Southcentral

Kenai refuge's environmental education building gets exterior repairs

The Kenai refuge's environmental education building is getting a $48,000 exterior fix-up this fall, from a small business based in Colorado.

by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

Troopers arrest a Kenai man on a drug warrant after a Nikiski stop

Troopers arrested a Kenai man on a drug warrant after a Nikiski traffic stop and found 1.30 grams of meth, worth about $130 at state prices.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

Alaska's Coast Guard distress radios have missed calls, and a fix is funded

The Coast Guard's own inspector general found outages in Alaska's distress radio network kept it from hearing some calls for help. A fix is funded.

by Melinda Communities.News1mo ago2 min read

The Indian Health Service is paying an Alaska firm to clear a coding backlog

An uncoded clinic visit is an unbilled one, and unbilled means money the clinic never sees. IHS is paying an Anchorage firm to help catch up.

by Melinda Communities.News1mo ago1 min read

Fairbanks judge sentences Julian Miranda to 30 years in 2012 sexual assaults

A Fairbanks man got 30 years for two 2012 sexual assaults. The DNA kits that linked him to both women sat untested for years before they were run.

by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min readFrom Sep 17

Anchorage judge sentences Adam Pringle to 55 years for 2022 killing of Keenan Wegener

The second man convicted in the 2022 killing of Keenan Wegener got 55 years, a few more than his co-defendant. It took four years to reach sentencing.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

Troopers arrest woman for DUI after SUV hits median at Big Lake recreation area

Alaska State Troopers arrested a 47-year-old Big Lake woman on DUI and failure-to-report charges after her SUV struck a median at Big Lake North State Recreation Area early Sunday.

by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

Labor committee reports $125,000 in ads for four Alaska candidates

Putting Alaskans First reported $125,000 in Meta ads supporting four legislative candidates. Two other committees reported smaller buys.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

Alaska's three-judge court has been short since 2022; Reardon would fill the last seat

Alaska's federal court has been short a judge for five years, one seat vacated by a judge forced out for misconduct. The Senate questioned his replacement.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago3 min readFrom Sep 16

Railroad board to discuss $315 million Port MacKenzie extension Friday

The Alaska Railroad board will discuss a private consortium's Port MacKenzie proposal Friday. Any board action must occur in public session.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

The park could have added ten days of moose hunting. It added two.

Unit 11 subsistence moose hunters get two extra days out of a possible ten, with the park citing a declining population and no current estimate.

by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Anchorage man faces 10 charges after Nondalton assaults

Troopers say three people were assaulted in Nondalton. Two were taken to Anchorage for treatment, and one was medevaced.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

Anchorage schools model a $9 million budget gap for fiscal 2028

Anchorage schools project a $9 million fiscal 2028 gap after reserves and assumed energy relief. Officials say underlying cost growth is closer to $40 million.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

Follows: Anchorage school district proposes splitting $32 million in one-time state money

Anchorage officials fail to agree on shared school-closure committee

The Assembly and School Board could not agree on giving both bodies votes on a school-closure committee. The existing board-led panel remains.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago5 min read

Follows: Assembly members seek equal vote on joint school rightsizing panel

Anchorage schedules Oct. 6 hearing on transit-corridor plan

Anchorage will hear testimony Oct. 6 on plan amendments calling for 25 to 36 homes per acre in designated transit corridors.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

Anchorage service-area debate exposes unanswered questions about taxes and emergency coverage

Anchorage Assembly members questioned how service-area taxes match actual fire, emergency and parks coverage. Several answers remain unresolved.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

Sullivan's bycatch bill advances from Senate committee

A Senate committee advanced Sullivan's bycatch bill, which would set trawl-gear standards, expand monitoring and fund bycatch research.

by Alaska News1mo ago1 min readFrom Sep 16

Homer man arrested on 11 felony counts in $8,000 Anchor Point theft

Homer man Wyatt Stollar arrested on 11 felony counts after roughly $8,000 in tools, jewelry, an ATV and firearms stolen from an Anchor Point property turned up at a pawn shop.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

Alaska reroutes Region IV absentee ballots after 75 arrived too late to count

Alaska will route Region IV absentee-in-person ballots through Anchorage after 75 primary ballots arrived after certification.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min readFrom Sep 16

Troopers call Kenny Lake church fire suspicious

Alaska State Troopers are investigating a fire at Mountain View Baptist Church in Kenny Lake early Tuesday as suspicious.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min readFrom Sep 15

