Politics & Government
RSSAlaska News covers state and local politics and government, including elections, ethics investigations, legislative action, and municipal decisions.
Murkowski and Sullivan vote to advance an African trade bill
The Senate voted 89-4 Monday to advance a bill extending African trade benefits, with Alaska senators Murkowski and Sullivan both supporting it.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
Alaska lost 15.8% of its federal civilian workers in two years, ISER economist reports
Alaska lost 15.8% of its federal civilian workers in two years, more than the national rate, mostly through buyouts rather than firings, hitting rangers and field staff hardest.
by Bill AlaskaNewsadded 1mo ago2 min read
Betting apps take bets in Alaska as a Senate panel weighs the fallout
Prediction-market apps are taking sports bets in Alaska, where betting isn't legal. How much you wanna bet that it sticks around?
by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Anchorage school board bets its emergency reserve on money that may not come
The Anchorage School Board will vote Tuesday on spending nearly all its emergency reserve to reopen 45 positions, betting on state money that isn't guaranteed until Aug. 31.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
EPA grants Alaska authority to permit hazardous waste facilities
Alaska takes over permitting and enforcement of hazardous waste facilities starting Aug. 6, after EPA approved the state's application despite three requests to delay.
by Maggie AlaskaNewsadded 1mo ago4 min read
Dunleavy proclaims August 4th Coast Guard Appreciation Day in Alaska
Alaska marked Coast Guard Appreciation Day. In a state where fishing is the deadliest U.S. job and most people live on the coast, the recognition carries more weight than most.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
A free hut near Snowbird Glacier could get a new 10-year state lease
A free backcountry hut near Snowbird Glacier — no membership, just get yourself there — could keep going under a new 10-year state lease.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
Barrow man faces a meth charge after 14 grams found in impounded SUV
A driver stopped near Girdwood faces a new felony meth charge after troopers found just over 14 grams of methamphetamine in his impounded SUV.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 1mo ago1 min read
A 675-mile snowmachine patrol reached nine Interior villages
Tanana Chiefs Conference officers ran a 675-mile snowmachine patrol across nine Interior villages, part of a push to extend law enforcement to remote Alaska.
by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
Juneau sets hearing on $1.5M City Hall sale to Sealaska Heritage Institute
Juneau hears testimony Aug. 17 on selling the old City Hall site to Sealaska Heritage Institute for $1.5M for an arts center, or opening it to higher bids.
by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Troopers and corrections officers recruit at the Mat-Su Job Center
Two Alaska public-safety agencies are recruiting at the Mat-Su Job Center in Wasilla — State Troopers on Wednesday, corrections officers every Friday.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
Filing deadline nears for Kodiak's October election, with an Assembly seat already open
Kodiak Island Borough residents have until 3 p.m. Aug. 17 to file for the Oct. 6 election — with seats open on the Assembly, School Board and service area boards, including one already-vacant Assembly seat.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
Six Nome seats are open this fall, with a Sept. 1 filing deadline
Six Nome seats — City Council, Utility Board and School Board — are up this fall. To run, file with the city by 5 p.m. Sept. 1. The election is Oct. 6.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
No heat closes Dillingham's job center counter early
A heating failure closed walk-in service at Dillingham's Bristol Bay Job Center on Tuesday afternoon, sending staff home at noon and cutting counter hours short.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
Eielson Air Force Base hiring fair set for Thursday
Eielson Air Force Base holds a hiring fair Thursday, Aug. 6, but the Alaska Department of Labor announcement omits time, venue, employers, and base-access details.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
Anchorage advisory committees could lose the ability to write officials on their own
Anchorage's three AMATS citizen advisory committees would need staff and higher-committee sign-off before writing elected or federal officials, under a policy up Thursday.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
Utqiagvik weighs a change to how it taxes marijuana
Utqiaġvik might tax your weed. The council won't say how much, and neither will the packet.
by Maggie AlaskaNewsadded 1mo ago1 min read
Two men barricade themselves in a car after fleeing Fairbanks police
Two men barricaded themselves in a car after fleeing Fairbanks police early Sunday, and face charges including DUI, weapons and drug misconduct after the standoff ended.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 1mo ago1 min read
A Fairbanks street a sinkhole swallowed could vanish from the map
A Fairbanks street platted in 1975 but never built — and since partly eaten by a permafrost sinkhole — could be erased from the map at an Aug. 19 borough hearing.
by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Juneau aging commission chair tells Assembly paratransit has failed seniors for nine months
Juneau concerned that folks aren't getting rides.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
Anchorage weighs $1 million for nonprofits feeding and sheltering vulnerable residents
Anchorage votes Tuesday on just over $1 million for nonprofits providing food, emergency shelter and other essential services to the city's most vulnerable residents.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
Riding a defense boom, Kodiak looks to send a member to D.C. for funds
Amid a defense boom — icebreakers, a Coast Guard base and missile-defense launches — Kodiak is moving to send a member to D.C. for infrastructure money.
by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
Audit of $11.8M in off-the-books Anchorage spending heads to the Assembly
An audit of at least $11.8 million in Anchorage spending that skipped purchase orders — and the city's public transparency tracker — goes to the Assembly Tuesday.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
Tribes objected to a federal rollback of Native welfare rules. HHS did it anyway.
