Juneau Independent

Three lawsuits take aim at a Trump administration-approved land trade that would allow for a road through designated wilderness in Izembek National Wildlife Refuge.

Despite the administration’s enthusiasm for developing the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, oil companies have shown little interest — leaving the state to spend millions propping up the idea.

The new Mulchatna predator control program, aimed at boosting caribou numbers, has the same flaw that caused judges to overturn the earlier program, plaintiffs claim.

Alaska Scientific Crime Detection Lab acquired a forensic tool used to test DNA from bones and teeth this summer.

The ‘Big Beautiful Cook Inlet Oil and Gas Lease Sale,’ scheduled for March, would follow a series of federal and state inlet lease sales that drew little industry interest.

State Sen. Matt Claman, D-Anchorage, announced his candidacy on Monday. He is the second Democrat in the race, after former Senate Minority Leader Tom Begich, also of Anchorage. The other 12 declared candidates are Republicans.

Date rape drugging, or roofying, is the use of any sedative, usually mixed with alcohol, to incapacitate a victim and facilitate a sexual assault. While anecdotal stories of suspected roofying circulate around Alaska, cases and culprits are difficult to confirm. 

State elections officials have begun reviewing signatures gathered by people opposed to Alaska’s system of open primary elections and ranked-choice general elections to determine whether a repeal ballot measure will appear before voters in 2026.

.A study published before the storm said there’s an $80 million-a-year gap in money needed to protect or move coastal communities.

The Alaska Supreme Court has disbarred former U.S. District Court Judge Josh Kindred, banning him from practicing law in the state, “effective immediately.”

At its annual public meeting, the Alaska Board of Parole offered little explanation, but advocates want to know more about their criteria and say more transparency will help reduce recidivism.

Across hundreds of Alaskan communities, public schools are often the safest buildings where people can take shelter during disasters. After decades of state neglect, however, some have become emergencies themselves.

The number of seafood harvesters in Alaska’s famed industry has set a new record low, surpassing last year’s record low, according to figures published this month by the Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development in its magazine, Alaska Economic Trends.

Rule that was set to take effect at the start of 2026 is active now after U.S. District Court in Alaska request Tuesday.

Consumer debt is at record-high levels, and the number of Americans behind on their credit card payments is also on the rise.

A religious camp faces the Fairbanks North Star Borough in the state’s high court amid a seven-year-old dispute.

For wage-earning Alaskans who were displaced by the remnants of Typhoon Halong, a powerful storm that lashed the western coast of the state earlier this month, qualifying for one special type of federal assistance could be a cinch.

The state’s DNR Public Access Assertion and Defense team is a group of roughly a dozen state workers who have, arguably, Alaska’s best public sector jobs. They spend large parts of their summers flying into and floating the state’s remote rivers and lakes, then spend the winters wielding the data they’ve gathered in court.

Under state law, Gov. Mike Dunleavy, who held Shower’s seat before his 2018 election, will name a replacement.

Justices are considering the legality of a major fine against the backers of a 2024 ballot measure and, in the process, may rule on disclosure rules.

Decision to remove signs from all schools and halt statements at events was not subject to public comment.

A law in place since 1970 says only licensed doctors can provide abortion care; the Alaska Supreme Court is considering whether advanced practice clinicians can provide abortions.

More than 100 students have re-enrolled in Bethel and 140 students have re-enrolled in Anchorage, where there is an effort to keep students and classes together.

With Daylight Saving Time approaching this weekend, one bill aiming to eliminate the twice-yearly turning of the clocks awaits the state Legislature.

Aaron Peterson was an early selection of Sen. Dan Sullivan; Lisa Murkowski offers support late.

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 project. 

John Boyle, commissioner of the Alaska Department of Natural Resources, abruptly resigned his position on Friday. 

Alaska’s largest residential internet provider may soon come under the control of billionaire businessman John Malone, one of America’s biggest private landowners and wealthiest people. 

The state has already received more than 941 applications for individual assistance, and the application period is open through Nov. 9.

A new online statewide directory has been launched to showcase and connect Alaska Native artists across disciplines.

Three controversial projects received a boost on Thursday from the Trump administration, but remain far from construction.

The president also pledged $25 million in immediate disaster relief funding to cover costs as storm damage is still assessed.

U.S. Bureau of Land Management said is it is seeking nominations for areas to be auctioned in the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska for a legally mandated sale.

Schultz, a registered Democrat, is the second person to register as an opponent for Begich in next year’s election.

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.

The Alaska Federation of Natives convention in Anchorage, while it featured the usual cultural celebrations, socializing and discussions of state and federal policies, had a strong focus this year on a particular subject: the ravages on the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta of ex-Typhoon Halong.  

Whenever he can, Shane Shelton offers neighbors naloxone, an overdose reversal medication, and a place to sleep out of the cold…( Read full story )

Climate change forces combine to make the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta especially vulnerable, threatening a region that has sustained Indigenous people for millennia.

Dozens stood in a silent protest of Alaska U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan during his address on Friday to the Alaska Federation of Natives.

The state of Alaska has requested a federal disaster declaration; in the meantime, the state is bearing the cost of aid, response and cleanup.

An estimated 2,000 evacuees are expected in Anchorage by Friday, mayor says.

A new administrative order seeks to radically reduce state regulations that underpin dozens of professions, utilities, elections and more.

A fair courts group and a Juneau man had challenged the governor’s decision to put a suspended attorney in a public seat.

Residents of Kipnuk and Kwigillingok began evacuating en masse on Wednesday, flying in military aircraft from their western Alaska communities which were devastated by ex-Typhoon Halong.

Though the federal government shutdown jeopardizes the program that subsidizes scheduled air service to more than 170 cities nationwide — including Wrangell and Petersburg — Alaska Airlines has said it will continue uninterrupted service to its contract communities in the state.

As morning light hit flooded communities devastated by the remnants of Typhoon Halong on Sunday, local residents snapped photos of the storm damage across western Alaska communities. 

The Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities is planning to remove trash, waste, and the belongings of unhoused Alaskans from land near state highways, continuing an offensive that began last year.

Five months before catastrophic floods swept through the Alaska Native village of Kipnuk on Sunday, tearing many houses off their foundations, the Trump administration canceled a $20 million grant intended to protect the community from such extreme flooding.

Emergency supplies began to arrive in communities Monday, as search and rescue efforts continued for two people unaccounted for in Kwigillingok.

Rescue and recovery efforts began Sunday in western Alaska as a major storm caused by remnants of Typhoon Halong hit coastal communities with massive storm surge, flooding and hurricane-force winds up to 100 mph.