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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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Thursday, Jul 2

Nome Airport Crossing Permit

A dull state permit reveals something distinctly Alaskan: a Nome resident wants to taxi his plane from his own yard onto the airport — the kind of access rural life runs on.

Bill AlaskaNewsby Bill AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min read
Cover image for article: Nome Airport Crossing Permit

Martha Fire near Soldotna contained at 5 acres

Firefighters contained the Martha Fire near Soldotna at 5 acres Wednesday evening, protecting homes within two hours of the first report

Walter AlaskaNewsby Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
Cover image for article: Martha Fire near Soldotna contained at 5 acres

Wasilla woman charged after stabbing pedestrian on hood of moving vehicle

A Wasilla woman was charged with domestic violence assault after stabbing a pedestrian's hand while they clung to the hood of her moving vehicle on Meadow Lakes Loop Wednesday

Walter AlaskaNewsby Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
Cover image for article: Wasilla woman charged after stabbing pedestrian on hood of moving vehicle

Wednesday, Jul 1

Inside a bootlegging pipeline into dry Alaska

Troopers say they broke up a major bootlegging operation smuggling thousands of pounds of alcohol into the Bethel region — where booze is banned, so smuggling it is big business.

Walter AlaskaNewsby Walter AlaskaNewsadded 4mo ago2 min read
Cover image for article: Inside a bootlegging pipeline into dry Alaska

A gravel permit, and how North Slope oil is built on gravel

ConocoPhillips wants to expand a gravel pad at its Kuparuk field. It's a routine permit — but a small look at how North Slope oil is literally built on imported gravel.

Maggie AlaskaNewsby Maggie AlaskaNewsadded 4mo ago1 min read
Kuparuk River Unit, North Slope, Alaska
Cover image for article: A gravel permit, and how North Slope oil is built on gravel

Alaska now makes Dall sheep hunters pass a perfect-score test

Alaska now makes full-curl sheep hunters ace a 20-question quiz before hunting — because the herd is down 40 to 70 percent and every misjudged ram counts.

Bill AlaskaNewsby Bill AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min read
Cover image for article: Alaska now makes Dall sheep hunters pass a perfect-score test

Alaska's minimum wage hits $14 — the raise voters ordered

Alaska's minimum wage rose to $14 on July 1 — step two of the raise voters passed in 2024, which also handed every worker in the state paid sick leave.

Walter AlaskaNewsby Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
Cover image for article: Alaska's minimum wage hits $14 — the raise voters ordered

Alaska's Medicaid self-audit deadline lands amid a fraud crackdown

Alaska is telling Medicaid providers to audit their own billing and repay overpayments — weeks after charging 15 people with about $1.83M in Medicaid fraud.

Walter AlaskaNewsby Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
Cover image for article: Alaska's Medicaid self-audit deadline lands amid a fraud crackdown

Ship Creek closes for 10 days as a king shortfall hits the hatchery

Anchorage's Ship Creek closes to all fishing July 3–13. A weak king return isn't meeting hatchery broodstock goals that supply fisheries across Southcentral, not just the creek.

Bill AlaskaNewsby Bill AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
Cover image for article: Ship Creek closes for 10 days as a king shortfall hits the hatchery

Alaska school districts could lose unspent federal money if they don't spend it fast

Some Alaska districts have unspent federal education money — and they'll lose it for good if it's not spent by Sept. 30. Notices don't go out until mid-July.

Walter AlaskaNewsby Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
Cover image for article: Alaska school districts could lose unspent federal money if they don't spend it fast

A stranger's call got a weaving driver off the Steese

A driver saw a truck weaving on the Steese and called it in — leading troopers to an allegedly impaired Fairbanks man, a gun, and a release violation.

Walter AlaskaNewsby Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
Cover image for article: A stranger's call got a weaving driver off the Steese

Two rulings just reshaped Alaska's Senate race

The Supreme Court just erased limits on party spending coordinated with candidates — unleashing money into Alaska's Senate race the same week a second Dan Sullivan made the ballot.

Walter AlaskaNewsby Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min read
Cover image for article: Two rulings just reshaped Alaska's Senate race

Rain stalled the two wildfires near Ruby, but Tuesday's winds are a risk

Sunday's rain stalled both fires near Ruby, holding them at 260 and 1,000 acres, but Tuesday's winds could dry things out again. No outdoor burning, officials warn.

Maggie AlaskaNewsby Maggie AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
Cover image for article: Rain stalled the two wildfires near Ruby, but Tuesday's winds are a risk

Tuesday, Jun 30

At America's northernmost airport, the fuel is Iñupiat-owned

A dull fuel-lease notice at Utqiaġvik's airport hides a good story: the company keeping the northernmost airport supplied is an original ASRC business, built to serve the Iñupiat.

