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.
Photo by Bernt Rostad, via Flickr · Photo source · CC BY 2.0
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Inside State of Alaska
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Numbers are stories in the last 30 days.
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Saturday, Jul 4
A Wasilla argument ends with a gun pointed at a neighbor
Troopers say a Wasilla man pulled a .45 and pointed it at a neighbor during an argument on Big Dipper Drive. He faces a third-degree assault charge.

Friday, Jul 3
Where Alaska's gas-line tax deal stands, and what's still stuck
Lawmakers have a working Alaska LNG tax deal — a $16 ratepayer price cap, a required Fairbanks spur line, and two unresolved fights over legality and Kenai's school costs.

Alaska raises unemployment benefits, updates travel insurance law
Alaska raised its maximum weekly unemployment benefit to $470, the first increase since 2009, and will adjust it annually going forward.

Council sends Kodiak Tanner crab closure to second initial review with preliminary preferred alternative
North Pacific Fishery Management Council advanced Tanner crab protection measures to a second review, selecting non-pelagic trawl restrictions while keeping closure options open for further analysis.

Bill Walker is backing away from his plan to end the PFD, weeks after proposing it
Weeks after proposing a one-time $10,000 payout to end the PFD, candidate Bill Walker is walking it back, now promising a plan that "strengthens" the dividend instead.

Nelson Island residents put out tundra fire before state crews could arrive
Nelson Island residents near Toksook Bay extinguished a lightning-caused tundra fire on June 24 before state crews could arrive, the Alaska Division of Forestry & Fire Protection reported.

A fisherman feared lost, as Bristol Bay's run shows strain
A crew member is feared dead after going overboard near Egegik Bay, as record-low sockeye counts force fishery closures and troopers cite fishermen across Bristol Bay.

A stop to grab fallen cargo turns serious on the Seward Highway
A man gathering items that fell from his truck on the Seward Highway was struck by a passing vehicle, seriously injuring both him and the driver near Summit Lake.

One lane closed on the Alaska Highway at the Johnson River Bridge, through Sunday
One westbound lane of the Alaska Highway is closed at the Johnson River Bridge, about 42 miles south of Delta Junction, through Sunday evening. Expect single-lane traffic control.

Crews on three Interior fires brace for a dangerous holiday weekend
Three western Interior wildfires near Ruby and Allakaket face a dangerous holiday weekend — 30-40 mph winds and critically low humidity that could drive fast spread.

Troopers: hatchet attack on partner at a Kenai campground
Troopers say a Wasilla woman attacked her partner with a hatchet, choked him, and threw full beer cans at him at a Kenai Peninsula campground. She faces assault charges.

Child hurt-risk in drunken Nikiski ATV rollover, troopers say
Troopers say a Nikiski woman rolled an ATV with a child aboard while driving at more than twice the legal alcohol limit. She faces DUI and child-endangerment charges.

Buried under the Kenai refuge: seismic data on a stranded Cook Inlet gas find is about to go public
As Southcentral eyes a gas shortage, old seismic data on Shadura — an undeveloped Cook Inlet gas find near Nikiski, stuck under the Kenai refuge — is set to go public.

Anchorage Assembly introduces resolution to initiate first-ever removal proceeding against member Martinez
The Anchorage Assembly moved to remove member George Martinez. This first-ever proceeding follows findings of perjury and ethics violations.

Drones find stranded Craig hiker on Sunnahae Mountain before midnight
Drones found a 23-year-old hiker safe on Sunnahae Mountain near Craig after he stopped texting his family Thursday night.

An Alaska village will own its solar power — and sell it back to the utility
A state grant puts village-owned solar and batteries in Allakaket, letting it sell power to its utility instead of buying diesel. A second grant expands a hydro project.

Coming up
State Bond Committee Meeting
Telephonic meeting, call-in (907) 202-7104, Conference ID: 633 711 677#
Meeting
Alaska LNG Project Right-of-Way Lease Conversion - In-Person Public Hearing
Hearing
Public Comment Deadline: State Underground Storage Rights Claim
Public notice
Local Government Protest Deadline: Eden Growth Group LLC Marijuana License Renewal
Public notice
Effective: Alaska; Wildlife, Harvest, and Access
Public notice
About 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
Thursday, Jul 2
A new power line is proposed through a historic Delta park
A utility wants to run a new power line through Big Delta State Historical Park to reach a nearby boat launch — open for public comment through July 31.

The public can't sit in as the Railbelt reworks your power costs
The body redrawing how Railbelt transmission costs get split is meeting behind closed doors this week — legal under its own bylaws, though the binding decisions still face public review.

