Economy & Business
RSSAlaska News covers state economic issues including cannabis banking, state dividends, and business development opportunities.
The Permanent Fund's dividend account is running about $400 million ahead
The account that pays the Permanent Fund dividend held about $400 million more than it needs, a 7% cushion. No inflation proofing was appropriated for 2026.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 1mo ago2 min readAI
Homer Electric members will be able to buy into shared solar starting in February
Homer Electric members can buy into shared solar or wind starting around mid-February. Subscribers will pay a monthly fee nobody has put a number on yet.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min readAI
Alaska's main power grid is getting its first mandatory cybersecurity rules, but not for years
Alaska's main power grid is finally getting mandatory cybersecurity rules, but none takes effect until 2027 at the earliest, phasing in slowly through 2029.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min readAI
Record cold pushed Anchorage's gas demand to an all-time high, just as the supply is running out
Record cold drove Anchorage-area gas demand to a record as Cook Inlet supply shrinks, and the utility projects a 3 billion cubic foot shortfall next winter.
by Bill AlaskaNewsadded 1mo ago2 min readAI
Three years and three permits later, Ketchikan's airport ferry still has no backup berths
Ketchikan's airport ferry docks at one set of berths with no backup. Three years and three federal permits later, the state hasn't driven a pile.
by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min readAI
Golden Valley Electric has rules for community solar and no community solar
Golden Valley Electric now has approved rules for community solar and no community solar. Someone outside the utility has to build it first.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min readAI
Tatitlek Management Services wins $2.8 million State Department maintenance order
Tatitlek Management Services won a $2.8 million State Department maintenance contract running through August 2027.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min readAI
Skagway's ferry terminal is closed indefinitely for work the state planned as a one-week job
Skagway's ferry terminal is closed indefinitely for emergency anchor-chain repairs. A February notice had planned the same work as a one-week closure.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min readAI
Eight Alaska fishery disaster requests are past the deadline federal law sets
Eight Alaska fishing communities are owed federal disaster relief the law says is already overdue, and until the decisions come, no one gets paid.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min readAI
Alaska's cruise ship wastewater permit expired in 2019 and is still in force
Twenty-eight cruise ships discharged treated wastewater in Alaska last season under a 2014 permit that expired in 2019. Nine discharges were unauthorized.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min readAI
Juneau job seekers can meet several employers in one stop this week
Juneau job seekers can meet several employers in one stop Thursday at a state recruiting event, though details are thin — call the job center to confirm.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min readAI
A remote Alaska island is paying $7.55 a gallon to heat its homes
A remote Alaska island is paying $7.55 a gallon for heat, plus an undisclosed city surcharge. The city blames Middle East conflict for the delivered price.
by Alaska News1mo ago2 min readAI
Anchorage wants to buy three new garbage trucks for about $1.47 million
Anchorage's trash utility wants three new garbage trucks for about $1.47 million, and a bulk-purchasing deal shaved roughly $282,000 off the sticker price.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min readAI
Anchorage approves $40,000 to update Merrill Field's airport layout plan
Anchorage approved $40,000, almost all of it federal, to update Merrill Field's airport layout plan after new flight procedures changed what it must show.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min readAI
A Sitka Street railroad crossing rebuild will cost Anchorage $91,000 more than agreed
Anchorage's Sitka Street railroad crossing rebuild will cost about $91,000 more than agreed after high bids — a tab that falls on nearby property owners.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min readAI
A Hillside road area may spend far more than planned after erosion damage
A small Hillside neighborhood that maintains its own roads may spend nearly $99,000 this year — up from about $21,000 — after ice and spring runoff caused heavy road erosion.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min readAI
The town of Whittier has had no gas for weeks, and it's only manageable because it's summer
The whole town of Whittier has had no natural gas since Aug. 16 and won't get it back until Sept. 5, and it's manageable mainly because it's still warm out.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min readAI
Anchorage firm has held FBI maintenance contract without competition since 2022
An Anchorage company owned by an Alaska Native corporation has kept the FBI's Washington Field Office running since 2022. This month: drains and roof hatches.
by Melinda Communities.News1mo ago1 min readAI
A Juneau company turning idle fishing boats into tidal power just cracked a deep-fjord problem
A Juneau company turning idle fishing boats into tidal-power platforms won a patent for stopping the cable-twisting that hobbles deep-fjord generators.
by Melinda Communities.News1mo ago2 min readAI
A cable across the Koyukuk, a camp for a mining crew, and no named mine
A Wasilla man wants to hang a 25,000-pound cable across the Koyukuk and camp a mining crew beside it. The state's form never asks which mine.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min readAI
Anchorage Planning and Zoning bumped its entire August docket to September
Every land-use case on the Planning and Zoning Commission's August docket got bumped to September, a month's delay for anyone waiting on a rezoning or permit.
