Economy & Business

Sitka planners favor 30 to 40 single-family lots near Sitka High School

Sitka planners like 30 to 40 single-family lots near Sitka High, with room saved for apartments or dorms later. Final findings are due by year's end.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Mat-Su gets $7.9 million federal grant for Port MacKenzie barge ramp

The Mat-Su Borough has lined up $12.1 million, mostly federal, for a barge ramp at Port MacKenzie so barges can land without fighting the tides.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min readFrom Sep 27

Ketchikan accepts $6.9 million to replace Bar Harbor floats, Mountain Point launch

Ketchikan is getting $6.9 million from the state to replace two tired Bar Harbor floats and rebuild the Mountain Point boat launch. Work runs into 2029.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min readFrom Sep 17

Federal record zeroes out Cordova bridge-replacement money, but project status remains unclear

Cordova's load-posted Heney Creek Bridge is rated poor. A federal replacement record now shows $0, and DOT has not explained what changed.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago3 min read

Anchorage consent agenda carries $2.4 million in sludge hauling contracts

Two sludge hauling contracts worth up to $2.4 million with Around the Clock Pumping LLC, the lowest bidder on both routes, are on the Anchorage Assembly's consent agenda Tuesday.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

Hideout Lounge liquor license renewal goes to Assembly

The Assembly is set to wave through Al's Alaskan Inn and Hideout Lounge's liquor renewal Oct. 6. Its application lists 19 rooms, 5 kitchens and no dining room.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

Anchorage Assembly consent agenda carries $1.57M more for West 32nd Avenue rebuild

Anchorage Assembly votes Tuesday on committing $1.57 million more to rebuild West 32nd Avenue, though most of that money hinges on road bonds voters have not yet approved.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Borough Planning Commission to hear proposal for Nikiski gravel pit on Oct. 12

A paving company wants to dig a gravel pit at Mile 31 of the Kenai Spur Highway in Nikiski. Neighbors get their say Oct. 12, three minutes at a time.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

Feds select Anchorage company to drill geothermal test well on Augustine volcano

The feds picked an Anchorage company to drill a geothermal test well on Augustine, the Cook Inlet volcano. Tapping a volcano for power: very Alaska.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min readFrom Sep 21

Federal money flows to full-scale earthquake tests of Alaska bridge pile connections

NC State engineers are testing how Alaska bridge piles hold up in big earthquakes, and federal funding for the work just grew to about $210,000.

by Melinda Communities.News1mo ago2 min read

Federal highway money for Whittier tunnel operations reaches $4.8 million on one award

Federal Highway Administration awarded Alaska $4.8 million to operate the Anton Anderson Memorial Tunnel between Whittier and the Seward Highway through March 2027.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

Anchorage transit advisory board asks for more city money for AnchorRIDES and bus drivers

Anchorage's transit advisory board wants more city money for AnchorRIDES and five more bus drivers. It didn't say how much, and the Assembly isn't voting yet.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min readFrom Sep 10

Anchorage Assembly to consider road maintenance contract for Section 6/Campbell Airstrip area

The Anchorage Assembly will weigh a road maintenance deal for the Section 6/Campbell Airstrip area. The only bidder: Northern Gravel & Trucking.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min readFrom Sep 1

Deering airport construction resumes after heavy rain halts work for five days

Rain stopped work on Deering's airport for five days. Crews are back, hauling fill from 6 pm to 8 am nightly, so residents can expect trucks after dark.

by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

BLM closes Wickersham Dome Trailhead in the White Mountains starting Oct. 1 for construction

Wickersham Dome Trailhead closes Oct. 1 for a bigger parking lot and a second outhouse. Lee's Cabin fans can detour at mile 23.5. Summit Trail fans wait.

by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

Left lane closed near New Seward Hwy mile 117, set to end 4:10 p.m.

One northbound lane of the New Seward Highway near Mile 117 is closed for maintenance until 4:10 pm. It's the fourth such closure there since Sept. 21.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

Tractor-trailer blocks Dalton Highway at Mile 320 in both directions, with delays expected to last hours

A tractor-trailer has the Dalton Highway blocked at Mile 320, the only road to the North Slope. Expect to wait: 511 says it could take multiple hours.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

Atka IRA Council gets $548,271 federal grant to build four greenhouses in the Aleutian village

Atka, a roadless Aleutian village of about 60, will build four greenhouses with a $548,271 federal grant to grow fresh produce closer to home.

by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Court-ordered review models what a large Donlin Gold dam failure would do downstream

A court-ordered review modeled what a Donlin Gold dam failure would do downstream. The Corps calls any failure extremely unlikely; the worst cases are severe.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago4 min readFrom Sep 23

State raises minimum bids to $35 an acre in annual North Slope and Beaufort Sea oil and gas lease sales

