Politics & Government

Alaska paratroopers fly nearly 3,000 miles nonstop and jump into Hawaii

JBER paratroopers flew nearly 3,000 miles nonstop, strapped on their parachutes midflight and jumped into Hawaii. The Army calls it "Arctic Aloha."

by Alaska News6d ago2 min read

Anchorage police ask for help finding Kylie Johnson, 17, last seen near Woburn Circle

Anchorage police are asking for help finding Kylie Johnson, 17, last seen near Woburn Circle. Anyone with information should call APD at 311 or 907-786-8900.

by Walter AlaskaNews6d ago1 min read

Bethel problem property cases stall over owners it can't reach

Bethel is trying to clean up problem properties, but its tracking sheet shows what's in the way: dead owners, owners it can't reach and, at one shop, squatters.

by Maggie AlaskaNews6d ago2 min read

16-year-old dies after being found unresponsive near Pillar Creek Beach in Kodiak

A 16-year-old boy was found unresponsive near Pillar Creek Beach in Kodiak on Friday and could not be revived. Troopers say they don't suspect foul play.

by Walter AlaskaNews6d ago1 min read

Soldotna's reserve fell $900,000 as mayoral leader seeks to undo sales tax

Soldotna's discretionary reserve dropped about $900,000 last year, just as the man leading the mayor's race says he wants to undo the new sales tax.

by Walter AlaskaNews6d ago3 min read

Follows: Challenger leads Soldotna mayor as Kenai Peninsula election counts continue

Juneau committee calls for ordinance to pay off Eaglecrest's $2.5 million deficit

Juneau's gondola was supposed to pay off Eaglecrest's $2.5M deficit. With that deal over, a committee asked for a payoff from extra cash, not the reserve.

by Walter AlaskaNews6d ago4 min read

Army's 11th Airborne adds a brigade to coordinate logistics across Alaska

The 11th Airborne Division activated a new sustainment brigade at JBER to manage supply and logistics across Alaska's vast distances.

by Alaska News6d ago2 min read

Fairbanks council members seek to suspend room tax formula as budget trims tourism share

Fairbanks' mayor wants to give Explore Fairbanks about $725,000 less room tax money than city code calls for. Two council members want to suspend the code.

by Walter AlaskaNews6d ago2 min read

Peltola campaign sues to see which absentee ballots Alaska is accepting and rejecting

Peltola's campaign sued to see which absentee ballots Alaska is rejecting. The state says those decisions are preliminary, and voters haven't been told yet.

by Bill AlaskaNews6d ago3 min read

Police arrest three at Mountain View Elementary after early-morning alarms

Alarms went off at Mountain View Elementary before dawn Friday, and police caught three people trying to leave. Two are juveniles; one is 18.

by Walter AlaskaNews6d ago1 min read

Alaska Supreme Court revives opioid lawsuit against Carrs, Safeway and Fred Meyer owners

Alaska's Supreme Court revived the state's suit claiming Carrs, Safeway and Fred Meyer pharmacies helped fuel the opioid crisis. Back to trial court it goes.

by Walter AlaskaNews6d ago3 min read

UA draft would answer McMahon's letter with a webpage meant not to read as tied to it

McMahon asked colleges to post their principles. UA's draft reply is a page that "should not read as tied to the McMahon letter if found without context."

by Walter AlaskaNews6d ago2 min read

One person wounded in a shooting near Mountain View Drive and North Boniface Parkway

Someone shot at two people in a vehicle near Mountain View Drive and North Boniface Parkway late Thursday, hitting one. No arrests yet, Anchorage police say.

by Walter AlaskaNews6d ago1 min read

Anchorage proposal would replace yearly ambulance bonds with a $3.345 million levy

Anchorage has borrowed to buy ambulances for at least a decade. The mayor and an Eagle River Assembly member want voters to OK a $3.3M levy instead.

by Walter AlaskaNews6d ago3 min read

Leilah Bailey asks Fairbanks court to review a school activities association decision

Leilah Bailey asked a Fairbanks judge to review a decision by the Alaska School Activities Association, which sets statewide eligibility rules.

by Alaska News6d ago1 min read

Eagle River nurse practitioner to be resentenced in three overdose deaths

Jessica Spayd, the Eagle River nurse practitioner once given 30 years in an opioid case, pleaded guilty in three overdose deaths and faces a new sentence.

by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago2 min read

Anchorage police arrest a man on felony weapons and assault charges after a shooting

Anchorage police arrested a 23-year-old man Thursday after a shooting injured another man. He faces four felonies, the most serious a class A weapons count.

by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago2 min read

Sitka Assembly takes final vote Tuesday on a child care sales tax ballot question

Sitka's Assembly takes its final vote Tuesday on asking voters for a half-point summer sales tax bump for child care. That's a nickel on a $10 purchase.

by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago2 min read

Follows: Sitka Assembly weighs asking voters for a summer sales tax bump to fund child care

Kodiak makes public why election winner Jeremy Williamson hasn't been sworn in

Kodiak's assembly released the legal opinion behind why winner Jeremy Williamson hasn't been sworn in: borough contract holders can't be seated, it says.

by Alaska News1w ago3 min read

Houston parks commission asks city to find and protect public access to lakes

Houston's parks commission wants the city to find and mark public paths to its lakes before they turn into driveways. It met for the first time since April.

