Politics & Government
RSSAlaska News covers state and local politics and government, including elections, ethics investigations, legislative action, and municipal decisions.
Four Kodiak residents vie for an open Assembly seat
Four Kodiak residents are up for an open Assembly seat, and the Assembly picks one Thursday night — winner sworn in on the spot, serving until October's election.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
As federal wetland protections recede, Anchorage rewrites its own rules
After the Supreme Court pulled federal protection off more than half the nation's wetlands, their fate now falls to states and cities — and no state has more wetlands than Alaska.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
Manokotak man arrested on murder charge after fishing-site death
A Manokotak man died after being struck in the head with an anchor during a fishing-site altercation on June 26. Another Manokotak man faces murder and manslaughter charges.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 2mo ago1 min read
Juneau's new casino, and the land the city can't reach
Juneau's first casino opened on sovereign Native allotment land, through a legal door ANCSA was built to close and the courts haven't settled. The city can't even regulate it.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
The $100 million question inside Alaska's gas-line bill
Should Hilcorp pay the oil tax ExxonMobil and ConocoPhillips already do? It's worth $100M-plus a year — but critics warn taxing Cook Inlet's gas supplier could backfire.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
A fire no one is fighting has been fouling Fairbanks' air for weeks
Alaska's letting the Tatlanika Fire burn on purpose — too remote to be worth fighting — but its smoke has been parked over Fairbanks and Nenana for weeks anyway.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
NRA backs Sullivan after endorsing Peltola two years ago
Sullivan's touting his A+ NRA endorsement as proof Peltola's soft on guns — awkward, since the NRA endorsed Peltola herself two years ago.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Anchorage funded a program to fix 20 homes. It fixed one — and no one was penalized.
An Anchorage audit found a program paid to fix 20 homes fixed one, a shelter thousands of bed-nights short — and in three years the city never once made anyone pay for it.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
TCC and Interior Native Vote host candidate mixers in Fairbanks before August primary
Big ballot, tiny primary turnout, and free food — Tanana Chiefs Conference are putting Interior voters face-to-face with the candidates. Just register by Sunday first.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Frier vs. Chase: a rematch for Alaska's northernmost House seat
Alaska's biggest, coldest House district is a 2024 rematch: Rep. Robyn Frier vs. Kotzebue Mayor Saima Chase, both running hard on public safety.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Anchorage keeps deferring a public safety commission it can't agree on
Anchorage's proposed public safety commission got punted again — stuck on whether it should actually have power, what it would cost, and what problem it's even solving.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
Northern Alaska's staffed wildfires wind down, but crews brace for more
Rain did what the crews couldn't and mopped up northern Alaska's last staffed fires — though with 2,000 lightning strikes a day, nobody's putting the shovels away.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
Sullivan backs a contested Trump border judge; Murkowski doesn't vote
Sullivan voted to confirm a Trump judge for a Texas border court — one who wouldn't say under oath that Biden won 2020. Murkowski didn't vote, and hasn't said why.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
A Brooks Range hunting guide wants a permanent camp in the wild
A guide who flies hunters into the Brooks Range by Super Cub wants to trade his move-every-two-weeks tent camp for a permanent cabin in some of Alaska's most remote country.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
A tip about a truck running over seagulls ended in a DUI arrest at Kasilof
A tip about a truck running over seagulls at Kasilof Beach led troopers to a Fairbanks man now facing DUI, weapons, and a federal migratory-bird charge.
by Alaska News2mo ago1 min read
Kodiak weighs selling four parcels, including its ballfields
Kodiak's Lands Committee will consider selling four borough parcels July 20, including Killarney Hills, a 16-acre site with two shared baseball fields that faces wetland and sewer obstacles.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
A faster way to settle Native trust estates, starting in Alaska
Settling a Native allotment after a death has meant slow federal paperwork — now Interior has an online system to speed it up, and Alaska families are first to use it.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Juneau weighs selling City Hall for top dollar — or for less, to Sealaska
Juneau can auction its old City Hall to the highest bidder or sell it cheaper to Sealaska Heritage for community use. It can't have both, so it's punting the choice to the public.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Alaska's newsroom is auditing what AI tells voters — and it keeps changing
An Alaska newsroom is running a daily audit of what AI tells voters — 15 models, 160,000+ answers — and finding the bots flip their pick by the day, and by your hometown.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
Cordova turns to posted notices after local newspaper closes
Cordova says its newspaper is "no longer in circulation," so it's tacking foreclosure notices on four walls. The Cordova Times is still publishing — just online.
