Alaska
RSSAll news from Alaska
Regions
Alaska school districts could lose unspent federal money if they don't spend it fast
Some Alaska districts have unspent federal education money — and they'll lose it for good if it's not spent by Sept. 30. Notices don't go out until mid-July.

A stranger's call got a weaving driver off the Steese
A driver saw a truck weaving on the Steese and called it in — leading troopers to an allegedly impaired Fairbanks man, a gun, and a release violation.

Two rulings just reshaped Alaska's Senate race
The Supreme Court just erased limits on party spending coordinated with candidates — unleashing money into Alaska's Senate race the same week a second Dan Sullivan made the ballot.

Tanana Chiefs Conference reshuffles its leadership
Tanana Chiefs Conference staffed up this week — a former lobbyist to lead advocacy, a new tribal-priorities director, and a split of its top health job as the system keeps growing.

Rain stalled the two wildfires near Ruby, but Tuesday's winds are a risk
Sunday's rain stalled both fires near Ruby, holding them at 260 and 1,000 acres, but Tuesday's winds could dry things out again. No outdoor burning, officials warn.

A Russian Old Believer village fights to keep its school
Nikolaevsk — a Russian Old Believer village on the Kenai — may hand its shrinking school to a local nonprofit, a bid to keep education in the community as families drift away.

Why Anchorage's longest-held shelter animals are the ones most at risk
A $3,000 grant is small, but the problem behind it isn't: Anchorage's shelter keeps overfilling, and its longest-held, hardest-to-adopt animals are the ones most at risk.

Juneau's new budget ends all trail brushing and cuts the arboretum
Juneau's new budget ends all brushing on city trails and cuts arboretum staff — so in a rainforest that grows back fast, the trails are now on their own.

Juneau may bar the fastest e-bikes from its trails — but not the most common ones
Juneau may keep pedal-assist e-bikes on its trails but bar the faster throttle kinds — a split that roughly tracks what the limited research actually shows.

At America's northernmost airport, the fuel is Iñupiat-owned
A dull fuel-lease notice at Utqiaġvik's airport hides a good story: the company keeping the northernmost airport supplied is an original ASRC business, built to serve the Iñupiat.

A boat trip made Interior Alaska's needs visible. Who's responsible for them is the harder question.
A Tanana Chiefs boat trip showcased four remote villages' needs. Who's responsible for meeting them is a tangle of federal, state, corporate and tribal roles.

Dunleavy declares a paid July 6 state holiday, with public dollars
Governor Dunleavy declared July 6 a paid holiday for state executive-branch workers, extending the Independence Day weekend at public expense.

Nearly $350 million to replace one ferry — Alaska's lifeline to the Aleutians
Alaska's about to spend nearly $350 million to replace one ferry — the 60-year-old Tustumena. A genuine Aleutian lifeline, but the low bid went to a Louisiana yard.

Policing the world's biggest salmon rush
Amid Bristol Bay's 44-million-fish sockeye run, troopers cited five commercial fishermen for closed-period, gear-spacing, and grounding violations — the rules that keep a frenzy fair.

The ancestral parcels behind a quiet land questionnaire in Port Graham, Nanwalek
Families around Port Graham and Nanwalek are being asked how their Native allotments — ancestral parcels won by proving generations of use — should be managed. The deadline is Aug. 31.

Two Kasilof dipnetters cited for dipnetting's most common mistake
Two Kasilof dipnetters were cited 12 minutes apart for the same slip: not recording their sockeye in ink — the most common dipnet ticket there is. Write it down.

Nome is becoming America's first deepwater port in the Arctic
After nearly 20 years, work is underway to make Nome the first deepwater port in the American Arctic — a ~$600M project deep enough for Coast Guard icebreakers.

Anchorage's airport is finally expanding its parking
Relief may be coming for one of Anchorage's everyday headaches: the airport is expanding its overflow parking lot, with the work due done by mid-November.

Two Alaska towns run on water — and want more of it
Wrangell and Petersburg run on hydropower from a remote mountain lake — and a planned third turbine would draw 12 more megawatts, meaning fewer days burning costly diesel.

