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.
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Tuesday, Sep 22
Hiker injured by bear on Jones Point Trail in Haines
A hiker attacked by a bear on the Jones Point Trail got herself out. It is the second bear attack in Haines in under a month, and both bears are loose.
by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
U.S. signs Greenland security pact; Murkowski says she is encouraged
The U.S. now has permanent basing rights in Greenland, signed at the UN with Denmark and Greenland's leaders. Murkowski's statement came via the White House.
by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
A teen moose hunter was flown to a hospital after a tree stand fall near Fairbanks
A teenage moose hunter fell from a tree stand southeast of Fairbanks and was flown out by trooper helicopter along with his father. Injuries weren't described.
by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
The Supreme Court will rule on Dunleavy's agriculture department after he's gone
The Supreme Court will decide after the election whether Dunleavy could create an agriculture department by order. He'll be gone by the time it matters.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
At an industry forum, four candidates for governor made their case on resource development
At an industry forum, Alaska's four candidates for governor all backed more resource development. Where they differed was on what the state should pay for it.
by Alaska News1mo ago5 min read
Alaska takes final 2026 public input Wednesday on child care grant rules
Alaska's child care office wraps up its year of public sessions Wednesday with one on the grant program that pays licensed providers.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
An outside group has spent $3.77 million on Alaska's Senate race
Americans for Prosperity Action has put $3.77 million into the Alaska Senate race. More than half of it landed in just the last three weeks.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
A police drone searched south Anchorage for a brown bear before dawn
Anchorage police flew a drone over a south Anchorage neighborhood before dawn looking for a brown bear. Whether they found it is not public.
by Alaska News1mo ago1 min read
More from Politics & Government
Mat-Su bans license plate readers before the borough owns any
Mat-Su banned borough use of license plate readers before owning any, with the sponsor calling himself a brick wall against Anchorage's surveillance push.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago4 min read
Alaska lifts 500-day hiring and regulation freeze, no reason given
Alaska's 500-day freeze on state hiring, travel and new regulations is over. The order ending it runs four sentences and gives no reason at all.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
A Spokane man gets 25 years for mailing fentanyl that killed two men
A Spokane man was sentenced to 25 years for mailing about 150 fentanyl pills to Skagway, a shipment that killed two men within about a day.
by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Spann sues state, governor and PFD director in Anchorage court
The creator of a 37,858-signature PFD petition has sued the state, representing himself. What the lawsuit is actually about is not yet known.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Ketchikan Gateway Borough gets $347,000 to replace a South Tongass ambulance
South Tongass lost both its ambulances when the station burned in 2024. It has been driving an 18-year-old hand-me-down from Valdez ever since.
by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Fairbanks gets $728,000 in congressionally directed funds for a 14-stretcher ambulance bus
Fairbanks is buying a bus that can carry 14 patients on stretchers. The grant covers one year; crewing it after that is the city's problem.
by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
North Pole wants its next mayor to work part time, for $2,000 a month
North Pole's council voted to cut the next mayor's pay from about $80,000 a year plus benefits to $2,000 a month, flat. It is not final quite yet.
by Alaska News1mo ago2 min read
The line that powers Petersburg would leave federal license oversight
Petersburg gets its power over an 80-mile line from Tyee Lake. The agency running it wants that line out of its federal license, the second this year.
by Maggie 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
Palmer pilot and Michigan passenger killed in eastern Alaska plane crash
Two people died when a Piper Super Cub went down in eastern Alaska on Sept. 17, two days after a separate crash near Aniak killed two men.
by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min readFrom 
Monday, Sep 21
Juneau committee moves board recruitment plan out of resolution and into a letter
Juneau had 33 vacancies across its city boards. The plan to fill them was moved out of the resolution and into an attachment to a cover letter.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
Fairbanks trails panel wants tour operators permitted and paying 15% into a trail fund
Fairbanks has over 1,000 miles of trails and no rules for commercial tours on them. A draft would charge operators 15 percent, into a fund that does not exist.
by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Peltola leads the poll. Sullivan leads the voters most likely to show up.
