Home-rule borough covering Alaska's Arctic Coast from the Canadian border to the Chukchi Sea. Largest U.S. borough by area. Seat at Utqiagvik; economy built on oil and Inupiaq subsistence.
North Slope Borough, AK, USA
Video Clips
Browse all clips
Speaker B
“Under the current terms, we're getting a lot closer to being kept whole, depending on the things we know and the things we don't know about the impacts of this project.”House Finance, 5/29/26, 1:30pm · May 29, 2026
Speaker B
“My $150 is we're willing to negotiate to a point where we cover our costs and it will be significantly shorter than the $8.5 mil structure.”House Finance, 5/29/26, 1:30pm · May 29, 2026
Speaker G
“it's our responsibility as elected officials and you guys specifically as representatives that we look out for the best interests of all of our communities and that the resources that we have to deliver, whether they're to market or to our residents, are equally shared by us all.”House Finance, 5/29/26, 1:30pm · May 29, 2026
Speaker G
“what the, the 2945 on the GTP would do, it would enable, um, uh, the buck stopping at the, uh, the producer, the state, and the North Slope Borough, um, at an administrative level. And I think that, that information sharing and understanding is important”House Finance, 5/29/26, 1:30pm · May 29, 2026
Speaker B
“I suggested the AVT. I am probably one of the few people in the state that has sat at every side of these tables, um, the industry side, the muni side, and the legislative side. And I like the fact that we share in the benefits when things are going well and share in some of the risk when they're not.”House Finance, 5/29/26, 1:30pm · May 29, 2026
HB 381 exempts Alaska LNG project property from municipal taxes, replaces with volumetric splits
HB 381 exempts covered Alaska LNG project property from municipal property taxes and replaces that structure with a phased volumetric tax whose revenue splits shift significantly once LNG exports begin, with the Kenai Peninsula Borough receiving 48.4 percent of base Phase 2 revenue. The tax changes take effect only if specified conditions are met.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago3 min readAI
North Slope Assembly approves $62.5M water-sewer contract with UIC Municipal Services
North Slope Borough Assembly contract approval for water and sewer operations in seven villages
by Alaska News2mo ago1 min readAI
NTSB: Bering Air crash that killed 10 was a chain of preventable failures
The National Transportation Safety Board on Thursday determined that Bering Air Flight 445 was flying above its maximum gross weight when the pilot let airspeed decay into a stall near Nome on Feb. 6, 2025, killing 10, and faulted the FAA for not increasing oversight of the carrier.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2w ago2 min readAI
North Slope approves $3 million police camera contract
The Assembly authorized a five-year contract with Axon Enterprise to replace aging body cameras, in-car video, and Tasers across all borough communities. Officials said the upgrade aims to improve transparency and accountability.
by Tim Smith2mo ago2 min readAI
DNR offers 50-year North Slope lease for gas-powered data center
The state's preliminary decision would lease 715 acres near Deadhorse to STAK Energy for a 1-3 gigawatt natural gas facility. Written comments are due June 15.
by Alaska News2mo ago2 min readAI
North Slope Borough Assembly approves $6.6 million in grant appropriations
North Slope Borough Assembly grant appropriations for wildlife research, housing repairs, homeless services, and public safety equipment
by Alaska News2mo ago1 min readAI
The North Slope's fuel farms sit on thawing ground
Alaska DEC opened comment on renewing spill-prevention plans for North Slope fuel storage facilities, as coastal erosion and permafrost thaw threaten Arctic tank farms.
by Maggie AlaskaNews3w ago1 min readAI
Kaktovik residents press North Slope Borough on cracked homes
Residents of Kaktovik, Nuiqsut and Utqiaġvik used the public comment period of the North Slope Borough Assembly's Tuesday meeting to detail unlevel homes, sinkholes, missing fuel drums and a water charge that doubled in January.
