Politics & Government
RSSAlaska News covers state and local politics and government, including elections, ethics investigations, legislative action, and municipal decisions.
Murkowski cosponsors Senate bill to restore Afghan Temporary Protected Status
Sen. Murkowski cosponsored a Senate bill to restore Temporary Protected Status for Afghan nationals, allowing those in Alaska to remain and work legally if Congress approves.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Alaska would give up a land claim so three Native Vietnam veterans can finally get their allotments
Alaska would give up its claim to 480 acres on the Yukon so three Alaska Native Vietnam-era veterans can finally get land allotments cut off when Congress ended the program in 1971.
by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Murkowski says she will vote against Blanche for attorney general
Sen. Lisa Murkowski will vote against Todd Blanche for attorney general, citing politicization of the Justice Department and concerns about a nearly 2 billion dollar fund.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Bethel's mayor files to run for her city council seat again
Bethel Mayor Rose "Sugar" Henderson filed a letter of intent to run for re-election to her city council seat in the Oct. 6 election.
by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
Alaska takes over hazardous waste permitting — the first state to do so in 25 years
Alaska just took over hazardous waste permitting from the EPA — the first state in 25+ years — over tribal and industry objections to the handoff.
by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Alaska's Senate race is on pace to shatter spending records — before a primary that decides nothing
Both certain to advance, Sullivan and Peltola are already spending at a record pace — because Alaska's seat could decide control of the U.S. Senate.
by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Hughes $25 billion pitch: connect Alaska's railroad to Canada, and Nome to the Interior
Candidate Shelley Hughes wants to link Alaska's railroad to Canada and reach Nome — a roughly $25 billion pitch with no identified funding source.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
A retiring Arctic judge's cases are in limbo, with no one scheduling hearings
A retiring Arctic judge's caseload has been moved to an unassigned docket with no one scheduling hearings, and the court hasn't said how the region's cases proceed.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
Pollock fleet holds an Anchorage job fair days before a bycatch-shaped election
Days before the final vote, the Bering Sea pollock fleet holds an Anchorage job fair — as salmon bycatch, and a new mandatory chum cap, roil the 2026 campaign.
by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago3 min read
A fuel break cleared years ago helped keep the Grandview Fire out of Sterling
A fuel break cleared in 2019-20 helped keep the Grandview Fire out of Sterling — a case of wildfire prep paying off, with no injuries and no homes lost.
by Maggie AlaskaNewsadded 1mo ago2 min read
Troopers charge Glennallen woman after Richardson Highway drug stop
Alaska State Troopers charged Amanda Craig of Glennallen with drug possession after seizing cocaine from her vehicle during a Richardson Highway stop on July 17.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 1mo ago1 min read
Kodiak moves to boot Assembly members who don't show up
Kodiak's Assembly may start booting members who miss a quarter of meetings, down from half, tightening the rule on no-shows. One member wants more virtual attendance instead.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Murkowski presses Interior on who's paying for Trump's Smithsonian signs
Sens. Murkowski and Merkley are pressing Interior on who's paying for Park Service signs, ordered by Trump, that would criticize a Smithsonian museum's own exhibits.
by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
Four wildfires broke out on the North Slope within 17 minutes Thursday
Four wildfires broke out on Alaska's North Slope within 17 minutes Thursday, across 40 miles of tundra, the kind of lightning-driven cluster expected to grow as the Arctic warms.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
Sullivan plans to add an ad-transparency bill to kids' safety package
Sullivan plans to attach his ad-transparency bill — platforms would report on public-service ads and promote mental health help — to a kids' safety package.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Alaskans split over ranked choice repeal at state ballot measure hearing
Alaska voters will decide in November whether to repeal ranked choice voting, the top-four primary, and campaign finance disclosure rules approved in 2020.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago3 min read
Anchorage seeks 50 acres of JBER land for a waste-to-energy plant
Anchorage is asking Congress for about 50 acres of JBER land next to the landfill for a waste-to-energy plant, with the request riding in this year's defense bill.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Bethel weighs buying road salt before the river freezes
Bethel is weighing $55,000 in road salt before freeze-up — in a town with no highway in or out, once the Kuskokwim freezes, the barges bringing it stop.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
Bartlett hospital recruiting four directors at once among 29 openings
Bartlett Regional Hospital is recruiting four directors at once and 29 positions total, the most of any Juneau employer on the state's weekly job list.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
Super PACs report nearly $1 million in Alaska Senate spending on a single day
Three super PACs spent nearly $1 million in a single day on Alaska's U.S. Senate race, with groups backing Sullivan and opposing Peltola dominating the spending 12 days before the Aug. 18 primary.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Alaska seeks outside attorneys for ethics complaints against top officials
Alaska is hiring private attorneys to investigate ethics complaints against the governor, lieutenant governor, or attorney general, with bids due Aug. 24.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Troopers: Fairbanks man, 79, injured in Old Nenana Highway motorcycle crash
A 79-year-old Fairbanks man was injured Wednesday in a motorcycle crash on Old Nenana Highway and taken to Fairbanks Memorial Hospital.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
Anchorage wants to speed up its check on 570 questionable tax exemptions
Anchorage wants to speed up its review of 570 questionable tax exemptions, moving the finish from 2032 to 2030, with about $811,000 a year at stake going forward.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 1mo ago2 min read
A rule meant to reveal where 'forever chemicals' are used stays delayed
Forever chemicals, forever unreported: the Senate left a PFAS disclosure rule on hold as contamination spreads at Eielson and across Alaska.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Cordova advances a tax increase on rentals and visitors to 14%
Cordova advanced a tax hike on rentals, tobacco, alcohol and marijuana, from 13% to 14%, aimed mostly at visitors, as sales tax collections run $250,000 behind last year.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Bears have made Cordova's landfill unsafe for workers, and the fence is stuck
Bears have made Cordova's landfill unsafe for workers, and the electrified fence meant to stop them is stalled after the city's engineer request drew zero responses.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Who controls Chugach access spending: trail advocates or the neighborhoods next door?
