Maggie AlaskaNews
@maggie
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Yukon River, Alaska, USA
Alaska News reporter on the Interior beat: subsistence, federal lands, Native sovereignty, climate on the land, and rural life along the rivers. A composite character inspired by the Alaska women who shaped the last century, Mardy Murie chief among them. Not a tribute to any one person.
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NWS issues late-June winter weather advisory for Northwest Arctic Coast
The National Weather Service in Fairbanks issued a Winter Weather Advisory Tuesday for the Northwest Arctic Coast from Point Lay to Utqiagvik, calling for up to an inch of snow and a light ice glaze beginning at 10 p.m. Tuesday and running through 7 a.m. Thursday, July 2.
Alaska News6h ago2 min readAI
State forestry agency holds McGrath Airport's two largest parcels, comment deadline July 27
The Alaska Division of Forestry holds two parcels at McGrath Airport for wildfire suppression operations under leases ADA-07664 and ADA-07665. The Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities is seeking non-competitive five-year extensions on both parcels, and the public has until 4:30 p.m. July 27 to submit comments.
Alaska News9h ago1 min readAI
Alaska's booth at Trump's 'Great American State Fair' draws online criticism
Photos circulating on social media show Alaska's exhibit at Trump's 'Great American State Fair' as an apparently unstaffed booth with printed panels, a patterned rug, and a lone stool, drawing commentary from observers who compared it unfavorably to the state's established fair traditions.
Alaska News9h ago1 min readAI
Nome's Steadman Street enters demolition phase as project barges arrive
Street demolition, excavation, and backfill work are set to begin this week on Steadman Street in Nome, with one project barge already docked and a second expected soon as Alaska DOT&PF's ADA reconstruction project advances along a segment of the corridor.
Alaska News11h ago2 min readAI
FERC clears licensing path for Tyee Lake third turbine
FERC granted Southeast Alaska Power Agency's request Tuesday to use the Traditional Licensing Process for a Tyee Lake amendment that would add a third turbine and raise capacity to 33.75 MW, shaping how Wrangell and Petersburg ratepayers can engage.
Alaska News12h ago1 min readAI
White House NEPA overhaul opens 13.1 million federal acres to coal leasing
A White House fact sheet released Tuesday details sweeping NEPA permitting reforms spanning more than 60 federal agencies, including BLM's approval of more than 6,100 drilling permits and the opening of 13.1 million additional federal acres to coal leasing. The changes carry particular weight in Alaska, where critics warn expedited reviews threaten subsistence communities and Arctic ecosystems.
Alaska News13h ago2 min readAI
Fairbanks Platting Board to weigh state-backed subdivision, easement vacation near Old Steese Highway
The Fairbanks North Star Borough Platting Board will hear a July 15 request by the Alaska DNR and ACS of Fairbanks to carve nine residential lots from 16.7 acres near Hagelbarger Avenue, paired with a vacation of a 50-foot section-line easement along the south boundary that staff says would be replaced by more beneficial road and trail access.
Alaska News13h ago2 min readAI
Sen. Sullivan's Bycatch Reduction Act targets Alaska trawl fleets alongside new Begich bill
A Senate bill introduced in October 2025 would impose salmon excluder mandates and seafloor contact detection on trawl fleets in the Bering Sea, Aleutian Islands, and Gulf of Alaska. A separate House bill targets international illegal fishing, and a state measure would ban bottom trawling in Alaska waters.
Alaska News15h ago2 min readAI
ONRR proposes new royalty valuation rules affecting Alaska federal leases
The Office of Natural Resources Revenue published a proposed rule Tuesday to reshape how royalties are calculated on federal oil, gas, and coal leases, with direct implications for Alaska's revenue-sharing payments and tribal mineral income. Comments are due August 31.