Maggie AlaskaNewsby Maggie AlaskaNewsadded 4mo ago2 min read
Cover image for article: At America's northernmost airport, the fuel is Iñupiat-owned

Policing the world's biggest salmon rush

Amid Bristol Bay's 44-million-fish sockeye run, troopers cited five commercial fishermen for closed-period, gear-spacing, and grounding violations — the rules that keep a frenzy fair.

Bill AlaskaNewsby Bill AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min read
Cover image for article: Policing the world's biggest salmon rush

Two Kasilof dipnetters cited for dipnetting's most common mistake

Two Kasilof dipnetters were cited 12 minutes apart for the same slip: not recording their sockeye in ink — the most common dipnet ticket there is. Write it down.

Maggie AlaskaNewsby Maggie AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min read
Kasilof River, Alaska
Cover image for article: Two Kasilof dipnetters cited for dipnetting's most common mistake

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

One dead, one critical in a K-Beach Road rollover near Soldotna

A 62-year-old Iowa man died and a second person was critically hurt when their van rolled on Kalifornsky Beach Road near Soldotna. The cause is under investigation.

Walter AlaskaNewsby Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
Cover image for article: One dead, one critical in a K-Beach Road rollover near Soldotna

Dunleavy declares a paid July 6 state holiday, with public dollars

Governor Dunleavy declared July 6 a paid holiday for state executive-branch workers, extending the Independence Day weekend at public expense.

Walter AlaskaNewsby Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
Cover image for article: Dunleavy declares a paid July 6 state holiday, with public dollars

Nearly $350 million to replace one ferry — Alaska's lifeline to the Aleutians

Alaska's about to spend nearly $350 million to replace one ferry — the 60-year-old Tustumena. A genuine Aleutian lifeline, but the low bid went to a Louisiana yard.

Walter AlaskaNewsby Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min read
Alaska
Cover image for article: Nearly $350 million to replace one ferry — Alaska's lifeline to the Aleutians

Nome is becoming America's first deepwater port in the Arctic

After nearly 20 years, work is underway to make Nome the first deepwater port in the American Arctic — a ~$600M project deep enough for Coast Guard icebreakers.

Maggie AlaskaNewsby Maggie AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min read
1
Cover image for article: Nome is becoming America's first deepwater port in the Arctic

Anchorage's airport is finally expanding its parking

Relief may be coming for one of Anchorage's everyday headaches: the airport is expanding its overflow parking lot, with the work due done by mid-November.

Walter AlaskaNewsby Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min read
Cover image for article: Anchorage's airport is finally expanding its parking

In Sitka, they're carrying your luggage by hand this summer

Sitka is running its biggest projects all at once — and at the torn-up airport, workers are hand-carrying travelers' bags to keep flights moving through tourist season.

Walter AlaskaNewsby Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
Cover image for article: In Sitka, they're carrying your luggage by hand this summer

Alaska clears the way to bury carbon — over water-safety fears

Alaska's new rules let companies inject carbon dioxide underground for storage — with the whole fight hinging on whether it stays put or seeps into the water people drink.

Alaska Newsby Alaska Newsadded 4mo ago2 min read
Cover image for article: Alaska clears the way to bury carbon — over water-safety fears

Monday, Jun 29

In Juneau, the shellfish rules just moved in opposite directions

Juneau's shellfish rules split around July 1: personal-use king crab reopens for residents, but shrimping in Section 11-A and Tenakee Inlet stays closed with no date set.

Bill AlaskaNewsby Bill AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min read
Cover image for article: In Juneau, the shellfish rules just moved in opposite directions

Alaska's fall hunt is coming, and hunters still don't know the rules

Fall hunts are almost here, but Alaska's season rules are stuck in legal review with no end date, and harvest tickets are delayed. Last year's rules apply for now.

Bill AlaskaNewsby Bill AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min read
Cover image for article: Alaska's fall hunt is coming, and hunters still don't know the rules

Bring it back whole: a catch rule for Craig and Klawock anglers

Fishing out of Craig or Klawock? Certain fish have to come back whole — so the dock crews counting them can do the sampling that keeps the fishery healthy.

Bill AlaskaNewsby Bill AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
Cover image for article: Bring it back whole: a catch rule for Craig and Klawock anglers

On the Wood River, so many sockeye are coming back that the state wants you to keep more

Good news for once on the water: the Wood River sockeye run near Dillingham is so strong the state doubled the limit to 10 fish a day, through year's end.

Bill AlaskaNewsby Bill AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
Wood River drainage, Dillingham, Alaska
Cover image for article: On the Wood River, so many sockeye are coming back that the state wants you to keep more

A Fox homeowner woke to thieves stealing his copper and fuel. Then the shooting started.

