People & Culture
RSSAlaska News coverage of people and culture topics including community events, arts funding, local businesses, and cultural institutions.
Four TCC employees selected for ANTHC leadership programs
Four Tanana Chiefs Conference employees selected for competitive nine-month leadership programs run by Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium to develop skills across tribal healthcare.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Kreiss-Tomkins documents $20 milk, absent law enforcement in 11 Yukon River villages
Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins documented $20 milk, $12 gas, scarce law enforcement, and collapsed salmon runs across 11 Yukon River villages in a four-day boat tour.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
Anchorage Disability Pride celebration set for Saturday at Delaney Park Strip
Disability Pride Alaska hosts a free celebration Saturday at Delaney Park Strip from noon to 4 p.m., marking 36 years since the Americans with Disabilities Act became law.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
PRC benefits cover hearing aids, vision care, and travel for eligible Noatak residents
Noatak residents can use Purchased/Referred Care to cover hearing aids and vision care, plus travel help for specialty referrals. • Must get prior authorization and submit bills quickly to avoid delays or uncovered costs.
by Maggie AlaskaNewsadded 2mo ago1 min read
TCC seeks contractor for new Rampart health clinic, proposals due August 21
Tanana Chiefs Conference is seeking a general contractor to build a new health clinic in Rampart, with proposals due August 21 and construction expected to finish by the end of 2027.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Alaska's senators voted to let a Medicare AI pilot keep running
Alaska's senators voted last week to let an AI-driven Medicare prior-authorization pilot keep running, and backed a defense bill that stalled anyway.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Murkowski bill targets Alaska's rural health shortage with immigrant credential grants
Sen. Murkowski introduced a bill to fund grants helping internationally trained health professionals already in the U.S. get licensed and work in Alaska's rural clinics and hospitals.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
Alaska Center for the Book honors Delta librarian and Akiachak literacy advocate with 2026 awards
Alaska Center for the Book named Delta librarian Tiki Levinson and Akiachak resident Mary Samson George as 2026 literacy award recipients.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
IHS picks Sitka and Bethel tribal health groups for first-ever elder care construction program
Indian Health Service picked Sitka and Bethel tribal health groups to build and expand skilled nursing facilities, the first time the federal program has funded long-term elder care in Alaska.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Federal grant would re-launch Alaska Native elder resource center; deadline July 27
The federal Administration on Aging is offering $215,000 annually for three years to re-establish a resource center for Alaska Native elders, with applications due July 27.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
ANTHC skilled nursing facility moves into finish phases ahead of January 2027 opening
ANTHC's 80-bed skilled nursing facility in Anchorage now opens January 2027, pushing back from summer 2026, as the $69 million building enters interior and exterior finish work.
by Maggie AlaskaNewsadded 2mo ago2 min read
Alaska school meal reimbursements rise 3.5% for 2026-27 school year
Alaska school districts will receive $6.98 per free lunch starting July 1, a 24-cent increase tied to food inflation.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Cyclospora cases nationally up sixfold; Alaska Department of Health urges produce washing
Cyclospora cases nationwide have jumped sixfold since May, and Alaska has recorded five cases this year; the CDC urges thorough washing of fresh produce under running water.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
A downtown Anchorage race with trail miles and maybe a Denali view
Anchorage's Skinny Raven Half & 10K hits the Delaney Park Strip Sunday — trail miles, maybe a Denali view, and an easy one to spectate. Sign up before prices jump Thursday night.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Alaska's educator apprenticeship program wins permanent federal approval
Alaska keeps recruiting teachers who leave. A newly permanent apprenticeship flips that — training locals to become certified teachers without leaving home. It's grown from 5 to 96 in 18 months.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Alaskans can call 988, but in many places no team can respond
Alaskans in crisis can reach the 988 line, but many communities have no local team to respond. The state's new answer, for now, is a training network.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Alaska's worst-ever syphilis outbreak is now reaching newborns
Alaska is in its worst syphilis outbreak ever, up twentyfold since 2016 — and it's now reaching babies. A record 14 newborns were born with it in 2025, though it's preventable with prenatal testing.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Anchorage weighs $528,000 for addiction, homelessness, and disability care
Anchorage is set to accept ~$528,000 in grants for opioid treatment, homeless outreach, and disability services — the last one patching three years of state funding cuts.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Alaska's diesel-to-renewables fund reopens, but the money reaches few
Alaska's main fund for getting rural communities off diesel just reopened — with room for maybe nine of the many that'll apply.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
Alaska child vaccination rate at 55%, well below national average
New state data shows 55% of Alaska toddlers have finished the recommended vaccine series and kindergarten measles coverage is 77% — below national averages and the herd-immunity threshold.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
How a borrowed good-luck charm became Bering Strait ivory art
A grinning good-luck charm invented Outside became a Bering Strait ivory art form — thanks to master carver Happy Jack, who made the borrowed Billiken his own.
