Alaska pollock, shown here from a harvest, make up the nation’s top-volume single-species commercial seafood catch. Alaska pollock, harvested mostly in the Bering Sea but also in the Gulf of Alaska, are processed into fish sticks, fish burgers, imitation crab meat and other common fish products. (Photo provided by NOAA)
For the organization that oversees commercial fisheries in federal waters off Alaska, the most significant impact of the federal government shutdown might materialize in December.
That is when the North Pacific Fishery Management Council is scheduled to issue harvest limits for Alaska pollock – the nation’s top-volume commercial harvested species – and other types of groundfish harvested in the Bering Sea and Gulf of Alaska, such as Pacific cod and sablefish.
The Bering Sea and Gulf of Alaska pollock harvests start in January.
To set the groundfish harvest levels, the council relies on federal scientists’ analysis of fish stocks in the ocean, work that is based in large part on scientific surveys conducted over the summer.
But during the shutdown, most National Marine Fisheries Service employees, including the scientists who analyze survey data to assess the conditions of commercially targeted fish stocks, are furloughed.
On Wednesday, the last day of the council’s October meeting, the members considered how to deal with scientific uncertainty if the government shutdown prevents completion of the detailed analysis that is usually provided in time for the December meeting.
Council member Nicole Kimball referred to a warning issued eight days prior by Bob Foy, director of the NMFS Alaska Fisheries Science Center, the organization that does the stock assessments. Foy said then that a shutdown lasting more than five days would compromise the ability to complete stock assessments and that a shutdown beyond 15 working days would “dramatically impact” those assessments.
The 15-day threshold is not too far away, Kimball said.
“How does the council and the public understand what to expect in December, in between the October and December meeting, relative to stock assessments?” she asked.
Diana Evans, the council’s deputy director, said impacts are yet to be determined, but the public will be notified of them as soon as possible.
“We don’t think we can answer that until we have a better sense of exactly where we land and how many days of work are remaining between the time that government workers are back and able to resume that work and the meeting,” she said.
Advocates with environmental organizations said they worry about shutdown effects on scientific information needed for harvest decisions, which would add to the effects of mass firings and retirements at NMFS and other agencies.
“I’m terrified at the prospect of flying blind into the next fishing season, especially as the Trump administration has decimated the ranks of scientists who monitor the health of our oceans,” Cooper Freeman, Alaska director of the Center for Biological DIversity, said by email. “I’m especially worried about fisheries like the massive pollock trawl fleet that has been harvesting millions of tons annually at the expense of the larger ecosystem.”
“The first challenge with this shutdown is the instant level of uncertainty it creates. Normal processes face delays that can easily impact or inhibit active fisheries. Potential staff losses will exacerbate that,” Michelle Stratton, executive director of the Alaska Marine Conservation Council, said by email.
“But beyond the concern for continuing day to day services, are those major efforts — like stock assessments and (total allowable catch) setting — that rely on substantial NMFS staff input, data processing and expert analysis. If this continues to the point where we are unable to set catch limits for the start of the 2026 seasons, we’ll be in seriously uncharted territory, and could well see massive economic impacts to our fishing communities and fleets,” she said.
The shutdown forced the council to rearrange its October meeting because federal representatives were unavailable to present information.
One major agenda item was postponed: review of a work plan for assessing essential fish habitat. Other items on the agenda were abbreviated.
The shutdown has already affected fishery management operations to some degree, said council member Jon Kurland. As Alaska regional director for NMFS, Kurland is one of a small group of agency employees remaining at work during the shutdown.
Kurland, in comments last week at the start of the meeting, said some services have been unavailable during the shutdown, such as the processing of harvest quota transfers.
NMFS is still doing basic management of ongoing fisheries, monitoring and closing them as needed, and is supported by contractors, he said. But that level of work has its limits, he said.
“If there are significant unforeseen problems, we will have limited ability to address those. Fingers crossed,” he said then.
U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, speaks to the Alaska Legislature on Thursday, March 20, 2025. (Photo by James Brooks/Alaska Beacon)
The FBI searched the cellphone records of Republican Alaska Sen. Dan Sullivan and seven other U.S. senators and a member of the U.S. House as part of its investigation into the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, a newly released document shows.
