A Friday ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court, coupled with an executive order by President Donald Trump, has created doubt about the future of American citizenship for Alaskans who are the children of immigrants. In a 6-3 decision, the court ruled that U.S. District Court judges cannot issue nationwide preliminary injunctions. In January, President Donald […]
In the nearly 50 years since Alaskans overwhelmingly voted to create the Alaska Permanent Fund, it has become a globally recognized sovereign wealth fund and a household name for every Alaskan. It symbolizes the conservative nature and strength of character of our forebears, who saved a portion of their generation’s money earned from Alaska’s natural […]
Gov. Mike Dunleavy has canceled a bipartisan proposal that would have allowed rural school districts to maintain teacher housing with money from the state’s rural schools fund. House Bill 174, from Rep. Robyn Niayuq Burke, D-Utqiagvik, passed the House and Senate by a combined 54-5-1 margin. The vote count led lawmakers to raise the possibility […]
Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy signed four bills into law on Tuesday, including two related to child care, one addressing big-game hunting, and one that updates the state’s insurance laws. Senate Bill 96 creates a tax credit program that rewards companies that offer child care programs for their workers. Senate Bill 95 raises the income limit […]
The Australian company seeking to develop a large oil discovery on Alaska’s North Slope may be purchased by a consortium based in Abu Dhabi. Santos Ltd. announced earlier this month that XRG PJSC, a subsidiary of Abu Dhabi National Oil Co., has made a buyout offer. Terms are still being negotiated. The value of the […]
The minimum wage will increase in 15 states and cities in July, though lawmakers in other states have worked to slow down wage hikes. Wage floor increases beginning July 1 in Alaska, Oregon and Washington, D.C., will benefit more than 880,000 workers by collectively raising their earnings by more than $397 million, according to an […]
Nonprofits, tribes and local governments filed a lawsuit Wednesday against the Trump administration over its termination of federal environmental justice and climate justice grants. Lead counsel Southern Environmental Law Center, along with Earthjustice, Lawyers for Good Government and other groups, filed the class-action lawsuit in federal court on behalf of grant recipients from at least […]
Alaska, like other states around the nation, is compiling a 10-year plan to guide conservation of sometimes vulnerable wildlife populations. Alaska’s State Wildlife Action Plan, which is in draft form, identifies “species of greatest conservation need” because of declining populations, changing habitat, development, invasive species threats, knowledge gaps or other concerns. But now the federal […]
The Alaska Department of Natural Resources is considering whether or not to open state-owned land near the Yukon River to oil and gas exploration. In a public notice published in May and renewed June 18, the agency said it “intends to evaluate the acceptability of an oil and gas exploration license proposal for the Yukon […]
The first female Orthodox saint in North America was an Indigenous woman who spent her entire life with her Yup'ik family and neighbors in a village in southwest Alaska. Olga Michael was born in 1916 …
The Orthodox Church in America has its first female saint from North America. Hundreds of pilgrims joined several bishops in an elaborate ceremony to canonize St. Olga Michael in her remote home …
I have only lived in Alaska for 24 years, but have a lifetime of Alaskan adventure under my belt. During my time here I have worked as a biologist, field archaeologist, lodge owner and wilderness guide. In my off time, I have explored thousands of miles by dog team training for and running the Iditarod […]
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will allow oil and gas workers to more intensely harass polar bears away from people and equipment near the Beaufort Sea. A new rule, scheduled to take effect Thursday, follows a series of lawsuits brought by environmental groups who claimed that the federal government failed to adequately justify prior […]
After nearly 40 years in Alaska’s state Capitol, Sen. Lyman Hoffman is calling it quits. On Wednesday, the Bethel Democrat confirmed that he will not seek reelection in 2026 and will end a political career that has left him as the longest-serving state legislator in Alaska history. “Forty years is enough,” Hoffman said on Wednesday. […]
An Alaskan brown bear at the Lake Superior Zoo in northeastern Minnesota has a gleaming new silver-colored canine tooth after a first-of-its-kind procedure. The 800-pound bear named Tundra was put …
The U.S. Senate voted unanimously on June 18 to resume the federal Secure Rural Schools program, which sent millions of dollars to small Alaska schools each year until Congress failed to reauthorize it in 2023. Congress passed the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act in 2000, which launched the program as a way to […]
The Alaska Department of Education and Early Development has opened public comment on a proposal that would reduce municipal governments’ ability to assist local public schools. The draft regulation, published Friday, would state that services — such as parking-lot plowing, or the use of public pools or libraries for school functions — would count toward […]
A new bill in Congress cosponsored by Republican U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan calls for the federal government to spend almost a billion dollars on new military projects in Alaska. The Golden Dome Act, cosponsored by the Alaska Republican; Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-North Dakota; and Rep. Mark Messmer, R-Indiana, seeks to implement a presidential executive order […]
In February the U. S. Department of Education directed that American institutions of higher learning halt any “hiring, promotion, compensation, financial aid, scholarships, prizes, administrative support, discipline, housing, graduation ceremonies, and all other aspects of student, academic, and campus life” related to diversity, equity and inclusion. The directive on DEI drew immediate (and successful) legal […]
More troubles for the cargo ship that caught fire earlier this month off Alaska's Aleutian Island chain. Officials report the Morning Midas sank Monday. The ship caught on fire June 3, and all 22 …