Columbus
Alaska Beacon
Tuesday is Alaska’s primary election, but the biggest races will wait until November
Polls open at 7 a.m. on Tuesday for Alaska’s primary election, the preliminary round for 50 legislative races and one of the most competitive U.S. House elections in the country. Pre-election turnout has been unusually low: This is the first Alaska primary in more than a decade without a governor’s race, race for U.S. Senate, […]
Native views at the DNC
CHICAGO — The energy is much different heading into the Democratic National Convention than when I traveled to the Republican version in Wisconsin a month ago. So much has changed in a month — like the top of the Democratic ticket. The platform Vice President Kamala Harris and Gov. Tim Walz will present to voters […]
Justice to monitor Alaska primary election for compliance with language requirements
The U.S. Justice Department plans to monitor operations at polling places in parts of rural Alaska on Tuesday, the state’s primary election day, for compliance with the federal Voting Rights Act. Monitors have been assigned to majority-Native districts to check for compliance with the requirements for language translations and assistance, including provisions concerning different Yup’ik […]
To lower prescription drug costs, states head to the courthouse
Last month, the Federal Trade Commission released a scathing report suggesting that pharmacy benefit managers, the middlemen in the drug supply chain known as PBMs, are “profiting by inflating drug costs and squeezing Main Street pharmacies.” The FTC found that because of consolidation in the industry, the three largest PBMs now manage nearly 80% of […]
Coast Guard confirms plans to buy polar icebreaker, station it in Juneau
The U.S. Coast Guard will buy a commercial icebreaker and station it in Alaska’s capital city, the service confirmed Wednesday. The confirmation, which had been expected after a preliminary announcement earlier this year, came days after the 27-year-old icebreaker Healy suffered an electrical fire that forced it to abandon its summer mission in the Arctic […]
Hundreds of thousands of parents died from drugs. Their kids need more help, advocates say.
Every day, 8-year-old Emma sits in a small garden outside her grandmother’s home in Salem, Ohio, writing letters to her mom and sometimes singing songs her mother used to sing to her. Emma’s mom, Danielle Stanley, died of an overdose last year. She was 34, and had struggled with addiction since she was a teenager, […]
Alaska elections officials plan to debut new ballot-tracking system with Aug. 20 primary
The Alaska Division of Elections is using a new tool this year in an attempt to avoid the kinds of ballot-counting problems that have occurred during previous elections. Enclosed in the bright red and green paperwork bags sent to every remote polling station is a small, black tracking device that will allow workers to trace […]
Federal appeals court ruling eliminates — for now — legal threat facing Southeast Alaska fishers
A three-judge panel at 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has overturned a lower-court decision that could have temporarily halted troll fishing for salmon in Southeast Alaska. The appellate court decision, announced Friday, clears the way for the region’s troll fishery to continue. It had been threatened by a lawsuit from the Washington-based Wild Fish […]
One size of municipal government doesn’t fit all in Alaska
When I think of local governments in Alaska, I’m often reminded of just how different they are. There’s no easy way to say that one decision or another will impact all cities and boroughs equally as they’ll experience policy and budget decisions on a very individual basis. Size is a pretty important factor, both in […]
Alaska Department of Law charges two state troopers after bloody arrest in Kenai
In an extraordinary act, state prosecutors have charged two Alaska state troopers with assault after a violent late-May encounter with a Kenai Peninsula man that was caught on troopers’ body cameras. Joseph Lee Miller Jr. and Jason Allen Woodruff were each charged Wednesday in Kenai criminal court with one count of fourth-degree assault, a misdemeanor. […]
AI will play a role in election misinformation. Experts are trying to fight back
In June, amid a bitterly contested Republican gubernatorial primary race, a short video began circulating on social media showing Utah Gov. Spencer Cox purportedly admitting to fraudulent collection of ballot signatures. The governor, however, never said any such thing and courts have upheld his election victory. The false video was part of a growing wave […]
In America’s largest state House district, six people vie for a seat in the Alaska Legislature
When Republican Rep. Mike Cronk of Tok suddenly became a Senate candidate earlier this year, it set off a scramble. His decision to seek Fairbanks Republican Sen. Click Bishop’s seat meant there was no longer an incumbent representative in America’s geographically largest state House district. Six candidates, acting on short notice, signed up to fill […]
Southeast Alaska tribe continues hands-on response to glacial flooding
A Southeast Alaska tribe is continuing to respond to a glacial outburst that flooded some 290 homes in Juneau. Early estimates show around 14.6 billion gallons of water were released from an ice dam on the Mendenhall Glacier. That’s according to Aaron Jacobs, a senior service hydrologist at the National Weather Service office in Juneau. […]
