Alaska

Your state parks gift certificate expires during a blackout you can't book in

Your Alaska State Parks gift certificate expires Sept. 30, but you can't book anything after Sept. 27. Those last three days are decorative.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Four miles of Skagway's only road out have no money in the state's plan

Four miles of Skagway's only road out carry no money in Alaska's draft transportation plan. The stages on either side of them carry $78 million.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Alpine pipeline seeks nearly double metering capacity for Willow-era output

A North Slope pipeline wants to nearly double how much oil it can meter as Willow nears production. The filing changes measurement capacity, not Willow's approval.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Copper River Delta moose hunt closes six weeks early at 24 of 25 bulls

Bull moose hunting on the Copper River Delta closes Wednesday night, six weeks early, after hunters took 24 of the 25 bulls the state allowed.

by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

Wrangell-St. Elias subsistence commission meets next month in McCarthy

The commission advising on subsistence hunting in Wrangell-St. Elias meets in McCarthy next month, with time set aside for public testimony.

by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

Spend $3 million on students now, or save it for next year's hole

Anchorage's school board is deciding whether to spend $3 million on tutoring and staff this year or bank it against a deficit projected above $45 million.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Alaska is taking bids to make its own Made in Alaska merchandise

Alaska is taking bids to make its own Made in Alaska merchandise. The cap is $15,000, and the permit is only required by the time bids close.

by Melinda Communities.News1mo ago1 min read

Fairbanks woman, 68, fell from horse into Wood River and died; cause under investigation

Debra Waugaman Curnow, 68, of Fairbanks died Monday after falling from her horse while crossing the Wood River near Snow Mountain Gulch.

by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

Bear Mountain goat zone on Baranof closes Sept. 18 after quota fills

Bear Mountain is the fourth Baranof goat zone closed this season — on quotas built from surveys the state hasn't flown island-wide since 2023.

by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

Appeals court orders dismissal of family's suit over Anchorage police shooting of Kristopher Handy

A federal appeals court ordered dismissal of the Handy family's lawsuit, ruling the four Anchorage police officers who killed Kristopher Handy in May 2024 are protected by qualified immunity.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago3 min read

Former Ketchikan church elder pleads guilty to federal child sexual abuse material charge

A 74-year-old former Ketchikan church elder pleaded guilty to possessing over 1,000 images of child sexual abuse material and faces at least 10 years in federal prison

by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

State Parks tells Homer hikers to avoid new Kachemak Bay trails near moose kill

Alaska State Parks is warning Homer hikers to avoid new trails in the Cottonwood Eastland section of Kachemak Bay State Park because a moose kill near the construction site may attract predators.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

The program mapping Alaska's subsurface runs out at the end of the year

The federal program that nearly doubled Alaska's public geologic data expires this year. The bill to extend it is one of 25 in a committee with no vote set.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

Senate panel will take up Native housing bill co-sponsored by both Alaska senators

The law that funds housing in Alaska Native villages is up for renewal. Overcrowding there runs about double the rate on tribal lands nationally.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Fairbanks flood maps are final. Borough page still points to appeals

Fairbanks' flood maps are final, but the borough still links to obsolete appeal instructions. The Jan. 8 maps change insurance and building rules.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Follows: Fairbanks gets new flood maps in January, and most homes in the zone are uninsured

Sullivan's bycatch bill reaches its first Senate committee test

Sullivan's bycatch bill gets its first committee test Wednesday. It mandates gear changes and monitoring, but doesn't ban trawling or set catch caps.

by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Anchorage adds behavioral health care to its WIC program

Anchorage will place a behavioral health provider in its WIC program after a survey found many low-income mothers reporting anxiety, depression and hunger.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

Alaska's mail ballots will not need barcodes after a Supreme Court denial

Alaskans mailing a ballot in November will not need a barcode on the envelope. The Supreme Court left the rule blocked, and the state never took a side.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Nome cannot say whether a free shuttle van is a taxi

Nome's code does not say whether free shuttle vans count as taxis. The mayor says nobody has worked it out, and the sales tax turns on the answer.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

Juneau commission to weigh second tenant on Clinton Drive Domino's lot with no added parking

