Fractured GOP field, candidate's improbable rise could clear path for a Democrat in Alaska governor's mansion
It's been more than two decades since Alaska elected a Democratic governor.
BY Nathaniel HerzSep 2, 2026
REPORTING DESK
NEWS & DISPATCHES
What happened in Anchorage and across Alaska — from the Muni to the North Slope.
In shakeup, disqualified governor candidate's running mate — and his wife — step up to run
"I'm stepping up to governor," Candi English told employees at the Alaska Division of Elections.
BY Nathaniel HerzAug 31, 2026
This podiatrist spent $325 per vote in his bid to be Alaska governor. Here's how the other candidates did.
Independent Bill Walker, meanwhile, spent a mere $10 to win each of his 7,333 votes.
BY Nathaniel HerzAug 30, 2026
Ch’atanaltsegh: A weird and wonderful parade marks return of a Dena’ina place name in Anchorage
Larger-than-life salmon and sandhill cranes joined Indigenous dancers near Fish Creek, just west of downtown.
BY Nathaniel HerzAug 29, 2026
Results suggest left-leaning voters buoyed Petersburg Sullivan in Alaska's U.S. Senate primary
In urban areas where the leading Democrat performed well, the retired teacher from Petersburg also saw strong results.
BY Nathaniel HerzAug 28, 2026
Favorite Plate: My love-at-first-bite affair with Ginger’s General Tso’anders Fried Chicken
The Anchorage Press' 'Favorite Plate' feature debuts with a fried chicken dish from Downtown Anchorage's Ginger.
BY Lily MillerAug 26, 2026
This Democratic Socialist could cost Mary Peltola votes in November. But he says he’d actually boost her.
David Leslie, a longtime Fairbanks activist, scored a surprise fourth-place finish in preliminary results in Alaska’s U.S. Senate primary.
BY Nathaniel HerzAug 21, 2026
Opinion: Want to set your money on fire? Use it to boost Alaska’s false flag candidates.
Scott Kendall says efforts by incompetent Outside consultants are more likely to help the very candidates that they’re intended to harm — and in reality, the real-world impact will be nothing at all.
BY Scott KendallAug 15, 2026
Alaska politicians sport beards and bear-hunting bona fides to claim authenticity. But those tropes originated Outside.
The ‘Real Alaskan’ is cheap repackaging of what one historian describes as hunter-heroes, Kaitlin Jade Armstrong writes in an opinion piece.
BY Kaitlin Jade ArmstrongAug 14, 2026
After historic crash, Yukon River’s iconic king salmon run shows early signs of rebound
The jump in salmon numbers has also inflamed a debate about fishing bans amid reports of illegal harvests.
BY Max GrahamAug 14, 2026
An Alaska candidate for governor sparked a backlash by taking AI employees’ money. But he says he’s the opposite of an AI candidate.
“I absolutely should have seen this coming,” said Democrat Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins.
BY Nathaniel HerzAug 3, 2026
ExxonMobil won big at an Alaska oil lease sale. Months later, its bids are still in legal limbo.
Other companies also have their leases tied up in litigation from local and environmental groups.
BY Nathaniel HerzAug 3, 2026
As Alaska’s U.S. Senate campaign heats up, super PACs boost out-of-state candidates
The groups appear to be trying to “dilute the vote” for the leading GOP and Democratic hopefuls, one strategist says.
BY Nathaniel HerzAug 2, 2026
After Halong: Return and recovery
Second in a series on the impacts of the typhoon that hit Western Alaska last year.
BY Katie Baldwin BasileJul 31, 2026
Alaska's 17 governor candidates have raised nearly $9 million. This chart shows who gave it.
Alaska's gubernatorial campaigns have raised nearly $9 million. We broke down where it came from.
BY Will KoeppenJul 27, 2026
On Trump, salmon and bison confusion: An Alaska-themed Q&A with the Yukon Territory’s top official
Currie Dixon is premier of the Yukon Territory. A lot of the issues on his mind might also be on yours.
BY Max GrahamJul 22, 2026
With industry wary of Arctic Refuge, Alaska's own government plans a lonely quest for oil
AIDEA is spending as much as $175 million to look for petroleum in the refuge.
BY Max GrahamJul 16, 2026
Alaska's economic development agency plans a Mat-Su industrial park, with data centers
The AIDEA proposal is generating some enthusiasm, and some concerns about its inclusion of data centers.
BY Amy BushatzJul 15, 2026
At $20, Anchorage’s parking tickets are a bargain. That could be about to change.
A $15 increase has been proposed by the city agency that oversees parking.
BY Nathaniel HerzJul 14, 2026
Haunted by Halong
Western Alaska youth are grappling with trauma they suffered during last year's climate disaster.
BY Jess Zhang, The MarginJul 9, 2026
Data center critics flood Alaska land managers with opposition to North Slope project
Hundreds of comments have been filed, with subject lines like "HELL NO! To ANY DATA CENTERS" and "NO AI".
BY Nathaniel HerzJul 3, 2026
With tens of millions at stake, feud over trans-Alaska pipeline value heads to court
Alaska’s major oil companies, and three municipalities, have filed separate appeals of a state tax board decision that set the value of the pipeline at $13 billion.
BY Max GrahamJun 29, 2026
Juneau's cherished ski area is losing money. Will the city keep paying?