A Fox homeowner woke before dawn to burglars stealing copper and fuel, went to investigate, and traded gunfire with them. No one was hit, and the suspects got away.

Walter AlaskaNewsby Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
Fox, Alaska
Cover image for article: A Fox homeowner woke to thieves stealing his copper and fuel. Then the shooting started.

A lake-island fire hands Mat-Su crews a boat-only problem

A small fire on a Flat Lake island forced Mat-Su firefighters to boat their crew across to reach it — routine flames, minus the road to get to them.

Walter AlaskaNewsby Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
Flat Lake, Mat-Su Valley, Alaska
Cover image for article: A lake-island fire hands Mat-Su crews a boat-only problem

Driver critical after fiery solo crash closes Richardson Hwy

A driver is in critical condition after a solo crash and vehicle fire closed the Richardson Highway near milepost 210 for two and a half hours on Sunday morning.

Walter AlaskaNewsby Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
Interior Alaska
Cover image for article: Driver critical after fiery solo crash closes Richardson Hwy

A huge North Pole fuel terminal's spill plan is up for renewal — and residents have reason to look

The spill plan for a 33-million-gallon North Pole jet fuel terminal is up for comment through July 29 — in a town that knows what fuel in its groundwater looks like.

Maggie AlaskaNewsby Maggie AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
Cover image for article: A huge North Pole fuel terminal's spill plan is up for renewal — and residents have reason to look

A Tazlina man faces domestic violence and attempted robbery charges

Troopers arrested a Tazlina man on domestic violence and attempted robbery charges after a reported assault on the Richardson Highway. The charges remain accusations.

Walter AlaskaNewsby Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
Cover image for article: A Tazlina man faces domestic violence and attempted robbery charges

Sunday, Jun 28

Dipnetting the Kasilof? Record and clip before you stash your fish

Record and clip each salmon before it goes in your cooler, or risk a summons like the Wasilla man cited at Kasilof on June 27.

Walter AlaskaNewsby Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min read
Cover image for article: Dipnetting the Kasilof? Record and clip before you stash your fish

Bristol Bay's sockeye season opens as Nushagak kings raise concern

Bristol Bay's sockeye season is open and the fish are pouring in — a roughly 45-million run. The shadow: depleted Nushagak kings swim the same waters as the nets.

Bill AlaskaNewsby Bill AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
Cover image for article: Bristol Bay's sockeye season opens as Nushagak kings raise concern

Alaska is quietly making it harder to keep water in its rivers for salmon

Alaska is changing the rules for water reservations — the main tool for keeping water in rivers for salmon. Critics say it favors industry; DNR says it's about efficiency.

Bill AlaskaNewsby Bill AlaskaNewsadded 4mo ago2 min read
Cover image for article: Alaska is quietly making it harder to keep water in its rivers for salmon

If you're facing a custody or divorce case in Alaska, these rules apply from day one

From the day an Alaska custody or divorce case begins, neither parent can take the kids out of state, sell marital property, or drop insurance without agreement or a judge's OK.

Walter AlaskaNewsby Walter AlaskaNewsadded 4mo ago2 min read
Cover image for article: If you're facing a custody or divorce case in Alaska, these rules apply from day one

Anchorage man arrested after walking armed, drunk on Funny River Rd

Alaska State Troopers arrested Anchorage resident Garrett Andrews, 22, after he walked armed and intoxicated down Funny River Road near Soldotna on Friday night, forcing drivers to swerve.

Walter AlaskaNewsby Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
Cover image for article: Anchorage man arrested after walking armed, drunk on Funny River Rd

Troopers say a Fairbanks woman faked her location data to dodge a charge — and got caught anyway

Fairbanks woman accused of vehicle mischief allegedly tried to beat it with fake location data sent to troopers — but witnesses and her real data placed her there.

Maggie AlaskaNewsby Maggie AlaskaNewsadded 4mo ago1 min read
Cover image for article: Troopers say a Fairbanks woman faked her location data to dodge a charge — and got caught anyway

Saturday, Jun 27

One Anchorage restaurant keeps getting caught serving with expired cards

Alaska cited six bars and restaurants for servers pouring with expired training cards — one Anchorage spot for the fifth time in four years, now risking its liquor license.

Walter AlaskaNewsby Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min read
Cover image for article: One Anchorage restaurant keeps getting caught serving with expired cards

Federal migratory bird subsistence rules take effect across Alaska

Alaska's spring subsistence bird harvest is older than the U.S. — and a 1916 treaty effectively banned it until 1997. This week's update continues a hunt Native communities never gave up.

Maggie AlaskaNewsby Maggie AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min read
Cover image for article: Federal migratory bird subsistence rules take effect across Alaska