A second business wants into the Domino's building on Clinton Drive with no new parking, and the neighbors who fought the 2024 permit are back.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Anchorage planners ask commission to triple setback threshold director can approve alone

Anchorage wants to triple what its planning director can approve alone, letting more setback encroachments skip the public hearing that now takes months.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Alaska sets 25 online-only permits for Raspberry Island cow elk

Twenty-five Raspberry Island elk permits go out online Sept. 24, first come first served. Sixteen more go only to whoever shows up in two Kodiak villages.

by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

Sitka's sales tax drops a point Oct. 1, the one that funds schools

Sitka's sales tax drops from 6 percent to 5 on Oct. 1 through March. The summer point that comes off is the one dedicated to funding school buildings.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

Suicide Basin levels drop, signaling a possible new release above Mendenhall

Suicide Basin's water level dropped sharply Tuesday, possibly signaling another release. Nothing is flooding, and secondary releases run far smaller.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

Kodiak's silver limit drops as its king limit rises

Kodiak's silver salmon limit dropped to one a day this week, while the king limit rose back to two after a spring of tight restrictions.

by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

Seafood exports to Türkiye are frozen, though little Alaska product moves there

U.S. seafood can't be certified for export to Türkiye because American plants aren't on its approved list. The blocked edible trade is about $160,000.

by Bill AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read

Two Southeast geoduck beds stay closed until biomass recovers past 30% threshold

Two Southeast geoduck beds stay closed after surveys found less than a third of the clams left. Sea otters are eating them, and the quota fell 40 percent.

by Bill AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

A Wasilla workshop will walk job seekers through federal applications

State staff will help job seekers with federal applications Thursday in Wasilla — as Alaska's federal job market shrinks and resumes get capped at two pages.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read

Judge upholds federal permit for mining access inside Lake Clark National Park

A judge upheld the permit for a road, airstrip and tunnel inside Lake Clark park. The test was whether the Corps was arbitrary, not whether it was right.

by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

Seventeen foreclosed Fairbanks properties sold, 25 drew no bid

Fairbanks sold 17 tax-foreclosed properties last month. One of them, assessed at $146,019, went for $12,120 — a hundred dollars over the minimum.

by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min readFrom Aug 28

Alaska Supreme Court declines emergency bid to open Fairbanks charter school

Fairbanks said no to a charter school. The state said yes anyway. The Supreme Court declined to referee, and 352 enrolled kids were left in limbo.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min readFrom Jun 19

A Bering Sea storm brings flooding and high winds to the Y-K Delta

A Bering Sea storm is bringing coastal flooding and damaging winds to the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, including Kipnuk, still rebuilding from last year's typhoon.

by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read

Federal board extends FM1106 subsistence moose hunt by two days

Federal officials added two days to a Copper Basin moose hunt and closed 1,300 square miles of Interior river corridors to outside hunters. One group objects.

by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

Fairbanks companies seek a year-round water right for the pool at Circle Hot Springs

Two Fairbanks companies want a year-round water right at Circle Hot Springs — about 8.6 million gallons a day, on an application pending since 2020.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

A 2024 crash near Denali came down to windshear and a short strip

Federal investigators have explained a 2024 crash near Denali: windshear off a 600-foot strip, and no room to climb. The pilot walked away.

by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

Three Southcentral villages get visiting primary care this week

A doctor is in Chenega Bay through Monday, in Nanwalek through Friday. Tyonek got one day, and sees a primary care provider every two months.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read

Three Alaska disaster declarations have no Federal Register notice

Three Alaska disaster declarations have no federal notice, though rules require one. For the Mat-Su storm, the finished notice has sat unfiled since April.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

Juneau's city-owned ski area has carried EPA's most urgent water violation for six months

Juneau's city-owned Eaglecrest Ski Area has carried the EPA's most urgent drinking water violation for six months, with no record of it being resolved.

by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read

Denali opens 30 miles of road to private vehicles starting Friday

Starting Friday you can drive 30 miles into Denali, twice the summer limit — though snow and ice can shrink that stretch without much notice.

by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

Park Service warns of ice collapse and tsunami waves at Aialik Glacier

National Park Service warns that unstable ice at Aialik Glacier terminus in Kenai Fjords can collapse without warning and trigger tsunami waves capable of causing severe injury or death.

by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read