Local organizations and topics
Numbers are stories in the last 30 days.
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Week of Jun 29
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.
by Maggie AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
A Fox homeowner woke to thieves stealing his copper and fuel. Then the shooting started.
A Fox homeowner woke before dawn to burglars stealing copper and fuel, went to investigate, and traded gunfire with them. No one was hit, and the suspects got away.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
Failed concrete keeps Fairbanks' Wescott Pool closed all summer, cost climbs
Bad concrete will keep Fairbanks' Wescott Pool closed all summer, pushing reopening to November — and the fix just cost another $837,000, over $12 million total.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
A huge North Pole fuel terminal's spill plan is up for renewal — and residents have reason to look
The spill plan for a 33-million-gallon North Pole jet fuel terminal is up for comment through July 29 — in a town that knows what fuel in its groundwater looks like.
by Maggie AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
Week of Jun 22
A Fairbanks lot split turns up permit and floodway snags
A routine lot-line change near Noyes Slough surfaced a few snags — an unpermitted garage, a too-close house, and a floodway where you can't dig without an engineer's OK.
by Maggie AlaskaNewsadded 4mo ago1 min read
Gas-line developer warns Alaska's Senate terms could drive it off
Glenfarne told lawmakers the Senate's gas-line amendments — a 9.4% investor tax, an automatic state takeover clause, tough labor rules — could make it walk. Lawmakers say they're protecting the state.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min read
Fairbanks subcommittee drafts new Chena River plan with freeze, salmon, and flood goals
Fairbanks subcommittee drafted a Chena River plan aiming to restore winter ice, protect floodplain infrastructure, and address water quality threats including PFAS and invasive weeds.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
Troopers say a Fairbanks woman faked her location data to dodge a charge — and got caught anyway
Fairbanks woman accused of vehicle mischief allegedly tried to beat it with fake location data sent to troopers — but witnesses and her real data placed her there.
by Maggie AlaskaNewsadded 4mo ago1 min read
More from Fairbanks
Soccer came home this summer — Where to watch the World Cup in Anchorage, Fairbanks and Juneau
The 2026 FIFA World Cup is happening across North America with viewer-friendly Alaska timing, and Anchorage, Fairbanks, and Juneau have free or easy watch parties through mid-July.
by Cale Green4mo ago3 min read
One Anchorage restaurant keeps getting caught serving with expired cards
Alaska cited six bars and restaurants for servers pouring with expired training cards — one Anchorage spot for the fifth time in four years, now risking its liquor license.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min read
Weekend rain could push Interior Alaska rivers to a rare high
Rain starting Saturday evening could push Interior Alaska rivers to levels seen only once every 5 to 10 years — a warning to anyone recreating near the water.
by Maggie AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
Starry Fire hits 70% containment; wetting rain expected Friday night
Starry Fire near Anderson hit 70% containment Friday as rain moves in, dropping evacuation status from GO to READY.
by Maggie AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
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 4mo 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 4mo 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 AlaskaNews4mo 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 AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min read
Coming up
Friendsgiving Cookie Decorating Class with Catelyn's Confections
Northern Made Co., 505 Illinois Street, Unit 4, Fairbanks, AK 99701
Class
Orion Levine Comedy Show at Pakalolo Coffeeshop
Performance
Orion Levine Comedy Show
Performance
Stoney Sunday Comedy Brunch with Orion Levine
Performance
Lost Girl by Kimberly Belflower
Performance
About Fairbanks
Fairbanks is a city in Alaska's Interior, on the Chena River within the Fairbanks North Star Borough. Known locally as the Golden Heart City, it is home to the University of Alaska Fairbanks and sits near Fort Wainwright and Eielson Air Force Base.
The city and borough decide questions of zoning, flood maps, trails and large industrial uses such as data centers. Winter conditions shape daily life, from dense fog and freezing rain to air pollution rules, power supply from the Golden Valley electric utility and crashes on the highways that meet there.
Fairbanks serves as a hub for the Interior and a gateway for travel to the Arctic, and it draws visitors for aurora tourism and ice art events. Nearby communities include North Pole, Ester, Fox and Salcha.
More from Fairbanks
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 AlaskaNews4mo 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 AlaskaNews4mo 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 AlaskaNews4mo 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 AlaskaNews4mo 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 AlaskaNews4mo 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 AlaskaNews4mo 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 AlaskaNews4mo 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 AlaskaNews4mo 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.News4mo 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 AlaskaNews4mo 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 AlaskaNews4mo 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 4mo 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 AlaskaNews4mo 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 4mo ago2 min readFrom 
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 AlaskaNews4mo ago1 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 4mo 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 AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min read
Week of Jun 15
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 AlaskaNews4mo 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 AlaskaNews4mo 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 AlaskaNews4mo ago1 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 4mo 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
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