Alaska

Mountain goat hunt south of Port Valdez closes Thursday night after hitting harvest limit

Hunters south of Port Valdez have until Thursday night to finish the RG245 goat hunt. Four goats already hit the limit, and more hunters are still out there.

by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Haines Borough voters decide five tax and planning measures with no fiscal note

Haines Borough voters decide Tuesday on five tax and planning measures with no fiscal estimates released. • Initiative 3 would repeal the seasonal sales tax and restore a year-round 5.5% rate starting Jan. 1, 2027. • Other measures would tax resource exports and mining, add a 2% alcohol tax, cut the senior property tax exemption cap, and return the planning commission to mayoral appointment.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Murkowski cosponsors bill to write newborn and postpartum supply kit program into law

Murkowski is backing a bill to write into law a federal program that mails diapers, thermometers and postpartum kits to expectant moms in high-need areas.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Tlingit & Haida gets $300,000 to build dementia services for Southeast elders

Tlingit & Haida received $300,000 to hire dementia staff, screen elders, and connect them to regional services through 2029.

by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

UAF gets federal award to run Alaska Native elders resource center

UAF won a $215,343 federal award to run a resource center training Alaska's 43 tribal elder-service programs in dementia care, disaster prep, and healthy aging through 2029.

by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Alaska's SNAP work-requirement waiver ends Oct. 31, and the time limit already applies in Anchorage

Alaska's SNAP work-rule waiver ends Oct. 31, and Anchorage was never under it. Also: a letter from DPA doesn't mean you're losing your benefits.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Sitka gets $1.1 million state grant to upgrade Eliason Harbor electrical systems and floats

Sitka landed a $1.1 million state grant to fix aging floats and electrical systems at Eliason Harbor, where most visiting boats tie up. Design is nearly done.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

Sitka Assembly votes to negotiate contract with Gerrie Cotter for municipal administrator

Sitka's Assembly voted 7-0 to start contract talks with its only finalist for city administrator. Salary and start date are still up for negotiation.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

Follows: Sitka Assembly to interview municipal administrator applicant Gerrie Cotter on Sept. 10

Sitka planners favor 30 to 40 single-family lots near Sitka High School

Sitka planners like 30 to 40 single-family lots near Sitka High, with room saved for apartments or dorms later. Final findings are due by year's end.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Mat-Su gets $7.9 million federal grant for Port MacKenzie barge ramp

The Mat-Su Borough has lined up $12.1 million, mostly federal, for a barge ramp at Port MacKenzie so barges can land without fighting the tides.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min readFrom Sep 27

Ketchikan Gateway Borough Assembly sets Oct. 5 work session on school activities funding

Ketchikan students, coaches and parents told the borough school activities are turning pay-to-play. The Assembly takes up whether it can help Oct. 5.

by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min readFrom Sep 21

Ketchikan accepts $6.9 million to replace Bar Harbor floats, Mountain Point launch

Ketchikan is getting $6.9 million from the state to replace two tired Bar Harbor floats and rebuild the Mountain Point boat launch. Work runs into 2029.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min readFrom Sep 17

Federal record zeroes out Cordova bridge-replacement money, but project status remains unclear

Cordova's load-posted Heney Creek Bridge is rated poor. A federal replacement record now shows $0, and DOT has not explained what changed.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago3 min read

Wasilla man dies after motorcycle strikes guardrail supports on Wasilla Fishhook Road

A 28-year-old Wasilla man died early Tuesday when his motorcycle went out of control on Wasilla Fishhook Road. His passenger survived with minor injuries.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

Sealaska Heritage Institute wins federal grant for Juneau's Tlingit language school program

Sealaska Heritage Institute won a five-year federal grant for Juneau's Tlingit language school program, months after warning it would lose its principal.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Anchorage consent agenda carries $2.4 million in sludge hauling contracts

Two sludge hauling contracts worth up to $2.4 million with Around the Clock Pumping LLC, the lowest bidder on both routes, are on the Anchorage Assembly's consent agenda Tuesday.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

Hideout Lounge liquor license renewal goes to Assembly

The Assembly is set to wave through Al's Alaskan Inn and Hideout Lounge's liquor renewal Oct. 6. Its application lists 19 rooms, 5 kitchens and no dining room.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

Juneau resolution would encourage employers to let workers serve on city boards during work hours

Juneau Assembly may review a resolution encouraging employers to let workers serve on city boards during paid work time, citing 33 unfilled board vacancies.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min readFrom Sep 22

Follows: Juneau committee moves board recruitment plan out of resolution and into a letter

Anchorage Assembly consent agenda carries $1.57M more for West 32nd Avenue rebuild

Anchorage Assembly votes Tuesday on committing $1.57 million more to rebuild West 32nd Avenue, though most of that money hinges on road bonds voters have not yet approved.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Anchorage Assembly to consider $511,190 grant to replace police mobile data computers

Anchorage police mobile data computers, the laptops in patrol cars, are due for an upgrade. The Assembly weighs a $511,190 federal grant Tuesday.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Borough Planning Commission to hear proposal for Nikiski gravel pit on Oct. 12

