The state agency leading some of Alaska’s most polarizing development projects has approved a new communications budget, saying it needs to do a better job telling its own story amid attacks from critics. The state-owned Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority is run by a former chief of staff to Gov. Mike Dunleavy and is […]
Posted inNews
Trump’s DOJ sued over campaign to amass data on millions of voters
Voting rights groups launched a legal challenge Tuesday against the Trump administration’s effort to sweep up sensitive data on millions of Americans with the aim of identifying noncitizen voters, arguing that the U.S. Department of Justice is building a dangerous centralized national voter list ahead of the midterm elections in November. The federal lawsuit, filed in […]
Posted inCommentary
Ground-breaking brown bear research holds great promise
Time and again, colleagues told bear biologist Beth Rosenberg that her quest to develop a new and less invasive way of identifying and studying Alaska’s brown bears was a futile one. There were simply too many obstacles, too many unknowns, to overcome. “It just won’t work,” she heard repeatedly. Inspired by her hero, the acclaimed […]
Posted inSoutheast News, Mining
Overturning of mining ban in Minnesota has Southeast Alaska tribal leaders worried about similar actions
A U.S. Senate vote overturning a mining ban on U.S. Forest Service land near Minnesota’s Boundary Waters has local tribal leaders worrying it sets a precedent for similar actions in the Tongass National Forest. The 50-49 vote on Thursday puts the validity of all U.S. Forest Service management plans enacted over several decades into question, […]
Posted inNews, Transportation
Coast Guard says first two of new icebreakers will be in Alaska, but details such as where unknown
The first two of 11 planned medium-weight icebreakers will be homeported in Alaska, although which cities remains to be determined, the U.S. Coast Guard announced Thursday. The hope is a Finnish company building the vessels will deliver them by the end of 2028, according to a Coast Guard press release. That mirrors the same hoped-for […]
Posted inSoutheast News
Elective surgeries at Juneau’s hospital canceled through Tuesday due to supply shortage after fire
A halt on elective surgeries at Bartlett Regional Hospital has been extended through Tuesday following a fire Thursday that contaminated many of the facility’s surgical supplies, the hospital announced Friday. The fire in a utility closet early Thursday afternoon resulted in an evacuation of the surgical area, but no damage to the operating rooms, according […]
Posted inEnergy, News
A war-driven spike in fuel prices could produce a ‘survival scenario’ in Alaska villages
The war in Iran is risking what could be a catastrophic spike in the price of fuel in the rural villages and hub communities across Alaska’s coast — and distributors are also warning of possible supply shortages. Even before the war, fuel prices in the state’s off-road system communities were eye-wateringly high: Unleaded gas was […]
Posted inNews, Environment
Alaska Gov. Dunleavy joins Arctic research commission as focus turns to security
Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy has been appointed to the U.S. Arctic Research Commission at a time when the federal agency is pivoting from its longtime focus on environmental science to more emphasis on military defense and economic development. Dunleavy is an ally of President Donald Trump. Dunleavy’s presidential appointment, announced by the commission this week, comes five […]
Posted inCommentary
Trump’s latest elections order is an unlawful assault on Alaska’s elections
On March 31, President Trump issued a new executive order on citizenship records and mail‑in ballots entitled “Ensuring Citizenship Verification and Integrity in Federal Elections.” The order has nothing to do with election integrity — the name is like “Newspeak,” Orwell’s fictional language for a totalitarian state. It is an unlawful attempt to seize control of how […]
Posted inLocal News
Pilot hospitalized after rescue from downed plane near Juneau
A Ward Air plane went down in Lynn Canal near Shelter Island on Thursday morning, with the pilot as the sole occupant hospitalized, according to the U.S. Coast Guard. “The Coast Guard was notified at 10:17 a.m. today of a downed Cessna plane with one person on board approximately 1.5 miles offshore Boy Scout Beach,” […]