Alaska Beacon – June 21, 2025 – Congress approves bills dealing with Native federal aid and land for Alaska Native villages

Two bills sponsored by Rep. Nick Begich III, R-Alaska, have passed the U.S. Senate and are on the way to the desk of President Donald Trump. The Senate passed House Resolution 42 and House Resolution 43 by voice vote on Wednesday. By phone Friday, Begich said he expects that Trump will sign both bills sometime in the next 30 days. Read more

ADN – June 18, 2025 – Senate version of tax bill would sell public lands for housing in Alaska, other Western states

A U.S. Senate committee has proposed selling more than 3 million acres of public lands in Alaska and several other Western states to support new housing development. The idea has alarmed conservation groups and others in Alaska who fear portions of, say, the Chugach or Tongass national forests, and other treasured areas would be auctioned off to developers. Read more

ADN – June 13, 2025 – U.S. appeals court refuses to overturn Biden administration approval of Alaska’s Willow oil project

JUNEAU — A federal appeals court panel on Friday refused to vacate the approval of the massive Willow oil project on Alaska’s petroleum-rich North Slope though it found flaws in how the approval was reached. Read more

ADN – June 12, 2025 – Providence health system cutting 35 Alaska positions as part of national reduction

Providence is cutting 35 positions in Alaska, mostly in leadership roles, as part of a national reduction in its workforce, according to representatives of the health care organization. The move is related in part to proposed cuts in Medicare and Medicaid, along with inflation and tariffs, according to Providence. Read more

Alaska Public Media – June 12, 2025 – Who has beef with the Republican mega-bill? Alaska’s solar industry, among others.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Capitol complex is crawling with citizen advocates these days, mobilized by one part or another of the “One Big Beautiful Bill” pending in the Congress. A cluster of anti-hunger champions took a breather Wednesday afternoon in a stairwell of the Cannon House Office building. Read more

KUAC – June 12, 2025 – Pentagon resumes development of small Eielson nuclear power plant

Pentagon officials have revived a proposal to develop a small nuclear power plant on Eielson Air Force Base. The Defense Logistics Agency and the Air Force jointly announced Tuesday that the agencies intend to award a contract to California-based Oklo Incorporated to develop a microreactor at Eielson to generate backup electricity. Read more

Alaska Beacon – June 11, 2025 – Alaska detained 42 men arrested by ICE and flown in from out of state, amid federal crackdown

The Alaska Department of Corrections received and detained 42 men in the Anchorage Correctional Complex over the weekend who were arrested outside of the state by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, amid a federal immigration crackdown. Read more

Alaska Beacon – June 11, 2025 – Alaskans plan widespread pro-democracy protests, joining national movement

As President Donald Trump orders the U.S. military into Los Angeles to confront protesters there, hundreds of Alaskans are preparing to join pro-democracy rallies planned for Saturday. At least 18 events are scheduled to take place in Alaska, and more than 1,500 are scheduled nationwide as part of the “No Kings” movement, which is organizing to oppose Trump actions. Read more

KUAC – June 11, 2025 – With the return of fired parks staff, some Denali summer camps will happen this year after all

A few youth summer camps in Denali National Park were cancelled after some probationary parks employees were fired by the Trump administration earlier this year. Some staff have since been re-hired, and some of the camps are getting back on track. But the people who run them say this summer isn’t going to be the same. Read more

Alaska Beacon – June 9, 2025 – Five months after Trump order, most federal agencies are using ‘Gulf of America,’ Mount McKinley

On Friday, the federal agency in charge of offshore oil and gas drilling announced that it will be rewriting its core regulations to replace all references to “Gulf of Mexico” with “Gulf of America.” The change by the Bureau of Ocean and Energy Management is only the latest in a series of actions by federal agencies, and a review of the Federal Register — the official journal of the federal government — shows most agencies have already implemented President Donald Trump’s Jan. 20 executive order, which instructed the federal government to replace the gulf’s name in official records. Read more

Alaska Beacon – June 6, 2025 – Alaska Sustainable Energy Conference 2025 left unspoken what Alaskans truly value

At the conclusion of the 2025 Alaska Sustainable Energy Conference much attention was given to profitability of fossil fuels, while far less was said about the meaning of  “sustainability” itself. In fact, both Alaskans and the principles of sustainability were notably absent from the conference’s central themes and many of its attendees. From the outset, the federal government’s priority appeared to be reassuring foreign interests of the United States’  continued ability to sell off Alaska piece by piece. Read more

KUAC – June 6, 2025 – Trump’s budget would cut a research program that’s informed Alaska wildlife management for decades

Most states have what’s called a cooperative fish and wildlife research unit. Their purpose is to help state wildlife managers answer big conservation questions. Alaska’s co-op research unit asks questions like: How do we maintain the dwindling Fortymile Caribou Herd? Or, how do we get rid of the invasive northern pike that are chowing down on juvenile salmon? Read more

Alaska Public Media – June 5, 2025 – Federal staffing shortages could imperil Alaska aviation and tanker safety, Murkowski says

WASHINGTON — Staff reductions and budget cuts at the U.S. Commerce Department have Sen. Lisa Murkowski concerned for Alaska’s major industries.

