Alaska

The State Fair is open now

The Alaska State Fair is back in Palmer through Sept. 7 — a stacked concert lineup, giant cabbages and pumpkins, carnival rides and fair food.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

A proposed rule would presume national forest roads and trails are open unless the Forest Service documents a reason to close them

A proposed rule would presume national forest roads and trails, including in Alaska, are open unless the Forest Service documents a reason to close them.

by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

Alaska's seat on the halibut commission is open, and you can nominate yourself

Alaska's seat on the commission that sets Pacific halibut catch limits is open. Nominations close Sept. 14, and self-nominations are accepted.

by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read

Alaska moves to give up nearly 59,000 acres near Parks Highway for University of Alaska

Alaska is dropping its claim to nearly 59,000 acres near the Parks Highway so the university can have it. All 13 public comments opposed the move.

by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 2mo ago1 min read

Anchorage wildfire mitigation would be paid for citywide, researchers say

UA researchers will recommend all of Anchorage pay for wildfire mitigation, not just high-risk neighborhoods. Their full report is due in October.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min readFrom Aug 18

Anchorage police ask cardholders to check statements in tap-to-pay fraud case

Anchorage police want cardholders checking four date ranges for charges they didn't make. For the July charges, the 60-day dispute window closes in September.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read

Enstar tells legislators it's 18 days short of gas for winter

Enstar told legislators it's 18 days, about 3 Bcf, short of gas for a normal winter after two supplies fell through, with deals underway still leaving a gap.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago3 min read

Tok has no way to warn its residents, and a state coordinator says it cost houses

Tok has no townwide alarm, and a state wildfire coordinator said the gap cost houses in the Mukluk Fire. Residents said they never got a GO alert.

by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago3 min read

Mukluk Fire crews shift to southwest flank ahead of Sunday wind change

Mukluk Fire crews shifted to the southwest flank Saturday ahead of forecast northwesterly winds Sunday, with Level 3 evacuation orders still in effect north of the Alaska Highway near Tok.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

Follows: Interior wind event hits highways as the Mukluk Fire burns near Tok

Anchorage keeps blowing past overtime budgets stuck on a 2010 baseline

Anchorage's police, fire and transit overtime again ran over budget, largely because the budgeted amounts still rest on an unadjusted 2010 baseline.

by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 2mo ago1 min read

Park Service urges hard-sided bear containers in the Arrigetch Peaks

A brown bear took food from a soft-sided bear-resistant container in the Arrigetch Peaks on August 13. The Park Service now strongly recommends hard-sided containers, which backpackers can check out at the Bettles Ranger Station.

by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

Skagway is under another wind advisory, gusts to 40 mph through Saturday

Skagway is under yet another wind advisory, this one with gusts up to 40 mph through Saturday evening. Secure the loose gear; it's been a windy summer there.

by Alaska News2mo ago1 min read

Drones are dropping chaff over Nenana to try to stop lightning

A Vancouver startup is dropping metallic chaff from drones over Nenana to try to stop lightning before it starts wildfires. The flights run through Sept. 30.

by Melinda Communities.News2mo ago3 min readFrom Jul 19

Tlingit & Haida moves to expand its printing business into a historic Juneau building

Tlingit & Haida is seeking up to $375,000 to expand its tribally owned printing business and move it into a historic Juneau building it recently bought.

by Maggie AlaskaNewsadded 2mo ago1 min read

Alaska will give up 5 acres on Elrington Island despite unanimous opposition

Alaska will cede 5 acres on Elrington Island to the University of Alaska. All 13 public comments opposed it, citing lost hunting and subsistence access.

by Maggie AlaskaNewsadded 2mo ago1 min read

Driver kills Anchorage pedestrian at Seward Highway and Benson Boulevard, flees scene

A woman was killed by a driver who did not stop, at Seward Highway and Benson early Saturday. Her name is being withheld until family is notified.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read

A new casino has opened on North Douglas, as a cruise dock nearby prepares to bring more ships

Tlingit & Haida has opened Two Coppers Casino, a Class II gaming hall on North Douglas, as nearby cruise docks prepare to bring more ships, with both set for a Douglas Advisory Board briefing.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read

Troopers say ATV fled Fairbanks traffic stop, crashed near airport

An ATV fled a Fairbanks traffic stop before dawn Saturday and crashed behind the airport. Both riders were jailed; the driver faces a DUI charge.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read

Three rescued after float plane crashes in forest near Bettles

Three people survived a floatplane crash near Bettles and were hoisted out overnight, after a satellite device let them relay their location to rescuers.

by Maggie AlaskaNewsadded 2mo ago1 min read

A Copper River village corporation is fixing federal buildings in Tennessee

A company owned by 260 shareholders from a Copper River village is painting judges' chambers in Memphis and fixing a fire pump in Jackson, Tennessee.

