Economy & Business

Port Alsworth visitor center gets new parking, trail on former tank farm site

Once there was a fuel tank farm, now there's a parking area and 500 feet of new deer Trail in Lake Clark, national Park and preserve.

by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read

A federal rule would let NPR-A drilling spread pad by pad, skipping environmental study

A federal rule would let oil drilling spread across NPR-A pad by pad — each new site fast-tracking the next and skipping the environmental study now required.

by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

A mobile home lot near Abbott Road could become business-zoned

A mobile home lot near Abbott Road would become business-zoned. Nobody objected, and a planner noted such changes can displace mobile-home residents.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read

Anchorage zoning board approves setback variance for Chandalar Drive home

Anchorage zoning board unanimously approved a variance allowing a Chandalar Drive home to keep an addition that has encroached 1.3 feet into the required setback since 1998

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

Follows: Anchorage weighs a variance for a 1998 setback encroachment

Anchorage zoning board backs letting director approve bigger setback fixes without a hearing

An Anchorage board voted to let the planning director approve building encroachments up to 15 percent without a hearing, tripling the current threshold.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

Kodiak assembly weighs $3.85 million grant to replace failing hospital chiller

A failing chiller that supports sterilization at Kodiak's hospital is running at 35 percent, and the borough votes Wednesday on a nearly $4 million replacement.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read

A Haines ordinance cuts more code than the commission voted to change

Haines commissioners voted to trim one sentence of the land-use code. The draft ordinance deletes far more, including a clause nobody voted on.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min readFrom Aug 20

Anchorage keeps funding a $5 million median barrier on 5th Avenue

An Anchorage committee kept funding a $5 million median barrier on 5th Avenue, over an objection that the decade-old crash data doesn't justify it.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

Juneau's proposed Statter Harbor fee would more than triple operators' costs

Juneau wants Statter Harbor's charter operators to pay about $1.8 million a year, more than triple last year — and they say they can't pass it on.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min readFrom Aug 19

Juneau water and sewer bills go up 5 percent a year through 2030

Juneau's water and sewer bills go up 5 percent a year through 2030. The utility runs on ratepayers alone, and voters rejected a bond to share the load.

by Melinda Communities.News2mo ago2 min read

Two Fairbanks rezones could take 32 lots to 99 dwelling units total

Fairbanks is being asked to upzone two residential corridors in five days. Together they would take 32 lots from 34 units up to as many as 99.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

Haines Highway paving means 20-minute waits through Sunday

Paving on the Haines Highway means waits up to 20 minutes through Sunday, and Klukwan drivers have to change entrances partway through Saturday.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read

Kenai's airport expects to reopen its main runway around Sept. 21

Kenai's airport expects to move flights back onto its rebuilt main runway around Sept. 21, ending four months of landing planes on a taxiway.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

Southcentral is 3 Bcf short this winter, and producers told lawmakers the gas runs out in 2029

Southcentral Alaska faces a natural gas shortage by winter 2029 unless it imports liquefied natural gas or taps North Slope supplies, Hilcorp and Chugach told lawmakers Thursday.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

Oil above $101 puts Alaska's budget on a war in the Persian Gulf

Every dollar oil moves is worth about $35 million to Alaska's treasury. Brent closed above $101 Wednesday, up more than half from a year ago.

by Alaska News2mo ago2 min read

North Slope oil is running below the state's forecast so far, and the price is running above it

Alaska's oil is flowing below the state's revenue forecast while the price runs above it. The two effects roughly offset, and the year is only ten weeks old.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

Delta Junction inventor wins design patent for sports bra with built-in neck guard

A woman in Delta Junction, population 918 at the last census, owns the look of a sports bra with a built-in neck guard for the next 15 years.

by Alaska News2mo ago2 min read

Kodiak's manager wants to sell lakeside land. Its planners say keep it.

Kodiak's borough manager applied to sell land near Beaver Lake. The borough's own planning staff recommend keeping it, calling the ground too wet to build.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

Southcentral's gas storage is two-thirds full with winter coming

Southcentral's gas storage is two thirds full heading into winter, and one field shuts down for maintenance starting Monday.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

Follows: Three Cook Inlet gas storage plans pending for winter demand

Skagway Ferry Terminal Set to Reopen After 26-Day Closure

Skagway's ferry terminal reopens today after a 26-day closure caused by cracked concrete and deteriorated anchor chains, forcing vehicle traffic through Canada during peak season.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago3 min read

Follows: Skagway's ferry terminal is closed indefinitely for work the state planned as a one-week job