by Bill AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
A Nome teacher heads to Stanford to rethink how schools teach
A Nome reading teacher is off to Stanford for a Ph.D. — studying how Inuit knowledge and values can be built into what schools actually teach.
by Melinda Communities.News2mo ago1 min read
At a remote Interior camp, sobriety is celebrated the Athabascan way
Old Minto, a remote Interior camp that roots addiction recovery in Athabascan tradition, holds its Annual Sobriety Potlatch July 23 — celebrating sobriety the way the culture always has.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Who pays when the state underfunds school construction debt?
Alaska's cities want the state to stop shortchanging school-construction debt payments and stick locals with the bill. But it's a request, and the money's far from guaranteed.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Alaska home and health care providers accused of Medicaid fraud
Alaska's Medicaid Fraud Control Unit charged 15 defendants in five cases across Anchorage and the Kenai Peninsula, alleging about 1.83 million dollars in fraudulent home and health care billing.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
What Fairbanks wants from Juneau — and why it costs more up north
Fairbanks is finalizing its legislative wish list: cheaper piped gas, more school funding, and pensions back — a bill of grievances for a region that pays more for everything.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Alaska nudges up what it pays to house low-income seniors
Alaska bumped up what it pays to house low-income seniors by 3.5%, to $113 a day. Trouble is, assisted living here runs about $10,000 a month, and costs are rising faster.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Alaska school boards to FCC: don't make us choose internet over teachers
Alaska's school boards warned the FCC that gutting the E-Rate internet subsidy would force districts to choose between paying the broadband bill and paying teachers.
by Melinda Communities.News2mo ago1 min read
The strange snow bug Alaska is spending $750K to understand
A wingless insect that walks on Alaska's winter snow is so rarely seen scientists don't know how many kinds exist — now a UAF researcher has $750K to sequence them and find out.
by Melinda Communities.News2mo ago1 min read
Anchorage board won't reopen a school it may not have fully closed
Anchorage School Board rejected a motion to reopen Campbell STEM Elementary with new state money, but revealed the school may not be legally closed yet, creating a potential opening for reversal.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Anchorage School Board balks at a $2.8M curriculum buy members hadn't seen
Anchorage School Board members got handed a $2.8M curriculum bill at a summer meeting and basically said: first we're hearing of it.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
Noel Wien Library brings Kids Literacy Farmers Market back to Weeks Field July 21
Noel Wien Library hosts Kids Literacy Farmers Market on July 21 at Weeks Field, a free event with activities and a children's market returning for its sixth year.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Alaska doubles bulk fuel loan cap to $1.5 million for rural communities
Alaska doubled the bulk fuel loan cap to $1.5 million for rural communities starting July 3, helping villages and fuel retailers cover winter heating oil purchases before customer payments arrive.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
Anchorage Assembly votes Tuesday on $460K for teen health, senior services
Anchorage Assembly votes Tuesday on $460,000 in state grants for teen pregnancy prevention, senior navigation services, and case management at two public housing complexes.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly to revisit Nikolaevsk school transfer Tuesday
Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly will reconsider Tuesday its approval of transferring the $8 million Nikolaevsk School to a Russian Old Believer nonprofit.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Kodiak Borough declines federal interest notice, leaving health center next steps unresolved
Kodiak Borough rejected a federal interest notice for the health center's capital project, leaving its funding path uncertain.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 2mo ago2 min read
Anchorage Assembly set to vote on $360K for senior and disability services
Anchorage Assembly votes Tuesday on $360,000 in state grants to sustain the Aging and Disability Resource Center through next June.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
Bush plane tips on Copper River sandbar during fishwheel check; no injuries
A bush plane tipped on a Copper River sandbar Friday while landing to check a fishwheel, sustaining minor damage with no injuries.
by Bill AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Alaska updates Medicaid pay — providers say it's still too low
Alaska's annual Medicaid rate update is here, and hospitals and tribal clinics say it still doesn't cover the real cost of care — a chronic squeeze on rural and Native health services.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
A Dillingham campus wants to grow rural Alaska's scientists at home
A Dillingham campus won nearly $889,000 from the NSF to train STEM pros in place for rural Southwest Alaska — a "grow-your-own" model, though the grant runs just three years.
by Melinda Communities.News2mo ago1 min read