The future of Eaglecrest — and Juneau's identity as a ski town — has never been so fraught.
BY Max GrahamJun 29, 2026
Alaska governor's race survey: AI policy and news sources
Candidates weigh in on how they'd use AI in their administration, as well as safeguards they'd adopt.
BY Nathaniel HerzJun 25, 2026
Northern Journal 🤝 Anchorage Press
We're (re-)launching a newspaper.
BY Nathaniel HerzJun 16, 2026
Alaska’s 18-ticket gubernatorial race: The pundits weigh in
Need help making sense of the crowded field? Northern Journal has your back.
BY Nathaniel HerzJun 12, 2026
Meet the Spanish company at the heart of Alaska’s oil industry revival
Repsol is emerging as one of the state’s most bullish oil companies.
BY Max GrahamJun 10, 2026
After Halong: The ones who stayed
First in a series from Bethel-based photojournalist Katie Baldwin Basile.
BY Katie Baldwin BasileJun 9, 2026
Alaska governor's race survey: how much should companies pay in oil taxes?
We also ask what album candidates would bring if they were stranded on the remote Bering Sea island of St. Matthew.
BY Nathaniel HerzJun 5, 2026
Alaska’s board of fish restricted a commercial fleet to protect Western Alaska salmon. Then the AG stepped in.
Subsistence fishermen are fighting the attorney general’s decision to overturn the board’s action.
BY Olivia EbertzJun 4, 2026
“You'd be crying at the pump”: This Alaska village's gas was $8.44 — before the Iran war
Gas and heating fuel prices in rural Alaska were already high. An impending spike from the Iran war could "wipe out" communities.
BY Nathaniel HerzJun 2, 2026
In setback for oil companies, tax board raises trans-Alaska pipeline value by $3 billion
But the decision is likely to head to be appealed to the courts.
BY Max GrahamMay 28, 2026
New Trump administration proposal aims to accelerate drilling amid Alaska oil industry’s revival
"It’s pretty extreme,” said one longtime Alaska environmental advocate.
BY Max GrahamMay 26, 2026
New independent group, 'Build the Damn Roads!', will support Alaska GOP governor candidate Wilson
The super PAC-type group hasn’t reported any fundraising yet, but it’s working with professional political operatives.
BY Nathaniel HerzMay 20, 2026
For Alaska’s gubernatorial candidates, a sprint to find running mates
The clock is ticking before a June 1 filing deadline.
BY Nathaniel HerzMay 18, 2026
Alaska development agency approves $190 million budget for Arctic refuge oil exploration, leasing
AIDEA intends to move ahead with geologic testing on its leases in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, and to bid on new ones in an upcoming federal sale.
BY Max GrahamMay 14, 2026
A huge data center could rise on Alaska’s North Slope
The $500 million project could consume twice as much natural gas as urban Alaska’s grid.
BY Nathaniel HerzMay 13, 2026
After 10-year truce, a major tax dispute looms over the trans-Alaska pipeline system
Hundreds of millions of dollars in property taxes for the state, the North Slope and Fairbanks boroughs and the city of Valdez could be at stake.
BY Nathaniel HerzMay 12, 2026
More Alaska crude flows to Asia as Strait of Hormuz stays shut
Two tankers have departed Valdez for Asia in recent weeks — the same number that shipped oil to Asia in all of 2025.
BY Nathaniel HerzMay 11, 2026
The state of Alaska could spend nearly $200 million on oil exploration, leasing in Arctic refuge
Alaska’s economic development agency, AIDEA, wants to conduct geologic testing on its existing oil leases — and to bid on new ones — in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
BY Max GrahamMay 11, 2026
Alaska governor's race survey: climate change and dinner guests
Candidates tell us how they'd respond to threats like typhoons and thawing permafrost, and with whom they'd want to dine — living or dead.
BY Nathaniel HerzMay 8, 2026
A federal mining inspector wanted to investigate a Fairbanks property. Then, a state trooper called.
A legal dispute reflects a new twist to longstanding tensions between Alaska's small-scale miners and federal regulatory agencies.
BY Max GrahamMay 7, 2026
A lawmaker thought regulators were “on board” with a plan to speed review of utility price hikes. They weren’t.
In a letter to lawmakers, two regulators said they "strongly oppose" the plan.
BY Nathaniel HerzMay 6, 2026
With gold prices still soaring, a major Alaska mine proposal is getting a new look
For years, some of Alaska’s largest mining proposals inched along, unable to attract big investment. Then the price of gold took off.
BY Max GrahamMay 4, 2026
With one of two wells drilled, Hilcorp to pull out of Yukon Flats
The wells was drilled on Indigenous-owned land, in a program that prompted sharp opposition from area tribes.
BY Nathaniel HerzMay 1, 2026
Advocates decry lawmakers’ push to tighten regulators' deadline to review utility price hikes
Under a last-minute proposal from Anchorage Democratic Rep. Carolyn Hall, regulators would have nine months instead of 15 months to vet utility proposals.
BY Nathaniel HerzApr 30, 2026
Alaska’s energy cliff isn’t coming. It’s already here.
The state’s gas shortage is hitting electricity consumers in Fairbanks and the Mat-Su, and will likely affect home heating prices, as well.
