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Friday, Jun 12
Cook Inlet beluga population still declining 16 years after listing
NOAA Fisheries is hiring an Alaska woman-owned business to photograph and identify Cook Inlet beluga whales. Bids are due June 26 for a two-year contract starting September 2026. • The Cook Inlet beluga population has dropped 75 percent since 1979 to about 331 whales and is the only endangered beluga stock in Alaska.
by Alaska News5mo ago2 min read
Wasilla resource fair connects Mat-Su families with disability services
LINKS Resource Center hosts a free disability services fair June 18 in Wasilla with resource tables, activities, and food for Mat-Su families.
by Walter AlaskaNews5mo ago1 min read
Where Alaska's fire morels may pop next
Oh, Mushroom hunters / Information they kept close / Now for all to know
by Walter AlaskaNews5mo ago2 min read
Anchorage zoning board postpones variance threshold changes
Anchorage zoning board postponed a proposal to raise the setback encroachment threshold from 5 percent to 10 percent, which would let single-family homeowners avoid a $710 public hearing fee.
by Walter AlaskaNews5mo ago1 min read
Palmer subdivision easement vacation draws access concerns
Alaska's Department of Natural Resources approved vacating two public easements on a Palmer subdivision lot, ending physical trail access despite objections from two neighbors who said the easement provided important passage.
by Alaska News5mo ago1 min read
DNR opens public comment on Homer parcel sale to University of Alaska
Alaska DNR is moving to sell a 20-acre Homer parcel to the University of Alaska without competitive bidding, bypassing local control. Comments are due to DNR by July 14 at 3 p.m., and only written comments preserve appeal rights.
by Alaska News5mo ago1 min read
Homer Council picks partial HERC demolition over full cleanup
Homer City Council voted May 26 to demolish the smaller HERC 2 building at the city-owned Education and Recreation Complex but skip cleanup of the larger former high school building, using $126,917 already set aside for the demolition.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 5mo ago1 min read
Thursday, Jun 11
Latvian climber faces mounting medical bills after Denali fall
A Latvian climber critically injured in a May 28 Denali fall that killed three teammates faces mounting medical bills as his insurance nears its limit. His family launched a fundraising campaign for months of treatment in Anchorage.
by Maggie AlaskaNews5mo ago1 min read
More from Southcentral
APOC fines George Martinez after campaign-paid flight to Florida
Oh goodness... I guess campaign finance laws were made for a reason.
by Walter AlaskaNews5mo ago2 min read
Coast Guard to homeport four icebreakers in Alaska
Coast Guard will homeport four icebreakers in Alaska by 2028, with two in Kodiak, one in Seward, and a fourth location to be named, funded by $3.5 billion in federal legislation.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 5mo ago2 min read
Kenai airport eyes automated fee system amid pilot privacy backlash
Kenai Airport is moving toward an automated landing fee system using aircraft tracking data, but a federal bill co-sponsored by Senator Dan Sullivan would ban that exact use, forcing the airport to choose a different technology if the law passes.
by Walter AlaskaNews5mo ago2 min read
Kenai airport cafe closes; city seeks new operator by June 25
Debbie's Bistro closed at Kenai Municipal Airport after gross receipts fell to $68,000 in a year, compared to $400,000 to $500,000 when prior restaurants operated there. The city seeks a new operator with bids due June 25.
by Walter AlaskaNews5mo ago1 min read
Sockeye fishing at Resurrection River mouth swings day-to-day
Sockeye fishing at Resurrection River mouth is unpredictable right now because a hatchery cost-recovery vessel is harvesting from the same run, so the daily bite depends on where the boat is working.
by Alaska News5mo ago2 min read
North Coast Chinook Troll Fishery Opens 5 Days, Then Closes
Washington-Oregon commercial Chinook troll fishery opens for just five days, June 12-16, reflecting coast-wide salmon scarcity that also shapes Alaska's harvest limits under the Pacific Salmon Treaty.
by Alaska News5mo ago2 min read
Dense fog blankets Kenai Peninsula for third straight day
Dense fog cut visibility to a quarter mile on the Sterling Highway between Soldotna and Homer for three straight mornings, prompting the National Weather Service to issue repeated advisories through Friday morning.
