People & Culture
RSSAlaska News coverage of people and culture topics including community events, arts funding, local businesses, and cultural institutions.
Alaska proposes letting one marijuana caregiver serve multiple patients
Alaska proposes letting one medical marijuana caregiver serve multiple patients and doubling the ID card term, its first rule update since 1998.
by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago2 min read
Alaska streamlines the fall round of its $272 million rural health fund
Alaska is streamlining the fall round of its $272 million rural-health fund — one application instead of two, and about 11 weeks to awards, down from 24.
by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago2 min read
A $16 million award would restructure primary care across the Interior
The biggest award in Alaska's rural health program is $16 million to change how primary care gets delivered and paid for across the Interior.
by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago1 min read
War-driven oil prices are filling Alaska's treasury while straining its households
The same oil price spike is filling Alaska's treasury and straining its households — and Trump's $2 gas promise would take more than the war ending.
by Alaska News2w ago5 min read
A federal rule would ease buying Alaska seafood for school meals
More than half of Alaska's districts already serve local seafood, mostly through donations and grants. A federal rule would let them just buy it.
by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago2 min read
Southcentral Foundation sends visiting providers to Tyonek, Tatitlek and Nanwalek next week
Southcentral Foundation opens four visiting clinics Sept. 14 in Tyonek, Tatitlek and Nanwalek. Tyonek has no resident doctor and sees a primary care provider once every two months.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2w ago2 min read
Rabies is climbing among wildlife across the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta
Rabies is rising among Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta wildlife. Foxes come in to den in village landfills in late winter, and rural dogs live outdoors.
by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago2 min read
Kodiak assembly weighs $3.85 million grant to replace failing hospital chiller
A failing chiller that supports sterilization at Kodiak's hospital is running at 35 percent, and the borough votes Wednesday on a nearly $4 million replacement.
by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago1 min read
Anchorage Assembly schedules Hispanic Heritage Month health fair with Spanish-speaking staff
Anchorage Assembly is scheduling a health fair with Spanish-speaking staff and translation services for Saturday, Oct. 3, as part of Hispanic Heritage Month events starting Sept. 20.
by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago1 min read
Bristol Bay students can apply for a December leadership forum
Bristol Bay high school students have until Oct. 9 to apply for a youth leadership forum in Anchorage in December.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2w ago1 min read
Some Alaskans on HealthCare.gov are due $500 refund checks in October, but nobody has said how many
About 73,300 Alaskans who buy unsubsidized health coverage on HealthCare.gov will receive $500 checks starting in October, but those without any marketplace coverage won't qualify.
by Alaska News2w ago2 min read
Alaska pauses weekly rural health awards with $207 million of $272 million announced
Alaska has announced $207 million of a $272 million rural health award across 217 projects, pausing its weekly announcement schedule as it processes the remaining awards by an Oct. 30 deadline.
by Melinda Communities.News2w ago1 min read
SEARHC is hiring for 21 Juneau-area jobs, half of them in dentistry
SEARHC is hiring for 21 jobs in the Juneau area this week, nearly half of them in dentistry, with signing bonuses on some clinical roles.
by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago1 min read
A new state program is lifting Alaska's worst-in-the-nation aid filing rate
Alaska seniors who worked with a new state advising program filed for federal aid at 60 percent, well above the state's last-in-the-nation rate of 35 percent.
by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago2 min read
Alaska starts spending its $272 million in rural health money
Alaska is spending the $272 million it won from a new federal rural health program, and adjusting the promises it made to get it as the money goes out.
by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago1 min read
Anchorage marks Hispanic and Latino Heritage Month, now recognized in state law
Anchorage marks Hispanic and Latino Heritage Month for the third year, and the first under state law. Alaska's Hispanic history runs back to the canneries.
by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago1 min read
Free medical, dental and vision care comes to Sullivan Arena Sept. 19-20
Free medical, dental and vision care is available to anyone at Anchorage's Sullivan Arena Sept. 19 and 20 — no ID, insurance or income required. Come early.
by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago1 min read
Alaska congenital syphilis cases hit a record in 2025
Alaska recorded 14 cases of congenital syphilis in 2025, the most ever, in a disease preventable with a test and a shot. Native infants were hit hardest.
by Walter AlaskaNews2w 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
Parent tells Mat-Su officials bus cancellations fall to parents
A parent told Mat-Su officials that repeated bus cancellations are forcing families to arrange their own rides, calling it unacceptable after five years of a Durham contract.
by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago2 min read
State review of Mt. Edgecumbe wraps up, recommendations to come
A state review of Mt. Edgecumbe High School, prompted by safety complaints, wraps up Wednesday, but families won't see its recommendations until later.
