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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Tuesday, Jul 14
A tip about a truck running over seagulls ended in a DUI arrest at Kasilof
A tip about a truck running over seagulls at Kasilof Beach led troopers to a Fairbanks man now facing DUI, weapons, and a federal migratory-bird charge.
by Alaska News4mo ago1 min read
A faster way to settle Native trust estates, starting in Alaska
Settling a Native allotment after a death has meant slow federal paperwork — now Interior has an online system to speed it up, and Alaska families are first to use it.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
Interior Alaska breaks ground on the nation's northernmost veterans cemetery
Interior Alaska is getting its first state-owned veterans cemetery — the northernmost in the U.S. — built by UIC-owned HC Contractors near Fairbanks.
by Maggie AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min readFrom 
Monday, Jul 13
Juneau weighs selling City Hall for top dollar — or for less, to Sealaska
Juneau can auction its old City Hall to the highest bidder or sell it cheaper to Sealaska Heritage for community use. It can't have both, so it's punting the choice to the public.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
Alaska's newsroom is auditing what AI tells voters — and it keeps changing
An Alaska newsroom is running a daily audit of what AI tells voters — 15 models, 160,000+ answers — and finding the bots flip their pick by the day, and by your hometown.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min read
Cordova turns to posted notices after local newspaper closes
Cordova says its newspaper is "no longer in circulation," so it's tacking foreclosure notices on four walls. The Cordova Times is still publishing — just online.
by Alaska News4mo ago2 min read
Fort Yukon woman faces assault, weapons charges after June disturbance in Circle
A two-hour overnight disturbance across several spots in Circle on June 24 ended with a Fort Yukon woman arrested weeks later, facing assault and other charges.
by Maggie AlaskaNewsadded 4mo ago1 min read
DNR proposes free land transfer to Alaska Railroad; comment window open
Alaska is proposing to give state land in the railroad corridor to Alaska Railroad Corporation for free, reigniting concerns about public access to hunting and fishing grounds along the tracks.
by Maggie AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
More from Politics & Government
Sen. Lindsey Graham dies; Alaska's senators mourn a colleague
Sen. Lindsey Graham has died suddenly, and Alaska's Murkowski and Sullivan — who served alongside him for years — are among those mourning a prominent Senate Republican.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
Anchorage relabels a top job, Falsey named city manager
Bill Falsey moved from CAO to municipal manager — less a shakeup than a relabeling, as Anchorage dissolves his old post and shifts a few reporting lines.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
A Ketchikan man is jailed on burglary and assault charges
A Ketchikan man is held without bail on five charges, including burglary and assault, after allegedly forcing his way into a home and blocking a report to police.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
A copper wire theft in Delta Junction, and the metal-price math behind it
Troopers arrested a Delta Junction woman over copper wire thefts and are hunting an accomplice — the kind of theft that spikes whenever copper prices do, for scrap-yard cash.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
Mat-Su moves to clean up 'forever chemicals' in its groundwater
The Mat-Su Borough wants $400K to clean up "forever chemicals" in its groundwater — traced to old firefighting foam and found this spring near a Wasilla elementary school.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
Wasilla man dies after fleeing troopers at 100 mph following domestic assault
A Wasilla man died Saturday after fleeing state troopers at 100 mph following a domestic assault call.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
Sunday, Jul 12
Sitka wades into an unsettled frontier of environmental law
Sitka may sue over PFAS, 1,4-dioxane and microplastics in its water — and the microplastics part is a legal frontier no other Alaska town appears to have tested.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min read
Juneau property owners challenge $1.1M gap in Glacier Highway assessment
Juneau property owners challenge a $2.97 million city assessment of their Glacier Highway building, valuing it at $1.84 million instead. The Board of Equalization hears their appeal July 16.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo 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
A company wants to test amphibious rigs on the North Slope tundra
An Anchorage dealer wants a five-year permit to test-drive amphibious Swamp Rider vehicles across the North Slope — on tundra that's both their ideal terrain and state-protected ground.
by Maggie AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
A reserve cap just cost Fairbanks schools $11.4M. Now officials are fighting it.
Fairbanks officials are taking on the reserve cap that clawed back $11.4M from schools this year — a fight between planning flexibility and keeping money in taxpayers' pockets.
by Maggie AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
Fred Meyer owes Anchorage taxes, so its liquor licenses are on hold
The Anchorage Assembly froze liquor-license renewals at four Fred Meyer stores until the company pays outstanding city taxes, using the same tax lever it applies to any business behind on its bills.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
Dunleavy vetoes six bills, including invasive species and polystyrene measures
Gov. Dunleavy vetoed six bills June 24, including a statewide polystyrene ban and an invasive species management plan, citing implementation costs and concerns about state agency authority.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min readFrom 
The only applicant for Kodiak's open seat is making it about representation
Only one person applied to fill Kodiak's vacant Assembly seat, and Mark Vizcocho is making his case about Filipino representation on an island his community has long helped build.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
Who pays when the state underfunds school construction debt?
