Government
RSSAlaska News tracks coverage of Alaska government including state legislature, municipal assemblies, and state agencies addressing public policy and community.
Unalaska eases yearly audit requirement for its small nonprofit grantees
Unalaska's small nonprofits won't have to pay for a yearly audit to keep their city grants anymore — a cost that ate up about 13% of one group's award.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 2w ago1 min read
Ninety-two Alaska water systems are listed as serious violators
Ninety-two Alaska water systems are federal serious violators, close to three times the national rate. The state has not brought a formal action since 2020.
by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago3 min read
Kenai Peninsula assembly president proposes rewrite of rules for filling assembly vacancies
Kenai Peninsula Assembly President Ryan Tunseth is proposing to rewrite the rules for filling vacant assembly seats, with a public hearing set for Oct. 20.
by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago1 min read
Kenai Peninsula mayor's ordinance would regulate weather modification
The Kenai Peninsula Borough would regulate cloud seeding on its land and ask the state to consider banning weather modification.
by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago2 min read
Alaska moves to cut library and museum rules, over public objections
Alaska's education department is moving to cut whole chapters of rules for libraries, museums and archives — over a public that mostly asked to keep them.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 2w ago3 min read
Five Alaska legislators and candidates amend financial disclosures in two days
Five Alaska legislators and candidates amended financial disclosures this week, adding two Anchorage houses, nonprofit board seats, and a spouse's name to their filings.
by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago2 min read
Anchorage weighs who decides when cold-weather shelter opens
An Anchorage ordinance up Sept. 15 would let the health director decide when emergency shelter opens, replacing the current 45-degree trigger.
by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago1 min read
State tax office flagged seller of Anchorage cannabis concentrate license as non-compliant
Alaska flagged a marijuana license seller as non-compliant on taxes. Her sworn statement listed no debts. What the board did is not on the record.
by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago1 min read
Seward state park advisory board takes public comment at Sept. 16 meeting
Seward State Park Citizen Advisory Board meets Sept. 16 to hear public comment on park management, in person or via Teams.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2w ago1 min read
Alaska warns personal care agencies they can lose Harmony access for viewing waiver records
Alaska's Division of Senior and Disabilities Services warned personal care agencies they risk losing Harmony database access if they open waiver service records.
by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago1 min read
Anchorage auditors flag a gap in Assembly travel approvals
Anchorage auditors found signed approval on all 38 Assembly trips but could document a second 2025 step on only one of 15. A broader review is now underway.
by Walter AlaskaNews3w ago3 min read
Alaska draft rule would end in-house marijuana testing by growers, manufacturers and stores
Alaska's marijuana regulator is drafting a rule to ban in-house testing by growers and manufacturers, forcing all products to third-party labs instead.
by Walter AlaskaNews3w ago1 min read
Kodiak's Assembly can't agree on how often to meet remotely
Kodiak Island Borough Assembly members can't agree on how many meetings a year they may attend remotely, the last open question in a rules rewrite.
by Walter AlaskaNews3w ago1 min read
Anchorage canceled five assessment appeal sessions over the summer
Five Anchorage assessment appeal sessions were canceled over the summer while the backlog stretched toward November. A report ordered in February is overdue.
by Walter AlaskaNews3w ago1 min read
Kodiak names a third person to run the borough when the top two are out
Kodiak Island Borough now has a third person in line to run it. He gets his first turn in December, when everyone above him is at a conference.
by Walter AlaskaNews3w ago1 min read
Sitka Assembly to interview municipal administrator applicant Gerrie Cotter on Sept. 10
Sitka's Assembly will interview Gerrie Cotter for municipal administrator on Sept. 10, the sole remaining candidate after a months-long search that started over at least once.
by Walter AlaskaNews3w ago1 min read
Former mayor Harry Brower Jr. files to run against Patkotak for North Slope Borough mayor
Harry Brower Jr. ran the North Slope Borough for seven years and wants it back. He and the incumbent are both from Utqiagvik, in a borough of eight villages.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 3w ago1 min read
Alaska weighs dropping the required training course for marijuana handlers
Alaska may drop the required training course for marijuana handler permits, swapping a class and test for a background check — saving workers up to $500.
by Walter AlaskaNews3w ago2 min read
Kenai voters will decide on a homeowner tax break worth about $326 a year
Kenai voters decide in November on a homeowner tax exemption worth about $326 a year. It would cost the city roughly $434,000 annually in revenue.
by Walter AlaskaNews3w ago2 min read
Alaska wants to change how it measures edible pot strength — and some legal products may not pass
Alaska wants to change how it measures edible pot strength — and the new math could push products legal today over the limit, without the products changing.
