Economy & Business

Fewer boats came through Kodiak's city shipyard this year, and its operator lost money

Kodiak's shipyard operator says fishermen are putting off maintenance. It serviced 40 boats this year, down from 54, and lost $29,000 running the yard.

by Bill AlaskaNews2w ago2 min read

Nova Minerals says state approved its antimony mine and Port MacKenzie refinery plans

Nova Minerals says the state gave final approval to its antimony mine and Port MacKenzie refinery. The state hasn't posted the signed decision yet.

by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago2 min read

Follows: Antimony refinery developer Nova Minerals says its cash won't fund a year of plans

Palmer airport advisers want to turn a tie-down apron into T-hangars

Palmer's airport advisers picked Apron D, where three planes are parked, as the first place to try T-hangars. None of the airport's T-hangars are for rent.

by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago2 min read

Alaska Airlines plans nonstop flights between Anchorage and Tokyo starting in May

Alaska Airlines will fly nonstop from Anchorage to Tokyo starting May 13, pending approval. Intro fares start at $999 round trip, if you buy by Saturday.

by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago2 min read

Juneau task force's whale-watch recommendation no longer commits to a license or cap

Juneau's tourism task force still calls the whale-watch status quo unsustainable. Its new draft no longer commits to a license or cap, just to weighing them.

by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago2 min read

Kodiak developer seeks conservation zoning for three more Cliff Point tracts

Oceanfront Kodiak wants three more Cliff Point tracts zoned for conservation, saying current zoning keeps it from selling. The Assembly decides Nov. 5.

by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago2 min read

Fairbanks airport's control tower is closing overnight because of FAA staffing

Citing staffing constraints, the FAA has closed the Fairbanks airport tower from 10 pm to 6 am nightly since Oct. 18. Pilots announce their own moves.

by Alaska News2w ago2 min readFrom Oct 18

Alaskans won 81 pieces of state land, from $255,000 in Big Lake to a $7,500 cabin site

Alaskans won 81 pieces of state land. Top bid: $255,000 for 40 acres in Big Lake. Cheapest: $7,500 for a river cabin site reached by boat or snowmachine.

by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago2 min read

Northwest Arctic Borough seeks batteries for 3 villages, but award waits on DOE extension

The Northwest Arctic Borough wants bids on batteries for three Kobuk River villages. Two would arrive after the federal grant paying for them is set to end.

by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago3 min readFrom Oct 22

Juneau Assembly will hear neighbors' appeal of a Mendenhall Valley hobby farm permit

Neighbors appealed a permit letting a Mendenhall Valley family keep up to 100 chickens and ducks. The Juneau Assembly will hear the case itself.

by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago2 min read

Regulators won't decide Hilcorp's gas storage rates for Southcentral until late 2027

Hilcorp's own study found its gas storage rates bringing in 25% more than costs plus allowed profit. Regulators cut them for now and will decide by late 2027.

by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago2 min read

Follows: Regulators cut Hilcorp's Kenai gas storage rates up to 31% while they investigate

Alaska is in line for the third-largest share of federal grid money among states

Alaska is in line for $32.8 million more in federal grid money, third most of any state. Earlier rounds went to snow-sagged lines and sinking permafrost.

by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago2 min read

Postal Service seeks a contractor to deliver mail to 741 Wasilla boxes through 2030

USPS is seeking a contractor to deliver mail to 741 Wasilla mailboxes from Dec. 14 through Sept. 30, 2030. Bids are due Nov. 9, with the route growing from 650 boxes and one vehicle since 2021.

by Maggie AlaskaNews2w ago1 min read

Nome mayor calls Kawerak's seabed mining draft inflammatory; city staff will write another

Nome's mayor called Kawerak's seabed mining moratorium draft inflammatory. The council didn't vote on it, and city staff will write a narrower resolution.

by Maggie AlaskaNews2w ago3 min read

Follows: Nome council votes Monday on asking Congress to restore harbor dredging money

Business adviser says a small Wasilla project faces $100,000 in permit requirements

A Wasilla business adviser told the council a small construction job is being treated like a big commercial project, at a cost of about $100,000 and a year.

by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago2 min read

Company asks Anchorage to rezone six lots off Abbott Road for business

Arlon LLC wants six lots near Abbott Road rezoned for business, on a block Anchorage has been turning commercial just one or two lots at a time.

by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago2 min read

Housing agency has no set plans for proposed state land transfers, CEO tells senators

AHFC has no firm plans yet for over 400 acres of free state land DNR proposes giving it for housing. Legislature's lawyers say such giveaways are likely unconstitutional.

by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago3 min read

Conservation district applies for 885 Point MacKenzie acres DNR plans to give AIDEA

A Wasilla conservation district wants the 885 Point MacKenzie acres DNR proposes to give AIDEA free, to keep hayfields farmed and build a farm hub instead.

by Maggie AlaskaNews2w ago3 min read

DNR commissioner says governor's office worked 'very closely' on land transfers to AIDEA

DNR's commissioner says the governor's office worked "very closely" on land transfers, including 20,000 free acres for AIDEA, after sending redacted records.

by Maggie AlaskaNews2w ago3 min read

Sitka's residential electric rate drops more than a third for the winter

Sitka's residential power rate drops from 21.93 to 13.71 cents a kilowatt-hour for winter, when Sitkans lean on electric heat. Summer rates return in May.

