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Alaska Beacon
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’s pre-primary election turnout is down from extraordinary 2022 and 2020 primaries
Voter turnout ahead of Alaska’s Aug. 20 primary election is down from the past two elections but is running ahead of what it was in 2018 and 2016, the last two primaries without extraordinary factors in play. In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic emergency encouraged Americans to vote by mail, and in 2022, Alaska’s primary election […]
Alaska Beacon Voter Guide offers step toward more informed election
Alaskans voting in the Aug. 20 primary election again have a resource to learn where the candidates stand on a wide range of issues: the Alaska Beacon’s 2024 Voter Guide. These questions encompass candidates’ positions on everything from schools to taxes to what candidates see as the biggest local need. Across the U.S., many news […]
Potential threats to IVF push political novices into election-year advocacy
Marilyn Gomez was sitting at her kitchen table in Charlotte, North Carolina, on Feb. 16 when news alerts and friends’ texts began pinging her phone: The all-Republican Alabama Supreme Court had ruled that frozen embryos created through in vitro fertilization were children under state law. That meant providers could be held liable for discarding them, […]
Alaska school districts got a one-time funding boost. It came too late for many teachers.
Laurie Duncan got her pink slip at the end of April, after her second year teaching first grade at Xóots Elementary in Sitka. She got the news during her prep period. She was three months pregnant. Nearly 20% of the teachers in Sitka were laid off this spring due to financial uncertainty. That included all […]
Alaska invested millions to fix food stamp backlogs. Some users still can’t get through.
At the height of the food stamp backlog last November, pro bono attorneys and other volunteers at Alaska Legal Services got more than 600 requests in one month from Alaskans seeking a fair hearing to get their overdue food benefits. So the 97 requests that came in this July didn’t feel like anything the group […]
‘Huge disaster’: Historically weak pink salmon runs strain Alaska’s seine fishermen
Expectations were low this year for the pink salmon runs that power Prince William Sound’s commercial fishing industry. But no one expected them to be as bad as they’ve been. With just a few weeks left in the season, the sound’s seine fleet has harvested just one-fourth the number of pinks that it would have […]
Alaska Native artifacts returned to Kake as Quakers continue reparations
Formline carved paddles, beaded slippers, and a small totem were among the items returned to Kake last weekend by a Quaker woman whose ancestor taught in the mission school there in the early 1900s. Joel Jackson, the Tribal council president for the Organized Village of Kake, said it is nice to have the objects home. […]
Inside the “titanic” legal case that will help determine Alaska’s energy future: an analysis
Should Anchorage residents who consume more electricity, and use up more of the region’s dwindling supplies of natural gas, have to pay a higher price to reflect the steeper cost of the imported fuel that will replace it? How much will developers of wind and solar projects have to pay to move the electricity they […]
Federal officials plan to ban airline seating fees for children traveling with their parents
Federal regulators are preparing a new rule that would require airlines to waive fees for children traveling with their parents. In a notice scheduled to be published Friday in the Federal Register, the U.S. Department of Transportation intends to require that airlines seat children 13 and younger next to their parents at no additional charge. […]
Expansion of Alaska Native Medical Center emergency department is underway
Alaska Native health officials and other dignitaries gathered Wednesday in an Anchorage ceremony where they grabbed shovels and moved bits of dirt to celebrate the start of an emergency department expansion at the Alaska Native Medical Center. The board of the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium, which manages the hospital in partnership with Southcentral Foundation, […]
$83 million loan program for Alaska tribal and small businesses approved by U.S. Dept. of Treasury
Up to $83 million in federal funds have been approved for small business loans to be offered through a consortium of Alaska tribes. Announced on Tuesday, the funds are part of the U.S. Treasury’s broader effort to support tribal economies, with up to $415 million being funneled into developing the economies of 220 tribes, according […]
As wildfire season becomes more threatening, experts are turning to AI
With climate change driving hotter, drier summers across the West, the intensity of recent fire seasons is outpacing workers’ ability to track and analyze fires with the traditional methods. “There simply aren’t enough boots on the ground, or eyes in pairs of binoculars to cover the base and the extent of what we’ve been dealing […]
Record-high temperatures bake Deadhorse and other sites on Alaska’s North Slope
A scorching hot day in Alaska’s Arctic set multiple records on Tuesday, according to the National Weather Service. At Deadhorse, the industrial camp community next to the Prudhoe Bay oil field, the temperature hit 89 degrees. It was not only an all-time high for Deadhorse but appears to be the highest temperature ever recorded at […]
In Eagle River, a five-way race could be a factor in control of the state Senate
Ten months ago, Josiah Goecker was at work as the community director for an Anchorage apartment complex when he was shot and killed. That tragedy inspired his brother, Jared, to run for the Alaska Legislature, and Jared Goecker is now among four challengers to incumbent Sen. Kelly Merrick, R-Eagle River, in a race that could […]
Open primaries, ranked choice voting offer advantages to Alaskans
Ranked choice voting elections have been advancing and retreating since first developed in Denmark in the 1850s. The method was explored in Australia, Ireland, and, in the early 20th century, the U.S. After waxing and waning here during the ‘30s and ‘40s, since the 1960s, the ranked voting process has slowly spread. As reported by […]
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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.
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