The state's yearly North Slope lease sale is back with a pricier entry fee: minimum bids rise from $25 to $35 an acre. Results come out Nov. 18.

by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago3 min read

Federal grant puts $1.3 million toward Healy walking and biking path

Healy will build a separated walking and biking path connecting the school and neighborhoods, funded by a $1.3 million federal grant with construction now planned for 2027.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

Fairbanks-area plan projects draw $13 million in federal highway obligations

Fairbanks and North Pole projects drew about $13 million in federal highway obligations in six weeks. When any of it gets built is a separate question.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

Regulators cut Chugach's Beluga River gas price after Chugach asked for an increase

Chugach asked regulators to nudge its Beluga River gas price up a penny. After staff found errors, regulators cut it by 39 cents instead, starting Thursday.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Mat-Su Assembly member moves to reconsider the pricier Engstrom-Trunk road route

The Mat-Su Assembly picked the pricier northern route for the Engstrom-Trunk road 4-3. Now Maxwell Sumner wants a do-over, and it's on the Oct. 6 agenda.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Follows: Mat-Su picks a pricier road route over its advisors and landowners

Kuskokwim Corporation hosts first Evening with an Elder on Zoom Oct. 1

The Kuskokwim Corporation hosts its first Evening with an Elder on Zoom Oct. 1, with Jennie Zaukar and Ann Fienup-Riordan, as it marks 50 years.

by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

Federal records show $142 million in highway grants for four Sterling Highway projects

Federal records show $142 million in grants for four Sterling Highway jobs, mostly the Cooper Landing bypass, which still has a bridge and years of work to go.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Juneau and Anchorage youth shelters get $650,000 in federal grants for runaway and homeless youth

Youth shelters in Juneau and Anchorage are getting $650,000 in new federal grants to give runaway and homeless kids a safe place to stay and help getting home.

by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Ketchikan Indian Community gets $900,000 to revive its fleet for subsistence trips, training and charters

Ketchikan Indian Community is putting 23 boats back to work with a $900,000 federal grant: elder-led subsistence trips, youth training and halibut charters.

by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Seward shuttle operator warns rising costs could end free service

Seward's free shuttle operator warned the City Council that rising labor and vehicle costs could make the service too expensive to continue when the contract comes up for renewal.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Seward council approves $11.8 million in shore power contracts for cruise dock

Seward approved nearly $12 million for a giant battery and dock design so plugged-in cruise ships don't dim the lights in town. The EPA grant is paying.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Wasilla sets Oct. 12 hearing on airport master plan that recommends higher lease rates

Wasilla airport leases have cost 6 cents a square foot for decades. A new 20-year master plan says that should go up. The public hearing is Oct. 12.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Follows: Wasilla weighs a plan to nearly double its airport runway

Report says 37% of Alaska households couldn't cover basic costs, with rural areas hit hardest

By one group's measure, 37% of Alaska households couldn't cover basic costs in 2024, and a two-income family with two small kids came up nearly $12,000 short.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago3 min read

Seward survey respondents favor a local cooperative to run the city's electric utility

Most Seward survey takers want a local co-op to run the city's electric utility. The math hinges on a hydro project Chugach Electric also wants.

by Melinda Communities.News1mo ago3 min read

North Slope crude runs $15 above Alaska's spring forecast, budget group says

Alaska North Slope crude is averaging $90 a barrel, $15 above the spring forecast, potentially adding nearly $1 billion to state revenue this year if prices hold.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Carnival's Alaska land tour business reports 7% rise in summer revenue

Carnival's Alaska hotels, buses and trains brought in $191 million this summer, up 7%. Quarterly profit rose, but it's down for the year so far.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago3 min readFrom Aug 31

Petersburg Medical Center weighs $10 million apartment building to house its staff

Petersburg Medical Center needs somewhere for its staff to live. A 20-unit apartment building would do it, at about $500,000 a unit. The board is thinking.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Kodiak holds off on selling historic Griffin Memorial Hospital as museums seek a lease

Kodiak's 1938 Griffin Memorial Hospital has two suitors: a church that wants to buy it and two museums that want to lease it. The city isn't selling, for now.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

Anchorage contractor gets $7.5 million Border Patrol order for transportation and guard services

Anchorage-based Trailboss Enterprises has a new $7.5 million Border Patrol order. Its immigration transport work for ICE and CBP has mostly been in Texas.

by Melinda Communities.News1mo ago2 min read

State labor agency holds public refresher on collective bargaining Tuesday

Ever wonder how public workers' contracts get made? A management guy and a union guy walk through it Tuesday at a state session in Anchorage and on Zoom.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

A year after Typhoon Halong, western Alaskans can still get job, training and winterization help

People still recovering from Typhoon Halong can get job training, winterization help and FEMA-paid flights. Disaster unemployment benefits have closed.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read