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Three wildfires close to Native allotments near Huslia and Galena as lightning siege continues
Three lightning fires are burning near Native allotments in western Alaska, with smokejumpers responding as part of a 19-fire surge across the state.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago3 min readAI
Notakok Fire held at 55 acres one mile from Kaltag as smokejumpers begin to stand down
The 55-acre Notakok Fire one mile from Kaltag entered mop-up operations Wednesday as most smokejumpers stood down and a full fire crew took over, with rain and humidity favoring containment.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min readAI
Yukon Chinook sonar count 34% below average; fall chum added to concern list
Yukon Chinook count at 95,370 by July 6, down 34 percent from average and short of Alaska and Canadian escapement goals. • Fall chum designated a stock of management concern, forcing communities to restrict harvest on two salmon species at once. • Summer chum run tracking above 900,000 fish, offering some relief for subsistence harvesters.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min readAI
Anchorage man held without bail after CSAM distribution investigation
Anchorage man held without bail on probation violations after Task Force Dawnbreaker investigation into child sexual abuse material distribution; additional charges expected.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min readAI
Convicted sex offender flees Palmer courthouse, departs Whittier by sailboat
A convicted child abuser fled the Palmer courthouse Monday. Philip Phillips sailed into Prince William Sound to evade capture.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 2mo ago1 min readAI
Gavora Mall, two other Fairbanks properties seek grandfather rights at July 16 hearing
Gavora Mall and two other Fairbanks properties will seek grandfather rights on July 16, allowing uses built before current zoning rules to continue without permits.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min readAI
State agency warns Girdwood Parks Plan shows unauthorized trails on airport land
Alaska DOT&PF told Anchorage the Girdwood Parks Master Plan maps four trail segments across state airport property without permission, risking public access conflicts with aviation uses.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min readAI
Alaska National Guard completes 4 rescues over July 4 weekend
Alaska National Guard helicopters rescued four people over the July 4 weekend from remote Interior and Southcentral locations, including two critically ill patients and two stranded hikers.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min readAI
Anchorage Assembly approves $750K True North grant after amendments fail and crisis-care dispute divides members
Anchorage Assembly approved a $750,000 grant to True North Recovery for a Fairview behavioral health facility after rejecting two amendments that would have required written limits on crisis care.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago3 min readAI
Alaska's investment arm hands its director more power over public money
AIDEA gave its director a standing $4.5M fund and the power to pick which projects get vetted with public money — faster, but with less board and public visibility.
by Melinda Communities.News2mo ago2 min readAI
A tale of two Junes at the top of the world
Alaska's North Slope just had its coolest June since 2018 — even as the wider Arctic logged its warmest since 1950. Same month, opposite stories.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min readAI
Tatlanika Fire smoke reaches Fairbanks, 39 miles away
Smoke from the Tatlanika Fire, burning 982 acres 39 miles southwest of Fairbanks, is now visible in Fairbanks and Nenana, though no structures are threatened in its limited-response zone.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min readAI
Kenai council funds $110K roof shortfall, sets Oct. 31 deadline for Senior Center and shelter work
Kenai City Council approved $110,000 Tuesday to fix roofs at the senior center and animal shelter by Oct. 31 after a bid came in higher than expected.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min readAI
Anchorage board won't reopen a school it may not have fully closed
Anchorage School Board rejected a motion to reopen Campbell STEM Elementary with new state money, but revealed the school may not be legally closed yet, creating a potential opening for reversal.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min readAI
A strong El Niño is likely this winter, warm and wet for Southern Alaska
A strong El Niño is 90% likely this winter, tilting Southern Alaska warmer and wetter — but on the coast that often means rain over snow, and the Interior may stay dry.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 2mo ago1 min readAI
Anchorage School Board balks at a $2.8M curriculum buy members hadn't seen
Anchorage School Board members got handed a $2.8M curriculum bill at a summer meeting and basically said: first we're hearing of it.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min readAI
Petersburg's cell tower rules advance, flaws and all
Petersburg advanced new cell-tower rules 5-0 — but a vice mayor called the 15-amendment process "deeply flawed," and residents are fighting cuts to safety setbacks.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min readAI
A hiker lost his shoes in the snow near Snowbird Hut — in July
A hiker lost his shoes in the snow near Snowbird Hut on the Fourth of July, stranding his group — a reminder that it can be summer in town and still winter up on the glacier.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 2mo ago1 min readAI
So few kings are left in the Situk that the state closed their last pool
The Situk's kings have nearly vanished — 100 counted at midseason — so the state closed a popular fishing hole to shield the few survivors from accidental hooking.
by Bill AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min readAI
Four ferries in the shop make for a lean Alaska winter
Four Alaska ferries will be down for repairs this winter — one for five months after crews found corroded steel — thinning service for roadless towns that depend on it.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min readAI
Free Fairbanks streambank workshop opens July 15 for landowners and anglers
Fairbanks landowners and anglers can register free for a two-day streambank restoration workshop July 15 and 16 that teaches erosion control and fish habitat work.
