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.
Inside Politics & Government
Places and organizations in this news
Numbers are stories in the last 30 days.
Have a story about Politics & Government? Send a tip
Tuesday, Jul 28
Sterling residents want to tax themselves for recreation
Sterling residents want to tax themselves for recreation. On Aug. 4 the borough sets the date for a public meeting where they can back or fight the plan.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Kenai assembly weighs putting school board term limits to voters
Kenai's assembly weighs term limits for school board members — but can't impose them alone, so a yes vote just puts the question to borough voters. Hearing Sept. 1.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
A tiny fire near Koyuk has smoldered under investigation for a month
A quarter-acre fire 51 miles northeast of Koyuk has been under investigation for over a month, with no cause identified and no threat to homes or subsistence areas reported.
by Maggie AlaskaNewsadded 3mo ago1 min read
A North Pole dirt bike crash follows a fatal Fairbanks motorcycle wreck
A North Pole dirt bike rider walked away with minor injuries — the interior's second two-wheeled crash this month, after a Fairbanks motorcyclist was killed.
by Maggie AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
K9 Jack retires at 5 after four years on Interior village patrols
K9 Jack is retiring at 5, early for a police dog, after four years and a long list of seizures across 39 Interior villages. A younger nose has the beat now.
by Maggie AlaskaNewsadded 3mo ago1 min read
A 20-acre parcel near Homer is headed to public hands — but for what?
Twenty acres near Homer could be sold to a public or charitable group with no auction — though the state's notice doesn't say who wants it or why. Comment by Aug. 31.
by Maggie AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Retiring judge's Arctic caseload lands in an unassigned court queue
A retiring Arctic judge's entire caseload but eight cases now sits in an unassigned queue, with no new judge named and no word on hearing dates across three hub communities.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 3mo ago1 min read
Woman killed, two juveniles critically hurt in crash at Northern Lights and UAA Drive
A woman died and two juveniles were critically injured in a crash at East Northern Lights Boulevard and UAA Drive in Anchorage early Tuesday.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
More from Politics & Government
Alaska's new counselor license ends the unlicensed wait for graduates
Alaska counseling grads spent years working unlicensed to earn a license. A new associate license, effective Aug. 21, lets them practice under a credential.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 3mo ago1 min read
Motorcyclist dies after Parks Highway collision in Meadow Lakes
A motorcyclist died Monday night after colliding with a van on the Parks Highway at South Potter Road in Meadow Lakes, according to Alaska State Troopers.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Kodiak weighs a 3% marijuana tax, and a dispensary owner cries foul
Kodiak may tax marijuana 3% for a community well-being fund — but a dispensary owner says pot keeps getting singled out as the island's sin of choice.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Kodiak Reentry seeks borough funds as nonprofit grant requests outstrip budget
A volunteer-run Kodiak reentry group that helps people leave incarceration for treatment is asking the borough for rent money — in a year when the grant fund is badly oversubscribed.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Alaska labor splits in the Senate race as AFL-CIO back Peltola and building trades back Sullivan
Alaska's AFL-CIO backed Peltola — no shock there — but three building-trades unions went for Sullivan, splitting labor in a toss-up Senate race.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Monday, Jul 27
Every Juneau ballot seat drew a candidate as filing closed
Filing closed for Juneau's Oct. 6 election, and all five seats — three Assembly, two school board — drew candidates. The certified ballot posts soon.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
A three-bite Fairbanks dog gets strict conditions instead of euthanasia
A Fairbanks dog with three bites gets to live — under a locked kennel, leashing, neutering, and a behaviorist plan built to keep it off the euthanasia list.
by Maggie AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Juneau Assembly pulls a $16M school bond from the fall ballot
Juneau yanked a $16M school bond off the fall ballot — part timing blunder, part cold feet over shaky revenue. Dissenters say it will only cost more later.
