Alaska News Daily Brief, Thursday, November 12

Alaska News for Thursday, November twelfth. Three local assemblies, in the Denali Borough, Juneau and Anchorage, turn up in this brief, and each has a choice in front of it that reaches into daily life.

0:12Nov. 11 results trim Peltola's Senate lead to 3,975 as Mat-Su ballots come in

Mary Peltola's lead over Senator Dan Sullivan shrank last night, to 3,975 votes. That's down from 4,250 in Tuesday's count. The state added about 5,600 ballots. About 5,000 of them were absentees from the Mat-Su. Sullivan, the Republican, won just over half of those new votes. Peltola, the Democrat, took about three-quarters of the roughly 600 ballots added from rural western Alaska. Overall, Peltola leads 48.7 percent to 47.1. If nobody tops 50 once every ballot is in, the race goes to a ranked-choice count next Wednesday, the 18th. That count drops the last-place candidates and moves their votes to each voter's next choice. Using the ballots counted so far, Alaska News' analysis has Peltola finishing that count about 3,000 votes ahead. Most of the Mat-Su's outstanding ballots are now in. But Anchorage had about 16,500 uncounted ballots as of Tuesday, and Southeast had about 9,000. None of those were in last night's update. In the governor's race, Democrat Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins' ticket slipped further. It's now 888 votes short of a majority. On Ballot Measure 2, the repeal of open primaries and ranked-choice voting, No still leads by about 11,800 votes. More than 30,000 ballots the state has received still aren't counted. Absentees postmarked by Election Day can arrive through Friday, or through the 18th from overseas.

1:47Panelists warn two-thirds of Alaska village corporations face a Red Dog revenue cliff

At a forum in Anchorage on Tuesday, Native corporation leaders warned that most village corporations could lose their main income. About two-thirds of Alaska's 177 village corporations depend on resource money shared under the Native land claims law. Regional corporations pool 70 percent of their resource revenue. Each one passes at least half of its share down the line, to village corporations and individual shareholders. The biggest source of that money is the Red Dog Mine. Haven Harris of Bering Straits Native Corporation said the mine will probably make its last payment through its owner, NANA, in twenty thirty-two. Harris's warning was plain. The money village corporations get from regional corporations is about to hit a cliff. Moderator Hallie Bissett said Red Dog alone makes up 50 to 90 percent of what the other corporations receive. The state's industrial development authority counts two point zero two billion dollars in shared payments from the mine through twenty twenty-four. The mine is down to one pit. Teck, the company exploring deposits to extend it, expects zinc output to fall by nearly half by twenty twenty-eight. Andrew Guy, who runs Calista, said about 30 village corporations in his region need that money just to break even. Harris called Calista's Donlin gold project the only near-term replacement. Guy said mergers would be the best fix. But approving one takes a lot of shareholder votes. Congress and the state would need to change those thresholds. Harris had a message for village boards without a business built yet. "I hope you are starting to save money."

3:38Denali Borough mayor files federal complaint over lost in-person care in Healy

In Healy, there's no longer anywhere in town to see a health care provider in person. Now the Denali Borough mayor has taken that to federal investigators. Mayor Chris Noel told the Assembly Wednesday that he filed a complaint last week with the inspector general at the federal Department of Health and Human Services. The Fairbanks-based Interior Community Health Center closed its Healy clinic a year ago this month. Noel believes the center still claims borough zip codes, including Healy, Anderson and McKinley Village. Its federal grant was the same this year as last. The center's 2026 grant summary asked for about two point seven million dollars. That summary still lists Healy as a place it planned to provide care. Noel said some neighbors likely still travel to Fairbanks for care at the center. The Assembly may later be asked to pass a resolution on it. The Assembly also backed a bid for one hundred thousand dollars in federal rural health money, with no local match. It would pay for a study of the borough's emergency medical services. Noel said he doesn't think the volunteer model that got the borough this far will keep carrying it. In Cantwell, the longtime fire chiefs are trying to step away. The department needs volunteers and a new chief. A separate federal award in the works includes a new ambulance for Cantwell.

4:59Fish and Game cuts Craig, Klawock herring limit 28% to 5,135 tons

Around the state, briefly. In Craig and Klawock, Fish and Game has cut the herring harvest limit by 28 percent, to 5,135 tons, for the 2026-27 season. The reason is fewer fish. The forecast of mature herring dropped by 13,072 tons in a single year.

5:25Fort Wainwright reopens Gaffney Gate with three inbound lanes and a commercial lane

Fort Wainwright reopened Gaffney Gate on the 7th with a new layout. There are now three lanes coming in, plus a separate lane for commercial traffic, under a new canopy. Drivers should expect new traffic patterns and give themselves extra time getting on post.

5:41Draft audit shows Northwest Arctic school district $1 million ahead, flags weakness in books

In the Northwest Arctic school district, a draft audit shows the district added one million dollars to its main fund instead of drawing down two million dollars. But auditors flagged a serious weakness in how the district handles its year-end bookkeeping. The district plans new procedures for closing its books within 30 days. Quarterly checks start in January twenty twenty-seven, and the proposed completion date is June thirtieth, twenty twenty-seven.

6:08Juneau charter passenger fee would rise to $7.53 by 2030 unless Assembly blocks it

In Juneau, the per-passenger fee on charters is set to climb from two dollars and five cents to seven dollars and fifty-three cents by twenty thirty. That increase goes ahead unless the Assembly votes to block it on Monday.

6:22White House lists Alaska among five states with new VA health record sites

Alaska's VA switched to a new electronic health record system on October 24th. The White House has listed Alaska among five states with new sites. The system replaces decades-old software used in veterans' care across the state.

6:37Alaska liquor board weighs cutting $1,250 fee for carriers that deliver alcohol

The state liquor board may cut the one thousand two hundred fifty dollar fee that airlines and freight haulers pay to deliver alcohol. A state review floated dropping it to two hundred fifty dollars. The idea is to help small air freight companies.

6:51High oil prices put Port of Alaska, school repairs on track for $26 million in state money

High oil prices are on track to free up twenty-six million dollars in state money. It would go to the Port of Alaska, school repairs, campuses and court security. Oil would have to crater for that money to fall through.

7:05White Spot Cafe's new owners ask the state for the diner's beer and wine license

In Anchorage, the White Spot Cafe's new owners have asked the state for the diner's beer and wine license. The menu's house rules still apply. Know what you want, and there's no choice on toast.

7:18Anchorage Assembly to weigh spending up to $1.5 million from police technology levy

The Anchorage Assembly will consider spending up to one point five million dollars from the police technology tax fund on upgrades to the police department's systems.

7:29Mat-Su Borough finishes upgrading two Butte roads off Bodenburg Loop

A public hearing is set for December 1st. In Butte, the Mat-Su Borough has finished upgrading and paving Knik View Drive and Knik View Circle, off Bodenburg Loop. The estimate for moving gas lines on the project grew along the way.

7:40Whittier gets $4.1 million in federal money to design a DeLong Dock replacement

Whittier has four point zero seven million dollars in federal money to design a replacement for the DeLong Dock. The dock is 70 years old.

7:49Wrap-up

Also on the site this morning: a judge's ruling that the state needn't show Peltola's campaign the absentee ballots it rejects mid-count, and the remains of an unidentified World War Two airman leaving a Sitka grave for a lab that may finally name him. That's all for this edition of the Alaska News daily brief. The full stories, and more, are at Alaska News dot com. And that's the way it is, Thursday, November twelfth, twenty twenty-six.