Bethel Census Area
RSSNews from the Bethel Census Area, Alaska
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NWS forecast calls for 1 to 2 more inches of rain in Southwest Alaska
A Bering Sea storm will drop 1 to 2 more inches of rain across Southwest Alaska through Tuesday, with sustained winds pushing water levels up to 1 foot above normal along the Bristol Bay coast.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
State weighs 19-year rent-free FAA lease at Hooper Bay Airport
Alaska is considering a 19-year rent-free lease for the FAA to install navigation and weather equipment at Hooper Bay Airport, one of six rural airports where the agency seeks similar no-cost deals.
by Alaska News2mo ago1 min read
Wind, high surf and rain batter four Y-K Delta villages into a second day
Four Y-K Delta villages spent a second day under coastal advisories, with high surf, winds gusting to 55 mph and days of rain — landing on Kipnuk as it still rebuilds from Typhoon Halong.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
A fisherman found the stranded boaters before the Coast Guard could launch
A local fisherman found two overdue boaters stranded on a sandbar near Toksook Bay before the Coast Guard could even launch, a familiar story in Western Alaska.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 2mo ago1 min read
Bethel's safety and taxi commission is down to two of six members
Bethel's commission overseeing public safety and its huge taxi fleet is down to two of six seats — with a taxi fare hike on its agenda in a busy hub town.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
AVCP chief executive presents on Arctic typhoons as Inuit assembly closes in Iqaluit
AVCP's CEO presented on Arctic typhoons at an Inuit assembly in Iqaluit, highlighting how Typhoon Halong destroyed homes and displaced hundreds in Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta villages in October 2025.
by Maggie AlaskaNewsadded 2mo ago2 min read
Kodiak weighs a 3% marijuana tax, and a dispensary owner cries foul
Kodiak may tax marijuana 3% for a community well-being fund — but a dispensary owner says pot keeps getting singled out as the island's sin of choice.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Kuskokwim mainstem reopens early as six spawning tributaries stay closed to Chinook and chum
Strong sonar counts returned the Kuskokwim mainstem to state management July 13, but six spawning tributaries stay closed to Chinook and chum through July 31.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Kuskokwim Bay subsistence fishing closes so commercial boats can fish
Kuskokwim Bay subsistence fishing closes Monday through Friday so the same waters can open to commercial fishing — the latest such swap this month.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
One new rural Alaska prosecutor, against deep tribal-justice cuts
The DOJ is adding one rural Alaska prosecutor while proposing to cut the budgets that fund tribal police and victim services by roughly a quarter.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 2mo ago2 min read
Many Bethel homes still haul water. This money starts to change that.
Many Bethel residents still get water by truck. The state just forgave $3.4 million in loans that starts the design work toward piping it instead.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Alaska's unemployment map tracks one thing: the road system
Alaska unemployment ran 2.5% in Denali and 16.1% in Kusilvak this May. The split tracks one thing almost perfectly: whether a road reaches you.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Bering Sea low to push 13-foot seas into Bristol Bay, Kuskokwim Delta Wednesday
Big seas, big problems
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Calista seeks airport land at Kwethluk, Napakiak to bring hardwired broadband
Calista Corporation wants to build broadband shelters on airport land in Kwethluk and Napakiak to bring hardwired internet to both villages.
by Alaska News2mo ago1 min read
ADF&G issues four commercial salmon emergency orders across Alaska Peninsula, Kuskokwim, and Kotzebue areas in three days
ADF&G issued four emergency orders in three days for salmon fisheries. • Sand Point and Port Moller openings target sockeye and mixed stocks. • Kuskokwim Bay and Kotzebue Sound orders adjust chum salmon harvest rules. • Fishermen must track shifting schedules as run conditions dictate changes.
by Bill AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
Peltola puts numbers on rural fuel crisis: $21 a gallon in Noatak, $15 coming for St. Mary's
Senate candidate Mary Peltola cited fuel prices of $21 a gallon in Noatak and $14 to $15 expected in St. Mary's, calling for Congress to investigate price gouging.
by Maggie AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
Alaska Center for the Book honors Delta librarian and Akiachak literacy advocate with 2026 awards
Alaska Center for the Book named Delta librarian Tiki Levinson and Akiachak resident Mary Samson George as 2026 literacy award recipients.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
IHS picks Sitka and Bethel tribal health groups for first-ever elder care construction program
Indian Health Service picked Sitka and Bethel tribal health groups to build and expand skilled nursing facilities, the first time the federal program has funded long-term elder care in Alaska.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Conference draft keeps oil-and-gas pass-through tax, delays it to 2029
A House-Senate conference committee draft of HB 381 keeps a proposed income tax on oil-and-gas pass-through entities but delays collections to 2029.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago4 min read
Akiachak man faces 7 felony charges in Bethel sexual abuse case
Alaska State Troopers arrested Akiachak man Lewis Lomack, 47, on seven felony charges tied to sexual abuse of a minor, and believe more victims exist. He is presumed innocent.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
A shifting wall threatens Bethel's freight lifeline
A sheet pile wall at Bethel's port is shifting, and the Corps wants an engineering fix — a worry for the roadless Y-K Delta's only real freight lifeline.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
Bethel's lifeline dock is shifting — and its port commission can't get quorum
The dock that supplies the roadless Y-K Delta with fuel and freight is shifting and eroding — and its oversight commission hasn't reached quorum in 11 straight months.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Kuskokwim subsistence fishing reopens as salmon run strong
Subsistence fishing is back open on the lower Kuskokwim as salmon run strong — and the state is managing the mainstem again after losing a long fight over who controls the river.
