Politics & Government

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.News1mo ago2 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 News1mo ago1 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 AlaskaNews1mo ago2 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 AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

Follows: Kodiak's Assembly can't agree on how often to meet remotely

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 AlaskaNews1mo 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 AlaskaNews1mo 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 Green1mo ago3 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 Green1mo 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 AlaskaNews1mo 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 News1mo ago2 min read

Follows: Alaska DNR issues four land decisions for University of Alaska land grants

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 AlaskaNews1mo 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 AlaskaNews1mo 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 AlaskaNews1mo ago1 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 AlaskaNews1mo 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 AlaskaNews1mo 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.News1mo 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 AlaskaNews1mo 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 AlaskaNews1mo 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 AlaskaNews1mo 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 AlaskaNews1mo 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 AlaskaNews1mo 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 AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min readFrom Aug 4

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 AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min readFrom Sep 15

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 AlaskaNews1mo 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 AlaskaNews1mo 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 AlaskaNews1mo ago4 min read

Follows: Southcentral is 3 Bcf short this winter, and producers told lawmakers the gas runs out in 2029

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 AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min readFrom Sep 18

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 AlaskaNews1mo 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 AlaskaNews1mo ago3 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 AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min readFrom Sep 1

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.News1mo ago2 min read

Troopers arrest Nikiski man on felony DUI charge after rollover on Nikiski Avenue

Alaska State Troopers arrested a Nikiski man on felony DUI after his pickup rolled on Nikiski Avenue and he fled, tracking him via electronic monitoring for pending domestic violence charges.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

Senate panel told it must rewrite the nuclear waste law before disposal sites can proceed

Six states have signed up to host nuclear waste. The $51 billion meant to pay for it may already be spent, the committee chair said out loud.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Tlingit & Haida wins $1.57M to train Southeast Alaska overdose responders

Tlingit & Haida will spend $1.57 million over four years training responders and keeping naloxone stocked across Southeast Alaska communities.

by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

A federal grant funds Tlingit & Haida's plan to hear child protection cases

The Tlingit & Haida Tribal Court is preparing to open its own child protection cases, using authority Alaska courts recognized more than a decade ago.

by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago3 min read

Pile burning starts Friday at three White Mountains cabin sites

Crews will burn slash piles at three White Mountains cabin sites starting Friday. If you see smoke out there this week, it's supposed to be there.

by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

Man dies entrapped in heavy equipment on Goldridge Drive in Fairbanks

A man died after becoming entrapped in heavy equipment on Goldridge Drive in Fairbanks, Alaska State Troopers said.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

Knik Tribe awarded $199,482 for Palmer fingerprinting site and mobile units

Fostering a child in Mat-Su can mean a long drive to get fingerprinted. Federal money is buying the Knik Tribe a station and two portable units.

by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Rob Mathis accepts full-time Whittier fire chief job

Whittier made Rob Mathis its permanent fire chief eight days after he ran the cruise terminal fire response as the interim. That's one way to interview.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

Alaska may stop requiring liquor license applicants to buy newspaper ads as required public notice

Alaska liquor license applicants have to buy three weeks of newspaper or radio advertising. A draft rule would end that requirement entirely.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min readFrom Sep 1