Economy & Business
RSSAlaska News covers state economic issues including cannabis banking, state dividends, and business development opportunities.
Anchorage pushes for an emergency boat launch on Turnagain Arm after a drowning
After a drowning where rescuers had no way to launch a boat, Anchorage is pushing for federal money to build an emergency water-access point on Turnagain Arm.
by Walter AlaskaNews5d ago4 min readAI
Kodiak council to weigh $72,500 repair after Navy ship tore cleat off Pier II
Kodiak City Council votes Thursday on a $72,500 change order to replace a mooring cleat a Navy ship tore from Pier II in June winds over 100 mph.
by Walter AlaskaNews3h ago2 min readAI
Kodiak council to vote on $100,000 for aging wastewater plant electrical controls
Kodiak City Council votes Thursday on $100,000 to replace aging electrical controls at the wastewater plant before equipment failures disrupt operations.
by Walter AlaskaNews3h ago2 min readAI
Public comment on new Nome-area suction dredge application closes Aug. 18
Public comment closes Aug. 18 on a suction dredge permit application in Norton Sound near Nome, filed by Carl Fowler and Phillip Diaz for a small operation running through Dec. 31, 2026.
by Maggie AlaskaNews3d ago2 min readAI
Ouzinkie breaks ground on solar array to cut diesel use
Ouzinkie broke ground on a 297-kilowatt solar array and battery to cut diesel costs and ease pressure on its reservoir, which supplies both power and drinking water.
by Maggie AlaskaNews13h ago2 min readAI
Dunleavy's LNG bill would swap a graduated S corp tax topping 9.4% for a flat 2%
Governor Dunleavy sent the Legislature an Alaska LNG tax bill with a flat 2% S corporation tax, delaying the rate's start to 2030 and removing a provision that could have cut borough education aid.
by Walter AlaskaNews2d ago3 min readAI
An Anchorage cannabis grower's license renewal turns on a $12,760 tax bill
Anchorage Assembly protested a marijuana grower's state license renewal over $12,760 in unpaid taxes and an incomplete inspection, but can lift the protest once the company settles the debt.
by Walter AlaskaNews1d ago1 min readAI
Davidoff Street closes Saturday morning for Sitka manhole repair
Sitka will close Davidoff Street between Charteris Street and Halibut Point Road from 5:30 a.m. to about 10 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 15, while crews repair a manhole lid at the Halibut Point Road intersection.
by Walter AlaskaNews13h ago1 min readAI
The same water-chemical contract came back $855,400 higher, with no explanation
Anchorage Assembly votes Tuesday on two water chemical contracts worth up to $4.34 million to supply fluoride and coagulant to treatment plants serving 225,000 people.
by Walter AlaskaNews14h ago2 min readAI
A faulting cable under the Loussac Library would cost the city a permanent easement
Anchorage Assembly will vote Tuesday on letting Chugach Electric replace a failing power cable under Loussac Library at no cost to the city.
by Walter AlaskaNews1d ago1 min readAI
NuCube, Alaska Fund launch NuAlaska nuclear initiative
NuCube Energy and Alaska Fund launched NuAlaska to develop nuclear microreactors for remote Alaska communities where fuel costs and weather make power expensive.
by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago1 min readAI
Alaska Senate Majority sets Anchorage press availability on stalled gas session
Alaska's fourth special session on the gas pipeline tax has gone two weeks without a vote, as a looming Cook Inlet supply cliff raises the stakes.
by Walter AlaskaNews4d ago2 min readAI
A company is drilling near Cantwell for the source of half a million ounces of gold
A company wants to drill near Cantwell for the lost source of 500,000+ ounces of gold pulled from the Valdez Creek district's creeks.
by Maggie AlaskaNews5d ago2 min readAI
Kodiak will homeport the Coast Guard's first Arctic Security Cutters
Kodiak will homeport the Coast Guard's first two Arctic Security Cutters, part of a multibillion-dollar Arctic buildup, with a third headed to Seward.
by Walter AlaskaNews6d ago1 min readAI
Enstar tells Alaska Gas Line Caucus it could be 18 days short of gas this winter
Enstar told lawmakers it could run 18 days short of gas this winter if Cook Inlet supply stays low, but the Alaska LNG pipeline pitched to fix the problem won't arrive in time to help.
by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago3 min readAI
A pilot survives an upside-down plane crash in the Kenai refuge
A pilot survived a crash that flipped his plane upside down in the trees of the Kenai refuge Sunday, then texted 911 himself to say he wasn't seriously hurt.
by Maggie AlaskaNews4d ago1 min readAI
Chignik residents have until Sept. 10 to weigh in on surrendering their hydro license
Chignik residents have until Sept. 10 to comment on surrendering the federal license for their idle hydroelectric project and replacing it with state-jurisdiction infrastructure.
by Maggie AlaskaNewsadded 1d ago2 min readAI
Alaska construction trades keep few of their workers, state-commissioned study finds
More than 850 students toured construction trade booths at Alaska Construction Career Day in Palmer, part of an effort to address a skilled-worker shortage in the trades.
by Walter AlaskaNews2d ago1 min readAI
Anchorage Assembly to weigh $77,500 increase to SRW Homeowner's road contract
Anchorage Assembly votes Tuesday on adding $77,500 to a Hillside road maintenance contract after ice and spring runoff damaged streets in the SRW Homeowner's service area.