A bipartisan poll has Peltola ahead of Sullivan 53-47 after ranked choice, but the older voters most likely to actually turn out favor him 54-46.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago3 min read
Flags fly at half-staff Tuesday for former Ketchikan Rep. Cheri Davis
Flags fly at half-staff Tuesday for Cheri Davis, who spent a decade on the Ketchikan School Board before she represented the town in Juneau.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
A new poll has Kreiss-Tomkins ahead in the first round and the last
A bipartisan AARP poll has Kreiss-Tomkins at 40 percent and winning a ranked-choice simulation 55-45, but a quarter of voters ranked neither finalist.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Wasilla group reports $93,850 in September spending for six Republican legislative candidates
A group funded entirely by a national Republican committee has spent $93,850 on six Alaska House races, including $50,800 to a Wyoming canvassing firm.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
Juneau sets aside $4 million against a $12.9 million flood barrier loan
Juneau set aside $4 million Monday toward a $12.9 million state loan for HESCO flood barriers along the Mendenhall River, covering less than a third of the debt.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min readFrom 
Campfire and fireworks ban north of Fairbanks runs to Oct. 31
Campfires and fireworks stay banned on federal land north of Fairbanks through October 31 to prevent wildfires near homes and the NOAA facility.
by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
Scammers posing as MEA are threatening Mat-Su members with shutoffs
Scammers posing as MEA are calling members, some with their account numbers, threatening to cut the power. MEA says hang up and call 907-761-9300.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min readFrom 
Troopers arrest driver on DUI charge after 105 mph stop near Fairbanks
Alaska State Troopers arrested a driver on a DUI charge after stopping them for driving 105 mph with signs of impairment on the Richardson Highway near Fairbanks on September 20th.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
Troopers arrest a Kenai man on a drug warrant after a Nikiski stop
Troopers arrested a Kenai man on a drug warrant after a Nikiski traffic stop and found 1.30 grams of meth, worth about $130 at state prices.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
Sunday, Sep 20
Fairbanks judge sentences Julian Miranda to 30 years in 2012 sexual assaults
A Fairbanks man got 30 years for two 2012 sexual assaults. The DNA kits that linked him to both women sat untested for years before they were run.
by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min readFrom 
The state is still taking comments on a school rule it dropped last year
Alaska's education department is still taking comments on a rule its board killed 11 months ago. The follow-up the board asked for is harder to find.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Anchorage judge sentences Adam Pringle to 55 years for 2022 killing of Keenan Wegener
The second man convicted in the 2022 killing of Keenan Wegener got 55 years, a few more than his co-defendant. It took four years to reach sentencing.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
Unalaska council appoints election judges for Oct. 6 vote
Unalaska City Council appointed election judges and clerks for the Oct. 6 municipal election, with nonemployee staff paid $20 an hour from the city budget.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min readFrom 
Troopers arrest woman for DUI after SUV hits median at Big Lake recreation area
Alaska State Troopers arrested a 47-year-old Big Lake woman on DUI and failure-to-report charges after her SUV struck a median at Big Lake North State Recreation Area early Sunday.
by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
Inmate accused of assaulting officer at Fairbanks Correctional Center
An inmate at Fairbanks Correctional Center assaulted a correctional officer early Sunday, and troopers forwarded charges against her.
by Alaska News1mo ago1 min read
Labor committee reports $125,000 in ads for four Alaska candidates
Putting Alaskans First reported $125,000 in Meta ads supporting four legislative candidates. Two other committees reported smaller buys.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
Republican super PAC reports $410,000 spent in Alaska Senate race
Senate Leadership Fund has pledged $17 million in Alaska and reported $410,002 spent so far supporting Sullivan or opposing Peltola.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
Alaska's three-judge court has been short since 2022; Reardon would fill the last seat
Alaska's federal court has been short a judge for five years, one seat vacated by a judge forced out for misconduct. The Senate questioned his replacement.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago3 min readFrom 
Former Ketchikan church elder pleads guilty in child exploitation case
Dwight Chris John pleaded guilty to possessing child sexual abuse material. He faces 10 to 15 years in prison at a Dec. 16 sentencing.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
Anchorage man faces 10 charges after Nondalton assaults
Troopers say three people were assaulted in Nondalton. Two were taken to Anchorage for treatment, and one was medevaced.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
Anchorage schools model a $9 million budget gap for fiscal 2028
Anchorage schools project a $9 million fiscal 2028 gap after reserves and assumed energy relief. Officials say underlying cost growth is closer to $40 million.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
