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, Jul 14
Alaska's first big AI data center clears a hurdle on the North Slope
A company wants to burn North Slope gas on-site to run AI computing near Deadhorse — turning 50 years of stranded gas into power, if the financing, customers and gas contract ever show up.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min read
The fight to keep Red Dog alive past 2031
A routine nine-acre lease along the Red Dog haul road opens onto a much bigger question: how one of the world's richest zinc mines keeps going after its main pit runs dry around 2031.
by Maggie AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min read
Monday, Jul 13
On Alaska's federal job sites, the highest-paid worker is a diver
New federal wage rules for Alaska construction show the pay hierarchy — underwater divers top it at $92.83/hour, earning more the deeper they go. Electricians make about $55.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 4mo ago1 min read
Alaska LNG's cheap-gas promise hinges on exports — and on costs staying in line
New state numbers on Alaska LNG: exports are what make gas cheap for Alaskans (about $5/mcf vs. $12.65 without them), but a cost overrun could push the export price above what buyers pay.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min read
Alaska wants out of a diesel rule that shuts trucks down in the cold
A pollution-cutting fluid that freezes at 12°F can force Alaska diesels to shut down in deep cold — and the state wants an exemption before the federal rule tightens in 2027.
by Melinda Communities.Newsadded 4mo ago2 min readFrom 
Sunday, Jul 12
One fuel supplier, no backup: Juneau pilots want an alternative
Juneau's airport has one aviation-gas supplier, a markup pilots peg near 33%, and no backup. So 50+ pilots want a fuel farm — and dispute a plan claiming there's no problem.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
A salmon hatchery wants to grow at Sitka's old pulp mill site
Sitka may lease a second lot at its old pulp mill site to the nonprofit behind much of Southeast's salmon hatchery production — room for the fish supply to grow.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
Kenai council grants Tidewater LLC 10-year first right of refusal on Denina Point Estate
Kenai City Council unanimously gave developer Tidewater LLC a 10-year first right to buy the city-owned Dena'ina Point Estates parcel and committed $54,219 toward subdivision costs.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min readFrom 
More from Economy & Business
A 'conservation' rezone on Kodiak's coast draws a federal warning
A landowner wants to rezone Kodiak coastline to "conservation" — but the wildlife refuge next door warns the change could still harm the protected waters just offshore.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
On the North Slope, the oil field grows a few thousand cubic yards at a time
ConocoPhillips wants to lay gravel for two small Kuparuk expansions — the kind of routine, acre-at-a-time growth critics say is exactly how the North Slope's footprint quietly spreads.
by Maggie AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
Air Force opens bidding to lease 4,400 acres at Eielson for private development
Air Force is leasing 4,400 acres at Eielson to a private developer for up to 50 years, with proposals due August 10. The developer covers all costs and environmental cleanup on contaminated sites.
by Melinda Communities.News4mo ago2 min read
Wasilla weighs retail on land that partly floods
Wasilla may rezone 8 acres along Cottonwood Creek for retail — despite part of it sitting in a flood zone, no water or sewer, and the city's own plan calling it residential.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
Juneau's Áak'w Landing project shrinks to a third its size
Huna Totem cut its Áak'w Landing development to a third its planned size after costs jumped from $150M to $250M+ — though all the promised public features stay.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
Whale watching incident in Coghlan Cut prompts operator inquiry at Juneau task force
A whale watching incident in Coghlan Cut prompted Juneau's Visitor Industry Task Force to request details on which operators use the waterway under voluntary oversight programs.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
Eaglecrest interviews GM finalist, holds Goldbelt conversation amid $1.9M deficit
Eaglecrest interviewed its sole general manager finalist and met with potential partner Goldbelt as the ski area faces a $1.9 million deficit and pressure to balance its budget by November.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min readFrom 
Juneau airport board votes July 9 on $50,697 local match for tower roof grant
Juneau airport board votes July 9 on spending $50,697 from reserves to match a $963,247 federal grant for replacing the air traffic control tower roof.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago2 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
Juneau invites Goldbelt to partner on Eaglecrest with two firm conditions
Juneau invited Goldbelt to invest in Eaglecrest Ski Area if it keeps city ownership and the deal stays separate from Goldbelt's West Douglas cruise dock proposal.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min readFrom 
Juneau task force takes up cruise cap criteria Thursday, with dock pressure looming
Juneau's task force meets Thursday to draft criteria for future cruise passenger cap changes, with a potential dock expansion by Goldbelt poised to test those rules.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago3 min readFrom 
Doyon wants to raise Fort Richardson water rates by nearly half
Doyon wants to hike Fort Richardson water rates by nearly 51 percent — and some JBER families would eat a wastewater increase on top of it. Comment by July 21.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min readFrom 
Juneau's only runway closes overnight, and the medevac plan matters
Juneau's only paved runway closes overnight this weekend for repairs — and since you can't drive to Juneau, there's a backup plan for emergency medevacs, though it wasn't spelled out.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min readFrom 
Wasilla's sewer plan is 25 years old — and it's stalling development
Wasilla's sewer master plan hasn't been touched since 1999, and the gap is already slowing new housing — now the city may take $75K in state money to finally update it.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min readFrom 
Ouzinkie's tsunami shelter is zoned as a house. The borough is about to fix that.
