Government
RSSAlaska News tracks coverage of Alaska government including state legislature, municipal assemblies, and state agencies addressing public policy and community.
A veteran was barred from Juneau's July 4th parade over an anti-war sign
A Juneau veteran was pulled from the July 4th parade over a sign reading "Wars: immoral, illegal." He's asking the Assembly whether a public-street event can bar a viewpoint.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
Securus asks to raise a surcharge on Alaska prison calls
Securus wants to nudge up a surcharge on calls from Alaska prisons. The steeper per-minute increase people remember came from a different, earlier filing.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Alaska State Archives wins $220,146 to index statehood records
The state archives has $220,146 to make its statehood records findable. That buys a guide and some audiovisual scanning, not a digitized archive.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Alaska Senate opens fourth special session with technical session, adjourns to Friday
Alaska Senate opened its fourth special session Monday to tackle natural gas taxation but took no action, adjourning until Friday - signaling the bill may be unable to advance.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Alaska opens child care payment rules for provider comment Wednesday
Alaska opens its child care payment rules for provider comment Wednesday, including new federal attendance record requirements that came with 2024 funding.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Alaska's new counselor license ends the unlicensed wait for graduates
Alaska counseling grads spent years working unlicensed to earn a license. A new associate license, effective Aug. 21, lets them practice under a credential.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 2mo ago1 min read
Federal awards to Alaska pass $14 billion this fiscal year
Alaska has drawn $14 billion in federal awards this fiscal year — about $19,000 per resident — and added roughly $270 million of it in the past week.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
BLM says Alaska's last 3.8 million statehood acres are the hardest
Alaska has 3.8 million acres left to claim under statehood entitlement, but the BLM says the remaining selections are tangled in complex land disputes that will be harder to resolve.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Removing an Assembly member takes 94 days and a supermajority
Anchorage published the map for removing an Assembly member: 94 days, a two-thirds vote, and the city pays the accused member's legal bills either way.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Anchorage Assembly weighs how hard to investigate Martinez's travel
The Anchorage Assembly must pick between a quiet look at George Martinez's travel and a subpoena-backed investigation that could end in his removal.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Alaska's interlibrary loan service moves to Juneau, with its funding uncertain
The 800 number rural Alaska libraries have called for 20 years is moving to Juneau — and if federal grant money dries up, it may not survive the move.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
A power outage closed Anchorage state offices, public assistance included
A power outage closed the Ingra Street state offices in Anchorage at 1 p.m. Thursday, public assistance included, for the rest of the day.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
State plans a gravel sale on the Parks Highway near Denali
Alaska is set to sell gravel from a Parks Highway site near Denali — under a system an ombudsman faulted in 2019 and the state declined to change.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Alaska shakes the most and gets the least warning
California gets seconds of warning before the shaking starts. Alaska, which has more big quakes than any state, gets none — but that's being built.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
An $858 million trust will discuss its audit behind closed doors
The board managing $858 million and a million acres for Alaskans with mental illness and disabilities will take up a legislative audit next week — possibly behind closed doors.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Juneau Assembly to weigh $1.5M negotiated sale of City Hall to Sealaska Heritage Institute
Juneau Assembly will vote on selling City Hall to Sealaska Heritage Institute for $1.5 million, down from the $2.5 million minimum the borough originally sought.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
He listed two Alaska move-in dates. Then he quit the race.