by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago2 min read

Palmer will bring in outside counsel on ethics complaint naming the mayor and city manager

Palmer is bringing in outside counsel on an ethics complaint naming its mayor and manager. Also: a remark about the manager's child, and no library kitchen.

by Walter AlaskaNews6d ago2 min readFrom Oct 27

Follows: Palmer council may meet in closed session Tuesday on an ethics complaint

Analysis: Ranked choices would put Begich over 50% as counting continues

The ballot math so far favors Begich, with backup choices nudging him just past 50%. But Hill leads the early and absentee vote, and plenty of ballots remain.

by Alaska News1w ago4 min read

Plaintiffs ask a judge to toss Bering Air's claims against four people in Flight 445 suits

Bering Air wants four people added to Flight 445 death suits. Two plaintiffs, whose lawyers call them federal employees, want them out. A judge will decide.

by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago3 min read

Alaska oil falls from its highest price since 2008, trimming one windfall estimate

Alaska oil slid 6.6% in two days from its highest price since 2008. One budget group's windfall estimate fell about $400 million in a week. Still way above $75.

by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago3 min read

Follows: Alaska oil nears its highest price since 2008, far above what the state budgeted

Bipartisan coalitions pick Schrage, Giessel to lead Alaska House and Senate

Bipartisan coalitions named their picks to run the Alaska House and Senate next year. Voters are still finishing the part where they decide who's in them.

by Alaska News1w ago3 min read

Analysis: Kreiss-Tomkins would win a ranked-choice final round on the count so far

Republicans won more first choices combined, but over a third of Bronson and Taylor ballots wouldn't reach the final round. So far, Kreiss-Tomkins would win it.

by Alaska News1w ago4 min read

Whittier weighs ending seat-by-seat council races and charging to challenge results

Whittier may scrap seat-by-seat council races and candidate petitions, and set a $1,000 fee to contest an election and a $500 fee for a recount.

by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago3 min read

Army has no date for a Fort Wainwright microreactor as experts flag permafrost

The Army still has no date for a microreactor at Fort Wainwright. Its Arctic workshop says testing how to set one on permafrost is a high near-term priority.

by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago3 min read

EPA official says Zeldin connected Fairbanks garages with experts on cold diesel failures

EPA's regional chief says Zeldin heard Fairbanks garages describe cold-weather diesel failures and said, "Oh, this is news." She says EPA's power has limits.

by Bill AlaskaNews1w ago3 min read

State asks campaigns to pull election signs from highway rights-of-way

The election's over, and the state would like its ditches back. DOT is asking campaigns to pull their signs from highway rights-of-way, stakes and all.

by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago2 min read

Judge rules Indiana prison rules don't follow an inmate to Alaska

An Indiana prisoner held in Seward sued to get Indiana prison rules, like tablet email. A federal judge said those rules don't follow him to Alaska.

by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago2 min read

Skagway budget would move $2 million in clinic costs to cruise tax fund

Skagway's manager wants cruise passenger tax money to cover $2 million of the clinic's subsidy. How much clinic work serves cruise visitors is the question.

by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago3 min read

Egan Drive's winter 45 mph speed limit is now in effect in Juneau through Jan. 31

Egan Drive's speed limit near Fred Meyer in Juneau is 45 mph through Jan. 31, down from 55 mph. The stretch sees heavy crashes in winter, and a permanent traffic signal fix isn't expected until 2027.

by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago2 min read

Simpler and Stutes lead Kodiak-area races, but neither is decided

Simpler leads the Kodiak House race by 431 votes and Stutes leads for Senate. Only 77 absentee and early ballots from the House district are counted so far.

by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago2 min read

Follows: Independent groups report spending more than the candidates raised in Kodiak's House race

Challenger leads Soldotna mayor as Kenai Peninsula election counts continue

Soldotna's mayor trails a challenger who wants to undo its sales tax increase by 36 votes, with absentees still out. School board term limits are cruising.

by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago4 min read

Assembly shelves salary commission pick after questions over his firm's city contract

Anchorage's mayor picked a consultant for the panel that sets officials' pay. Then his firm's $86,899 city contract came up, and the Assembly shelved the pick.

by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago3 min read

Follows: LaFrance names business executive to Anchorage salary commission, reappoints another

Anchorage passes surveillance rules, rejects new limits on plate reader searches

The Assembly wrote police plate reader and crime center rules into code 11-1, but left the 14-day data limit in police policy and rejected new search limits.

by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago5 min read

Follows: Anchorage Assembly amends proposed police surveillance rules, then runs out of time

Alcohol tax advocates ask Anchorage to put more into prevention and treatment

Groups behind Anchorage's alcohol tax say it put nothing into substance misuse treatment in 2025 or 2026, with none planned for 2027. They want a change.

by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago3 min read

Kodiak council tells staff to move ahead on plan to bring city pay up to market

Kodiak's council told staff to move ahead on bringing city pay up to market, at $303,000 to $513,000 before benefits. The consultant says it'll go higher.

by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago2 min read

Follows: Most Kodiak city jobs start below market pay, consultant tells council

Early results show Alaskans voting not to retain two Kenai judges

A state panel flagged one Kenai judge over how she treated staff and another over slow rulings. Voters were rejecting both, which Alaska rarely does.

by Alaska News1w ago3 min read