State of Alaska

Cook Inlet king fishing reopens north of Bluff Point at one fish a day

King fishing reopened north of Bluff Point on Aug. 15, one fish a day through Sept. 15. Every Cook Inlet king run was forecast under its escapement goal.

by Bill AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

Pink salmon swamp Kodiak road-system rivers, crowding out sockeye and coho

Pink salmon are crowding Kodiak road-system rivers in unusual numbers, making sockeye and coho harder for anglers to find this week.

by Bill AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

Only 1 in 10 pregnant Alaskans who needed substance-use treatment in 2022 got it

Only about 1 in 10 pregnant Alaskans who needed substance-use treatment in 2022 got it, and the state is seeking to fund programs to help close the gap.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read

The state wants to give away land near Houston for housing, one piece of a statewide push

The state wants to give away 42 acres near Houston, free, for housing — one of several no-cost transfers to the Housing Finance Corporation across Alaska.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

Railbelt ratepayers will repay up to $100M for a Bradley Lake expansion built around federal tax credits

Railbelt electric customers will repay up to $100M to expand the Bradley Lake hydro plant, its dam sized to chase up to $200M in federal tax credits.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

Emmonak man charged with murder in fatal stabbing of Anita Hootch

Christopher Horn, 38, of Emmonak, was arrested and charged with murder in the stabbing death of Anita Hootch, 37, found dead at an abandoned steam house on August 14.

by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 2mo ago1 min read

Ketchikan's long rebuild of the road toward Saxman inches ahead, with a waterside path and a tangle over land

Ketchikan's rebuild of the highway toward Saxman, adding a waterside path for walkers and bikers, drew more federal money as cost estimates keep swinging.

by Melinda Communities.News2mo ago2 min read

A progressive firm's Alaska poll: two-thirds worry about the basics, and a simulated Senate race favors Peltola

A progressive firm's Alaska poll finds two-thirds of voters worried about affording the basics, and a modeled Senate race favoring Peltola over Sullivan.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

Where to watch spawning salmon around Ketchikan this month

Want to watch Fish, it's like watching paint dry but consequences… Cool ones!

by Bill AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read

In five remote Chugach villages, health aides work without an X-ray, and new funding aims to change that

In five remote Chugach-region villages, health aides assess injuries without an X-ray. New funding through a tribal health organization aims to finally put imaging in their clinics.

by Melinda Communities.News2mo ago2 min read

A weak sockeye return has managers ready to open a Juneau-area fishery on six hours' notice

A weak Speel Lake sockeye return near Juneau has managers ready to open a terminal fishery on six hours' notice. Escapement is below its goal range.

by Bill AlaskaNewsadded 2mo ago1 min read

Follows: A Petersburg-area drift gillnet fishery opens for about 40 hours

The state gave Red Dog another decade of eased water limits as the mine looks to run longer

Alaska extended Red Dog's wastewater permit 10 years, to 2036, past the mine's own expected ore life, citing thawing permafrost with no available remedy.

by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 2mo ago2 min read

Alaska's ranked-choice fight returns to the Supreme Court, months before a repeat repeal vote

Alaska's ranked-choice voting returns to the Supreme Court next week, the latest round in a years-long fight, with a repeal already on the November ballot.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

An Iñupiaq firefighter from Noorvik died fighting a Minnesota wildfire, and two states lowered their flags

Leslie R. Washington, a 41-year-old firefighter from Noorvik, died Aug. 11 during a medical emergency while fighting the Bear Trap Fire in Minnesota.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read

Kodiak fights landfill bears with a second fence and a look at composting

Bears keep breaking into Kodiak's landfill, so the borough is fighting back two ways: a fence to keep them out and composting to cut the waste that draws them.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min readFrom Aug 6

Mat-Su loses its fall silver harvest, with one river closed without even a count

Mat-Su loses its fall silver harvest on the Susitna and Little Susitna after four weak coho years — one river closed without a count, its weir washed out.

by Bill AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

Level 3 GO evacuations ordered north of the Alaska Highway as the Mukluk Fire spreads near Tok

A fast-moving wildfire near Tok has forced residents north of the Alaska Highway to evacuate immediately, with winds gusting to 30 mph and critical fire conditions expected through Monday evening.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

A family gold operation wants four more seasons on Cache Creek, mined since the early 1900s

A family gold operation wants to work Cache Creek near Petersville for four more seasons, on ground mined by family outfits since the early 1900s.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read

Anchorage airport would let CLEAR sell a faster security line

Anchorage's airport wants to let a private company sell a faster spot in the security line. Objections are due on a Sunday, when the office is closed.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read

Nome buses roll as Steadman Street reopening goes unconfirmed

Nome school buses roll this morning down a street the state said would reopen Friday. The state's own weekly update does not say whether it actually did.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read

