Economy & Business

Lincoln Street in downtown Sitka to close Oct. 5 to 15 for water line work

Part of Lincoln Street by St. Michael's Cathedral closes Oct. 5 to 15 for a new water line. Sitka's downtown gets a detour, and everyone gets a longer walk.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

Regulators fix math errors in AVEC power subsidy, raising credits in most villages

State regulators found math errors in AVEC's rural power credits. The fix raises the credit in 44 of 46 village power systems and lowers it in two.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago3 min readFrom Sep 24

Anchorage airport passenger traffic grows 9% as Fairbanks holds steady, state report says

Anchorage's airport saw about 9% more travelers in the first half of 2026, and more cargo too. Fairbanks held steady right where it was last year.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

FBI renews $1.37 million visitor-management software order with Anchorage-based company

The FBI is paying an Anchorage-based, tribally owned company $1.37 million to renew the software it uses to manage visitors at its facilities.

by Melinda Communities.News1mo ago2 min read

Coast Guard orders $315 million fuel pier and cutter berths at Base Kodiak

The Coast Guard has now ordered about $458 million in new work at Base Kodiak this year, led by a $315 million fuel pier and berths for its biggest cutters.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min readFrom Sep 24

Whittier Tunnel to close Saturday for USS Ted Stevens commissioning; guests must ride bus or train

The Navy is commissioning a destroyer in Whittier on Saturday, and the tunnel's closed to cars. Guests ride buses from Anchorage. The train's already full.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago3 min read

Judge upholds permit for Contango's Johnson Tract road after company finished building it

A judge upheld the permit for Contango's road and bridges at the Johnson Tract in Lake Clark. By then, the company had already finished building them.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min readFrom Sep 8

Kenai Peninsula two-bedroom rents post record 11% jump in state survey

Kenai Peninsula two-bedroom rent jumped 11% this spring to $1,336, a borough record. Most of Alaska saw closer to 2.6%, and only Mat-Su rose faster.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min readFrom Mar 1

Juneau two-bedroom rents rise 2.8%, but one-bedroom rents climb faster

Juneau's typical two-bedroom rent rose just 2.8% this spring, to $1,708. One-bedrooms were another story, up about 13% in the state's survey.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min readFrom Mar 11

Wasilla pot shop near Knik Charter School surrenders its state license

The Wasilla-area pot shop 530 feet from Knik Charter School lost in court and now has no state license. Its name has moved to a store on Spenard Road.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Homer Electric design fee for new hookups doubles to $1,000 Tuesday

Want power at your new place on the Kenai? Homer Electric's design fee doubles to $1,000 Tuesday, and three-phase hookups lose $3,000 in help.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

HUD raises upfront fee on Section 184 home loans for Native borrowers starting Oct. 1

Native American and Alaska Native families using HUD's Section 184 home loans pay a 1.5% upfront fee starting Oct. 1, up from 1%. That's $1,500 on $300,000.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Coast Guard awards $36.4 million to repair industrial facility at Base Ketchikan

The Coast Guard is spending $36.4 million to repair a building at Base Ketchikan, the borough's biggest federal contract this year by a wide margin.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

House passes water bill naming Alaska harbor, flood and water projects; Senate still has to act

The House passed a water bill naming Kodiak's harbor, Juneau's glacial floods and Sitka water money. None of it counts until the Senate agrees.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min readFrom Sep 22

State puts $4.2 million toward housing for teachers and other professionals in rural Alaska

Rural Alaska keeps losing teachers to a lack of decent housing. The state has $4.2 million to build more, for communities that signed up by August.

by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago3 min read

Aniak's Bush-Tell has drawn more than $12 million in federal support to serve river villages

An Aniak phone company has drawn more than $12 million in federal support to keep calls and internet running in villages along the Kuskokwim and Yukon.

by Melinda Communities.News1mo ago2 min read

FAA scales back plan to expand controlled airspace over Alaska after pilot groups object

The FAA wanted nearly all of Alaska's sky above 1,200 feet under controlled-airspace rules. Pilots pushed back, and four remote regions get a 4,000-foot floor.

by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Comments due Oct. 23 on Alaska's 2027 Cook Inlet and Alaska Peninsula oil and gas lease sales

Want the right to challenge the state's next Cook Inlet and Alaska Peninsula oil and gas lease sales? Comment by Oct. 23, or forever hold your appeal.

by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Pilots will drop pumpkins on a target near North Pole on Saturday

Pilots will drop pumpkins from 200 feet onto a target circle at Bradley Sky Ranch near North Pole on Saturday, Sept. 26, competing for prizes in a free public fly-in event.

by Alaska News1mo ago2 min read

Petersburg assembly deadlocks 3-3, rejecting one-year data center moratorium

Petersburg's assembly split 3-3 on pausing data center permits, so there's no pause. The utility says the power grid comes with its own off switch.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Follows: Petersburg planning commission recommends one-year data center moratorium; developer threatens suit

