Alaska

Alaska approves three land releases for University of Alaska

Alaska is transferring hundreds of thousands of acres to the University of Alaska under its federal land grant, led by a 220,000-acre Ray Mountains selection.

by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago3 min read

In Kodiak, Sullivan and Peltola agreed on the problems and fought over the fix

Sullivan and Peltola agreed on nearly every fisheries problem in Kodiak and split on what fixing one looks like: laws passed, or fish in the river.

by Alaska News2mo ago3 min read

Kaktovik flushes millions of gallons of glycol-tainted water after plant mistake

Kaktovik is flushing glycol-tainted water after a plant error. The borough calls the level low-risk for adults; it topped every federal guideline.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

Follows: Kaktovik under a do-not-drink notice after ethylene glycol found

The hockey association runs Anchorage's city rinks now, for $10 a year

The hockey association took over Anchorage's two city rinks in June for $10 a year. The old operator owed $360,000. The first big repair bill is Tuesday.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

The Port of Alaska's terminal design contract is up 50 percent and rising again

The Port of Alaska's Terminal 1 design contract is up 50 percent from 2023. Every year I got to come back for more, the port director says.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

Downtown Wasilla would go one-way under an $83 million state program

Downtown Wasilla would go one-way under an $83 million state program. The construction contract is estimated at $50 million to $60 million.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

Southwest Alaska carried most of the state's tuberculosis cases last year

Southwest Alaska, with about 5% of the state's population, had 46 of Alaska's 77 tuberculosis cases last year — roughly nineteen times Anchorage's rate.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min readFrom Sep 9

Unalaska council awards $21.9 million contract to replace Storrs Harbor floats

Unalaska is spending $22 million on new harbor floats. The acting city manager says the harbor may have to close before long if it does not.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min readFrom Sep 8

Unalaska will spend $200,000 deciding what to do about its pool

Unalaska's 40-year-old pool has failing systems and a leaking roof. The city is paying $200,000 to find out whether to fix it, rebuild it or move it.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min readFrom Sep 8

An Anchorage officer killed a woman downtown, by the department's account

An Anchorage officer shot and killed a woman at a downtown apartment Aug. 18. The account comes almost entirely from the police chief.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min readFrom Aug 18

Sacred Acre electronic music festival runs through Sunday in Ninilchik

Sacred Acre, an electronic music festival in Ninilchik produced by Cosmic Ayre Productions, runs through Sunday, Sept. 13. Three-day general-admission tickets were listed at $215 plus taxes and fees, with shuttle service available from Anchorage. The festival's website publishes no lineup for this year.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read

Ketchikan council to vote on seventh amendment to water consulting deal

Ketchikan avoided a $70 million filtration plant by proving its mountain-lake water meets federal conditions for filtration avoidance.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

Alaska would swap dated national manuals for an undated state guidebook

Alaska hospitals would follow a state guidebook instead of two national manuals for data reporting. The guidebook has no edition date. The manuals do.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read

Fairbanks would require union labor agreements on big borough projects

Fairbanks wants union-negotiated labor agreements on borough projects over $3.5 million, using an ordinance copied almost word for word from Anchorage.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

Pilot uninjured after plane flips during off-airport landing in Caribou Hills

A pilot walked away uninjured after flipping his plane during an off-airport landing in the Caribou Hills, and was flown back to Soldotna by helicopter.

by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read

Troopers arrest Gakona woman on felony meth charges after Glennallen stop

Alaska State Troopers arrested Yahneenah Sinyon of Gakona on felony methamphetamine charges after a Glenn Highway stop on July 22 turned up roughly 73 grams of meth and over $1,000 in cash.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read

Alaska's August was warmer than its July, for the fourth time in a century

August was warmer than July in Alaska this year, which has happened four times since 1924. July was the coldest since 2008 and kept the fires down.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

Anchorage grant would keep HIV testing and outreach going through 2027

A $114,470 state grant on the Anchorage Assembly's agenda would keep the city's offsite HIV education, counseling and testing running through June 2027.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read

Anchorage's Assembly voted to review fewer contracts. August shows what that means

Anchorage's Assembly voted last year to stop reviewing most city contracts. August shows what that means: 24 awards, a $450,000 paving job among them, no votes.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

Southeast king crab registration closes Oct. 2 ahead of a Nov. 1 opening

Southeast Alaska crabbers have until Oct. 2 to register for the red and blue king crab season, which opens Nov. 1 with a quota of about 213,000 pounds.

