Politics & Government
RSSAlaska News covers state and local politics and government, including elections, ethics investigations, legislative action, and municipal decisions.
Anchorage cited 36 for-hire drivers for unlicensed operation, denied 9 licenses for barrier crimes
Anchorage cited 36 for-hire drivers for operating without valid licenses and denied 9 applicants for crimes including sexual assault and drug offenses between 2025 and July 2026.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
Kreiss-Tomkins documents $20 milk, absent law enforcement in 11 Yukon River villages
Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins documented $20 milk, $12 gas, scarce law enforcement, and collapsed salmon runs across 11 Yukon River villages in a four-day boat tour.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
Sullivan campaign ad features veteran the VA told to leave Alaska for care
Sen. Dan Sullivan's campaign features a retired Marine who says the VA initially told him to move to Seattle for care, arguing Alaska veterans lack reliable access to specialized treatment at home.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Fairbanks trails commission to weigh commercial vehicle rules Monday
Fairbanks trails commission meets Monday to weigh rules on commercial vehicles on borough recreational trails, part of a larger dispute over who uses the system and how.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
Peltola challenges Sullivan for Alaska's U.S. Senate seat
Mary Peltola, Alaska's first Alaska Native in Congress, challenges Republican Dan Sullivan for his U.S. Senate seat Nov. 3, with mid-2026 polls showing her ahead by five to seven points.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
BLM sets August 17 deadline to protest Alaska survey plat filings
The BLM Alaska State Office set August 17, 2026, as the deadline to file written protests against survey plats, after which objections will not be considered.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
The SAVE Act now rides on the defense bill Alaska wants
The SAVE Act is now attached to the defense bill carrying Alaska's military money — putting Murkowski's opposition against Sullivan's biggest win in one vote.
by Alaska News2mo ago2 min read
Alaska voter registration deadline is today for August 18 primary
Alaska's voter registration deadline for the August 18 primary is today, July 19. Register at voterregistration.alaska.gov or check your status at myvoterportal.alaska.gov.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
Brown bear injures hiker on Bear Valley trail above south Anchorage
A brown bear injured a hiker on a social trail above Bear Valley in south Anchorage on Saturday, prompting Fish and Game to post warning signs and urge hikers to travel in groups and carry bear spray.
by Maggie AlaskaNewsadded 2mo ago2 min read
Anchorage Assembly set to approve $1.53M landfill loader replacement
Anchorage Assembly will vote Monday to spend $1.53 million replacing the landfill's main wheel loader, which is too expensive to keep repairing.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
ADEC permit delay forces Anchorage to extend drainage contract, adding $500K
Anchorage Assembly will vote July 21 on a $500,000 contract extension with AWR Engineering to maintain stormwater services while the state finishes renewing the city's pollution discharge permit.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
Alaska ballot will show two Dan Sullivans differently — here's what voters need to know
Two Dan Sullivans will appear on Alaska's August 18 primary ballot after a court ruled the challenger cannot be removed, though his Republican party label will not print next to his name.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
Three DUI arrests in one day span Kenai Peninsula and Fairbanks
Alaska State Troopers arrested three drivers on DUI charges Saturday, two on the Kenai Peninsula and one in Fairbanks, after crashes that injured multiple people.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Juneau candidate filing closes July 27 for five Assembly and school board seats
Juneau candidates have until 4:30 p.m. Monday, July 27, to file for five Assembly and school board seats in the October 6 election.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Copper River dip netters stranded on sandbar near Chitina, self-rescue before troopers arrive
Dip netters stranded on a Copper River sandbar near Chitina self-rescued Friday before troopers arrived.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Konedsin Minnkohwin Fire burns within Kanuti refuge near Allakaket
Lightning sparked a 200-acre fire in Kanuti refuge near Allakaket, with firefighters protecting cabins and fish camps instead of suppressing the main blaze.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Savoonga's voting barriers surface in Senate election-integrity debate
Sen. Murkowski cited Savoonga's $1,000 travel costs to register in person under the proposed SAVE America Act. • U.S. Department of Justice found Alaska violated disability-access voting rules in 2024. • Absentee ballot application deadline for 2026 Primary is August 8.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Air Force seeks contractor to install communications gear at remote Shemya outpost
Alaska contractors have until July 24 to bid on installing communications gear at Eareckson Air Station on Shemya Island, valued at $25,000 to $100,000.
