A federal judge has refused to block a winter oil and gas exploration project in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska that opponents said was improperly analyzed by the federal government. U.S. …

Recently, the State Board of Education heard a report about teacher turnover in the state. Unsurprisingly, rates of turnover have increased since the pandemic. The authors of the report plan to conduct a survey to determine why teachers leave. I’ll save them some time. If you were treated in your job the way teachers are […]

While Alaska school districts are seeing improvements in kindergarten to third grade students’ reading proficiency, which officials credit to the Alaska Reads Act, some districts are struggling to access state managed funds for a federal grant program aimed at supporting literacy programs, teacher development, and student learning. Lawmakers with the House Education Committee heard from […]

Alaska’s senior Senator, Republican Lisa Murkowski, told reporters on Tuesday that Department of Homeland Security Kristi Noem should “probably” step down. Murkowski is one of a handful of Senate Republicans calling for further investigation into the killing of U.S. citizens by Immigrations and Customs Enforcement personnel and ICE conduct in Minneapolis. She is the second […]

The Trump administration is floating the idea of mining the seafloor off Alaska’s coast. The U.S. Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management said Tuesday it will soon release a formal “call for information” about possible sales of leases for minerals mining in federal waters off Alaska. The call for information will kick […]

The Wild Fish Conservancy’s use of the Equal Access to Justice Act is alarming the small-boat fishermen who fought the conservancy’s lawsuit that sought to close the Southeast Alaska chinook troll fishery to preserve migratory chinook as prey for the endangered Southern Resident Killer Whales that feed in waters near Puget Sound. WFC, a membership-based […]

Gov. Mike Dunleavy has proposed a 4% statewide summer sales tax, effective through 2034, as part of his plan to bring Alaska’s state revenue and expenses in line for the long term. If adopted, the sales tax would be Alaska’s first statewide, general-purpose levy since state legislators abolished Alaska’s income tax in 1980. Alongside the […]

A Kodiak man has been arrested and charged with a felony for allegedly impersonating an Immigration and Customs Enforcement Officer and harassing employees at the local Walmart and Safeway for “their papers.” The incident comes amid a deployment of masked, un-uniformed federal agents nationwide as part of President Donald Trump’s mass-deportation campaign. That campaign has […]

In Washington, D.C., politicians are debating U.S. annexation of Greenland based on abstract ideas like “defense,” “security,” and “critical minerals.” In Alaska, the issue is personal. The state’s ties with Greenland go back centuries, to when the ancestors of the island’s Indigenous residents migrated east from Western Alaska. Today, many Alaskans count Greenlanders as friends, colleagues […]

A Democratic state lawmaker from Anchorage loudly denounced the actions of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s surge in Minnesota while speaking on the Alaska House floor on Friday. Rep. Andrew Gray, D-Anchorage, is a military veteran and co-chair of the Legislature’s Joint Armed Services Committee.  “The facts are that our government is out of control. […]

At the Alaska Beacon, we’re constantly trying to figure out where we should put our attention. There’s always more news than there are people to report it. Every Thursday, the Alaska Legislature publishes its committee schedule for the coming week. Public notices alert us to meetings and events. The governor’s office occasionally lets us know […]

Supporters of Alaska’s election system filed a lawsuit against the Alaska Division of Elections on Thursday, alleging that the state’s description of a roll-back-the-clock ballot measure is biased and inaccurate.  The state has defended its language, with a spokesperson calling it “accurate, neutral, and consistent with prior initiatives.” This fall, voters will be asked with […]

A lawsuit filed in state court by advocates for foster youth is challenging Alaska’s foster care system, highlighting a gap in state care for older foster youth who are not living with foster families. Those foster youth live in other housing, like shelters and dorms, and struggle to access state funds to cover basic living […]

I live along the Yukon River, where my family has harvested salmon for countless generations. Every summer used to bring the same reassuring sight: Busy fish camps. Full smokehouses. Families coming together to pass down traditions that have thrived for thousands of years. Happy kids, curious babies, loving grandparents, moms, dads, aunties, uncles and cousins. […]

Alaska had fewer overdose deaths in 2024 than in the year prior, and state health officials are working on ways to continue to reduce that total in the future. In all, 339 people died from drug overdoses in 2024 Alaska, a 5% decline from the record high of 357 hit the year before, according to […]

Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy delivered his eighth and final State of the State address on Thursday to a joint session of the Alaska State Legislature, touting the accomplishments of his term and promising continued momentum, particularly for large-scale resource development. “Even though it’s my last year, there is no slowing down,” he said, and promised […]

After a year of ongoing measles outbreaks that have sickened more than 2,400 people, the United States is poised to lose its status as a measles-free country. However, the newly appointed principal deputy director at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Ralph Abraham, said he was unbothered by the prospect at a briefing for […]

Republicans in the Alaska Legislature voted down a new funding source for public school programs Thursday as they sustained Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s veto of Senate Bill 113. The vote on overriding the governor was 35-25, 10 votes short of the 45 needed for an override. Speaking after the vote, Senate President Gary Stevens, R-Kodiak, and […]

Alaska judges approved no police wiretaps of phone lines in 2025, the Alaska Department of Law disclosed in a legally required annual report this month. The state similarly reported no wiretaps in 2024 or 2023.  The U.S. federal court system has not yet published its list of approved wiretaps for 2025. Its 2024 report doesn’t […]

Two school districts have filed a lawsuit challenging the state of Alaska for failing to fulfill its constitutional duty to adequately fund public education.  The Fairbanks North Star Borough School District and the Kuspuk School District filed the lawsuit in Anchorage Superior Court on Tuesday, naming the Alaska Department of Early Education and Development, Deena […]