Ouzinkie's tsunami shelter — on an island you can only reach by boat — is officially zoned as a single-family house, a leftover from a closed airstrip. The borough votes July 16 to fix it.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
A zoning board overruled its own staff to green-light a Girdwood building
Anchorage's zoning board overruled its own staff to approve a Girdwood building — a setback from what's basically a parking lot made no sense to enforce. Girdwood itself said nothing.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
Juneau's tower grant comes with a catch: it drains the airport's savings
The FAA will cover most of the $1M fix for Juneau's 1987-era control tower — but the airport's small share would drain nearly half its already-thin savings.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min readFrom 
Juneau's dangerous Egan Drive left turn is finally getting a signal
A $12.15M federal grant will finally put a signal at Juneau's Egan-Yandukin intersection, where left-turners cross highway traffic blind and pedestrians can't cross safely.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
Juneau tourism task force faces a fork: which planning model fits the capital?
Juneau's Visitor Industry Task Force will choose July 16 among three tourism planning models, each with different timelines and budgets ranging from seven to 18 months.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
Saturday, Jul 11
A slowdown on the Seward Highway this week
A 45 mph limit is on between mileposts 14 and 16 on the Seward Highway for roadside cleanup through July 15 — a stretch that's part of the road's crash-prone Safety Corridor.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
Bethel lands $3.4M for water — and won't pay most of it back
Bethel's picking up $3.38M in state water loans that get fully forgiven once spent — a near-free upgrade for a town where plenty of people still haul their own water.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min readFrom 
For a roadless village, an airport lease is really about the lifeline
For roadless Chefornak, the airport is the only way in or out — so a routine state lease keeping the FAA's weather and navigation gear running matters more than it sounds.
by Maggie AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
Stalled disaster funds are now building 48 homes in Anchorage and Cordova
Nearly $7M in disaster-recovery money that sat idle after a stalled Habitat project is finally building 48 senior and family homes in Anchorage and Cordova.
by Melinda Communities.News4mo ago1 min read
King Cove finally gets its road, and the lawsuits are still coming
King Cove's long-fought road to the Cold Bay airport has its final federal permit, with construction due in 30 days. Three lawsuits over the refuge land swap are still pending.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min read
Oliktok Pipeline seeks 160% rate hike on North Slope gas segments
Oliktok Pipeline is seeking to nearly triple gas transportation rates on three North Slope segments, with new rates set to take effect Aug. 1, 2026, pending Regulatory Commission of Alaska approval.
by Maggie AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min readFrom 
Juneau Commission on Aging hears Capital AKcess ridership is rising as ADA approvals grow
Capital AKcess ridership is rising in Juneau as more seniors get ADA approvals, and transit staff told the Commission on Aging they are improving the application process and dispatch system.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min readFrom 
Anchorage wetlands plan gets first update in over a decade as federal rules shift
Anchorage's wetlands permit rules changed in 2021 when federal oversight shifted, and the city's 2014 management plan is finally getting its first update to reflect that reality.
by Alaska News4mo ago2 min read
A tribal housing authority wants to build 40 affordable homes on wetlands
A tribal housing authority wants to build 40 affordable homes in Southeast — but first it has to fill 4 acres of wetlands, and the state review of that just opened for comment.
by Maggie AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
Thursday, Jul 9
A Kodiak rezone pitched as conservation would also curb development
A Kodiak landowner wants to rezone oceanfront lots as "conservation" — bigger parcels, a salmon-creek buffer, and, not incidentally, a lot less development on the coast.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
Anchorage Planning and Zoning Commission to weigh shop-house and self-storage ordinances
Anchorage's Planning and Zoning Commission will vote on making homes easier to build in commercial zones while restricting large parking lots and self-storage facilities.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min read
Wasilla moves to reject a 59-unit affordable housing project
Wasilla is set to formally deny a 59-unit affordable housing project — a clash between a real housing shortage and neighbors who want the site to stay commercial.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
Mat-Su power bills climb as Alaska's energy squeeze bites
Mat-Su electric bills are rising about $14.53 a month — driven by a cold spring, low hydro, and new Hilcorp gas-storage fees, a snapshot of Southcentral's tight energy supply.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
Justice Department concedes Biden-era Arctic Refuge leasing program violated the law
The Justice Department conceded Alaska was right that the 2024 Arctic Refuge leasing program violated federal law by capping development below what Congress allowed.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
