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State of Alaska

Alaska state government's executive branch, headed by the Governor and 15 cabinet departments. Oversees education, public safety, transportation, health, commerce, and natural resource management for the 49th state.

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Sunday, Aug 9

Lower Cook Inlet seiners are shut down while set netters keep fishing, days before the season ends

Lower Cook Inlet's purse seiners are shut down while set netters in the same district keep fishing, right as the salmon season closes out Aug. 15.

Bill AlaskaNewsby Bill AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Lower Cook Inlet, Alaska
Cover image for article: Lower Cook Inlet seiners are shut down while set netters keep fishing, days before the season ends

Shaktoolik and Unalakleet subsistence fishers must pull beach seines Tuesday

Shaktoolik and Unalakleet subsistence fishers must pull beach seines by Tuesday, part of Norton Sound's king salmon conservation effort. Gillnets stay open.

Walter AlaskaNewsby Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
Shaktoolik and Unalakleet, Alaska
Cover image for article: Shaktoolik and Unalakleet subsistence fishers must pull beach seines Tuesday

Wasilla woman charged in storage-unit burglary that netted stolen firearms

A Wasilla woman faces 14 counts in a December storage-unit burglary that took multiple firearms, troopers say — with an accomplice still at large.

Walter AlaskaNewsby Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Mat-Su Valley, Alaska
Cover image for article: Wasilla woman charged in storage-unit burglary that netted stolen firearms

A woman lost overnight near Port Heiden was found alive, her dog by her side

A woman lost overnight near Port Heiden was found alive five miles off a trail, her dog beside her the whole time, having chased off a bear at one point.

Maggie AlaskaNewsby Maggie AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Cover image for article: A woman lost overnight near Port Heiden was found alive, her dog by her side

A Fairbanks blood-draw arrest raises a question about the evidence-tampering charge

A Fairbanks driver fought a court-ordered blood draw and was charged with evidence tampering — but a 2000 Alaska Supreme Court ruling raises a real question about whether that charge holds.

Walter AlaskaNewsby Walter AlaskaNewsadded 3mo ago1 min read
Cover image for article: A Fairbanks blood-draw arrest raises a question about the evidence-tampering charge

Father and daughter rescued by boat from Kenai River island at mile 73

A father and daughter stranded on a Kenai River island at mile 73 on July 27 when rising water cut off their return were rescued by boat the same day.

Maggie AlaskaNewsby Maggie AlaskaNewsadded 3mo ago1 min read
Cover image for article: Father and daughter rescued by boat from Kenai River island at mile 73

Saturday, Aug 8

King Cove road materials arrive on scene as local workers hit another milestone in the development of a contested project

A barge of equipment for the long-disputed King Cove-Cold Bay Road has reached King Cove, though the fight over the route through Izembek refuge continues.

Walter AlaskaNewsby Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Cover image for article: King Cove road materials arrive on scene as local workers hit another milestone in the development of a contested project

Kotzebue chum fishermen get a better price but have just one buyer left

Kotzebue chum fishermen are getting nearly 20 cents more a pound this season, but with only one registered buyer left, their market now hinges on a single company.

Bill AlaskaNewsby Bill AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Cover image for article: Kotzebue chum fishermen get a better price but have just one buyer left

Potter Drive designs test Anchorage guidance on in-street bike lanes

Anchorage planners will review four design options for Potter Drive that would add its first sidewalks and bike lanes, though two conflict with a city plan recommending a separated bikeway.

Walter AlaskaNewsby Walter AlaskaNewsadded 3mo ago2 min read
Potter Drive, Anchorage
Cover image for article: Potter Drive designs test Anchorage guidance on in-street bike lanes

The state is drilling test holes for a Seward Highway fix, as a bigger $1.5 billion plan draws fire

The state is rebidding a routine Seward Highway drilling job, but the real fight is a $1.5 billion rebuild up the road that critics call oversized.

Walter AlaskaNewsby Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
Turnagain Pass, Alaska
Cover image for article: The state is drilling test holes for a Seward Highway fix, as a bigger $1.5 billion plan draws fire

Bethel man arrested for DUI near Cooper Landing after a REDDI report

A driver reported swerving into oncoming traffic near Cooper Landing was arrested on a DUI charge Friday night, flagged through the state's REDDI line.

Walter AlaskaNewsby Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Cover image for article: Bethel man arrested for DUI near Cooper Landing after a REDDI report

Friday, Aug 7

The 5th and 6th avenue rebuild just hit $370 million — and even planners are flagging "scope creep"

Anchorage's 5th and 6th avenue rebuild just hit $370 million with no clear way to pay for it — and even the city's planners are flagging scope creep.

Walter AlaskaNewsby Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
Cover image for article: The 5th and 6th avenue rebuild just hit $370 million — and even planners are flagging "scope creep"

A murder conviction is reversed because a suspect's question about a lawyer wasn't enough for police to stop

Alaska Supreme Court ruled Friday that police must stop and ask for clarification when a suspect hints at wanting a lawyer, a stronger protection than federal law requires.

