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M/V Tustumena Winter Overhaul and Kodiak Ferry Service Suspension
Tustumena replacement ferry gets $32.3 million more in federal funding
The Tustumena's planned replacement picked up $32.3 million more in federal money. The low bid ran $49 million over budget, and Kodiak faces a ferry gap.
Latest
October 2026
NovaGold sets Nov. 3 vote on owning all of Donlin; filing details a dropped three-way deal
Shareholders vote Nov. 3 on putting all of Donlin Gold under one company, nearly 40% owned by Paulson's firm. The filing details a 3-way deal that fell apart.
by Walter AlaskaNews4w ago4 min readFrom 
Alaska leads the nation in TB, and its immunization system will stop tracking TB tests
VacTrAK will stop tracking TB tests in 2027. Alaska has the nation's highest TB rate, and most of last year's cases were in Southwest Alaska.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago5 min read
September 2026
Southwest Region schools serve freeze-dried carrot chips from 2,300 pounds of summer vegetables
Southwest Region School District freeze-dried more than 2,300 pounds of potatoes and carrots over the summer, and carrot chips are now a lunchroom favorite.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
Dillingham forum puts two open Southwest Alaska legislative seats on one stage
Two senior rural lawmakers are leaving, eight candidates want their seats, and seven are listed for a Dillingham forum.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago3 min read
Unalaska awarded its harbor contract before the sea otter permit was final
Unalaska signed a $21.9 million harbor contract. The permit allowing the work to disturb sea otters is still a draft, and comment closed after the vote.
by Melinda Communities.News1mo ago2 min readFrom 
Southwest Alaska carried most of the state's tuberculosis cases last year
Southwest Alaska, with about 5% of the state's population, had 46 of Alaska's 77 tuberculosis cases last year — roughly nineteen times Anchorage's rate.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min readFrom 
August 2026
A $2.5 million geothermal training grant for Unalaska sits 3 percent spent
Unalaska abandoned its Makushin geothermal project in May 2025, but a $2.5 million federal training grant tied to it remains open and largely unspent with only $75,000 spent so far.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago3 min read
A gale warning hits Bristol Bay and Aleutian waters Wednesday, with a second storm right behind
A gale warning hits Bristol Bay and Aleutian waters Wednesday, with winds topping 34 knots and seas to 11 feet, and a second storm is right behind it.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
More from Southwest
NovaGold moves to consolidate the Donlin gold project, a potential next Red Dog for Alaska Native corporations
NovaGold has agreed to consolidate Donlin, a potential next Red Dog for Alaska Native corporations, though tribes oppose it and financing remains unresolved.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 2mo ago4 min read
Tatlanika Fire, allowed to burn since June, now fought at 31,421 acres
Nineteen firefighters are cutting fuel breaks around a Native allotment as the Tatlanika Fire grows to 31,421 acres, with crews now protecting structures on the fire's south end.
by Maggie AlaskaNewsadded 2mo ago2 min read
Smokejumpers contained the McCloud Fire at one acre, and found a lost person during the initial attack
Eight smokejumpers and two helicopters responded Wednesday to a half-acre fire burning 12.5 miles west of Fox, with no structures threatened.
by Maggie AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Unalaska moves to rebuild its harbor, with sea otter safeguards for the pile driving
Unalaska is set to rebuild moorage at Robert Storrs Harbor, with standard safeguards for nearby sea otters. The projected effect is minor. Comment to Sept. 10.
by Maggie AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
NWS forecast calls for 1 to 2 more inches of rain in Southwest Alaska
A Bering Sea storm will drop 1 to 2 more inches of rain across Southwest Alaska through Tuesday, with sustained winds pushing water levels up to 1 foot above normal along the Bristol Bay coast.
by Maggie AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
Winter ferry bookings open on the system that's the only road many Alaska towns have
Winter ferry bookings are open on the Alaska Marine Highway — the federally funded "road" for the four-in-five Alaska towns with no highway — even as some communities say this winter's schedule is still too thin.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
July 2026
Five muskoxen are stuck on a 15-acre island, so Alaska is opening a hunt
Five muskoxen wandered onto a 15-acre island with no water and no way off. Alaska can't afford to move them, so it's opening a hunt instead.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Seth Whiteman, 22, dead after going overboard near Egegik Bay
Seth Whiteman, 22, of Eagle River went overboard near Egegik Bay on June 29 and was not wearing a life jacket. His body was recovered from a nearby beach on July 11.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min readFrom 
About Southwest
Southwest Alaska is a region that stretches from the Alaska Peninsula through the Aleutian Islands and Bristol Bay. Its communities include King Salmon, Dillingham, King Cove, Sand Point and Unalaska, and it is known for salmon fisheries, brown bears and active volcanoes.
Salmon fisheries anchor the region's economy, and the management of mixed stocks, where healthy and depleted runs migrate together, is a recurring question. Brown bears draw visitors to sites such as McNeil River and are the subject of state predator control programs. Public health questions, including a high burden of tuberculosis, also recur in the region.
Southwest depends on ferries and small aircraft to link its communities, and the Alaska Volcano Observatory watches its volcanoes. Dillingham and King Salmon serve as hubs for schools, offices and services in the region.