by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago1 min read
Tribal consortium takes ownership of Alaska Native Medical Center
The Indian Health Service transferred ownership of the Alaska Native Medical Center to the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium on Aug. 24, 2026, opening access to uncapped federal lease payments while the legal authority for the conveyance remains undocumented.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 2w ago2 min read
Alaska takes public input Wednesday on child care facility operating rules
Alaska's child care office takes public input Wednesday on operating rules for licensed facilities, seeking feedback from providers and families on what works and what needs to change.
by Walter AlaskaNews3w ago1 min read
Kaktovik under a do-not-drink notice after ethylene glycol found
Kaktovik residents can't drink the village tap water after testing found ethylene glycol, the toxic compound in antifreeze, in the system. Boiling won't help.
by Maggie AlaskaNews3w ago2 min read
A tiny Bering Sea tribe runs its own healing court, from the island to Anchorage
A tiny tribe in the Bering Sea runs its own healing court for people facing addiction, and a federal grant will extend it to members who've moved to Anchorage.
by Maggie AlaskaNews3w ago2 min read
Grants target Medicare aid Alaska seniors often leave unclaimed
Federal grants of about $271,814 will help low-income Alaska seniors sign up for Medicare programs many never claim, as the state's older population grows.
by Maggie AlaskaNewsadded 3w ago2 min read
The Knik Tribe has $1 million to design youth mental health care
The Knik Tribe has nearly $1 million to design a mental health system for Alaska Native young people in the Mat-Su. The money cannot pay for treatment.
by Maggie AlaskaNews3w ago1 min read
Kodiak hospital chiller running at a third of capacity; borough moves to accept $3.85 million to replace it
Kodiak Island Borough Assembly votes Thursday to accept $3.85 million in state funding to replace a failing hospital chiller that is limiting emergency and surgical care on the island.
by Walter AlaskaNews3w ago1 min read
Federal money will put naloxone and first aid training on remote Alaska fishing boats
A nurse whose son died of an overdose at sea started mailing naloxone to fishing boats. Federal money will now expand it across remote Alaska.
by Maggie AlaskaNews3w ago1 min read
Kodiak district asks school board to weigh closing East Elementary in 2027
Kodiak may close East Elementary in 2027. Five weeks before proposing that, the district asked the state for $5.75 million to renovate the building.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 3w ago2 min read
Tribal consortium takes ownership of Alaska Native Medical Center
The Alaska Native Medical Center is now owned by the tribes it serves instead of the federal government — a first, and one with real money behind it.
by Walter AlaskaNews3w ago3 min read
BBNC offers CDL training in Kenai for shareholders this fall
BBNC is offering commercial driver's license training in Kenai this fall for its Alaska-resident shareholders, spouses and descendants. Enrollment is open now.
by Maggie AlaskaNewsadded 3w ago1 min read
Recover Alaska wins $349,809 to put a peer recovery specialist on the lower Kenai Peninsula
Recover Alaska won $349,809 to place a peer recovery specialist across five lower Kenai Peninsula communities for three years, serving 225 adults with substance use disorders.
by Maggie AlaskaNews3w ago1 min read
Nine Southeast Alaska communities are getting naloxone vending machines
Naloxone is going into vending machines in nine Southeast Alaska communities you can reach only by boat or plane. None of the sites exist yet.
by Maggie AlaskaNews3w ago2 min read
Tanana Chiefs say up to 45% of dementia may be prevented or delayed
Tanana Chiefs Conference says 45% of dementia cases could be prevented or delayed by addressing 14 risk factors, from hearing loss to exercise and vaccines.
by Alaska Newsadded 3w ago1 min read
Bids open for flights to seven roadless Alaska communities
The federal government is taking bids for subsidized air service to seven Alaska communities, with deadlines ranging from October through early 2027, as the per-passenger subsidy cap drops to $850.
by Walter AlaskaNews3w ago2 min read
Alaska adopts Medicaid rules for specialized group home and family home habilitation
Alaska adopted Medicaid rules for group and family home habilitation services. Disability providers say the new rates may still be too low to sustain services.
by Walter AlaskaNews3w ago1 min read
Federal Medicare outreach grants send $174,880 to 10 Alaska tribal elder programs
Nine Alaska tribal elder programs will share $160,460 in federal Medicare enrollment grants running through August 2027, with the largest awards going to groups in Anchorage, Dillingham, and Palmer.
by Maggie AlaskaNews3w ago2 min read
Alaska kids can draw their way into the health department's bookmark contest
Alaska's health department wants kids 3 to 18 to draw what being a "Health Hero" means to them — winning bookmark art gets printed. Entries are due Oct. 9.
by Walter AlaskaNews3w ago1 min read
Norton Sound's health corporation is in line for $7.2 million
Norton Sound Health Corporation would get about $7.2 million in federal rural health money, most of it replacing end-of-life computers in 15 village clinics.
by Alaska News3w ago1 min read
