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 Oct 5
Mat-Su Assembly asks school board to start classes the day after Labor Day
Mat-Su kids would start school after Labor Day instead of mid-August if the school board agrees. It's only a request, and the vote may not even stand.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
ASD Superintendent Jharrett Bryantt says he will leave for Virginia district
Anchorage School District Superintendent Jharrett Bryantt will leave for a Virginia superintendent job in early 2027, leaving Alaska's largest district to find new leadership during budget planning.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Anchorage opioid overdose calls down 10%, fire department says
Anchorage fire crews are answering about 10% fewer opioid overdose calls this year. The department can't say why yet, and the numbers miss many deaths.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Alaska school improvement grant reviews delayed by staff leave
Alaska Department of Education delayed School Improvement grant reviews due to staff leave, with applications needing approval by October 31 to avoid compliance violations.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
Anchorage Assembly approves $3 million rural health grant for crisis care
Anchorage accepted $3 million in federal rural health money meant to link health, police and fire records and pilot opioid treatment and mobile care.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Anchorage School Board backs public school scholarship groups under new tax credit
The Anchorage School Board voted 7-0 to back scholarship groups for public school students under the new federal tax credit, with guardrails against vouchers.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Anchorage mayor's office wants closed Abbott Loop Elementary demolished, school officials say
Anchorage's mayor wants closed Abbott Loop Elementary demolished for housing redevelopment, and the school district would need to authorize $4 million in demolition costs from a prior bond.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Alaska EMS clinicians face fingerprint background check deadlines in 2027 and 2028
Alaska EMS clinicians will need fingerprint background checks under a new state law. EMT-1s have until the end of 2027; everyone else, March 2028.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
More from People & Culture
Alaska opens $75 million rural health grant round before scoring rules are final
Alaska is taking applications for $75 million in rural health grants under scoring rules that won't be final until two weeks before the deadline.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min readFrom 
Alaska proposes Medicaid coverage of traditional healing through Tribal health programs
Alaska seeks federal approval to cover traditional healing through Tribal health programs under Medicaid starting in 2028, with public comment due Nov. 4.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Health care workers tell Alaska high school students many jobs don't need a four-year degree
Some health care jobs take 6 to 12 weeks of training, and Alaska teens can get a pharmacy tech license at 16, students heard at a state career session.
by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Southcentral Foundation sends a doctor to Nelson Lagoon and a dentist to St. Paul
Southcentral Foundation is sending a doctor to Nelson Lagoon October 5-7 and a dentist to St. Paul Island through October 15 as part of rotating clinics serving 55 rural villages.
by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Week of Sep 28
Alaska Communications presses FCC to block or condition GCI-Quintillion sale
Alaska Communications asked the FCC to block or restrict GCI's $310 million purchase of Quintillion unless rivals get guaranteed access to the undersea fiber network at regulated prices.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago5 min readFrom 
Fairbanks, Anchorage and Juneau clinics join federal program requiring 24-hour crisis care
Clinics in Fairbanks, Anchorage and Juneau joined a federal Medicaid program Oct. 1 that requires 24-hour crisis care and serving people who can't pay.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min readFrom 
Anchorage Assembly recognizes October as Filipino American History Month
Anchorage Assembly is set to approve a resolution Tuesday recognizing October 2026 as Filipino American History Month, a tradition it has repeated yearly since at least 2014.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
UAA gets $725,000 for nursing simulation equipment at rural campus sites
UAA got $725,000 in federal money for nursing simulation gear for rural students, where clinical placements are a big limit on how many can enroll.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min readFrom 
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 Medicaid sets $989.83 daily rate for specialized homes serving people with complex disabilities
Alaska Medicaid now pays $989.83 a day for specialized homes caring for people with complex disabilities, up from an interim $870, under rules effective Oct. 2.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Dunleavy approves first 20 groups for Alaska K-12 scholarships under new federal tax credit
Alaska approved its first 20 scholarship groups under a new federal tax credit. Donors can claim up to $1,700 starting in 2027. Teachers unions aren't fans.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
State says reviews of school improvement grant applications are delayed ahead of Oct. 31 deadline
The state says its review of school improvement grant applications is running behind, with an Oct. 31 deadline that decides when districts get repaid.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
University of Alaska Southeast students received about $1.47 million in Pell Grants last school year
UAS students got about $1.47 million in federal Pell Grants last school year. It's need-based aid for undergraduates, and it never has to be paid back.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
St. Paul Island tribe awarded $649,890 for math project for Pribilof students
The Aleut Community of St. Paul Island has a $649,890 federal grant for a gifted-and-talented math project for Pribilof School District students.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Alaska classrooms can enter state's Red Ribbon Week door decorating contest through Oct. 31
Alaska classrooms can decorate a door for Red Ribbon Week and enter the state's contest by Oct. 31. This year's theme celebrates everyday heroes.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
Alaska Native students in Juneau and Klawock to pitch tech prototypes to Elders
Alaska Native students in Juneau and Klawock will build tech prototypes this fall to solve community problems, then pitch them to Elders and industry leaders.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
Copper River EMS gets $291,000 in federal money to rebuild its main 911 ambulance
Copper River EMS has $291,000 in federal money to rebuild its main 911 ambulance instead of buying a new one. Its backup rig is nearly 30 years old.