BY Nathaniel HerzApr 27, 2026
A Q&A with Alaska congressional candidate Bill Hill
The independent says he's best situated to unseat incumbent Republican Nick Begich III.
BY Nathaniel HerzApr 26, 2026
A Northern Journal spring update, and a Q&A with Matt Schultz
Catching up on the Northern Journal trail.
BY Nathaniel HerzApr 25, 2026
A Democrat and an independent are vying for the anti-incumbent mantle in Alaska's U.S. House race.
The race between Bill Hill and Matt Schultz is heating up.
BY Nathaniel HerzApr 23, 2026
An Alaska GOP governor candidate is getting a boost from organized labor
A newly formed group will spend “six figures” to support former state senator Click Bishop.
BY Nathaniel HerzApr 22, 2026
In court, Pebble developer says 27 salmon stand in the massive mine’s way
"I'll kill them all right now, with my bare hands," one mine booster said in a recent video posted online.
BY Max GrahamApr 22, 2026
Alaska governor's race survey: health care costs, and candidates' own premium payments
Candidates tell us how they'd respond to threats like typhoons and thawing permafrost, and with whom they'd want to dine — living or dead.
BY Nathaniel HerzApr 20, 2026
Alaska’s embattled economic development agency approves $700,000 PR budget
Amid continuing opposition to its oil drilling and road projects, the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority says the public should know about its less controversial small business loan programs.
BY Nathaniel HerzApr 20, 2026
First he scoured the Pacific for Amelia Earhart’s missing plane. Now he wants to search Alaska’s seafloor for minerals.
The Trump administration could open federal waters off Alaska to mineral leasing, but the effort faces broad opposition.
BY Max GrahamApr 16, 2026
Alaska villages can already pay $10 or more for a gallon of fuel. A war-driven spike could produce a ‘survival scenario.’
One electric utility executive says diesel prices could double this year.
BY Nathaniel HerzApr 14, 2026
‘The salmon people’: How Alaska’s only Native reservation saved its fishing culture
A half-century ago, the Indigenous Tsimshian village of Metlakatla, in Southeast Alaska, preserved its reservation when others in Alaska were terminated. Today, the reserve sustains a thriving fishing industry — and the tribe is fighting in court to expand its territory.
BY Nathaniel HerzApr 8, 2026
Trawl allies fire back as Alaska candidates' anti-industry rhetoric heats up
Gubernatorial hopefuls are blasting Alaska's trawlers for catching salmon. Now industry allies have launched a radio ad campaign.
BY Nathaniel HerzApr 7, 2026
How Alaska’s governor found himself on an Emirati falcon hunt
Mike Dunleavy, in a required gift disclosure, said he accepted a helicopter ride and overnight stay at a preserve. But his hosts won’t be getting any special treatment, he said after returning home.
BY Nathaniel HerzApr 2, 2026
A giant lease sale could launch a new era of oil on Alaska's North Slope
Two huge companies thought to have little interest in Alaska investment, Shell and ExxonMobil, spent millions to buy new leases on the North Slope — though drilling still faces obstacles.
BY Max GrahamMar 26, 2026
Governor's race survey: the PFD question. (And ferries.)
Candidates propose their PFD amounts — and tell us the last time they rode an Alaska state ferry.
BY Nathaniel HerzMar 23, 2026
One of Alaska’s flagship mines soon could draw energy from the sun
Red Dog is racing to displace costly diesel with solar power before federal tax credits expire.
BY Max GrahamMar 19, 2026
After spending big on Donlin, billionaire sells stake in company with Ambler prospects
John Paulson sold a relatively small stake in Trilogy Metals around the time Trump officials announced a direct government investment in the company.
BY Max GrahamMar 4, 2026
A remembrance: Rich Mauer shaped Alaska journalism — and me.
I wish I kept a journal of all the lessons I learned from the longtime Anchorage Daily News reporter and editor. Here are a few.
BY Nathaniel HerzMar 1, 2026
Trump is all in on mining in Alaska. With one glaring exception: Pebble.
Lawyers for the Trump administration are defending a Biden-era decision to veto the controversial Pebble project in Alaska’s Bristol Bay region.
BY Max GrahamFeb 25, 2026
Ambler Road agreement calls for private access, subsistence safeguards and Native corporation contracts
Northern Journal obtained a copy of a recent agreement between Alaska Native corporations and the state agency pushing the contentious Ambler Road project.
BY Max GrahamFeb 20, 2026
A major new Arctic oil field prompted a deal to protect caribou. Then Trump officials backed out.
In December, the Interior Department scrapped an agreement with the village of Nuiqsut to restrict oil development near important caribou grounds. Now, the village is suing.
BY Max GrahamFeb 17, 2026
‘Hard things are what’s cool about sport’: Gus Schumacher on a tough Olympics start
Anchorage's Gus Schumacher describes his experience of tough results while, meanwhile, his roommate was winning an Olympic medal.
BY Nathaniel HerzFeb 14, 2026
Governor's race survey: How much money would you propose for schools? And: cars.
Candidates share what they'd propose for a per-student schools budget, and dish about their whips.
BY Nathaniel HerzFeb 13, 2026
Outside Olympic glamour, cross-country skiing’s Alaska-based broadcasters face late nights and solo calls
Kikkan Randall is one of the commentators who pulls graveyard shifts over the weekend to call races happening in Europe.