Anchorage commission backs code change so Centennial campground and Russian Jack greenhouse fit park zoning

Anchorage's own campground and greenhouse don't fit its new park zoning. A commission voted to change the code so the parks can be zoned as parks.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Murkowski bill would modify and continue Snettisham's exemption from federal hydropower licensing

Sen. Lisa Murkowski introduced a bill Thursday to keep Juneau's Snettisham hydroelectric plant exempt from federal licensing rules, protecting the facility that supplies 70% of the city's power

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Alaska household electricity prices rose 5.6 percent from a year earlier in July, federal data show

Alaska households paid 28.83 cents per kilowatt-hour in July, up 5.6 percent from a year ago and over 10 cents above the national average. The fridge noticed.

by Melinda Communities.News1mo ago1 min read

Three Alaska tribal housing groups win $15.7 million in federal grants for 58 homes

Three Alaska tribal housing groups won $15.7 million in HUD's latest competitive round, enough for 58 homes in Haines, Galena and Anchorage.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min readFrom Sep 9

Fairbanks borough seeks $2.6 million for two landfill compactors after transmission failure

Fairbanks' landfill compactor blew its transmission after two rebuilds. The mayor says skip the third rebuild and wants $2.6 million for two new machines.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Kotzebue water system exceeds federal lead action level after two of 10 homes test high

Two of 10 Kotzebue homes tested above the federal lead action level. The city is testing more homes and says to run taps until cold before drinking.

by Alaska News1mo ago2 min read

Park Service hires Everts Air Fuel to keep avgas at two remote Alaska park units through 2030

Two of Alaska's roadless park units run on small planes, and small planes run on avgas. The Park Service is paying Everts Air Fuel $54,506 to keep it coming.

by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

Houston commission recommends giving Holding District H landowners until March for fee-free zone changes

Houston landowners in the zoning holding district may get until the end of March to pick a new zone for free. The City Council still has to sign off.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

FAA awards $19.6 million to replace worn-out lighting and signs at Haines Airport

Haines Airport's runway lights, taxiway signs and beacon have all reached the end of their useful life, per the FAA, which is sending $19.6 million to fix that.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min readFrom Sep 15

Big Lake's trail groomers are asking the state for a snowmachine

The volunteers who groom 40 miles of Big Lake trail want a new snowmachine. Last time they asked the state for $35,000 and got about a third.

by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

State's draft road plan puts about $551 million into Kenai Peninsula projects; comments due Oct. 29

The state's draft road plan pours over half a billion dollars into Kenai Peninsula roads, mostly the Sterling Highway. Speak now: comments close Oct. 29.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago4 min readFrom Sep 14

Follows: Alaska's $7.74 billion transportation plan is open for public comment

MEA lays out how rolling outages would work if Southcentral runs short of gas this winter

MEA's plan if the gas runs short: nine groups, 30 to 45 minutes dark apiece, turns every few hours. Step six of six, and the co-op hopes to never get there.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago3 min read

Global refinery disruptions widened fuel margins in 2026, and rural Alaska's barge fuel cost more

Galena's utility paid 29% more per gallon for this year's barge fuel, and St. Paul paid about $7.55. Summer's dip in oil prices came after the fuel was bought.

by Cale Green1mo ago4 min read

Prince William Sound faces a winter without ferry service as the Aurora is overhauled

Prince William Sound faces a winter with little or no ferry service while the 1977-built Aurora is overhauled. New docks are the fix, and they're years away.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Lawmakers press state on Safer Seward Highway project's size and funding as DOT reopens comment

Lawmakers pressed DOT on the Safer Seward Highway's size and funding. DOT pointed to open houses, new data online and 30 more days of public comment.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago3 min read

Park Service awards $4.5 million contract to upgrade Glacier Bay's water system for firefighting

Glacier Bay's Bartlett Cove is getting bigger water lines so firefighters have enough pressure to fight a building fire. The job is worth about $4.5 million.

by Melinda Communities.News1mo ago1 min read

Kinross cuts gold forecast over Chile and Nevada mines; its Alaska operation's output is also down this year

inross trimmed its gold forecast, blaming Chile and Nevada, and its shares fell 11.6%. Alaska wasn't mentioned; its mines are producing less at higher cost.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago3 min read

Kenai voters decide Nov. 3 whether to ratify a $75,000 home tax exemption

Kenai voters will decide Nov. 3 whether to exempt the first $75,000 of home value from city property taxes, saving qualifying homeowners up to $326 a year.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

Anchorage proposes trading the Tozier Track to the state housing agency for downtown parking lots, with housing required

Anchorage wants to trade the old dog track where the first Iditarod started for downtown parking lots. No bidding needed, and a neighbor objects.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago3 min read

Anchorage will take public comment on Merrill Field's next 20 years Oct. 15

Merrill Field is planning its next 20 years, noise study included. The open house is Oct. 15, and it gathers input rather than setting priorities.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read