Politics & Government

National conservation fund gives $255,000 to Alaska Center group backing three House candidates

A national conservation PAC gave $255,000 to The Alaska Center IE, about two-thirds of what the group has raised to back three state House candidates.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Fairbanks senior commission to consider asking mayor to speed up a Senior Center bus shelter

Fairbanks Senior Citizens Advisory Commission votes Thursday on asking Mayor Grier Hopkins to move a covered bus shelter at the Senior Center from 2037 to the next few years of the capital budget.

by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

State commission fines governor candidate Bernadette Wilson $2,473.50 over LLC contribution

State regulators fined governor candidate Bernadette Wilson $2,473.50 over a $25,000 LLC contribution and underreported fundraising costs. The max was $26,225.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Follows: APOC sets Tuesday hearings on four disclosure complaints against statewide candidates

Kodiak's projected deficit shrinks to about $94,000 at year end

Kodiak closed fiscal 2026 with a $94,000 general fund shortfall after a $1.14 million transfer from investment earnings reduced what had been a projected $3 million deficit.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Nome Common Council certifies Oct. 6 municipal election results

Nome Common Council certified Oct. 6 election results Thursday, with all races uncontested and winners taking 89 percent or more of votes cast.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

Kodiak's two council members on the city investment committee are both leaving the council

Two departing Kodiak City Council members leave both seats open on the investment committee that oversees the city's $48.5 million portfolio, with the mayor to appoint replacements by Oct. 26.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

Kodiak resident says city seeks 506% more tax from auto shop than Highmark Marine paid

A Kodiak resident told the council the city wants 506% more tax from a local auto shop than Highmark Marine paid. Her comparison couldn't be checked.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

State seeks avalanche forecaster to watch the Klondike Highway above Skagway for up to five winters

Alaska is seeking an avalanche forecaster for the Klondike Highway above Skagway at a cost of up to $500,000 over five winters, with proposals due by Oct. 28 or 29.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Giessel says governor kept DNR commissioner from legislative hearing on AIDEA land transfers

Governor blocked the DNR commissioner from testifying at a legislative hearing on state land transfers to AIDEA, leaving lawmakers without answers on nearly 20,000 acres north of Houston.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago3 min read

Legislative attorneys say Houston land transfer to AIDEA may fail public-purpose test

Legislative attorneys say giving AIDEA 20,000 free acres near Houston may not pass the public-purpose test. AIDEA's director says state law already settles it.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago3 min read

Anchorage voters could update ballot signatures with the clerk under proposed ordinance

Anchorage voters could soon update the signature their ballot gets checked against, instead of waiting on the state. Fewer newspaper ads, too.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Anchorage weighs requiring candidates to gather voter signatures to get on the ballot

Anchorage candidates may soon need 50 to 250 voter signatures to get on the ballot. The clerk says it's the first city she's worked in without them.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Trump schedules Wasilla rally before Alaska general election

Trump is due in Wasilla on Tuesday. Ahead of it he again endorsed Sullivan and Begich and said he hopes Alaskans repeal ranked-choice voting.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Labor-backed committee pays $150,000 for Kreiss-Tomkins ticket ads

A labor-backed committee paid $150,000 for digital ads backing the Kreiss-Tomkins and Johnson gubernatorial ticket, with spending set to run through Election Day on Nov. 3.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Wasilla man gets 20 years in federal prison for child sexual abuse material

Paul Greeno of Wasilla was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison Wednesday for possessing child sexual abuse material depicting infants and toddlers.

by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Anchorage Assembly members question plan to elect School Board by district

An Eagle River Assembly member wants most Anchorage School Board members elected by district. A board member pushed back. Voters could decide in April.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago3 min read

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

Bethel City Council will certify the Oct. 6 election results and swear in new members at its Tuesday, Oct. 13 meeting at 6:30 pm, with four council seats running through October 2028.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Appeals board chair says Anchorage cut most appealed values, expects more appeals

Anchorage cut values on most of a record 1,990 property appeals. The appeals board chair says few had good evidence and expects even more appeals next year.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago3 min read

Follows: Appeals board chair says Anchorage cut appealed property values but not neighbors'

Alaska Supreme Court hears Valdez redistricting fee dispute

Alaska Supreme Court heard arguments Thursday on whether Valdez and a resident can recover attorney's fees from their challenge to the state's 2021 redistricting plan.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

Seaplanes objects as Juneau airport moves to rework cost split with airlines

Juneau's airport is hiring a consultant to rethink how big airlines and small carriers split its costs. Alaska Seaplanes wants a say before anything changes.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Fairbanks borough commission to hear appeal for German shepherd ordered euthanized after bite

