People & Culture
RSSPeople & Culture in Alaska is a topic covering the institutions and programs that shape health, education and community life. It takes in schools, public health, Medicaid and EMS policy, rural hospitals, and tribal organizations serving Alaska Native communities.
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Week of Nov 2
Wright Air keeps Lake Minchumina flights for two more years, with a bigger federal subsidy
Wright Air will keep flying Lake Minchumina's federally subsidized route to Fairbanks for two more years. The feds picked it a day before its contract ran out.
by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago2 min read
McGrath's air service contract expires Nov. 30, and the feds haven't named a carrier
McGrath's subsidized air service contract expires Nov. 30, and the feds haven't named a carrier from four bids of about $529,000 to $2.4 million a year.
by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago3 min read
Alaska Railroad recruits Anchorage high schoolers to train as tour guides
Alaska Railroad wants Anchorage juniors and seniors for its King Tech tour guide class, applications due Dec. 3. Finishing it can lead to a paid summer job on the railroad.
by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago2 min read
Borough presentation says Soldotna Elementary rebuild stays within voter-approved bond
Borough officials are set to tell the Kenai school board Nov. 2 that the Soldotna Elementary rebuild stays within its voter-approved bond.
by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago2 min read
Kenai Peninsula schools run 258 students short in the count used for state funding
Kenai Peninsula schools were running 258 students under projections late in the state count used for funding, in a district already projecting a shortfall.
by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago1 min read
Week of Oct 26
Kenai Peninsula school board votes Monday on 10-year renewal of Fireweed Academy charter
Kenai school board votes Monday on a 10 year charter renewal for Homer's Fireweed Academy, through 2037. • Same meeting, district leaders recommend denying a proposed Soldotna Elementary charter over budget and compliance issues.
by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago1 min read
Kenai Peninsula district leaders urge school board to reject Soldotna Elementary charter
District leaders urge the school board to reject turning Soldotna Elementary into a charter school. They cite a $1.1 million budget gap and no secured building. Board votes Monday.
by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago2 min read
Free Wasilla summit Monday helps students with disabilities plan for life after school
Mat-Su students with disabilities can practice job interviews and get help planning for life after high school at a free summit Monday in Wasilla.
by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago2 min read
More from People & Culture
Alaska workers who retire before 65 face nearly $3,000 a month for family health care
Alaska public workers in the defined contribution plan who retire before 65 will pay up to $2,990 a month for family health coverage in 2027, all of it.
by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago1 min read
Alaska starts updating the 2005 math behind hospital and clinic expansion approvals
Alaska is updating the 2005 math it uses to decide whether hospitals and clinics can build or expand, and on Thursday it started asking providers what to change.
by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago2 min read
Kenai Peninsula graduates 84.1% of Class of 2026, but slides use last year's state rates
Kenai Peninsula schools graduated 84.1% of its Class of 2026, topping the state's 80.52% rate. Its presentation compares district data to last year's state rates, not this year's.
by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago2 min read
Fairbanks mayor proposes waiving school district's pool fee to keep kids learning to swim
Fairbanks' mayor wants to drop the school district's $2-a-student pool fee this year when it brings its own lifeguards, calling swimming a critical skill.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2w ago1 min read
Three mpox cases in Anchorage include Alaska's first reported clade I infections
Three mpox cases were confirmed in Anchorage this month, including Alaska's first reported clade I cases. None of the patients reported out-of-state travel.
by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago2 min read
Bethel tells Bethel Heights water customers to boil water after E. coli test
About 2,200 Bethel residents on the Bethel Heights piped water system should boil their water after a sample tested positive for E. coli, the city said.
by Alaska News2w ago1 min read
Tuluksak School's new hydroponic tower is growing tomatoes, onions and basil
Tuluksak School has a new hydroponic tower growing tomatoes, onions and basil, part of a Yupiit School District project to get fresh produce to its schools.
by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago1 min read
Alaska high schoolers have until Nov. 16 to sign up for Poetry Out Loud
Alaska teens who can memorize a poem and really sell it have until Nov. 16 to sign up for Poetry Out Loud. The state winner heads to the national finals in D.C.
by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago2 min read
About People & Culture
People and Culture in Alaska takes in schools, health care, social services and community life across the state. It covers the public institutions people rely on day to day, from school boards and clinics to water systems and food assistance.
Schools are a large part of it: school boards decide budgets, charter schools and building closures, and building schools in rural villages carries high construction costs. Public health agencies deal with drinking water safety, tuberculosis and overdose response, while the state manages Medicaid billing and SNAP administration.
Tribal health and service organizations, such as Maniilaq Association and Tanana Chiefs Conference, deliver care and aid in rural regions. Alaska Native language programs, from reading screeners to college certificates, and arts and cultural projects round out the subject.