A Kenai-area candidate filed two different Alaska move-in dates on two candidacy forms. Asked to prove one, he withdrew the next morning.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 2mo ago1 min read
Alaska's unemployment map tracks one thing: the road system
Alaska unemployment ran 2.5% in Denali and 16.1% in Kusilvak this May. The split tracks one thing almost perfectly: whether a road reaches you.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Alaska public libraries face Sept. 1 deadline to file annual report or risk grant eligibility
Alaska public libraries must file their annual report by September 1 or lose eligibility for state grants.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
BLM sets August 17 deadline to protest Alaska survey plat filings
The BLM Alaska State Office set August 17, 2026, as the deadline to file written protests against survey plats, after which objections will not be considered.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
Anchorage Assembly set to approve $1.53M landfill loader replacement
Anchorage Assembly will vote Monday to spend $1.53 million replacing the landfill's main wheel loader, which is too expensive to keep repairing.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
ADEC permit delay forces Anchorage to extend drainage contract, adding $500K
Anchorage Assembly will vote July 21 on a $500,000 contract extension with AWR Engineering to maintain stormwater services while the state finishes renewing the city's pollution discharge permit.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
Four candidates interview for Kodiak Island Borough Assembly vacancy
Kodiak Island Borough Assembly interviewed four candidates Thursday to fill a vacant Assembly seat and must appoint someone by June 25.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
Anchorage Assembly studies removal process it has never used
Anchorage Assembly reviewed removal and censure procedures Friday that have never been used in the 30 years they have existed, with Chair Anna Brawley stressing the session was procedural only.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
Fairview grant dispute heads to Assembly with two members urging no vote
Two Assembly members urge rejection of a $750,000 federal grant for a behavioral health center in Fairview, citing a 2018 city policy against concentrating social services there.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
Sitka names sole finalist for municipal administrator, schedules public receptions
Sitka named Jenny Alber as sole finalist for municipal administrator and scheduled two public receptions July 26 and 27 before the Assembly votes on hiring.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Kodiak Borough advances marijuana excise tax to public hearing on 4-1 vote
Kodiak Borough Assembly voted 4-1 to advance a 3% marijuana excise tax to public hearing, though a dispensary owner warned the tax targets the wrong product and lacks clear definitions.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
Kodiak Island Borough Assembly appoints Mark Vizcocho to vacant seat
Kodiak Island Borough Assembly appointed Mark Vizcocho to fill a vacant seat Thursday, choosing him from four applicants in a two-round ballot that required a majority of all seven members.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
Alaska DNR moves to fix erroneous land conveyance near Tok; comment deadline August 18
Alaska DNR will return 39.50 acres near Tok to federal trust for an Alaska Native allotment holder Emma Northway, with public comments due August 18.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Federal and state cuts erase Alaska private-sector job gains in June
Federal and state government cuts eliminated 1,900 jobs in June, nearly wiping out 1,000 private-sector gains and leaving Alaska with fewer jobs than a year ago.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
Anchorage tax-exempt property audit won't finish until 2031 or 2032 under current staffing
Anchorage will not finish auditing 570 flagged tax-exempt properties until 2031 or 2032 without more staff, though the work could recover roughly $811,000 in annual tax revenue.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago3 min read
DNR proposes lower easement fees for long utility corridors; comment deadline Aug. 17
DNR is cutting easement fees for long utility corridors on state land, dropping to 10 cents per linear foot after 100 miles. Comments due August 17.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
Comment deadline looms on basecamp permit near Denali Highway milepost 86.5
Public comment deadline is July 27 on a five-year commercial basecamp permit for big game guiding and trapping near Denali Highway milepost 86.5.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Alaska lawmakers order audit of Board of Fisheries process
Alaska lawmakers voted unanimously to audit the Board of Fisheries' process after the Attorney General overturned five regulations citing ethics violations.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
Alaska legislative auditor resigns after 34 years, replacement process underway
Alaska's legislative auditor Chris Curtis is resigning after 34 years, effective Aug. 30. The Legislature is hiring her replacement through a process that aims to seat a new auditor by August.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
DNR proposes mandatory back-fees for unauthorized use of state land
DNR is making back-fees mandatory for unauthorized installations on state land, eliminating discretion to waive them and creating potential costs for utilities and pipeline operators.
by Bill AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Anchorage's Assembly weighs censure — or removal — of George Martinez
The Anchorage Assembly votes Tuesday on two paths for George Martinez after a state ethics order — censure and close it, or launch removal proceedings. It's never done either in 50 years.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
Bethel's lifeline dock is shifting — and its port commission can't get quorum
The dock that supplies the roadless Y-K Delta with fuel and freight is shifting and eroding — and its oversight commission hasn't reached quorum in 11 straight months.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Denali proposes a daily vehicle cap on its previously restricted road
Denali wants to swap its seasonal vehicle cap for a daily one — 160 a day on the restricted road. Comment by Friday if you've got thoughts.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Alaska runs on federal money, and a proposed rule change has people worried
Alaska leans on federal money for basics — water plants, shelters, emergency response — and nonprofits, cities, and Tribes warn a proposed federal rule change could make that funding less reliable.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