Alaska governor candidates agree on Permanent Fund, split on taxes

Taylor and Bronson opposed broad new taxes; Kreiss-Tomkins backed targeted revenue as three candidates compared fiscal, energy and workforce plans

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago4 min read

Chugach will charge you less at night, if you actually move your usage

Chugach will sell you cheaper power overnight and pricier power all day long. Sign up and change nothing, and you end up paying a little more.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Visiting dentist to hold five-day clinic in Nondalton

A dentist comes to Nondalton for five days starting Monday, one of the periodic visits that fill in for a permanent practice around Iliamna Lake.

by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

Helicopter work at Erie Mine Bunkhouse brings noise to Kennicott Valley

Helicopter crews are clearing fallen rock at Erie Mine Bunkhouse this month. Kennicott Valley residents and pilots should expect added aircraft activity.

by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

Three locally drawn library cards are free at the Soldotna library through September

Soldotna's library is handing out three limited-edition cards designed by locals, including a moose under the northern lights by a 12-year-old.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min readFrom Sep 1

BIA sends nearly $800,000 to five Alaska tribal governments, most of it road money

The BIA sent about $794,000 to five Alaska tribes this month, mostly for roads in Y-K Delta villages that have no road system.

by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

Alaska school tests show early gains and a one-in-five participation gap

Alaska's younger students gained ground, but one in five enrolled students had no AK STAR score. Correspondence testing barriers explain part of the gap.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago3 min readFrom Sep 14

Alaska declines to move Kuskokwim villages into its larger Merbok tier

Alaska won't move Lower Kuskokwim villages into the larger tier of its $38.5 million Merbok grant, saying its survey found other regions hit harder.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Anchorage appeals board sets five more property hearings for Sept. 22-25

Anchorage was supposed to have finished hearing property assessment appeals by June 1. It is still hearing them, nearly four months later.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

Follows: Anchorage tax appeal hearings continue into September, past the board's stated season

A goat season that runs to January is closing after six days

A goat hunt east of Unakwik Inlet closes Sunday, six days into a season that runs to January. The department says 30 days is closer to normal.

by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

An appeals court reopens a McLaughlin Youth Center abuse conviction

An appeals court withdrew its decision upholding a former McLaughlin Youth Center officer's abuse conviction, sending it back over withheld records.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Fish and Game sets Prince William Sound fall herring quota at 749 tons, citing weak spring spawn

Prince William Sound's fall herring quota came in 633 tons under what the plan allows, and the spawn number behind that call was never published.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Mat-Su asks AIDEA to build at Point MacKenzie, not on 20,000 acres near Houston

The state proposed giving AIDEA 885 acres at Port MacKenzie for free, one day after the borough voted to send AIDEA there instead of Houston.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago4 min read

Two dead in Piper Cub crash near Nabesna, troopers say

Two people died when a Piper Cub crashed shortly after takeoff from a dirt airstrip near Nabesna in Interior Alaska on Thursday evening, Sept. 17.

by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Anchorage's school funding gap has shrunk to about $6 million

Anchorage's school funding gap for next year has halved to about $6 million, after the Legislature capped how much the local contribution can grow.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Alaska rural health notices pass $239 million with $30 million round

Alaska sent out $30 million more in rural health awards this week, funding a Girdwood telepharmacy, a Norton Sound scheduling hub and rural X-ray machines.

by Melinda Communities.News1mo ago1 min read

Follows: Alaska adds $16.8 million in rural health awards without naming who gets the money

Summit on Aging offers 15-minute one-on-one slots with Alaska health leaders

Alaska's aging summit runs Oct. 15 to 17 in Anchorage, and you can book 15 minutes to tell state health leadership exactly what you think.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

Follows: Alaska seniors get free Summit on Aging seats, but must register in advance

Anchorage's required 2027 school contribution rises to about $138 million

Anchorage owes its schools $138 million next year and may give up to $108 million more. The board says no school closes for money either way.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Anchorage's property tax cap rises $18.5 million for next year

Anchorage's property tax cap rises $18.5 million next year to $381.7 million. Last year the city collected everything it was allowed, minus $325.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Arctic's warmest summer since 1950 included the rain that flooded the Susitna Valley

The July rain that flooded the Susitna Valley is now logged as an extreme event of the warmest Arctic summer since 1950, according to a new climate review.

by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read