Politics & Government

Homer council to vote Oct. 26 on spending $60,000 to audit its volunteer fire department

Homer residents spent early 2025 telling the council its fire department was short on volunteers. Now the city may spend $60,000 on an audit to take a look.

by Walter AlaskaNews3w ago2 min read

Federal judge orders ICE to release man detained as he left Anchorage Wellness Court

A federal judge ordered ICE to release Honorio Latyr Pereira Barreto, detained leaving Anchorage Wellness Court in June. His bond hearing used the wrong legal standard and denied him due process.

by Walter AlaskaNews3w ago3 min read

Troopers say Anchor Point man fired handgun during argument on Anchor Point beach

An argument on Anchor Point beach ended with a handgun fired and a 40-year-old man in the Homer Jail, troopers say. He wasn't allowed to have the gun.

by Walter AlaskaNews3w ago1 min read

Fairbanks trails commission to discuss standards for commercial tours on borough trails

Fairbanks trails commission meets Monday, Oct. 26, to hash out rules for commercial tour operators on 1,000+ miles of borough trails.

by Maggie AlaskaNews3w ago2 min read

Homer library board recommends making its meeting room free after hours

Homer's library got a security grille, so staff no longer need to stay late for evening meetings. Its board says the room should be free, night or day.

by Walter AlaskaNews3w ago2 min read

State pays for Facebook and Instagram ads promoting Alaska's record under Dunleavy

Alaska has spent state money since Sept. 1 on Facebook and Instagram ads touting Gov. Dunleavy's record. The ads run weeks before Nov. 3, when Alaskans pick his successor and new legislators.

by Walter AlaskaNews3w ago2 min readFrom Sep 1

Army Chinook flew a bridge to a roadless Interior radar site to secure its only water line

No road, no trail, one water line and a failing wooden bridge. So the Army flew in a new bridge, hanging under a Chinook, to a radar site near Hughes.

by Alaska News3w ago2 min read

Anchorage police ask for help finding Evon Petluska, 78, a vulnerable adult

Anchorage police seek Evon Petluska, 78, last seen Thursday after discharge from Alaska Native Medical Center. He is described as a vulnerable adult.

by Walter AlaskaNews3w ago1 min read

Troopers and fire crews pull duck hunter from the mud on the Palmer Hay Flats

Palmer Hay Flats mud 1, duck hunter 0. Troopers and fire crews had the hunter out a little over an hour after the call came in Friday morning.

by Maggie AlaskaNews3w ago1 min read

Alaska seeks contractor for ethics and budget course new law requires of school boards

Alaska school board members starting a term must take an ethics and budget course within 30 days. The state just started shopping for someone to write it.

by Walter AlaskaNews3w ago2 min read

Valdez budget would add $205,000 for events, a hatchery group and workforce contracts

Valdez wants 29% more for economic development, still less than it spent in each of the past three years. Gold Rush Days and the hatchery group get a bump.

by Walter AlaskaNews3w ago2 min read

Anchorage officials propose asking voters to fund an ambulance and its crew

Anchorage wants voters to buy one more ambulance for $380,000, then pay about $1.5 million a year for the crew. City officials call it a test.

by Walter AlaskaNews3w ago4 min read

Unmarried partner keeps boat bought with his own money, Alaska Supreme Court rules

Skipped marriage to skip divorce court? The Alaska Supreme Court says what you buy alone, with your own money and in your own name, stays yours.

by Walter AlaskaNews3w ago2 min read

Coast Guard's Seward shipyard job on the Sitka cutter Kukui reaches $3.3 million

The Coast Guard's tab for work on a Sitka buoy tender at a Seward shipyard went up 18 times this year, from about $2.2 million to about $3.3 million.

by Melinda Communities.News3w ago1 min read

Nome council reverses vote, denies cab license to man convicted of sexual abuse of a minor

Three days after the mayor's tiebreaker granted a cab license to a man convicted of sexual abuse of a minor, Nome's council reversed itself 6-0.

by Walter AlaskaNews3w ago2 min read

State sets last two block grant workshops as Alaska towns eye Dec. 4 deadline

Alaska towns can chase up to $850,000 each in federal block grant money, now including housing. Two workshops left to learn how, and Dec. 4 won't move.

by Walter AlaskaNews3w ago1 min read

North Slope's comprehensive plan informs its $1.5 billion capital plan, mayor says

North Slope voters just approved up to $1.55 billion in borrowing. The mayor says the borough's long-range community plans will help decide where it goes.

by Maggie AlaskaNews3w ago2 min read

Kenai faces 29% jump in employee health premiums as council weighs Premera renewal

Kenai's employee health premiums are set to jump 29%, and that's after the broker negotiated Premera down from 36%. The council votes Wednesday.

by Walter AlaskaNews3w ago2 min read

State office closure alerts switch systems Nov. 1, and subscribers must sign up again

State office closure alerts are switching systems Nov. 1, and your subscription isn't coming along. Five minutes and an email address fixes it.

by Walter AlaskaNews4w ago1 min read

Kodiak Assembly certifies election, swears in three as fourth winner waits

Kodiak certified its election and swore in three Assembly members. A fourth winner hasn't been seated yet, and two incumbents lost their seats.

by Walter AlaskaNews4w ago2 min read

Follows: Unofficial Kodiak Island Borough election results posted, canvass set for Oct. 14

At Senate debate, Sullivan suggests Peltola had questions; moderator says no

At a Senate debate, Sullivan implied Peltola had gotten questions ahead of time as she read answers from note cards. Moderators flatly denied it, and voting starts in four days.

