Economy & Business
RSSAlaska News covers state economic issues including cannabis banking, state dividends, and business development opportunities.
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 AlaskaNews5d ago2 min readAI
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 AlaskaNews5d ago1 min readAI
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 AlaskaNewsadded 4d ago2 min readAI
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 AlaskaNewsadded 4d ago2 min readAI
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 AlaskaNews5d ago1 min readAI
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.News5d ago1 min readAI
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 AlaskaNews5d ago2 min readAI
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 AlaskaNews5d ago2 min readAI
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 AlaskaNews5d ago2 min readAI
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 AlaskaNews5d ago1 min readAI
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 AlaskaNews5d ago1 min readAI
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 AlaskaNewsadded 5d ago2 min readAI
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 AlaskaNews6d ago2 min readAI
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 AlaskaNews6d ago2 min readAI
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 AlaskaNews1w ago2 min readAI
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 AlaskaNews6d ago1 min readAI
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 AlaskaNewsadded 5d ago2 min readAI
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 AlaskaNews6d ago1 min readAI
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 AlaskaNews6d ago1 min readAI
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 AlaskaNews6d ago1 min readAI
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 News6d ago2 min readAI
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 AlaskaNews6d ago3 min readAI
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.Newsadded 5d ago2 min readAI
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.Newsadded 5d ago2 min readAI
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 AlaskaNewsadded 5d ago3 min readAI
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.News1w ago1 min readAI
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 AlaskaNews1w ago2 min readAI
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 AlaskaNews1w ago2 min readAI
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 AlaskaNewsadded 6d ago1 min readAI
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 AlaskaNewsadded 6d ago1 min readAI
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 AlaskaNewsadded 6d ago1 min readAI
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 AlaskaNewsadded 6d ago1 min readAI
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 AlaskaNewsadded 6d ago1 min readAI
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 AlaskaNewsadded 6d ago1 min readAI
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 AlaskaNewsadded 6d ago2 min readAI
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 AlaskaNewsadded 6d ago2 min readAI
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 AlaskaNewsadded 6d ago1 min readAI
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 AlaskaNewsadded 6d ago1 min readAI
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 AlaskaNews1w ago2 min readAI
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.News1w ago2 min readAI
