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 6
Sullivan plans to add an ad-transparency bill to kids' safety package
Sullivan plans to attach his ad-transparency bill — platforms would report on public-service ads and promote mental health help — to a kids' safety package.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
Murkowski presses Interior on who's paying for Trump's Smithsonian signs
Sens. Murkowski and Merkley are pressing Interior on who's paying for Park Service signs, ordered by Trump, that would criticize a Smithsonian museum's own exhibits.
by Maggie AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Four wildfires broke out on the North Slope within 17 minutes Thursday
Four wildfires broke out on Alaska's North Slope within 17 minutes Thursday, across 40 miles of tundra, the kind of lightning-driven cluster expected to grow as the Arctic warms.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Alaskans split over ranked choice repeal at state ballot measure hearing
Alaska voters will decide in November whether to repeal ranked choice voting, the top-four primary, and campaign finance disclosure rules approved in 2020.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago3 min read
Anchorage seeks 50 acres of JBER land for a waste-to-energy plant
Anchorage is asking Congress for about 50 acres of JBER land next to the landfill for a waste-to-energy plant, with the request riding in this year's defense bill.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
Bethel weighs buying road salt before the river freezes
Bethel is weighing $55,000 in road salt before freeze-up — in a town with no highway in or out, once the Kuskokwim freezes, the barges bringing it stop.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Senate bill co-led by Murkowski targets AI chatbot toys' risks to children
AI toys can be sold with no testing of what their chatbots tell kids — and testing found some explaining where to find pills and matches. A bipartisan Senate bill, co-led by Murkowski, targets that gap.
by Alaska News3mo ago2 min read
Bartlett hospital recruiting four directors at once among 29 openings
Bartlett Regional Hospital is recruiting four directors at once and 29 positions total, the most of any Juneau employer on the state's weekly job list.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
More from Politics & Government
Super PACs report nearly $1 million in Alaska Senate spending on a single day
Three super PACs spent nearly $1 million in a single day on Alaska's U.S. Senate race, with groups backing Sullivan and opposing Peltola dominating the spending 12 days before the Aug. 18 primary.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
Alaska seeks outside attorneys for ethics complaints against top officials
Alaska is hiring private attorneys to investigate ethics complaints against the governor, lieutenant governor, or attorney general, with bids due Aug. 24.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
Troopers: Fairbanks man, 79, injured in Old Nenana Highway motorcycle crash
A 79-year-old Fairbanks man was injured Wednesday in a motorcycle crash on Old Nenana Highway and taken to Fairbanks Memorial Hospital.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Wednesday, Aug 5
Anchorage picks up the tab for building repairs the state used to help fund
Anchorage would spend $476,000 of its own money on repairs to aging city buildings after state grants were cut, and it's on the hook for that much a year through 2031.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
Anchorage wants to speed up its check on 570 questionable tax exemptions
Anchorage wants to speed up its review of 570 questionable tax exemptions, moving the finish from 2032 to 2030, with about $811,000 a year at stake going forward.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 3mo ago2 min read
Cordova advances a tax increase on rentals and visitors to 14%
Cordova advanced a tax hike on rentals, tobacco, alcohol and marijuana, from 13% to 14%, aimed mostly at visitors, as sales tax collections run $250,000 behind last year.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
Bears have made Cordova's landfill unsafe for workers, and the fence is stuck
Bears have made Cordova's landfill unsafe for workers, and the electrified fence meant to stop them is stalled after the city's engineer request drew zero responses.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
Who controls Chugach access spending: trail advocates or the neighborhoods next door?
Anchorage delayed creating a board to steer Chugach park-access spending, as neighborhoods and trail advocates split over who should control it. The Assembly decides Oct. 6.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago2 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
Anchorage Assembly rejects investigation into member Martinez's travel, 5-6
Anchorage Assembly rejected an investigation into Assembly Member George Martinez's travel Tuesday, 5-6, after Vice Chair Daniel Volland switched his vote citing flaws in the accusation.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
Senate panel advances Crow coal land swap 6-5, rejects four amendments
Senate panel voted 6-5 to advance a Montana coal land swap giving the Crow Tribe mineral rights in exchange for federal parcels, but skipping environmental review.