by Alaska News2mo ago1 min read
Bayside fire chief wants new career position but warns against a rushed hire
Bayside Fire Chief Scott Ellis says a new career firefighter position is needed but warned the borough board against rushing the hire to avoid splitting the mixed career and volunteer staff.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 2mo ago1 min read
Fairbanks water scoopers were on practice flight, not a new fire
Four water scoopers flew a practice mission over Fairbanks on Friday to keep pilots sharp, not to fight a new fire.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Anchorage Hillside neighborhood demands expedited chipping days as municipal contracting stalls
Hillside residents demand the Municipality speed up brush chipping before fire season peaks, citing stalled contracting and uncleared piles in the wildland-urban interface.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
Four candidates interview for Kodiak Island Borough Assembly vacancy
Kodiak Island Borough Assembly interviewed four candidates Thursday to fill a vacant Assembly seat and must appoint someone by June 25.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
Anchorage Assembly studies removal process it has never used
Anchorage Assembly reviewed removal and censure procedures Friday that have never been used in the 30 years they have existed, with Chair Anna Brawley stressing the session was procedural only.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
Peltola reports $16 million raised, accuses Sullivan of taking $400K from trawling industry
Peltola raised $16 million from 131,000 donors, averaging under $50 per gift. • She accused Sullivan of taking $400,000 from the trawling industry. • Peltola frames the race around salmon protection for subsistence communities.
by Bill AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Matt Schultz suspends U.S. House campaign, backs Bill Hill
Matt Schultz suspended his U.S. House campaign Friday and endorsed Bill Hill to focus on defeating Nick Begich in August.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
Sullivan ad misleads on Peltola's military vote, fact-checkers find, as Senate race tightens
FactCheck.org found Sullivan's ads misleadingly claim Peltola opposed military pay raises, though she voted for the final defense bill with a 5.2% raise. The Senate race is now a toss-up.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Alaska Supreme Court: parent who stays active guardian keeps custody when disabled adult child lives in assisted care
Alaska Supreme Court ruled a parent who actively serves as guardian keeps custody of a disabled adult child in assisted care, even if the child lives elsewhere.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Alaska Supreme Court rules Sleep Clinic owes back taxes, not a small business
Alaska Supreme Court ruled the Sleep Clinic owes back taxes for 2016 through 2018 because it performs health services, not a qualifying small business.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
Fairview grant dispute heads to Assembly with two members urging no vote
Two Assembly members urge rejection of a $750,000 federal grant for a behavioral health center in Fairview, citing a 2018 city policy against concentrating social services there.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
Fairbanks cold case cracked after suspect called in his own tip
A Michigan man arrested in July 2026 is charged with killing a Fairbanks man whose remains were found in a barrel off the Steese Highway in May 2025, over 30 years after he vanished in 1993.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
Peltola puts numbers on rural fuel crisis: $21 a gallon in Noatak, $15 coming for St. Mary's
Senate candidate Mary Peltola cited fuel prices of $21 a gallon in Noatak and $14 to $15 expected in St. Mary's, calling for Congress to investigate price gouging.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
Shishmaref man charged with running moonshine still in dry community
A Shishmaref man faces five felony counts for operating a moonshine still and selling alcohol in the dry community, with potential exposure of 25 years in prison if convicted.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
Three U.S. hunters convicted in both countries after poaching Dall sheep through Wrangell-St. Elias
Three U.S. hunters convicted in both countries for poaching Dall sheep in Yukon and smuggling them through Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, ending a four-year investigation.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
Alaska Supreme Court affirms termination of Native mother's parental rights over domestic violence
Alaska Supreme Court upheld termination of an Alaska Native mother's parental rights, ruling that four years of case-plan work did not address the domestic violence that endangered her disabled son.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago3 min read
Sitka names sole finalist for municipal administrator, schedules public receptions
Sitka named Jenny Alber as sole finalist for municipal administrator and scheduled two public receptions July 26 and 27 before the Assembly votes on hiring.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Sitka police tag 27 vehicles in abandoned-car crackdown since May
Sitka police have tagged 27 abandoned vehicles since May, removing 15 and giving owners up to 60 days to move or fix them before the city disposes of the car at their expense.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
Kodiak Borough advances marijuana excise tax to public hearing on 4-1 vote
Kodiak Borough Assembly voted 4-1 to advance a 3% marijuana excise tax to public hearing, though a dispensary owner warned the tax targets the wrong product and lacks clear definitions.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
Kodiak Island Borough Assembly appoints Mark Vizcocho to vacant seat
Kodiak Island Borough Assembly appointed Mark Vizcocho to fill a vacant seat Thursday, choosing him from four applicants in a two-round ballot that required a majority of all seven members.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
Alaska DNR moves to fix erroneous land conveyance near Tok; comment deadline August 18
Alaska DNR will return 39.50 acres near Tok to federal trust for an Alaska Native allotment holder Emma Northway, with public comments due August 18.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Outside PACs pour $2.5M into Alaska federal races ahead of August primary
Outside groups have spent $2.5 million on Alaska's federal races ahead of the August 18 primary, with most of that money targeting Democrat Mary Peltola's Senate bid.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read