The call logs cover several days during and around the insurrection, when rioters stormed the Capitol in an attempt to support then-incumbent President Donald Trump, who falsely claimed to have won reelection in 2020.
The logs do not show that the FBI obtained phone call recordings, only that an investigating agent was interested in who the senators were talking to, when they talked, how long they talked, and where the callers were. The document, released this week by the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, does not say why those senators were identified in particular and it does not say whether any investigative leads resulted from the records.
According to a news release from the committee, the FBI sought and obtained data about the senators’ phone use in the days before, on and after the Jan. 6 insurrection, from Jan. 4 through Jan. 7, 2021.
The U.S. Department of Justice indicted Trump in 2023 for allegedly conspiring to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election, but the special prosecutor in charge of the investigation abandoned that case after Trump was re-elected in 2024. Department policy says that sitting presidents cannot face criminal prosecution, and after the 2021 insurrection, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a decision limiting a president’s liability for conduct while in office.
Asked whether Sullivan had any contact with people who participated in or organized the riot at the U.S. Capitol, Devyn Shea, a spokesperson for Sullivan, said, “absolutely not.”
In a written statement, Sullivan called the FBI investigation “an absolute outrage.”
“We’ve just learned the Biden FBI was engaged in what appears to be an unprecedented fishing expedition against at least nine sitting Republican members of Congress — none of whom were under any type of investigation — surveilling our personal cell phone calls with family members, staff and colleagues. This is a new low in the political weaponization of the Justice Department,” Sullivan’s statement said.
The other seven senators were Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.), Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), and Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.). Rep. Mike Kelly (R-Pa.) was also on the FBI list.
Some senators, including Hawley and Tuberville, voted to object to the certification of the electoral results of the 2020 election.
Sullivan voted to support the certification of the election, and in a statement the day after the Jan. 6 violence at the Capitol, he called the event “sad” and “dispiriting.”
All have been supporters of Trump and his policies; in office, Sullivan has been a reliable vote for the president and his agenda.
In this screenshot from a White House news conference, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum points to a map of Alaska on Monday, Oct. 6, 2025, as he announces the Trump administration’s decision to reverse a Biden administration action that canceled a right-of-way permit for the Ambler Road. (Screenshot)
The action removes a major hurdle for the project, but developers would still need to overcome lawsuits and opposition from environmental and tribal groups. They would also need approval from NANA and Doyon Ltd., two Alaska Native regional corporations who own land in the road’s path.
Ambler Road, planned by the state of Alaska’s development bank and supported by state officials and Alaska’s congressional delegation, would link the Dalton Highway with a mineral-rich region of northwest Alaska, providing access to the mining of rare minerals needed for batteries and high-technology manufacturing.
“It’s an economic gold mine, so to speak. I signed this years ago, and Biden un-signed it for me,” Trump told reporters on Monday at the White House.
Last year, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management concluded that the road would have a litany of negative impacts, and the Biden administration issued a record of decision saying that the best route for the project was no route at all.
The Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority, Alaska’s state-owned investment bank and the road’s developer, sued the Biden administration, seeking a reversal.
U.S. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, speaking at the White House on Monday, said the state of Alaska requested an appeal of that decision, and that under federal law, President Trump has the executive authority to make decisions on land use.
The appeal in question was filed by AIDEA under Section 1106 of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act of 1980.
“This opens up a wealth of resources,” Burgum said, adding that the federal government will also take partial ownership of Trilogy Metals, one of several firms exploring for minerals in northwest Alaska.
As currently planned, the road would consist of a gravel strip stretching from the Dalton Highway almost to Kotzebue. It is envisioned as a toll road, with no public access, and the cost of construction would be paid for via fees levied on users, similar to the way the AIDEA-funded DeLong Mountain Transportation System provides a port for lead and zinc exported from the Red Dog Mine in northwest Alaska.
In a special late-September meeting, AIDEA’s board voted to authorize limited negotiations with landowners in the road’s path.
The road is expected to cross more than 10 miles of land owned by Doyon Ltd., the regional Alaska Native corporation for Interior Alaska.
To date, that corporation hasn’t expressed official support or opposition for the road. Sarah Obed, senior vice president of external affairs for Doyon, said by email that Monday’s announcement was “not a surprise to Doyon” because of a different executive order signed earlier this year.