Alaska pilots, she said Wednesday, depend on the proper functioning of Automated Surface Observing Systems.

“The ASOS systems, as they are known, which provide for the aviation safety, are managed by the National Weather Service,” Murkowski told Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick at a Senate hearing. “So right now, we’re looking at about a 40% staffing shortage.” Read more

Alaska Public Media – June 5, 2025 – Federal cuts could end key library services for rural Alaskans

At the Moose Pass Public Library, kids were playing in a room lined with bookshelves. Children’s toys lay scattered across the floor. This is a typical day for the library, which has become a hub for the Kenai Peninsula community of about 80 people.

It’s one of the roughly 70 libraries in Alaska that participate in a lending program, called the 800# Interlibrary Loan & Reference Backup Service, that primarily serves rural communities. The service stopped taking requests on May 7. Read more

ADN – June 5, 2025 – Alaska LNG has caught a wave of high-level attention. Is it winning over its skeptics?

A rare visit to Alaska this week by high-level Asian dignitaries and top members of the Trump administration has brought new attention to the $44 billion Alaska LNG project.

But state lawmakers and industry observers who have been skeptical of the project say huge questions remain about a mega-project that Alaska businesses and leaders, in one form or another, have tried and failed to build for generations. Read more

Alaska Public Media – June 4, 2025 – During Prudhoe Bay tour, Trump officials tout oil pipeline and potential gasline
Donning hard hats, bright safety vests and goggles, dozens of North Slope oil workers gathered in freezing conditions to hear from a trio of high level Trump administration officials on Monday.

Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, Energy Secretary Chris Wright and EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin touted the work underway to develop oil and gas in Alaska. Read more

ADN – June 4, 2025 – EPA chief says canceled Alaska energy projects, many in rural communities, have ‘fixable’ issues

The head of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said Tuesday in Anchorage that he’s working with Alaska leaders to review tens of millions of dollars’ worth of grants that have been canceled in the state, such as those for renewable energy projects.

Some of the EPA grant-funded projects, which included wind, solar and battery projects in rural Alaska, were designed to cut utility bills and create jobs and income for tribal governments that would become independent power producers, officials and project representatives said this week. Read more

Alaska Public Media – June 1, 2025 – Trio of Trump officials tour Alaska under promise of ‘unleashing’ state’s resource potential

Three high-level Trump administration officials are touring Alaska this week, to make good on a day one promise from the president: unleashing Alaska’s resource potential. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, Energy Secretary Chris Wright and EPA administrator Lee Zeldin are part of a group that will travel to the North Slope on Monday and later participate in Governor Mike Dunleavy’s sustainable energy conference in Anchorage. Read more

ADN – May 28, 2025 – Alaska Legislature makes progress on aid package for ailing seafood industry

To help pull the struggling Alaska seafood industry out of its tailspin, state lawmakers passed some bills aimed at lightening the financial load on harvesters and advanced others that are intended to help businesses and fishery-dependent municipalities. Read more

ADN – May 28, 2025 – Alaska legislative leaders urge governor to address ‘pattern of obstruction’ by revenue department
Legislative leaders have sent a scathing letter to Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy that criticizes the state Department of Revenue for allegedly “obfuscating” information from the Legislature about hundreds of millions of dollars in oil and gas tax assessments. Read more

ADN – May 27, 2025 – University of Alaska president reports $50M in grants frozen by Trump administration, warns of staff cuts

The administration of President Donald Trump has suspended and canceled more than $50 million in funding at the University of Alaska, university President Pat Pitney told the Board of Regents this month. Read more

Alaska Public Media – May 20, 2025 – Kipnuk searches for answers after loss of $20M grant to address erosion

A couple miles inland from the Bering Sea coast, the banks of the Kugkaktlik River creep closer and closer to the Kuskokwim Delta community of Kipnuk. “We’re losing, like, 10 to 28 feet of river bank each year as a result of permafrost thaw and increased frequency and severity of extreme weather events and recurring flooding,” said Rayna Paul, environmental director for the Native Village of Kipnuk. Read more

