Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy is expected Thursday evening to detail his plans for a long-term plan to balance Alaska’s expenses and revenue. “There will be a temporary, seasonal sales tax concept put forward for discussion with the legislature,” Dunleavy said Wednesday during a cabinet meeting open to reporters. Will state lawmakers approve that idea? “I […]
Bill Hill, the former superintendent of the Bristol Bay School District, is running for Alaska’s lone U.S. House seat as an independent, he said by phone on Wednesday morning. Hill joins a race that includes incumbent Republican Rep. Nick Begich III and two Democratic challengers — pastor Matt Schultz of Anchorage and history teacher John […]
As White House rhetoric escalates about taking Greenland by force or purchase, Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski suggests attention should focus more on the existing U.S. Arctic, where “we are woefully unprepared.” Murkowski spoke with Arctic Today in Copenhagen as she traveled with an expanded bipartisan congressional delegation to reassure Danish and Greenlandic officials and business […]
The caribou herd that is at the center of the debate over oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge has declined by about a third over the past eight years, according to state biologists. The Porcupine Caribou Herd, which ranges in territory that spans the Alaska-Yukon border, is now estimated at 143,00 animals, according […]
The Iñupiaq village of Nuiqsut has contended for decades with the westward expansion of oil development on Alaska’s North Slope. Oil rigs have cropped up along the horizon, and industry roads now cut across the tundra just beyond the village. The industry’s growth has been lucrative for Nuiqsut’s Indigenous-owned village corporation, Kuukpik, which owns land […]
Alaska lawmakers opened the second year of their regular legislative session on Tuesday with an ambitious agenda but low expectations amid a tight budget that appears likely to draw the lion’s share of legislators’ attention. “It’s one big log jam,” said Sen. Bert Stedman, R-Sitka. The Alaska Legislature operates on a two-year cycle between elections; […]
In the second session of the 34th Alaska State Legislature, lawmakers will continue to debate major education issues for Alaska, including how the state funds public schools, retains teachers, and addresses deteriorating school facilities. But legislators also set out new education priorities with 10 bills filed ahead of the session on issues ranging from homeschool […]
The aurora lit up the skies above Alaska's largest city on Tuesday, creating a stunning display for early morning dog walkers, joggers and commuters. Anchorage wasn't alone in witnessing the vivid …
Alaska schools, students and education funding will continue to be in focus in the 2026 legislative session set to begin on Jan. 20, but early signs show they are unlikely to be at the center of the political spotlight as they were last year. Gov. Mike Dunleavy will not be pursuing education policy changes this […]
After the dissolution of the state’s third-largest political party, the Alaska Division of Elections is sending out notices to the 19,117 members of the former Alaskan Independence Party, warning them to update their voter information. “In the coming weeks, the DOE will inform the voters registered as affiliated with the AIP that the party is […]
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 […]
Two dog-walking Soldotna residents are fighting a pair of unusual federal fines after getting in an argument with a fur trapper in the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge last year. Laura McIndoe and Trafford Evanoff appeared in federal court Tuesday this week to enter “not guilty” pleas and formally challenge $280 per-person tickets issued by a […]
Landslides, storm-driven floods, infrastructure-damaging permafrost thaw and intensifying wildfires are among the expensive disasters that scientists link to Alaska’s rapidly changing climate. Now a state legislator is proposing to levy a 20-cent surcharge on every barrel of Alaska-produced oil to fund programs that respond to and prepare for disasters related to climate change. Rep. Andy […]
For much of the past half-century, nuclear energy in the United States has occupied an uneasy space between a technology of the past and a technology of the future — but not quite one of the present. That is beginning to change, and Alaska is part of that shift. A couple of months ago, Project […]
Calling it an attempt to “prioritize profit over people,” the Gwich’in Steering Committee and twelve conservation groups renewed litigation Tuesday to block the federal government’s oil and gas leasing program in Alaska’s National Wildlife Refuge, one of the last vast, untouched habitats in the United States. The lawsuit marks the latest chapter in a decades-old […]
Members of Alaska’s Court of Appeals appeared skeptical Thursday about Alaska prosecutors’ claim that a Whittier resident from American Samoa violated state law when she ran for school board in 2023. In an hour-long oral argument, a three-judge appeals panel heard arguments for and against Tupe Smith, who is accused of elections misconduct. People from […]
An Alaska Superior Court judge has ruled that a state law limiting live shows at breweries, distilleries and wineries in Alaska is an unconstitutional violation of the First Amendment and the Alaska Constitution’s protections for free speech. Judge Adolf Zeman issued his decision Wednesday in a two-year-old lawsuit filed by three alcohol manufacturers against the […]
A state appeals court is being asked to dismiss felony voter misconduct charges against an Alaska resident born in American Samoa. It's one of numerous cases that have drawn attention to the complex …
Alaskans today are grappling with an unclear future that is balanced between the impacts of a warming climate and the strain of depleting fisheries. What is clear is that a new proposal from Washington, D.C. would only make matters worse, threatening our coasts, cultures and climate. The proposed 11th National Outer Continental Shelf Oil and […]