NANA Regional Corp. owns more than 20 miles of land in the path of the road. In a written statement, NANA President and CEO John Lincoln said the company “appreciates the Trump Administration and Governor Dunleavy’s support for economic development in Alaska and their work towards stabilizing the federal permitting process” but he declined to express support for the road.
Lincoln said that still stands: “Our position on the Ambler Access Project has not changed and will only be reconsidered if and when our established criteria are satisfied, in consultation with shareholders, local communities, and other stakeholders.”
Trump’s action on Monday restores a federal right-of-way grant issued in 2021, at the end of the first Trump administration. It also requires federal agencies to issue clean-water permits and other approvals needed for the road.
A lawsuit challenging the 2021 right-of-way grant remains open in the U.S. District Court in Anchorage. Attorney Bridget Psarianos, with the nonprofit law firm Trustees for Alaska, is one of the attorneys challenging that right-of-way.
By phone, she said she hasn’t ever seen a president use the authority that Trump did on Monday.
“He’s wielding this presidential power like a cudgel, including to overturn decisions that his own agencies have made and provided good reasons for,” she said.
The Tanana Chiefs Conference, a group of 39 Interior villages and 37 federally recognized tribes, opposes the road. In a statement Monday, it said it was “deeply disappointed by the decision.”
“This decision is a direct affront to the voices of Alaska Native people,” said Chief/Chairman Brian Ridley in a written statement. He added that TCC will continue to fight the project.
Psarianos, by phone, said that the BLM opposed the project in 2024 “because they found that there would be significant impacts to subsistence and to communities and their health along the road corridor.”
Athan Manuel, director of the environmental nonprofit Sierra Club’s Lands Protection Program, offered similar thoughts in a written statement. “This order ignores those voices in favor of corporate polluters. The Ambler Road will lead to significant harm to fragile Alaskan landscapes and the local communities and wildlife that rely on them,” he said.
Most of the road’s path is on land owned or controlled by the state of Alaska; an easement allowing the road remains under consideration by the Alaska Department of Natural Resources, but approval is expected.
In a statement published after Trump’s announcement on Monday, Gov. Mike Dunleavy thanked the president for his action, saying, “this decision will unleash development opportunities, create new jobs for Alaskans and secure access to strategic minerals.”
Similarly, all three members of Alaska’s congressional delegation expressed support for Trump’s decision.
“By advancing this access, we are creating new opportunities for Alaskans while strengthening America’s supply chain and reducing dependence on foreign adversaries for our critical mineral needs,” said U.S. Rep. Nick Begich, R-Alaska. “I applaud the President’s decision to support this appeal, and I look forward to working with the Administration, state leaders, and Alaska Native communities to ensure this project moves forward in a way that benefits all Alaskans.”
U.S. Republican Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan also thanked the president for his action.
“The President’s re-approval will unlock a world-class mining district, deliver quality-of-life benefits for communities in the region, and help grow Alaska’s economy. It will also improve our national security by strengthening our mineral security and enabling us to produce more of our most important resources here at home,” Murkowski said.
Sullivan said, “I’m glad to see another critically important project for our state’s economy and working families being put back on track.”
NOTN- Juneau voters are wrapping up CBJ’s municipal election that will decide three Assembly seats, three School Board positions, and a trio of ballot propositions.
Ballots were mailed to all registered voters on Sept. 19 and must be returned by 8 p.m. tomorrow, Oct. 7.
Ballots can be dropped in one of five secure drop boxes across Juneau, including City Hall, Douglas Library, Mendenhall Valley Public Library, Alaska Electric Light & Power, and Statter Harbor, or mailed with an Oct. 7 postmark. Voters may also cast ballots in person at City Hall or the Mendenhall Valley Library, both of which will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Election Day.
Three Assembly seats are on the ballot this year are, Areawide Assembly, Ella Adkison, District 1, Greg Smith, District 2, Wade Bryson and Nathaniel “Nano” Brooks.
The Board of Education race includes Steve Whitney, Melissa Cullum, Jenny Thomas, Jeremy “JJJ” Johnson, and Deedie Sorensen.
Voters will also weigh in on three propositions.