BY Nathaniel HerzFeb 7, 2026
Olympics face new blowback from skiers, activists over oil sponsorship
The Olympic torch relay stopped at the headquarters of Italian oil giant ENI. Some winter sports athletes aren't pleased.
BY Nathaniel HerzFeb 6, 2026
In new agreement with state, Indigenous landowners soften resistance to Ambler Road
Three Alaska Native corporations and the state agency pushing the Ambler Road quietly signed a nonbinding agreement late last year.
BY Max GrahamFeb 4, 2026
A break — sort of — from Northern Journal’s regularly scheduled programming
An update from Italy.
BY Nathaniel HerzFeb 3, 2026
Commission again sets Pacific halibut harvest at rock-bottom levels amid U.S.-Canada tensions
A Trump appointee threatened sanctions on Canadian halibut exports if the country’s negotiators didn’t accept a cut to the British Columbia catch, according to multiple sources.
BY Hal BerntonJan 28, 2026
Governor's race survey: Should Alaska spend millions more on its huge LNG project? Plus, Alaska books.
Many candidates say they'll make the $40 billion-plus LNG project a priority.
BY Nathaniel HerzJan 27, 2026
ConocoPhillips says North Slope drilling will continue mostly as planned after rig collapse
The company said it will replace “The Beast” with another Doyon rig.
BY Max GrahamJan 26, 2026
‘Harm against our family’: Alaska’s Indigenous leaders call for solidarity with Greenlanders amid Trump’s threats
“We are essentially the same people."
BY Max GrahamJan 22, 2026
Opinion: Trump would never eat muktuk. Why Alaskans should stand with Greenlanders now.
I’ve worked as a climate and ice scientist in Greenland for almost a decade. Alaskans share language, wild foods and culture with the people who live there.
BY Aurora RothJan 21, 2026
Alaska's oil renaissance has arrived at the doorstep of an Iñupiaq village
'Do you want your kids to see a drilling rig right outside your window?' asked one local leader in Nuiqsut.
BY Max GrahamJan 20, 2026
Alaska's candidates for governor weigh in on oil taxes, and how to cook fish
New from Northern Journal: a recurring survey of candidates for governor.
BY Nathaniel HerzJan 12, 2026
Hilcorp chairman: We’re going to Venezuela
Two big players in Alaska’s oil industry say they’re keen on investing in post-Maduro Venezuela.
BY Nathaniel HerzJan 10, 2026
Need a place to sleep at Anchorage’s international airport? An on-site hotel could be in the works.
A proposal from a Utah real estate firm and an Anchorage developer.
BY Nathaniel HerzJan 9, 2026
Mine workers ready respirators and go-bags as Red Dog contends with hazardous gas buildup
A recent uptick in sulfur dioxide emissions has fueled health concerns and a public response from the Indigenous-owned corporation that owns the land beneath the mine.
BY Max GrahamJan 8, 2026
Lisa Murkowski weighs in on public broadcasting, transboundary mining and Peltola's options
Alaska's senior senator speaks to some of the major congressional debates from the past year.
BY Nathaniel HerzJan 2, 2026
When will the deep freeze end? Alaska holds its breath.
A long-running weather pattern shows no sign of relenting. “Cranky’s a good way to describe it,” says one mayor whose village hit minus 50.
BY Nathaniel HerzDec 24, 2025
Indigenous nation to get $7,250-per-person payments as a contentious mine advances upstream of Alaska
The Eskay Creek project is one of several prospective mines near the British Columbia-Alaska border, where the government and industry have promised new investments.
BY Max GrahamDec 23, 2025
Alaska’s governor said he texts Trump. I asked for copies.
"Give them all MY LOVE. Wow!" Trump said in one of his messages to Gov. Mike Dunleavy, who says he tries not to abuse his access to one of the most powerful men in the world.
BY Nathaniel HerzDec 18, 2025
Alaska mining company pushing Cook Inlet, Hatcher Pass projects will merge with Canadian firm
Contango Ore helped build Alaska’s newest major mine. Its merger with and Dolly Varden Silver comes amid a flurry of deals in the state’s mining industry.
BY Max GrahamDec 9, 2025
Thawing permafrost is causing trouble for the Red Dog mine. Solutions could be costly.
Rusting rivers and huge rainfall have complicated pollution control at Northwest Alaska’s massive zinc mine.
BY Max GrahamDec 2, 2025
Utilities say Alaska needs an LNG import terminal. Here’s how consumers could end up paying not for one, but two.
Planning for two separate projects is currently moving ahead.
BY Nathaniel HerzNov 21, 2025
An unexpected friendship flight: How two Chinese pilots landed in a tiny Iñupiaq village in Alaska
After a blizzard forced an emergency landing in the Bering Strait village of Teller, the pilots have been sampling local delicacies.
BY Max GrahamNov 20, 2025
Halibut managers contend with scientific uncertainty as fishery hits record lows
Scientists remain hopeful halibut will rebound, as in decades past. But they are unsure when that will happen.
BY Hal BerntonNov 17, 2025
Bottom trawlers that snagged orcas are testing new technology to avoid them
The trawl industry has scrambled to try to find a way to keep the whales out of their nets after nine were accidentally taken in 2023.
