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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Tuesday, Aug 25
A placer mine near Ruby would work 35 acres of creek for a decade
A placer gold mine near Ruby would work about 35 acres of creek bottom for a decade. Comment on the water quality certification closes Sept. 24.
by Bill AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Juneau donors are giving the Legislature 16 more apartments for lawmakers
Juneau donors are giving the Alaska Legislature 16 more apartments for lawmakers to live in during session, in a capital where housing is scarce and costly.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 2mo ago2 min read
Comments on the $400 million Bradley Lake expansion close Friday
Federal comment on the Bradley Lake expansion closes Friday. The price has been stated three ways since spring, and Railbelt ratepayers carry the debt.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 2mo ago2 min read
The Coast Guard is giving Homer a building that needs a new roof
The Coast Guard is handing Homer a building assessed at $635,400 that needs a new roof, flooring, paint and electrical work nobody has priced.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 2mo ago2 min read
Anchorage moves to clarify its wetlands permitting, though some say it doesn't go far enough
Anchorage is moving to clarify how property owners navigate wetlands permitting after the feds stopped issuing blanket permits, though some say gaps remain.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
Mat-Su voters will decide whether the borough can build roads anywhere
Mat-Su voters decide Nov. 3 whether the borough can buy right-of-way and build roads anywhere in its boundaries, across road service area lines.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
A state grant would keep TB screening running at Anchorage homeless shelters
A $2.77 million grant before the Anchorage Assembly would keep public health nurses screening for TB at shelters — the clearance many people need to get in.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Anchorage weighs a $6.7 million bleach contract for its wastewater
Anchorage may spend up to $6.7 million on bleach to disinfect wastewater it discharges into Cook Inlet under a treatment waiver that expired 20 years ago.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 2mo ago1 min read
More from Economy & Business
An Anchorage housing provider gets another year of federal help for disabled renters
Andrew Housing Co. in Anchorage received $132,800 from HUD to help house very-low-income renters with disabilities, part of a $184,392 total in federal housing awards posted this week.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Dalton Highway repairs begin Wednesday, narrowing it to one lane
Dalton Highway repairs at Milepost 315 start Wednesday with 24-hour flagging and up to 20-minute delays, narrowing the North Slope's main supply route to one lane.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Texas firm wins $48,950 contract to patch pavement at Kenai refuge
The Kenai National Wildlife Refuge is patching pavement and sealing cracks this fall under a $48,950 contract, running from mid-August through mid-October.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
State moves to sell a second contractor gravel from one Dalton Highway pit
Alaska is preparing to sell Cruz Construction 7,500 cubic yards of gravel from a Dalton Highway pit it offered another company in July.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Monday, Aug 24
Alaska's mobile service through 2034 gets locked in next week
Alaska's mobile carriers must lock in coverage and speed commitments running through 2034 by Sept. 1, based on maps frozen at the end of 2024.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Anchorage would drop landscaping buffers for three- and four-unit homes
Anchorage would drop landscaping buffer requirements for three- and four-unit homes. The current rule calls for a 15-foot planting bed with trees and shrubs.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 2mo ago1 min read
Sitka may rewrite its rules for second homes on residential lots
Sitka's planning commission takes up a draft rewrite of its accessory dwelling unit rules Monday. The draft does not say which direction it goes.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
A small Alutiiq village corporation near Kodiak has built a $200 million federal business
A company owned by Ouzinkie, an Alutiiq village corporation near Kodiak, has built a federal business topping $200 million, its biggest presence in Florida.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
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
Sunday, Aug 23
NovaGold moves to consolidate the Donlin gold project, a potential next Red Dog for Alaska Native corporations
NovaGold has agreed to consolidate Donlin, a potential next Red Dog for Alaska Native corporations, though tribes oppose it and financing remains unresolved.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 2mo ago4 min read
Alaska ranks 45th in federal dollars and 8th per person
Alaska has drawn $15.39 billion in federal awards this year, 45th by total and 8th per capita. Neither ranking says how much stayed in Alaska.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Hilcorp wants to dig a 95-acre gravel pit near the Putuligayuk River
Hilcorp wants to dig a 95-acre gravel pit near the Putuligayuk River on the North Slope. Two-thirds of it would be permanent. Comment closes Sept. 4.
by Bill AlaskaNewsadded 2mo ago2 min read
A Bering Strait Native corporation will staff anti-trafficking work for the State Department
A Bering Straits Native Corporation subsidiary won a State Department contract to staff anti-trafficking work, supporting its 8,200+ Native shareholders.