Proposition 1 asks whether to amend the city charter to lower the property tax cap from 12 mills to 9 mills, according to a voter Q&A posted to CBJ’s website, Proposition 1 would not change the FY26 mill rate, however, assuming no changes to values or budgets for the FY27 budget process, the City and Borough would plan for a revenue reduction of $1,050,716 based on reducing the mill rate to 9.0 mills.
Proposition 2 would exempt groceries and residential utilities from local sales tax, potentially reducing tax collections by an estimated $9–11 million per year.
Proposition 3 would create a seasonal sales tax, setting rates at 3% in the winter and 7.5% in the summer , repealing the existing 5% sales tax.
If both Propositions 2 and 3 pass, city officials estimate the overall impact on revenue would be minimal, with residents paying roughly $300 less per year on average in sales tax.
Voters who have not received a ballot or who require accessible voting assistance can vote in person at City Hall or the Mendenhall Valley Library. Ballots sent by mail must be postmarked by Oct. 7 and received by Oct. 20. Final certified results are scheduled for release Oct. 21.
Full candidate profiles, sample ballots, and proposition details are available at CBJ’s website.
“I voted” stickers are seen on display in the headquarters offices of the Alaska Division of Elections in Juneau on Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024. (Photo by James Brooks/Alaska Beacon)
Election day is around the corner for most of Alaska’s local governments, and many communities are considering whether to raise local sales taxes to pay for the escalating cost of public services, including basic infrastructure like road repairs and landfills.
Alaska’s largest city, Anchorage, holds its elections in the spring, as do Valdez and Cordova, but most of the state’s 150-plus municipal governments will have their elections in the next week.
In the state capital, Juneau, where voting has been underway by mail since late September, voters are considering three ballot measures with major implications for the City and Borough of Juneau budget.
Measure No. 1 would tighten the cap on local property taxes below current rates, effectively cutting city revenue by about $1 million and eliminating the city’s ability to raise rates.
The second measure would exempt food and residential utilities from local sales taxes. That would eliminate between $10 million and $12 million per year from the city budget.
To compensate, there’s also Measure No. 3, which would raise the city’s sales tax from 5% to 7.5% in the summer and lower it to 3% in the winter. If that measure passes, it would roughly balance the lost money if Measure No. 2 passes.
If ballot measure No. 3 doesn’t pass, Juneau city officials expect to significantly cut local services in order to balance the budget.
Juneau is one of several communities deciding whether to pass sales tax hikes this month.
In Skagway, voters are considering a seasonal sales tax increase from 5% to 7% in the summer, with some of the proceeds earmarked for water, wastewater and garbage services in order to lower local rates.
In neighboring Haines, voters are deciding whether to raise the local sales tax from 5.5% to 7% in the summer within the Haines townsite, with a smaller increase in the rest of the borough. The sales tax would fall to 4.5% in the townsite during the winter, 3% in the rest of the borough, and groceries would be exempted.
In Ketchikan, borough residents are being asked whether they want to extend part of the local sales tax through 2032. The borough has a 2.5% sales tax, but half of a percent is dedicated to construction and renovation projects at local schools. That’s what voters will consider renewing.
Slightly north, in Petersburg, voters will decide whether to reduce a senior citizen sales tax exemption so it applies only to low-income residents.
Ketchikan city voters consider seven ballot measures
While voters in the Ketchikan borough contemplate a sales tax measure, voters within the city of Ketchikan itself will also have seven other ballot propositions to consider.
First is a $15 million bond to pay for sewer mains and upgrades to the city’s water treatment facility. Those upgrades are being mandated by the state and federal governments.
Voters in the First City also will decide six different amendments to the city charter. Proposition No. 2 would eliminate a 30-day waiting period for city ordinances to take effect. No. 3 would allow the city manager to live outside city limits, but only on the road system of Revillagigedo Island, where the city is located.
Proposition No. 4 would remove the requirement that voters approve the sale of any city property worth more than $30,000. Instead, the city council would have the authority to approve those sales.
The fifth proposition would allow the city to award large contracts to someone other than the lowest bidder, and the sixth would allow the city to approve sales or contracts with city employees and elected officials as long as there are at least three cost quotes and the chosen contract is “the most advantageous to the city.”
The last proposition, the seventh, would allow the city’s annual fiscal audit to take more than four months.
In addition to those ballot measures, three candidates are running for two seats on the Ketchikan City Council. There’s also a two-way race for borough mayor, two contested borough assembly races and two contested school board races.