by Melinda Communities.News1mo ago2 min read
Cordova hospital gets $3 million to replace generator after four tries drew no bidders
Cordova's hospital got $3 million to replace a backup generator it says can't power the building in an outage. Its last four tries drew no bidders.
by Melinda Communities.News1mo ago2 min read
Cook Inlet Tribal Council gets $262,483 federal grant for Anchorage parenting program
Cook Inlet Tribal Council received $262,483 to expand Parent's Journey, a 20-year parenting program in Anchorage serving Native families who make up 66% of children in out-of-home care there.
by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Dillingham council votes Thursday on exempting Tribal land from property tax
Dillingham's council votes tonight on exempting land owned outright by federally recognized tribes from city property tax. Commercial buildings stay taxed.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Calista Education and Culture gets $900,000 to pay 16 young adults for village-based internships
Calista Education and Culture will pay 16 young adults from the Middle Kuskokwim and Lower Yukon for village-based internships with a $900,000 federal grant.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Online series helps families of youth with disabilities plan for adulthood
Families of young people with disabilities can get help planning for adult services in an online series that starts tonight and runs through April.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
Some noncitizens in Alaska could lose full Medicaid coverage as federal rules take effect Oct. 1
Starting Thursday, some noncitizens in Alaska could lose full Medicaid under new federal rules. In 2027, some adults face work rules and six-month reviews.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago3 min read
Tlingit & Haida gets $300,000 to build dementia services for Southeast elders
Tlingit & Haida received $300,000 to hire dementia staff, screen elders, and connect them to regional services through 2029.
by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
UAF gets federal award to run Alaska Native elders resource center
UAF won a $215,343 federal award to run a resource center training Alaska's 43 tribal elder-service programs in dementia care, disaster prep, and healthy aging through 2029.
by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Ketchikan Gateway Borough Assembly sets Oct. 5 work session on school activities funding
Ketchikan students, coaches and parents told the borough school activities are turning pay-to-play. The Assembly takes up whether it can help Oct. 5.
by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min readFrom 
Sealaska Heritage Institute wins federal grant for Juneau's Tlingit language school program
Sealaska Heritage Institute won a five-year federal grant for Juneau's Tlingit language school program, months after warning it would lose its principal.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Senate sends Anchorage Quyana Clubhouse land transfer to president
Senate passed a bill transferring downtown Anchorage land to Southcentral Foundation so it can replace and expand the Quyana Clubhouse serving Alaska Native people with mental illness.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Court orders former Curyung Tribal Council accountant to repay $125,834 to tribe
Federal court ordered former Curyung Tribal Council accountant William Corbett to repay $125,834 after he embezzled funds through forged checks and falsified payroll documents.
by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Updated COVID-19 vaccines reach Alaska pharmacies as state epidemiologists urge clinicians to recommend them
New COVID-19 shots aimed at the XFG variant are at many Alaska pharmacies. State epidemiologists want clinicians recommending them for 6 months and up.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min readFrom 
AlaskaCare retiree plan proposes adding licensed massage therapists as providers in 2027
State retirees in the AlaskaCare defined benefit plan could see licensed massage therapists recognized as providers in 2027. Comments are due Oct. 19.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
Disabilities council seeks testimony on virtual special-education services
Alaska's disabilities council seeks public testimony Monday on virtual special-education services delivered over Zoom and Teams.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
Norton Sound Health Corp. gets federal grant for youth sexual health and life skills classes
Norton Sound Health Corp. will teach sexual health and life skills to young people in Nome and 15 Bering Strait villages under a five-year federal grant.
by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
