Democratic candidate Mary Peltola called for congressional term limits and for strengthening campaign finance laws at a rally in front of the Alaska State Capitol in Juneau on Thursday evening. Peltola is running for the U.S. Senate against Republican incumbent Dan Sullivan. Peltola kept her comments to about five minutes in the pouring rain. She […]

Five days before the end of their regular legislative session, the Alaska Legislature has almost finalized the state’s annual capital budget, one of four regular budget bills that pass through the Capitol annually. Passed by the state House in a 24-16 vote on Friday, the capital budget contains $2.5 billion in spending, including $323 million […]

The Alaska Legislature passed a bill requiring the state to develop guidelines for mental health instruction in Alaska school districts. The aim is to place mental health education for K-12 students on par with physical education.  House lawmakers passed Senate Bill 41 by a 27 to 13 vote late Thursday night, and the bill now […]

A small but crowded coastal Alaska town has gotten the state legislature’s blessing to spread its wings a little. The state Senate on Friday gave final approval to a measure, House Bill 216, that allows the Prince William Sound port town of Whittier to buy land from the state-owned Alaska Railroad. The bill will return […]

The board of Alaska’s economic development agency on Wednesday approved spending up to $190 million to advance contentious plans for oil exploration and leasing in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. The budget, proposed by staff, includes up to $175 million for a type of preliminary exploration called seismic testing, which employs sound waves to identify […]

Democratic leaders are embracing independent candidates in red states where their party brand struggles. In places like Nebraska, Idaho and Alaska, Democrats are subtly or openly supporting …

Stephen Cox has been rejected by the Alaska Legislature as state attorney general. Lawmakers voted 29-31 against him on Thursday. Critics questioned his actions, like sharing confidential voter data …

LifeStance Health reports on youth mental health in Alaska

The Alaska Senate approved a bill that would expand eligibility and services provided by early intervention programs for children experiencing developmental delays or disabilities. The Senate Health and Social Services committee sponsored the legislation, saying the state’s eligibility requirements for services are restrictive compared to the rest of the nation. “Under Alaska’s current restrictive eligibility […]

The Alaska Volcano Observatory has raised the caution level at Kupreanof Volcano on the Alaska Peninsula, a normally quiet peak that hasn’t had a major eruption in almost 570,000 years. “It’s a typical Alaska volcano. It’s not dormant by any means,” said Matt Haney, the U.S. Geological Survey Scientist-in-Charge at the observatory. On Tuesday, the […]

This article was originally published by The 19th, a nonprofit newsroom covering gender, politics, and policy. After briefly letting a national ban take effect, the Supreme Court blocked a lower court’s ruling that would have prevented mailing a key abortion drug. The decision, issued Thursday, allows telehealth dispensation of mifepristone, one of two drugs used in […]

The Alaska Legislature passed a resolution urging the Trump administration to waive a steep visa fee to allow the continued recruitment and hiring of international teachers. Alaska school districts have increasingly relied on international hiring to fill an ongoing teacher shortage across the state, particularly in rural and remote districts. Last fall, the Trump administration […]

In a historic vote, Alaska lawmakers rejected Stephen Cox as the state’s new attorney general by a 29-31 vote that saw Cox become just the second cabinet appointment in state history to fail confirmation. Thirty-one votes were needed for confirmation as the 40-person state House and 20-person state Senate met jointly Thursday to vote on […]

The Trump administration’s so-called “America First Global Health Strategy” turns one of the most effective and humane tools of U.S. foreign policy into an instrument of coercion. We now condition lifesaving health aid on concessions from vulnerable countries and replace partnership with exploitation, thus undermining both American values and long-term national interests. Throughout the 20th […]

One of the largest data centers in the nation has been proposed on Alaska’s Arctic North Slope, where boosters say it could take advantage of abundant land, cold temperatures for cooling and a huge supply of natural gas for power. The $500 million development would occupy an entire square mile with multiple buildings in a […]

Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy has named a former state legislator and longtime owner of a North Pole tourist destination known as the Santa Claus House to the council in charge of vetting and nominating state judges, among other duties.  Dunleavy appointed Mike Miller on Apr. 28 to serve a five year term on the council, […]

Two Wasilla residents have been accused of a record-setting number of felonies and misdemeanors in connection with an alleged identity-theft spree that affected 41 people in multiple states. Alaska prosecutors filed 426 misdemeanor and felony charges on Saturday against Qalgilan Miller and 425 charges against Demi Rae McDonald, his alleged partner.  According to records kept […]

Is the value of the trans-Alaska pipeline system $2.8 billion, or $10.3 billion? Or is it $20 billion? This week, a state review board will hold a formal hearing to determine which figure is the right one — with major financial implications for state government and the three municipalities along the pipeline system’s route. At stake […]

Lawmakers in the Alaska House passed a bill that aims to stabilize budgets for Alaska school districts by redefining how they calculate their student counts. The student count makes up the base of the state’s education funding formula.  Lawmakers passed House Bill 261 by a 31 to 9 vote, with bipartisan support, on Tuesday. Under […]

The federal government has rejected a request to list three populations of Gulf of Alaska king salmon as endangered, according to a public notice scheduled for publication on Thursday. The listing was requested in 2024 by a Washington state conservation group amid long-term declines in king salmon numbers in Alaska.  If the listing had been […]