Economy & Business
RSSAlaska News covers state economic issues including cannabis banking, state dividends, and business development opportunities.
More than 100 land deals stand between Alaska and a safer KGB Road
Alaska can't fix KGB Road until it buys land from 100-plus owners. Elsewhere a Gustavus generator waits on a signature. Everything's sliding to 2027.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min readAI
Anchorage faces federal funding freeze if transportation plan misses December deadline
Anchorage could lose the ability to start new road, trail, and transit projects in December — because the agency funding them can't agree on its border.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min readAI
EPA suspends Arctic clean-diesel rules amid Middle East supply crunch
A Middle East fuel crunch reached the North Slope, and EPA suspended clean-diesel rules there through Aug. 2 — putting more soot over Iñupiat communities and Arctic snow.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min readAI
Alaska Senate passes LNG bill as Republicans warn it kills financing
Alaska's Senate passed its LNG bill 11-8, and Senate Republicans immediately said the added taxes and labor rules make the pipeline unfinanceable.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min readAI
Eleven Sitka islands lose power for a day as crews swap a channel cable
Eleven islands off Sitka go dark for eight hours on July 31 while crews swap out an aging underwater cable. Charge everything Thursday night.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min readAI
A sinkhole swallowed a Seward Highway lane, and that lane is closed for a month
A sinkhole ate a northbound lane of the Seward Highway at Potter Marsh. Crews are on it around the clock — and it stays closed until August 24.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min readAI
Oil is beating the forecast, and it still won't cover a dividend
Oil is running $11 a barrel above what the state budgeted. Sounds like a windfall — it wouldn't cover a single $1,000 dividend.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min readAI
Murkowski targets federal conditions on Southeast's hydropower licenses
Southeast's power comes from dams on Tongass land. Murkowski's bill would limit what the Forest Service can demand as those licenses come up for renewal.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min readAI
Hoonah just locked in 15 years of Disney ships
A Tlingit village of under a thousand people just guaranteed itself 15 years of Disney cruise ships — one a week through 2041.
by Melinda Communities.News2mo ago1 min readAI
The program mapping Alaska's unknown ground expires this year
Most of Alaska's interior has never been mapped with modern tools. The federal program that's been fixing that runs out at the end of this year.
by Maggie AlaskaNewsadded 1mo ago1 min readAI
Alaska has the most earthquakes. The program that watches them expired in 2023.
The federal earthquake program has been running on expired authorization since 2023 — awkward for the state that gets a magnitude 7 most years.
by Melinda Communities.Newsadded 1mo ago2 min readAI
Many Bethel homes still haul water. This money starts to change that.
Many Bethel residents still get water by truck. The state just forgave $3.4 million in loans that starts the design work toward piping it instead.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min readAI
Nenana River erosion threatens Alaska Railroad mainline; DNR proposes 6-acre land sale near Healy
Alaska is selling 6 acres of state land to the Alaska Railroad so it can move its mainline tracks away from the eroding Nenana River near Healy. Comments due August 14.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min readAI
Nome port's national security designation could save city $132 million in construction costs
A Senate bill could cut Nome's share of its Arctic port project from 35 percent to 10 percent, saving the city $132 million as construction begins this summer.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min readAI
Glacial outburst flood destroys 100 feet of Fish Creek bear platform near Hyder
A glacial outburst flood destroyed over 100 feet of the Fish Creek Wildlife Observation Site platform near Hyder, forcing the Forest Service to close the bear and salmon viewing facility.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min readAI
Hilcorp seeks 50 megawatts of new power at Milne Point
Hilcorp wants about 50 megawatts of new turbine power at Milne Point — three big turbines and 185,000 gallons of fuel. Comments close 30 days from July 18.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min readAI
Rocket Lab wins $266 million DoD contract for suborbital launches from Kodiak spaceport
Rocket Lab won a $266 million Defense Department contract for at least 12 suborbital launches from Kodiak's state-owned spaceport by end of 2028.
by Melinda Communities.News2mo ago2 min readAI
Cordova's co-op wants a data center to soak up unsold hydropower
Cordova has more hydropower than buyers, and a weak fish season is pushing rates up. The co-op's fix: a data center in a warehouse storage bay.
by Melinda Communities.News2mo ago1 min readAI
State opens 30-day window on nearly 1,700 acres of Petersville mining leases
Alaska opened a 30-day window for objections to seven mining leases covering 1,680 acres near Petersville, with the deadline September 19.