Voters in Sitka will consider two ballot measures. The first would allow the city to use proceeds from the local tobacco tax and the sale of the local hospital for parks and recreation.
The second, if adopted, would require all ballot measures to include a comprehensive economic impact study report before reaching the signature-gathering phase.
Six people are running for two seats on the Borough Assembly in Sitka, and there are three candidates for two seats on the local school board.
In Petersburg, two candidates are running for mayor and five candidates are running for two seats on the borough assembly. There is one candidate and two open seats for the school board.
In Skagway, the one candidate for mayor is running uncontested, after the previous mayor resigned earlier this year. There are four candidates for two assembly seats, and one candidate for two open school board seats. In Haines, there are four candidates for two assembly seats, and two candidates for two school board seats.
North Slope voters contemplate big borrowing plan
In the North Slope Borough, two of four assembly races are contested, and only one of four school board races is contested. Borough voters also will consider eight different bond proposals. That’s more ballot propositions than any other municipal election taking place this month in Alaska.
The borough is proposing to borrow a combined $204 million for public facilities, including light, power, water, sewage, public safety, education and flood control.
At Utqiagvik, the borough’s largest town and the northernmost town in the United States, voters will choose between two candidates for mayor. There’s also two city council races, only one of which is contested.
Voters also are being asked to choose whether or not to extend Utqiagvik’s 20% wholesale tobacco tax to cover “alternative nicotine products and equipment,” such as vape and e-cigarette products.
Within the Northwest Arctic Borough, there are four borough assembly seats on this year’s ballot. Only one race is contested, and one seat — covering Ambler, Kobuk and Shungnak — has no candidates at all.
Similarly, among three races for school board, none are contested and one of the three seats has no candidates.
In the Kotzebue city election, two seats on the city council are on the ballot, and each race has two candidates. Another seat was vacated by the resignation of Ruth Moto in September, and someone will be appointed to fill that seat after the election, with the replacement being up for election in October 2026.
The Nome Nugget noted “meager interest to run for public office” in Nome this year, with two city council seats and two school board seats unopposed, but voters there will also be asked whether to raise the city’s sales tax from 5% to 6%.
This week, the Nugget reported that if the tax increase doesn’t pass, city officials will cut services.
In the Matanuska-Susitna Borough, Houston considers sales tax hike
The Matanuska-Susitna Borough holds its elections in November (as does Metlakatla in Southeast), but the cities within the Mat-Su borough vote in October.
Wasilla has no ballot measures; its city election includes three city council races, only one of which is contested.
In Palmer, five people are competing to become the city mayor, the most competitive single municipal race this fall. Three people are competing for two three-year seats on the city council. There also is a one-year seat on the council, and two people are vying for it.
Palmer voters are also being asked if they want to change the city charter so the city manager is no longer required to live within the city. The change would allow the manager to live within five miles of city limits.
Within Houston, six people are running for three spots on the city council. Houston also has four ballot measures. One asks whether voters support a city-owned airport. A second asks voters to approve a 2% sales tax increase (from 2% to 4%) in order to pay for road repairs. The third and fourth measures ask voters to approve the “Matanuska Thunder Festival” and “Founder’s Day” as city holidays.
Many ballot measures in the Kenai Peninsula Borough
Proposition No. 2 would create a special taxing district in Ninilchik to fund a new local swimming pool there. No. 3, if approved, would increase the property tax exemption in the borough so the first $75,000 of a homeowner’s residence would be exempted from local property taxes. The current exemption applies to the first $50,000.
The fourth proposition would raise the borough’s sales tax cap every five years. Currently, sales taxes only apply to the first $500 of a purchase.
Proposition No. 5 would shift borough elections to November, aligning them with state and federal elections, much as the Mat-Su borough has done.
Five seats on the Kenai borough assembly are up for election, and three of the races are contested. Three school board seats are on the ballot as well, with two races contested.
Among city elections on the Kenai Peninsula, only Soldotna has a ballot measure. That proposition asks voters to approve or reject the annexation of 2.63 square miles of nearby land into the city limits.
In the Interior, none of Fairbanks’ three local governments have ballot measures this year, but this year’s ballot will decide three seats on the borough assembly and two on the borough school board. There’s a two-person race to become Mayor of Fairbanks, and two seats on the city council are up for election.
