People & Culture

Tlingit & Haida gets $1.05 million for youth classes in Juneau and Angoon and help for kinship caregivers

Tlingit & Haida landed about $1.05 million in federal grants for teen pregnancy-prevention classes in Juneau and Angoon and help for relatives raising kids.

by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Atka IRA Council gets $548,271 federal grant to build four greenhouses in the Aleutian village

Atka, a roadless Aleutian village of about 60, will build four greenhouses with a $548,271 federal grant to grow fresh produce closer to home.

by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Knik Tribe to lead effort to keep drug-affected families together in Mat-Su and Kenai

The Knik Tribe will lead a five-year effort to keep children affected by a parent's drug or alcohol use safely with their families in the Mat-Su and Kenai.

by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Federal grant will add two operating rooms at the Alaska Native Medical Center in Anchorage

A $1.5 million federal grant will add two operating rooms at the Alaska Native Medical Center, with room for about 1,560 more surgical procedures a year.

by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Kodiak school board accepts superintendent's resignation less than three months into his tenure

Kodiak's school superintendent is out less than three months into the job. The board accepted Dan Brigman's resignation and hasn't said why.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

Maximum SNAP food benefits in Alaska rise about 1.6% starting Thursday, with rural areas highest

Alaska's SNAP maximums rise about 1.6% Thursday. A rural family of four can now get up to $2,027 a month, though actual benefits depend on income.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago3 min read

Mat-Su resolution would ask school board to start classes after Labor Day

Mat-Su Assembly will vote Tuesday on a resolution asking the school board to start classes the day after Labor Day instead of earlier in August.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

Norton Sound Health Corporation gets $250,000 federal grant for produce prescription program

A $250,000 Indian Health Service grant will help Norton Sound Health Corporation give food-insecure households monthly produce vouchers or shipments.

by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Fairbanks Memorial gets $3 million toward first inpatient psychiatric unit for teens in Interior Alaska

Interior Alaska teens who need inpatient psychiatric care must leave the region. A $3 million federal grant will help Fairbanks Memorial build a four-bed unit.

by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Fairbanks residential mental health center to add six rooms with $1.95 million federal grant

A Fairbanks residential mental health center will add six private rooms, a kitchen and gathering space with a $1.95 million earmark requested by Murkowski.

by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Seward hospital's new rural health grants collide with a shortage of space

Seward hospital won a $1.1 million federal grant to add prenatal care locally but has no space, forcing a choice between a $250,000 office conversion or a $4 million to $6 million addition

by Melinda Communities.News1mo ago3 min read

Alaska prisons seek contractor for mental health care, with video visits allowed in Nome, Bethel and Ketchikan

Alaska's prisons want a contractor for mental health care at four facilities. In Nome, Bethel and Ketchikan, clinicians might visit in person only monthly.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Petersburg hospital CEO and board member differ on how federal budget law will affect Medicaid

Petersburg's hospital CEO told his board the federal budget law mostly adds paperwork for the state. A board member called it major Medicaid cuts.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Southwest Region schools serve freeze-dried carrot chips from 2,300 pounds of summer vegetables

Southwest Region School District freeze-dried more than 2,300 pounds of potatoes and carrots over the summer, and carrot chips are now a lunchroom favorite.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

Kodiak Middle School breakfast jumps from 11 students a day to 127 with grab-and-go meals

Kodiak Middle School cut the breakfast line, handed out grab-and-go meals and brought back strawberry milk. Daily breakfast went from 11 kids to 127.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

FCC reconsiders how it sets rural clinic telecom subsidies, 97% of which go to Alaska

Alaska gets 97% of a federal subsidy that helps rural clinics pay for connectivity, and the FCC wants to rethink how it's calculated. Comments due Wednesday.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago3 min read

State lifts Kaktovik do-not-drink water order

Kaktovik residents can drink their tap water again. The state lifted its do-not-drink order Saturday after three weeks of antifreeze-chemical contamination.

by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

YKHC names interim chief Patricia Smith as permanent president and CEO

Patricia Smith, YKHC's interim chief since April and a nearly 30-year employee, is now the Bethel tribal health corporation's permanent CEO.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Bethel police warn residents not to shoot suspected rabid animals in the head

Bethel police warn residents to avoid shooting suspected rabid animals in the head, since brain tissue is needed to confirm the disease. Two foxes in Bethel tested positive for rabies in February.

by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

FCC weighs new ways to set prices for rural Alaska clinics' internet and phone service

A federal telecom subsidy that's about 97% Alaska is up for a rewrite. The FCC wants comments by Wednesday on how rural clinic internet prices get set.

