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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Thursday, Aug 27
Fairbanks borough weighs a $303,346 replacement ambulance
Fairbanks North Star Borough Finance Committee votes Sept. 3 on a $303,346 ambulance for the non-areawide medical service covering areas outside city limits.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
Fairbanks would spend $1.2 million more to defend the pipeline's value in court
Fairbanks would pour another $1.2 million into defending the pipeline's assessed value in court — a decades-old fight over a tax base that funds its schools.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
Short on officers, Bethel police look to grow their own with a cadet program
Bethel's police, the hub much of the Y-K Delta relies on, are short officers and dispatchers and are looking to grow their own through a cadet program.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
Alaska extends fire season to Sept. 14 in Delta, Tok and Copper River areas
Burn permits will stay required two extra weeks, through Sept. 14, in the Delta, Tok and Copper River areas, after a dry summer left fuels parched at depth.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
A Fairbanks homeowner interrupted a burglary. Troopers made an arrest eight days later.
Fairbanks troopers arrested Arthur Chesley on Aug. 27 after he burglarized a home while the owner was there; he faced a $15,000 cash bond on felony burglary and theft charges.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Anchorage weighs surveillance rules 11 months after buying the system
Anchorage approved an $11.8 million surveillance system in 2025 and wrote no rules for it. The Assembly takes up those rules Tuesday, eleven months later.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago4 min readFrom 
Wright and Dunleavy insist the Alaska LNG project is alive
At an Anchorage conference, the U.S. energy secretary and Gov. Dunleavy insisted the stalled Alaska LNG project is alive, pointing at different obstacles.
by Bill AlaskaNews2mo ago3 min read
Ketchikan's city filing window has closed, and voter registration ends Sept. 6
Ketchikan's candidate filing window closed Monday and the city hasn't published who is running for council. Three filings are on the record so far.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
More from Politics & Government
AIDEA's board will sign off on refreshing its due diligence fund
AIDEA's board took back authority over a $4.5 million planning fund. The same meeting ran about four hours in executive session on ANWR and Ambler.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
Sullivan and Peltola clash in a combative first forum, previewing a bitter Senate race
Sullivan and Peltola clashed sharply in their first post-primary forum, trading shots over Willow, their records and who's really on Alaska's side.
by Bill AlaskaNews2mo ago4 min read
State to train home care providers on the record-keeping rules behind recoupment
Alaska is holding an online training for home care providers on record-keeping — the paperwork rules that, done wrong, let the state claw back payments.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Anchorage's new emergency plan still has no chapter for disease outbreaks
Anchorage's new emergency plan has no communicable disease appendix. The plan lists 34 changes; the memo to the Assembly itemizes none of them.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
In Anchorage, SNAP recipients now face work requirements
Anchorage SNAP recipients now have to meet federal work requirements, while the rest of Alaska is covered by a waiver through October 2026.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
Federal Judge threw out Trump's offshore drilling without deciding the question
A judge dismissed the challenge to Trump's offshore reopening on standing, without ruling on whether he had the authority. The groups can refile.
by Maggie AlaskaNewsadded 2mo ago2 min read
Bronson takes the last spot on Alaska's four-way November governor ballot
Dave Bronson, the former Anchorage mayor, advanced from Alaska's August governor primary to the November ranked-choice general election, joining three other candidates in the top-four system.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
Wednesday, Aug 26
Anchorage's drone report leaves out the one thing the code requires
Anchorage police have flown drones hundreds of times since 2022. City code says the report must note search warrants. The report has no warrant column.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago3 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
Utqiagvik council weighs finance and executive director appointments
The Utqiagvik City Council will vote Thursday on new appointments for two top administrative offices, a finance director and an executive director, with no explanation given in the agenda for the changes.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
The Anchorage Assembly may audit every member's spending
The Anchorage Assembly votes Tuesday on auditing every member spending account back to 2023. The review seeks to identify potential inconsistencies in how members use their annual budgets.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
Utqiaġvik hears a marijuana tax rise from 8% to 10% tonight, and voters decide Oct. 6
Utqiaġvik City Council hears a proposal tonight to raise the marijuana sales tax from 8% to 10%, with voters deciding Oct. 6.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Troopers arrest driver after semitrailer collapses onto pickup on Parks Highway
Alaska State Troopers arrested a Wasilla man after a stolen semitrailer he was towing on a makeshift rig collapsed onto his pickup truck on the Parks Highway, crushing the truck bed.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Two arrested in North Pole burglary involving stolen firearms
Alaska State Troopers arrested William Clatterbuck and Briana Perry on Wednesday for a North Pole burglary in which firearms, a snow machine, and a generator were stolen.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Anchorage's school board says closures won't fix the budget; residents aren't so sure
Anchorage's school board says closing schools won't fix its budget — even as most residents, by the district's own survey, favor consolidation.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
A man was found dead with injuries in East Anchorage, and police are investigating
Anchorage police found a man dead with injuries to his upper body early Wednesday in East Anchorage, and investigators are handling the case.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Coast Guard cutter Stratton changes command at anchor off Kotzebue
A change of command aboard the cutter Stratton took place at anchor off Kotzebue. The Coast Guard keeps no permanent presence north of the Bering Strait.
