Kotzebue

Cape Blossom Road closes for second stage of project to cut Kotzebue freight costs

The road south of Kotzebue toward Cape Blossom is closed for the second stage of construction on a project meant to cut freight costs for the region.

by Walter AlaskaNews3w ago1 min read

AIDEA commits $25 million to nuclear startup NuCube as it seeks to go public

AIDEA is putting $25 million into NuCube, a 10-person, pre-revenue nuclear startup, buying discounted shares as the company tries to go public.

by Melinda Communities.News2w ago3 min read

Merrill Field planners propose King Air 200 as design aircraft for 20-year plan

Merrill Field's 20-year plan will be built around the King Air 200. Also learned: the first stop for many rural flyers landing there is Costco.

by Walter AlaskaNews4w ago2 min read

Follows: Anchorage will take public comment on Merrill Field's next 20 years Oct. 15

AIDEA takes over governor's energy conference with up to $400,000

Gov. Dunleavy leaves office in December. The energy conference he founded stays on: AIDEA's board approved up to $400,000 to run it in Anchorage in 2027.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min readFrom Sep 22

Guard Black Hawk flies two stranded boaters and their dog to Kotzebue

Alaska Army National Guard Black Hawk crew rescued two boaters and their dog stranded 75 miles east of Kotzebue on Oct. 6 after their vessel became stuck in icy water.

by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

State flood coordinator meets with Kotzebue, Northwest Arctic Borough

Alaska's flood insurance coordinator met with Kotzebue and Northwest Arctic Borough to discuss recovery from Typhoon Halong and rebuilding rules that could affect their flood insurance eligibility.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

AIDEA looks at modular bridges used at Red Dog Mine for the proposed Ambler road

AIDEA toured modular steel bridges at Red Dog Mine as it weighs them for the proposed Ambler road, a project NANA and Tanana Chiefs have opposed.

by Melinda Communities.News1mo ago2 min read

State puts $4.2 million toward housing for teachers and other professionals in rural Alaska

Rural Alaska keeps losing teachers to a lack of decent housing. The state has $4.2 million to build more, for communities that signed up by August.

by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago3 min read

Judicial Council tries again to fill Kotzebue and Nome superior court seats

Kotzebue and Nome are each without their only superior court judge. The Judicial Council is trying again to fill both, Kotzebue's for the third time.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Board of Game proposals would cut Western Arctic caribou limits further as the herd declines

The Western Arctic Caribou Herd is down to about 121,000. Proposals to cut harvest further go before the Board of Game in Kotzebue, and comments are due Jan. 9.

by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Kotzebue water system exceeds federal lead action level after two of 10 homes test high

Two of 10 Kotzebue homes tested above the federal lead action level. The city is testing more homes and says to run taps until cold before drinking.

by Alaska News1mo ago2 min read

EPA proposes $21,618 penalty over Red Dog Mine spill into Red Dog Creek

EPA proposed a $21,618 penalty against Teck Alaska Inc. for a May 2025 leak of process water into Red Dog Creek near Kotzebue after a pump failure at the mine.

by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

AIDEA's board takes six major projects into executive session in Kotzebue

AIDEA's board meets in Kotzebue with Ambler, Red Dog, ANWR and West Susitna on the closed agenda — listed by name, with nothing said about what's up.

by Melinda Communities.News1mo ago2 min read

Kotzebue gets $1.5 million to keep growing food above the Arctic Circle

Kotzebue gets $1.5 million for Alaska Native food sovereignty work. The USDA calls it national security. The people doing it call it something else.

by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Kotzebue's chum run beat the forecast; the state will not say by how much

Kotzebue's chum harvest beat the forecast, and the state will not say by how much. Nobody counted the fish upriver for the second year running.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

AIDEA will discuss the Ambler road in Kotzebue, with the public out

AIDEA's board will talk about the Ambler road in Kotzebue next week, behind closed doors. The public portion covers meeting dates and a conference.

by Melinda Communities.News1mo ago1 min read

A Tanana company will dig diesel out from under old BIA school sites

The government left diesel in the ground under old BIA schools in Western Alaska. It is paying a Tanana company $247,786 to dig some of it out.

by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

Three Alaska National Guard wetland surveys go out to bid, with proposals due Sept. 21

Alaska Army National Guard is buying wetland surveys at three aviation facilities in Kotzebue, Bethel and Nome, budgeted at $45,000 to $50,000 each, with proposals due 2 p.m. Sept. 21.

by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read

Alaska Supreme Court hears appeal over Kotzebue officer's immunity in 2022 shooting

Supreme Court heards Kotzebue case

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

Two Arctic climate-data sources lose federal funding, kept alive by others

Two Arctic climate-data sources Alaska relies on lost their federal funding this past year. Both are now kept alive by universities and private groups.

