Northwest Arctic
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Week of Sep 7
NWS forecasts water 5 feet above high tide at Golovin through Friday
Water is forecast 3 to 5 feet above the normal high tide line at Golovin through Friday, the third stretch of high water there in three weeks.
by Walter 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
A remote Alaska village's firefighting enterprise lands more federal work
A firefighting company owned by the remote village of Nulato landed more federal fire work — part of a tribal enterprise that's grown to 200-plus local jobs.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
Coast Guard finds 15-year-old alive on capsized skiff off St. Lawrence Island; two dead
Coast Guard found a 15-year-old alive on a capsized skiff 4 miles east of St. Lawrence Island on Monday; two other boaters from the same vessel were recovered dead.
by Maggie 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 
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
Wind watch upgraded to warning for the Western Arctic Coast and Shishmaref
National Weather Service raised Western Arctic Coast wind gusts to 65 mph from late Wednesday through Friday, with high surf and beach erosion expected.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
More from Northwest Arctic
High wind warnings for the northwest coast as Arctic logs warmest summer since 1950
The Arctic had its warmest summer since 1950, and the water off Alaska's northwest coast still ran cold. That coast now gets gusts to 65 mph.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
Storm to raise water up to 5 feet above the tide line, Golovin to Wainwright
Coastal flooding could push water 2 to 5 feet above the high tide line along much of western and northern Alaska this week, across several tide cycles.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
State tax office flagged seller of Anchorage cannabis concentrate license as non-compliant
Alaska flagged a marijuana license seller as non-compliant on taxes. Her sworn statement listed no debts. What the board did is not on the record.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min readFrom 
Minor flooding possible at Golovin, with water 4 to 6 feet above high tide
Water could flood Golovin's lowest buildings Wednesday and Thursday as the National Weather Service warns of coastal surge 4 to 6 feet above normal high tide.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Week of Aug 31
Norton Sound commercial salmon fishing closed for the rest of 2026
Norton Sound's commercial salmon fishery is closed for the rest of 2026 after most of the state's fish-counting projects failed, leaving too much uncertainty.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min readFrom 
Alaska Supreme Court bars Nome from taxing hospital staff housing
The Alaska Supreme Court says Nome cannot tax the building where its hospital houses doctors and nurses, a ruling that reaches every borough in the state.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago4 min readFrom 
Water could rise again along the Eastern Norton Sound coast Saturday morning
Water along the Eastern Norton Sound coast could run 2 to 4 feet above the normal high tide line again Saturday morning, highest around Golovin.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Norton Sound's health corporation is in line for $7.2 million
Norton Sound Health Corporation would get about $7.2 million in federal rural health money, most of it replacing end-of-life computers in 15 village clinics.
by Alaska News2mo ago1 min read
Coming up
Alaska Board of Game Special Meeting on the Ambler Road
Online only: web conference with live video on the Board of Game website, and live audio at +1 253 215 8782 (meeting ID 828 6058 9035)
Meeting
Northwest Arctic Borough Assembly Meeting
Meeting
Alaska Board of Game written comment deadline: Ambler Road hunting and trapping closure (GMUs 23, 24)
Public notice
Northwest Arctic Borough RFP No. FY27-02 Proposal Deadline
Public notice
Northwest Arctic Borough RFP No. FY27-02 Proposal Opening
Public notice
About Northwest Arctic
The Northwest Arctic Borough is a borough in northwest Alaska centered on Kotzebue Sound. Its hub, Kotzebue, anchors a region of Inupiaq villages that rely on subsistence hunting and fishing. The region is also known for Kobuk Valley National Park and the Red Dog Mine.
Mining shapes much of the region's economy and debate, from the Red Dog zinc mine and its port to the proposed copper mines of the Ambler Mining District and the road that would reach them. Recurring questions include the high cost of fuel and power in its villages, storms on the Chukchi Sea coast, caribou and wildlife management, and access to courts and public services across a roadless region.
State agencies such as AIDEA play a large part in decisions on the Ambler road and other infrastructure. The region also borders the Bering Strait communities to its south and the North Slope to its north.
