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, Jul 22
85 mph on a stretch of road marked for its fatal crashes
Troopers say a Sterling man ran his dirtbike 85 in a 45 — on a stretch of the Sterling Highway flagged for its fatal crashes — then briefly declined to pull over.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
A permitting bill could open the federal fast lane to Alaska projects
A bill would drop the federal fast-track permitting threshold to $50 million — opening the program to Alaska projects too small to qualify until now.
by Maggie AlaskaNewsadded 3mo ago2 min read
A cattle parasite Alaska will never see could still cost Alaskans
Screwworm can't survive an Alaska winter, but Alaskans buy beef from the herds it threatens — and we're last in line on price.
by Maggie AlaskaNewsadded 3mo ago1 min read
Anchorage day cares say a grant cut could force them to close
Anchorage voters dedicated marijuana taxes to child care. Now providers say a nearly 70 percent cut to operating grants could force them to close their doors.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
The Army's last airborne cavalry squadron made its final jump at JBER
The Army's last active airborne cavalry squadron made its final jump at JBER, then handed its colors to a regiment inactive since 1957.
by Alaska News3mo ago1 min read
A $700 property tax break, paid for by a 1% sales tax
Mat-Su voters will decide in November whether to shave about $700 off homeowners' property taxes and pay for it with a 1% sales tax on everyone.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Anchorage Assembly members frame Fairview grant as a civil-rights question
Two Anchorage Assembly members are opposing a $750,000 behavioral health grant for Fairview, arguing it repeats a pattern of concentrating services in neighborhoods already burdened by discrimination.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago3 min readFrom 
Juneau Assembly to weigh $1.5M negotiated sale of City Hall to Sealaska Heritage Institute
Juneau Assembly will vote on selling City Hall to Sealaska Heritage Institute for $1.5 million, down from the $2.5 million minimum the borough originally sought.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min readFrom 
More from Politics & Government
Anchorage Assembly resolution seeks school-funding scenarios and deferred maintenance analysis
Anchorage Assembly ordered the administration to show by Aug. 31 how much it would cost to fully fund schools and which city services would be cut to pay for it, ahead of the October budget deadline.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago3 min read
Wheel Dog PAC spent about $500,000 supporting Hill as Alaska primary nears
A political action committee spent about $500,000 backing independent congressional candidate Bill Hill ahead of Alaska's August 18 primary.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min readFrom 
Rocket Lab wins $266 million DoD contract for suborbital launches from Kodiak spaceport
Rocket Lab won a $266 million Defense Department contract for at least 12 suborbital launches from Kodiak's state-owned spaceport by end of 2028.
by Melinda Communities.News3mo ago2 min read
Tuesday, Jul 21
A new committee would review how the Permanent Fund measures itself
How the Permanent Fund grades itself is contested — and trustees will weigh a new committee to review the benchmarks that decide the answer.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Alaska Democrats hold a volunteer picnic ahead of primary election
Alaska Democrats are gathering at an Anchorage park Thursday evening to sign up volunteers, four weeks out from a primary with a Senate seat on it.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Alaska's unemployment map tracks one thing: the road system
Alaska unemployment ran 2.5% in Denali and 16.1% in Kusilvak this May. The split tracks one thing almost perfectly: whether a road reaches you.
by Maggie AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
He listed two Alaska move-in dates. Then he quit the race.
A Kenai-area candidate filed two different Alaska move-in dates on two candidacy forms. Asked to prove one, he withdrew the next morning.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 3mo ago1 min read
Crews are cutting firebreaks in the woods at the center of Anchorage
Three Campbell Tract trail segments are closed through July 25 while crews trim the firebreaks keeping a wildfire out of Anchorage's neighborhoods.
by Maggie AlaskaNews3mo ago1 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
Wrangell-St. Elias closes section of Root Glacier Trail after landslide risk found
Wrangell-St. Elias closed part of Root Glacier Trail after geologists found landslide risk on the moraine, blocking access during peak summer season with no alternate route yet available.
by Maggie AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
Two men found shot dead inside east Anchorage home; police not seeking more suspects
Two men were found shot dead in an east Anchorage home early Tuesday, and police say no suspect remains at large.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Sterling man shoots neighbor's generator, returns armed and drunk, threatens troopers' children
A Sterling man wanted his neighbor's generator. The neighbor said no. Troopers say the generator ended up full of bullet holes.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Peltola out-raises Sullivan, who still has more cash banked
Peltola is out-raising Sullivan roughly four to one this year. Sullivan still has more money in the bank. Both facts are true at once.