No license covers driving a concrete mixer, so this Alaska company teaches it

No license covers driving a concrete mixer, so a North Pole company supplying Fairbanks concrete since the 1950s teaches the whole craft in-house.

by Melinda Communities.News2mo ago2 min readFrom Jun 1

Wasilla weighs a plan to nearly double its airport runway

Wasilla wants to nearly double its airport runway in a $279 million, 20-year plan — a bid to serve bigger planes as the Mat-Su Valley keeps growing.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago3 min read

Aleut Ventures opens Frosty Fuels crew and fueling facility at Cold Bay Airport

Aleut Ventures opened a crew facility at Cold Bay Airport this September, adding lodging and ground support as part of a $1.25 million investment in North Pacific aviation infrastructure.

by Bill AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

Alaska moves to cap what workers' comp pays for creams and patches

Alaska wants to cap what workers' comp pays for creams and patches — after minor formula tweaks were billed at hundreds or thousands of dollars.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

Three Alaska governor candidates agree on the problems, diverge on government's role

Three candidates for governor agreed Alaska faces serious problems but split on solutions at a Tuesday forum. The fourth, Bernadette Wilson, did not attend.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago7 min read

A Fairbanks entrance is closed while crews build a year-round bike path

An entrance to South University Avenue is closed through Monday while Fairbanks builds a 1.8-mile bike and pedestrian path designed for year-round use.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read

Anchorage weighs $2.8M state payment, most of it for winter shelter

Anchorage cut $1 million in contracted surge shelter beds when alcohol tax revenue fell short. State money would put them back ahead of winter.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min readFrom Sep 1

Unalaska wants $5 million to pave the road serving America's busiest fishing port

The country's largest fishing port by poundage is served by a gravel road. Paving it is now Unalaska's top request of Congress, at $5 million.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min readFrom Feb 10

Unalaska makes its failing airport terminal a top funding priority

Unalaska made a failing airport terminal its top request for state money next year, moving it from last on the list to first.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min readFrom Feb 10

Anchorage wants city land sales weighed by housing, not price alone

Anchorage land sales now come with a written case for the housing they produce. The guidance is nonbinding, but it changes what the Assembly weighs.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min readFrom Sep 1

Mat-Su moves to lease Port MacKenzie land to an antimony company

Mat-Su is moving to lease 42.78 acres of port land to an antimony company. The commission that recommended it published no minutes or vote count.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago3 min readFrom Sep 1

Federal record rates Ketchikan's Water Street viaduct 'Poor'

The Water Street viaduct in downtown Ketchikan, carrying 14,000 vehicles a day, is rated poor, but the state is funding only repairs, not replacement.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min readFrom Oct 15, 2025

Follows: Overnight drilling comes to Ketchikan's aging viaducts, part of a plan to repair them now and replace them later

Two Juneau airport approaches are down, with no FAA timeline to fix them

Two instrument approaches to a Juneau airport runway are out of service, and the FAA has given no timeline to restore them.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min readFrom Aug 13

Ketchikan borough seeks proposals for Herring Cove neighborhood plan

Ketchikan borough voted to hire a planning firm for Herring Cove, where 55,000 to 60,000 annual visitors overwhelm a site with no sidewalks, restrooms, or bear-proof trash bins.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

Homer transfers its ice house lease to Silver Bay Seafoods

The Homer City Council approved transferring the Fish Dock Road ice house lease from OBI Seafoods to Silver Bay Seafoods, catching up to an existing change.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min readFrom Aug 10

Cordova weighs an $870,000 electrified bear fence for its landfill

Cordova is spending as much as $870,000 to keep bears out of its landfill. A resident says the cattle guards in the design are made for cows.

by Bill AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

Anchorage weighs paving and expanding the Basher Trailhead lot

Anchorage would pave and expand the 16-car Basher Trailhead lot to 52 spaces. Staff back it but warn it could draw more cars if parking isn't priced.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

Juneau board to hear flood update as barrier upkeep costs climb

Juneau's Utility Advisory Board gets an update Thursday on last month's glacial flood, which damaged 12 homes, as barrier upkeep costs climb.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read

Matanuska Electric posts its list of $451,000 in unclaimed capital credits

Matanuska Electric says more than $451,000 in capital credits sit unclaimed by current and former members, with one owed roughly $15,000.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min readFrom Sep 1

The public dock at King Salmon Airport would stay open five more years

The public boat and floatplane dock at King Salmon Airport would stay open under the Bristol Bay Borough for another five years under a state extension.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read