Politics & Government

Judge cancels hearing as Democrats and state report fixes for five rural voting sites

A judge canceled Monday's hearing in the Democrats' rural voting suit after the party and the state said they'd found fixes for the last five absentee sites.

by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago2 min read

Follows: Five rural Alaska early voting sites are closed less than a week before Election Day

Howling Dog Saloon owner asks state to waive license fees, citing crash injuries

The owner of Fox's Howling Dog Saloon, hurt in a 2020 motorcycle crash, wants the state to waive fees on the idle bar's license. He plans to sell next spring.

by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago2 min read

Troopers issue Silver Alert for Karen Igo, 65, missing from her Naukati Bay home

Troopers issued a Silver Alert Monday for Karen Igo, 65, a vulnerable adult reported missing from her home in Naukati Bay on Prince of Wales Island.

by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago1 min read

Juneau draft resolution would round cash payments to the city to the nearest nickel

Juneau's bank quit supplying rolled pennies, so city staff want cash payments rounded to the nearest nickel. Pay by card and you still owe every cent.

by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago2 min read

Musk's Grok stands apart from other AI chatbots on the Texas Senate race

Four chatbots, one Texas Senate race. Made to choose on prices, Musk's Grok said Paxton; the rest nearly always said Talarico. Allowed to pass, Grok always did.

by Alaska News1w ago3 min readFrom Oct 1

North Pole mayor's 2027 budget would hold tax rates and add $801,685 in spending

North Pole Mayor Larry Terch III's 2027 budget keeps tax rates flat but adds $801,685 in spending, mostly for police. Council introduces it Monday, but a gap still looms in the sewer fund.

by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago2 min read

Alaska’s Senate race has another kind of influence: what AI chatbots tell voters

Alaska’s nearly $150 million Senate race leaves a paper trail. The advice AI chatbots give voters doesn’t. Alaska News tracked it daily: the picks lean Sullivan, but mostly hinge on the voter’s top issue.

by Alaska News1w ago6 min read

Bethel offers free bus rides to the Cultural Center polling place on Election Day

Bethel is offering free bus rides Tuesday to and from the Cultural Center polling place. The posted schedule's last stop there is 6 pm; polls close at 8.

by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago1 min read

Juneau residents can compost pumpkins free at Juneau Composts through Nov. 30

Juneau's jack-o'-lanterns can skip the landfill. Juneau Composts takes undecorated pumpkins free, 24/7, through Nov. 30, in the program's sixth year.

by Alaska News1w ago1 min readFrom Oct 28

Two new members join Alaska's disabilities council, leaving two seats open

Alaska's disabilities council appointed Don Clack and Dave Berube to its Special Education and Advocacy seats. Two seats, a self-advocate and an aging commission rep, stay open.

by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago2 min read

Troopers arrest Palmer man on DUI charge after pickup hits moose in Wasilla

Troopers arrested a Palmer man for DUI after his pickup hit a moose on the Palmer-Wasilla Highway bridge Monday.

by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago1 min read

Bush Caucus endorses Kreiss-Tomkins as Wasilla group registers to oppose Menard

Bush Caucus unanimously backs Kreiss-Tomkins for governor. • Wasilla group registers to oppose Menard over unproven stolen valor claim. • Senate race sees new PAC spending for and against Sullivan and Peltola.

by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago2 min read

Anchorage Assembly to consider $1.9 million for police unit targeting impaired drivers

Anchorage police could get about $2.6 million, mostly from the state, to go after impaired drivers, speeders, street racers and distracted drivers.

by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago1 min read

Anchorage police seek man who walked away from Parkview Center

Anchorage police got a felony escape warrant for a 36-year-old man who walked away from the downtown Parkview Center reentry facility and want help finding him.

by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago1 min read

Trump defends DOJ's Alaska Senate suit as the department appeals its dismissal

Trump called DOJ's Alaska Senate suit "one of the most meritful things" the same day a judge tossed it. DOJ filed notice it will appeal to the 9th Circuit.

by Bill AlaskaNews1w ago3 min read

Bethel has 36 of 121 city jobs open, including most of its water and sewer haulers

Bethel has 36 of 121 city jobs open, including 14 of 19 on the crew that trucks water and hauls sewage. Police and dispatch are short-handed, too.

by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago2 min read

State disability council committee to discuss Dunbar bill as it narrows priorities

Alaska's disability council is picking fewer causes for the next session to push harder on each. Its committee takes up Sen. Forrest Dunbar's bill Nov. 12.

by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago1 min read

Kansas Guard engineers raise Cordova staging pad 18 feet for a future deep-sea port

Kansas Guard engineers raised a work pad 18 feet and cut trails in Cordova this year for a planned deep-sea port, working with the Native Village of Eyak.

by Melinda Communities.News1w ago1 min readFrom Aug 7

Ketchikan borough manager proposes paying less for city library as deal nears end

Ketchikan borough manager wants to cap the city's library payment below the city's request. Assembly votes Monday, with the current deal ending Dec. 31 and access unclear after that.

by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago2 min read

Kodiak borough manager asks Assembly to reject landfill bear hazing contract

Kodiak's borough manager wants the Assembly to reject a $250,000 overnight bear-hazing contract at the landfill, saying the state no longer requires it.

