Politics & Government
RSSPolitics & Government in Alaska is the activity of state and local elections, lawmaking and public administration. It covers campaigns, ballot measures, ethics and campaign finance, legislative and executive action, and municipal and borough council decisions across Alaska communities.
Inside Politics & Government
Places and organizations in this news
Numbers are stories in the last 30 days.
Have a story about Politics & Government? Send a tip
Friday, Oct 2
North Slope Borough ballot carries 11 bond propositions totaling $1.55 billion
North Slope Borough voters will decide on 11 bond propositions totaling $1.55 billion on Oct. 6, alongside races for mayor, five Assembly seats and four school board seats.
by Lucas Brown1mo ago3 min read
Montessori school's September repairs top yearly budget as child care fund grants face cuts
One break-in and a fire inspection blew through an Anchorage Montessori school's yearly repair budget in a month. The city fund that helps is facing cuts.
by Melinda Communities.News1mo ago2 min read
Cuddy Park skating project left out of Anchorage's draft six-year capital plan
Skaters say they have $1 million lined up for a Cuddy Park facility, but the park isn't in Anchorage's draft capital plan. The Assembly could still add it.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Permanent Fund hits record $91.9 billion but trails its benchmark, trustees hear in Nome
The Permanent Fund hit a record $91.9 billion and still trailed its benchmark. Turns out nearly everyone skipped the Magnificent Seven, not just Alaska.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Permanent Fund will revisit private equity risk rules in December
Permanent Fund staff, trustees and consultants doubt BlackRock's new model, which now rates private equity far less risky. A fix is due in December.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago3 min read
Permanent Fund trustees create committee to review benchmarks tied to staff bonuses
Permanent Fund trustees set up a committee to review the yardsticks used to judge investment staff and set their bonuses. Most staff got none this year.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Ketchikan Assembly to take up $347,000 for new South Tongass ambulance after 2024 fire
A 2024 fire took both of South Tongass' ambulances. Ketchikan's Assembly takes up $347,000 in federal money Monday to replace one, plus a heart monitor.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
State cites Mat-Su marijuana grow for 1,840 tracking violations after finding hundreds of untagged plants
Investigators found hundreds of untagged pot plants at a Mat-Su grow and counted 1,840 violations. Its latest tag order bounced for insufficient funds.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
More from Politics & Government
Failing controls keep shutting down JBER's F-22 paint booths, Air Force says
JBER's F-22 paint booths keep crashing on outdated software, halting maintenance. The Air Force plans to pay the original designer about $80,000 to fix them.
by Alaska News1mo ago2 min read
Kodiak Island Borough plans bear hazing at landfill Monday as bear reaches resident's door
A Kodiak resident says a brown bear had its paws on his front door Wednesday night. Fish and Game and troopers plan to haze bears out of the landfill Monday.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Kodiak Assembly member says Navy would back grid funding bid tied to Spruce Cape project
A classified Navy project at Spruce Cape could use 70% of Kodiak's power, an Assembly member says, and the Navy may back a grid funding bid.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Four men shot on Spenard Road were walking when someone fired, police say
Four men shot on Spenard Road early Sept. 26 with non-life-threatening injuries. • A fifth man shot on C Street Sept. 29 with life-threatening wounds. • No arrests made in either case.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min readFrom 
Man suffers life-threatening wounds in Anchorage C Street shooting
A man was shot multiple times Tuesday night in downtown Anchorage and has life-threatening injuries. No arrest yet, and police are asking for tips.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min readFrom 
Thursday, Oct 1
Anchorage, state and long-term care ombudsmen to explain their work at Loussac Library on Oct. 8
Got a beef with the city, a state agency or a nursing home? Three ombuds offices explain what they can do for you Oct. 8 at Loussac Library. It's free.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
Anchorage Assembly to consider $15,000 donation for police program steering people to treatment
Anchorage police could get $15,000 to train staff who steer people toward treatment instead of jail. The Assembly takes up the donation Tuesday.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Driver ejected in Glenn Highway rollover near mile marker 34
A pickup driver suffered serious injuries Wednesday when his truck rolled on Glenn Highway near mile marker 34, ejecting him into northbound traffic.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
About Politics & Government
Politics and government in Alaska takes in state and local elections, lawmaking and public administration. It covers campaigns, ballot measures, campaign finance, legislative and executive action, and decisions by municipal assemblies and borough and city councils.
Recurring questions include how campaigns are funded and who pays for outside spending and political messages, which candidates qualify for the ballot, and how state agencies write and repeal regulations. Local governments such as the Anchorage Assembly and the Ketchikan assembly weigh spending on roads, water systems and police programs.
The subject reaches across the Legislature, state agencies and municipal governments. Advisory boards and councils that take public comment on matters such as state parks and disability policy are part of it as well.
