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Flooding causes damage and brief closure of Alaska’s only road to the North Slope
The sole road connection to Alaska’s North Slope oil fields was closed briefly on Wednesday and Thursday when floodwaters ate into a large chunk of roadway. The closure was near the northern end of the Dalton Highway, the 414-mile road that connects Livengood, a community 80 miles north of Fairbanks, to Deadhorse, the oilfield center […]
Avian influenza has returned to Alaska, and so have health advisories
Migrating birds have returned to Alaska, and so has the highly pathogenic avian influenza that began to sweep through global bird populations in 2020. That means Alaskans should continue to be vigilant about the strains that have arrived in the state from across both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, experts said during a webinar Tuesday […]
Court filings provide mixed picture of Ambler road progress
A federal decision on the controversial plan to build a 211-mile road through the Brooks Range foothills to provide access for mining development might come a few months later than previously anticipated, according to recent court documents. However, other recent legal developments indicate positive signs for the road’s prospects. The Bureau of Land Management, the […]
Fishers harvesting abundant Bristol Bay sockeye could fill knowledge gaps about declining Chinook
In the Bristol Bay region, sockeye salmon runs have been booming while Chinook runs have dwindled. Now scientists are seeking to enlist fishing crews in the effort to find out why, as well as what can be done about the Chinook troubles. A community-focused program called Skipper Science is asking for Bristol Bay fishermen working […]
As three seasons of bridge work loom, Denali managers and tourist industry adjust
By midsummer in 2026, visitors will likely be traveling over a sophisticated new bridge that clears a geologic hazard that has become a poster child of climate change in Alaska. Until then, the National Park Service and the tourism industry will be coping with three more years of shutdowns at about the halfway point of […]
Alaska’s rate of drownings, highest in nation, changed little in 6 years, state report says
Alaska has the nation’s highest rate of drowning deaths, and the rate was consistently high over the past six years, according to a new state report. A Division of Public Health epidemiology bulletin released on Wednesday examines drowning deaths from 2016 to 2021 and found some patterns and common factors. The vast majority were unrelated […]
Alaska Pacific University poised to expand nursing program, thanks to U.S. Department of Labor grant
A federal grant of nearly $3 million over five years will enable Alaska Pacific University to vastly expand its nursing-education programs, the university announced on Wednesday. The grant, from the U.S. Department of Labor, was one of 25 given to public-private partnerships across the nation to expand nursing training, APU said. While the entire nation […]
Disaster aid has arrived, but Western Alaska’s salmon and crab problems continue
As $216 million in federal aid is flowing to help Alaskans cope with salmon and crab collapses over the past three years, conditions that caused some of the harvest failures persist. The Alaska congressional delegation announced on Friday that the U.S. Commerce Department released the disaster aid. The money is to go to harvesters, processors […]
Bills on drug crimes and confinement of offenders fall short in Alaska Legislature
Two criminal-justice bills remain pending in the Alaska Legislature after Wednesday’s adjournment of the 2023 session, even though each passed one of the bodies. The first bill would reclassify drug-overdose deaths as second-degree murders instead of manslaughter cases. It passed the House on May 11 but failed to advance out of the Senate Judiciary Committee. […]
Alaska lawmakers approve ban on firefighting ‘forever chemicals’ and refrigerants phase-out
The Alaska Legislature has passed a bill requiring the end of use of firefighting foams containing substances known as “forever chemicals” because of their resistance to any natural degradation. Those substances, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, have been generally used by airport fire departments. The PFAS bill requires a switch to alternative foams by […]
Targeting youth vaping, Alaska Senate passes tax and age limits, sends bill to House
The Alaska Senate on Tuesday passed a bill that would impose the state’s first-ever tax on electronic cigarette products. Sen. Jesse Kiehl, D-Juneau, spoke during floor debate in favor of the measure, Senate Bill 89, on behalf of its sponsor, Senate President Gary Stevens, R-Kodiak. “It is an important public-health measure, Mr. President,” Kiehl said, […]
Alaska House follows Senate to pass bill authorizing sale of carbon credits from state land
The Alaska House of Representatives on Tuesday passed a bill that would allow the state to set up a system for using state land to sell carbon-offset credits. The House action amounted to final passage of the bill, which was approved the previous day by the state Senate. The measure, Senate Bill 48, authorizes the […]