More from Southwest
Unimak Island caribou hunt RC205 opens August 1 with three-animal limit
Unimak Island caribou hunt RC205 opens August 1 with three-animal limit per hunter, permits required and available now at King Salmon ADF&G office or online.
by Bill AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Anchorage trades summer warmth for a cool, wet stretch
Anchorage is trading peak-summer warmth for a cool, wet stretch — near-60 highs, repeated rain into next week, and jacket weather at the low end of July's normal range.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
A Dillingham campus wants to grow rural Alaska's scientists at home
A Dillingham campus won nearly $889,000 from the NSF to train STEM pros in place for rural Southwest Alaska — a "grow-your-own" model, though the grant runs just three years.
by Melinda Communities.News4mo ago1 min read
June 2026
Storm-hit Alaska businesses have until July 22 to seek recovery loans
Small businesses and nonprofits in 13 storm-hit Western and Northern Alaska communities have until July 22 to apply for low-interest federal disaster recovery loans.
by Melinda Communities.News4mo ago2 min readFrom 
Alaska Moves to Keep One of the World's Last Fire Outposts
Alaska wants to keep the McGrath Fire Base — one of the last forward firefighting outposts on Earth, guarding 66 million roadless acres with a crew that's mostly temps.
by Maggie AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min read
Smokejumpers were called to a fire near a Kuskokwim homestead — then couldn't jump
A fire near a Kuskokwim homestead hit 50 acres, so Alaska scrambled its smokejumpers — who found the terrain too dangerous to jump. Back to plan B.
by Maggie AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
Federal fishery disaster relief of $99M headed to Alaska after years of waiting
Alaska took four of every five dollars in the nation's fishery-disaster aid — and none of it has reached anyone yet, with 13 more disasters still in line.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago3 min readFrom 
ADF&G opens youth-only fishing events across Southcentral, Southwest Alaska
ADF&G is reserving specific Southcentral and Southwest salmon waters for youth anglers this summer. • Kids 15 and under can fish without a license during these designated event windows. • Events run from June through August at locations like Ship Creek and Homer Spit.
by Bill AlaskaNews5mo ago2 min read
Palmer faces blowing dust, 45-mph gusts as Gulf storm hits Sunday
Palmer and the Lower Matanuska Valley will face 45-mph wind gusts and blowing dust Sunday, creating hazardous driving conditions on the Glenn Highway.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 5mo ago1 min read
Red Flag Warnings hit Southwest Alaska three days running
Red Flag Warnings covered Southwest Alaska on June 3 and 4 as hot, dry conditions and 20 mph winds created rapid fire spread risk in remote communities from the Kuskokwim Valley to Bristol Bay.
by Alaska Newsadded 5mo ago1 min read
Red Flag Warning covers Southwest Alaska through Wednesday
Red Flag Warning covers Southwest Alaska through Wednesday evening due to warm, dry, windy conditions that could spread fires rapidly. Residents must avoid open burning and spark-producing work like chainsaws and lawnmowers.
by Alaska Newsadded 5mo ago2 min read
May 2026
Judge allows state to resume helicopter bear kills during lawsuit
Judge Adolf Zeman denied a request to stop Alaska's helicopter bear control program across 40,000 square miles of southwest Alaska, allowing the state to resume spring killings while a lawsuit challenging the program's legality continues in court.
by Bill AlaskaNewsadded 5mo ago2 min read
ADF&G to issue 10 mountain goat permits in Seldovia on June 10
ADF&G will 10 mountain goat hunting permits for Seldovia, first-come first-served to Alaska residents only.
by Bill AlaskaNews5mo ago1 min read
Alaska summer outlook leans warmer, but not as a simple El Niño story
El Niño is likely to emerge soon, but that does not guarantee stronger impacts in Alaska.
by Walter AlaskaNews5mo ago2 min readFrom 
Craig, Klawock Anglers Face New Ban on Filleting Fish at Sea
Anglers returning to Craig and Klawock must keep lingcod, rockfish, and king or coho salmon whole until docking, a new rule aimed at helping state biologists collect better data on fish populations.
by Bill AlaskaNews5mo ago3 min readAlaska News Roundup: Gas pipeline tax fight, Point Thomson trade-off, and McNeil River access debate
Senate passed gas pipeline tax bill raising oil production tax floor to six percent, drawing industry criticism. • Point Thomson regulators warn blowdown for pipeline risks sixty-five million barrels of condensate. • Mount Edgecumbe enrollment dropped a quarter to three hundred eleven students amid facility and health concerns. • Fish and Game reviews wheeled plane landings at McNeil River bear sanctuary despite conservation objections.
by Walter AlaskaNews5mo ago3 min read
Mount Kupreanof shows signs of magma intrusion 50 miles from Sand Point
Mount Kupreanof, 50 miles from Sand Point, is showing magma movement for the first time in over 10,000 years, prompting the Alaska Volcano Observatory to raise its alert level on May 11.
by Alaska Newsadded 6mo ago2 min readMcNeil River bear viewing access dispute revealed in survey results
Alaska Fish and Game will keep McNeil River bear viewing unchanged for 2026, maintaining floatplane access and the 10-person daily limit while reviewing stakeholder survey feedback.
by Alaska News6mo ago2 min readChignik King Salmon Meets Escapement Goal After Six-Year Drought
Chignik River king salmon hit the escapement goal in 2025 for the first time since 2019, but the state is still weighing whether to ease the fishing restrictions that helped the recovery.
by Alaska Newsadded 6mo ago6 min read
April 2026
Alaska Fishery Debates Reflect Broader Tensions Over Mixed-Stock Management
Alaska fishery managers debated how to protect struggling salmon stocks when healthy and depleted fish migrate together, with proposals ranging from gear restrictions to area closures.
by Alaska Newsadded 6mo ago6 min read
Board Restricts Fishing Gear to Protect Chinook in Chignik, Area M
Alaska Board of Fisheries restricted seine net depth in Chignik to protect struggling Chinook salmon, effective 2027, after the local fleet voluntarily requested the limits.
by Alaska Newsadded 6mo ago4 min read