BY Hal BerntonNov 16, 2025
In Alaska, fishing skippers and hungry orcas vie for halibut pulled from the deep
An intensifying arms race between fishermen and the whales has crews testing cutting edge equipment.
BY Hal BerntonNov 16, 2025
Bottom trawlers face renewed scrutiny amid halibut decline
The bottom trawl fleet accidentally catches and kills millions of pounds of halibut each year, stoking a fierce, long-running debate.
BY Hal BerntonNov 15, 2025
Shrinking prize: Amid halibut's decline, challenges mount for Alaska and Washington fishing crews
Scientists haven't reached a consensus about the forces that have driven down halibut stocks. But the decline is hitting the harvest hard.
BY Hal BerntonNov 15, 2025
Inside one of Alaska’s national parks, a fight looms over a possible gold mine
An Alaska Native corporation leased mineral rights inside a national park to Contango Ore Inc. The company’s plans are generating opposition from fishermen and conservationists.
BY Max GrahamNov 14, 2025
Alaska troopers seize Kodiak trawl group’s electronics in bycatch probe
An investigation appears to center on whether seafood companies violated federal rules by processing accidentally caught salmon and halibut into low-value fish meal.
BY Nathaniel HerzNov 10, 2025
Typhoons and other climate threats could cost Alaska billions. After last month’s storm, advocates say it’s time to act.
A study published before the storm said there's an $80 million-a-year gap in money needed to protect or move coastal communities.
BY Nathaniel HerzNov 7, 2025
An Alaska Native group was set to honor a Pebble mining official. Then came the backlash.
The controversy over a typically celebratory honor underscores the intense polarization over resource development in Alaska Native communities.
BY Max GrahamNov 4, 2025
On rivers and in courtrooms, Alaska battles for land inside national parks and preserves
For decades, Alaska land managers have been working to confirm the state's ownership of land beneath navigable rivers and lakes inside national parks and refuges.
BY Nathaniel HerzOct 29, 2025
'A whole new concrete jungle': A typhoon evacuee lands in urban Alaska.
Jeron Joseph has no driver's license, and he's barely ever left his home village. Now he's navigating life on the road system.
BY Jeron JosephOct 23, 2025
An ‘orchestra from Hell’: A firsthand account of the Halong flood
A displaced survivor from Kwigillingok tells his story.
BY Jeron JosephOct 20, 2025
'We’re in God’s hands now': A dispatch from Western Alaska
Hundreds have left their homes. Many may never go back.
BY Nathaniel HerzOct 17, 2025
Trump has given new life to the Ambler Road. But it’s still not a sure thing.
Litigation, financing and skepticism from Alaska Native landowners still stand in the project's way.
BY Max GrahamOct 9, 2025
With twin threats from Russia and China, U.S. military puts new focus on Alaska
In the past, large-scale exercises “occurred in Alaska,” one general says. “Now, this is high-end training that is occurring — that is about Alaska, from Alaska.”
BY Nathaniel HerzOct 7, 2025
Food review: This Californian ate five Valdez burritos in 72 hours – on purpose
A Northern Journal contributor explores the culinary delights of a community whose name he hoped would denote a thriving Latino culture.
BY Matt DrangeOct 7, 2025
A feud is escalating over Big Oil’s plans to protect Prince William Sound from another spill
The city of Valdez and the owner of the trans-Alaska pipeline are locked in a dispute over environmental protections at the state’s crude oil shipping port.
BY Max GrahamSep 30, 2025
A global megadeal would give one of Alaska's largest mines a new operator
Red Dog mine powers the Northwest Alaska economy, and its future is uncertain. But the planned merger appears unlikely to change much for the operation.
BY Max GrahamSep 12, 2025
Alaska’s top conservative writer explains why she left the website she founded
In a Q&A, Suzanne Downing says she left Must Read Alaska in a dispute with one of the investors who bought the site in 2023 and kept her on as a writer. “I write for a cause, the conservative cause. But there are aspects that are journalistic about it.”
BY Nathaniel HerzSep 10, 2025
A run through the tundra in Kotzebue
A weekend well-spent in rural Alaska.
BY Nathaniel HerzSep 9, 2025
A small Texas firm is gearing up for a $150 million search for oil beneath the Arctic Ocean
Narwhal Exploration is one of three small, privately owned companies with offshore leases in West Harrison Bay, a promising but largely unexplored area once controlled by Shell.
BY Max GrahamSep 5, 2025
Anchorage spent more than $200,000 to support the Trump-Putin summit. Will it get the money back?
Other cities’ efforts to recoup spending to protect Trump have failed. “We have sent demand letters, phone calls and made public statements. We have received no response.”
BY Nathaniel HerzSep 3, 2025
A cabbage named Clyde was set to vie for Alaska State Fair glory. Then, he went missing.
PALMER — K Michael Ward arrived at the Alaska State Fair last week and headed for the animal barn, ready for some detective work. Her destination: a sawdust-covered pen, where a herd of aspiring prize-winning cabbages had been assembled atop tarps just before the fair’s annual weigh-off. The semi-retired human resources consultant was on the hunt for her own resplendent vegetable. Just 24 hours before, Ward’s cabbage, which she’d spent months raising, had gone missing — and she was on guard ag
BY Nathaniel HerzSep 2, 2025
With gas crunch looming, Alaska's utilities won’t get big wind before tax credits expire. Here’s why.
