The state of Alaska is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to decide whether rural Alaskans should continue to get preferential fishing rights on most rivers and lakes within federal parks, preserves and reserves. On Monday, the Alaska Department of Law asked the Supreme Court to reconsider a ruling from a three-judge panel from the 9th […]
A second glacial outburst flood is bearing down on Alaska’s capital city, barely a month after record-deep floodwater came close to overrunning temporary flood barriers. On Monday, the National Weather Service issued a flood warning for Juneau’s Mendenhall Valley after river and lake measurements showed signs of another major release of water from Suicide Basin, […]
The second largest mining deal in world history, announced last week, could hand one of Alaska’s largest mines — and a linchpin of the economy of Northwest Alaska — to a new operator. Canada-based Teck Resources, which has long operated Northwest Alaska’s massive Red Dog zinc mine, and United Kingdom-based Anglo American said on Sep. […]
A panel of state lawmakers voted 9-2 on Wednesday to approve spending up to $100,000 on a lawsuit against Gov. Mike Dunleavy. The lawsuit, if filed, would challenge the governor’s decision to press ahead with plans to create a cabinet-level Alaska Department of Agriculture via executive order. The governor issued an executive order in January, […]
Ahead of an expected run for governor, former Alaska Attorney General Treg Taylor is asking the state’s campaign finance regulator to exempt him from a law that requires he disclose who is renting apartments in several Anchorage buildings he owns. Treg Taylor and his wife Jodi Taylor own the Inlet View Tower in Anchorage as […]
The U.S. Department of Education has terminated grant funding for universities’ Alaska Native and Native-Hawaiian-serving programs and support services, an act that University of Alaska Fairbanks Chancellor Mike Sfraga said “will have a substantial and negative impact on a large number of Alaskans, including our Alaska Native students.” Sfraga announced the federal decision in a […]
In the spring of 2024, a group of scientists attending a national seismology conference in Anchorage purposely sailed into danger. Chartering a tour boat, they sailed into Prince William Sound and lingered in a fjord lined by unstable slopes that they recognized could collapse at any moment, triggering localized but massive tsunamis. “We made jokes […]
From the Southeast rainforest to the Arctic tundra, warming conditions are creating a variety of Alaska landslide hazards, some of them posing extreme hazards to human safety and others creating expensive problems for important infrastructure. Just how many hazardous sites are out there? Bretwood “Hig” Higman, a geologist based in the Kenai Peninsula town of […]
A report published by the Alaska Department of Revenue last month says the state treasury will benefit far less from the new Willow oil project than previously estimated. According to the department’s new estimate, Alaska’s state treasury will net $2.6 billion from the development between 2029, when Willow is expected to begin producing oil, and […]
Alaska Republican U.S. Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan joined fellow Senate Republicans Wednesday night in voting to set aside a budget amendment that would have compelled the U.S. Department of Justice to release files related to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The vote to table the amendment, stopping the Senate from considering it, […]
One day after announcing a deal with Japan’s largest electrical producer, the lead developer of the proposed trans-Alaska gas pipeline has revealed a second agreement, this time with POSCO International Corp. a South Korean steel manufacturer. A spokesperson for Glenfarne, the firm advancing the pipeline project, declined to make the terms of the agreement available […]
WARNING: This story contains disturbing details about residential and boarding schools. If you are feeling triggered, here is a resource list for trauma responsesfrom the National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition in the U.S. In Canada, the National Indian Residential School Crisis Hotline can be reached at 1-866-925-4419. For Ponka-we Cozad, the National Day […]
An Anchorage Superior Court judge’s ruling has cleared the way for the state of Alaska to repeal its “80th Percentile Rule,” enacted by the state in 2004 as part of an attempt to reduce health care costs in the state. The Dunleavy administration repealed the rule in 2024, saying it was counterproductive and argued it […]
Wasilla Republican Sen. Mike Shower will run for lieutenant governor alongside Republican gubernatorial candidate Bernadette Wilson, the two announced Tuesday night in Big Lake. Wilson is the first of Alaska’s 10 governor candidates to announce her running mate. The other nine candidates include former Democratic Sen. Tom Begich of Anchorage and eight Republicans: former state […]
Japan’s largest electric company has agreed to buy 1 million tons of natural gas per year from the proposed trans-Alaska natural gas pipeline, developer Glenfarne announced Wednesday. A final decision on whether to build the pipeline for in-state use is expected by the end of the year. Company officials say that by the end of […]
Since January, I have called U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski’s office regularly to express my concerns about the GOP agenda, because I thought she was a moderate Republican open to input. I held out hope she might leave her party and stand up for all Alaskans and Americans. However, her deciding vote on H.R.-1, the “Big […]
Last year, Alaska and Canada set a new goal for the number of king salmon returning up the Yukon River and into Canada’s Yukon Territory. Now, fish counters show 2025 returns have again failed to meet that target after missing in 2024 as well. Through Aug. 28, when officials at the Alaska Department of Fish […]
Since the 1990s, well-heeled visitors have flocked to Valdez for some of the most famous adventures in the skiing world: guided helicopter tours to long, steep mountain slopes with untouched powder and stunning views of the Prince William Sound scenery. The Valdez heli-skiing industry is an economic boon to the coastal city of roughly 3,700 […]
This story was originally reported by Chabeli Carrazana of The 19th. Meet Chabeli and read more of her reporting on gender, politics and policy. In an unprecedented move, New Mexico is making child care free. Beginning in November, it will be the first state in the nation to provide child care to all residents regardless […]
KOTZEBUE, ALASKA — Have you ever had a bad day outside, and just wanted to stop? As an enthusiastic skier, biker and runner, I’ve struggled through my fair share of races when I wasn’t at my best. But I’d never given in to the impulse until a late summer day a few weeks ago. As […]