Southeast of Fairbanks, in North Pole, four seats on the city council are up for election. There are only four candidates, but the order of the candidates will determine who gets a three-year term, a two-year term or a one-year term.
Kodiak will pick a new mayor
In Kodiak, voters will pick between two candidates for borough mayor, five candidates for two seats on the borough assembly, and they will vote on a variety of service area boards.
Within city limits on Kodiak, four people are running to replace longtime Mayor Pat Branson, and four candidates are running for two seats on the city council.
In southwest Alaska, Bethel has four open city council seats but only three registered candidates and one write-in candidate.
In Unalaska, Mayor Vince Tutiakoff Sr. is running unopposed for re-election, and three people are running for one of the two city council seats on the ballot. The other incumbent for city council is unopposed. On the local school board, three people are running for one of two school board seats; the other seat is held by the incumbent school board president, who is unopposed in his re-election bid.
Within the Aleutians East Borough, which includes Sand Point, King Cove and Cold Bay, two of three borough assembly seats have unopposed races, and the third has two candidates. All three school board seats on the ballot have candidates running unopposed.
Further north in Dillingham, two city council seats have two candidates apiece, and three people are running unopposed for three school board seats.
Within the Bristol Bay Borough, based in Naknek, three people are running for two seats on the borough assembly, and there are five candidates for the two school board seats on the ballot.
In the Lake and Peninsula Borough, two borough assembly members and two school board members are running unopposed. Those elections, like those in Juneau, are conducted by mail, and ballots must be postmarked by Oct. 7 and received by the borough clerk before Nov. 7.
Anchorage Mayor Dave Bronson speaks in May 2022 at the Alaska Sustainable Energy Conference. (Photo by Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon)
Former Anchorage Mayor Dave Bronson said Thursday in Fairbanks that he intends to run for governor in 2026, becoming the 13th candidate and 12th Republican in next year’s race.
Incumbent Gov. Mike Dunleavy is term-limited and unable to run again, which has caused an unusually large number of early entries into the governor’s race.
Only one Democratic candidate, former Anchorage state Sen. Tom Begich, has entered the race. Other Democrats say they are awaiting the possible run by former Democratic U.S. Rep. Mary Peltola, who had the highest favorability rating among top candidates, according to one poll this summer.
Republicans face no such obstacle. In addition to Bronson, the Republican field of candidates includes former state Sen. Click Bishop of Fairbanks; Lt. Gov. Nancy Dahlstrom of Eagle River; Anchorage businesswoman Bernadette Wilson; podiatrist Matt Heilala of Anchorage; Matanuska-Susitna Borough Mayor Edna DeVries; former teacher James William Parkin IV of Angoon; current state Sen. Shelley Hughes of Palmer; Bruce Walden of Palmer; former Alaska Revenue Commissioner Adam Crum; and former Alaska Attorney General Treg Taylor.
All of those candidates have filed letters of intent or statements of candidacy with the Alaska Public Offices Commission, which allows them to fundraise and spend money on a campaign.
They have not yet registered with the Alaska Division of Elections, which officially places a candidate on the August primary ballot.
Republican Henry Kroll of Soldotna, who has not registered with the Public Offices Commission, is the lone candidate to have registered with the Division of Elections.
The deadline to file with the Alaska Division of Elections is June 1, 2026.
In Alaska, the top four vote-getters for a state office, regardless of political party, advance from the August general election to the November general election.
Wilson has vowed to withdraw from the election if she finishes in the top four but isn’t the top Republican. She has encouraged other Republicans to take similar vows in an attempt to consolidate support for the top Republican front-runner in the general election.
Bronson, who delivered brief remarks in Fairbanks before participating in a panel discussion with six other Republican candidates, said he supports increased spending on infrastructure and the Permanent Fund dividend, saying he would like to see a constitutional amendment that would mandate a dividend paid according to a formula that was used from 1982 through 2016.
That would require spending an additional $2 billion per year for dividend payments above what lawmakers and Dunleavy approved this year. As a whole, the state’s operating budget is currently $5.9 billion. Bronson did not explain how he intends to pay for the increase.
An experienced pilot, Bronson was elected mayor of Anchorage in 2021, months after the incumbent Democratic mayor resigned during a sex scandal and amid a conservative backlash against COVID-19 mitigation efforts imposed by the Anchorage assembly.