More from Northwest Arctic
Nome to host 2030 Inuit Circumpolar Council General Assembly
Nome will host the Inuit Circumpolar Council's 2030 General Assembly, drawing 400 delegates from Alaska, Canada, Greenland and Russia to vote on Arctic sovereignty and food security.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
GCI is buying the only fiber link connecting Alaska's Arctic coast to the state
GCI, Alaska's biggest telecom, is buying the only wired link between the Arctic coast and the rest of the state for $310 million, a route rivals depend on.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 2mo ago2 min read
Graphite Creek permit decision pushed to September 2027
The Army Corps of Engineers delayed the Graphite Creek mine permit to September 2027 and upgraded the review to a full environmental impact statement.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 2mo ago2 min read
Free school supplies and dinner at Nome's Back-to-School Bash
Nome families got free backpacks, school supplies and pizza at a community Back-to-School Bash — a welcome hand in a year of tight budgets and $10 milk.
by Alaska Newsadded 2mo ago1 min read
The Permanent Fund wants $215 million to run itself
The Permanent Fund wants $215.4 million to run itself next year, three-quarters of it going to the outside firms that manage the money.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
Red Dog is one approval away from a new corporate owner
Teck Resources, owner of the Red Dog zinc mine near Kivalina, awaits one final regulatory approval before its merger with Anglo American closes, likely between September 2026 and March 2027.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
Washington bought into Ambler. The payoff depends on the road being built
The federal government will own about 10 percent of Trilogy Metals, but cannot cash in most of its stake until the Ambler road is built.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago4 min readFrom 
Unit 22C bull moose season closes 12 days early, after two days
Bull moose season in Unit 22C on the Seward Peninsula closes Sept. 2, twelve days early, after hunters are expected to fill the 30-bull quota in just two days.
by Bill AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Norton Sound summer crab harvest reaches 111% of quota
Norton Sound's summer king crab fishery landed $3.5 million worth of unusually big crab this year, even as the overall harvest limit fell 65 percent from 2025.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Two Bering Straits directors retire. One seat goes to shareholders, one to the board.
Two Bering Straits Native Corporation directors are retiring, but shareholders will only vote on one replacement seat because the other will be filled by board appointment under company bylaws.
by Bill AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Week of Aug 24
Juneau's city-owned ski area has an unresolved drinking water violation
EPA records show a March drinking water violation at Eaglecrest Ski Area in Juneau, in the agency's most urgent category, with no resolution recorded.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
A Nome jury convicted a 78-year-old man on 28 counts of sexual abuse of a minor
A Nome jury convicted Isaac Ozenna Sr., 78, on 28 counts of sexual abuse of a minor involving nine children abused in Nome between 1984 and 2014.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 2mo ago2 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
Hunters near Nome have one last day for a bull moose before the season closes early
Hunters near Nome have one last day for a bull moose before the season closes more than two weeks early, with the area's 17-bull quota set to fill.
by Bill AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Three Merbok-damaged stretches of the Nome-Council Highway are finally getting permanent repairs
Federal grants totaling $2.4 million will repair three stretches of the Nome-Council Highway damaged by ex-typhoon Merbok in 2022, with work running through April 2028.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago1 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
With monitoring down, the state is using a commercial opening to gauge coho
Norton Sound gillnetters get one 24-hour coho opening this weekend. With monitoring projects mostly down, the state is using it to gauge abundance.
by Bill AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Storm-displaced western Alaska workers can still get job help
Western Alaska workers displaced by last fall's storms can still get job-search help at the state's job centers, even as one disaster aid deadline has passed.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Supreme Court lets Trump's mail-voting order advance, but Alaska's rules are unchanged for now
The Supreme Court let Trump's mail-voting order advance but didn't rule it legal. Alaska's voting is unchanged for now; a separate order blocks the key piece.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago3 min read
Moose in Gates of the Arctic are up 48 percent, and researchers point to shrubs
Moose in the Gates of the Arctic survey area are up about 48 percent since 2015. Researchers tie the Arctic's moose expansion to taller shrubs.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
Teller waits until 2027 for results of tank site testing on Grantley Harbor
Teller won't have results until 2027 from testing at a shoreline tank site where the community suspects petroleum leaked into soil near Grantley Harbor.
by Maggie AlaskaNewsadded 2mo ago2 min read
Week of Aug 17
A village-based fire crew from Nulato gets federal funding through 2031
BLM awarded Nulato Hills Enterprises $495,000 to staff a Type 2 wildland fire crew through March 2031, continuing a pattern of federal contracts that bring seasonal cash to rural Alaska villages.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
A Bering Strait Native corporation will staff anti-trafficking work for the State Department
A Bering Straits Native Corporation subsidiary won a State Department contract to staff anti-trafficking work, supporting its 8,200+ Native shareholders.
by Melinda Communities.News2mo 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
