Southcentral

Judge rules Indiana prison rules don't follow an inmate to Alaska

An Indiana prisoner held in Seward sued to get Indiana prison rules, like tablet email. A federal judge said those rules don't follow him to Alaska.

by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago2 min read

Gulf pollock fleet neared its king salmon limit before pollock fishing closed

Gulf pollock boats caught nearly 16,000 king salmon, 87% of their cap, before hitting their pollock limit. Kings caught per ton nearly doubled.

by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago3 min readFrom Oct 29

Comment closes on giving the energy authority state land at Bradley Lake at no cost

The state proposes giving land around Bradley Lake hydro to the Alaska Energy Authority at no cost. Comment closed Tuesday. It's tied to expansion financing.

by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago3 min read

ConocoPhillips' Alaska earnings more than triple to $423 million on higher oil prices

ConocoPhillips made $423 million in Alaska last quarter, more than triple a year ago, mostly because oil got pricier, not because it pumped much more.

by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago2 min read

Wasilla council takes up $6 million state loan to expand its wastewater plant

Wasilla's wastewater plant treats septage in one digester from about 1989, and staff say the city has outgrown it. The council weighs a $6 million loan Monday.

by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago2 min read

AIDEA board approves up to $10 million stake in Augustine volcano geothermal project

AIDEA's board OK'd up to $10 million for a stake in a company that wants to tap the heat under Augustine, an active volcano in Cook Inlet. The terms come later.

by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago2 min read

State's draft plan would replace, not repair, Kodiak's Sargent Creek Bridge

Kodiak's cracked Sargent Creek Bridge was in line for a temporary fix. The state's draft road plan now calls for a $6.8 million replacement in 2029.

by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago2 min read

Simpler and Stutes lead Kodiak-area races, but neither is decided

Simpler leads the Kodiak House race by 431 votes and Stutes leads for Senate. Only 77 absentee and early ballots from the House district are counted so far.

by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago2 min read

Follows: Independent groups report spending more than the candidates raised in Kodiak's House race

Challenger leads Soldotna mayor as Kenai Peninsula election counts continue

Soldotna's mayor trails a challenger who wants to undo its sales tax increase by 36 votes, with absentees still out. School board term limits are cruising.

by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago4 min read

Assembly shelves salary commission pick after questions over his firm's city contract

Anchorage's mayor picked a consultant for the panel that sets officials' pay. Then his firm's $86,899 city contract came up, and the Assembly shelved the pick.

by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago3 min read

Follows: LaFrance names business executive to Anchorage salary commission, reappoints another

Anchorage Assembly delays Missing Middle housing vote again, this time to Dec. 1

The Anchorage Assembly scheduled its Missing Middle housing vote for a Friday at noon, then unscheduled it. It's now Dec. 1, the second delay in four weeks.

by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago4 min read

Follows: Planners say Missing Middle overlay fits Anchorage's comprehensive plan

Anchorage passes surveillance rules, rejects new limits on plate reader searches

The Assembly wrote police plate reader and crime center rules into code 11-1, but left the 14-day data limit in police policy and rejected new search limits.

by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago5 min read

Follows: Anchorage Assembly amends proposed police surveillance rules, then runs out of time

Alcohol tax advocates ask Anchorage to put more into prevention and treatment

Groups behind Anchorage's alcohol tax say it put nothing into substance misuse treatment in 2025 or 2026, with none planned for 2027. They want a change.

by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago3 min read

Cordova council approves lease-to-own land deal that requires three new homes

Cordova voted to lease city land to a builder who must put up three 3-bedroom homes within five years. Do that, and he can buy it for about $102,500.

by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago2 min read

Cordova residents push back on a proposed fee for Little League and the Iceworm Swim Team

Cordova may charge nonprofits a quarter of its rental rates for the pool and fields. A Little League dad and an ex-swim coach told the council not to.

by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago3 min read

Follows: Cordova council members back 25% nonprofit fee for city pool and ball fields

Kodiak council tells staff to move ahead on plan to bring city pay up to market

Kodiak's council told staff to move ahead on bringing city pay up to market, at $303,000 to $513,000 before benefits. The consultant says it'll go higher.

by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago2 min read

Follows: Most Kodiak city jobs start below market pay, consultant tells council

Early results show Alaskans voting not to retain two Kenai judges

A state panel flagged one Kenai judge over how she treated staff and another over slow rulings. Voters were rejecting both, which Alaska rarely does.

by Alaska News1w ago3 min read

Kenai renews employee health coverage at 29% higher premium, holds workers' share at 13%

Kenai's employee health premiums are going up about 29%. The council is dipping into reserves so workers' share stays at 13% instead of rising to 15%.

by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago2 min readFrom Oct 21

NOAA seeks comment on renewing logbook paperwork for Cook Inlet's federal salmon fishery

Cook Inlet drifters fishing federal waters log their sets, catch and GPS spots for NOAA. The agency wants to renew that paperwork and is asking for comment.

by Bill AlaskaNews1w ago2 min read

Wasilla's first new growth plan since 2011 heads to public comment in January

Wasilla is rewriting the plan for how the city grows, its first since 2011. Residents get to weigh in on a draft in January. Density is still undecided.