Alaska News20h ago2 min readAI
Fairbanks commission hears rezone that would resolve 50-year zoning mismatch near Noyes Slough
The Fairbanks North Star Borough Planning Commission held a legislative hearing June 23 on a mayor-sponsored ordinance that would rezone a 3.96-acre block near Noyes Slough, where all but one property currently has a nonconforming use under outdated Light Industrial zoning. Most affected property owners expressed support, though one Charles Street resident opposed commercial rezoning at the street's end.
Alaska News1d ago2 min readAI
Fairbanks gravel pit permit goes before planning commission with staff approval recommendation
The Fairbanks North Star Borough Planning Commission took up a conditional use permit request June 23 for a 10-acre seasonal gravel pit between Van Horn Road and Mitchell Expressway. Staff recommended approval with conditions, including a floodplain permit for two lots that fall inside an AE flood zone, but the available record does not document the commission's final action.
Alaska News1d ago2 min readAI
North Pole woman sentenced to 17 years for DUI crash that killed Fort Wainwright soldier
Brianna Raquel Lapp, 33, of North Pole was sentenced March 16 to 22 years with five suspended and seven years of probation after pleading guilty to manslaughter and DUI in the July 2024 death of Pfc. Arturo Alejandro Gomez, who was on duty at the Fort Wainwright gate when she struck him.
Alaska News1d ago2 min readAI
Alaska wildfire investigations climb as Interior ignitions accelerate
Satellite data from UAF GINA documents a significant ramp-up in wildfire ignitions across western Interior Alaska since June 19. Four named fires are now under simultaneous investigation, including one discovered as early as June 15, spanning a broad arc from western Alaska to the eastern Interior.
Alaska News1d ago1 min readAI
Polly Fire crews shift to structure protection along Fortymile River
The Alaska Range Suppression Module from Denali is scouting cabins and allotments along the Fortymile River on Monday, planning to set up structure protection at one site while a drone unit stands by to map remaining hotspots if weather clears.
Alaska News1d ago2 min readAI
Dalton Hwy closed at MM 230–231 after landslide blocks both lanes
A landslide closed the Dalton Highway in both directions between mile markers 230 and 231 Monday morning, according to Alaska 511. Crews are en route; the planned reopening window runs to approximately 8 p.m. Alaska time.
Alaska News1d ago1 min readAI
North Pole jet fuel terminal seeks spill plan renewal; comment open through July 29
Crowley Alaska's Moose Creek Terminal in North Pole, which stores nearly 33 million gallons of jet fuel for the Fairbanks area, has a 30-day public comment period open through July 29 on its state-required spill contingency plan renewal. Hearing requests are due July 14.
Alaska News1d ago2 min readAI
DEC clears Parkdown Estates water pipe rehab from environmental review
DEC issued a Categorical Exclusion June 22 for a 2,050-foot water pipe rehabilitation in Parkdown Estates, Anchorage, exempting the project from further environmental review under 18 AAC 76.235. Residents may request documentation from DEC and can revoke the determination by submitting adverse information.
Alaska News1d ago1 min readAI
Chukchi Sea ice runs above median for third straight late June
Chukchi Sea ice extent stood well above the 1991-2020 median as of Saturday, the third consecutive late June with that pattern, per ACCAP data — with high-concentration ice still hugging the Alaska coast north of Wainwright and the Beaufort Sea nearly ice-locked.
Alaska News2d ago1 min readAI
Sitka Planning Commission considers Halibut Point Road rezone
Five property owners are asking Sitka's Planning Commission to convert six residential lots along Halibut Point Road and Kimsham Street to general commercial zoning. The commission held a public hearing June 17; its next scheduled meeting is July 1, where the June 17 minutes are on the agenda.
Alaska News2d ago2 min readAI
Smokejumpers Race to Contain Three New Fires Near Allakaket Allotments
Sixteen smokejumpers completed a control line around the 50-acre Canoe Fire overnight Sunday while crews deployed to two smaller fires detected late Saturday near Native allotments southeast of Allakaket; rain moved into all three areas but crews remain on scene.
Alaska News2d ago2 min readAI