More from People & Culture
Alaska's first school construction rankings under new scoring rules come out Nov. 5
Alaska's school construction rankings come out Nov. 5, the first under scoring rules rewritten to help rural districts. Districts can appeal theirs by Dec. 1.
by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago1 min read
Alaska Gateway School District and Upper Tanana slated to sign agreement Nov. 13
Alaska Gateway School District and the Upper Tanana region plan to sign an agreement Nov. 13 at TCC's Fall Summit. The agenda doesn't say what it covers.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2w ago1 min read
Old Harbor tribe seeks permit for hydro plant to replace the village's diesel power
The Alutiiq Tribe of Old Harbor asked the Army Corps to permit a hydro plant expected to cut 95% of the diesel the Kodiak Island village burns for power.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2w ago3 min read
Anchorage brewery sells limited Uncle Ted Ale to mark USS Ted Stevens commissioning
49th State Brewing's limited Uncle Ted Ale, made to mark the USS Ted Stevens commissioning, is almost sold out. Get it at the Anchorage pub while supplies last.
by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago1 min readFrom 
Lake and Peninsula villages get visiting dental and primary care clinics this week
Southcentral Foundation is holding a dental clinic in Kokhanok and primary care clinics in Newhalen and Iliamna this week, through Friday, Oct. 30.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2w ago1 min read
Perseverance Theatre and Arciniega Street to stage 'Wolf at the Door' in Anchorage
Perseverance Theatre and Arciniega Street will stage Wolf at the Door, a fairy tale with an abusive husband and a pack of wolves, in Anchorage Nov. 27.
by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago2 min readFrom 
Fort Yukon says manganese and iron have made its water brown and unsafe for infants
Fort Yukon told the state manganese and iron have turned its water brown and unsafe for infants for over a month. Tanana Chiefs sent 24 cases of bottled water.
by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago2 min read
Kenai Peninsula kindergartners gain on reading, but third grade stays flat near 59%
Kenai Peninsula kindergartners went from 49% to 72% at the reading benchmark in three years. Third grade, the Alaska Reads Act's target year, stayed near 59%.
by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago2 min readFrom 
Twenty Alaska artists will get $25,000 each from the Rasmuson Foundation
Twenty Alaska artists get $25,000 each from the Rasmuson Foundation. Plans include a Chilkat-woven kimono, a beaded octopus robe and edible climate art.
by Alaska News2w ago3 min readFrom 
Chatham schools could serve salmon, venison and seaweed under new wellness policy
Chatham's school board votes Tuesday on a policy calling for foods like salmon, halibut, venison, seaweed and berries in school meals where practicable.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2w ago2 min read
Week of Oct 19
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 
Kodiak commission suggests 25 places, from a fishing boat to a cairn, for history survey
Kodiak's preservation commission suggested 25 places for a city history survey, from the fishing vessel Kilkenny to McDonald's. Up to 20 will be documented.
by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago2 min read
JBER opens a self-referral menopause clinic the Air Force calls a first
JBER opened a clinic women can refer themselves to for perimenopause and menopause care. The Air Force calls it the first of its kind in the service.
by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago2 min read
Ketchikan mayor asks PeaceHealth to account for summer crowds in ER remodel
Ketchikan's mayor asked PeaceHealth to mind cruise season in its ER remodel. Nearly a third of summer Priority Care clinic patients had outside addresses.
by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago2 min read
Homer's Fireweed Academy asks Kenai Peninsula school district to renew its charter for 10 years
Fireweed Academy asked the Kenai Peninsula school district to renew its charter for 10 years, through 2037. The district board and state board of education must still approve it.
by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago2 min read
Mat-Su sets aside $704,763 for opioid settlement grants, two-thirds of its total
Mat-Su has collected $1.06 million in opioid settlement money and spent $89,461. Now it will offer local groups $704,763, up to $75,000 apiece.
by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago3 min readFrom 
New book on Alaska's microgrids collects stories of the people behind them
A new book profiles Alaska's microgrids and the people behind them, including a woman who signed her letters for village power "Housewife, Stony River."
by Bill AlaskaNews2w ago2 min read
Fish and Game sets second Shaped by Wildlife storytelling night Nov. 13 in Palmer
Fish and Game hosts its second Shaped by Wildlife storytelling night Nov. 13 in Palmer. Proceeds support the Outdoor Heritage Foundation of Alaska.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2w ago1 min read
Ketchikan resident urges hospital committee to back a PeaceHealth-paid ombudsperson
A Ketchikan resident wants a PeaceHealth-paid patient ombudsperson. Another said with low turnout, the town gets the hospital care it didn't vote for.
by Walter AlaskaNews3w ago2 min read
Alaska trains addiction providers on new treatment guidelines it plans to adopt
Alaska's behavioral health rules have cited 2013 addiction care guidelines. The state is training providers on the 2023 update, including on Nov. 12.
by Walter AlaskaNews3w ago2 min read
Soldotna Elementary parents and staff propose a charter that keeps neighborhood enrollment
Soldotna Elementary parents want a charter where neighborhood kids skip the lottery, application and parent contract. The school board reviews it Monday.
by Walter AlaskaNews3w ago2 min read
Tlingit & Haida brings its Juneau early learning programs under one roof
Tlingit & Haida put Head Start, Early Head Start, child care and its Lingít immersion nest under one roof in Juneau. The kids call each other "nesty besties."
by Maggie AlaskaNews3w ago2 min read
Alaska will train providers in November to screen for risky substance use
Alaska will train providers in November to screen for risky substance use and talk people toward change. The state logged 339 overdose deaths in 2024.
by Walter AlaskaNews3w ago2 min read
Southcentral Foundation to host Typhoon Halong survivor gathering in Chugiak Saturday
Southcentral Foundation hosts a wellness gathering Saturday in Chugiak for Typhoon Halong survivors, with food, crafts and a steam bath.
by Maggie AlaskaNews3w ago2 min read