by Alaska News2mo ago2 min read
Fort Yukon woman faces assault, weapons charges after June disturbance in Circle
A two-hour overnight disturbance across several spots in Circle on June 24 ended with a Fort Yukon woman arrested weeks later, facing assault and other charges.
by Maggie AlaskaNewsadded 2mo ago1 min read
DNR proposes free land transfer to Alaska Railroad; comment window open
Alaska is proposing to give state land in the railroad corridor to Alaska Railroad Corporation for free, reigniting concerns about public access to hunting and fishing grounds along the tracks.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Sen. Lindsey Graham dies; Alaska's senators mourn a colleague
Sen. Lindsey Graham has died suddenly, and Alaska's Murkowski and Sullivan — who served alongside him for years — are among those mourning a prominent Senate Republican.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Anchorage relabels a top job, Falsey named city manager
Bill Falsey moved from CAO to municipal manager — less a shakeup than a relabeling, as Anchorage dissolves his old post and shifts a few reporting lines.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
A Ketchikan man is jailed on burglary and assault charges
A Ketchikan man is held without bail on five charges, including burglary and assault, after allegedly forcing his way into a home and blocking a report to police.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
A copper wire theft in Delta Junction, and the metal-price math behind it
Troopers arrested a Delta Junction woman over copper wire thefts and are hunting an accomplice — the kind of theft that spikes whenever copper prices do, for scrap-yard cash.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Mat-Su moves to clean up 'forever chemicals' in its groundwater
The Mat-Su Borough wants $400K to clean up "forever chemicals" in its groundwater — traced to old firefighting foam and found this spring near a Wasilla elementary school.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Sitka wades into an unsettled frontier of environmental law
Sitka may sue over PFAS, 1,4-dioxane and microplastics in its water — and the microplastics part is a legal frontier no other Alaska town appears to have tested.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
Bethel moves to repay firefighters shorted on their pay
Bethel's firefighters were shorted on paid days off while stuck at the lower rate meant to offset them — and the city's now moving to pay back what they're owed
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Juneau property owners challenge $1.1M gap in Glacier Highway assessment
Juneau property owners challenge a $2.97 million city assessment of their Glacier Highway building, valuing it at $1.84 million instead. The Board of Equalization hears their appeal July 16.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
A company wants to test amphibious rigs on the North Slope tundra
An Anchorage dealer wants a five-year permit to test-drive amphibious Swamp Rider vehicles across the North Slope — on tundra that's both their ideal terrain and state-protected ground.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
A reserve cap just cost Fairbanks schools $11.4M. Now officials are fighting it.
Fairbanks officials are taking on the reserve cap that clawed back $11.4M from schools this year — a fight between planning flexibility and keeping money in taxpayers' pockets.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Fred Meyer owes Anchorage taxes, so its liquor licenses are on hold
The Anchorage Assembly froze liquor-license renewals at four Fred Meyer stores until the company pays outstanding city taxes, using the same tax lever it applies to any business behind on its bills.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Dunleavy vetoes six bills, including invasive species and polystyrene measures
Gov. Dunleavy vetoed six bills June 24, including a statewide polystyrene ban and an invasive species management plan, citing implementation costs and concerns about state agency authority.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
Wasilla man dies after fleeing troopers at 100 mph following domestic assault
A Wasilla man died Saturday after fleeing state troopers at 100 mph following a domestic assault call.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
The only applicant for Kodiak's open seat is making it about representation
Only one person applied to fill Kodiak's vacant Assembly seat, and Mark Vizcocho is making his case about Filipino representation on an island his community has long helped build.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Who pays when the state underfunds school construction debt?
Alaska's cities want the state to stop shortchanging school-construction debt payments and stick locals with the bill. But it's a request, and the money's far from guaranteed.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Juneau's plan to move city hall leans on a sale that's coming up short
Juneau wants to sell City Hall to fund its move, but the only offer is $1M under the floor, the new building's late and over budget, and the backup fund leans on that same short sale.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
A wildfire flared within a mile of the pipeline — briefly
A half-acre fire flared within a mile of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline near Livengood on the Fourth, then crews knocked it out the same day.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
NWS issues overlapping fire-weather alerts across northern Alaska through July 9
Fire-weather alerts cover northern Alaska through July 9 with dry fuels, lightning risk, and winds up to 35 mph across the Seward Peninsula, Kobuk, and Koyukuk valleys.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read