A paving company wants to dig a gravel pit at Mile 31 of the Kenai Spur Highway in Nikiski. Neighbors get their say Oct. 12, three minutes at a time.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

Alaska Air National Guard merges two recruiting offices into one flight

Alaska Air National Guard merged its two separate recruiting offices into one flight in September, adding recruiters to cover the state's spread-out population.

by Melinda Communities.News1mo ago1 min readFrom Sep 25

Senate sends Anchorage Quyana Clubhouse land transfer to president

Senate passed a bill transferring downtown Anchorage land to Southcentral Foundation so it can replace and expand the Quyana Clubhouse serving Alaska Native people with mental illness.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

ASRC Energy Services gets $13.9 million toward North Slope carbon storage hub planning

ASRC Energy Services received $13.9 million in federal funding to plan a North Slope carbon dioxide storage hub through 2028, with no construction decision or funding yet approved.

by Melinda Communities.News1mo ago2 min read

AVCP opens comment on $14.5 million Y-K Delta aid plan through Nov. 13

AVCP opened public comment Tuesday on a $14.5 million aid plan for cash, heating and child care covering 2027 to 2029 in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, with comment due Nov. 13.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Richards and Kendall debate repealing Alaska's open primary, ranked choice voting and disclosure rules

Two Anchorage attorneys squared off over Ballot Measure 2, which would scrap open primaries, ranked choice voting and dark money rules. Voters decide Nov. 3.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago3 min read

Cordova pool hours hit the limit of the temp staff budget

Cordova's pool is running more hours than its temporary staff budget allows, forcing the parks director to choose between expanding recreation programs or cutting existing ones.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Feds select Anchorage company to drill geothermal test well on Augustine volcano

The feds picked an Anchorage company to drill a geothermal test well on Augustine, the Cook Inlet volcano. Tapping a volcano for power: very Alaska.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min readFrom Sep 21

Bristol Bay's smaller sockeye run pays 21 percent above average

Bristol Bay caught fewer sockeye than usual but got paid far more for them: $264 million, 21% above average. Togiak and Nushagak kings came up short.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago3 min read

Troopers say Sterling driver failed to stop and had heroin after a short pursuit

Troopers say a Sterling driver wouldn't stop, led a short chase that ended at a residence and had heroin in his wallet. He faces a felony drug charge.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

Unalaska creates its first Key to the City, carved from walrus ivory by Unangan artist Gertrude Svarny

Unalaska now has an official Key to the City: a two-sided walrus ivory carving by Unangan artist Gertrude Svarny, with 50 numbered replicas to give out.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min readFrom Sep 22

Senators question Golden Dome's $185 billion price as budget office puts full shield at $1.2 trillion

A Congressional Budget Office estimate puts a Trump missile defense system at $1.2 trillion over 20 years, six times the Pentagon's $185 billion target.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago3 min read

Two Ninilchik men charged in alleged illegal bull moose harvest on Brody Road trails

Troopers say two Ninilchik men took a bull moose off the Brody Road trails during a motorized closure. Now they face eight misdemeanors between them.

by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Court orders former Curyung Tribal Council accountant to repay $125,834 to tribe

Federal court ordered former Curyung Tribal Council accountant William Corbett to repay $125,834 after he embezzled funds through forged checks and falsified payroll documents.

by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Federal money flows to full-scale earthquake tests of Alaska bridge pile connections

NC State engineers are testing how Alaska bridge piles hold up in big earthquakes, and federal funding for the work just grew to about $210,000.

by Melinda Communities.News1mo ago2 min read

Updated COVID-19 vaccines reach Alaska pharmacies as state epidemiologists urge clinicians to recommend them

New COVID-19 shots aimed at the XFG variant are at many Alaska pharmacies. State epidemiologists want clinicians recommending them for 6 months and up.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min readFrom Sep 23

Federal highway money for Whittier tunnel operations reaches $4.8 million on one award

Federal Highway Administration awarded Alaska $4.8 million to operate the Anton Anderson Memorial Tunnel between Whittier and the Seward Highway through March 2027.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

Board of Fisheries takes written comments through Oct. 13 for its October work session

The Board of Fisheries meets in Anchorage Oct. 28-29 to decide which off-cycle proposals to take up. Want a say? Written comments only, due Oct. 13.

by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

Follows: Board of Fisheries committee weighs how to let the public weigh in on last-minute rewrites

Anchorage transit advisory board asks for more city money for AnchorRIDES and bus drivers

Anchorage's transit advisory board wants more city money for AnchorRIDES and five more bus drivers. It didn't say how much, and the Assembly isn't voting yet.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min readFrom Sep 10

Anchorage Assembly to consider $1.2 million safety review contract for water and sewer utility

The Anchorage Assembly will weigh a $1.2 million contract for Nortech to review water and sewer crews' safety programs, from fall hazards to confined spaces.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min readFrom Sep 4