by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago4 min readAI
Alyeschem breaks ground on North Slope methanol plant
Alyeschem held groundbreaking May 15, 2026 for Alaska's first petrochemical manufacturing facility on the North Slope, backed by $70M AIDEA financing. Plant will convert stranded natural gas into methanol and ultra-low sulfur diesel, creating 150 construction jobs and eliminating 4,000 annual truck trips on Dalton Highway.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min readAI
Person dies after officer-involved shooting in Utqiaġvik
A person died Saturday following an officer-involved shooting in Utqiaġvik, with Alaska State Troopers now investigating the incident.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min readAI
North Slope bearded seal hunters asked to save jaws for 2026 study
North Slope Borough and the Alaska Department of Fish and Game are asking bearded seal hunters to save jaws or heads from harvested seals to support a 2026 population study using genetic and age data.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min readAI
On the wild Alatna, a guide makes his case to the state
Alaska DNR is reviewing a five-year land use permit for Fredrick Harbison's Iron Hills Guides to run commercial guiding on the Alatna River near Gates of the Arctic.
by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min readAI
Chase filing sets up Kotzebue, North Slope rematch in House District 40
Saima Chase’s filing for House District 40 sets up a 2026 rematch with Rep. Robyn Niayuq Burke Frier in a district where geography may matter as much as party.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
54 years of the North Slope Borough
Mayor Josiah Aullaqsruaq Patkotak's Founders' Day message on Thursday frames the borough's 1972 incorporation as an act of Iñupiat self-determination against oil development, a civic identity claim that lands while the borough's oil-dependent finances face scrutiny.
by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min readAI
State identifies man, officers in fatal Utqiagvik police shooting
The Alaska Bureau of Investigation identified the man killed and the two officers involved in a May 23 officer-involved shooting in Utqiagvik following a domestic violence call.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min readAI
North Slope Borough approves $5M water and sewer increase after Point Lay freeze-up
The North Slope Borough Assembly approved more than $9 million in contract changes at its July 14, 2026 meeting, led by a $5 million increase to its area-wide water and sewer contract driven partly by a village-wide freeze-up in Point Lay ongoing since late December 2025.
by Lucas Brown1mo ago2 min readAI
North Slope Borough to seek $300K for second underwater rescue drone after Nuvuk response exposed gaps
A recent search-and-rescue call in Nuvuk revealed that having only one remotely operated underwater vehicle left the North Slope Borough's SAR team short-handed. The mayor told the assembly Tuesday he plans to request roughly $300,000 in supplemental funding for a second ROV, a parts package, and 3,500-watt generators for each community.
by Lucas Brown1mo ago2 min readAI
A federal royalty-rule change could shortchange the states and tribes it's owed to
A proposed federal rule to simplify how oil, gas, and coal royalties are valued could cut payments to states, tribes, and Native mineral owners, amid findings of weak enforcement.
by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min readAI
Mid-June snowstorm closes Atigun Pass, Arctic gateway for North Slope projects
Winter Weather Advisory covers Central Brooks Range through Monday evening. Four to 8 inches of snow and blowing conditions are hitting Atigun Pass and the Dalton Highway corridor.
by Alaska News2mo ago1 min readAI
ANWR lease sale will test whether Alaska oil appetite reaches the Arctic Refuge
BLM opens bids June 5 on an ANWR Coastal Plain lease sale. After a canceled 2021 auction and a 2025 bust, industry interest is finally being tested again.
by Cale Green2mo ago4 min read
North Slope mayor: 'Nothing about us without us'
North Slope Borough Mayor Josiah Patkotak invoked the borough's founding to demand local input in federal, state, and industry decisions affecting the region.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min readAI
North Slope, Fairbanks, Valdez sue over pipeline tax values
The North Slope Borough, Fairbanks North Star Borough, and City of Valdez filed a joint administrative appeal June 22 challenging state property tax assessments on Trans-Alaska Pipeline infrastructure. The dispute directly threatens school and service budgets in all three communities.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 1mo ago2 min readAI
Rough water off Alaska's Arctic and Northwest coasts, easing by Sunday
Small craft advisories are in effect for Alaska's Arctic and Northwestern coastal waters through Friday, with 25-knot winds and seas to 7 feet, easing to near-calm by Sunday.
by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min readAI