Economy & Business
RSSAlaska News covers state economic issues including cannabis banking, state dividends, and business development opportunities.
Talkeetna residents ask Mat-Su commission to oppose Front Street water tank site
Talkeetna residents asked the Mat-Su Planning Commission to block a proposed 375,000-gallon water tank on Front Street, urging the borough to expand its existing water facility instead.
by Walter AlaskaNews1h ago2 min readAI
Kodiak staff urge keeping Beaver Lake land as the borough hunts for housing sites
Kodiak's manager wants to open Beaver Lake land to housing. The borough's own planning staff say keep it — and the commission said no in 2019.
by Walter AlaskaNews1d ago2 min readAI
A road crew wants to camp in a gravel pit while it fixes the Elliott Highway
A contractor fixing 12 miles of the Elliott Highway wants to park 20 people in RVs on state gravel while it works. Comment closes Sept. 28.
by Maggie AlaskaNews7h ago1 min readAI
Water damage in the Kenai Senior Center overhang halts work and adds $45,000
Contractors reroofing the Kenai Senior Center entry found rot underneath. Everything but the beams comes off, and the city needs $45,000 to finish.
by Walter AlaskaNews10h ago1 min readAI
Repairs begin on the Nome-Council Highway, four years after Merbok
Permanent repairs have begun on the Nome-Council Highway, four years after Typhoon Merbok breached the road in 2022.
by Maggie AlaskaNews11h ago1 min readAI
Mat-Su power bills climb about $15 a month, with more increases expected
Mat-Su electric bills rose about $14.50 a month this quarter as power costs climbed, and the co-op expects about 5% annual increases for three years.
by Walter AlaskaNews15h ago1 min readAI
Coast Guard awards $315 million for Kodiak fuel pier, and comment on the review closes Sept. 16
The Coast Guard has awarded $315 million to Tutor Perini for a new fuel pier and major cutter mooring at Base Kodiak, competed with four offers and running to 2030. The draft environmental review of the project, including demolition of the existing pier, takes public comment only through Sept. 16.
by Alaska News17h ago2 min readAI
Comment closes Monday on giving 20,000 Houston-area acres to AIDEA
Alaskans have until 5 p.m. Monday to comment on giving 20,000 acres north of Houston to a state agency for free — and only those who comment can appeal.
by Walter AlaskaNews18h ago3 min readAI
Idaho firm that already runs the Alcan port wins its $48,169 snow removal order
An Idaho firm won a $48,169 federal task order to plow the Alcan border port near Tok. The same company already holds a $1.16 million contract to run operations and maintenance at the port and the Fairbanks Federal Building.
by Melinda Communities.News1d ago1 min readAI
Koniag subsidiaries now staff federal offices in Virginia and Oklahoma
Koniag subsidiaries are staffing federal back offices in Virginia and Oklahoma, including the office that processes Native patients' outside medical bills.
by Walter AlaskaNews1d ago2 min readAI
Fairbanks committee takes up Fairbanks Street rezone that could allow 51 units on 13 lots
Fairbanks North Star Borough Assembly Committee discusses rezoning 13 Fairbanks Street lots to allow up to 51 housing units instead of 25, driven by a vacant former bed and breakfast.
by Walter AlaskaNews1d ago2 min readAI
Eight Unalaska roofs have failed, including the high school and water plant
Eight Unalaska roofs have failed or are failing, including the high school and the water plant. Fixing all 27 city roofs starts at $22 million.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 11h ago1 min readAI
MEA is holding $451,000 in refunds for members it can't find
Matanuska Electric is sitting on more than $451,000 it owes members it can't find — one of them is owed about $15,000. Checking takes a phone call.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 15h ago1 min readAI
Nome may add flowcharts to help residents navigate permits
Nome may give residents visual flowcharts to walk them through variance and rezoning applications. The Planning Commission backed the idea Tuesday.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 16h ago1 min readAI
Seward would allow rainwater catchment in new subdivisions, but only by waiver
Seward would allow rainwater catchment in new subdivisions only by waiver. A commissioner who wanted it struck called it a dry cabin at in-town prices.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 16h ago1 min readAI
Soldotna planning director drafts code change to replace court citations with civil fines
Soldotna's planning director is drafting a code change to replace court citations for unpermitted rentals with staff-issued civil fines, which could speed enforcement.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 16h ago1 min readAI
Craig homeowner asks council to drop Port St. Nicholas tower site
A Craig homeowner asked the council to reject a proposed cell tower near her house on Port St. Nicholas Road, but the mayor said the site is outside city limits and the council is still reviewing.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 17h ago2 min readAI
Kodiak's only bid to replace a key sewage station came in at twice the estimate
The only bid to replace the pump station handling 80% of Kodiak's sewage came in at $16.3 million — more than double the city's estimate of $7.2 million.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 17h ago2 min readAI
A builder across from a Soldotna school pushed its snow into the street
A builder across from a Soldotna elementary school left no room for snow, so it went into the street. The city says snow storage is required.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 17h ago1 min readAI
Wasilla's parks commission backs a ball field expansion with no money behind it
Wasilla's parks commission endorsed a softball field expansion with no money behind it. The commissioner who moved to support it represents the softball league.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 17h ago1 min readAI
Anchorage weighs rezoning 12.5 acres to heavy industrial, including former home lots
Anchorage may rezone 12.5 acres to heavy industrial Monday, including vacant land flipping from residential to a district that allows scrap and waste uses.