by Alaska News1mo ago1 min readAI
A routine Anchorage roads vote this week would also fund cameras at 82 more intersections
A routine Anchorage roads-money vote this week also quietly funds 82 more intersection cameras, in the middle of a public fight over police surveillance.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago4 min readAI
ENSTAR seeks a Southcentral gas rate hike as two landlords move to dismiss the case
ENSTAR wants to raise Southcentral gas bills by about $9 a month, and two landlords are moving to get the rate case thrown out before its September hearing.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min readAI
An Anchorage firm runs facilities services for North Dakota's federal buildings
A company owned by Kodiak's Koniag corporation keeps federal buildings running across North Dakota, with the revenue flowing home to Alutiiq shareholders.
by Melinda Communities.News1mo ago2 min readAI
Alaska's largest fisheries lab swaps ozone for ultraviolet to treat its water
Alaska's largest fisheries research lab is swapping ozone for ultraviolet light to disinfect its water. A Juneau plumbing firm won the $155,653 job.
by Melinda Communities.News1mo ago1 min readAI
Juneau tourism task force takes final public testimony Oct. 15
Juneau's tourism task force set a second testimony session for Oct. 15, pushed back so residents can read the draft recommendations before speaking.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min readAI
Alaska regulators may open the grid to far more home and community solar
Alaska regulators may raise the rooftop and community solar limit from 1.5% to 20% of a utility's demand, opening the grid to far more customer-owned power.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min readAI
Northrim to buy Oregon bank, its first branches outside Alaska
Anchorage's Northrim Bank is expanding outside Alaska for the first time, buying an Oregon bank for about $167 million and 11 new branches.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 1mo ago2 min readAI
The bridge meant to reopen half of Denali is running behind, new permits suggest
The bridge meant to reopen half of Denali is running behind: its federal finish date has passed, but new permits seek staging space through 2028.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min readAI
A company wants to rework historic Interior goldfields, mining two creeks for a decade
A company wants to mine gold for a decade from two creeks in Alaska's historic Ruby goldfields, first struck in 1911, disturbing about 35 acres of streambed.
by Maggie AlaskaNewsadded 1mo ago2 min readAI
Kodiak fights landfill bears with a second fence and a look at composting
Bears keep breaking into Kodiak's landfill, so the borough is fighting back two ways: a fence to keep them out and composting to cut the waste that draws them.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min readAI
Juneau weighs $5.5 million more for flood recovery on a river that floods every year
Juneau is putting another $5.5 million toward flood recovery. The city still calls the Mendenhall barriers temporary and hasn't said who pays long term.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min readAI
More Mat-Su families are paying at the door to keep their power on, as their co-op runs ahead of budget
More Mat-Su families are paying at the door to keep their power on — nearly $472,000 this year — even as their co-op runs $4.9 million ahead of budget.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min readAI
Judge vacates Izembek land exchange for King Cove road
A federal judge vacated the land exchange behind the King Cove road through the Izembek refuge, reopening one of Alaska's longest fights on primary day.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min readAI
DOT says cameras don't read plates; vendor policy allows video storage
Alaska says new cameras in Palmer, Wasilla and Anchorage count people and cars, not plates — but the vendor's policy sets no limit on storing video.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min readAI
Alaska's trail grants reopen, with up to $100,000 on the table
Alaska's multi-use trail grants reopen Wednesday — up to $100,000 at a 90% federal match, open to trail groups, tribes and local governments through Oct. 30.
by Alaska News1mo ago2 min readAI
Railbelt ratepayers will repay up to $100M for a Bradley Lake expansion built around federal tax credits
Railbelt electric customers will repay up to $100M to expand the Bradley Lake hydro plant, its dam sized to chase up to $200M in federal tax credits.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min readAI
Kodiak wants your best shot of the biggest bears on Earth for its visitor guide
Kodiak's visitor-guide photo contest is open, led by the Kodiak brown bear — the biggest bear on Earth. Seven categories, $200 each, through Oct. 1.
by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min readAI
Ketchikan's long rebuild of the road toward Saxman inches ahead, with a waterside path and a tangle over land
Ketchikan's rebuild of the highway toward Saxman, adding a waterside path for walkers and bikers, drew more federal money as cost estimates keep swinging.
by Melinda Communities.News1mo ago2 min readAI
Overnight drilling comes to Ketchikan's aging viaducts, part of a plan to repair them now and replace them later
Overnight drilling comes to Ketchikan's two 1950s viaducts, which carry 14,000-plus vehicles a day, as the state plans to repair them and replace them later.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 1mo ago2 min readAI
