Economy & Business
RSSEconomy & Business in Alaska is the mix of government decisions, contracts, grants and private projects that shape the state's economy. It covers municipal budgets, infrastructure and airport planning, federal grants and contracts, employment trends, and energy development across Alaska.
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Monday, Sep 14
Nome may add flowcharts to help residents navigate permits
Nome may give residents visual flowcharts to walk them through variance and rezoning applications. The Planning Commission backed the idea Tuesday.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min readFrom 
Kodiak's only bid to replace a key sewage station came in at twice the estimate
The only bid to replace the pump station handling 80% of Kodiak's sewage came in at $16.3 million — more than double the city's estimate of $7.2 million.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min readFrom 
A builder across from a Soldotna school pushed its snow into the street
A builder across from a Soldotna elementary school left no room for snow, so it went into the street. The city says snow storage is required.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min readFrom 
Coast Guard awards $315 million for Kodiak fuel pier, and comment on the review closes Sept. 16
The Coast Guard has awarded $315 million to Tutor Perini for a new fuel pier and major cutter mooring at Base Kodiak, competed with four offers and running to 2030. The draft environmental review of the project, including demolition of the existing pier, takes public comment only through Sept. 16.
by Alaska News2mo ago2 min read
Comment closes Monday on giving 20,000 Houston-area acres to AIDEA
Alaskans have until 5 p.m. Monday to comment on giving 20,000 acres north of Houston to a state agency for free — and only those who comment can appeal.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago3 min read
Unalaska's harbor rebuild came in $10.6 million over, and the city is paying cash
Unalaska's harbor rebuild came in at nearly double the 2023 estimate. The city is paying the $10.6 million gap in cash and says it could not do it twice.
by Melinda Communities.News1mo ago2 min readFrom 
Sunday, Sep 13
Idaho firm that already runs the Alcan port wins its $48,169 snow removal order
An Idaho firm won a $48,169 federal task order to plow the Alcan border port near Tok. The same company already holds a $1.16 million contract to run operations and maintenance at the port and the Fairbanks Federal Building.
by Melinda Communities.News2mo ago1 min read
Koniag subsidiaries now staff federal offices in Virginia and Oklahoma
Koniag subsidiaries are staffing federal back offices in Virginia and Oklahoma, including the office that processes Native patients' outside medical bills.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
More from Economy & Business
MEA is holding $451,000 in refunds for members it can't find
Matanuska Electric is sitting on more than $451,000 it owes members it can't find — one of them is owed about $15,000. Checking takes a phone call.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min readFrom 
Fairbanks committee takes up Fairbanks Street rezone that could allow 51 units on 13 lots
Fairbanks North Star Borough Assembly Committee discusses rezoning 13 Fairbanks Street lots to allow up to 51 housing units instead of 25, driven by a vacant former bed and breakfast.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
Eight Unalaska roofs have failed, including the high school and water plant
Eight Unalaska roofs have failed or are failing, including the high school and the water plant. Fixing all 27 city roofs starts at $22 million.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min readFrom 
Unalaska wants the state to look at a ferry from Cold Bay during pollock season
Unalaska wants the state to look at running a ferry from Cold Bay during pollock season. The ferry system is short on boats and the dock has pile damage.
by Bill AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min readFrom 
Seward would allow rainwater catchment in new subdivisions, but only by waiver
Seward would allow rainwater catchment in new subdivisions only by waiver. A commissioner who wanted it struck called it a dry cabin at in-town prices.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min readFrom 
Soldotna planning director drafts code change to replace court citations with civil fines
Soldotna's planning director is drafting a code change to replace court citations for unpermitted rentals with staff-issued civil fines, which could speed enforcement.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min readFrom 
Craig homeowner asks council to drop Port St. Nicholas tower site
A Craig homeowner asked the council to reject a proposed cell tower near her house on Port St. Nicholas Road, but the mayor said the site is outside city limits and the council is still reviewing.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min readFrom 
Wasilla's parks commission backs a ball field expansion with no money behind it
Wasilla's parks commission endorsed a softball field expansion with no money behind it. The commissioner who moved to support it represents the softball league.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min readFrom 
About Economy & Business
Economy and business in Alaska is the mix of government decisions, contracts, grants and private projects that shape the state's economy. It is the broad subject that holds narrower topics such as business, energy, oil and gas, mining, aviation and tourism.
Much of it runs through public bodies, with municipal assemblies approving contracts and planning decisions, state agencies leasing land and selling gravel and rock, and AIDEA lending to industry. Recurring questions concern infrastructure such as harbors, airports, roads and water and sewer lines, along with housing and zoning rules, energy supply, labor contracts, federal grants and military construction.
Its decisions reach every part of the state, from Anchorage and the Mat-Su to Kodiak, Cordova, Haines and the North Slope. Federal and military spending, resource development and Alaska Native corporation ventures all feed into the economy.