Shadow, a German shepherd ordered euthanized after biting a tow-truck worker, gets an appeal hearing Oct. 14. The bitten worker doesn't want him put down.

by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Appeals board chair says Anchorage cut appealed property values but not neighbors'

Anchorage owners who appealed saw values cut about $93,000 on average. Neighbors who didn't appeal got no such cut, the appeals board chair says.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Women's Commission leader plans resolution seeking data on who staffs city boards

An Anchorage Women's Commission leader wants the city to count who staffs its boards and commissions. She suspects it's mostly women, without extra pay.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

Utqiagvik voters approve 10% marijuana tax in unofficial count

Utqiagvik voters approved a marijuana tax increase from 8% to 10% on Tuesday, 433 to 272, pending final canvass in October.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Follows: Utqiagvik's council can pause the sales tax five more years without a vote

NRA's political arm grades Alaska governor field, with A's for Bronson and Taylor

The NRA Political Victory Fund gave A grades to Republicans Dave Bronson and Treg Taylor, a C to Democrat Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins, and an AQ to Republican Bernadette Wilson in Alaska's governor race.

by Alaska News1mo ago2 min read

Federal civil rights panel takes testimony on Alaska's ranked-choice voting before repeal vote

A federal civil rights panel is studying whether Alaska's ranked-choice voting dilutes voting rights. It takes public testimony days before the repeal vote.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

FAA keeps plowing roads to Alaska navigation beacons as it retires others

The FAA pays local crews to plow roads to Alaska's radio navigation beacons each winter, even as it retires more than a dozen others in favor of GPS.

by Melinda Communities.News1mo ago2 min read

Alaska DNR tightens rules for stream water reservations

Alaska's new water reservation rules require five years of data first, and tribes and nonprofits won't hold their own certificates anymore. DNR will.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago3 min read

Anchorage Assembly approves standard hiring rules for clerk and ombudsman

Anchorage Assembly voted 12-0 to set one hiring process for the municipal clerk and ombudsman, requiring a selection committee for both offices.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Guard Black Hawk flies two stranded boaters and their dog to Kotzebue

Alaska Army National Guard Black Hawk crew rescued two boaters and their dog stranded 75 miles east of Kotzebue on Oct. 6 after their vessel became stuck in icy water.

by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

Denali Borough staff plan to waive tour permit user fees again, drawing committee pushback

Denali Borough land staff plan to waive commercial tour permit fees again in 2027, but all three Finance Committee members objected Wednesday, saying the delay wastes years of work on the fee program.

by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Boat owner suing Cordova over travel lift failure asks council to push mediation

A Cordova business owner suing the city over a 2023 travel lift failure asked the council to push for mediation. His business also owes the city money.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Cordova council waives protest of Moose Caboose liquor license despite doubts about its hours

Cordova's council won't fight the Moose Caboose's liquor license renewal, though members doubt it's open much. Proving that is the hard part.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Vehicle strikes and kills moose on Richardson Highway in North Pole

A moose lost its fight with a vehicle on the Richardson Highway in North Pole. The driver's fine, the car isn't, and troopers called a charity for the meat.

by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

Anchorage police say missing 13-year-old Isaac Allbritton has been located

Anchorage police located missing 13-year-old Isaac Allbritton on Wednesday, ending a public search that began earlier that day.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

Anchorage Assembly member Zachary Johnson amends disclosure to adopt APOC staff recommendations

Anchorage Assembly member Zac Johnson amended his 2025 financial disclosure on Oct. 7 to name the Wiest Trust and change his Wild Air Farm role from partner to power of attorney, adopting recommendations from an APOC staff report.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Wasilla man, 71, faces five counts of possessing child sexual abuse material

Task Force Dawnbreaker arrested Dale Weeg, 71, of Wasilla on Oct. 6 on five counts of possessing child sexual abuse material.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

Legislative committee has no oil and gas consultants under contract, chair says

Alaska lawmakers have no oil and gas consultants under contract, with a gas pipeline project and a new administration coming. Senators want that fixed.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Former Anchorage defense attorney Justin Facey sentenced to 20 years for drug trafficking

A former Anchorage defense attorney got 20 years for drug trafficking, the full term prosecutors sought, after they detailed how he exploited clients.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago3 min read

Auditors link Anchorage's $25 million cash misstatement to how SAP closes the books

Anchorage's 2024 cash was misstated by $25 million. The city pays millions for SAP, and until it's fixed, the correction lives in an Excel workbook.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read