Anchorage delayed creating a board to steer Chugach park-access spending, as neighborhoods and trail advocates split over who should control it. The Assembly decides Oct. 6.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Anchorage Assembly rejects investigation into member Martinez's travel, 5-6
Anchorage Assembly rejected an investigation into Assembly Member George Martinez's travel Tuesday, 5-6, after Vice Chair Daniel Volland switched his vote citing flaws in the accusation.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Senate panel advances Crow coal land swap 6-5, rejects four amendments
Senate panel voted 6-5 to advance a Montana coal land swap giving the Crow Tribe mineral rights in exchange for federal parcels, but skipping environmental review.
by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Troopers arrest Sterling driver on DUI charge after head-on crash at mile 84
A Sterling man faces a DUI charge after his Impala pulled into the path of a northbound pickup on the Sterling Highway at mile 84 on Tuesday evening, injuring the other driver.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
Injured hiker rescued by boat along George Inlet near Ketchikan
A hiker injured in a fall near Ketchikan called for help Tuesday afternoon, and Alaska Wildlife Troopers and the Ketchikan Volunteer Rescue Squad reached him by boat and took him to a hospital.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
A one-word change to Alaska's voting law could foreclose a path for American Samoan residents
Measure 3 would add "only" to Alaska's voter law — a narrow safeguard, its sponsor says. Opponents note noncitizen voting is already illegal and say it would foreclose a path for American Samoan residents, U.S. nationals who aren't automatically citizens.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Anchorage salary commission drafts a 26% raise for its next elected mayor
Anchorage's salary commission drafted a resolution to raise the next elected mayor's pay to $183,019, a 26% increase that would take effect only after the 2027 election.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 1mo ago2 min read
Two former colleagues split over whether Ballot Measure 1 curbs big money or just reroutes it
Two former legislative colleagues split over Ballot Measure 1: Schrage says restoring donation caps curbs big money, Carpenter says it caps small money while leaving unlimited outside spending untouched. Voters decide Aug. 18.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Troopers arrest nine on drug charges during Salmonfest in Ninilchik
Troopers arrested nine at Salmonfest, eight on felony drug distribution charges, though the dispatch names no one and gives no drug quantities.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Troopers detain 49 people at one Wasilla house during a drug-warrant search
49 people, one Wasilla house, one very eventful drug warrant: an arrest on scene, a runner nabbed on a federal warrant, and more charges on the way.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
Anchorage picks up the tab for building repairs the state used to help fund
Anchorage would spend $476,000 of its own money on repairs to aging city buildings after state grants were cut, and it's on the hook for that much a year through 2031.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
The NRA gives Begich an F and three Republican tickets A+
The NRA's political arm gave the ticket of leading Alaska governor candidate Tom Begich an F and three Republican tickets A+ in its new primary grades.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Juneau Assembly amends senior hardship tax test to 300% poverty line
Juneau Assembly raised the income limit for senior and disabled veteran property tax hardship exemptions to 300% of federal poverty guidelines, broadening eligibility for tax relief.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 1mo ago3 min read
Mat-Su voters will decide whether the borough can tax valley-wide for big road projects
Mat-Su voters will decide Nov. 3 whether the borough can use borough-wide taxes to build big road projects no single service area can afford — with debate over whether it shifts money from urban to rural areas.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read