A death reported as a suicide in Atmautluak turned out to be a shooting, troopers say
An Atmautluak death was reported as a suicide, but the scene looked suspicious to troopers. A man now faces manslaughter charges in the fatal shooting of Byron Waska, 28.

Wildlife Troopers cited a Bellingham fisherman for allegedly fishing in Bristol Bay
A Washington fisherman was cited for allegedly fishing across a closed boundary in Bristol Bay — the invisible lines that keep the world's biggest sockeye run from being overfished.

A washout severs a Delta Junction road — again
A washout closed Cummings Road in Delta Junction, cutting off a stretch residents partly maintain themselves — the kind of weather hit Interior roads keep taking.

Alaska's high court reversed a decision to end a Native mother's parental rights — over how the state made its case
The Alaska Supreme Court reversed a Native mother's parental-rights termination, finding the state's ICWA cultural testimony too vague to meet the law's high bar.

Alaska appeals court identifies DUI jury instruction tension in Homer case
Alaska's appeals court upheld a Homer man's DUI conviction but flagged a gap in jury instructions that could reshape how DUI cases are tried statewide when defendants claim they drank after driving.

Job and training help for western Alaska's storm-displaced residents
Months after last October's storms displaced western Alaska residents, the state has gathered job and training help for them, part of a still-growing recovery effort.

Weak Copper River runs bring king closures and a Chitina dipnet shutdown
Copper River salmon are running weak, so kings are now off-limits in Upper Copper sport fishing from July 6, and the Chitina dipnet closes July 6–12.

A Ketchikan-area geoduck farm wins a 20-year lease renewal
Geoducks are giant, long-necked clams that can live past 100 and sell for a fortune. A Ketchikan-area farm that grows them just locked in 20 more years.

Kipnuk is being pieced back together, one boardwalk at a time
Alaska closes its federal disaster recovery updates as Typhoon Halong rebuilding continues in Kipnuk, with over 12,000 feet of boardwalk restored but federal funding delays still slowing the work.

A landslide has closed the Dalton Highway, the main road to the North Slope
A rain-triggered landslide closed the Dalton Highway north of Coldfoot on Monday — blocking the main road to the North Slope and the freight bound for the oil fields.

Fishing Prince of Wales for kings? The nonresident limit just dropped.
Nonresident king limits on Prince of Wales tightened July 1. Two ADF&G documents disagree — the annual cap may be as low as one fish — so confirm the number before you keep one.

Alaska's abuse-reporting system is down July 10–11; use the paper form
Alaska's system for reporting abuse or neglect of seniors and people with disabilities is down July 10–11. You can still report on paper — download the form first.

One place near Anchorage where you can still keep a king
ings are closed across the Mat-Su and Northern Cook Inlet — except Eklutna Tailrace, a stocked fishery where you can still take one home while the wild runs stay shut.

Juneau man Oscar Griffin found dead after two-day search
Oscar Griffin, a Juneau man missing since Monday, was found dead Thursday by SEADOGS volunteer searchers — the morning after fireworks paused the K-9 search.

After decades, King Cove's road may finally be coming
Decades of fighting for a road to Cold Bay's all-weather airport — a lifeline in emergencies. Now $18 million in construction money puts it closer than ever.

Lingcod is open outside Seward but closed inside Resurrection Bay
Lingcod season is open outside Seward, where fishing should be hot — but inside Resurrection Bay you can't even cast for one. And bring 'em back whole.

Alaska's kings are down almost everywhere — here's the picture
From the Yukon to Kodiak to Prince William Sound, Alaska is closing or tightening king salmon fishing nearly statewide — a slow-motion decline now measured in decades, not seasons.

Alaska's development bank meets behind closed doors on the Arctic Refuge, a mining road, and a port
Alaska's state investment bank meets privately July 8 on its biggest bets — Arctic Refuge oil, the Ambler mining road, Port MacKenzie — with public money on the line.

The road rebuild behind Spenard's makeover
Anchorage is planning to rebuild Chugach Way — the road running through the heart of Spenard's revival, where old strip clubs and gas stations are becoming new housing.

ConocoPhillips is finding new oil in the Kuparuk field, in rock decades of drilling missed
The Kuparuk field has fallen 80% since its 1992 peak, but ConocoPhillips is reviving it by tapping Coyote and other reservoirs that older drilling technology overlooked.

Anchorage hunters can zero rifles at free sight-in day July 8
Alaska Fish and Game hosts a free rifle sight-in day July 8 at Rabbit Creek Shooting Park, 4 to 8 p.m., with a gunsmith and chronograph on site.

Passenger injures Trooper during Cooper Landing traffic stop
A passenger kicked an Alaska State Trooper on the Sterling Highway near Cooper Landing on Wednesday evening while resisting placement in a patrol vehicle during a sobriety stop.