Why Washington's permitting overhaul lands harder in Alaska than almost anywhere
About 60% of Alaska is federal land, so Trump's NEPA permitting overhaul hits harder here. The complaint that reviews are too slow is bipartisan; how far to cut is the fight.

Taku River glacial outburst flood warning in effect until 11 p.m. tonight
A glacial outburst flood warning is in effect on the Taku River until 11 p.m. tonight, with fast water and debris hazardous to boaters.

One dead, one critical in a K-Beach Road rollover near Soldotna
A 62-year-old Iowa man died and a second person was critically hurt when their van rolled on Kalifornsky Beach Road near Soldotna. The cause is under investigation.

The Starry Fire is 70% contained as crews move into mop-up
The Starry Fire south of Anderson is 70% contained, up from 65%, and crews have moved into mop-up, combing the perimeter for leftover heat. It's holding at 547 acres.

Sitka sets new ground rules for its cruise-season crush
Up to 7,000 cruise passengers a day hit a town of 8,000 — so Sitka rolled out new (voluntary) ground rules to keep the visitor boom from wearing on the people who live there.

A Sitka Assembly seat just opened — and the window's short
A Sitka Assembly seat opened when Tim Pike resigned — and residents have only until July 8 to apply for the appointment before October's election decides it for good.

In Sitka, they're carrying your luggage by hand this summer
Sitka is running its biggest projects all at once — and at the torn-up airport, workers are hand-carrying travelers' bags to keep flights moving through tourist season.

New federal money for small meat processors could help Alaska lean less on imported food
New federal money for small meat processors could nudge Alaska, which imports nearly all its food, toward processing more of its own — $60M in grants is due Aug. 7.

Alaska clears the way to bury carbon — over water-safety fears
Alaska's new rules let companies inject carbon dioxide underground for storage — with the whole fight hinging on whether it stays put or seeps into the water people drink.

A federal royalty-rule change could shortchange the states and tribes it's owed to
A federal plan to simplify mineral royalties could shortchange states, tribes, and Native owners, as an audit finds the agency isn't collecting what it's owed.

The man who made the case for JBER's new water plant didn't live to see it open
JBER's new water plant now serves 40,000 people, replacing a system running since 1957. Mac Nason, who wrote the case that funded it, died in 2021 and never saw it built.

Peltola tours the Interior on fish and costs — into a contested field
Peltola toured Interior Alaska on salmon and cost-of-living — but it's a campaign swing, not a coronation: Sullivan works the same ground and the same bycatch issue.

Petersburg's hospital more than doubled its cash reserves in three years
While rural hospitals nationwide struggle, Petersburg's has more than doubled its cash cushion in three years, to 133 days on hand, on tighter billing and better management.

Petersburg residents can finally get an MRI without leaving the island
Petersburg just got its first MRI, so island residents no longer have to travel off-island for a scan. A July 14 open house lets people tour the new suite.

A soldier died guarding Fort Wainwright's gate. The drunk driver who hit him will serve 17 years.
A North Pole woman will serve 17 years for a drunk-driving crash that killed a soldier guarding Fort Wainwright's gate. Her blood alcohol was nearly four times the limit.

Seward pays to save the pool that made an Olympian
Seward is putting $200K a year toward keeping its community pool open — the same water that once trained a hometown Olympian. Small town, big save.

In Juneau, the shellfish rules just moved in opposite directions
Juneau's shellfish rules split around July 1: personal-use king crab reopens for residents, but shrimping in Section 11-A and Tenakee Inlet stays closed with no date set.

Alaska's fall hunt is coming, and hunters still don't know the rules
Fall hunts are almost here, but Alaska's season rules are stuck in legal review with no end date, and harvest tickets are delayed. Last year's rules apply for now.

Bring it back whole: a catch rule for Craig and Klawock anglers
Fishing out of Craig or Klawock? Certain fish have to come back whole — so the dock crews counting them can do the sampling that keeps the fishery healthy.

How Cordova's Fourth of July shuffles the week
Cordova's shifting its schedule for the Fourth: City Hall and the transfer station close Friday, trash moves to Monday, and the library and museum keep their own holiday hours.

On the Wood River, so many sockeye are coming back that the state wants you to keep more
Good news for once on the water: the Wood River sockeye run near Dillingham is so strong the state doubled the limit to 10 fish a day, through year's end.