by Cale Green4w ago3 min read

Juneau man charged with felony assault after Savikko Park hit-and-run

Juneau police charged a 32-year-old man with first-degree assault after a hit-and-run at Savikko Park. The pedestrian, 49, was medevaced to Seattle with a broken pelvis.

by Walter AlaskaNews3w ago1 min readFrom Oct 12

Soldotna police say Kodiak man fired gun in bar parking lot before fleeing

Soldotna police say a Kodiak man fired a gun in a bar parking lot and drove off in a Dodge Charger. He didn't get far, and he's being held without bail.

by Maggie AlaskaNews3w ago1 min read

Acting attorney general asks Legislature to clarify suppressor law after federal ruling

Alaska sued to end federal suppressor registration and won. Its own law still leans on that registration, so the acting AG wants lawmakers to sort it out.

by Walter AlaskaNews4w ago3 min read

Kenai Peninsula Borough and Soldotna man agree to end lawsuit over trespass ordinance

A Soldotna "First Amendment Auditor" and the Kenai borough agreed to walk away from his lawsuit. Each side pays its own lawyers, and the trespass law stays.

by Walter AlaskaNews4w ago2 min read

Peltola takes in $14.1 million in two months, nearly 7 times Sullivan's haul

Peltola took in about seven times what Sullivan did in the latest two-month reports. Both spent more than they took in, and Sullivan still has more cash.

by Alaska News4w ago4 min read

Like Vance and Trump, Cruz will campaign for Sullivan in a Republican-leaning region

Vance hit Fairbanks, Trump hit the Mat-Su and Cruz heads to Kenai. All three picked parts of Alaska where Republicans did best in 2024. We ran the numbers.

by Walter AlaskaNews4w ago3 min read

Troopers arrest Kasilof resident on DUI, weapons charges near Clam Gulch

Troopers arrested a Kasilof man near Clam Gulch after finding his car in a ditch, him asleep inside. He faces DUI and weapons charges for a loaded firearm while impaired.

by Walter AlaskaNews4w ago1 min read

Anchorage Assembly takes up rewritten Chugach access board plan Tuesday

Who gets a say over Chugach park access money? The Assembly tries again Tuesday, now with two seats for road board veterans from neighborhoods next to the park.

by Walter AlaskaNews4w ago3 min read

Troopers arrest Houston man on assault charges after Big Lake firearm disturbance

Troopers arrested a 57-year-old Houston man Wednesday after a firearm disturbance near Big Lake. He faces third-degree assault and two counts of assault in the presence of a child.

by Walter AlaskaNews4w ago1 min read

Planners say Anchorage's capital budget isn't strongly tied to its growth plan

Anchorage planners say the city's capital budget isn't strongly tied to its growth plan. Since 2017, 1% of Bowl development landed where the plan wanted most.

by Walter AlaskaNews4w ago2 min read

Anchorage's $725.7 million cash pool earned $4.4 million last quarter, report shows

Anchorage parks $725.7 million with three money managers until it needs it. Last quarter it earned $4.4 million; the managers cost about $1 million a year.

by Walter AlaskaNews4w ago2 min read

Bethel council elects mayor Tuesday after election brings in Joseph Klejka

Bethel's council picks its mayor by secret ballot Tuesday, two weeks after about 7% of the city's voters returned three incumbents and replaced a fourth.

by Maggie AlaskaNews4w ago2 min read

Follows: Bethel City Council to certify Oct. 6 election and swear in new members

Anchorage's 2027 budget leaves out money for downtown police foot patrols

Downtown Anchorage's police foot patrols ran on hotel-tax overtime money this year. The 2027 budget leaves that money out. One option floated: a special levy.

by Walter AlaskaNews4w ago2 min read

Alaska's disabilities council seeks feedback after writing a plan to guide it through 2031

Alaska's disabilities council wants to know how it's doing. Its next five-year plan got 84 public comment responses. Staff call its wording intentionally broad.

by Walter AlaskaNews4w ago2 min read

Wasilla certifies Rubeo's record win and starts filling her council seat

Wasilla certified Rubeo's record 67.2%, Ledford ran her last meeting, and the council hopes to fill Rubeo's old seat before the holidays get going.

by Walter AlaskaNews4w ago2 min read

Follows: Alina Rubeo wins Wasilla mayor's race with 67% of the vote, avoiding a runoff

Official results confirm Utqiagvik voters raised marijuana sales tax to 10%

Utqiagvik voters approved raising the city's retail marijuana sales tax from 8% to 10%, final results confirm, 473 to 303.

by Walter AlaskaNews4w ago1 min read

Air Guard rescues pilot with minor injuries after plane crash near Friday Creek

The Air Guard has flown four pilots out of crashes north of Anchorage since Sept. 10, two of them near Friday Creek, which is having a rough fall.

by Walter AlaskaNews4w ago2 min read

Anchorage Assembly member proposes writing police surveillance limits into city charter

Anchorage Assembly member Keith McCormick wants police surveillance limits locked into the city charter, where only voters could change them, including warrant rules for tracking and biometric data.

by Walter AlaskaNews4w ago3 min read

North Slope voters reelect Patkotak and approve all 11 bonds worth about $1.55 billion

North Slope voters gave Mayor Josiah Patkotak another term and the borough permission to borrow up to $1.55 billion for water, power, schools and more.

by Walter AlaskaNews4w ago2 min read