by Alaska News2mo ago2 min readFrom Aug 1

Red Dog's port has carried a top-tier air violation for years with no penalty

The port shipping Red Dog's ore has carried a top-tier EPA air-pollution violation for dust for nearly six years, with no formal state enforcement.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago3 min read

Ninety-two Alaska water systems are listed as serious violators

Ninety-two Alaska water systems are federal serious violators, close to three times the national rate. The state has not brought a formal action since 2020.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago3 min read

Why the Coast Guard is paying a Homer helicopter company to reach roadless villages

The Coast Guard is paying a Homer helicopter company $345,000 to fly inspectors to roadless Alaska villages to reach the fuel facilities it regulates.

by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

Coast Guard cutter Stratton changes command at anchor off Kotzebue

A change of command aboard the cutter Stratton took place at anchor off Kotzebue. The Coast Guard keeps no permanent presence north of the Bering Strait.

by Maggie AlaskaNewsadded 2mo ago1 min read

Kotzebue chum fishermen got a second buyer for the season's last week

Kotzebue chum fishermen had two buyers for the season's final six openings, after weeks with one. The regulatory season closes Aug. 31.

by Bill AlaskaNewsadded 2mo ago1 min read

Follows: Kotzebue chum fishermen get a better price but have just one buyer left

Eight Alaska fishery disaster requests are past the deadline federal law sets

Eight Alaska fishing communities are owed federal disaster relief the law says is already overdue, and until the decisions come, no one gets paid.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

$1.54 million in federal rent aid for Kotzebue's four subsidized elder apartments

HUD awarded $1.54 million to Tupqich Elder Apartments in Kotzebue to cover operating costs for very-low-income seniors, who pay 30 percent of their income toward rent.

by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read

Kotzebue chum fishermen get a better price but have just one buyer left

Kotzebue chum fishermen are getting nearly 20 cents more a pound this season, but with only one registered buyer left, their market now hinges on a single company.

by Bill AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read

A retiring Arctic judge's cases are in limbo, with no one scheduling hearings

A retiring Arctic judge's caseload has been moved to an unassigned docket with no one scheduling hearings, and the court hasn't said how the region's cases proceed.

by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read

Retiring judge's Arctic caseload lands in an unassigned court queue

A retiring Arctic judge's entire caseload but eight cases now sits in an unassigned queue, with no new judge named and no word on hearing dates across three hub communities.

by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 3mo ago1 min read

The water keeps coming back to Kotzebue Sound

Kotzebue Sound is getting its second high-water warning in two days — small rises on a coast where the flooding keeps getting worse.

by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read

Kotzebue chum fishery opened Sunday, but only one buyer is registered to purchase fish

Kotzebue chum fishery opened Sunday with five fishing windows, but only one buyer is registered to purchase fish this season.

by Bill AlaskaNews3mo 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

Kotzebue Sound fishing ban near airport runway takes effect with July 10 commercial opening

Kotzebue's first commercial salmon opening July 10 now runs under a permanent fishing ban near the airport runway that blocks both commercial and subsistence nets to keep birds away from planes.

by Bill AlaskaNewsadded 3mo ago1 min read

Frier vs. Chase: a rematch for Alaska's northernmost House seat

Alaska's biggest, coldest House district is a 2024 rematch: Rep. Robyn Frier vs. Kotzebue Mayor Saima Chase, both running hard on public safety.

by Maggie AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read

The fight to keep Red Dog alive past 2031

A routine nine-acre lease along the Red Dog haul road opens onto a much bigger question: how one of the world's richest zinc mines keeps going after its main pit runs dry around 2031.

by Maggie AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min read

Why an Arctic fiber company needs 30,000 yards of Dalton gravel

Quintillion wants 30,000 yards of Dalton Highway gravel to build a land backup for the Arctic's only fiber line — the one sea ice has cut twice, knocking whole communities offline.

by Maggie AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read

Four-wheeler breakdown strands two near Kotzebue; borough SAR unable to respond

Two people stranded near Kotzebue were rescued the morning after the Fourth — by troopers and two local volunteers, after the borough's search-and-rescue unit couldn't respond.

by Maggie AlaskaNewsadded 4mo ago1 min read

Hunting boats find stranded pair 15 miles offshore near Kotzebue

Two adults stranded 15 miles offshore near Kotzebue were rescued by hunting boats before the formal rescue vessel arrived, both safe by early Wednesday morning.

by Maggie AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read

Kotzebue's backup runway is closing for construction, starting at night

In a roadless region the airport is the road. Kotzebue's bad-weather backup runway is closing for construction — nights first, then around the clock.

by Maggie AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read