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
A veteran was barred from Juneau's July 4th parade over an anti-war sign
A Juneau veteran was pulled from the July 4th parade over a sign reading "Wars: immoral, illegal." He's asking the Assembly whether a public-street event can bar a viewpoint.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
A Palmer sentencing marks another case from Alaska's cybertip pipeline
A Palmer man will register as a sex offender for life after pleading guilty to possessing child abuse material — one of a run of Alaska cybertip cases.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Pro and Anti Ranked choice campaigns trade billionaire accusations at hearing
Alaska's ranked choice camps each say the other runs on billionaire money, at a hearing on a measure that would repeal the rules for tracing where that money starts.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
State tells Alaska communities: check for unclaimed assistance payments
The state says some Alaska communities have unclaimed Community Assistance payments waiting — and FY27 awards start landing July 29. Paperwork required.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Securus asks to raise a surcharge on Alaska prison calls
Securus wants to nudge up a surcharge on calls from Alaska prisons. The steeper per-minute increase people remember came from a different, earlier filing.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Ballot Measure 3 turns on a single word
Ballot Measure 3 would add "only" to Alaska's voter law. Sponsors call it a gap worth closing before a court does it for them; opponents call it a doubt nobody needed.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
Alaska State Archives wins $220,146 to index statehood records
The state archives has $220,146 to make its statehood records findable. That buys a guide and some audiovisual scanning, not a digitized archive.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
The sleeper on Alaska's August primary ballot: money, turnout and Measure 1
Alaska campaign donations currently have one limit: your imagination. Ballot Measure 1 would add a second — $2,000. Voters decide at the Aug. 18 primary.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
Troopers issue Silver Alert for 73-year-old missing near Fairbanks
Troopers issued a Silver Alert for Rodney Rutherford, 73, last seen on Murphy Dome Road near Fairbanks Friday night. Call 907-451-5100 with information.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Troopers arrest Fairbanks woman for DUI near Healy after multiple REDDI calls
Alaska State Troopers arrested a Fairbanks woman on a DUI charge after multiple REDDI calls reported dangerous driving on the Parks Highway near Healy on July 26.
by Maggie AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Alaska Senate opens fourth special session with technical session, adjourns to Friday
Alaska Senate opened its fourth special session Monday to tackle natural gas taxation but took no action, adjourning until Friday - signaling the bill may be unable to advance.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Why the fight over the Strait of Hormuz shows up in Alaska's budget
The fight over the Strait of Hormuz sets the price of oil — and Alaska's budget moves with it. Talks continue; tanker owners still don't know who pays.
by Alaska News3mo ago2 min read
Alaska opens child care payment rules for provider comment Wednesday
Alaska opens its child care payment rules for provider comment Wednesday, including new federal attendance record requirements that came with 2024 funding.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Troopers seek Jacob Wallace, missing from Fairbanks facility since Saturday
Alaska State Troopers are seeking Jacob Wallace, a juvenile who walked away from the Presbyterian House in Fairbanks Saturday night and has not been located.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Federal awards to Alaska pass $14 billion this fiscal year
Alaska has drawn $14 billion in federal awards this fiscal year — about $19,000 per resident — and added roughly $270 million of it in the past week.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Sunday, Jul 26
A missing Wasilla man was found alive in a car in Delta Junction
A Wasilla man missing since July 21 was found alive in Delta Junction — in a car that had sat parked for nearly a day before anyone checked.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Alaska Supreme Court: divorce splits must account for who pays the taxes
The Alaska Supreme Court upheld most of a divorce judgment but sent back one question: who pays the capital gains taxes — because that changes the real split.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 3mo ago1 min read
A sleep clinic said it isn't medicine. The court disagreed.
The IRS says Alaska Sleep Clinic isn't a health business. The Alaska Supreme Court says it is — and the state's answer is the one on the tax bill.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 3mo ago2 min read
Wasilla man, 83, arrested after allegedly pulling handgun on EMTs
Wasilla man Frank Bird, 83, was arrested on a warrant charging four counts of third-degree assault after he pulled a handgun on two EMTs and friends who came to help him after a fall on July 18.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 3mo ago1 min read
State maps five years of possible Fairbanks-Delta timber sales
The state has mapped where logging could be proposed near Fairbanks and Delta through 2030 — as cutting on the Tanana Valley State Forest holds a steady pace.
by Maggie AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Saturday, Jul 25
Supreme Court upholds the mail-ballot rule rural Alaska relies on
The Supreme Court upheld the late-arriving-ballot rule that much of rural Alaska relies on to vote. Primary by-mail applications are due Aug. 8.
by Alaska News3mo ago1 min read
Former Anchorage Assembly member Karen Bronga killed in Sterling Highway crash
Former Anchorage Assembly member Karen Bronga passed away in a vehicular accident on July 24
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Motorcyclist killed in left-turn crash at Geist and Loftus in Fairbanks
A motorcyclist died Saturday at the intersection of Geist Road and Loftus Road in Fairbanks after colliding with a vehicle turning left.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
BLM says Alaska's last 3.8 million statehood acres are the hardest
Alaska has 3.8 million acres left to claim under statehood entitlement, but the BLM says the remaining selections are tangled in complex land disputes that will be harder to resolve.
by Maggie AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