by Walter AlaskaNews3w ago2 min read
Alaska raised the age of consent, and school districts have new duties
Alaska raised the age of consent to 18 in July. School districts now must report such conduct to police, notify parents, and file with the state.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 3w ago2 min read
A decade in, Alaska's marijuana industry is squeezed by taxes as the state rewrites the rules
A decade in, Alaska's marijuana industry is squeezed by taxes and falling prices. Operators owe millions in back taxes as the state rewrites the rules.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 3w ago3 min read
Kodiak's school board has met four times over something it will not name
Kodiak's school board has met four times in 18 days on a personnel matter identified only as "KAP," entirely in closed session, with no minutes published.
by Walter AlaskaNews3w ago2 min read
Anchorage's next mayor to earn about $183,000, a 26 percent raise
Anchorage's next mayor will make about $183,000, a 26 percent raise — though it won't take effect until whoever wins the April 2027 election.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 3w ago1 min read
Bethel council to take up a holiday rescheduling rule, in a code section that does not set meeting dates
Bethel's city council could reschedule meetings that fall on holidays under an ordinance introduced Tuesday, Sept. 8.
by Walter AlaskaNews3w ago1 min read
Unalaska raises the audit threshold for its nonprofit grant recipients
Unalaska has raised the audit threshold for nonprofit grantees to $40,000, after one grantee said audit costs ate roughly 13 percent of its city award.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 3w ago2 min read
Kodiak Assembly takes up its vacancy rewrite Thursday, with the public hearing Sept. 17
Kodiak Island Borough Assembly will introduce Thursday an ordinance that would start the clock for filling vacant seats the day a resignation is accepted and allow electronic applications.
by Walter AlaskaNews3w ago1 min read
Juneau Assembly votes 6-3 to sell old City Hall to Sealaska Heritage Institute
Juneau took Sealaska Heritage Institute's $1.5 million for its old City Hall instead of seeking bids at $2.5 million. Nobody has appraised the building.
by Walter AlaskaNews3w ago2 min read
Fifteen Anchorage Assembly members will have their spending accounts examined in a 9-2 vote
Fifteen Anchorage Assembly members will have their $24,000 spending accounts examined. Nobody will be required to answer the findings in writing.
by Walter AlaskaNews3w ago2 min read
Dunleavy vetoed a faculty seat on the board that governs the University of Alaska
Dunleavy vetoed a faculty seat on the University of Alaska's governing board, citing conflicts of interest. The board already seats a student.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 3w ago2 min read
Alaska child care providers must file rates under categories the state has not adopted
Child care providers accepting state subsidies must report all rates in Alaska's AKCCIS portal by Sept. 30 or lose their program standing.
by Walter AlaskaNews3w ago2 min read
In 1997 Anchorage voters rejected automated camera enforcement. Its new surveillance system needed no vote.
Anchorage voters banned traffic cameras in 1997. A far more powerful police surveillance system just arrived with no vote — and the debate has been telling.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 3w ago4 min read
Alaska's midwifery board calls two work group meetings in September
Alaska's midwifery board has scheduled two work group meetings for September. The public notices do not say what the group intends to discuss.
by Walter AlaskaNews3w ago1 min read
Assembly candidate Berga discloses North Slope job, Kenai Fish stake
Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly candidate Nathan Berga disclosed North Slope oilfield income and ownership of a Soldotna fishing business in a financial filing Monday.
by Walter AlaskaNews4w ago1 min read
Mat-Su sets aside Zero Lake Road land for a future shooting range
Mat-Su set aside land for a shooting range over a year of neighbor objections. One cabin owner's structure sits about 1,000 feet downrange.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 3w ago1 min read
Anchorage tax appeal hearings continue into September, past the board's stated season
Anchorage property owners appealing their 2026 assessments face a backlog that could stretch to mid-November, with the Board of Equalization handling a record 1,953 appeals.
by Walter AlaskaNews4w ago1 min read
Anchorage's rewritten emergency plan adds six annexes, voids all earlier versions
Mayor LaFrance signed a rewritten emergency operations plan that replaces all earlier versions and meets national standards. The Assembly reviews it Tuesday.
by Walter AlaskaNews4w ago1 min read
AlaskaCare retiree town halls went from twelve a year to four. The last of 2026 is Oct. 15.
AlaskaCare retiree town hall calls drop from monthly to four times a year starting in 2026, with the next call Oct. 15.
by Walter AlaskaNews4w ago1 min read
Marijuana board chair's own store violation goes before the board they chair Sept. 2
Marijuana board chair Bailey Stuart faces a violation notice on their own retail store at the meeting they chair Wednesday, raising questions about whether they will step aside.
by Walter AlaskaNews4w ago1 min read
Auditors found no central list of Anchorage's state agreements
Anchorage has taken on $17.2 million in state work over five years without a central list of the agreements, its internal auditors found.
by Walter AlaskaNews4w ago1 min read
