Alaska

A vehicle fire shut a Richardson Highway lane Thursday morning

A burning vehicle shut a lane of the Richardson Highway near mile 349 Thursday morning, drawing police and ambulance crews inside an active work zone.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read

Alaska says 4,264 fewer K-3 students ended the year reading at the lowest level

Alaska ended the school year with 4,264 fewer K-3 students in the lowest reading category. The figures compare fall to spring, not year to year.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

Resident king salmon limit near Petersburg is three a day in state waters

Anglers around Petersburg can keep more king salmon now after a low harvest and strong hatchery return — but the fish are few and far between.

by Bill AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read

Anchorage's new emergency plan still has no chapter for disease outbreaks

Anchorage's new emergency plan has no communicable disease appendix. The plan lists 34 changes; the memo to the Assembly itemizes none of them.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

NANA opens the Hunter Building with five subsidiaries under one roof

NANA opens the Hunter Building in Anchorage on Friday, bringing five subsidiaries under one roof. They will cut a length of qupak instead of a ribbon.

by Melinda Communities.News2mo ago1 min read

In Anchorage, SNAP recipients now face work requirements

Anchorage SNAP recipients now have to meet federal work requirements, while the rest of Alaska is covered by a waiver through October 2026.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

New Alaska Medicaid work rules start in January 2027 — with broad exemptions

Starting January 2027, some Alaska Medicaid recipients 19 to 64 must work, study, train or volunteer 80 hours a month to keep coverage, though many are exempt.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

A Wasilla company sweeps a Detroit dock and runs five border ports

A Wasilla company is getting $3,419 to sweep a Detroit loading dock. It also cleans four federal buildings there and runs five border ports in California.

by Melinda Communities.News2mo ago1 min read

Three Merbok-damaged stretches of the Nome-Council Highway are finally getting permanent repairs

Federal grants totaling $2.4 million will repair three stretches of the Nome-Council Highway damaged by ex-typhoon Merbok in 2022, with work running through April 2028.

by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read

An Interior Alaska village company maintains a Boston courthouse

A company owned by four Koyukuk River villages maintains a federal courthouse in Boston. This month it fixed the boilers, a heat pump and the drains.

by Melinda Communities.News2mo ago1 min read

Federal Judge threw out Trump's offshore drilling without deciding the question

A judge dismissed the challenge to Trump's offshore reopening on standing, without ruling on whether he had the authority. The groups can refile.

by Maggie AlaskaNewsadded 2mo ago2 min read

Sea ice loss has swamped El Niño's grip on Arctic autumns

El Niño used to cool Arctic autumns, but sea ice loss has swamped that signal — just as forecasters expect a possibly record-strong El Niño this fall.

by Melinda Communities.News2mo ago2 min read

UAA patents insulation grown from Alaska birch sawdust and a native fungus

A UAA team has patented insulation you can grow from Alaska birch sawdust and a native wild mushroom — a biodegradable answer to the foam that never rots.

by Melinda Communities.Newsadded 2mo ago2 min read

Bronson takes the last spot on Alaska's four-way November governor ballot

Dave Bronson, the former Anchorage mayor, advanced from Alaska's August governor primary to the November ranked-choice general election, joining three other candidates in the top-four system.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

Rural health transformation program set as keynote topic at Anchorage disability employment conference

Alaska's $272 million Rural Health Transformation Program will be the keynote topic at the Oct. 12-13 Employment First Conference in Anchorage, drawing employers and disability employment providers.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read

Alaska's transmission tariff would grandfather 11 existing agreements

Alaska created a body to end the tolls utilities charge each other for moving power. Its plan would leave 11 existing agreements in place indefinitely.

by Melinda Communities.News2mo ago1 min read

Chugach wants another cent for the gas it sells to itself

Chugach wants to raise the price it charges itself for its own gas to $8.14. It was $2.73 in early 2021, and surcharges are driving the climb.

by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 2mo ago1 min read

Four killed in Piper crash in Seldovia Slough; NTSB investigating

All four people aboard a small plane died Wednesday when it crashed into the water near Seldovia, the second fatal plane crash in Alaska in less than a week.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

Chugachmiut is hiring a lead for nearly $7 million in Indigenous education work

The Chugach region's Native nonprofit is seeking a contractor to lead nearly $7 million in Indigenous education work, from language revival to youth programs.

by Melinda Communities.News2mo ago1 min read

Yukon families get chum back, but only in the tributaries

Yukon families can take chum again, but only in the tributaries. The mainstem carries the Canadian-origin run, projected far below its border goal.

by Bill AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read

Follows: Yukon fall salmon fishing closes at the peak of the season, not for a weak run but to meet Canada's share

