Follows: Kenai's council will award a bluff erosion contract the day after bids close

Kenai council waives road requirement quoted at $63,000

Kenai City Council waived a $63,000 road-building requirement for a property owner whose project started before the city's new road standard took effect.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Vehicle strikes and kills moose on Richardson Highway in North Pole

A moose lost its fight with a vehicle on the Richardson Highway in North Pole. The driver's fine, the car isn't, and troopers called a charity for the meat.

by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

Hilcorp seeks to fill Beluga wetlands for gas storage pad under emergency review

Hilcorp seeks emergency permit to fill 2.35 acres of Beluga wetlands for a natural gas storage pad, with public comment open through early November.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Anchorage Assembly approves $2.8M in state money and more winter shelter beds

Anchorage spent most of its state check on shelter beds, some of them from last winter. Without it, the health director said, shelters could have closed.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago3 min read

State to give highway department 200,000 cubic yards from Parks, Alcan pits at no charge

Alaska Department of Natural Resources will give the transportation department 200,000 cubic yards of gravel from two Interior highway pits at no cost.

by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

Soldotna commissioner asks about council rezoning vote that city records don't show

A Soldotna planning commissioner asked about a council rezoning vote he'd heard about. There wasn't one, but there is a staff plan to rezone Robin Place.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Mental Health Trust Land Office takes bids on 45 parcels through Nov. 16

Alaska Mental Health Trust Land Office is selling 45 parcels across the state, with sealed bids due Nov. 16. Revenue funds mental health and disability programs.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

Anchorage police say missing 13-year-old Isaac Allbritton has been located

Anchorage police located missing 13-year-old Isaac Allbritton on Wednesday, ending a public search that began earlier that day.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

Anchorage Assembly member Zachary Johnson amends disclosure to adopt APOC staff recommendations

Anchorage Assembly member Zac Johnson amended his 2025 financial disclosure on Oct. 7 to name the Wiest Trust and change his Wild Air Farm role from partner to power of attorney, adopting recommendations from an APOC staff report.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Western Gulf fishermen ask council scientists to back moving Bering Sea cod quota

Western Gulf fishermen say some Bering Sea cod spend winter in their waters, and they would like 3% to 7% of the Bering Sea quota to follow the fish there.

by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Council scientists back new Gulf of Alaska pollock model as survey mismatch persists

Federal scientists picked a new Gulf of Alaska pollock model, but the bottom trawl survey still won't line up with it, and nobody knows exactly why yet.

by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

Federal agency takes comment on foreign-built 12-passenger boat's bid for coastwise trade

Federal Maritime Administration is taking public comment on whether a foreign-built 12-passenger boat can carry paying customers between U.S. ports, affecting Alaska tour operators.

by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

Wasilla man, 71, faces five counts of possessing child sexual abuse material

Task Force Dawnbreaker arrested Dale Weeg, 71, of Wasilla on Oct. 6 on five counts of possessing child sexual abuse material.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

Alaska LNG lease filing lists state gasline corporation as 25 percent owner

8 Star Alaska filed financial documents to convert pipeline leases, with the state holding 25 percent through its gasline corporation and private developer Glenfarne holding 75 percent.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

State approves easement to rebuild Cordova's failing Eyak Lake weir, built in 1972

Cordova's 1972 Eyak Lake weir is leaking and leaning. The state just cleared the way to rebuild it, with construction slated to start this winter.

by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Crowley Alaska recruits mechanics and drivers Thursday at Mat-Su Job Center

Crowley is hiring mechanics and line drivers in Palmer, with $3,500 sign-on bonuses. Recruiters are at the Mat-Su Job Center Thursday afternoon.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

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

A survey crew wants 9.7 more miles of lines near Beluga, with dynamite charges set in hand-drilled holes. The state is taking comments until Oct. 21.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

Railbelt-wide unified dispatch likely needs legislation, REAP analyst says

Running the Railbelt's power plants as one system would save money, a REAP analyst says, but it probably takes a policy push to make it happen.

by Melinda Communities.News1mo ago2 min read

Legislative committee has no oil and gas consultants under contract, chair says

Alaska lawmakers have no oil and gas consultants under contract, with a gas pipeline project and a new administration coming. Senators want that fixed.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Former Anchorage defense attorney Justin Facey sentenced to 20 years for drug trafficking

A former Anchorage defense attorney got 20 years for drug trafficking, the full term prosecutors sought, after they detailed how he exploited clients.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago3 min read

Auditors link Anchorage's $25 million cash misstatement to how SAP closes the books

Anchorage's 2024 cash was misstated by $25 million. The city pays millions for SAP, and until it's fixed, the correction lives in an Excel workbook.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Council advisers debate studying more charter leasing of commercial halibut quota

Charter operators want room to lease more commercial halibut quota. Commercial fishermen say deal first with the boom in bareboat rentals.

by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Council advisers back Bering Sea crab ceilings after the state already set its catches

Federal advisers signed off on Bering Sea crab ceilings a day after the state set its catches. The unsettled part: what to do about hybrid crab.

by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Legislative committee hires Guidehouse for $650,000 corrections cost study

Lawmakers hired Guidehouse for up to $650,000 to find out what drives Alaska's corrections spending and where the state could save some money.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Port tops Anchorage's draft 2027 list of state and federal requests

Anchorage's 2027 wish list for Juneau and D.C. starts where it always does: the port. Housing near JBER and Cook Inlet gas come close behind.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago3 min read

Follows: None of Anchorage's district projects got state money this year, city tells Assembly committee

LaFrance sends Anchorage Assembly transit board's call for more AnchorRIDES and bus driver money

Anchorage's transit board asked the Assembly for more 2027 money to cover rising AnchorRIDES costs and hire five bus operators, but the mayor's budget includes no new transit funding.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Anchorage mayor asks Assembly to move Christensen Drive lot to street crews

Mayor LaFrance asked the Anchorage Assembly to move a steep Christensen Drive lot to the Street Maintenance Section to set up utility easements, with a public hearing set for October 20.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

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

Kodiak Island Borough posted unofficial election results Oct. 6, with 742 ballots still uncounted and a six-vote gap in the Assembly race before the Oct. 14 canvass.

by Alaska News1mo ago1 min read

Invasive pike may use Cook Inlet to reach new watersheds, ADF&G biologist says

Pike were thought to avoid salt water, but some appear to have crossed Cook Inlet. A state biologist explains how in Fish and Game's October podcast.

by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

State proposes 50-year Anchorage airport lease to Northstar Holdings

Alaska DOT posted two conflicting notices for a 50-year airport lease to Northstar Holdings, listing annual rent as either $30,771 or $44,447 and describing different permitted uses.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read