Alaska's cities want the state to stop shortchanging school-construction debt payments and stick locals with the bill. But it's a request, and the money's far from guaranteed.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
Juneau's plan to move city hall leans on a sale that's coming up short
Juneau wants to sell City Hall to fund its move, but the only offer is $1M under the floor, the new building's late and over budget, and the backup fund leans on that same short sale.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
A wildfire flared within a mile of the pipeline — briefly
A half-acre fire flared within a mile of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline near Livengood on the Fourth, then crews knocked it out the same day.
by Maggie AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
NWS issues overlapping fire-weather alerts across northern Alaska through July 9
Fire-weather alerts cover northern Alaska through July 9 with dry fuels, lightning risk, and winds up to 35 mph across the Seward Peninsula, Kobuk, and Koyukuk valleys.
by Maggie AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min readFrom 
Kodiak's nonprofits need more than the borough can give
Kodiak nonprofits asked for far more than the $270K the borough has to give — with the biggest shortfall in the fund that helps keep a homeless shelter open year-round.
by Alaska News4mo ago1 min read
What Fairbanks wants from Juneau — and why it costs more up north
Fairbanks is finalizing its legislative wish list: cheaper piped gas, more school funding, and pensions back — a bill of grievances for a region that pays more for everything.
by Maggie AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
Mat-Su weighs a flood emergency and a tax overhaul
The Mat-Su Assembly takes up a Talkeetna flood emergency and a November ballot plan that would swap a new 3% sales tax for a cap on property taxes.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
A wildfire came within a mile of Kaltag — then crews stopped it
A lightning fire pushed within a mile of Kaltag before smokejumpers and scooper planes held it at 55 acres, with the threat to the village easing.
by Maggie AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
Fairbanks-area burn permits suspended amid high fire danger
Fairbanks, Salcha, and Railbelt burn permits are suspended indefinitely amid high fire danger — no pile burning, lawn burning, or burn barrels until conditions ease.
by Maggie AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
Bethel's free bulky-item pickup ends this month
Bethel's one free bulky-item pickup of the year ends in July — last call to haul off the busted four-wheeler before it's your job to get it to the landfill.
by Maggie AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
Fairbanks man faces assault charges after early-morning disturbance near Yvonne Avenue
Alaska State Troopers arrested a 30-year-old Fairbanks man on three assault charges, including two counts involving a child, after a domestic-violence call near Yvonne Avenue early Saturday.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
New York hiker airlifted after head injury on Reed Lakes trail
NY resident got hurt at Reed Lakes. Be careful Reed Lakes. The rocks can get slippery.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
Soldotna man arrested after alleged robbery, assault at smoke shop
A Soldotna man was arrested after shoving a clerk at a smoke shop on Kalifornsky Beach Road and threatening to steal cigarettes Saturday afternoon.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
Saturday, Jul 11
Bethel moves to repay firefighters shorted on their pay
Bethel's firefighters were shorted on paid days off while stuck at the lower rate meant to offset them — and the city's now moving to pay back what they're owed
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min readFrom 
A wildfire is burning in protected caribou habitat in the Kanuti refuge
A lightning fire is burning in protected caribou habitat inside the Kanuti refuge near Allakaket. Crews are holding it in place; no communities are threatened.
by Maggie AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
The state made a plea deal, then broke it. A court just said no.
A Point Hope man gets resentenced after a fill-in prosecutor argued for the max instead of honoring his plea deal — the appeals court ruled the state is bound by its own bargains.
by Maggie AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min read
A capsize, a night on the bank, and a morning-after airlift
Two boaters capsized on the remote, glacier-fed Killey River and spent the night on the bank — warm, fed, and in cell contact — before troopers flew them out the next day.
by Maggie AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
Conservative groups back Sullivan, one with a six-figure ad buy
Two conservative groups endorsed Sen. Dan Sullivan, and one — Americans for Prosperity Action — is backing it with a six-figure ad buy in the Senate race.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
The state must bridge the language gap before ending parental rights, court says
Alaska's high court says the state must accommodate non-English-speaking parents before terminating their rights — a new protection rooted in the state's 20-plus Native languages.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min read
