Small Business
RSSSmall Business in Alaska covers the companies, inventors and village corporations that patent products, win federal contracts and seek federal support to grow. It includes Small Business Administration (SBA) loans, disaster recovery, patent filings and contracting for Alaska Native corporations.
USDA will back loans of up to $175 million for seafood plants in $5 billion program
USDA says seafood plants can apply for federally backed loans of up to $175 million starting Tuesday. Its own program page still says the money is pending.
by Melinda Communities.News1d ago2 min read
NOAA finalizes call for bids to run its Fairbanks satellite station
NOAA made its call for a company to run its Fairbanks satellite station official. What changed from last week's draft? Mostly the word "draft."
by Melinda Communities.News1d ago2 min read
Ermine Skate opens Midtown Anchorage storefront as founder receives legislative citation
Paxson Woelber opened Ermine Skate's new Anchorage shop, got a surprise legislative citation and cut the ribbon with a skate that isn't for sale yet.
by Walter AlaskaNews3d ago4 min read
Nearly all of the $1.84 billion in new federal awards to Alaska is health money
Three weeks into the federal fiscal year, $1.84 billion in awards to Alaska are on the books. Nearly all of it is health money, led by tribal health compacts.
by Alaska News3d ago1 min read
Kodiak baby-gear company wins eighth design patent, this time for a bottle warmer
A Kodiak baby-gear company patented the look of its bottle warmer Tuesday. That's eight design patents, after five teethers, a noise machine and a milk warmer.
by Alaska News3d ago2 min read
Alaska VA seeks psychologists to evaluate its police applicants and officers each year
The Alaska VA wants a psychologist to vet its Anchorage police: two tests, a life history and 10 traits from integrity to impulse control. Then yearly checkups
by Walter AlaskaNews4d ago2 min read
Army seeks small-business quotes for 11th Airborne Division historian at JBER
Fort Wainwright is soliciting small businesses for a part-time historian to support the 11th Airborne Division at JBER. Quotes are due Oct. 23, with the contract running through at least 2027.
by Melinda Communities.News5d ago2 min read
Forest Service seeks a shipyard to haul out and repaint its floating barracks
The Forest Service wants a small business to haul out and repaint the Misty, a 1979 steel barge with a two-story barracks mounted on top, now near Ketchikan.
by Maggie AlaskaNews5d ago1 min read
First National Bank Alaska switches to new online banking; customers must update app
First National Bank Alaska switched to a new online banking system Monday. Customers need to update the app, redo alerts and reconnect Quicken. Homework time.
by Walter AlaskaNews5d ago2 min read
NOAA seeks small-business bids to operate its Fairbanks satellite ground station
NOAA wants a company to run the Fairbanks station that talks to its polar satellites about 135 times a day. Small businesses with security clearances only.
by Melinda Communities.News1w ago2 min read
Postal Service seeks bids to deliver mail along Palmer-Fishhook Road through 2030
USPS wants a contractor to run mail delivery on Palmer-Fishhook Road through September 2030, bids due Nov. 2.
by Maggie AlaskaNews1w ago1 min read
Wasilla man wins a federal design patent for his fish bonker after a 3½-year wait
Wasilla's Cody Christopher now holds a federal design patent on his fish bonker, protecting the club's look for 15 years after a 3½-year wait.
by Alaska News1w ago1 min read
Alaska small businesses can apply for up to $10,000 to break into foreign markets
Alaska small businesses trying to sell overseas can get up to $10,000 back for trade shows, sales trips abroad and translated websites. Washington's paying.
by Melinda Communities.News1w ago1 min read
Two Anchorage men patented a plier jaw built to stop slipping
Two Anchorage men just patented a plier jaw with V-shaped teeth meant to stop tools slipping off rounded hardware. No company, no product, just the patent.
by Melinda Communities.News1mo ago2 min read
Delta Junction inventor wins design patent for sports bra with built-in neck guard
A woman in Delta Junction, population 918 at the last census, owns the look of a sports bra with a built-in neck guard for the next 15 years.
by Alaska News1mo ago2 min read
Anchorage company wins patent for adjustable pipeline support
Two Anchorage inventors have patented a pipeline support you can raise or lower with a hand crank — a simple fix for supports that shift as permafrost thaws.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
A tiny Copper River village corporation is quietly renovating federal courthouses across Tennessee
A company owned by tiny Chitina Native Corporation, from a Copper River dipnetting town of about 260 shareholders, is racking up federal courthouse renovation jobs across Tennessee.
by Melinda Communities.News1mo ago2 min read
A Copper River village corporation is fixing federal buildings in Tennessee
A company owned by 260 shareholders from a Copper River village is painting judges' chambers in Memphis and fixing a fire pump in Jackson, Tennessee.
by Melinda Communities.News2mo ago2 min read
Fairbanks inventors patent an ultra-light meal for the backcountry
Fairbanks scientists and a hunting expert patented a powdered meal for people who burn more calories than they can carry: hunters, racers, special ops.
by Melinda Communities.News2mo ago3 min read
Alaska Native-serving schools vie for $10 million in training money
Alaska Native-serving colleges and trade schools have until Aug. 24 to compete for up to $10 million in federal money to train skilled workers.
by Melinda Communities.News2mo ago1 min read
NuCube, Alaska Fund launch NuAlaska nuclear initiative
NuCube Energy and Alaska Fund launched NuAlaska to develop nuclear microreactors for remote Alaska communities where fuel costs and weather make power expensive.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
Anchorage inventor patents passive dryer-fire alarm built into vent gasket
Anchorage inventor Ryan James Mulholland patented a power-free dryer-fire alarm that mounts on exhaust vents and sounds a 120-decibel whistle when heat exceeds 135 degrees.
by Melinda Communities.News3mo ago1 min read
A new federal complaint line for Alaska's rural producers
Alaska farmers and ranchers fed up with federal enforcement have a new complaint portal — though in a state where Washington controls the land, it's a new ear, not a remedy.
by Melinda Communities.News3mo ago2 min read
New federal money for small meat processors could help Alaska lean less on imported food
New federal money for small meat processors could nudge Alaska, which imports nearly all its food, toward processing more of its own — $60M in grants is due Aug. 7.
by Melinda Communities.News3mo ago2 min read
Storm-hit Alaska businesses have until July 22 to seek recovery loans
Small businesses and nonprofits in 13 storm-hit Western and Northern Alaska communities have until July 22 to apply for low-interest federal disaster recovery loans.
by Melinda Communities.News4mo ago2 min read
SBA 8(a) proposal leaves Native corporation carveout intact
Big changes to 8(a). But not in the ways that matter in Alaska.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago3 min read
