Fairbanks North Star Borough
RSSNews from the Fairbanks North Star Borough, Alaska
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A pass-through tax, not the pipeline, is the real fight in Juneau
A conference committee spent two days on Alaska's $44B gas line, and the sharpest fight was over a pass-through tax on Hilcorp that doesn't need the pipeline to exist.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 3mo ago3 min read
Kenai's quiet stake in the gas-line bill
Only Kenai Borough's school-funding bill changes under the gas-line tax legislation — but the state's own modeling says the increase might sunset before it ever lands.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 3mo ago2 min read
Departing Kodiak assemblyman warns: prepare for the Coast Guard boom
Kodiak Assemblyman Dave Johnson resigned with a warning to prepare for incoming Coast Guard icebreakers and fix housing. The Assembly will appoint his replacement July 16.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
Federal money built Alaska's recent growth — now it's receding fastest here
Federal dollars drove about half of Alaska's economic growth since 2015. Now the federal workforce is shrinking faster here than almost anywhere — and rural Alaska feels it most.
by Bill AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
Interior loses its salmon fishing — pike it is
The Tanana drainage just lost king and chum fishing entirely, leaving Interior anglers chasing pike scattered across a flooded Minto Flats — work for it, with big flashy spoons.
by Bill AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
Two new directors join the GVEA board that sets Interior power rates
Dave Messier and Philip Wight just won seats on GVEA's board — the member-owned body that sets Interior power rates. Their first day on the job? A fuel-supply vote.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Young leaders from 42 Interior villages gather near Fairbanks
Interior Alaska Native youth, ages 12 to 24, closed a four-day leadership summit near Fairbanks by naming six priorities to guide their communities in the year ahead.
by Maggie AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Tom Begich goes after Dunleavy over vocational-training vetoes
Begich is hammering Dunleavy for vetoing job-training money while the state promises a pipeline built by Alaskans — a rare direct shot at the governor from the campaign trail.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
Anderson's mandatory evacuation is lifted, but the Starry Fire isn't out
Anderson's mandatory evacuation is lifted as the Starry Fire hits 60% containment. It's not out — crews are still mopping up, and the town is told to stay ready.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Alaska throws a nine-day baseball party for America's 250th
For nine days, Alaska swaps the rink for the diamond: free kids' clinics, midnight-sun ball, a "Sandlot" screening, and a Fourth of July finish in Fairbanks.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
On the wild Alatna, a guide makes his case to the state
A Fairbanks guide wants the state's OK to run commercial trips on the Alatna — a Wild and Scenic river so remote the only way in is by floatplane.
by Maggie AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
Alaska's top two Senate candidates both campaigned in Fairbanks on the same day
Alaska's top Senate candidates, Sullivan and Peltola, both worked Fairbanks on June 24 — in a close, nationally watched race where neither can cede the Interior.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
Starry Fire hits 50% containment as military crews join Alaska firefighters
Starry Fire #234 reached 50% containment Tuesday as military crews from three Alaska bases joined firefighters securing the perimeter, with rain and wind expected to help cool the interior.
by Maggie AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Robots are fighting Alaska wildfires near Nenana right now — on their own
Near Nenana, robots are autonomously fighting fire for an $11M prize — tested on tame controlled burns while the real Interior fire season rages a short flight away.
by Melinda Communities.News3mo ago2 min read
One Floodplain Study Stands Between Fairbanks and a Finished River Walk
Fairbanks is one riverside stretch from a downtown-to-University trail — but that last piece sits in the floodplain, so engineers have to prove it won't flood the neighbors first.
by Maggie AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
A week of lightning sparked dozens of Alaska fires and forced an entire town to flee
Lightning hit Alaska more than 5,400 times in a week, sparking dozens of fires, and one behind an Anderson school forced the whole town to flee.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
North Slope, Fairbanks, Valdez sue over pipeline tax values
Three Alaska municipalities sued June 22 over how pipeline companies value their assets for local taxes, challenging assessments that affect borough and city revenue.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 3mo ago2 min read
North Pole teen arrested after 100-mph motorcycle chase in Fairbanks
Alaska State Troopers arrested a North Pole teenager after he reached 100 mph on a motorcycle, ran red lights, and refused to stop on the Richardson Highway Sunday.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
24 bottles of R&R, grounded short of Shungnak
Bargain whiskey, $400 a bottle: Fairbanks airport police seized 24 bottles of R&R bound for a dry village, street value $9,600.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 3mo ago2 min read
Two Things Worth Watching at the Marijuana Board
Alaska's marijuana board meets in Fairbanks, where a license sale comes with baggage and growers renew their gripe that untaxed hemp THC is eating their lunch.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
A Hoonah Corporation Quietly Builds a Cruise Empire
Huna Totem Corporation, the Alaska Native village corporation for Hoonah, is expanding its cruise business by adding its own vessels to a fleet that already operates ports across Southeast Alaska.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
Scammers Are Posing as Alaska's Liquor Regulators
Scammers are mailing fake invoices dressed up as Alaska liquor regulators — but the giveaway is easy: the real ones only ever email from @alaska.gov.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 3mo ago1 min read
Starry Fire forces Anderson evacuations; 75 personnel battle 688-acre blaze
The Starry Fire forced Anderson evacuations Saturday and burned 688 acres 80 miles south of Fairbanks; 75 personnel are holding lines to push it toward the river.
