As I was driving down the highway one spring day eight years ago, I saw a shaggy, gray-black canine cruising along on the snowpack, right next to the road. Could it be one of the hardest animals to spot in Alaska, a wolf? Yes. I pulled over and stopped. The wolf padded along the treeline, […]
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Fuzzy memories of a real Alaska cold snap
More than 35 years have ticked away since I turned my pickup left onto a North Pole road and noticed the clutch pedal remained on the floor. In a panic, I reached down with my mittened hand and pulled. The frozen plunger oozed back into position. Driving at minus 50 degrees Fahrenheit is not a […]
Read MoreA whale of a mammoth tale
Matthew Wooller couldn’t believe his ears after a California researcher rang his cellphone recently. The radiocarbon expert said a few of Wooller’s submitted fossils were from woolly mammoths that stomped the grasslands of middle Alaska thousands of years more recently than expected. “I was pretty much gobsmacked,” Wooller said. “But then the rational science side […]
Read MoreDisputed oil lease sale in Alaska’s Cook Inlet upheld in new Trump administration decision
The Trump administration on Friday affirmed a controversial federal Cook Inlet oil and gas lease sale held at the end of 2022, asserting that impacts to endangered beluga whales and other resources were adequately considered and no changes in the leasing plan are needed. In a Federal Register notice scheduled to be published on Monday, […]
Read MoreAlaska fisheries in 2025: turmoil, economic and environmental challenges and some bright spots
For Alaska’s fishing industry and fishing-dependent communities, 2025 was a year of turmoil and uncertainty, much of it imposed by ideological pursuits from the new Trump administration. The short-lived agency called the Department of Government Efficiency hacked away at federal funding for science across the board. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in particular was […]
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Point of View: Alaskans, don’t be duped by the Citizens Voter initiative
A signature drive is underway for a ballot measure officially titled the United States Citizens Voter Act. Supporters say it would “clarify” that only U.S. citizens may vote in Alaska elections. That may sound harmless. But Alaskans should not sign this petition or vote for the measure if it reaches the ballot. The problem it […]
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Alaska mining company pushing Cook Inlet, Hatcher Pass projects will merge with Canadian firm
A Fairbanks-based company with several Alaska mining projects, including two near Anchorage, could nearly double in size in a proposed merger with a Canadian firm. The deal, announced this week, would combine Contango Ore with Vancouver-based Dolly Varden Silver Corp. It’s the latest in a recent flurry of deals in the global mining industry, including […]
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Homer High students showcase Alaska history exhibit at museum
Homer High School students recently had a hands-on Alaskan history learning experience that culminated in a temporary exhibit of their semester projects at the Pratt Museum. Students participating in HHS’s Alaska History class had the opportunity to choose artifacts for study from the Pratt Museum’s permanent collection. During this fall semester, starting in September, they […]
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State proposes changes to material sales regulations
The Department of Natural Resources is proposing changes to regulations in Alaska Administrative Code Title 11 relating to material sales and conveyances to state agencies, particularly to the pricing for sale of materials such as sand and gravel. According to a Nov. 26 press release, the proposed changes would enable DNR to transfer material to […]
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Cook Inlet area closed to big skate bycatch retention
The Alaska Department of Fish and Game recently announced the retention of big skates as bycatch in directed groundfish and Pacific halibut fisheries in Cook Inlet Area state waters is prohibited through Dec. 31. The prohibition went into effect Nov. 26. The National Marine Fisheries Service made prohibited the retention of big skates in the […]
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Aleutian Airways to offer roundtrip flights between Anchorage and Unalakleet
As of Tuesday, Dec. 2, Aleutian Airways now offers three weekly roundtrip flights between Anchorage and Unalakleet, according to a Dec. 1 press release from the airline. The news comes after Kenai Aviation announced it would cease flights due to financial insolvency in November, which left Unalakleet without regularly scheduled air service following Ravn Alaska’s […]
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Trump administration proposes offshore leasing in almost all Alaska waters
The Trump administration last Thursday, Nov. 20, 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 […]
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Utilities say Alaska needs an LNG import terminal. Consumers could end up paying for two.