by Bill AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min readAI
Tanana River chum salmon sport fishery reopens as run exceeds forecast
Tanana River sport anglers can keep three chum salmon again as of Wednesday after the run exceeded forecasts, but the broader Yukon drainage remains closed due to weak returns.
by Bill AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min readAI
Anchorage won $191 million for the port that feeds Alaska
Anchorage won a record $191M from the federal government, all of it going to rebuild the port that brings in 90% of Alaska's food and fuel — and to keep those costs off Alaskans' bills.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min readAI
Tessera hiring event comes to Mat-Su Job Center July 29
Tessera is hiring veterans, military spouses, and people with disabilities at the Mat-Su Job Center on July 29 for facility management, manufacturing, and warehousing roles.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min readAI
Delta burn permits suspended Wednesday as fire conditions worsen
Alaska suspended all burn permits in the Delta Fire Prevention Area on Wednesday due to low humidity, gusty winds, and dry fuels that could turn any escaped ember into a fast-moving wildfire.
by Bill AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min readAI
USDA expands disaster pay for Alaska fish farms, livestock, and beekeepers
Fish farms now qualify for federal disaster pay covering bird predation losses at $600 per acre. • Livestock owners get full market value for animals killed by protected predators, up from 75%. • Beekeepers and tree growers also see expanded coverage under USDA policy changes effective Wednesday.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago3 min readAI
Anchorage Assembly takes up repeal of 43-year Sullivan Arena ticket surcharge
Anchorage Assembly is considering repealing a 43-year-old ticket surcharge on Sullivan Arena events that collected $111,687 in one year.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min readAI
Metlakatla man sentenced in child exploitation case
A Metlakatla man was sentenced to three years for distributing child sexual abuse material — one of four arrested in a broader investigation of the small Southeast community.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min readAI
Wasilla moves to reject a 59-unit affordable housing project
Wasilla is set to formally deny a 59-unit affordable housing project — a clash between a real housing shortage and neighbors who want the site to stay commercial.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min readAI
Upper Copper River king salmon sport fishery closed through August 10
Alaska closes all Upper Copper River king salmon sport fishing from July 10 through August 10 after the lowest run count on record threatens the escapement goal.
by Bill AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min readAI
As Alaska's permafrost thaws, its rivers are running rusty.
Thawing permafrost is leaching iron into Alaska's streams, turning some of them rusty orange and threatening subsistence fish — and a new Army contract will trace where it's coming from.
by Melinda Communities.News2mo ago1 min readAI
Fish and Game will bring moose permits to four Nushagak River villages
Fish and Game will hand-deliver moose permits to four Nushagak River villages this year, so hunters without road access to Dillingham don't have to make the trip.
by Alaska News2mo ago1 min readAI
Chitina dip net fishery cut to 96 hours as Copper River salmon run behind
Alaska Fish and Game cut the Chitina dip net season to 96 hours next week because the Copper River salmon run is running 30,600 fish behind schedule and sockeye escapement goals are at risk.
by Bill AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min readAI
Five wildfire investigations span Interior to western Alaska
Look into the fires
by Alaska News2mo ago1 min readAI
Mountain Village man arrested on three sexual abuse of a minor charges
Alaska State Troopers arrested a Mountain Village man, Alphonsus Chiklak, 47, on child sexual abuse charges following a nearly six-month investigation. He is presumed innocent.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 2mo ago1 min readAI
Deshka king run collapse forces Cook Inlet closures amid allocation fight
The Deshka king run is projected to come in at under half its minimum goal, and ADF&G is closing fisheries to save what's left.
by Bill AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min readAI
The company behind Fort Knox is prospecting for gold near Delta Junction
The Kinross subsidiary that runs Fort Knox, Alaska's biggest gold mine, wants to drill for a new deposit near Delta Junction, in a salmon-bearing river drainage. It's exploration, not a mine yet.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min readAI
Fairbanks man killed after trooper opens fire during early-morning pursuit
Alaska State Trooper shot and killed a man in Fairbanks early Monday after a 90-second vehicle pursuit ended on a dead-end street and the driver turned toward the officer. • This is the second officer-involved fatality in Fairbanks in two weeks. • The Alaska Bureau of Investigation is conducting the investigation; the Office of Special Prosecutions will independently review findings.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min readAI
Alaska sheep hunters must complete orientation course before Aug. 10 opener
Alaska sheep hunters must complete a one-time orientation course before the Aug. 10 season opener to learn how to correctly identify full-curl rams in the field, a new requirement starting this fall.
by Bill AlaskaNewsadded 2mo ago2 min readAI
Anchorage Assembly to consider first-ever removal proceeding against Martinez
Anchorage Assembly votes Tuesday on whether to remove East Anchorage member George Martinez over perjury, fraud, and disclosure violations, the first removal proceeding in municipal history.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min readAI