Politics & Government
RSSAlaska News covers state and local politics and government, including elections, ethics investigations, legislative action, and municipal decisions.
Judicial Council tries again to fill Kotzebue and Nome superior court seats
Kotzebue and Nome are each without their only superior court judge. The Judicial Council is trying again to fill both, Kotzebue's for the third time.
by Walter AlaskaNews3d ago2 min read
Warrant rule for sharing police camera data splits Anchorage Assembly surveillance drafts
Anchorage Assembly debates whether outside agencies need a warrant before police share Real Time Crime Center data, with one version requiring warrants for inter-agency sharing and the other allowing broader data sharing for law enforcement purposes.
by Walter AlaskaNews3d ago3 min read
10-year-old boy reported missing in Big Lake is found safe, troopers say
A 10-year-old boy reported missing in the Big Lake area Friday has been found safe, Alaska State Troopers said, thanking the public for its help.
by Walter AlaskaNews3d ago1 min read
Alaska lists 5.7 million acres of land selections it could give back to federal ownership
Alaska may hand about 5.7 million acres of state land selections back to the federal government, where rural residents would get a subsistence priority.
by Walter AlaskaNews3d ago2 min read
None of Anchorage's district projects got state money this year, city tells Assembly committee
Anchorage asked the state for neighborhood projects and got none. The port got $15 million. Now the city starts its 2027 wish list, due by Dec. 10.
by Walter AlaskaNews3d ago3 min read
Anchorage police officers now must intervene when a colleague uses improper force
Anchorage police say they've acted on 48 of 52 outside recommendations on use of force, but allow one pursuit tactic at higher speeds than reviewers advised.
by Walter AlaskaNews3d ago3 min read
Anchorage work session leaves Chugach park access costs unresolved
Anchorage Bowl taxpayers chip in for Hillside park roads. Whether Hillside chips in for Bowl roads is a question the Assembly's slides raised and left hanging.
by Walter AlaskaNews3d ago2 min read
Petersburg paid to advertise one of its two sales tax ballot questions, finance director says
Petersburg is voting on two sales tax questions and bought ads for one. The senior exemption initiative will have to get by on word of mouth.
by Walter AlaskaNews3d ago3 min read
Troopers arrest Fairbanks woman on felony DUI charge after Parks Highway sign crash
Another driver called it in, a highway sign took the hit and troopers caught up a mile later. The Fairbanks driver now faces a felony DUI charge.
by Alaska News4d ago1 min read
Alaska must appoint lawyers for people jailed on other states' warrants, appeals court rules
People jailed in Alaska on another state's warrant have a right to a free lawyer, an appeals court ruled. The case began with requests filed on the wrong form.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 3d ago3 min read
Kodiak Island Borough Assembly cancels work session for lack of a quorum
Kodiak's Assembly couldn't gather enough members Thursday to talk about when it will meet next year. The 2027 meeting calendar will have to wait its turn.
by Walter AlaskaNews4d ago1 min read
Mat-Su Ballot Ties Home Tax Break to New 1% Sales Tax
Mat-Su voters get one box to check on a homeowner tax break and the borough's first areawide sales tax. It's a package deal, like cable used to be.
by Walter AlaskaNews4d ago2 min read
Ketchikan planning commission to consider censuring commissioner over remarks about Ketchikan Indian Community
Ketchikan's planning commission will weigh censuring a commissioner over remarks about the Ketchikan Indian Community, a day after a removal law is introduced.
by Walter AlaskaNews4d ago2 min read
Police are searching for two missing teenagers in Anchorage and Wasilla
Anchorage police are searching for two missing teenagers: Sparrow Kowatch, 16, missing since Sept. 19, and Jay Moriwaki, 13, last seen Wednesday night.
by Walter AlaskaNews4d ago1 min read
Federal audit finds Eielson Air Force Base short hundreds of support workers, with one person left in housing
Eielson's housing office is down to one person, and hiring takes 407 days. A federal audit found more vacancies there than at eight other bases combined.
by Walter AlaskaNews4d ago2 min read
State boundary commission revisits a rule that could stop Eaglexit before a full review
A state commission will revisit a rule that could stop Eaglexit early. One commissioner can't take part, and two would sit out the petition itself.
by Cale Green4d ago3 min read
Alaska asks court to approve its share of $2.3 million Labcorp data breach settlement
Labcorp will pay 44 attorneys general $2.3 million over its debt collector's 2019 data breach. Alaska's lawyers asked a judge to sign off on the state's cut.
by Walter AlaskaNews4d ago2 min read
Global refinery disruptions widened fuel margins in 2026, and rural Alaska's barge fuel cost more
Galena's utility paid 29% more per gallon for this year's barge fuel, and St. Paul paid about $7.55. Summer's dip in oil prices came after the fuel was bought.
by Cale Green4d ago4 min read
Anchorage's police union endorsed Kreiss-Tomkins and Johnson for governor
Anchorage's police union endorsed Kreiss-Tomkins and Johnson for governor, citing Johnson's trooper years. The other three tickets are Republican.
by Walter AlaskaNews4d ago2 min read
Kenai Peninsula voters decide on school board term limits
Kenai Peninsula voters decide on school board term limits that would not keep anyone off a ballot until 2032. The assembly sent it to them 9-0.