by Walter AlaskaNews5mo ago1 min read
Yenlo Fire crews defend cabin, equipment as 53-acre blaze nears Skwentna
Firefighters defended a cabin and equipment as the 53-acre Yenlo Fire near Skwentna reached 90 percent containment Wednesday, with crews demobilizing by Friday.
by Alaska Newsadded 5mo ago2 min read
About Southcentral
Southcentral Alaska is the region of the state centered on Anchorage, its population center and transportation hub. It spans the Kenai Peninsula, the Matanuska-Susitna Valley, Prince William Sound and Cook Inlet, and reaches communities such as Kenai, Soldotna, Homer, Seward, Cordova, Palmer, Wasilla and Eagle River.
Much of the region's civic life runs through the Anchorage Assembly, the Kenai Peninsula and Matanuska-Susitna borough assemblies, and city councils. Questions of housing and zoning come up often, along with who pays to extend water and sewer lines to building sites. School budgets, road safety on its highways and oil and gas operations in Cook Inlet also return.
The Kenai River and Cook Inlet tie the region to fishing, and the Parks Highway and Seward Highway link its communities. Windstorms that cut power and trooper reports from the Matanuska-Susitna area are common subjects as well.
More from Southcentral
Alaska elections director moves to disqualify Senate challenger
Alaska's elections director ruled Thursday that Republican Senate challenger Dan J. Sullivan is ineligible to run in the August primary, citing unspecified complaints about his eligibility.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 5mo ago1 min read
Cordova carrier tells FCC spectrum hoarding blocks rural broadband
Cordova Wireless told the FCC that major carriers are sitting on unused spectrum licenses over the town and won't lease them, blocking the local provider from meeting federal broadband speed standards.
by Alaska News5mo ago2 min read
MEA wins easement on Mental Health Trust land in Wasilla
Matanuska Electric Association won an easement on Mental Health Trust land in Wasilla to install electric utility infrastructure
by Walter AlaskaNews5mo ago2 min read
Homer Electric wins state OK for undersea fiber across Kachemak Bay
Alaska approved Homer Electric's plan to convert its undersea power cable corridor across Kachemak Bay into a permanent public fiber optic easement, clearing the way for broadband to reach three roadless communities on the bay's south side.
by Alaska News5mo ago1 min read
Anchorage police to train 10 officers in mental-health crisis response
Anchorage police will train up to ten officers and dispatchers in mental health crisis response this fall using a $50,000 state grant and $1,100 in city matching funds.
by Walter AlaskaNews5mo ago1 min readFrom 
Anchorage appropriates $2.5M in federal transit grants for bus fleet
Anchorage Assembly approved $6.6 million in federal and local funding on June 9 to replace aging buses, expand paratransit service, and maintain the People Mover fleet.
by Walter AlaskaNews5mo ago1 min readFrom 
Eklutna subdivision wins road-deferral variance
Anchorage Platting Board approved road-deferral variances for Eklutna LLC to subdivide three tracts into two lots, including one for the future Eklutna Gathering Center, with conditions on paving standards and a 24-month deadline to record the plat.
by Alaska News5mo ago1 min readFrom 
The Eklutna Tailrace is the only open king salmon fishery in the Mat-Su
King salmon fishing is closed across the Mat-Su except for the Eklutna Tailrace, a hatchery fishery open year-round with bait and multiple hooks allowed.
by Alaska News5mo ago2 min read
Federal judge blocks removal of petitioner from Alaska in Alebw case
Federal judge to ICE: you can keep him detained, but he stays in Alaska — and yes, we noticed you tried to put him on a plane.
by Alaska News5mo ago2 min read
Two firms seek competing gas-storage leases at Kenai Loop field
Hilcorp and ENSTAR filed competing applications to convert the depleted Kenai Loop gas field into storage, forcing the state to choose between them as Cook Inlet's gas production falls 60 percent short of winter demand for Southcentral Alaska.