by Bill AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read

Anchorage owns an aging arts center, and repairs keep outpacing the budget

A heating repair at Anchorage's city-owned performing arts center is running 71 percent over the budget the Assembly set for it back in May.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

An inspector cited Anchorage's ice rinks for safety valves a decade old

Safety valves at Anchorage's two city ice rinks were due for replacement five years ago. An inspector noticed. The fix is inside a $936,000 repair bill.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

Anchorage's port cargo surcharge nearly triples to fund a rebuild

The surcharge on cargo through Anchorage's port nearly triples Jan. 1, the first step in paying for a $2 billion rebuild, and could hit $70 a ton by 2033.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

Fairbanks weighs broader authority to take ownership of abused animals

Fairbanks animal control lacks a direct forfeiture process for abused or neglected animals. A proposed borough rule would add one.

by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

Koniag subsidiaries won $58.6 million to run IT for the agency that runs 8(a)

Three Koniag subsidiaries won $58.6 million in two days to run IT for the SBA through the SBA's own preference program. Nobody else bid.

by Melinda Communities.News2mo ago2 min read

High surf advisory holds until 10 p.m. Saturday as Utqiaġvik logs record September rain

A storm brought high surf to Alaska's Arctic coast and set a September rainfall record in Utqiagvik, the wettest day there in records going back to 1920.

by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read

Left lane closed at mile 117 of New Seward Hwy until about 4 p.m.

Left northbound lane of New Seward Highway at mile 117 is closed until about 4 p.m. Saturday after a minor incident.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read

Dunleavy proclaims Sept. 9 FASD Awareness Day, citing Alaska's high per capita rate

Gov. Dunleavy proclaimed Sept. 9 FASD Awareness Day, citing Alaska's high rate of fetal alcohol spectrum disorders and urging pregnant people to abstain from alcohol.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read

18 condo units draw 46 percent of Anchorage's housing tax exemptions, report says

Eighteen single condominium units took 46 percent of Anchorage's housing tax exemptions this year, qualifying for a four-or-more-unit incentive through common ownership of one parent parcel.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

Prince William Sound seine season ends Monday, after Friday's Cannery Creek opening

Prince William Sound seining closes for the year Monday night. The last openings reached hatchery waters that are usually off-limits to the fleet.

by Bill AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min readFrom Sep 9

The refuge at the top of the Alaska Highway is getting exhibits built for blind visitors

The first wildlife refuge most people see driving into Alaska is getting exhibits built for visitors who cannot see them. Taxidermy included.

by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

Two oxygen tanks for the aircraft that fly search and rescue from Kodiak

The Coast Guard told competitors they had until Sept. 11 to weigh in on a Kodiak oxygen tank contract. It signed the deal with Airgas on Sept. 9.

by Melinda Communities.News2mo ago1 min read

Wrangell-St. Elias weighs 10 more days of subsistence moose hunting

Rural subsistence hunters in the Wrangell-St. Elias area could get 10 more days to take a moose this fall, with the park set to decide Monday.

by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read

The mayor wants two more members on a naming commission that cannot meet

Anchorage's naming commission has five members and needs five to meet, so it hasn't. The mayor wants two more confirmed before it expires next month.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read

Two closed Anchorage school buildings head back to municipal hands

Two closed Anchorage schools, Abbott Loop and Campbell STEM, are set to return to the municipality, moving their fate from the School Board to the Assembly.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

Two Kenai Peninsula subdivisions go to the plat committee Sept. 28

Two subdivision plats, one in Nikiski and one in Anchor Point, go before the Kenai Peninsula Borough Sept. 28. Written comment closes the Friday before.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read

Alaska proposes letting one marijuana caregiver serve multiple patients

Alaska proposes letting one medical marijuana caregiver serve multiple patients and doubling the ID card term, its first rule update since 1998.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

Air Guard crew rescues two pilots in separate crashes near Palmer and Skwentna

An Alaska Air National Guard helicopter crew rescued two pilots from separate crashes near Palmer and Skwentna on Thursday, flying both to an Anchorage hospital.

by Alaska News2mo ago1 min read

Alaska streamlines the fall round of its $272 million rural health fund

Alaska is streamlining the fall round of its $272 million rural-health fund — one application instead of two, and about 11 weeks to awards, down from 24.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

Wind topples two dozen trees onto Tok's power lines, stalling fire recovery

Winds knocked more than two dozen trees onto Tok's power lines Wednesday, some outside the burn scar, cutting power and stalling the Mukluk Fire recovery.

by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read