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 the state’s […]
Read MoreThe Shocking Price of Groceries in Rural Alaska
The village of Unalakleet, on the western coast of Alaska, is accessible only by plane, boat, or—depending on the time of year—snowmobile. Most of the items in the village’s two grocery stores arrive by cargo plane. Food is expensive everywhere in the state, but, as we report in a New Republic feature story, it is […]
Read MoreInside the Hunger Crisis in America’s Last Frontier
By the time fruits and vegetables finally make it to the more rural villages in the region Kawerak serves, Lizak said, they are often halfway to their expiration date, or even already rotting. “And that’s if you can afford it,” Lizak continued. “Which you can’t.” When the Senate passed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act […]
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Faces on a beach in Southwest Alaska
Walking a storm-scoured Alaska beach, archaeologist Rick Knecht knelt to pick up a wooden figurine the size of his palm. He squinted at it and identified the piece as a doll that might have belonged to a little girl, one who had lived and died there centuries before. He handed it to Alice Bailey, who […]
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Tokyo Gas signs preliminary agreement with trans-Alaska gas pipeline developer
The largest gas company in Japan has signed a letter of intent signifying that it would buy up to 1 million tons of liquefied natural gas per year from the proposed trans-Alaska natural gas pipeline. The development moves the project closer to a financial finish line that would allow the borrowing needed to build the […]
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Trump Approves Disaster Aid—But Only for States That Voted for Him
In reality … Reagan was still very critical of tariffs during the brief speech, perhaps even more so than depicted by the ad’s brevity. Not all of the sentences used in the advert, however, are in the exact order they appear in the complete speech. Here’s what Reagan actually said in his full address at […]
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Trump Approves Disaster Relief—But Just for States That Voted for Him
In reality … Reagan was still very critical of tariffs during the brief speech, perhaps even more so than depicted by the ad’s brevity. Not all of the sentences used in the advert, however, are in the exact order they appear in the complete speech. Here’s what Reagan actually said in his full address at […]
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Murkowski says she is trying to restore some resilience funding for Alaska villages
Five months after the Trump administration canceled a series of environmental grants for Alaska, including an erosion-control grant that was to have gone to one of the villages hardest hit by ex-Typhoon Halong, the fight over the money continues. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, in her speech Saturday to the annual Alaska Federation of Natives convention, […]
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Putin Derailed Alaska Meeting With Historical Lecture to Trump
How the Trump administration intends to enforce the program is unclear. The cost of one IVF cycle can vary wildly across the U.S., falling anywhere between $12,000 to more than $30,000, according to data from the Department of Health and Human Services. But despite the sacrifice, it’s no guarantee that a cycle will produce a […]
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Bombshell Report Shows Putin Steamrolled Trump at Alaska Meeting
How the Trump administration intends to enforce the program is unclear. The cost of one IVF cycle can vary wildly across the U.S., falling anywhere between $12,000 to more than $30,000, according to data from the Department of Health and Human Services. But despite the sacrifice, it’s no guarantee that a cycle will produce a […]
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HEX/Furie CEO, Kenai Chamber receive state business awards
Two peninsula recipients were named in the Alaska Chamber’s recent bestowal of the 2025 Premier Business Awards during the Alaska Business Summit on Oct. 9. John Hendrix, president and CEO of HEX, LLC and Furie Operating Alaska, received the William A. Egan Outstanding Alaskan of the Year Award. The Kenai Chamber of Commerce and Visitor […]
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One dead, dozens rescued and roughly 1,000 displaced in western Alaska communities hit by ex-typhoon
Search and rescue efforts continued into Monday in the Kuskokwim River delta in the aftermath of devastating storm surge and hurricane-force winds brought by the remnants of Typhoon Halong. The storm tore homes from their foundations and sent them floating away. One woman was found dead in Kwigillingok on Monday, according to Alaska State Troopers. […]
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Rest in peace, Grubby
Sad news arrived Tuesday afternoon as the Alaska Zoo announced that Grubby, Homer’s beloved renegade opossum, passed away “peacefully” last weekend. The Virginia opossum arrived in Homer in the spring of 2023 after stowing away on a shipping container traveling from Washington state to Spenard Builders Supply. She was finally apprehended by the Homer Police […]
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Opinion: Alaska’s energy security must come first
For decades, Alaska has provided energy security for the United States. Our oil and gas have powered the nation, bolstered our economy, and strengthened national security. But now it’s time to put Alaska’s own energy security first. With some of the highest energy costs in the country, Alaskans are paying the price for a lack […]
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Unhinged Alaska: A quick insight into moose
This column draws multiple questions about the state from potential visitors who are interested in such things as sightseeing tips, why we live here, and our interface with the wild critters surrounding us. Note: How they found Unhinged Alaska in the first place remains a mystery to this day. The comments and inquires run the […]
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Opinion: Building Alaska’s future by putting education first
When I served as a state Senator, the most common visitors to my office were parents and teachers. Parents expressed concern that their children were falling behind in reading or struggling to keep up. Teachers were frustrated by the lack of resources needed to help students succeed early on. Their message was clear: our children […]
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Opinion: Reimagining alaska’s energy future: Extend the railroad to the north slope
The recent announcement of a potential merger between Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern railroads has prompted renewed reflection on Alaska’s own transportation infrastructure. While Glenfarne and the State continue to evaluate a one-way gas pipeline from the North Slope to tidewater, Alaska should use this time frame to consider a broader alternative. We should seriously […]
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Opinion: Good pay, free housing, free parking, 4-year contract
Help Wanted: Unique opportunity to lead the largest state in the country, with more miles of coastline, taller mountains, more fish and game, more dreams and less reality than those other 49 pipsqueaks. Dynamic, convincing decision maker with strong personality needed to lead the second youngest state in the nation into the future, albeit without […]
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Point of View: Get kids outside learning about wildfires
The start of school is the perfect time to get students outside learning about the role wildfire plays in the boreal forest and our communities. This summer’s wildfire season started early and consumed 1 million acres. Fires stretched across the state from the North Slope and northwest Arctic to the southeast Interior. Though cool, wet […]
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