Economy & Business

Rezanof Drive closes nightly in downtown Kodiak through September

Rezanof Drive closes nightly through the end of September in downtown Kodiak, and the state hasn't said what construction the closure is for.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

State-backed Alyeschem plant reaches construction milestone

Alyeschem has finished driving foundation piles for its Prudhoe Bay chemical plant. Alaska's backing is a repayable loan, not a $70 million grant.

by Melinda Communities.News1mo ago2 min read

Four miles of Skagway's only road out have no money in the state's plan

Four miles of Skagway's only road out carry no money in Alaska's draft transportation plan. The stages on either side of them carry $78 million.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Alpine pipeline seeks nearly double metering capacity for Willow-era output

A North Slope pipeline wants to nearly double how much oil it can meter as Willow nears production. The filing changes measurement capacity, not Willow's approval.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Alaska is taking bids to make its own Made in Alaska merchandise

Alaska is taking bids to make its own Made in Alaska merchandise. The cap is $15,000, and the permit is only required by the time bids close.

by Melinda Communities.News1mo ago1 min read

The program mapping Alaska's subsurface runs out at the end of the year

The federal program that nearly doubled Alaska's public geologic data expires this year. The bill to extend it is one of 25 in a committee with no vote set.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

Senate panel will take up Native housing bill co-sponsored by both Alaska senators

The law that funds housing in Alaska Native villages is up for renewal. Overcrowding there runs about double the rate on tribal lands nationally.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Juneau commission to weigh second tenant on Clinton Drive Domino's lot with no added parking

A second business wants into the Domino's building on Clinton Drive with no new parking, and the neighbors who fought the 2024 permit are back.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Anchorage planners ask commission to triple setback threshold director can approve alone

Anchorage wants to triple what its planning director can approve alone, letting more setback encroachments skip the public hearing that now takes months.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Sitka's sales tax drops a point Oct. 1, the one that funds schools

Sitka's sales tax drops from 6 percent to 5 on Oct. 1 through March. The summer point that comes off is the one dedicated to funding school buildings.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

A Wasilla workshop will walk job seekers through federal applications

State staff will help job seekers with federal applications Thursday in Wasilla — as Alaska's federal job market shrinks and resumes get capped at two pages.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

Judge upholds federal permit for mining access inside Lake Clark National Park

A judge upheld the permit for a road, airstrip and tunnel inside Lake Clark park. The test was whether the Corps was arbitrary, not whether it was right.

by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Fairbanks companies seek a year-round water right for the pool at Circle Hot Springs

Two Fairbanks companies want a year-round water right at Circle Hot Springs — about 8.6 million gallons a day, on an application pending since 2020.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

A 2024 crash near Denali came down to windshear and a short strip

Federal investigators have explained a 2024 crash near Denali: windshear off a 600-foot strip, and no room to climb. The pilot walked away.

by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

Denali opens 30 miles of road to private vehicles starting Friday

Starting Friday you can drive 30 miles into Denali, twice the summer limit — though snow and ice can shrink that stretch without much notice.

by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Afognak Native Corporation buys majority stake in Weaver Bros. trucking companies

Weaver Bros. has hauled freight in Alaska since 1946. Its new majority owner is a Kodiak village corporation whose people lost their village in 1964.

by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min readFrom Sep 11

Anchorage approves a bigger paved lot at the Basher Trailhead

Anchorage approved replacing the Basher Trailhead's 16-space gravel lot with a paved 52-space one, ending a year-long fight over its size.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Follows: Anchorage weighs paving and expanding the Basher Trailhead lot

Anchorage weighs making its 49 neighborhood plans advisory only

Anchorage's 49 neighborhood plans carry the force of law today. The Assembly wants to know if they should just be advice — 70% have never been updated.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Falling rock rerouted the Root Glacier trail, and helicopters are coming

Falling rock closed the main Root Glacier trail in July. The reroute is still in place, it runs across talus, and the park wants you in traction devices.