HHS is cutting federal rules governing Native welfare-to-work programs run by Alaska's tribal nonprofits — over objections from tribal organizations that said they weren't properly consulted, and that called it a sovereignty concern.
by Alaska News1mo ago2 min read
Troopers arrest three Fairbanks-area drivers on DUI charges
Fairbanks troopers arrested three impaired drivers over the weekend, all well over the limit — including one who blew 0.248 with cocaine allegedly in his truck.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
Anchorage moves to sell an old Government Hill fire station to Chugach Electric
Anchorage would sell the old Government Hill fire station to Chugach Electric for $470,000, no bidding, since Chugach already leases it for a communications tower.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
As the world burns, Alaska stays cool — a regional weather quirk
As Spokane and Europe burn in record heat, Alaska stays cool and barely burning — a regional weather quirk. The Arctic overall still hit record-low ice.
by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Wasilla man cited for motorized vehicle use in Palmer Hay Flats refuge
A Wasilla man was cited for driving a motorized vehicle in Palmer Hay Flats State Game Refuge, where off-road use is restricted to permitted activities in specific seasons and terrain.
by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
Anchorage is considering expanding its surveillance network. The privacy rules are still a draft.
Anchorage votes Tuesday on $1.4M for police, including a surveillance center that logs cars, faces and movement — paid for with seized cash and federal money that never reaches the public budget, in the rare state whose constitution promises a right to privacy.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago3 min read
Flames at Fairbanks airport this week are a drill, not an emergency
Those flames and smoke at Fairbanks airport this week are a scheduled firefighting drill, Aug. 3-7 — timed with notice so no one mistakes them for wildfire.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
Alaska and Canadian crews fight a wildfire across the border
Alaska and Canadian crews are fighting a 20- to 30-acre wildfire 3 miles south of the Alcan Highway, with no evacuations or highway impacts expected.
by Maggie AlaskaNewsadded 1mo ago1 min read
A cabin fire spread into a small wildfire north of Fairbanks
A cabin fire near the Chatanika River north of Fairbanks spread into a quarter-acre wildfire Sunday. Smokejumpers worked to contain it and watched it overnight.
by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
A visiting angler was found dead in the Kenai River near Sterling
A 71-year-old Georgia man who came to fish the Kenai River was found dead near a Sterling boat ramp Friday. Troopers say nothing suspicious has been found.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
Kodiak woman, 71, arrested for DUI after crash into parked wildlife trooper vehicle
Uh-oh. I think there's a modest mouse song about this...'Float on' maybe?
by Maggie AlaskaNewsadded 1mo ago1 min read
Alaska State Parks cabin booking faces a gap during 2026 system swap
Alaska State Parks' cabin booking system goes dark Dec. 31, and the replacement isn't due until fall 2026, right when you'd book an early-2027 winter cabin stay.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 1mo ago1 min read
Seattle man dies after fall from boat mast in Akutan
Man falls overboard out of Akutan, Troopers will investigate.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 1mo ago1 min read
National money is pouring into Alaska's two big races, on every side
National money is flooding Alaska's Senate and House races on all sides, from a dark-money-linked PAC backing Bill Hill to $10.6 million reserved for Mary Peltola.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Free daily meals and pantries available across Anchorage in August
A free hot meal is available somewhere in Anchorage every day this month, plus two dozen food pantries citywide. Call 211 or check anchoragefood.org for the schedule.
by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
Every Craig and Klawock business checked failed an underage sting
Every bar and dispensary Alaska regulators checked in Craig and Klawock sold alcohol or marijuana to an underage decoy — a clean sweep, and seven infractions.
by Maggie AlaskaNewsadded 1mo ago1 min read
Kasilof man, 87, dies after Sterling Highway collision near Cohoe Loop
An 87-year-old Kasilof man has died after a two-vehicle crash on the Sterling Highway, days after he turned into the path of an oncoming minivan.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 1mo ago1 min read