Walter AlaskaNewsby Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago3 min read
Cover image for article: A murder conviction is reversed because a suspect's question about a lawyer wasn't enough for police to stop

Soldotna man arrested nearly two months after report he exposed himself to two minors

Alaska State Troopers arrested a 23-year-old Soldotna man Thursday, nearly two months after a report that he exposed himself to two minors.

Walter AlaskaNewsby Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Cover image for article: Soldotna man arrested nearly two months after report he exposed himself to two minors

Troopers cite three anglers for keeping snagged sockeye on the Kenai

Alaska Wildlife Troopers cited three anglers on the Kenai River in late July for keeping snagged sockeye salmon, seizing four fish total that went to charity.

Bill AlaskaNewsby Bill AlaskaNewsadded 3mo ago1 min read
Cover image for article: Troopers cite three anglers for keeping snagged sockeye on the Kenai

Big Lake man arrested on seven sexual assault counts in Wasilla case

A 62-year-old Big Lake man was arrested Thursday on seven sexual assault counts stemming from a case first reported in May 2025, more than a year before the grand jury indictment.

Walter AlaskaNewsby Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Cover image for article: Big Lake man arrested on seven sexual assault counts in Wasilla case

About State of Alaska

State of Alaska

Photo by Bernt Rostad, via Flickr · Photo source · CC BY 2.0

alaska.gov ↗Alaska

The State of Alaska is the executive branch of Alaska state government, headed by the Governor and organized into cabinet departments. Those departments oversee education, public safety, transportation, health, commerce and natural resource management across the state.

State agencies issue permits, leases and land decisions, regulate liquor licenses and utilities, plan highway projects and rank school construction requests. Its stories return to public comment on state proposals, from roundabouts and gravel sites to water rights and the statewide transportation plan, and to the work of the Alaska State Troopers.

Boards and authorities attached to the state, such as the Board of Fisheries, the Regulatory Commission of Alaska and the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority, make many of its decisions. The state also runs statewide elections and works with tribal organizations on village public safety.

More from State of Alaska

When a custody case is filed in both tribal and state court, whoever filed first wins, Alaska Supreme Court rules

Filed in both tribal and state court, a custody case goes to whoever filed first, the Alaska Supreme Court ruled — here decided by an eleven-day gap.

Maggie AlaskaNewsby Maggie AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
Cover image for article: When a custody case is filed in both tribal and state court, whoever filed first wins, Alaska Supreme Court rules

Alaska Supreme Court shields Nome hospital's staff housing from tax

The Alaska Supreme Court ruled Nome can't tax a Norton Sound Health building housing doctors and nurses, calling the staff housing vital to the hospital.

Walter AlaskaNewsby Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
Cover image for article: Alaska Supreme Court shields Nome hospital's staff housing from tax

Alaska Supreme Court says legislative immunity shields ethics committee from Reinbold suit

Alaska Supreme Court ruled legislative immunity shields the ethics committee from lawsuits over disciplining legislators, ending former Sen. Lora Reinbold's four-year fight for a public hearing.

Walter AlaskaNewsby Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago3 min read
Cover image for article: Alaska Supreme Court says legislative immunity shields ethics committee from Reinbold suit

Alaska moves to cut white-fronted goose limits again as the Y-K Delta population falls

Alaska wants to cut white-fronted goose limits in Unit 18 again as the Y-K Delta population falls, the second reduction in recent years. Comment is open through Aug. 16.

Bill AlaskaNewsby Bill AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Game Management Unit 18, Alaska
Cover image for article: Alaska moves to cut white-fronted goose limits again as the Y-K Delta population falls

Yukon salmon conservation rules are now locked into state regulation, not left to managers' discretion

Yukon salmon conservation is now binding state regulation — fixed thresholds that keep the river's own commercial and much subsistence fishing closed.

Bill AlaskaNewsby Bill AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
Cover image for article: Yukon salmon conservation rules are now locked into state regulation, not left to managers' discretion

Prince William Sound stays at one king a day through Sept. 15

Prince William Sound's king limit stays at one fish a day through Sept. 15, four harbors excepted, right as kings start showing up near Glacier Island and Pigot Bay.

Bill AlaskaNewsby Bill AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Cover image for article: Prince William Sound stays at one king a day through Sept. 15

Kodiak restarts landlocked silver salmon stocking after 11 years

Kodiak's road-system lakes are getting a landlocked silver salmon fishery back, the first stocking since 2015, though the fish need three years to grow to catchable size.

Bill AlaskaNewsby Bill AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
Cover image for article: Kodiak restarts landlocked silver salmon stocking after 11 years

Alaska schools could face a choice between internet and teachers if a federal subsidy is cut

A federal review could cut E-Rate, the subsidy that sent $203.5M to Alaska schools and libraries last year — and school boards warn it's internet or teachers.

Walter AlaskaNewsby Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
Cover image for article: Alaska schools could face a choice between internet and teachers if a federal subsidy is cut

The Yukon River is mostly closed to salmon fishing this year

The Yukon is mostly closed to salmon fishing in 2026 — kings, chum, likely coho — with runs badly depressed and kings barred under a U.S.-Canada pact.