by Walter AlaskaNews1d ago1 min readAI
A Wasilla runway extension eyes nearby homeowners' land, if the money can be found
A Wasilla runway extension could put nearby homeowners' land in the city's sights — and it may not qualify for the federal money that usually pays for it.
by Walter AlaskaNews3d ago2 min readAI
A Kodiak homeowner takes his flooded yard to the borough board
A Kodiak homeowner is fed up with a too-small, often-clogged borough pipe flooding his yard, and he's taking his complaint to the service-area board Tuesday.
by Walter AlaskaNews5d ago1 min readAI
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.
by Walter AlaskaNews6d ago1 min readAI
Alaska districts can use homeless-education funds for emergency motel rooms, federal guidance says
Alaska districts can now use federal homeless-education funds to pay for emergency motel rooms when shelter beds are unavailable, under new U.S. Department of Education guidance.
by Walter AlaskaNews2d ago2 min readAI
Mike Rowe helps mark a $250,000 gift to Seward's trade school
Mike Rowe showed up in Homer to help hand Seward's trade school a $250,000 Wells Fargo gift for scholarships and instructors.
by Walter AlaskaNews3w ago1 min readAI
Starplex recruits Alaska State Fair seasonal staff Aug. 18 in Wasilla
Starplex is hiring seasonal staff for the Alaska State Fair at a job fair in Wasilla on Tuesday, Aug. 18, with flaggers earning $25 an hour, parking staff $16, and event staff $15.
by Walter AlaskaNews3d ago2 min readAI
Peltola's energy platform draws fire from both sides in the race
Mary Peltola rolled out an energy platform in her Senate race against Dan Sullivan, drawing rebuttals from his campaign and from Alaska environmental groups.
by Maggie AlaskaNews1w ago2 min readAI
A planned Anchorage road would cut into a Hillside couple's yard — so the commission hit pause
A planned Hillside road would cut 45 feet into an Anchorage couple's yard and move their well, so the commission paused the design pending a fresh survey.
by Walter AlaskaNews4d ago2 min readAI
Anchorage and Fairbanks airports finish swapping PFAS foam out of crash trucks
Anchorage and Fairbanks airports replaced PFAS firefighting foam in their crash trucks with fluorine-free alternatives, cutting PFAS levels up to 99.999% in the tanks.
by Maggie AlaskaNews3d ago2 min readAI
A new gold claim would push mining into a creek the government has spent a decade repairing for fish
A two-person gold operation wants to mine farther down a Fortymile creek the BLM has spent a decade repairing for fish — a decision that's Alaska's to make, in a Wild and Scenic River corridor.
by Maggie AlaskaNews4d ago3 min readAI
A UAF fix for the battery-and-generator clash in village grids
When villages add batteries to diesel plants, the two can 'fight' and destabilize the grid — a UAF researcher is testing a fix to cut rural diesel use.
by Melinda Communities.News3d ago2 min readAI
The state plans to sell Granite Construction gravel near Chickaloon, without competitive bidding
The state plans to sell Granite Construction 40,000 cubic yards of gravel near Chickaloon with no competitive bidding, on a Glenn Highway stretch it's repaving.
by Walter AlaskaNews3d ago1 min readAI
Parks Highway drops to one lane at Nenana's Tanana River Bridge Aug. 18
Are you driving down that specific road, look at the story… Are you not driving down that specific road, probably not about you
by Walter AlaskaNews4d ago1 min readAI
Anchorage Assembly to take up nearly $954,000 for Merrill Field planning work
Anchorage Assembly votes Tuesday on nearly $954,000 in federal grants for Merrill Field planning work, including a master plan update and required airspace layout revision.
by Walter AlaskaNews3d ago1 min readAI
UAA trains rural school workers to become teachers without leaving home
A UAA apprenticeship lets rural school workers become licensed teachers without leaving home, one answer to out-migration, though results aren't yet shown.
by Melinda Communities.News4d ago1 min readAI
Senate majority to regulators: reconsider the rejected gas storage project, and make BlueCrest produce
Senate majority members want a rejected gas storage project revisited and an idle Cook Inlet lease produced — amid a fight over who fixes the gas crunch.
by Walter AlaskaNews4d ago3 min readAI
Juneau moves to repair Mendenhall riverbank and protect flood-hit homes
Juneau moves to repair 1,300 feet of Mendenhall riverbank to protect flood-hit homes, one of several recovery measures on the agenda after the 2024 flood.
by Walter AlaskaNews5d ago1 min readAI
The FAA is rewiring Alaska's air routes from beacons to GPS
The FAA is rebuilding Alaska's air routes, trading old ground beacons for GPS — and an Oct. 29 batch of changes gives King Salmon a better-connected path.
by Bill AlaskaNews3d ago1 min readAI
Placer mining sought on Glacier Creek near Candle, with comments due Aug. 26
Alaska DNR received a placer mining application for Glacier Creek in the Fairhaven district, opening a multi-agency review that may or may not result in approval.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2d ago2 min readAI
Anchorage's camping ordinance produces plenty of compliance — but few people taking services, and homelessness still visible
Anchorage police contacted 1,085 people under the camping ban since August 2025, but only 72 accepted services, raising questions about enforcement paired with outreach.
by Walter AlaskaNews4d ago2 min readAI
West Petersville Road is washed out, and the creek won't let crews in
West Petersville Road is washed out at Kenny Creek with no reopening date — crews can't start until the water slows down enough to work in.
by Walter AlaskaNews3w ago1 min readAI