by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago2 min read

Anchorage commission backs rezone to replace two Ivan Drive homes with duplexes

Anchorage's planning commission backed letting a couple replace two Ivan Drive houses with duplexes. Nobody testified. The Assembly gets the last word.

by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago2 min read

Fish board to weigh resident-first kings, Homer Spit nets and helicopter anglers

Alaska Board of Fisheries meets Dec. 1-4 in Seward on 50 Lower Cook Inlet proposals: resident king salmon priority, Homer Spit closures, helicopter limits and hatchery plans.

by Bill AlaskaNews1w ago3 min read

Kenai school district drops suit against fired teacher, says he wasn't dishonest

The Kenai school district dropped its decade-long fight with a teacher it fired over health plan money and now says he wasn't dishonest. He got $367,677.

by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago4 min read

Anchorage airport noise study to present land use options on Nov. 18

Anchorage's airport noise study shows land use options Nov. 18. In August, the only flight change that cut the homes in its noise zone drew doubts.

by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago3 min read

Kodiak schools approve 4-1, $100,000 more for international teachers' green cards

Kodiak's school board approved another $100,000 for lawyers to help its international teachers get green cards and stay past their visa limits.

by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago2 min readFrom Sep 21

Sterling woman charged with murder involving drugs in April Soldotna death

Soldotna police arrested a Sterling woman on a second-degree murder charge tied to an April death. The court filing lists it as a murder charge involving drugs.

by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago1 min read

Mat-Su voters reject sales tax, lean against alcohol tax and road powers

Mat-Su voters rejected a 1% sales tax about 2 to 1 and were voting down an alcohol tax and road powers. Longer school board terms are too close to call.

by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago2 min readFrom Nov 4, 2025

Gasline Trail bridge work would bring closures, leash rules to Far North Bicentennial

The feds want to replace the Gasline Trail bridge over Campbell Creek. Plans call for closures near the Tank Trail and leashed dogs in the off-leash zone.

by Melinda Communities.News1w ago1 min read

Seward planners approve Swan Nest Inn expansion to 12-room hotel

Seward's Swan Nest Inn can grow from five rooms to 12 and become a hotel. Planners also moved the Jesse Lee orphanage cemetery a step toward the tribe.

by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago2 min read

Troopers say Sterling woman, 60, fired handgun toward homes during disturbance

Troopers arrested a 60-year-old Sterling woman they say threatened someone at a neighboring home with a handgun and fired it, once toward several residences.

by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago1 min read

Kenai Peninsula landfill shredder would cost $500,000 more than the Assembly budgeted

Kenai Peninsula Borough wants $500,000 more for a landfill shredder not yet bought. The director behind it voted for the original budget as an Assembly member.

by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago2 min read

Alaska won't hold a Nelchina caribou hunt next year, weeks after proposing one

Alaska's new hunt booklet says there will be no state Nelchina caribou hunt next year, weeks after the state proposed reopening one on the growing herd.

by Maggie AlaskaNews1w ago2 min read

Homer advisory committee to weigh proposals pushing commercial fishing back from the Spit

Homer's fish and game committee meets Tuesday on proposals to push commercial nets back from the Spit over boater safety. The Board of Fisheries decides in Seward Dec. 1-4.

by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago2 min read

Follows: Board of Fisheries to weigh pushing commercial nets back from the Homer Spit

Kenai Peninsula school board rejects Soldotna Elementary charter, citing no building

The Kenai Peninsula school board turned down Soldotna Elementary's charter bid 8-0, citing the building and the budget. An appeal is still possible.

by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago3 min read

Follows: Kenai Peninsula district leaders urge school board to reject Soldotna Elementary charter

Judge won't revisit Tagle ruling or widen the case to include Treg Taylor

judge refused to revisit her Tagle ruling or widen the case to Treg Taylor. Her orders don't say whether a winning Taylor could be certified.

by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago2 min read

Follows: State asks judge to reconsider Tagle ruling, saying it would also reach Taylor

Anchorage builders group says the building code already accounts for quake risk

Anchorage's home builders group wants the city's highest-hazard quake zones kept in a housing overlay, saying codes account for them. Vote's Wednesday.

by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago2 min read

Valdez opens applications for $595 energy credit and home tax exemption

Valdez opened sign-ups for a $595 winter energy credit and an expanded homeowner tax break. Neither is automatic. Skip the paperwork, get nothing.

by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago3 min read

Mat-Su's liquor license cap could block a Big Lake store's license move to Wasilla

A Mat-Su liquor store company wants to move its Big Lake license to Wasilla. The law allows that only if the borough is over its cap. It's right at it.

by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago2 min read

Planners urge dropping or rechecking Anchorage's Academy-Vanguard road project

A South Anchorage road project first flagged as a need around 2009 has more than doubled in price. City planners now say drop it or recheck it.

by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago3 min read

Assembly chair drafts ordinance to cut 24 of Anchorage's 51 comprehensive plan documents

Anchorage's comprehensive plan fills a suitcase, and eight parts can't be found. The Assembly chair now wants to repeal 24 of its 51 documents.

by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago3 min read