by Alaska News2mo ago2 min readAISeward Highway closed both directions at Mile 69 after collision
Seward Highway closed both directions at Mile 69 after a collision early Tuesday morning, with delays expected to last at least one hour.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min readAI
Anchorage planning boundary dispute unresolved between Assembly and state
Anchorage and the state have not resolved a dispute over the Metropolitan Planning Area boundary, and they must agree by December 29, 2026, or the region loses federal transportation funding.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min readAI
Mat-Su Platting Board approves Starlight Subdivision master plan over neighbor objections
Mat-Su Platting Board approved the 184-lot Starlight Subdivision master plan Thursday despite neighbor complaints about traffic, mail delivery, and drainage on the roughly 200-acre Knik Fairview site.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min readAI
Fairbanks: Old Chena Ridge Road and Transfer Site access close July 27 for season
Old Chena Ridge Road and Transfer Site access close July 27 through the construction season for roundabout work at the Chena Pump Road intersection, part of a $3 million safety project.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min readAI
DEC issues proposed final APDES permit for Hilcorp's Prudhoe Bay discharge
DEC issued a proposed permit allowing Hilcorp to discharge 12.4 million gallons of treated seawater daily into Stefansson Sound near Nuiqsut, reviving an authorization that expired in late 2022.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min readAI
Five Nome-area tribes sue Army Corps over Safety Sound gold dredge permit
Five Nome-area tribes sued the Army Corps of Engineers to block a gold dredge in Safety Sound, saying the agency approved the project without required environmental review.
by Maggie AlaskaNewsadded 2mo ago1 min readAI
Roald Amundsen brings 530 passengers to Kodiak on August 2
Cruise ship Roald Amundsen docks in Kodiak on August 2 with 530 passengers for a nine-hour port call.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min readAI
Landslide closes Ninilchik Beach Access Road near Mission Ave through July 28
A landslide closed Ninilchik Beach Access Road near Mission Avenue through July 28, blocking access to the beach.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min readAI
Kawerak extends RFP deadline for construction management services in Bering Strait Region
Kawerak extended its deadline to July 31 for construction management firms to bid on transportation projects across the Bering Strait Region.
by Maggie AlaskaNewsadded 2mo ago1 min readAI
Utqiaġvik gets a new credit union branch, the northernmost in the world
Global Credit Union opened the world's northernmost branch in Utqiaġvik on July 9, offering home and vehicle loans to residents who previously had limited in-person banking options.
by Melinda Communities.Newsadded 2mo ago2 min readAI
Anchorage landfill contract hits $16M after starting at $30,004
Anchorage Assembly votes Tuesday on a $983,510 amendment to its landfill contract, pushing the total to $16.1 million since the deal started at $30,004 in 2021.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min readAI
Anchorage Assembly set to approve $1.4M fire engine with 900-day wait
Anchorage Assembly votes July 21 on a $1.4 million fire engine that won't arrive for roughly 900 days due to nationwide manufacturing delays.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min readAI
Railbelt Transmission Organization schedules three subcommittee meetings
The Railbelt Transmission Organization scheduled three closed subcommittee meetings in late July to finalize a tariff that would standardize power-sharing charges among utilities.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min readAI
Anchorage Assembly to vote July 21 on $351K for pedestrian and bike count program
Anchorage Assembly votes July 21 on $351,143 to count pedestrians and bikes on city roads and paths, combining federal money with local budget funds.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min readAI
Homer reverses Copper River Seafoods building plan, keeps December deadline
Homer City Council voted to scrap redesigned plans for a Copper River Seafoods facility and revert to the original 2019 building design, keeping the December construction deadline in place.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min readAI
Alaska House ties 19-19 on gas line bill, killing it for now
Alaska House deadlocked 19-19 on the Alaska LNG bill July 16, stalling gas supply plans as Cook Inlet production declines toward 2027 shortages.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min readAI
TCC seeks contractor for new Rampart health clinic, proposals due August 21
Tanana Chiefs Conference is seeking a general contractor to build a new health clinic in Rampart, with proposals due August 21 and construction expected to finish by the end of 2027.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min readAI
Anchorage resolution would steer infrastructure to neighborhoods absorbing new housing
Anchorage Assembly will vote Tuesday on a resolution directing city infrastructure spending toward neighborhoods absorbing new housing under municipal growth plans.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min readAI
APIA cuts heating assistance 20% for 10 Aleutian and Pribilof communities
APIA is cutting heating assistance 20 percent for Alaska Native households in ten Aleutian and Pribilof communities in 2027 to stretch limited funding.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min readAI
AWWU files new tariff revisions with Alaska regulators, opening public comment on Anchorage water and sewer rates
Anchorage water and sewer bills rose $5.46 per month in 2026 after the Assembly approved increases and AWWU filed tariffs with state regulators, opening public comment through July 31.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min readAI
Juneau Assembly to take up ordinance making 5-ship cruise limit enforceable law
Juneau Assembly will introduce an ordinance July 27 to make the five-large-cruise-ship-per-day limit a binding municipal law instead of a voluntary agreement.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min readAI