One utility leader points to private developers and the Trump tax bill. But advocates say utilities share some of the blame.
BY Nathaniel HerzAug 29, 2025
The secret life of sculpin — a tiny fish that helps scientists monitor mines
Behold, the slimy sculpin.
BY Max GrahamAug 20, 2025
On small planes, gold mines and Alaska summers
A dispatch from the most happily chaotic time of year in the 49th state.
BY Nathaniel HerzAug 1, 2025
“Exhausting and demoralizing”: How public media in rural Alaska is responding to federal spending cuts
A Q&A with two longtime Alaska public radio employees
BY Max GrahamJul 29, 2025
Canadian company exits contentious uranium mining project in Western Alaska
Opponents cautiously celebrate, but the owner of the mining claims is looking for a new partner.
BY Max GrahamJul 22, 2025
Sunday listening: Lisa Murkowski on her 'One Big Beautiful Bill' vote
"The problem with standing on principle is when your constituents get hurt, and that was what was going to happen," Murkowski said.
BY Nathaniel HerzJul 20, 2025
Anchorage electricity prices could go up again. Blame the warm winter.
Anchorage utility executives say that a mild winter translated into lower electricity sales — and a hole in their budget.
BY Nathaniel HerzJul 18, 2025
National Democrats are “salivating” over a Mary Peltola bid for U.S. Senate. But Alaska’s governor’s race could be “wide open” too.
The filing deadline for the 2026 elections is still nearly a year away. But Democrats in Alaska and Outside are anxiously awaiting a decision about which office Peltola will run for.
BY Nathaniel HerzJul 14, 2025
In court filing, Trump administration hints at a lifeline for embattled Pebble project
After a landmark veto, Trump administration officials say they’re “open to reconsideration” and are negotiating a potential settlement of a lawsuit filed by Pebble’s developer.
BY Max GrahamJul 11, 2025
A national quest for uranium comes to remote Western Alaska, raising fears in a nearby village
Demand for low-carbon nuclear energy could boost uranium prospects on Alaska’s Seward Peninsula. But residents of the small village of Elim fear a mine would pollute the river they depend on.
BY Max GrahamJun 18, 2025
In Canada’s ‘Silicon Valley’ of mining, speculators power a hunt for Alaska’s minerals
Vancouver, British Columbia, home to dozens of companies searching the world for minerals, has a special interest in the northernmost U.S. state.
BY Max GrahamJun 17, 2025
Offshore in Cook Inlet, a 'silent economy' hunts for gas to keep Alaska running
Northern Journal helicoptered out to the offshore rig drilling for the increasingly scarce natural gas that powers urban Alaska.
BY Nathaniel HerzJun 12, 2025
Amid gas crunch, Alaska could revoke leases from a company whose drilling has stalled
The Dunleavy administration is threatening to strip Texas-based BlueCrest Energy of oil and gas leases near Anchorage, saying it’s failed to advance development that could delay urban Alaska's impending gas shortage.
BY Nathaniel HerzJun 6, 2025
Fueled by trade tensions and foreign wars, a rush for an obscure mineral heats up in Alaska
A Texas company recently acquired 50 square miles of mining claims across interior Alaska. Now it wants to start trucking antimony — a mineral used in weapons and solar panels — to its processing plant in Montana.
BY Max GrahamJun 5, 2025
Fact-checking Tom Cruise: Inside ‘Mission: Impossible’s’ trip to ‘Alaska’
Sure, there could be a secret CIA installation on a Bering Sea island. But taking a dog team across the surrounding sea ice? Only in Hollywood.
BY Nathaniel HerzJun 3, 2025
New Alaska Bitcoin mine would use as much power as the state’s largest coal plant produces
The startup planning the operation near the North Slope oil fields would power its computers not with coal but with another fossil fuel: natural gas that’s currently going unused.
BY Nathaniel HerzJun 1, 2025
Coastal Alaskans see commercial fishing limits as a ‘crisis.’ Lawmakers don’t.
Alaska’s Legislature adjourned last week without addressing an issue that many residents of coastal, Native villages see as urgent: expanding access to commercial fishing careers.
BY Nathaniel HerzMay 28, 2025
Who will benefit from melting glaciers?
In a remote corner of North America, salmon and mining companies are vying for new territory.
BY Max GrahamMay 22, 2025
Alaska utility execs to lawmakers: Let’s revive Susitna hydroelectric megaproject
The request by leaders of the state’s urban utilities faces opposition from some advocates, who say wind power is a more politically and economically realistic bet than the multi-billion-dollar Susitna development.
BY Nathaniel HerzMay 15, 2025
Conservation group's lawsuit seeks to speed listing of Alaska king salmon under Endangered Species Act
The lawsuit asks a judge to order the service to "promptly issue" its decision on the petition by a specific date.
BY Nathaniel HerzMay 9, 2025
A contentious mining project in Southeast Alaska just changed hands. Its new owner is already looking to sell.
Opponents are celebrating the news as a setback for the Palmer Project near Haines, one of the state’s most advanced — and polarizing — mining projects.
BY Max GrahamMay 8, 2025
Northern Journal news and a side of Interesting Stuff
The podcast is back! And other news.
BY Nathaniel HerzMay 7, 2025
Alaska's attorney general flew to South Africa and France. A corporate-funded group paid.