by Melinda Communities.News1mo ago2 min read

State puts $4.2 million toward housing for teachers and other professionals in rural Alaska

Rural Alaska keeps losing teachers to a lack of decent housing. The state has $4.2 million to build more, for communities that signed up by August.

by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago3 min read

Summit on Aging attendees can book one-on-one time with state health leaders

Going to next month's Summit on Aging? You can book 15 minutes with state health leaders. Alaskans 65 and older get in free, but everyone has to register.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

Mat-Su Regional gets $5 million in federal rural health money for a neonatal intensive care unit

Mat-Su Regional Medical Center gets $5 million in federal rural health money for a neonatal intensive care unit meant to keep more newborns out of Anchorage.

by Melinda Communities.News1mo ago2 min read

Follows: Alaska rural health notices pass $239 million with $30 million round

Hope's second Fox Fest brings three bands to Creekbend Cafe on Saturday

Hope's Creekbend Cafe hosts its second Fox Fest on Saturday, Sept. 26, with three live bands performing from 3 to 10 p.m. for $35 adults, free for kids 15 and under.

by Alaska News1mo ago1 min read

Harvest Moon festival brings Alaska-grown food, pie contest to Soldotna

Soldotna Creek Park hosts the Harvest Moon Local Food Festival on Sept. 26 from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., featuring Alaska-grown food vendors, live music, and a homemade pie contest capped at 30 pies that requires preregistration and a $5 entry fee.

by Alaska News1mo ago2 min read

FDA to pay Alaska $540,768 for state food safety inspections

The FDA will pay Alaska's food inspectors $540,768 for another year of checking restaurants and fish plants, the same week Murkowski asked it to keep doing so.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

Where to celebrate Oktoberfest in Southcentral this weekend and next

Free Oktoberfest celebrations hit Girdwood, Anchorage and Valdez this weekend, Sept. 25-26. Ticketed adult events follow Oct. 3 in Palmer and Eagle River.

by Cale Green1mo ago3 min read

Anchorage School Board keeps control of closed-school planning after lawyer advises against Assembly task force

A school board member wanted the Assembly in on what happens to empty schools. The district's lawyer said no, so Assembly members get seats but no votes.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago3 min readFrom Sep 18

Kotzebue water system exceeds federal lead action level after two of 10 homes test high

Two of 10 Kotzebue homes tested above the federal lead action level. The city is testing more homes and says to run taps until cold before drinking.

by Alaska News1mo ago2 min read

Federal report puts Alaska's maternal death rate above the national rate but warns the count is small

Alaska's maternal death rate ran above the national rate in a new federal report, but it rests on 17 deaths and the report itself says to read it with caution.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Alaska health officials warn concentrated kratom products can cause overdoses drug tests miss

Kratom gummies and shots can cause opioid-like overdoses that drug tests miss. Alaska ER visits tied to kratom already top last year's total.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Alaska has five weeks to commit $33 million in federal rural health money

Alaska has about $33 million in federal rural health money left to hand out, and five weeks to do it. There are no extensions, the feds say.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Alaska will score rural health grant applications on cost-effectiveness

Alaska will score rural health grant applications on cost for the first time, and will post the final rules halfway through the window to apply.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Follows: Alaska streamlines the fall round of its $272 million rural health fund

Alaska will not release statewide 2025 youth health survey results

Alaska is not releasing statewide youth health data for 2025. Only 29 percent of students answered, and the state says the numbers do not hold up.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Alaska recorded 22 COVID-19 deaths last season, including one child

Twenty-two Alaskans died with COVID-19 listed on the death certificate last season. One was a child. The summary says nothing more about that.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Tlingit & Haida wins $1.57M to train Southeast Alaska overdose responders

Tlingit & Haida will spend $1.57 million over four years training responders and keeping naloxone stocked across Southeast Alaska communities.

by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Federal grant funds eating disorder training for 30 tribal health providers in Alaska

Alaska has no dedicated eating disorder care for an estimated 65,000 people. A federal grant will train 30 tribal providers to help them out.

by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

Murkowski's bill would extend a rural maternity program Alaska never used

Alaska has never won a grant from the rural maternity program Murkowski's new bill would keep funded. The same bill has died three times before.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Copper River responders will learn to start addiction treatment in the field

One paid ambulance crew and 20 volunteers cover an area bigger than West Virginia. A $300,000 grant will train them to reverse overdoses in the field.

by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

Juneau's JAMHI clinic gets $938,000 in congressionally directed funds to replace failing HVAC

Juneau has no road out. The clinic holding its primary care and behavioral health is getting federal money for failing HVAC and fire suppression.

by Melinda Communities.News1mo ago2 min read