by Maggie AlaskaNewsadded 2mo ago1 min read
Sitka will test its ballot machines in public before the October election
Sitka residents can watch the ballot-counting machines get tested Sept. 3. The city's pages don't say whether its equipment matches the state's.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Ketchikan voters decide who owns the library and who pays for it
Ketchikan voters decide Oct. 6 whether the borough takes over the public library and whether people outside city limits pay twice as much for it.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Anchorage Assembly set to waive protest of Serrano's liquor license renewal
Serrano's Mexican Grill on East Tudor Road is set to renew its liquor license with no objections, as the Anchorage Assembly waives its right to protest.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Ninth Circuit upholds federal Cook Inlet salmon management against drift fleet challenge
Cook Inlet drift fishermen lost again in federal court. The fight over who actually gets the fish moves back to the Alaska Board of Fisheries.
by Bill AlaskaNewsadded 2mo ago2 min read
Reported crime in Alaska rose 7.2% in 2025, driven by Anchorage increases
Reported crime in Alaska rose 7.2 percent in 2025, driven by a 14.6 percent jump in Anchorage offenses while state troopers reported 5.9 percent fewer crimes.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
The Legislature will spend $675,000 to renovate its own Capitol parking garage
The Alaska Legislature is spending $675,000 to renovate its own parking garage at the Capitol — though the winning bid came in under the engineer's estimate.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
A little Unalaska park keeps its tax break one last time before the lease runs out
A small community park in Unalaska keeps its property tax exemption one last time before the city's lease runs out, joining the tax rolls in 2027.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 2mo ago1 min read
Tuesday, Aug 25
The lone applicant for a Kenai Peninsula Assembly seat could be seated Sept. 1
Nathan Berga is the only applicant for Kenai Peninsula Borough's vacant District 7 seat and could be appointed Tuesday, Sept. 1, restoring the assembly to nine members.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Kenai could put school board term limits to voters under a new state law
Kenai Peninsula Borough voters will decide on school board term limits at a Sept. 1 public hearing, after state law changed to allow municipalities to propose them.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Juvenile charged with attempted murder after Klawock standoff
A juvenile fired a rifle at a Klawock police officer Monday night and kept shooting from inside a home before surrendering to troopers. He was charged with attempted murder.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
Troopers arrest Tok man accused of harassing firefighters on ATV
Alaska State Troopers arrested a 69-year-old Tok man accused of harassing firefighters on an ATV near the Mukluk Fire, charging him with DUI, reckless driving, and disorderly conduct.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Three lawmakers get paid for late travel claims, and one filed most of them
Three lawmakers will be repaid about $5,970 for late travel claims. One accounts for $4,990 of it, and colleagues' questions drew trip-specific answers.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 2mo ago2 min read
Former Rep. Carl Morgan, mayor of Aniak and Kuskokwim Native leader, has died
Former state Rep. Carl Morgan of Aniak, who served in the House from 1999 to 2004 and led communities along the Kuskokwim River, has died. Gov. Dunleavy will order flags lowered statewide.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
The Alaska Legislature weighs new rules on animals in the Capitol
The Alaska Legislature is weighing new rules on animals in its buildings, banning most pets but keeping ADA protections for service dogs.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Mat-Su voters will decide whether the borough can build roads anywhere
Mat-Su voters decide Nov. 3 whether the borough can buy right-of-way and build roads anywhere in its boundaries, across road service area lines.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
Anchorage's next park would sit on the Knik Arm bridge route it has long fought
A cleaned-up fuel depot above the Port of Alaska could become a park — on the route of a Knik Arm bridge the state wants and Anchorage has long fought.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