Bill AlaskaNewsby Bill AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
Cover image for article: The Yukon River is mostly closed to salmon fishing this year

Ketchikan anglers can keep more kings this month, even with a slow run

Ketchikan anglers can keep more kings this month even though the run is slow, though area closures still apply and the department hasn't explained the increase.

Bill AlaskaNewsby Bill AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
Cover image for article: Ketchikan anglers can keep more kings this month, even with a slow run

Alaska makes its first awards under a $272 million rural health program

Alaska is making its first awards under a $272 million federal rural health program, $4.5 million to 19 projects, with more coming each Friday. Demand hit $2.5 billion.

Walter AlaskaNewsby Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Cover image for article: Alaska makes its first awards under a $272 million rural health program

Alaska would give up a land claim so three Native Vietnam veterans can finally get their allotments

Alaska would give up its claim to 480 acres on the Yukon so three Alaska Native Vietnam-era veterans can finally get land allotments cut off when Congress ended the program in 1971.

Maggie AlaskaNewsby Maggie AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
Cover image for article: Alaska would give up a land claim so three Native Vietnam veterans can finally get their allotments

Murkowski says she will vote against Blanche for attorney general

Sen. Lisa Murkowski will vote against Todd Blanche for attorney general, citing politicization of the Justice Department and concerns about a nearly 2 billion dollar fund.

Walter AlaskaNewsby Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
Cover image for article: Murkowski says she will vote against Blanche for attorney general

Bethel's mayor files to run for her city council seat again

Bethel Mayor Rose "Sugar" Henderson filed a letter of intent to run for re-election to her city council seat in the Oct. 6 election.

Maggie AlaskaNewsby Maggie AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Cover image for article: Bethel's mayor files to run for her city council seat again

Hughes $25 billion pitch: connect Alaska's railroad to Canada, and Nome to the Interior

Candidate Shelley Hughes wants to link Alaska's railroad to Canada and reach Nome — a roughly $25 billion pitch with no identified funding source.

Walter AlaskaNewsby Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
Nome to Nenana, Alaska
Cover image for article: Hughes $25 billion pitch: connect Alaska's railroad to Canada, and Nome to the Interior

Want to spear whitefish by lantern light? The permit deadline is Friday

Alaska households have until Friday to enter the lottery for 400 permits to spear whitefish by lantern light on the Chatanika River this fall.

Bill AlaskaNewsby Bill AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Chatanika River, Alaska
Cover image for article: Want to spear whitefish by lantern light? The permit deadline is Friday

A fuel break cleared years ago helped keep the Grandview Fire out of Sterling

A fuel break cleared in 2019-20 helped keep the Grandview Fire out of Sterling — a case of wildfire prep paying off, with no injuries and no homes lost.

Maggie AlaskaNewsby Maggie AlaskaNewsadded 3mo ago2 min read
Cover image for article: A fuel break cleared years ago helped keep the Grandview Fire out of Sterling

Troopers charge Glennallen woman after Richardson Highway drug stop

Alaska State Troopers charged Amanda Craig of Glennallen with drug possession after seizing cocaine from her vehicle during a Richardson Highway stop on July 17.

Walter AlaskaNewsby Walter AlaskaNewsadded 3mo ago1 min read
Cover image for article: Troopers charge Glennallen woman after Richardson Highway drug stop

Thursday, Aug 6

A sixth straight weak week points to a below-average chum run near Petersburg

A sixth straight below-average week points to a weak chum run near Petersburg, with pinks running low and mixed, as the season's test fisheries close out.

Walter AlaskaNewsby Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Cover image for article: A sixth straight weak week points to a below-average chum run near Petersburg

Sullivan leads a push to sanction ships supplying China's fleet

Nine senators led by Sullivan asked Treasury to sanction 29 ships supplying China's fishing fleet over its illegal catch. Treasury hasn't acted.

Walter AlaskaNewsby Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
Cover image for article: Sullivan leads a push to sanction ships supplying China's fleet

Alaska moves to open child care assistance to more working families

Alaska wants to raise the income ceiling for child care assistance from 85 to 105 percent of the state median, though it's contested whether the expansion needs new money.

Walter AlaskaNewsby Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
Cover image for article: Alaska moves to open child care assistance to more working families

Four wildfires broke out on the North Slope within 17 minutes Thursday

Four wildfires broke out on Alaska's North Slope within 17 minutes Thursday, across 40 miles of tundra, the kind of lightning-driven cluster expected to grow as the Arctic warms.

Walter AlaskaNewsby Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Cover image for article: Four wildfires broke out on the North Slope within 17 minutes Thursday

As Anchorage cements its role as a global cargo hub, the growth is colliding with its neighbors

Anchorage's cargo boom brings nighttime jet noise — and a new study warns the fixes might just shift it from one neighborhood to another, not end it.

Alaska Newsby Alaska News3mo ago2 min read
Cover image for article: As Anchorage cements its role as a global cargo hub, the growth is colliding with its neighbors