The Federal Housing Finance Agency is increasing the size of home loans that the government can guarantee against default as it takes into account rising housing prices. Beginning next year, mortgage …
Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy is now considering who may fill two legislative seats vacated by state senators seeking higher office. Sen. Mike Shower, R-Wasilla, resigned Nov. 3 to run for lieutenant governor, and Sen. Shelley Hughes, R-Palmer, resigned Nov. 14 to run for governor. On Sunday, Republicans in Hughes’ district proposed three local residents to […]
Officials with the Alaska Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management announced a reduction of some state emergency response operations on Friday, and a transition from a response to a recovery phase following the Western Alaska storms as winter sets in. Emergency personnel with the Alaska Organized Militia, the Alaska Division of Forestry and Fire […]
Craig Richards, a longtime member of the board in charge of the Alaska Permanent Fund Corporation, has been replaced. On Monday afternoon, Gov. Mike Dunleavy announced he had selected Ralph Samuels, a former state legislator, businessman and tourism expert, to serve on the board in a public seat formerly occupied by Richards, whose term was […]
As urban Alaska’s electric utilities look to import natural gas to fill a looming supply gap, residents and businesses face a future surge in electricity and heating prices. Some of the price increase is unavoidable: Importing gas will require expensive infrastructure, and those construction costs will be paid by consumers. But observers of […]
Alaska commercial fishers caught much more salmon in 2025 than they did last year, but the money they earned was modest, according to the statewide harvest report. The state commercial salmon haul totaled 194.8 million fish, the 12th largest since 1985, according to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game’s preliminary annual summary, released this […]
On a dreary November day in Seattle, the U.S. Coast Guard put its past and future on display. Within sight of the Space Needle, three eye-catching red icebreakers towered over Pier 36. It was the first time since 2006 that the Coast Guard has had three active icebreakers in the same place at the same […]
Storms that battered Alaska’s western coast this fall have brought renewed attention to low-lying Indigenous villages left increasingly vulnerable by climate change. The storms, including the …
Rates of pertussis, also known as whooping cough, are surging in Texas, Florida, California, Oregon, and other states and localities across the country. The outbreaks are fueled by falling vaccination rates, fading immunity, and delays in public health tracking systems, according to interviews with state and federal health officials. Babies too young to be fully […]
The Trump administration on Thursday released a plan for offshore oil and gas leasing that would open up almost all Alaska marine waters to development, along with the entire Pacific coast and the Gulf of Mexico. The Alaska portion of the plan proposes 21 lease sales through 2031, five of them in Cook Inlet, two […]
A confirmation hearing for President Donald Trump’s pick to fill a judicial vacancy in Alaska was largely uneventful on Wednesday. Aaron Christian Peterson was nominated by Trump this month after getting support from U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, and on Wednesday, the U.S. Senate’s judiciary committee held a hearing on Peterson’s nomination and two other […]
Officials with the Alaska National Guard said they are preparing and training a response force of 100 service members to deploy to Washington D.C. and support civil authorities, as directed by the Pentagon and Gov. Mike Dunleavy. The update on Tuesday from Maj. Gen. Torrence Saxe, Adjutant General of the Alaska National Guard and Commissioner […]
This story was originally reported by Nadra Nittle of The 19th. Meet Nadra and read more of their reporting on gender, politics and policy. As The 19th makes plans for 2026, we want to hear from you! Complete our annual survey to let us know your thoughts. President Donald Trump has taken his most decisive […]
The state’s annual North Slope oil and gas lease sale drew brisk bidding that was dominated by small independent companies, some of which were new entrants to Alaska, officials reported on Wednesday. The Division of Oil and Gas said nine companies submitted a combined $16.97 million in high bids for 271 onshore tracts in the […]
Alaskans who qualify for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program received half of their benefits nearly a week late as a result of the federal government shutdown this month. Their full benefits were two weeks late, even though the state had emergency funds to prevent that. Officials say the state never used the $5 million per […]
Congress has passed a measure to overturn a plan enacted during the Biden administration that put off limits to oil and gas leasing nearly half a vast petroleum reserve in Alaska. Critics see the …
The recent Alaska Beacon op-ed, “Alaska’s coastal communities deserve a say in geoengineering of our oceans,” offers exactly the kind of leadership and perspective the world needs right now. Alaska’s coastal and Indigenous communities are reminding us that the ocean is not an inexhaustible resource—it’s home. Alaska sits squarely on the front lines of a […]
The Alaska Department of Public Safety announced 17 new graduates from its basic training academy bound for police departments, wildlife and state trooper posts, airport police and fire stations and village public safety officer roles across the state. Roughly one third of the graduates, or six trainees, are headed to the Alaska State Troopers, in […]
The Alaska Supreme Court has upheld state regulators’ decision to grant permits for a large gold mine planned for Southwest Alaska, bringing the proposed Donlin project a step closer to construction. In a unanimous ruling published Friday, the court’s five justices said the Alaska Department of Natural Resources did not need to consider the environmental […]
Fewer Alaska babies were born in 2024 than the year prior, continuing a yearslong decline in the state’s births and women’s fertility rates, a new report shows. There were 8,950 Alaska babies born last year, down from 9,031 in 2023, according to the Alaska Vital Statistics 2024 Annual Report released by the state Department of […]