He served a single term and was endorsed for re-election by Dunleavy and U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan but lost in 2024 to current Mayor Suzanne LaFrance.
Bronson’s time in office was marked by major conflicts with city employees, public health officials and the assembly. In 2023, the city manager Bronson appointed and fired, sued him and the city, alleging illegal and unethical acts. The assembly settled that case in 2024 for $250,000 after Bronson left office.
In January, Dunleavy appointed Bronson to manage Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport. After less than eight months, he announced his resignation from that job in August.
Elayna Cunningham, a college student interning at Koahnic Broadcast Corp., records a program on July 10, 2025, at the Anchorage, Alaska, studios of KNBA, the flagship station for National Native News. (AP Photo/Mark Thiessen)
Elayna Cunningham, a college student interning at Koahnic Broadcast Corp., records a program on July 10, 2025, at the Anchorage, Alaska, studios of KNBA, the flagship station for National Native News. (AP Photo/Mark Thiessen)
NOTN- Months after Congress eliminated federal funding for public broadcasting, 14 Alaska stations have been granted temporary relief.
Eligible stations were then presented with two potential funding options: they could partner with a Tribe, either through a 638 compact or 638 contract, or they could go through a grant process.
Stations will likely be funded through a program that supports tribal stations, but they won’t receive the temporary funding until after the federal government Shutdown.
In a press release, Senator Lisa Murkowski announced the funding, calling it a critical but short-term measure to keep rural stations operating after Congress rescinded $1.1 billion from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
“This funding will help some of Alaska’s most rural radio stations make ends meet for now.” Murkowski said, “But it is one-time funding, and the job isn’t done until every station in Alaska has stable, long-term support.”
Stations set to receive funding include KNBA in Anchorage, KBRW in Barrow, KYUK in Bethel, KDLG in Dillingham, KUCB in Unalaska, and others serving communities from the Aleutians to the Arctic.
Officials with the cruise line Holland America announce an Alaska-themed float at the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in Juneau on Sep. 30, 2025 (Photo by James Brooks/Alaska Beacon)
The cruise line Holland America will have a large Alaska-themed float in the annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, the company announced Monday during a ceremony in Juneau.
A mock-up of the proposed Alaska-themed float in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade, sponsored by Holland America, is displayed in Juneau on Sep. 30,2025 (Photo by James Brooks/Alaska Beacon)
Alaskans haveoccasionallyparticipated in the parade in New York City, which is celebrating its 99th anniversary this year, but the company believes this will be the first time that the state will be represented by a float in the event.
The announcement came on one of the last days of Holland America’s summer cruise ship operations in Alaska’s capital city. Juneau will continue receiving occasional large cruise ships through October.
“The float will be named simply ‘The Land of Glaciers, Wildlife and Wonder,’” said Leanne Jones with Holland America official during a ceremony announcing the float and a $5,000 donation to Trail Mix, a local trail-building nonprofit in Juneau.
“This marks the first time Alaska will be featured in the iconic holiday event, and the first time Holland America Line has ever participated in this parade,” Jones said. The parade is scheduled to start at 4:30 a.m. Alaska time on Thursday, Nov. 27.
A rendering displayed Monday shows a howling wolf, black bear and a moose at the back of the float. The main platform is a glacier and river with leaping salmon.
“Well, that’s a pretty exciting announcement,” said Juneau Mayor Beth Weldon. “And you know, after Macy’s parade, we do have a Fourth of July parade in Juneau.”
The Juneau cruise dock is seen on Sep. 30, 2025 (Photo by James Brooks/Alaska Beacon)
A copy of the Homer News is seen in 2015. Newsroom employees at the News and the Peninsula Clarion submitted their resignations on Monday, Sept. 29, 2025, to protest the actions of the newspaper’s ownership. (Photo by James Brooks/Alaska Beacon)
Reporters and editors at the Homer News and Peninsula Clarion announced their resignations on Monday, citing a decision by the papers’ corporate owners to bow to political pressure to amend an article about a vigil for the slain far-right activist Charlie Kirk.
The resignations, which include two editors and two reporters based in Homer and Kenai, were scheduled to take effect in two weeks, but managers at Carpenter Media Group fired all four immediately.