The pipeline's owners want another 30 years, seven years before they have to ask

The trans-Alaska pipeline's owners want another 30 years on federal land, seven years before they need to ask. Scoping comment closes Sept. 10.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

Three Afognak sections close as Kodiak gets a 102-hour opening

Three Afognak sections closed Wednesday evening while the rest of Kodiak got periods of up to 102 hours. The Chinook nonretention rule still stands.

by Bill AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read

Follows: Kodiak salmon fishing extended again, running through Wednesday evening

Anchorage's drone report leaves out the one thing the code requires

Anchorage police have flown drones hundreds of times since 2022. City code says the report must note search warrants. The report has no warrant column.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago3 min read

Utqiagvik council weighs finance and executive director appointments

The Utqiagvik City Council will vote Thursday on new appointments for two top administrative offices, a finance director and an executive director, with no explanation given in the agenda for the changes.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read

The Anchorage Assembly may audit every member's spending

The Anchorage Assembly votes Tuesday on auditing every member spending account back to 2023. The review seeks to identify potential inconsistencies in how members use their annual budgets.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

As the Chena's king salmon collapse, Fairbanks debates how wide a riverfront buffer to require

Fairbanks is rewriting its Chena riverfront plan, weighing how wide a streamside buffer to require — as the river's kings collapse and property owners watch.

by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

Utqiaġvik hears a marijuana tax rise from 8% to 10% tonight, and voters decide Oct. 6

Utqiaġvik City Council hears a proposal tonight to raise the marijuana sales tax from 8% to 10%, with voters deciding Oct. 6.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read

Follows: Utqiagvik weighs a change to how it taxes marijuana

A Juneau task force wants congestion data to support limiting cruise calls

A Juneau task force wants a congestion study, partly to support a case for limiting cruise ship port calls. A cap ordinance is already pending.

by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 2mo ago2 min read

Follows: Juneau's task force weighs crowding fixes amid a bigger question on how much tourism is enough

Juneau task force weighs reviving 2001 heliport study that projected 6,037 homes out of noise corridors

Juneau's Visitor Industry Task Force will decide Thursday whether to update a 2001 study that found moving helicopter tours could remove 6,037 homes from noise corridors.

by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 2mo ago2 min read

A Native corporation's cleanup arm is monitoring a fuel spill in the Sound

A cleanup arm of Alaska Native corporation Calista won an FAA contract to monitor a former diesel spill and buried dump site in Prince William Sound.

by Melinda Communities.News2mo ago2 min read

A tiny Copper River village corporation is quietly renovating federal courthouses across Tennessee

A company owned by tiny Chitina Native Corporation, from a Copper River dipnetting town of about 260 shareholders, is racking up federal courthouse renovation jobs across Tennessee.

by Melinda Communities.News2mo ago2 min read

Meta settlement would cap teen social media at two hours a day, bringing Alaska millions

A proposed settlement with Meta would cap teen time on Instagram and Facebook at two hours a day and bring Alaska millions of dollars.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

Troopers arrest driver after semitrailer collapses onto pickup on Parks Highway

Alaska State Troopers arrested a Wasilla man after a stolen semitrailer he was towing on a makeshift rig collapsed onto his pickup truck on the Parks Highway, crushing the truck bed.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read

Two arrested in North Pole burglary involving stolen firearms

Alaska State Troopers arrested William Clatterbuck and Briana Perry on Wednesday for a North Pole burglary in which firearms, a snow machine, and a generator were stolen.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read

A Hoonah oyster farm wants to grow to about 10 acres

A Hoonah oyster farm wants to add two parcels and renew its state lease for 20 years, bringing the site to about 10 acres. Comments close Sept. 28.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read

A $1.5 billion Seward Highway rebuild goes to public comment Sept. 22

The state wants to rebuild 20 miles of the Seward Highway as a four-lane divided road for more than $1.5 billion. Public comment opens Sept. 22.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read

Follows: A $1.5 billion Seward Highway plan pits safety against the Turnagain Arm viewshed

Central Aleutian perch fishery closes early for a second straight year

Central Aleutian trawlers lose Pacific ocean perch at noon Thursday, four months early — the second straight year the fishery has closed ahead of schedule, and faster than last year.

by Alaska News2mo ago1 min read

Anchorage's school board says closures won't fix the budget; residents aren't so sure

Anchorage's school board says closing schools won't fix its budget — even as most residents, by the district's own survey, favor consolidation.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

State begins emergency repairs at Skagway ferry terminal with no reopening date

Skagway still has no state ferry service and no reopening date as crews race emergency repairs on its cracked ferry terminal, with chain work set this weekend.

by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 2mo ago2 min read

A man was found dead with injuries in East Anchorage, and police are investigating

Anchorage police found a man dead with injuries to his upper body early Wednesday in East Anchorage, and investigators are handling the case.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read