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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Wednesday, Sep 9
Unalaska eases yearly audit requirement for its small nonprofit grantees
Unalaska's small nonprofits won't have to pay for a yearly audit to keep their city grants anymore — a cost that ate up about 13% of one group's award.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min readFrom 
Anchorage Assembly has one meeting left before a transit safety deadline
Anchorage has one meeting left before a federal deadline to fix its transit safety plan. Assaults involving security staff rose by half last year.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Tuesday, Sep 8
Kenai Peninsula assembly president proposes rewrite of rules for filling assembly vacancies
Kenai Peninsula Assembly President Ryan Tunseth is proposing to rewrite the rules for filling vacant assembly seats, with a public hearing set for Oct. 20.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Kenai Peninsula mayor's ordinance would regulate weather modification
The Kenai Peninsula Borough would regulate cloud seeding on its land and ask the state to consider banning weather modification.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
Four of seven Kodiak Assembly seats are on the Oct. 6 ballot
Four of the seven Kodiak Island Borough Assembly seats are on the Oct. 6 ballot, all elected borough-wide. Early voting runs Sept. 21 to Oct. 5.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Anchorage candidates would need signatures to get on the city ballot
Anchorage candidates would need voter signatures to make the ballot. It would take 63 in one Assembly district and 162 in another about the same size.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
Troopers seek red Subaru driver in Fairbanks hit-and-run at Farmers Loop
Alaska State Troopers are looking for the driver of a red Subaru after a hit-and-run at Farmers Loop and Tanana in Fairbanks on the morning of Sept. 5.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min readFrom 
Five Alaska legislators and candidates amend financial disclosures in two days
Five Alaska legislators and candidates amended financial disclosures this week, adding two Anchorage houses, nonprofit board seats, and a spouse's name to their filings.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
More from Politics & Government
Anchorage weighs who decides when cold-weather shelter opens
An Anchorage ordinance up Sept. 15 would let the health director decide when emergency shelter opens, replacing the current 45-degree trigger.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Most of Alaska labor backs Peltola. Sullivan took some anyway.
Most of Alaska's organized labor backs Peltola, but Sullivan has drawn several major unions, including some that cross the usual lines.
by Bill AlaskaNews2mo ago3 min read
Moose hunter flown off upper Chistochina River after medical emergency
A moose hunter with a medical emergency on the remote upper Chistochina River was flown out by helicopter Monday and handed to waiting medics, troopers said.
by Alaska News2mo ago1 min read
Seward state park advisory board takes public comment at Sept. 16 meeting
Seward State Park Citizen Advisory Board meets Sept. 16 to hear public comment on park management, in person or via Teams.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Gunfire reports in Nondalton ended in an arrest on eight charges
Reports of gunfire in Nondalton brought troopers from King Salmon and ended with a 22-year-old man arrested on eight charges, including burglary and assault.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min readFrom 
Alaska warns personal care agencies they can lose Harmony access for viewing waiver records
Alaska's Division of Senior and Disabilities Services warned personal care agencies they risk losing Harmony database access if they open waiver service records.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Troopers investigating death of a Kachemak Selo man found nothing suspicious
A family in Kachemak Selo found Mihey Reutov, 35, dead on Monday, and Alaska State Troopers said an early investigation found nothing suspicious.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
A Tyonek man died Saturday after neighbors heard gunshots
A Tyonek man died Saturday after neighbors heard gunshots and found him wounded. The state medical examiner has not determined a cause of death.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min readFrom 
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
Two EMS providers assaulted on Parks Highway in Nenana, troopers say
A man assaulted two EMS providers on the Parks Highway in Nenana early Monday and was arrested on two counts of assault in the fourth degree.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Monday, Sep 7
Mat-Su weighs a council district for a group staff say does not meet the code
Mat-Su staff back giving landowners along Greater Oilwell Road a recognized borough voice, though the group asking for it doesn't meet the council definition.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
Homer-based Republican group drops the Homer city election from its reporting
The Homer-based Republican district unit just dropped Homer's city election from the races it reports on. It kept the borough race the same day.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
A Soldotna council member's consulting firm earned up to $1 million last year
Soldotna pays Daniel Nelson up to $5,000 a year to sit on its city council. Governments paid his consulting firm up to $1 million last year.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