by Walter AlaskaNews1d ago2 min readAI
Bethel's water plant has been sending filter backwash onto open ground
Water flushed from Bethel's treatment filters has been running onto the tundra instead of into the sewer lagoon. The city does not say for how long.
by Melinda Communities.News2d ago2 min readAI
The Port of Alaska's terminal design contract is up 50 percent and rising again
The Port of Alaska's Terminal 1 design contract is up 50 percent from 2023. Every year I got to come back for more, the port director says.
by Walter AlaskaNews1d ago2 min readAI
Downtown Wasilla would go one-way under an $83 million state project
Downtown Wasilla's street grid would go one-way under an $83 million state project, delayed to 2027-28 and about 26 percent more expensive than first planned.
by Walter AlaskaNews1d ago2 min readAI
Unalaska council awards $21.9 million contract to replace Storrs Harbor floats
Unalaska is spending $22 million on new harbor floats. The acting city manager says the harbor may have to close before long if it does not.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 23h ago2 min readAI
Unalaska will spend $200,000 deciding what to do about its pool
Unalaska's 40-year-old pool has failing systems and a leaking roof. The city is paying $200,000 to find out whether to fix it, rebuild it or move it.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 23h ago1 min readAI
Ketchikan council to vote on seventh hike in water consulting deal
Ketchikan just dodged a $70 million water filtration plant it was ordered to build — by proving its mountain-lake water is clean enough to skip filtration.
by Walter AlaskaNews2d ago2 min readAI
Anchorage's port cargo surcharge nearly triples to fund a rebuild
The surcharge on cargo through Anchorage's port nearly triples Jan. 1, the first step in paying for a $2 billion rebuild, and could hit $70 a ton by 2033.
by Walter AlaskaNews2d ago2 min readAI
Koniag subsidiaries won $58.5 million to run IT for the agency that runs 8(a)
Three Koniag subsidiaries won $58.5 million in two days to run IT for the SBA, through the SBA's own preference program. Nobody else bid on any.
by Melinda Communities.News2d ago2 min readAI
The refuge at the top of the Alaska Highway is getting exhibits built for blind visitors
The first wildlife refuge most people see driving into Alaska is getting exhibits built for visitors who cannot see them. Taxidermy included.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2d ago2 min readAI
Two Kenai Peninsula subdivisions go to the plat committee Sept. 28
Two subdivision plats, one in Nikiski and one in Anchor Point, go before the Kenai Peninsula Borough Sept. 28. Written comment closes the Friday before.
by Walter AlaskaNews2d ago1 min readAI
Comment closes Oct. 12 on a plan to dig antimony 80 miles from Trapper Creek and refine it at Port MacKenzie
Alaska is taking comment until Oct. 12 on permits for the Estelle gold and antimony project, whose applicant is a Nova Minerals subsidiary that won $43.4 million in federal defense funding to make military-grade antimony trisulfide.
by Maggie AlaskaNews3d ago1 min readAI
Anchorage wants 10,000 homes. Its zoning fight is over where they can fit.
Anchorage wants 10,000 homes in 10 years. Tuesday's zoning fight is over where they can go — because adding homes means letting familiar blocks change.
by Walter AlaskaNews3d ago7 min readAI
War-driven oil prices are filling Alaska's treasury while straining its households
The same oil price spike is filling Alaska's treasury and straining its households — and Trump's $2 gas promise would take more than the war ending.
by Alaska News3d ago5 min readAI
An antimony project's construction schedule began before comment opened
Construction schedules for an antimony mine and refinery began back in June. The state opened comment on whether to approve the work on Friday.
by Walter AlaskaNews3d ago3 min readAI
Housing projects can compete for Alaska CDBG grants, with applications due Dec. 4
Alaska's Community Development Block Grant applications are due Friday, Dec. 4, with about $2.5 million available and a maximum of $850,000 per community. Any Alaska municipal government except Anchorage may apply.
by Walter AlaskaNews3d ago1 min readAI
Petersburg planning commission recommends one-year data center moratorium; developer threatens suit
Petersburg may pause data center permits for a year. The developer says a year would kill the project, and has threatened to sue the borough.
by Walter AlaskaNews3d ago2 min readAI
Petersburg rejects a wireless tower next to its only fire hall over collapse fears
Petersburg's planning commission rejected a wireless tower next to the borough's only fire hall over fears it could collapse onto the station.
by Walter AlaskaNews3d ago2 min readAI
Port Alsworth visitor center gets new parking, trail on former tank farm site
Once there was a fuel tank farm, now there's a parking area and 500 feet of new deer Trail in Lake Clark, national Park and preserve.
by Maggie AlaskaNews3d ago1 min readAI
A mobile home lot near Abbott Road could become business-zoned
A mobile home lot near Abbott Road would become business-zoned. Nobody objected, and a planner noted such changes can displace mobile-home residents.
by Walter AlaskaNews3d ago1 min readAI