by Walter AlaskaNews4d ago2 min read
Alaska released 310 acres near Slana to the university over its own agencies' objections
The state released 310 acres near Slana for the university over objections from DOT, two of its own land sections and every commenter. DNR's reply: thanks.
by Alaska News4d ago2 min read
New independent expenditure group registers for Juneau and Sitka municipal elections
A new outside spending group signed up for Juneau and Sitka's Oct. 6 elections. It hasn't said who it's backing, only that it favors economic opportunity.
by Walter AlaskaNews4d ago1 min read
Labor-funded committee backs Republican Ruby Jones and opposes both her rivals in Eagle River House race
A labor-funded group picked a Republican in Eagle River's House race and is buying ads against the other two candidates, one Republican and one Democrat.
by Walter AlaskaNews4d ago2 min read
Alaska's budget balances this year on high oil and a reduced dividend
Alaska's budget balances this year with $106 million to spare, thanks to oil running $19 a barrel high and a dividend set $1.2 billion below the formula.
by Walter AlaskaNews4d ago2 min read
Anchorage's Board of Ethics couldn't meet Wednesday, leaving a March complaint pending
Anchorage's Board of Ethics couldn't get three of five members on a call Wednesday. The complaint on its agenda has been waiting since March.
by Walter AlaskaNews4d ago2 min read
The Greenland defense deal cites Golden Dome, the missile shield already anchored in Alaska
The U.S.-Greenland defense deal cites Golden Dome, a missile shield Congress funded but can't get spending details on. Its Senate sponsor is Dan Sullivan.
by Melinda Communities.News4d ago2 min read
Ten rural Alaska communities can now vote in person on Election Day
Ten villages with no polling place can now vote in person on Election Day itself. In August, 75 ballots from the region arrived too late to count.
by Walter AlaskaNews4d ago2 min read
FDA nominee Overton commits to Alaska food inspections and salmon labeling but not mifepristone access
Trump's FDA pick told Murkowski yes on Alaska food inspectors and salmon labels. On mailing abortion pills to rural Alaska, she made no promises.
by Walter AlaskaNews4d ago2 min read
National money registered on both sides of Alaska's governor's race this week
The Democratic Governors Association and a Republican-aligned PAC with a Virginia bank both registered to spend in Alaska's governor's race this week.
by Walter AlaskaNews4d ago2 min read
Murkowski cosponsors bill to keep Temporary Protected Status for Ukrainians in the US
Murkowski is cosponsoring a bill to keep Ukrainians' protected status. USCIS says it ends Oct. 19; a federal deadline that passed in August may say otherwise.
by Walter AlaskaNews4d ago2 min read
Air Force parts shop at JBER seeks quotes for a 3D printer before funding is in hand
The JBER shop that machines replacement parts for F-22s is shopping for a 3D printer. Quotes are due Monday, before the money to buy it is in hand.
by Melinda Communities.Newsadded 3d ago2 min read
Juneau nearly doubled what it gives Eaglecrest this year
Juneau nearly doubled its support for Eaglecrest this year. At the old number, the ski area said it would have to cut more than half its staff.
by Walter AlaskaNews5d ago1 min read
Ken Lancaster, Soldotna's mayor through the 1990s and later a state representative, has died at 83
Ken Lancaster moved to Soldotna at 19, ran the city through most of the 1990s, and then went to Juneau to represent the area. He died at 83.
by Walter AlaskaNews5d ago1 min read
Utqiagvik's council can pause the sales tax five more years without a vote
Utqiagvik's council can pause the city sales tax five more years on its own. The marijuana tax increase, meanwhile, has to go to the voters.
by Walter AlaskaNews5d ago2 min read
Governor candidates split over how to close Southcentral gas gap
All four candidates want more Cook Inlet gas. They differ over lease enforcement, production incentives, tax stability and power diversification.
by Walter AlaskaNews5d ago4 min read
Troopers seek driver of silver pickup in Fairbanks Turtle Club hit-and-run
A driver hit a parked rental at the Turtle Club and left. Troopers have surveillance video of a silver Chevy pickup and are working to find the driver.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 4d ago1 min read
A medical board appeal stalls over a $750 bond
Someone is appealing an Alaska medical board decision without a lawyer, the first such appeal since 2023. It stalls until a $750 bond is paid.
by Walter AlaskaNews5d ago1 min read
Alaska Supreme Court takes up Sitka assault where a woman owes $104,000 to the doctor who pleaded guilty to assaulting her
A Sitka woman's doctor pleaded guilty to assaulting her. A civil jury never heard that, found against her, and she now owes him and the city $104,307.
by Walter AlaskaNews5d ago3 min read
Unalaska accepts $3.8 million EPA grant to clear junk cars and scrap metal from its full landfill
Unalaska's landfill filled up with junk cars and scrap metal before the EPA's $3.8 million arrived. The city had already sent one full barge of it away.
by Melinda Communities.Newsadded 4d ago2 min read
Unalaska's council cleared the mayor to accept a Trident-hosted trip to a Navy commissioning
Unalaska's council cleared the mayor to take tickets, lodging and a ride from Trident Seafoods for a Navy commissioning. No undue influence, it found.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 4d ago1 min read