A write-in candidate has entered Sitka's Assembly race for two seats
Sitka's Assembly race just went from three candidates to four. Mary Ann Hall has until Oct. 1 to make write-in votes for her actually count.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
State tax office flagged seller of Anchorage cannabis concentrate license as non-compliant
Alaska flagged a marijuana license seller as non-compliant on taxes. Her sworn statement listed no debts. What the board did is not on the record.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min readFrom 
Troopers refer charges after Ketchikan pursuit and crash
State Troopers referred felony charges against an 18-year-old Ketchikan driver who refused to stop on North Tongass Highway on Sept. 3, lost control, and crashed into a ditch during the pursuit.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min readFrom 
The roads torn up fighting the Tok fire have been graded back
The roads firefighters tore up while saving Tok have been graded back into shape. Residents need them to reach what is left of their property.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Sunday, Sep 6
Kaktovik under a do-not-drink notice after ethylene glycol found
Kaktovik residents can't drink the village tap water after testing found ethylene glycol, the toxic compound in antifreeze, in the system. Boiling won't help.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
Kodiak district asks school board to weigh closing East Elementary in 2027
Kodiak may close East Elementary in 2027. Five weeks before proposing that, the district asked the state for $5.75 million to renovate the building.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
Most of what the Tok fire burned was outbuildings. Aid may not cover them.
Two-thirds of what the Mukluk Fire destroyed near Tok were outbuildings, and the only aid program for those families generally does not cover them.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
Alaska Supreme Court rules: Officers Must Stop at Unclear Lawyer Requests
Alaska Supreme Court ruled police must stop questioning suspects who make unclear lawyer requests, even after Miranda waivers, reversing a Kodiak murder conviction.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago4 min readFrom 
Troopers arrest Wasilla motorcyclist on DUI and refusal charges after Palmer-Fishhook crash
A Wasilla man was arrested on DUI and refusal charges after a motorcycle crash on North Palmer-Fishhook Road late Saturday.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Alaska's Permanent Fund had a banner year, but the money is spoken for
Alaska's Permanent Fund had a banner year, but the state has already spent it — on the budget, dividend and inflation protection, reviving a fiscal fight.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago4 min readFrom 
The Coast Guard is repairing a fire-damaged barracks at Kodiak
Repairs begin Tuesday on a fire-damaged 1940s barracks at Coast Guard Base Kodiak. Nothing in the record says when the fire happened or who was displaced.
by Melinda Communities.News2mo ago1 min read
Anchorage auditors flag a gap in Assembly travel approvals
Anchorage auditors found signed approval on all 38 Assembly trips but could document a second 2025 step on only one of 15. A broader review is now underway.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago3 min readFrom 
Bethel shut off the water at a house leaking sewage and it came back on
Bethel shut off the water at a house leaking sewage. The resident turned it back on the next day, and the repair deadline has now passed too.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Injured hiker flown off Deer Mountain in Ketchikan
A 26-year-old hiker was flown off Deer Mountain near Ketchikan on Saturday after becoming unable to walk, the second rescue on that trail in months.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Alaska draft rule would end in-house marijuana testing by growers, manufacturers and stores
Alaska's marijuana regulator is drafting a rule to ban in-house testing by growers and manufacturers, forcing all products to third-party labs instead.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
A small wildfire was reported near Wrangell on Friday night
A small wildfire was reported near Sandy Beach outside Wrangell on Friday. The state has not said whether it is contained or threatens any homes.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Fish and Wildlife bought its ninth no-bid track loader for $248,954
Fish and Wildlife has bought nine track loaders without competitive bids since August. The ninth cost $248,954, more than any of the first eight.
by Alaska News2mo ago1 min read
Kodiak's Assembly can't agree on how often to meet remotely
Kodiak Island Borough Assembly members can't agree on how many meetings a year they may attend remotely, the last open question in a rules rewrite.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
The money gap in Alaska's ranked choice fight is growing
The campaign to keep ranked choice voting spent $1.37 million in one period. The campaign to repeal it has $89,673 and owes more than that.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
Saturday, Sep 5
Federal money will put naloxone and first aid training on remote Alaska fishing boats
A nurse whose son died of an overdose at sea started mailing naloxone to fishing boats. Federal money will now expand it across remote Alaska.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