by Maggie AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
The $16 Gas Promise Comes With Fine Print
The gas line's headline $16 price is firm — until you notice it's quoted in the wrong unit, climbs with inflation before any gas arrives, and gets policed by a commission missing half its top staff.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
Alaska's legal cannabis growers say tax-free synthetic THC is sinking them
Alaska's legal weed growers pay the nation's highest pot tax, then get undercut by tax-free THC from the mailbox. They'd like a word.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
Interior's First Big Smoke Event Drifts Toward Fairbanks
The season's first real smoke has arrived in the Interior, and the borough's advice is blunt: if it's hazy and smells like smoke, don't wait for the monitor's permission to head indoors.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Alaska's LNG tax break now hinges on a gas line to Fairbanks
Alaska's LNG tax break now has a price: $80M, a labor deal, and a Fairbanks spur line before Glenfarne sees any relief.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
What the Senate Changed in the Gas-Line Deal
The Senate's gas-line rewrite caps your gas price, leashes the state's pipeline agency, and lets the boroughs pocket most of the tax money for decades before the state takes its cut.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago3 min read
Chukchi Campus is getting ADA and fire-safety upgrades after 14 years on the master plan
Chukchi Campus in Kotzebue is finally getting ADA upgrades. The needs were identified in a UAF master plan back in 2011-2012.
by Maggie AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
AIDEA authorized $190 million for ANWR — backed by Kaktovik, the residents
AIDEA put $190M behind ANWR seismic and lease bidding. Kaktovik — the only community inside the refuge — strongly supported it.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min read
Anderson residents ordered to evacuate as Star Fire hits 100 acres
Anderson residents evacuated Saturday as the Star Fire burned 100 acres south of town, with two smaller fires igniting nearby under a Red Flag Warning through Sunday.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min read
Alaska DFFP battles 4 wildfires across Interior, Southcentral, Southwest
Twin Bear Fire near Fairbanks drew 23 firefighters and helitack crews to a lightning-caused blaze in black spruce with cabins nearby. • Joaquin Fire southwest of McGrath and Vanderpool Fire east of McGrath prompted aerial response due to native allotment and private property. • Matanuska Fire on Glenn Highway was contained within two hours at under half an acre. • Red Flag Warning through Sunday evening cited 30 percent humidity and 40 mph wind gusts near thunderstorms across Central Interior.
by Maggie AlaskaNewsadded 3mo ago2 min read
Fairbanks man arrested for DUI after crash injures three passengers
A 20-year-old Fairbanks man was arrested for DUI after a crash near Steese Highway injured three passengers early Saturday, with a breath test showing more than twice the legal alcohol limit.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
Pilot killed in Piper Pacer crash 40 miles southeast of Cordova
A pilot flying solo between Yakutat and Fairbanks was found dead Friday after an Alaska Air National Guard helicopter located the crashed Piper Pacer near Kanak Island, about 40 miles southeast of Cordova.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
Heat and fire risk converge across Interior Alaska for solstice weekend
Interior Alaska's longest weekend brings heat its houses can't handle and lightning that could light the woods. Hydrate, and go check on grandma.
by Maggie AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
Senate passes gas-line bill; Dunleavy immediately calls lawmakers back to rewrite it
Special session concludes without passage of a gasline bill, and now the question is if this is an end to negotiations or if they'll continue tomorrow. The Governor thinks they're close.
by Cale Green4mo ago3 min read
Five wildfires under investigation overnight in southcentral Alaska
Five wildfires broke out overnight in southcentral Alaska's Susitna basin as a Red Flag Warning takes effect Saturday, with burn permits suspended statewide.
by Maggie AlaskaNewsadded 4mo ago1 min read
The Army Just Ran a Shark Tank in Alaska — and a Soldier's Enemy-Sniffing Drone Won
The Army ran a Shark Tank in Alaska, and a soldier's drone that narcs on the enemy's radios took the prize. Losing pitches still "win," per the general.
by Melinda Communities.News4mo ago2 min read
Interior Alaska Native groups set aside a day to repair elders' homes — and couldn't meet the demand
Bit off more than we could chew, how about you?
by Melinda Communities.News4mo ago1 min read
Op-ed: Urging US Delegates to support App Store Accountability Act
An Alaska Native parent urges Congress to pass the App Store Accountability Act to require parental approval before minors download apps.
by AlaskaPolicyVoice4mo ago2 min read