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Russian asylum seekers who boated to Alaska island are Indigenous, Murkowski says
U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski on Saturday provided some details about the two asylum seekers who traveled from the Russian Far East to Alaska’s St. Lawrence Island earlier this month to avoid being conscripted into the nation’s military. The two men are Indigenous Siberians, and they said Putin’s government is targeting ethnic minorities in rural areas, […]
AFN endorses Peltola and Murkowski, citing accomplishments and commitments
Alaska’s largest Indigenous organization on Saturday endorsed the reelection campaigns of both U.S. Rep. Mary Peltola, a Democrat, and Sen. Lisa Murkowski, a Republican, backing two lawmakers seen by the members as champions of Native issues. “It’s pretty unanimous that everybody is for the two candidates,” said Jodi Mitchell, who chaired the resolutions committee at […]
Murkowski, facing spirited election challenge, gets warm embrace at AFN convention
Alaska’s senior U.S. senator, the target of an aggressive challenge in her reelection campaign, got a warm reception at the Alaska Federation of Natives annual convention on Friday. The AFN audience greeted U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski with a standing ovation and multiple bursts of applause. Murkowski returned the warm greeting to members of Alaska’s largest […]
Peltola gets hero’s welcome at AFN, along with songs of blessing, gifts and pledges of support
The first Alaska Native to represent the state in the U.S. Congress got a hero’s welcome on the opening day of the Alaska Federation for Natives convention, where she was greeted with standing ovations, given thunderous applause and hugs, showered with praise and gifts, celebrated with signs emblazoned with her image – and presented with […]
Ranked-choice voting likely to be important in North Anchorage House race
In a newly redrawn House district, Alaska’s new ranked-choice voting system is poised to be critical to the election outcome. Two highly experienced Democrats are running to unseat the Legislature’s youngest member for the seat representing the northern tier of Anchorage. The seat is now held by Republican David Nelson, 26, a lieutenant in the […]
Study tracks reductions in time and space for ice roads in the Arctic, including Alaska
The Arctic’s accelerating warming has shortened the amount of time and the breadth of areas for use of ice roads throughout the far north, scientists and industrial users have said for years. Now a new study from scientists at Nanjing University in China has quantified those losses for different regions of the Arctic, including Alaska, […]
Bycatch task force considers new rules, more research to protect Alaska fish intercepted at sea
In the search for a solution to the problem of bycatch, the unintended at-sea harvest of non-target species, the stakes in Alaska are high. Now a special task force is nearing the end of a year-long process to find solutions that satisfy competing interests to the problem of bycatch, which refers to fish that are […]
Modern broadband service, funded by federal grants, headed to Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta
A new broadband system providing high-speed internet service is in the works for one of the most rural areas of the nation, Alaska’s Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta. The announcement was made Monday by the Bethel Native Corp., the village Native corporation located in the region’s population hub, and GCI, Alaska’s largest telecommunications company. The new system will […]
Gubernatorial candidates spar over gas pipeline, fiscal plans and other issues at Anchorage debate
Gov. Mike Dunleavy tangled with his challengers Tuesday in an Anchorage debate that featured the first joint appearance of all four gubernatorial candidates on the ballot. At the debate, held by the Resource Development Council for Alaska, sparks flew over several issues. One was the long-desired but never-built pipeline shipping massive reserves of North Slope […]
In Bering Strait region, House candidates face off in a rerun of 2020 race
The race to represent Alaska’s Bering Strait region in the state Legislature is a rematch of the 2020 House contest. But the issues that drove Tyler Ivanoff to challenge legislative leader Neal Foster two years ago have now shifted. In 2020, Ivanoff, a teacher in the Inupiat village of Shishmaref, channeled anger over what he […]
White House Arctic strategy puts new emphasis on national defense and threats posed by Russia
A new Arctic strategy released on Friday by the White House acknowledges some big changes in the region over the past decade – the rise of military threats posed by Russia, the largest Arctic nation. A heavier emphasis on national defense is the biggest difference between the new Biden administration strategy and its predecessor, released […]
U.S. Coast Guard icebreaker trip to North Pole is part of this year’s busy Arctic season
The U.S. Coast Guard’s icebreaking cutter Healy reached the North Pole last Friday, a milestone it reached only twice before. It was the second time that the 420-foot icebreaker had made it to the North Pole unaccompanied; the first time was in 2015, the Coast Guard said. “The crew of Healy is proud to reach […]