More from Economy & Business
Anchorage commission weighs 12.5 acres of heavy-industrial rezoning
Anchorage's planning commission will consider recommending that the Assembly rezone 12.5 acres to heavy industrial.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
Bethel's water plant has been sending filter backwash onto open ground
Water flushed from Bethel's treatment filters has been running onto the tundra instead of into the sewer lagoon. The city does not say for how long.
by Melinda Communities.News2mo ago2 min read
Saturday, Sep 12
The Port of Alaska's terminal design contract is up 50 percent and rising again
The Port of Alaska's Terminal 1 design contract is up 50 percent from 2023. Every year I got to come back for more, the port director says.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
Downtown Wasilla would go one-way under an $83 million state program
Downtown Wasilla would go one-way under an $83 million state program. The construction contract is estimated at $50 million to $60 million.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
Unalaska council awards $21.9 million contract to replace Storrs Harbor floats
Unalaska is spending $22 million on new harbor floats. The acting city manager says the harbor may have to close before long if it does not.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min readFrom 
Unalaska will spend $200,000 deciding what to do about its pool
Unalaska's 40-year-old pool has failing systems and a leaking roof. The city is paying $200,000 to find out whether to fix it, rebuild it or move it.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min readFrom 
Sacred Acre electronic music festival runs through Sunday in Ninilchik
Sacred Acre, an electronic music festival in Ninilchik produced by Cosmic Ayre Productions, runs through Sunday, Sept. 13. Three-day general-admission tickets were listed at $215 plus taxes and fees, with shuttle service available from Anchorage. The festival's website publishes no lineup for this year.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Ketchikan council to vote on seventh amendment to water consulting deal
Ketchikan avoided a $70 million filtration plant by proving its mountain-lake water meets federal conditions for filtration avoidance.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
Fairbanks would require union labor agreements on big borough projects
Fairbanks wants union-negotiated labor agreements on borough projects over $3.5 million, using an ordinance copied almost word for word from Anchorage.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
Pilot uninjured after plane flips during off-airport landing in Caribou Hills
A pilot walked away uninjured after flipping his plane during an off-airport landing in the Caribou Hills, and was flown back to Soldotna by helicopter.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Anchorage's port cargo surcharge nearly triples to fund a rebuild
The surcharge on cargo through Anchorage's port nearly triples Jan. 1, the first step in paying for a $2 billion rebuild, and could hit $70 a ton by 2033.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
Koniag subsidiaries won $58.6 million to run IT for the agency that runs 8(a)
Three Koniag subsidiaries won $58.6 million in two days to run IT for the SBA through the SBA's own preference program. Nobody else bid.
by Melinda Communities.News2mo ago2 min read
Left lane closed at mile 117 of New Seward Hwy until about 4 p.m.
Left northbound lane of New Seward Highway at mile 117 is closed until about 4 p.m. Saturday after a minor incident.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
18 condo units draw 46 percent of Anchorage's housing tax exemptions, report says
Eighteen single condominium units took 46 percent of Anchorage's housing tax exemptions this year, qualifying for a four-or-more-unit incentive through common ownership of one parent parcel.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
The refuge at the top of the Alaska Highway is getting exhibits built for blind visitors
The first wildlife refuge most people see driving into Alaska is getting exhibits built for visitors who cannot see them. Taxidermy included.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
Friday, Sep 11
Two Kenai Peninsula subdivisions go to the plat committee Sept. 28
Two subdivision plats, one in Nikiski and one in Anchor Point, go before the Kenai Peninsula Borough Sept. 28. Written comment closes the Friday before.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Comment closes Oct. 12 on a plan to dig antimony 80 miles from Trapper Creek and refine it at Port MacKenzie
Alaska is taking comment until Oct. 12 on permits for the Estelle gold and antimony project, whose applicant is a Nova Minerals subsidiary that won $43.4 million in federal defense funding to make military-grade antimony trisulfide.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Anchorage wants 10,000 homes. Its zoning fight is over where they can fit.
Anchorage wants 10,000 homes in 10 years. Tuesday's zoning fight is over where they can go — because adding homes means letting familiar blocks change.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago7 min read
ConocoPhillips asks Alaska regulators to set Willow drilling and injection rules
ConocoPhillips asked state regulators to set Willow's drilling and injection rules. Nuiqsut's city and tribe dropped their opposition letter in 2023.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min readFrom 
War-driven oil prices are filling Alaska's treasury while straining its households
The same oil price spike is filling Alaska's treasury and straining its households — and Trump's $2 gas promise would take more than the war ending.
by Alaska News2mo ago5 min read
An antimony project's construction schedule began before comment opened
Construction schedules for an antimony mine and refinery began back in June. The state opened comment on whether to approve the work on Friday.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago3 min read
Housing projects can compete for Alaska CDBG grants, with applications due Dec. 4
Alaska's Community Development Block Grant applications are due Friday, Dec. 4, with about $2.5 million available and a maximum of $850,000 per community. Any Alaska municipal government except Anchorage may apply.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Petersburg planning commission recommends one-year data center moratorium; developer threatens suit
Petersburg may pause data center permits for a year. The developer says a year would kill the project, and has threatened to sue the borough.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
Petersburg rejects a wireless tower next to its only fire hall over collapse fears
Petersburg's planning commission rejected a wireless tower next to the borough's only fire hall over fears it could collapse onto the station.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