Three Alaska Native groups demand answers on rural election staffing before Tuesday's primary

Three Alaska Native groups are demanding the state account for unfilled rural election-worker jobs and pay overdue per diem before Tuesday's primary, citing past precincts that never opened.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago3 min read

Gas tax package still off the Senate floor as the special session nears its limit

Alaska Senate held a technical session Monday with no business and will not meet again until 2 p.m. Friday.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read

Tatlanika Fire still listed as 3.5 acres but agency reports put it above 31,000

Alaska 511 still lists the Tatlanika Fire at 3.5 acres, but state fire managers reported it at over 31,000 acres on August 13.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read

Southeast gillnetters ride a strong pink run, with the season about to turn toward coho

Southeast gillnetters are working a strong pink salmon season, with several areas open into Thursday and the focus set to turn toward coho later this month.

by Bill AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read

State's latest fuel survey put Alaska gasoline at $6.63 a gallon, and it is seven months old

State fuel data shows Alaska gasoline averaged 6.63 dollars in January. This report is seven months old and prices have risen.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read

The state wants $293M to rebuild 5th and 6th, but the funding isn't settled

The state wants Anchorage to program $293 million to rebuild 5th and 6th avenues downtown, but where the money comes from is unsettled.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

Alaska takes input on extra child-care help for kids with disabilities

Alaska pays extra child-care help for kids with disabilities and is taking families' input this week, as it separately moves to widen who qualifies for aid.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read

Fall chum and coho fishing is closed across the Tanana drainage

Fall chum and coho fishing is closed across the Tanana drainage through year's end, a precautionary move after chum was listed as a stock of concern.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read

Usibelli seeks five more years at Two Bull Ridge near Healy, and the state is revising the cleanup bond

Usibelli's Two Bull Ridge mine near Healy is nearing the end of its pits, and as it seeks a five-year renewal, the state is revising its $5.4M cleanup bond.

by Alaska Newsadded 2mo ago2 min read

Southeast seiners get another opening, with one district carrying a below-forecast pink season

Southeast seiners get another opening Tuesday, with one district carrying more than half the catch in a pink season running below the regionwide forecast.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read

Cook Inlet drift gillnetters drop to two days a week as the sockeye catch thins out

Cook Inlet drift gillnetters are down to Mondays and Thursdays for the season, after two openings in a row each took under 1% of the sockeye harvest.

by Bill AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read

Two Anchorage boaters spend a night on Skilak Lake after rough water stops the crossing

Two Anchorage boaters paddled down the Kenai, found Skilak Lake too rough to cross, and spent the night on the beach. Troopers texted them a way out.

by Maggie AlaskaNewsadded 2mo ago1 min read

One donor supplied 99 percent of the non-individual money behind Alaska's ranked choice repeal

Aurora Action Network gave $1.83 million to Alaska's ranked-choice repeal campaign, over 99 percent of its non-individual funding, but the group's true funding sources don't appear in public records.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago3 min read

Saint Mary's woman, 42, dies pinned under an ATV in Pitkas Point

Tragic accident - a woman from Saint Mary's died Saturday night after being pinned under an ATV in Pitkas Point, Troopers said

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

Yukon fall salmon fishing closes at the peak of the season, not for a weak run but to meet Canada's share

Yukon fall salmon fishing closed at the peak of the season for Interior households — not for a weak run, but because Canada's treaty share has to pass first.

by Bill AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

Wasilla man fined $320 for false residency claim on a fishing and hunting license

A Wasilla man paid $320 for fudging where he lives on a fishing license. The residency rule he ran afoul of just survived a veto fight in Juneau.

by Bill AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read

Upper Koyukuk and Innoko villages can keep every salmon again starting Monday

Six Koyukuk River villages and Shageluk can keep all salmon they catch starting Monday after Fish and Game confirmed local chum are a different stock than Canadian-protected fall chum.

by Bill AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

Kodiak westside, Afognak and Alitak sections get a 45-hour extension

Kodiak commercial salmon fishing extended 45 hours into Monday, Aug. 17 at 6 p.m. across westside, Afognak and Alitak sections under state emergency order.

by Bill AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read

Troopers arrest Palmer man on felony charge over mobile home abandoned on Old Glenn Highway

Alaska State Troopers arrested Palmer resident Aaron Musquiz after an abandoned mobile home damaged the Old Glenn Highway near mile 12, causing about $3,000 in roadway damage.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read

Wildland firefighters find Fairbanks man missing 19 days alive near Old Murphy Dome Road

Wildland firefighters found a 73-year-old Fairbanks man alive on Aug. 12 after he went missing for 19 days near Old Murphy Dome Road, while responding to the McCloud Fire west of the area.

by Maggie AlaskaNewsadded 2mo ago2 min read