Skip to main content
Organizations/Commonwealth North
C

Commonwealth North

RSS

Commonwealth North (CWN) is a nonpartisan public policy forum based in Anchorage, Alaska. It convenes business, civic and political leaders to study state issues and host public discussions and debates on elections, fiscal policy and energy.

commonwealthnorth.org ↗

Anchorage, AK, USA

Video Clips

Browse all clips
0:18
Heidi Hedberg“That started October 1st for January cohort. I still have the same number of staff. I still have a better IT system, but I am— we're not on staff yet. So there's significant concerns around supporting the IT modernization efforts.”

xit Interviews: What Alaska's Commissioners Want the Next Governor to Know - October 15, 2026 · Oct 20, 2026

0:17
Heidi Hedberg“And so we have had to pivot in the last year to address those changes.”

xit Interviews: What Alaska's Commissioners Want the Next Governor to Know - October 15, 2026 · Oct 20, 2026

0:18
Heidi Hedberg“There's been a lot of work in that space, and then we have a strong team that is working it. But we are just— it's a boat that's just getting stood up and moving forward.”

xit Interviews: What Alaska's Commissioners Want the Next Governor to Know - October 15, 2026 · Oct 20, 2026

0:29
Heidi Hedberg“Budget neutrality language was also implemented, and that means that we need to ensure that the cost of care is appropriate, which means we need to make changes within our Medicaid program.”

xit Interviews: What Alaska's Commissioners Want the Next Governor to Know - October 15, 2026 · Oct 20, 2026

0:32
Heidi Hedberg“I would say the SNAP/Medicaid changes, our congressional delegation wrote in to the bill to give us more time. But we have a lot of work to reduce our payment error rate to get it below 6% by the end of this calendar year, and we're sitting at 20%. Otherwise, the new administration administration, it's a $45 million price tag to pay for those benefits. So like the workflow, the work changes have to happen this year. This year is critical for those changes.”

xit Interviews: What Alaska's Commissioners Want the Next Governor to Know - October 15, 2026 · Oct 20, 2026

0:10
Heidi Hedberg“Last year there was a significant change through HR1 that changed Medicaid and SNAP and budget neutrality.”

xit Interviews: What Alaska's Commissioners Want the Next Governor to Know - October 15, 2026 · Oct 20, 2026

TrendingNewTimelineMost Read

Alaska faces $45 million SNAP bill unless error rate drops below 6%, commissioner says

Health Commissioner Heidi Hedberg said Alaska must cut its 20% SNAP payment error rate below 6% this year or the next governor faces a $45 million bill, while six-month Medicaid renewals for 47,000 Alaskans begin with no added staff.

Walter AlaskaNewsby Walter AlaskaNews2h ago2 min read
Alaska
Cover image for article: Alaska faces $45 million SNAP bill unless error rate drops below 6%, commissioner says

Richards and Kendall debate repealing Alaska's open primary, ranked choice voting and disclosure rules

Craig Richards and Scott Kendall debate Alaska Ballot Measure 2 repeal of open primaries, ranked choice voting and campaign finance disclosure at Commonwealth North.

Walter AlaskaNewsby Walter AlaskaNews2w ago3 min read
Alaska
Cover image for article: Richards and Kendall debate repealing Alaska's open primary, ranked choice voting and disclosure rules

Alaska governor candidates agree on Permanent Fund, split on taxes

Three Alaska governor candidates agreed on protecting the Permanent Fund but split over taxes, energy and government's role at an Anchorage forum.

Walter AlaskaNewsby Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago4 min read
Anchorage, Alaska
Cover image for article: Alaska governor candidates agree on Permanent Fund, split on taxes

Alaska lost 15.8% of its federal civilian workers in two years, ISER economist reports

Alaska shed 15.8% of its federal civilian workforce from 2024 to 2026, above the national rate, an economist told a forum, with the losses coming mostly through buyouts.

Bill AlaskaNewsby Bill AlaskaNewsadded 2mo ago2 min read
Alaska
Cover image for article: Alaska lost 15.8% of its federal civilian workers in two years, ISER economist reports

Federal money built Alaska's recent growth — now it's receding fastest here

UAA economists say federal spending drove about half of Alaska's growth since 2015 — and the state is now losing federal workers faster than most, hitting rural areas hardest.

Bill AlaskaNewsby Bill AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
Alaska
Cover image for article: Federal money built Alaska's recent growth — now it's receding fastest here

Enstar faces 2033 supply gap as Hilcorp contract expires, no Cook Inlet producer can match drilling scale

Enstar Natural Gas faces losing its primary gas supply in 2033 when its contract with Hilcorp expires, leaving Southcentral Alaska utilities with no Cook Inlet producer capable of matching the scale of investment that has kept the basin producing for the past decade.

Bill AlaskaNewsby Bill AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min read
Alaska
Cover image for article: Enstar faces 2033 supply gap as Hilcorp contract expires, no Cook Inlet producer can match drilling scale

SBA freeze threatens Alaska Native corporations' $9B federal footprint

A freeze on new applications to the federal 8(a) contracting program threatens future revenue for Alaska Native corporations that generated $9 billion in federal work in 2022 and returned $300 million to shareholders last year.

Alaska Newsby Alaska Newsadded 4mo ago2 min read
The Petroleum Club of Anchorage, 3301 C Street, Anchorage
Cover image for article: SBA freeze threatens Alaska Native corporations' $9B federal footprint

Trump administration stalls 8(a) applications for Alaska Native corporations

The Small Business Administration has stopped processing new 8(a) applications for Alaska Native corporation subsidiaries, blocking future contracting access as the administration reviews federal procurement practices.

Alaska Newsby Alaska Newsadded 4mo ago2 min read
The Petroleum Club of Anchorage, 3301 C Street, Anchorage
Cover image for article: Trump administration stalls 8(a) applications for Alaska Native corporations