by Melinda Communities.News3mo ago1 min readFrom 
Sitka crosswalk art project brings morning delays to Lincoln Street starting Thursday
Volunteers paint decorative crosswalk art on Lincoln Street in Sitka Thursday and Friday mornings, expect delays as part of a pedestrian safety project.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Alaska courts require TrueFiling for CINA cases starting August 17
Alaska courts require all lawyers to file Child in Need of Aid cases through TrueFiling starting August 17, replacing email and fax. Training dates have not been announced.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Alaska public libraries face Sept. 1 deadline to file annual report or risk grant eligibility
Alaska public libraries must file their annual report by September 1 or lose eligibility for state grants.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Supreme Court to hear Alaska bush pilot's fight over $95,000 plane seized for a six-pack
Supreme Court will hear whether Alaska can seize a bush pilot's $95,000 plane because a passenger carried beer to a dry village.
by Maggie AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
Seth Whiteman, 22, dead after going overboard near Egegik Bay
Seth Whiteman, 22, of Eagle River went overboard near Egegik Bay on June 29 and was not wearing a life jacket. His body was recovered from a nearby beach on July 11.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min readFrom 
United Fishermen of Alaska launches 'I Vote Fish' campaign ahead of August 18 primary
United Fishermen of Alaska launched its I Vote Fish campaign Tuesday to push fishers toward early and absentee voting before the August 18 primary.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Monday, Jul 20
Anchorage cited 36 for-hire drivers for unlicensed operation, denied 9 licenses for barrier crimes
Anchorage cited 36 for-hire drivers for operating without valid licenses and denied 9 applicants for crimes including sexual assault and drug offenses between 2025 and July 2026.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
Kreiss-Tomkins documents $20 milk, absent law enforcement in 11 Yukon River villages
Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins documented $20 milk, $12 gas, scarce law enforcement, and collapsed salmon runs across 11 Yukon River villages in a four-day boat tour.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
Sullivan campaign ad features veteran the VA told to leave Alaska for care
Sen. Dan Sullivan's campaign features a retired Marine who says the VA initially told him to move to Seattle for care, arguing Alaska veterans lack reliable access to specialized treatment at home.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Fairbanks trails commission to weigh commercial vehicle rules Monday
Fairbanks trails commission meets Monday to weigh rules on commercial vehicles on borough recreational trails, part of a larger dispute over who uses the system and how.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
Peltola challenges Sullivan for Alaska's U.S. Senate seat
Mary Peltola, Alaska's first Alaska Native in Congress, challenges Republican Dan Sullivan for his U.S. Senate seat Nov. 3, with mid-2026 polls showing her ahead by five to seven points.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
BLM sets August 17 deadline to protest Alaska survey plat filings
The BLM Alaska State Office set August 17, 2026, as the deadline to file written protests against survey plats, after which objections will not be considered.
by Maggie AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
Sunday, Jul 19
Anchorage Assembly set to approve $1.53M landfill loader replacement
Anchorage Assembly will vote Monday to spend $1.53 million replacing the landfill's main wheel loader, which is too expensive to keep repairing.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
The SAVE Act now rides on the defense bill Alaska wants
The SAVE Act is now attached to the defense bill carrying Alaska's military money — putting Murkowski's opposition against Sullivan's biggest win in one vote.
by Alaska News3mo ago2 min read
Alaska voter registration deadline is today for August 18 primary
Alaska's voter registration deadline for the August 18 primary is today, July 19. Register at voterregistration.alaska.gov or check your status at myvoterportal.alaska.gov.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
Brown bear injures hiker on Bear Valley trail above south Anchorage
A brown bear injured a hiker on a social trail above Bear Valley in south Anchorage on Saturday, prompting Fish and Game to post warning signs and urge hikers to travel in groups and carry bear spray.
by Maggie AlaskaNewsadded 3mo ago2 min read
ADEC permit delay forces Anchorage to extend drainage contract, adding $500K
Anchorage Assembly will vote July 21 on a $500,000 contract extension with AWR Engineering to maintain stormwater services while the state finishes renewing the city's pollution discharge permit.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
Three DUI arrests in one day span Kenai Peninsula and Fairbanks
Alaska State Troopers arrested three drivers on DUI charges Saturday, two on the Kenai Peninsula and one in Fairbanks, after crashes that injured multiple people.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Alaska ballot will show two Dan Sullivans differently — here's what voters need to know
Two Dan Sullivans will appear on Alaska's August 18 primary ballot after a court ruled the challenger cannot be removed, though his Republican party label will not print next to his name.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
Juneau candidate filing closes July 27 for five Assembly and school board seats
Juneau candidates have until 4:30 p.m. Monday, July 27, to file for five Assembly and school board seats in the October 6 election.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
