Claire Stremple, a former Alaska Beacon reporter and the current managing editor of public radio station KTOO-FM in Juneau, has been named the Beacon’s new editor. Stremple, who will start Oct. 20, will replace the Beacon’s founding editor, Andrew Kitchenman. He resigned last month in order to take an editor role at the Philadelphia Inquirer. […]
Alaska wildfires burned more than 1 million acres this year, putting the 2025 season at about the average for recent decades. Alaska fire seasons of more than 1 million acres have become more frequent since about 1990, records show. Since then, 1 million acres is in the “near-normal category,” said Rick Thoman, a scientist with […]
In 2012, Alaska State Troopers arrested Fairbanks pilot Ken Jouppi and seized his aircraft after charging him with bootlegging for shipping beer into the dry community of Beaver. Now, after 13 years of legal disputes, the state’s decision to seize Jouppi’s airplane could be headed to the U.S. Supreme Court. The Institute for Justice, a […]
Wildland firefighters were stunned when federal immigration authorities last week raided an active wildfire response in Washington state, arresting two firefighters and sidelining crews for hours. Wildfire veterans say the operation was nearly unprecedented, a breach in longstanding protocol that federal agents don’t disrupt emergency responders to check immigration status. Worse, many wildfire veterans believe […]
State officials have barred the import, transport and sale of two fast-growing invasive species that were once popular garden ornamentals but have now wreaked havoc on natural vegetation. The Alaska Division of Agriculture on Friday said it issued a quarantine for the two species: Prunus padus, commonly known as the European bird cherry tree or […]
For years, urban Alaska utilities have been studying large-scale wind farms that could help break the state’s dependence on natural gas power — encouraged by the potential for hundreds of millions of dollars in tax credits from the federal government. Next summer, however, those tax credits will largely disappear for projects that haven’t started construction, […]
A major decision on construction of the proposed 807-mile trans-Alaska natural gas pipeline is expected by the end of the year. Rex Cannon, co-president of pipeline developer 8 Star Alaska, told attendees of the annual Alaska Oil and Gas Association conference that his company intends to finalize gas sales agreements and then make a final […]
Alaskans are much more overweight than they used to be, with adult obesity rates nearly tripled since 1991, according to a new state report. The 2025 Alaska Physical Activity, Nutrition and Obesity Facts Report, part of a series of documents published every five years by the Alaska Department of Health, shows a continued trend toward […]
In a Friday letter to the leaders of the Alaska House and Senate, Gov. Mike Dunleavy said he will not call lawmakers into a special legislative session when the current one expires at the end of Sunday. “I write today to inform you that I will not be extending the current special session,” Dunleavy’s letter […]
A year before Alaska’s 2026 primary election, 10 candidates have already announced their intent to run for governor, and more are expected to announce campaigns in the coming months. Incumbent Gov. Mike Dunleavy is term-limited and unable to run himself, and with so many people in the race, there is no clear front-runner. During a […]
A trial underway in Anchorage this week is challenging the Alaska Office of Children’s Services and the foster care system, with plaintiffs claiming the system is failing Alaskan children and violating their rights. “We hope that this trial will lead to significant reforms in Alaska’s foster care system. Alaska’s foster children deserve far better childhoods. […]
Twenty-four-year-old Charitie Ropati is Yup’ik and Samoan, and has roots in the Bering Sea coastal village of Kongiganak. She said that the community has inspired her. Following a flood event in 1966, many members relocated from the village of Kwigillingok to higher ground, a settlement which would become known as Kongiganak. Now, the permafrost under […]
Gov. Mike Dunleavy has named former Texas U.S. Attorney Stephen Cox to replace departing Alaska Attorney General Treg Taylor, he announced in a prepared statement Thursday. Cox’s appointment is subject to a confirmation vote by the Alaska Legislature next spring. Dunleavy is term-limited, and new governors typically appoint a new attorney general, meaning that Cox […]
Across the country, state leaders are racing to fast-track wind and solar projects before the expiration of federal tax credits to support clean energy. Colorado is directing state agencies to prioritize permits for projects that might qualify for the credits. Maine regulators are moving up timelines to purchase new power, hoping to give developers a […]
Texas passed a landmark law in June 2025, supported by former Gov. Rick Perry, that allocates US $50 million to support research on ibogaine, one of the most powerful psychedelics, for treating opioid addiction and treatment-resistant PTSD. Arizona passed a similar law in May, funding research on ibogaine’s effectiveness for treating veterans and those with […]
The U.S. Department of Agriculture, parent agency of the U.S. Forest Service, announced Wednesday that it is moving ahead with plans to rescind a rule that has restricted logging and construction on millions of acres of federal lands in the American West for more than two decades. U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins said in […]
PALMER — Mat-Su officials will distribute millions in opioid addiction relief funding under a new partnership between the region’s cities and the borough approved by the Assembly last week. The partnership allows officials to use more than $2 million that the borough will receive from a national opioid settlement to pay for a wide array […]
Ten members of the U.S. House of Representatives’ Committee on Natural Resources are making an unusual visit to Alaska this week during a break from business on Capitol Hill. The 45-person committee deals with a variety of issues pertaining to public lands in the United States, and the visit is giving eight Republicans and two […]
The Alaska Legislature opened an 18-month study of the state’s troubled public education system on Tuesday as lawmakers convened the first meeting of their Task Force on Education Funding, established by law this spring. Alaska’s public schools rank among the worst in the country according to national standardized testing data, and members of the bipartisan, […]
When the Trump administration announced it was moving to eliminate dozens of U.S. climate policies, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin said he was sending “a dagger straight into the heart of the climate change religion.” That drive – to both repeal environmental regulations and cast doubt on science – reflects the Trump administration’s approach […]