by Bill AlaskaNewsadded 5mo ago2 min read
AHFC board to set affordable housing award criteria June 24
Alaska Housing Finance Corporation's board votes June 24 on the rating system that determines which affordable housing projects get state funding, a decision that shifts which communities and project types win tax credits and grants.
by Alaska Newsadded 5mo ago2 min read
Chugach proposes fees for community solar hookups
Chugach Electric proposes charging members $1,124 to $2,248 to join community solar projects, plus $2.80 monthly fees, pending Regulatory Commission approval by June 17.
by Walter AlaskaNews5mo ago1 min read
Talkeetna Airport bicycle shop seeks five-year lease extension
Hailey DeReamer is seeking a five-year lease extension for her bicycle shop at Talkeetna State Airport, paying about $250 a month for the 17,217-square-foot parcel that serves climbers and flightseeing tourists.
by Alaska News5mo ago2 min read
Wednesday, Jun 10
Anchor River opens catch-and-release king salmon fishing June 13-17
Anchor River opens catch-and-release king salmon fishing June 13-17, the only Cook Inlet king opportunity all summer. • In-season counts hit 756 fish by June 9, projecting a run of roughly 3,800, just inside the escapement goal. • Most other Cook Inlet king runs fell short of conservation goals, closing the Kenai, Deshka, and Mat-Su fisheries for the season.
by Alaska News5mo ago2 min read
Alaska judicial watchdog names new director after 37 years
Michael Schwaiger becomes executive director of Alaska's judicial ethics watchdog on June 15, ending Marla Greenstein's 37-year tenure leading the agency that investigates complaints about judges.
by Walter AlaskaNews5mo ago1 min read
Kenai seeks federal grants for sidewalks, fish passage culverts
Kenai submitted a federal grant application for sidewalk and street lighting improvements on Lawton and Tinker, and is preparing a second application to remove fish passage barriers in local creeks by end of June.
by Alaska News5mo ago1 min read
Kenai council passes camping ordinance limiting tent numbers
Three tents is enough. / A campground, it shall be called. / Freeloaders, beware!
by Alaska News5mo ago1 min read
Kodiak planners advance Karluk water system overhaul
Kodiak Island Borough planners advanced a conditional use permit to replace Karluk's entire water treatment system, which would provide year-round potable water to the Alaska Native village.
by Alaska News5mo ago1 min read
Cordova Harbor Commission sends harbor-mouth tideland sale back for engineering review
Cordova Harbor Commission blocked a proposal to sell tidelands for a dock near the small boat harbor entrance, citing navigation hazards from constriction at the mouth where 727 vessels operate in strong currents.
by Alaska News5mo ago2 min read
Coast Guard to homeport four icebreakers in Alaska
The Coast Guard will homeport two Arctic Security Cutters in Kodiak and one in Seward starting in 2028, funded by $3.5 billion in the 2025 Working Families Tax Cuts Act.
by Walter AlaskaNews5mo ago2 min readFrom 
Crystal Ball shifts Alaska Senate race to toss-up as Peltola leads eight polls
University of Virginia's Crystal Ball rated Alaska's 2026 Senate race a toss-up, shifting from lean Republican after Democrat Mary Peltola entered against incumbent Dan Sullivan. • Peltola's campaign says she leads in eight consecutive polls and unveiled a wages-focused tax proposal. • Republican super PACs committed $21 million to oppose her.
by Walter AlaskaNews5mo ago2 min readFrom 
Smokejumpers, hotshots battle 52-acre Yenlo Fire near Talkeetna
A 52-acre wildfire north of Skwentna grew overnight from 10 acres, drawing smokejumpers and hotshot crews to protect remote cabins in the upper Susitna Valley while aerial tankers slow the human-caused fire.
by Alaska News5mo ago2 min read
Senate Finance weighs Alaska LNG tax worth $124M a year — and whether it's enough for host communities
Governments are making compromises on the amount of property tax they'll receive - not all are happy about it
by Walter AlaskaNews5mo ago3 min read
House Finance advances Alaska LNG tax bill, curtailing North Slope's power to negotiate
House Finance advanced Alaska LNG tax bill Wednesday: 13 cents, no side deals, double the impact fund to $80m
by Walter AlaskaNews5mo ago3 min read