by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago3 min read

Troopers arrest man, 24, accused of attempted sexual assault, gunfire at Wasilla party

Troopers arrested a 24 year old man accused of trying to sexually assault a juvenile at a Wasilla Halloween party, then firing a gun inside the home.

by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago1 min read

Federal judge dismisses DOJ's bid to hold up Alaska's Senate certification

A judge tossed DOJ's bid to delay certifying Alaska's Senate race if Sullivan loses, days before the vote. She said no fix exists that wouldn't expose how Alaskans voted.

by Alaska News1w ago3 min read

Follows: Judge fast-tracks Peltola campaign's bid to dismiss DOJ's Alaska Senate suit

LaFrance appoints retired municipal lawyer to Anchorage Equal Rights Commission

Mayor Suzanne LaFrance appointed retired attorney Linda Johnson to the Anchorage Equal Rights Commission. The Assembly votes on her confirmation Wednesday.

by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago2 min read

Troopers list three Two Rivers children as missing runaways after they left home on foot

Troopers listed three Two Rivers children, ages 14 to 16, as missing runaways after they walked out of their home late Saturday following an argument.

by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago1 min read

Anonymous texts push Eric Hafner, but no group has reported spending to support him

Alaskans got texts telling Democrats to vote for Eric Hafner, who's in federal prison. No group has reported paying to support him, and the texts don't say.

by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago4 min read

Juneau memo puts glacial flood fight at $933,965 a year, plus barrier upkeep

Juneau's glacial flood response will cost $933,965 a year, plus $1.2 million for HESCO barrier upkeep, a city memo says.

by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago3 min read

Assembly to vote Wednesday on McDonald Center contract after audit's 11 findings

Eagle River's rink operator could get 10 more years at the McDonald Center, 10 months after a city audit listed 11 findings. The Assembly takes it up Wednesday.

by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago2 min read

LaFrance names business executive to Anchorage salary commission, reappoints another

LaFrance appointed John Gregoire Jr. and reappointed Karen Norsworthy to Anchorage's salary commission, pending Assembly confirmation Nov. 4.

by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago2 min read

Follows: LaFrance names 11 to Anchorage boards and asks the Assembly to confirm them Nov. 4

Citizen board that advises on Kachemak Bay State Park meets Nov. 10 in Homer

The citizen board advising on Kachemak Bay State Park meets Nov. 10 in Homer. In March it backed a bill rewriting state habitat laws, Kachemak Bay's included.

by Maggie AlaskaNews1w ago1 min read

Citizen board that advises the state on the Kenai River meets Nov. 12 in Soldotna

The citizen board that advises the state on the Kenai River, on everything but who gets the fish, meets Nov. 12 in Soldotna and online and takes comments.

by Maggie AlaskaNews1w ago2 min read

Judge rules ICE's policy discouraging detention of pregnant women isn't binding

A federal judge in Anchorage ruled ICE's policy discouraging detention of pregnant women isn't binding, denying the petition of a woman ICE held three days.

by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago3 min read

Mat-Su won't shelve two children's books its library board flagged before purchase

Mat-Su's library director won't shelve "The Gender Wheel" or "Families, Families, Families!" after board members flagged them. Most others in the same memo got through.

by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago2 min read

Valdez declares it's 'officially snow season' and asks residents to clear snow lots

Valdez declared it "officially snow season" and wants boats, trailers and cars out of neighborhood snow lots so crews can keep up with plowing.

by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago1 min read

Troopers investigate report that man pepper-sprayed a woman off Knik Goose Bay Road

Initial reports say a Wasilla man pepper-sprayed a woman off Knik Goose Bay Road on Friday and fled, troopers say. He also has a warrant from another case.

by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago1 min read

Troopers cite driver after red-light crash on Palmer-Wasilla Highway

Troopers cited a driver for running a red light and crashing into another vehicle at Palmer-Wasilla Highway and Equestrian Avenue Friday. No injuries were reported, but the highway briefly closed.

by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago1 min read

Sitka School Board extends Superintendent Deidre Jenson's contract through June 2029

Sitka's school board voted to keep Superintendent Deidre Jenson through June 2029, giving her a shot at beating Alaska's average three-year superintendent run.

by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago1 min read

Fairbanks City Council accepts $728,000 federal grant for ambulance bus

Fairbanks council accepted $728,000 in federal funds for a fire department ambulance bus holding up to 22 patients. • Bus aids mass-casualty response, city must fund crewing after year one. • Council also backed statewide e-bike rules and a plan for blighted properties.

by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago1 min readFrom Oct 12

Fairbanks police will hand out glow sticks to trick-or-treaters Halloween night

Fairbanks and North Pole police will hand out glow sticks to trick-or-treaters Saturday night to keep kids visible to drivers. Alaska logged 15 pedestrian deaths in 2024, up from 13 the year before.

by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago1 min read

Anchorage planners seek a new look at why traffic deaths haven't dropped

Anchorage planners want a $250,000 look at why traffic deaths haven't dropped, as people walking or biking make up nearly half of those killed.

by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago2 min read

AWWU headquarters would be named for longtime manager Mark Premo

Anchorage's water utility headquarters would be named for Mark Premo, who ran AWWU for 21 years. Employees lined the halls to applaud him out in 2011.

by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago2 min read