The itinerary for Treg Taylor's trip to Normandy included a stay at a five-star hotel favored by Hollywood stars and polo players.
BY Nathaniel HerzMay 5, 2025
Public media is in the crosshairs. How will Alaska’s congressional delegation vote?
Two of Alaska’s members of Congress have not directly said how they’d vote on an expected Trump proposal to defund the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
BY Nathaniel HerzApr 30, 2025
A key player in moving Interior Alaska off fossil fuels? Multibillion-dollar mining corporations.
The mining industry’s global quest for cheaper, cleaner power could change how thousands of Alaskans get electricity.
BY Max GrahamApr 29, 2025
A diesel spill along the Yukon raises fears about Hilcorp’s drilling program
No one is saying whether the truck that spilled 1,000 gallons of fuel had been on a Hilcorp job. But it belongs to a company that’s worked for Hilcorp on its Yukon Flats exploration program.
BY Nathaniel HerzApr 25, 2025
How a billionaire’s bet on Donlin mine could inject new life into the huge, slow-moving Alaska gold project
A global mining giant is selling its 50% stake in Donlin Gold. One of the buyers is John Paulson, who made billions betting against the housing market before the 2008 financial crisis.
BY Max GrahamApr 24, 2025
Why a surge in gold prices won’t solve Alaska’s budget woes
New calls to raise Alaska’s mining taxes and royalties come as state officials face difficult fiscal decisions.
BY Max GrahamApr 22, 2025
As Trump eyes Greenland and Arctic resources, America's ambassadorship for the region goes unfilled
Alaskans and others tracking America’s stance toward the Arctic are waiting for details of President Trump's new policy.
BY Nathaniel HerzApr 21, 2025
Alaska’s governor flew to Taiwan to sell LNG. China's not happy.
China says Dunleavy's trip "sends a very wrong signal to the 'Taiwan independence' separatist forces."
BY Nathaniel HerzApr 18, 2025
Above the Yukon River, on Native land, Hilcorp is set to drill for oil this summer
Hilcorp has signed oil leases with Doyon, the Indigenous-owned corporation for Interior Alaska, which hopes the drilling effort will yield the state’s next big oil field. But there’s fierce opposition from local tribes.
BY Nathaniel HerzApr 7, 2025
Will it? Won't it? And when? Anchorage contends with a restive volcano in its backyard.
The uncertainty around the eruption's timing has provoked a wide range of emotions from the Alaskans living in Mt. Spurr’s shadow, who have turned to social media and therapists to help them get through it.
BY Nathaniel HerzMar 26, 2025
Record gold prices could mean a banner year for Alaska mines
“Anyone with an operating gold mine is in a happy spot right now,” said one mining executive.
BY Max GrahamMar 21, 2025
Months after fish died near an Alaska mine, state regulators and the mine’s owner still don’t know what killed them.
“Sometimes you’re just never going to have data that says, ‘Yes, that’s what it was,” said a top state regulator.
BY Max GrahamMar 19, 2025
In Norway, a fossil fuel feud at a celebration of the national sport
A standoff between World Championships organizers and Norwegian climate advocates is threatening to mar an otherwise impeccably executed event.
BY Nathaniel HerzMar 4, 2025
“We like Canada the way it is”: As cross-border relations turn ugly, Alaskans and Yukoners work to stay friends
For Alaska’s eastern neighbors, dual threats of tariffs and annexation still loom.
BY Max GrahamFeb 27, 2025
An update from the Northern Journal trail
Some news and notes, including a leg wrestling video, about my work and travels over the past couple of months.
BY Nathaniel HerzFeb 24, 2025
Juneau’s push to expand renewable power could boost the region’s mines — or cost them
Amid proposals to electrify Juneau’s cruise docks and build a new hydroelectric plant, one of the area’s major mines has a lot to gain. The other has more to lose.
BY Max GrahamFeb 19, 2025
How a risky state investment in seafood cost Alaskans millions and left a fishing town in crisis
There were warning signs ahead of the bet on Peter Pan Seafood, which is expected to cost Alaskans more $29 million.
BY Hal BerntonFeb 13, 2025
Think sled dog racing is fading? In Alaska's mushing-crazy Kuskokwim Delta, it’s booming.
High school boys in one Kuskokwim River village can “forget the muscle cars,” said Barron Sample, principal of the school there. “You get the muscle dogs,” he said.
BY Nathaniel HerzFeb 12, 2025
The last skipper in Ouzinkie: How Gulf of Alaska villages lost their Native fishing fleets
A permitting system designed in the 1970s was supposed to make Alaska’s commercial fishing industry more sustainable and more profitable. But over the last 50 years, it has hollowed out many Indigenous coastal villages where residents no longer can earn a living by harvesting salmon.
BY Nathaniel HerzFeb 5, 2025
A major Alaska mine could end up in the crossfire of Trump’s trade war with Canada
Teck's Red Dog mine in Northwest Alaska supplies the U.S. with zinc and germanium — but only after those minerals get processed in Canada.
BY Max GrahamJan 30, 2025
Rolling blackouts could loom for urban Alaska as natural gas crunch intensifies
Homer Electric Association, which serves much of the Kenai Peninsula, recently announced that it secured an “interruptible” gas agreement for the next year — meaning that it could experience a shortfall of the fuel during a cold snap.