by Maggie AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
Troopers arrest Sterling driver on DUI charge after head-on crash at mile 84
A Sterling man faces a DUI charge after his Impala pulled into the path of a northbound pickup on the Sterling Highway at mile 84 on Tuesday evening, injuring the other driver.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Injured hiker rescued by boat along George Inlet near Ketchikan
A hiker injured in a fall near Ketchikan called for help Tuesday afternoon, and Alaska Wildlife Troopers and the Ketchikan Volunteer Rescue Squad reached him by boat and took him to a hospital.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
A one-word change to Alaska's voting law could foreclose a path for American Samoan residents
Measure 3 would add "only" to Alaska's voter law — a narrow safeguard, its sponsor says. Opponents note noncitizen voting is already illegal and say it would foreclose a path for American Samoan residents, U.S. nationals who aren't automatically citizens.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
Anchorage salary commission drafts a 26% raise for its next elected mayor
Anchorage's salary commission drafted a resolution to raise the next elected mayor's pay to $183,019, a 26% increase that would take effect only after the 2027 election.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 3mo ago2 min read
Two former colleagues split over whether Ballot Measure 1 curbs big money or just reroutes it
Two former legislative colleagues split over Ballot Measure 1: Schrage says restoring donation caps curbs big money, Carpenter says it caps small money while leaving unlimited outside spending untouched. Voters decide Aug. 18.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
Troopers detain 49 people at one Wasilla house during a drug-warrant search
49 people, one Wasilla house, one very eventful drug warrant: an arrest on scene, a runner nabbed on a federal warrant, and more charges on the way.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
The NRA gives Begich an F and three Republican tickets A+
The NRA's political arm gave the ticket of leading Alaska governor candidate Tom Begich an F and three Republican tickets A+ in its new primary grades.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
Tuesday, Aug 4
Juneau Assembly amends senior hardship tax test to 300% poverty line
Juneau Assembly raised the income limit for senior and disabled veteran property tax hardship exemptions to 300% of federal poverty guidelines, broadening eligibility for tax relief.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 3mo ago3 min read
Mat-Su voters will decide whether the borough can tax valley-wide for big road projects
Mat-Su voters will decide Nov. 3 whether the borough can use borough-wide taxes to build big road projects no single service area can afford — with debate over whether it shifts money from urban to rural areas.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
Murkowski and Sullivan vote to advance an African trade bill
The Senate voted 89-4 Monday to advance a bill extending African trade benefits, with Alaska senators Murkowski and Sullivan both supporting it.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Alaska lost 15.8% of its federal civilian workers in two years, ISER economist reports
Alaska lost 15.8% of its federal civilian workers in two years, more than the national rate, mostly through buyouts rather than firings, hitting rangers and field staff hardest.
by Bill AlaskaNewsadded 3mo ago2 min read
Betting apps take bets in Alaska as a Senate panel weighs the fallout
Prediction-market apps are taking sports bets in Alaska, where betting isn't legal. How much you wanna bet that it sticks around?
by Maggie AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
Anchorage school board bets its emergency reserve on money that may not come
The Anchorage School Board will vote Tuesday on spending nearly all its emergency reserve to reopen 45 positions, betting on state money that isn't guaranteed until Aug. 31.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
EPA grants Alaska authority to permit hazardous waste facilities
Alaska takes over permitting and enforcement of hazardous waste facilities starting Aug. 6, after EPA approved the state's application despite three requests to delay.
by Maggie AlaskaNewsadded 3mo ago4 min read
Dunleavy proclaims August 4th Coast Guard Appreciation Day in Alaska
Alaska marked Coast Guard Appreciation Day. In a state where fishing is the deadliest U.S. job and most people live on the coast, the recognition carries more weight than most.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
A free hut near Snowbird Glacier could get a new 10-year state lease
A free backcountry hut near Snowbird Glacier — no membership, just get yourself there — could keep going under a new 10-year state lease.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Barrow man faces a meth charge after 14 grams found in impounded SUV
A driver stopped near Girdwood faces a new felony meth charge after troopers found just over 14 grams of methamphetamine in his impounded SUV.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 3mo ago1 min read
A 675-mile snowmachine patrol reached nine Interior villages
Tanana Chiefs Conference officers ran a 675-mile snowmachine patrol across nine Interior villages, part of a push to extend law enforcement to remote Alaska.
by Maggie AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Juneau sets hearing on $1.5M City Hall sale to Sealaska Heritage Institute
Juneau hears testimony Aug. 17 on selling the old City Hall site to Sealaska Heritage Institute for $1.5M for an arts center, or opening it to higher bids.
by Maggie AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
Troopers and corrections officers recruit at the Mat-Su Job Center
Two Alaska public-safety agencies are recruiting at the Mat-Su Job Center in Wasilla — State Troopers on Wednesday, corrections officers every Friday.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Filing deadline nears for Kodiak's October election, with an Assembly seat already open
Kodiak Island Borough residents have until 3 p.m. Aug. 17 to file for the Oct. 6 election — with seats open on the Assembly, School Board and service area boards, including one already-vacant Assembly seat.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Six Nome seats are open this fall, with a Sept. 1 filing deadline
Six Nome seats — City Council, Utility Board and School Board — are up this fall. To run, file with the city by 5 p.m. Sept. 1. The election is Oct. 6.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