Alaska Public Media – May 16, 2025 – Alaska Legislature urges DC lawmakers to extend health insurance subsidies

The Alaska Legislature passed a joint resolution Tuesday urging lawmakers in Washington, D.C. to extend enhanced health insurance premium subsidies. As the highly-anticipated Congressional budget reconciliation bill stands now, the enhanced tax credits will expire at the end of this year. If they don’t get extended, health insurance costs will go up in January for many Alaskans. Read more

Alaska Public Media – May 16, 2025 – Tribal leaders say cuts to federal health programs could harm Native Americans

At a U.S. Senate hearing this week, tribal leaders from across the country spoke out against cuts to the Department of Health and Human Services. The department announced in March that it would cut 20,000 health jobs, consolidate some of its divisions and close regional offices. That was in response to an executive order from President Trump aimed at “workforce optimization” across the federal government. Read more

BroadbandBreakfast – May 14, 2025 – University of Alaska president reports $50M in grants frozen by Trump administration, warns of staff cuts

Kristina Woolston, CEO of Old Harbor Native Co., presented her plans for Project Nunapet on Wednesday. Project Nunapet, funded by the $65 million grant given to the state of Alaska in partnership with the Alaska Communication System, is a project connecting four Alaskan tribal communities with a fiber network. While most of the state is served by microwave and satellite, Woolston said tribes and small towns need a stronger connection. Read more

Alaska Beacon – May 14, 2025 – Amid budget struggle, Alaska has little money for new construction or renovation

The state’s capital budget is about to pass the Legislature with no projects for individual legislators’ districts. Read more

KUAC – May 14, 2025 – A startup in Fox wanted to help fix Alaska’s housing shortage. Then federal funding freezes got in the way.

just as PanAlaska was trying to ramp up production for the busy summer building season in Alaska, the Trump administration began freezing and cutting federal grants that were critical to their success. Read more

Alaska Beacon – May 14, 2025 – Dozens of members of Congress from both parties plead with Trump to unfreeze FEMA grants

Members of Congress from both political parties are calling on the Trump administration to unfreeze funding for a grant program that helps local communities better prepare for natural disasters. The letter from more than 80 lawmakers urges the Federal Emergency Management Agency to begin spending money already approved by Congress for the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities program. Read more

Alaska Public Media – May 13, 2025 – Tribal libraries across Alaska slash hours and programming amid Trump’s cuts

Funding for Tribal libraries across the country, including libraries in Native villages, comes from an agency known as the Institute of Museum and Library Services. In Alaska alone, the agency awarded library-related grants to dozens of tribes over the last two years. But President Donald Trump signed an executive order in mid-March aimed at eliminating the agency. Read more

ADN – May 11, 2025 – Trump administration cuts endanger critical science programs in Alaska, researchers say

Scientific work that has long benefited Alaskans is in the crosshairs as President Donald Trump’s administration moves to slash funding for climate and environmental studies, Alaska scientists say. Read more

KTOO – May 8, 2025 – Federal cuts could limit Alaska library services and hours at Juneau branches

Libraries in Alaska may no longer be able to request books from out of state, or mail books and other media to Alaskans who don’t live near a library. Trump administration cuts to federal staff that distributes funding for libraries means has left funding for the state’s Interlibrary Loan services and the Alaska Library Extension program are uncertain after the end of June. Read more

Alaska Beacon – May 8, 2025 – Trump-proposed cut to federal Essential Air Service would fall on rural Alaska

A program that has subsidized commercial aviation rural routes and that is particularly significant in Alaska is a target for a more than 50% reduction in funding under President Donald Trump’s budget proposal. Read more

KTOO – May 8, 2025 – Arctic sea ice has been hitting record lows. Scientists just lost a critical tool for studying it.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced on Tuesday that it will defund a program that catalogs decades sea ice data in Alaska. Scientists say the program’s termination could create a gap in climate research at a time when polar ice is dwindling to historic lows. Read more

ADN – May 2, 2025 – AmeriCorps cuts abruptly end service projects across Alaska as dozens of volunteers are told to halt work
At least 87 federally funded AmeriCorps volunteers were notified this week that their current or upcoming service work in Alaska was abruptly canceled. They include out-of-state volunteers set to work at Girl Scout Camps in Chugiak this summer, and local aspiring teachers planning to tutor young Alaskans. Read more

