Public Safety
RSSPublic safety in Alaska is the network of law enforcement, fire and emergency medical services that protect the state's communities. It covers Alaska State Troopers, municipal and village police, fire departments and village public safety officers.
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Week of Jul 27
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
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
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
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
Week of Jul 20
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
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
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
More from Public Safety
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
Troopers issue Silver Alert for missing 73-year-old near Fairbanks
Alaska State Troopers issued a Silver Alert for 73-year-old Rodney Rutherford, missing since 11:30 p.m. Friday near Murphy Dome Road northwest of Fairbanks. Call 907-451-5100 with information.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
One new rural Alaska prosecutor, against deep tribal-justice cuts
The DOJ is adding one rural Alaska prosecutor while proposing to cut the budgets that fund tribal police and victim services by roughly a quarter.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 3mo ago2 min read
Missing Craig hunter found alive on Prince of Wales Island
61-year-old Craig hunter who turned back alone on Red Bay Mountain was lost overnight, then found alive early Saturday and flown to Petersburg.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Kodiak weighs sounding its tsunami sirens the moment a warning hits
Kodiak may set its tsunami sirens to sound the instant a warning hits, and let dispatch trigger them on local signs before any federal alert arrives.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Fatigue blamed in a Parks Highway rollover near Cantwell
A tired Florida driver rolled her vehicle near Cantwell on Thursday, the latest in a summer of crashes and closures on the Parks Highway. Injuries were minor.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
North Slope Police shooting in Utqiagvik under state investigation
North Slope Borough police shot and killed a 25-year-old Utqiagvik man early Thursday. State investigators say he pointed a rifle at officers.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Woman arrested on DUI charge after driving into a North Pole business
A woman drove through the wall of a North Pole business just after noon Thursday and was arrested on a DUI charge, Alaska State Troopers said.
by Maggie AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Coming up
Fairbanks North Star Borough Assembly Regional Emergency Services Advisory Committee
Mona Lisa Drexler Assembly Chambers, Juanita Helms Administration Center, 907 Terminal Street, Fairbanks, AK
Meeting
Public Safety Careers Event
Community event
Alaska Police Standards Council Meeting
Meeting
Basic Handgun Class
Class
Cordova City Council E911 Surcharge Implementation
Public notice
About Public Safety
Public safety in Alaska takes in the law enforcement, fire, emergency medical and rescue services that protect its communities. It includes the Alaska State Troopers, municipal police, village public safety officers, fire departments, and search and rescue by the Coast Guard and the Alaska Air National Guard.
Highway crashes and closures, searches for missing people and boaters, structure fires and rescues in remote villages recur across the state. Local governments decide on police funding, including state grants for units that target impaired driving and street racing, as well as rules for police surveillance and ambulance fees.
Public safety overlaps closely with crime, government and the courts. In rural Alaska, troopers and village public safety officers respond to emergencies in villages, while Coast Guard cutters patrol the Arctic and the Bering Sea.
More from Public Safety
Two women reported overdue near Glennallen were, per troopers, 'just out enjoying Alaska'
Two women reported overdue near Glennallen turned out to be perfectly fine — or as the trooper dispatch put it, they "were just out enjoying Alaska."
by Maggie AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
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
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
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
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
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 
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
Week of Jul 13
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
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
Konedsin Minnkohwin Fire burns within Kanuti refuge near Allakaket
Lightning sparked a 200-acre fire in Kanuti refuge near Allakaket, with firefighters protecting cabins and fish camps instead of suppressing the main blaze.
by Maggie AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Copper River dip netters stranded on sandbar near Chitina, self-rescue before troopers arrive
Dip netters stranded on a Copper River sandbar near Chitina self-rescued Friday before troopers arrived.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Fairbanks water scoopers were on practice flight, not a new fire
Four water scoopers flew a practice mission over Fairbanks on Friday to keep pilots sharp, not to fight a new fire.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Anchorage Hillside neighborhood demands expedited chipping days as municipal contracting stalls
Hillside residents demand the Municipality speed up brush chipping before fire season peaks, citing stalled contracting and uncleared piles in the wildland-urban interface.
by Maggie AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
Shishmaref man charged with running moonshine still in dry community
A Shishmaref man faces five felony counts for operating a moonshine still and selling alcohol in the dry community, with potential exposure of 25 years in prison if convicted.
by Maggie AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
Sitka police tag 27 vehicles in abandoned-car crackdown since May
Sitka police have tagged 27 abandoned vehicles since May, removing 15 and giving owners up to 60 days to move or fix them before the city disposes of the car at their expense.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
Kodiak Borough holds public hearing on Ouzinkie tsunami shelter rezone
Kodiak Island Borough Assembly held a public hearing July 16 on rezoning an Ouzinkie parcel to house the community's tsunami shelter and tribal offices.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
North Slope Borough to seek $300K for second underwater rescue drone after Nuvuk response exposed gaps
North Slope Borough mayor seeks $300,000 for a second underwater rescue drone after a recent response left a volunteer behind due to equipment weight limits.
by Lucas Brown3mo ago2 min read
Anchorage Assembly to hear third version of public safety commission ordinance July 21
Anchorage Assembly will hear a third version of a public safety commission ordinance July 21, restoring an advisory forum vacant since January 2024.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
Two teenagers die in head-on dirt bike collision on Prince of Wales Island
Two teenagers, Greyer Schwegel, 18, and Paul Lingley IV, 17, died in a head-on dirt bike collision on the Hollis Highway on Prince of Wales Island Tuesday evening.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
Anchorage weighs $528,000 for addiction, homelessness, and disability care
Anchorage is set to accept ~$528,000 in grants for opioid treatment, homeless outreach, and disability services — the last one patching three years of state funding cuts.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
A fall at a remote Alaska lighthouse turned an injury into a helicopter rescue
A tourist badly hurt her hip at the historic Sentinel Island lighthouse near Juneau and got a helicopter flight out. Kinda a two birds with one stone thing
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
Juneau's new casino, and the land the city can't reach
Juneau's first casino opened on sovereign Native allotment land, through a legal door ANCSA was built to close and the courts haven't settled. The city can't even regulate it.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min read
A fire no one is fighting has been fouling Fairbanks' air for weeks
Alaska's letting the Tatlanika Fire burn on purpose — too remote to be worth fighting — but its smoke has been parked over Fairbanks and Nenana for weeks anyway.
by Maggie AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
Anchorage keeps deferring a public safety commission it can't agree on
Anchorage's proposed public safety commission got punted again — stuck on whether it should actually have power, what it would cost, and what problem it's even solving.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min read