by Melinda Communities.News2mo ago1 min read
A Goldbelt subsidiary picks up another sole-source federal IT order, worth up to $1.3 million
A Juneau Native corporation's subsidiary won a contract to run IT for the U.S. Transportation Secretary's office, with the money flowing home to shareholders.
by Melinda Communities.News2mo ago2 min read
Saturday, Aug 22
Bethel commission recommends $2 taxi fare increase, with $1 elder discount
Bethel's Public Safety and Transportation Commission voted unanimously to raise taxi fares by $2 per trip, with a $1 discount for elders, but the City Council has not yet acted on the recommendation.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
A Kodiak landscaper won $19,500 to resurface the base softball field
Five companies bid for the job of filling in the low spots in the Coast Guard's softball outfield in Kodiak. The winner gets 30 days and $19,500.
by Melinda Communities.News2mo ago1 min read
A proposed rule would presume national forest roads and trails are open unless the Forest Service documents a reason to close them
A proposed rule would presume national forest roads and trails, including in Alaska, are open unless the Forest Service documents a reason to close them.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
Enstar tells legislators it's 18 days short of gas for winter
Enstar told legislators it's 18 days, about 3 Bcf, short of gas for a normal winter after two supplies fell through, with deals underway still leaving a gap.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago3 min read
An Auke Bay quarry can now work Saturdays again, under a renewed permit
An Auke Bay quarry can work Saturdays again under a renewed Juneau permit, though blasting, drilling and crushing stay off-limits on weekends.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Drones are dropping chaff over Nenana to try to stop lightning
A Vancouver startup is dropping metallic chaff from drones over Nenana to try to stop lightning before it starts wildfires. The flights run through Sept. 30.
by Melinda Communities.News2mo ago3 min readFrom 
Tlingit & Haida moves to expand its printing business into a historic Juneau building
Tlingit & Haida is seeking up to $375,000 to expand its tribally owned printing business and move it into a historic Juneau building it recently bought.
by Maggie AlaskaNewsadded 2mo ago1 min read
A new casino has opened on North Douglas, as a cruise dock nearby prepares to bring more ships
Tlingit & Haida has opened Two Coppers Casino, a Class II gaming hall on North Douglas, as nearby cruise docks prepare to bring more ships, with both set for a Douglas Advisory Board briefing.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Three rescued after float plane crashes in forest near Bettles
Three people survived a floatplane crash near Bettles and were hoisted out overnight, after a satellite device let them relay their location to rescuers.
by Maggie AlaskaNewsadded 2mo ago1 min read
A Copper River village corporation is fixing federal buildings in Tennessee
A company owned by 260 shareholders from a Copper River village is painting judges' chambers in Memphis and fixing a fire pump in Jackson, Tennessee.
by Melinda Communities.News2mo ago2 min read
Golden Valley was short on reserves 94 percent of the last 250 days
Golden Valley was short on generation reserves 94% of the last 250 days, and its mix models 17 shortfalls a year against a benchmark of one per decade.
by Alaska News2mo ago2 min read
Manley Hot Springs surcharge would nearly triple under a filing before regulators
Manley Hot Springs electric customers face a cost-of-power surcharge nearly three times higher on Sept. 1. The state credit that offsets it does not move.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
Friday, Aug 21
South Slope Drive owners learn Monday what the sewer will cost them
Homer owners on South Slope Drive find out Monday what they owe for sewer. Past city sewer assessments have run past $11,000 for a single parcel.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
A $3.19 million contract will fix roads and fish passage near Ketchikan
The Forest Service is paying $3.19 million for road and culvert work near Ketchikan. Since 1998 it has fixed about 57% of the Tongass culverts inventoried.
by Melinda Communities.News2mo ago2 min read
An Anchorage supplier shrank to six employees, and now it stocks federal Alaska
The Anchorage company filling federal orders for pens and clipboards had six employees in mid-2022. It now holds GSA and Navy work worth tens of millions.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 2mo ago2 min read
The state is studying a walking path between Naknek and King Salmon
People walk the highway between Naknek and King Salmon with no separated path. The state has started studies on a $6.87 million pathway between the towns.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Coast Guard awards $143.4 million for 30 housing units and child care center at Kodiak ahead of two Arctic cutters
The Coast Guard is spending $143.4 million on 30 housing units and a child care center at Base Kodiak, ahead of two Arctic Security Cutters homeporting there.
by Melinda Communities.News2mo ago1 min read
Charter plane crash at Cape Newenham radar site kills eight
Eight people died when a charter plane crashed on approach to the Cape Newenham radar site in western Alaska. Two pilots and six passengers were aboard.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
Two transit funding deadlines are open for Alaska providers this fall
Alaska transit providers have until Sept. 18 to signal intent for state human services transportation grants. A separate federal program closes Oct. 19.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