More from Politics & Government
Craig City Council accepts $7,000 state grant for public library and approves new city planner
Craig's City Council accepted a $7,000 state grant for the public library Thursday. The state expects the city to match it dollar for dollar.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
Craig police chief says other Prince of Wales Island communities want 911 calls routed to Craig dispatch
Craig's police dispatch may start taking 911 calls for other Prince of Wales Island towns. The chief says it's doable, but radio dead zones cost money.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Palmer man, 54, dies after 15-foot fall from scaffolding
A 54-year-old Palmer man died Wednesday after falling about 15 feet from shifting scaffolding at a home off Buffalo Mine Road, troopers said.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
Ketchikan hunter treated for hypothermia after overnight search
A Ketchikan hunter activated his satellite SOS device Wednesday evening and was found with hypothermia after an overnight search that resumed Thursday morning.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
State offers free fingerprinting for Anchorage child care workers' background checks
Anchorage child care workers can now get their required fingerprints taken free at a state office. The rest of the background check still costs money.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Denali crews may burn brush piles along first five miles of Park Road through November
If you see smoke near the Denali park entrance this fall, it's probably on purpose. Crews are burning brush piles along the first five miles of the Park Road.
by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
Conservation groups appeal state's Ambler road easement in Anchorage Superior Court
Seven conservation groups asked a judge to overturn DNR's easement for the Ambler road. Both sides cite the state Supreme Court's Donlin ruling.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago5 min read
Bethel commission to consider raising maximum cab fares by $2 and taxi fees about 30%
Bethel's transportation commission meets Wednesday to reconsider a $2 taxi fare increase and a new fee ordinance, though City Council must approve any changes.
by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Anchorage child care fund board asks LaFrance to move pre-K money off cannabis tax
Anchorage's marijuana-tax child care board wants ASD preschool and an early literacy program off its tab next year. The rollover cash that covered them is gone.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min readFrom 
Man held without bail after indecent exposure arrest in Palmer
Troopers say they arrested a man near Seward Meridian Parkway early Thursday on a first-degree indecent exposure charge. He's held without bail.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
Final federal rule requires most Alaska DBE firms to prove disadvantage individually
Most Alaska contractors certified as disadvantaged businesses must now prove it one by one under a final federal rule ending race and sex presumptions.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Circle K seeks Anchorage liquor license through a transfer that lists no premises
Circle K Stores Inc. applied to take over an Anchorage package store license without listing any premises.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min readFrom 
Residential fires killed 14 Alaskans in 2025, governor's proclamation says
Residential fires killed 14 Alaskans in 2025, injured 32 others and 28 firefighters, and caused about 45.2 million dollars in property loss.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
Boater swims to Admiralty Island after fishing vessel sinks, rescued by Coast Guard a day later
His fishing boat sank near Murder Cove, his life raft leaked, so he swam to Admiralty Island in a survival suit. A Coast Guard helicopter found him a day later.
by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Anchorage Assembly to take up transfer of steep Christensen Drive parcel to street crews
Anchorage wants to move a steep, unbuildable downtown sliver from its land bank to street crews so it can finish old utility easements. Nobody else wanted it.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Wednesday, Sep 30
Ketchikan Borough Assembly weighs removal process for appointed board members
Ketchikan's Planning Commission voted 6-0 to censure Darlene Dollimont-Svenson and ask her to resign over remarks about KIC. She apologized but didn't resign.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago3 min read
Senate stalls congressional stock trading bill on party-line vote
A Senate bill to ban congressional stock trading failed to advance Wednesday, though Alaska senators Murkowski and Sullivan both voted yes.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
Senate confirms Sonderling as labor secretary, 47-41
Senate confirms Keith Sonderling as labor secretary, 47-41, with Alaska senators Murkowski and Sullivan voting yes.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
What the Senate permitting bill would change in Alaska, section by section
The 417-page Senate permitting bill names Alaska once. The parts that don’t, from review clocks to court remedies, would reach most of the state.
by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago7 min read
Trump calls Alaska's second Dan Sullivan a 'fraud' at gas line event
Trump called a Petersburg man running as Dan Sullivan in Alaska's Senate race a fraud, but courts upheld his ballot eligibility.
by Alaska News1mo ago2 min read
Two Assembly members propose requiring voter signatures for Anchorage candidates to get on the ballot
Two Assembly members want Anchorage candidates to gather 50 or 250 voter signatures to get their names on the ballot. The proposal is just being introduced.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Anchorage proposal would reduce required election notices and shorten post-certification livestreaming
Two Assembly members propose cutting Anchorage's required newspaper election notices from two to one and letting the Election Center livestream end sooner.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
North Slope Borough mayor candidates clash over roads and litigation
Mayor Josiah Patkotak and challenger Harry Brower Jr. faced off ahead of the Oct. 6 North Slope Borough election. • Brower pushed for immediate road construction to cut costs. Patkotak touted $600 million in projects and a property tax waiver starting in 2027. • Both emphasized local control over oil and gas development and tackling drugs in villages.
by Alaska News1mo ago2 min read
Alaska Center's independent expenditure group spends about $27,900 on mailers for 10 legislative candidates
The Alaska Center's independent expenditure group spent about $27,900 on mailers for 10 legislative candidates, according to its latest state filing.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