by Melinda Communities.News2mo ago2 min read

NOAA pays $1.57 million for samples from subsistence-harvested seals

NOAA is paying $1.57 million for samples from seals Alaska Native hunters take for food. The science depends on hunters volunteering what they harvested.

by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

A toxic bloom killed fur seals off St. George with the highest saxitoxin level ever recorded in the species

A toxic bloom killed fur seals off St. George with the highest saxitoxin level ever recorded in the species. Tribal monitors get another year to track it.

by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read

Kusilvak unemployment hit 16.1% in May, six times Denali Borough's rate

About one in six people in the Kusilvak labor force was unemployed in May, the highest rate in Alaska. Every high-rate region is off the road system.

by Alaska News2mo ago2 min read

A storm could raise water 4 to 6 feet at low-lying Norton Sound villages

Water will rise 4 to 6 feet above normal high tide at Koyuk and Elim Monday through Tuesday, with beach erosion and property damage possible, the National Weather Service said.

by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

Golden Valley was short on reserves 94 percent of the last 250 days

Golden Valley was short on generation reserves 94% of the last 250 days, and its mix models 17 shortfalls a year against a benchmark of one per decade.

by Alaska News2mo ago2 min read

AFN gives delegates another week to file convention resolutions

AFN gave delegates another week to file convention resolutions, now due Aug. 28. Divisive issues go to the Board rather than to the delegates.

by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read

Three remote Aleutian villages are getting traveling dental and medical clinics this month

Sand Point, Akutan and Atka are getting short-term traveling dental and medical clinics this month, in Aleutian villages 570 miles from the nearest hospital.

by Melinda Communities.News2mo ago1 min read

A magnitude 3.9 earthquake shook Southcentral Alaska near Hope on Friday night

A magnitude 3.9 earthquake shook Southcentral Alaska near Hope late Friday, felt by hundreds across the region but bringing light shaking and no damage.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read

Judge vacates 490-acre Izembek land swap, reopening the fight over the King Cove road

A judge voided the land deal behind the King Cove road, reopening a decades-old fight. Crews stage construction as the court weighs a halt by Aug. 31.

by Maggie AlaskaNewsadded 2mo ago4 min read

Manley Hot Springs surcharge would nearly triple under a filing before regulators

Manley Hot Springs electric customers face a cost-of-power surcharge nearly three times higher on Sept. 1. The state credit that offsets it does not move.

by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

Homer weighs spending $6,000 to inform voters about a road-tax measure, near a line the law draws

Homer may spend $6,000 to inform voters about renewing its road-and-trail sales tax, though the ordinance's own title admits it "may influence" the vote.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read

South Slope Drive owners learn Monday what the sewer will cost them

Homer owners on South Slope Drive find out Monday what they owe for sewer. Past city sewer assessments have run past $11,000 for a single parcel.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

A Fairbanks Head Start for Alaska Native families gets five more years of federal money

A Fairbanks Head Start for Alaska Native families won about $6.18 million in federal money through 2031 for classrooms and home visits from birth to age 5.

by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

A $3.19 million contract will fix roads and fish passage near Ketchikan

The Forest Service is paying $3.19 million for road and culvert work near Ketchikan. Since 1998 it has fixed about 57% of the Tongass culverts inventoried.

by Melinda Communities.News2mo ago2 min read

An Anchorage supplier shrank to six employees, and now it stocks federal Alaska

The Anchorage company filling federal orders for pens and clipboards had six employees in mid-2022. It now holds GSA and Navy work worth tens of millions.

by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 2mo ago2 min read

Anchorage holds more property-appeal hearings, as hundreds of over-assessed homes get lower valuations

Anchorage holds six more property-appeal hearings next week, as about 660 over-assessed homes get lower valuations and the appeals board nearly doubles.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read

The state is studying a walking path between Naknek and King Salmon

People walk the highway between Naknek and King Salmon with no separated path. The state has started studies on a $6.87 million pathway between the towns.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read

Yakutat opened a short sockeye gillnet fishery, with kings still off-limits

Yakutat opened a short sockeye gillnet fishery in mid-August, but king salmon stayed off-limits as the Situk River's king run keeps declining.

by Bill AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read

Chugach sees opportunity for its communities in the Coast Guard's Alaska buildup

Chugach, an Alaska Native corporation that contracts with the Coast Guard, is casting the service's Alaska buildup as an opportunity for its communities.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

Kodiak Island Borough Assembly tightens absence rule in 6-1 vote

Kodiak Island Borough Assembly lowered the absence threshold to 25 percent of meetings to forfeit a seat, down from 50 percent, and now counts work sessions in that total.

by Bill AlaskaNews2mo ago3 min read