by Bill AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
Commercial fishing opens in Kuskokwim Bay as subsistence fishing closes
Commercial fishing opened in Kuskokwim Bay's Districts 4 and 5 through July 17, with subsistence fishing closed until the 18th — a real trade-off in a region built on salmon.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Dunleavy vetoes six bills, including invasive species and polystyrene measures
Gov. Dunleavy vetoed six bills June 24, including a statewide polystyrene ban and an invasive species management plan, citing implementation costs and concerns about state agency authority.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
Bethel's free bulky-item pickup ends this month
Bethel's one free bulky-item pickup of the year ends in July — last call to haul off the busted four-wheeler before it's your job to get it to the landfill.
by Maggie AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Bethel moves to repay firefighters shorted on their pay
Bethel's firefighters were shorted on paid days off while stuck at the lower rate meant to offset them — and the city's now moving to pay back what they're owed
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Bethel lands $3.4M for water — and won't pay most of it back
Bethel's picking up $3.38M in state water loans that get fully forgiven once spent — a near-free upgrade for a town where plenty of people still haul their own water.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
For a roadless village, an airport lease is really about the lifeline
For roadless Chefornak, the airport is the only way in or out — so a routine state lease keeping the FAA's weather and navigation gear running matters more than it sounds.
by Maggie AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
In Alaska, the adult takes the ticket for a kid's line
A visiting grandfather got the ticket when his grandson fished closed waters at Crooked Creek — in Alaska, the supervising adult is on the hook, and intent doesn't matter.
by Bill AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Starlink claims 10 Gbps in Utqiagvik, but maybe... not so much
Starlink says it hit 10 Gbps in Utqiagvik — but that's the firehose into town, not what reaches your house. A rooftop dish still gets about 200 Mbps.
by Melinda Communities.News3mo ago1 min read
In a dry village, a man is charged with assault after furnishing a teen alcohol
A Tuntutuliak man, Jared Enoch, 24, is charged with furnishing alcohol to a teenager and sexually assaulting them in a village where alcohol is banned. He is presumed innocent.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 3mo ago1 min read
Akiachak man charged with murder after early-morning stabbing death
Randy Nose, 41, died from stab wounds in Akiachak early Monday. Fred Nose Jr., 37, also of Akiachak, was arrested and charged with second-degree murder.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 3mo ago1 min read
Five wildfires burning across Interior and Western Alaska as Siruk reaches 60% containment
The Siruk Fire near Allakaket reached 60% containment at 619 acres as crews push against forecast heat and critically dry conditions across five active Interior and Western Alaska fires.
by Maggie AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
Bethel hauled water and sewer deliveries shift early for Independence Day
Bethel shifted hauled water and sewer deliveries one day early Saturday to beat the Independence Day holiday, affecting all three service routes.
by Alaska Newsadded 3mo ago1 min read
Kuskokwim subsistence households face empty freezers as salmon closures hold
Federal salmon closures on the Kuskokwim through July 31 are leaving subsistence households with few chances to harvest fish for winter, forcing families to buy more groceries as prices rise.
by Bill AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
Nelson Island residents put out tundra fire before state crews could arrive
Nelson Island residents near Toksook Bay extinguished a lightning-caused tundra fire on June 24 before state crews could arrive, the Alaska Division of Forestry & Fire Protection reported.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 3mo ago1 min read
Bethel wants to charge owners who let buildings sit empty and rot
Bethel would charge owners to leave buildings empty, and help demolish burnt-out ones — waiving the cost if the owner rebuilds, or filing a lien if not.
by Maggie AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
A death reported as a suicide in Atmautluak turned out to be a shooting, troopers say
An Atmautluak death was reported as a suicide, but the scene looked suspicious to troopers. A man now faces manslaughter charges in the fatal shooting of Byron Waska, 28.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 3mo ago1 min read
Kipnuk is being pieced back together, one boardwalk at a time
Alaska closes its federal disaster recovery updates as Typhoon Halong rebuilding continues in Kipnuk, with over 12,000 feet of boardwalk restored but federal funding delays still slowing the work.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