by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Anchorage's new-home tax break would reach pricier houses under a revision

Anchorage's proposed tax break for first-time buyers of new homes would reach pricier houses under a revised version up Tuesday, ending a cutoff at the average.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

Students wait for the bus on the shoulder of Rabbit Creek Road

Kids wait for school buses on the shoulder of Rabbit Creek Road, where traffic runs 52 in a 45. The state is studying whether to build them a path.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min readFrom Jul 1

A Wainwright corporation will sweep Energy Department offices for bugs

A Wainwright village corporation's subsidiary will sweep Energy Department offices for hidden microphones and cameras, under a $2.35 million contract.

by Melinda Communities.News1mo ago1 min read

BLM Rule Would Cut NPR-A Pad Approvals to 60 Days, Limit Hunting

The BLM's own analysis found a proposed drilling rule would significantly restrict subsistence hunting for three North Slope villages. Hearings begin Monday.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago3 min readFrom Sep 8

Follows: BLM rule would let NPR-A operators waive subsistence conditions without public notice

Wasilla council commits to planning a regional dispatch center outside city limits

Wasilla agreed to help plan moving its emergency dispatch center out of town. The reason for the hurry is a fire station going up on Bogard Road.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Follows: Wasilla weighs $569,600 for round-the-clock Fire/EMS dispatch at MatCom

Wasilla council pulls airport master plan from introduction, delays public hearing

Wasilla's council postponed but didn't drop a plan to nearly double its airport runway, from 3,700 feet toward 6,000, at an estimated $279 million.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

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

Talkeetna residents ask Mat-Su commission to oppose Front Street water tank site

Talkeetna's wells have too much arsenic. The borough's fix would clear 1.4 acres of woods with a bear trail through it, and neighbors want another site.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Alaska put $5.63 billion in road and ferry plans out for comment

Alaska put $5.63 billion in road, bridge and ferry plans out for public comment through Oct. 29. It scheduled no public meetings on any of it.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

Fire at Whittier's new cruise terminal forces ships from the dock

A fire at Whittier's new cruise terminal Monday forced a tour boat and a cruise ship off the dock and closed the only road into town for hours. No one was hurt.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

A bill would guarantee vehicle access for the village inside Gates of the Arctic

A national park was drawn around Anaktuvuk Pass in 1980 without asking. A bill would guarantee the village the right to drive out and go hunting.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min readFrom Sep 8

Anchorage can build housing with this grant now. Residents asked for teardowns

Congress just let Anchorage spend block grant money on new housing for the first time in 50 years. The residents who showed up asked for demolitions.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

A dam licensed near Juneau 10 years ago still isn't built, and its deadline just passed

A dam licensed near Juneau a decade ago was never built, its construction deadline just expired, and the local utility says the town doesn't need the power.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min readFrom Sep 8

Follows: Juneau Hydropower asks FERC for two more years to start Sweetheart Lake dam

Unalaska awarded its harbor contract before the sea otter permit was final

Unalaska signed a $21.9 million harbor contract. The permit allowing the work to disturb sea otters is still a draft, and comment closed after the vote.

by Melinda Communities.News1mo ago2 min readFrom Sep 8

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 AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

The federal stake in Trilogy Metals closes, terms made public

The federal government now owns about a tenth of Trilogy Metals, developer of Alaska's Ambler district, and the terms of the $35.6 million deal are now public.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min readFrom Sep 11

Follows: Washington bought into Ambler. The payoff depends on the road being built

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 AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read

Native corporations keep 8(a) status as individuals face a new test

Alaska Native corporations keep their place in the federal 8(a) contracting program under a new rule, but individual Native applicants now face a tougher test.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago3 min readFrom Aug 11

South Anchorage council asks state and city for interim school-route safety projects

Fifteen pedestrians were killed on Alaska roads last year, the highest rate in a decade. One Anchorage council is asking for whatever can be done fast.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min readFrom Aug 24

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 AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read

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 AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read

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 AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read