by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago2 min read

Juneau seeks comment on plan to keep ride providers eligible for state grants

Juneau's draft transit plan would keep local ride providers eligible for state grants through 2031. Comments are due Nov. 9, with Assembly testimony set for Nov. 16.

by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago3 min read

Kodiak council votes Thursday on backing a 10-mile path along Rezanof Drive

Kodiak's council votes Thursday on backing a 10-mile paved path along Rezanof Drive, the day the state stops taking comments on the plan that lists it.

by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago2 min read

Follows: Kodiak's proposed path to Bells Flats makes the state's draft plan, with design money only

Anchorage administration tallies $31 million for shelter, outreach and crisis care

Anchorage's mayor tallies $31.26 million for shelter, outreach and crisis care next year. The Assembly chair says not all of that is homelessness spending.

by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago4 min read

Graphite One says it won a defense award to test Graphite Creek carbon in high heat

Graphite One says it won a Defense Logistics Agency award to test carbon from its Graphite Creek deposit for high-heat defense uses. It didn't give a value.

by Melinda Communities.News2w ago1 min read

Dillingham council moves to sell three tax-foreclosed lots and keep a fourth

Dillingham's council introduced ordinances to sell three tax-foreclosed lots, one with a $172,300 minimum bid, and keep a fourth for road and utility work.

by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago2 min readFrom Oct 22

Haines Assembly may adopt development rules the planning commission asked to see again

Haines' Assembly may adopt planned-development rules Tuesday. The Planning Commission asked in March to see the final draft; its records show no such review.

by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago2 min read

Fairbanks adopts flood maps that take about 2,900 buildings out of the high-risk zone

Fairbanks adopted new flood maps that take about 2,900 buildings out of the high-risk zone and put about 540 in. Salcha comes out ahead; Moose Creek doesn't.

by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago2 min readFrom Oct 22

Tree cutting along Kenai Peninsula salmon streams falls to fewest since 2018

Tree cutting along Kenai Peninsula salmon streams is down to 391 so far this year from 2,772 in 2022, and restoration credit requests hit 32, the borough says.

by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago2 min read

A new Deering school is estimated at $64 million, and the building isn't funded yet

Northwest Arctic's school district puts a new Deering school at $64 million, with $6 million to start. The building, utilities and teacher housing are unfunded.

by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago3 min readFrom Sep 29

Nova Minerals plans antimony refinery beside federally funded Port MacKenzie rail line

Nova Minerals will build a rail siding linking its antimony refinery to the federally funded Port MacKenzie rail extension.

by Melinda Communities.News2w ago3 min readFrom Oct 21

Truck crash on icy Glenn Highway near mile 171 brings flaggers but no full closure

A truck crashed on the icy Glenn Highway near Tolsona Lake on Saturday morning. The road never fully closed, and 511 said Sunday it may have been cleared.

by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago1 min read

Longtime Kotzebue resident Tom Atkinson takes over AVEC as its costs climb

AVEC has a new CEO. Longtime Kotzebue resident Tom Atkinson takes over from Bill Stamm, who started as a summer laborer, as the co-op's costs keep climbing.

by Maggie AlaskaNews2w ago3 min read

Arctic mine developer wraps summer drilling, says its focus is shifting toward building

Ambler Metals drilled 42 holes at the proposed Arctic copper mine and says its focus is shifting to preparing to build. It wants a federal decision in 2028.

by Melinda Communities.News2w ago2 min readFrom Oct 21

FAA certifies the 737 MAX 10, the jet behind Alaska Airlines' biggest order

The FAA certified Boeing's 737 MAX 10, most of Alaska Airlines' 168-plane MAX order. The first is expected in 2027, and some will get lie-flat seats.

by Melinda Communities.News2w ago2 min readFrom Oct 20

Anchorage planners put off a permanent permit for Linda's Place shelter until December

Anchorage planners put off a permanent permit for the Linda's Place shelter until Dec. 14. It operates under an emergency order with no set end date.

by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago2 min readFrom Oct 19

Follows: Planners back a permanent permit for Linda's Place shelter as neighbors raise concerns

ENSTAR asks regulators to fast-track a deal to borrow MEA's gas for this winter

ENSTAR wants to borrow 1.2 billion cubic feet of MEA's gas for this winter and return it by 2028. Customers would pay the costs, minus a credit on return.

by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago3 min readFrom Oct 21

Juneau planners weigh smaller Áak'w Landing uplands after costs pass $250 million

Huna Totem wants to shrink the shops and bus lot beside its Juneau cruise dock after costs topped $250 million. Planners take it up Tuesday.

by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago2 min read

Alaska household power prices hit their highest point since at least 2010

Alaska households paid 29.41 cents per kilowatt-hour for power in August, the most since at least 2010. Only four states paid more, led by Hawaii at 47 cents.

by Melinda Communities.News2w ago1 min read

State labor department holds Fairbanks job fair Thursday at Morris Thompson Center

Alaska Labor Department holds a job fair Thursday, Oct. 29, at Fairbanks' Morris Thompson Center, not its usual spot.

by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago1 min read

Company says Skagway's old Starlite Room isn't historic and asks to move it

A Skagway business says the old Starlite Room, built around 2000, isn't historic and wants it out of the historic district. The commission weighs in Monday.

by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago2 min read