KTOO – April 28, 2025 – Proposed NOAA cuts could shutter research institutes that train the next generation of Alaska scientists
Alaska could lose several research institutions and a pipeline into science for budding researchers in the state if the Trump administration’s proposed cuts to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s budget become a reality. Read more

KTUU – April 28, 2025 – Feds lift pause on over a million in funding for rural Alaska federal emergency radio warning upgrades
After expressing public safety concerns, nine rural Alaska public radio stations are now back on track to receive federal grants to pay over a million dollars in emergency warning system upgrades, after the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) announced a funding hold had been lifted. Read more

Alaska Beacon – April 23, 2025 – Sen. Murkowski makes pitch for renewable energy’s value in Alaska communities
While the Trump administration emphasizes fossil fuel extraction and pauses funding for renewable projects, the Alaska senator describes renewables as key to energy independence. Read more

ADN – April 22, 2025 – Federal leader of Alaska’s Denali Commission says she is fighting for the agency’s survival
The federal leader of the Denali Commission said she is trying to save long-planned Alaska infrastructure projects now threatened by the Trump administration — and the life of the independent federal commission itself. Read more

Politico – April 15, 2025 – Federal judge orders immediate thaw of climate, infrastructure funds
A federal judge ruled Tuesday that EPA, the Interior and Energy Departments and other agencies unlawfully froze funds under Democrats’ climate and infrastructure spending laws, ordering the agencies to immediately resume disbursing the money. Read more

ADN – April 9, 2025 – ‘Devastating’ DOGE cuts hit museums, cultural centers and libraries all over Alaska
Over the last few weeks, museums, libraries and cultural organizations across Alaska have started receiving notice that funds promised to them through federal programs are being terminated in order to align government spending with a recent Trump administration order and the Department of Government Efficiency. In some cases, the money has already been spent, and small, local organizations are struggling to figure out if they’ll be reimbursed. Read more

Juneau Empire – April 9, 2025 – Trump executive order seeks to block states and municipalities from enforcing their climate policies
An executive order blocking enforcement of climate change and other environmental policies by states and municipalities was signed late Tuesday by President Donald Trump, expanding on multiple previous orders that among other things mandate the elimination of all federal regulations that inhibit maximum utilization of Alaska’s natural resources. Read more

Plastics Recycling Update – April 9, 2025 – Federal funding uncertainty hits recycling projects
Alaska Plastic Recovery had been receiving funding from the U.S. EPA for collecting recyclable plastics to use in its Grizzly Wood composite lumber. But under the Trump administration, such funding is uncertain. In a recent letter to customers, Simpson said, “Due to recent changes in federal funding, we now need to accelerate our timeline and achieve breakeven within the next 9 months,” instead of the originally planned 18 months. The company also is raising prices for its lumber, and sales of Grizzly Wood also will need to double in 2025 to meet sustainability goals. Read more

Alaska Public Media – April 4, 2024 – Juneau considers setting aside money to support Mendenhall Glacier staffing
With Juneau’s cruise ship season less than two weeks away, Juneau officials are proposing to set aside city money to hire staff for one of the city’s main tourist attractions: the Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center. The jobs were formerly filled by federal workers, and city leaders say the proposal would act as a safety net in the face of further uncertainty at the federal level. Read more

ADN – March 30, 2025 – Federal cuts hurt food security programs in several Alaska Native villages
Recent federal budget cuts have led to the termination of key U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) grants, jeopardizing food security programs in several Alaska Native villages. For instance, the Tyonek Grown community farm’s plans for a community food forest are now uncertain due to federal funding reductions. Read more

ADN – March 26, 2025 – Opinion: I live in Kotzebue. Here’s how the federal funding freeze is hurting our community
Today, decision-makers thousands of miles away are “freezing” these investments, setting back projects that were slated to break ground imminently and potentially derailing our goals of achieving energy independence and reducing the ever-increasing cost of keeping our families warm. In total, the administration has frozen $91 million in investments that could support long-term sustainability in a region that is critically important to the US for responsible mineral resource development and geopolitical defense. Read more

Alaska Public Media – March 12, 2025 – Experts say chaotic federal funding freezes are disrupting rural Alaska projects
Alaska experts on energy, housing and infrastructure said billions of dollars are in limbo from President Donald Trump’s funding freezes – and that uncertainty is affecting local communities. The Trump administration paused funding for several major federal programs back in January. Since then, the freeze has interrupted Alaska initiatives ranging from heat pump programs to major infrastructure projects that would protect communities from storm surges and tsunamis. Eight representatives from Alaska-based organizations discussed the disruptions during a joint virtual press conference on Tuesday. Read more