Carpenter Media Group, an international chain, owns the News, Clarion and the Juneau Empire, as well as the Yukon News and hundreds of other newspapers in the Lower 48 and Canada.
The resignations follow a similar mass resignation at the Juneau Empire earlier this summer.
When combined, both actions leave Carpenter Media Group with a single in-state Alaska reporter among its three newspapers.
Mary Kemmis, senior vice president of Carpenter’s publications in Alaska and Canada, did not return phone calls seeking comment on Tuesday, nor did Chloe Pleznac, the reporter who authored the original article.
Jake Dye, a former reporter for the Peninsula Clarion and one of the people who resigned this week, said by phone that Carpenter’s handling of the story was “problematic in a lot of ways.”
Since his killing, conservatives, including many Republicans, have held rallies to memorialize Kirk.
After a vigil in Homer, Pleznac published an article describing Kirk as a “far-right political activist and Christian-Nationalist icon,” and went on to describe his “often racist and controversial views” before going on to detail the vigil.
Soon after the article was published, Rep. Sarah Vance, R-Homer, published a letter on official state legislative letterhead that criticized the characterization of Kirk and the Homer News coverage and said in part, “If the paper continues to treat community events as opportunities for partisan spin, the consequence will be financial as well as reputational.”
After the letter, which was reprinted on her legislative Facebook page, Carpenter officials rewrote the article without consulting editors or reporters at the Homer News, according to the staff who resigned.
Vance did not answer a phone call and text message Tuesday asking about the incident.
In their resignation letter, Carpenter’s Alaska reporters and editors said they don’t have an issue with Vance’s perspective but “what we do have a problem with is Carpenter Media management changing a story at the behest of an elected official. We believe this destroys the credibility the public has placed in us as reporters and editors.”
The worry, the resigning staff said, is that having once caved to political pressure, Carpenter Media will invite further attempts to steer news coverage by political officials and people who are part of the story.
“We cannot do our jobs knowing that pressure from an elected official can mean our stories are edited without prior consultation with us,” the resignation letter says.
Vance’s letter to Carpenter Media comes amid nationwide pressure by Republican and conservative officials to clamp down on language deemed critical of Kirk. Some states have launched investigations of university officials and other public employees for comments made on social media.
The three publications were owned by Georgia-based Morris Communications until 2017, when they were purchased by New Jersey-based GateHouse Media. Later that year, they were sold again to Washington-based Sound Publishing, a division of Canada-based Black Press.
In Juneau, the entire reporting staff of the Juneau Empire — including seasonal interns — resigned simultaneously amid complaints about low pay, benefits and a lack of institutional support.
The former editor of that newspaper has since gone on to help start an independent, nonprofit newsroom for capital-city news.
Dye, by phone on Tuesday, said he’s not sure what’s next for either himself or the Peninsula Clarion. Journalism in Alaska as a whole is in a dim spot amid budget cuts to public media, he said, but he’s trying to stay optimistic.
“There’s not a lot of light at the end of the tunnel, but I guess I truly believe that somehow, things are going to work out for the state and for us,” he said.
NOTN- Juneau officials are preparing to partner with the U.S. Coast Guard to help meet housing needs tied to the planned 2029 arrival of the icebreaker Storis.
Deputy Mayor Greg Smith said the Coast Guard has identified a deficit of 71 housing units for personnel.
“Juneau needs over 1000 units, if not closer to 1500 just for our population. But knowing that, making this a successful home port for the Storis is a tremendous need and priority for us.” Said Smith.
On Monday, the Assembly authorized the city manager to work with the Coast Guard on a memorandum of understanding, which is a formal document outlining the intent of two or more parties to cooperate on a project or transaction, and to consider city-owned property for potential development.
“The Coast Guard is going to put out a request for information, and ask local developers, We need this much housing, what could you offer? what can you provide to help fill this need?” Smith Said, “Our city manager said we also have some property that could go and potentially help address this need as well. She identified Pederson Hill as well as Telephone Hill as city owned land that could be used. It’s not simply for Coast Guard housing.”
The Coast Guard is expected to issue a request for information to local developers outlining housing needs. Smith said demonstrating city support is critical to ensuring the Storis is successfully homeported in Juneau and not relocated elsewhere.