Survey of Alaska youth reveals more mental health problems, but also some positive trends
Alaska teens are more likely to be depressed and have suicidal thoughts than were teens a decade ago, and some mental health problems have increased notably among girls, according to results from the state’s most recent Youth Risk Behavior Survey. Administered in 2023 to nearly 1,200 high school students around the state, the survey found […]
‘Perfect storm’ of crises is leading to cutbacks in abortion care, advocates say
Advocates for abortion access say compounding crises of abortion bans, rising economic costs and systemic health care issues are beginning to cause significant funding challenges and potential disruptions to reproductive care of all kinds. Several people described it as a “perfect storm” of problems with the U.S. health care system, particularly post-pandemic, and the rise […]
Peltola still holds fundraising cash advantage in U.S. House race, new figures show
Ahead of Alaska’s Aug. 20 primary election, incumbent Democratic U.S. Rep. Mary Peltola continues to hold a fundraising advantage against her 11 competitors, new filings with the Federal Elections Commission show. As of July 31, Peltola’s campaign had $2.8 million in cash on hand, compared to $317,617 held by Republican Lt. Gov. Nancy Dahlstrom and […]
Rising pertussis case numbers in Alaska prompt warnings and prevention recommendations
A spike in pertussis, a contagious disease commonly known as whooping cough, has swept through Alaska, the state Department of Health reported. Through the end of July, 131 pertussis cases had been reported in Alaska this year, according to an alert issued by the department’s Division of Public Health epidemiology section. That compares to 26 […]
Ballot questions tackle high property taxes that come with rising home values
No state illustrates this year’s flurry of ballot measures to cut property taxes better than Colorado. There, the results of two likely voter questions could reduce funding for schools, roads, emergency responders and other local government services. Colorado’s ballot measures are just two of nearly a dozen upcoming questions dealing with property taxes in states […]
Prosecutors accuse two rural city officials of multiple election-related felonies
State prosecutors have charged two officials in the community of Pilot Station with illegally manipulating the results of city elections in October 2022 and October 2023. A grand jury indicted Acting Mayor Arthur Heckman Sr. and City Clerk Ruthie Borromeo on eight felonies apiece for allegedly tampering with the elections and failing to report results […]
Economic impacts of mining in Alaska include wages, taxes and career training, report says
Alaska’s mining industry supported 11,800 jobs and $1.1 billion in total wages in 2023, according to a report commissioned by the Alaska Miners Association and Alaska Metals Mines. The four-page report, by the McKinley Research Group, uses data from 2023 and earlier years to calculate the economic impacts of one of the state’s largest industrial […]
Alaska Beacon
2K+
Posts
8M+
Views
Alaska Beacon is an independent, nonpartisan news organization focused on connecting Alaskans to their state government. Alaska, like many states, has seen a decline in the coverage of state news. We aim to reverse that. Our name comes from the first verse of the Alaska Flag Song: “The great North Star with its steady light, O'er land and sea a beacon bright.” Our journalists report fairly and fearlessly on the people and interests that determine state policy. We do not serve any political party or private interest. We support the ability of all Alaskans to participate in the political process. We provide accurate, factual reporting. We promptly correct errors. If you see one, let us know. Beacon reporters explore how state policies affect specific areas like the economy and environment, education, health, and criminal and social justice. We aim to tell stories that aren’t being told, to bring fresh perspectives to state issues and to amplify the voices of Alaska communities that have been marginalized. Alaska Beacon provides a forum for commentary on state issues, with a goal of elevating policy conversations. These commentaries don’t come from our reporters and are labeled differently than our news reporting. Read our submission guidelines here. To do our jobs, we rely solely on the donations of those who value independent journalism. We welcome other news organizations to republish our work, and ask that they credit us. Alaska Beacon is an affiliate of States Newsroom, a national 501(c)(3) nonprofit supported by grants and a coalition of donors and readers. Our editorial decisions are made inside Alaska by Alaska journalists.
It’s essential to note our commitment to transparency:
Our Terms of Use acknowledge that our services may not always be error-free, and our Community Standards emphasize our discretion in enforcing policies. As a platform hosting over 100,000 pieces of content published daily, we cannot pre-vet content, but we strive to foster a dynamic environment for free expression and robust discourse through safety guardrails of human and AI moderation.