BY Nathaniel HerzJan 21, 2025
Could a push to expand winter trails boost a controversial mining road west of Anchorage?
Boosters of a mining road in the backcountry northwest of Anchorage are poised to get a $100,000 federal grant for trail work. Some locals see it as part of an under-the-radar effort to push the road forward.
BY Max GrahamJan 16, 2025
A national championship ski race was set for Kincaid Park. Then the moose showed up.
The real drama during Thursday's race was a quintessential Anchorage wildlife standoff — one that may have even altered the women’s podium.
BY Nathaniel HerzJan 3, 2025
This company helped build an Alaska mine without a tailings dump. Can it build two more?
Touting an unconventional approach, Contango Ore says it can develop mines faster and with a smaller environmental footprint. But some Alaskans fear an influx of ore trucks on state roads.
BY Max GrahamJan 2, 2025
'We're not heading in the right direction': A Q&A with Murkowski on health care
"I'm worried about the current situation, because we've got some demographics that are working against us," U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski said in an interview. "Alaskans are getting older, and our chronic conditions are just getting chronically worse."
BY Nathaniel HerzJan 1, 2025
Regulators, advocates warn of utility inaction as Alaska gas shortfall looms
“The window for making decisions is closing,” said one top regulator. “If things just sort of slide and there’s no leadership, and we’re in the same position 12 months from now, we are looking at a dire, dire, situation. And people should get angry.”
BY Nathaniel HerzDec 24, 2024
Scores of Alaskans face another eye-watering spike in their health care costs next year. Does anyone care?
Premiums for Alaska health insurance plans on the federal marketplace have spiked more than 50% over the past three years.
BY Nathaniel HerzDec 23, 2024
Loch Ness ducks or “vampire grebes”? Alaska governor’s wish list for Trump comes with AI hallucinations.
A ChatGPT-generated image of Alaska included some strange-looking waterfowl. Northern Journal investigates.
BY Nathaniel HerzDec 18, 2024
Big fight looms at Board of Fish meeting over Prince William Sound trawl bycatch
Conservation and tribal advocates have lobbied for a crackdown for years on the unintentional harvests of salmon and other species by Bering Sea pollock trawlers. Now, they’re turning their attention to a smaller pollock trawl fishery in Prince William Sound.
BY Nathaniel HerzDec 10, 2024
Feds approve key step toward expansion at major Northwest Alaska zinc mine
Red Dog mine, a regional economic linchpin, is running low on ore. With a new permit in hand, the multinational company that operates the project is now moving quickly to try to extend its life.
BY Max GrahamDec 6, 2024
Interesting Stuff: Researchers eye low-carbon fuel from Alaska rocks, Biden official visits a B.C. mine and election results boost Ambler mining company.
We've got items on the proposed Ambler road and neighboring mines, a project to research low-carbon fuel that could come from Alaska mines and Indigenous challenges to mining projects in British Columbia and the Nome area.
BY Max GrahamDec 5, 2024
Take a trip to the Asian island that could play a role in Alaska's future
If Taiwan faces a military conflict with China, Alaska forces could be drawn into the fight. Northern Journal recently took a trip to the island to learn more.
BY Nathaniel HerzDec 2, 2024
News from, and about, Northern Journal
Two years in, an update on this media business, and hot tips on how to claim your Northern Journal hoodie and stickers.
BY Nathaniel HerzNov 26, 2024
America’s first Arctic ambassador was just confirmed weeks ago. Now he could be out of a job.
Alaska geographer Mike Sfraga hasn’t announced his resignation. But it’s standard for politically appointed ambassadors to leave their posts during a presidential transition.
BY Nathaniel HerzNov 25, 2024
Japanese smelting giant pulls out of major Southeast Alaska mining project
The Palmer development, near a glacier above the salmon-bearing Chilkat River, has for years fueled political divisions in the town of Haines. Now it's getting a new owner, raising questions about the project's future.
BY Max GrahamNov 21, 2024
Arctic Bitcoin? Hilcorp, tech firm aim to test North Slope data center
A Hilcorp oil field in Alaska’s Arctic is set to host a tech firm that wants to use natural gas-fired power to mine digital currency.
BY Nathaniel HerzNov 18, 2024
America needs antimony for weapons and solar panels. The mining industry is looking to Alaska.
Two Australian companies are pursuing federal funding to jump-start antimony mining near Fairbanks and Anchorage.
BY Max GrahamNov 15, 2024
Above the Stikine River, the Canadian government is boosting a huge mining project you’ve probably never heard of
Canada’s federal government plans to fund a key road at the Galore Creek development, along a major salmon bearing river that flows into Southeast Alaska near the fishing town of Wrangell.
BY Max GrahamOct 21, 2024
Interesting stuff: Dunleavy attends Trump fundraiser, solar for Alaska airports, and a company wants $50 million in state loans for natural gas drilling
Also: A renewable energy advocacy group says a recent ruling by state regulators is an "abdication" of their responsibility, and a contested election for leadership of Alaska's largest statewide Native organization.
BY Nathaniel HerzOct 19, 2024
Data centers face growing opposition Outside. Gov. Mike Dunleavy wants them in Alaska.
The Republican governor says Alaska has in excess what the data industry is finding increasingly scarce Outside: land and water, if not cheap electricity. He also says new data centers would boost the case for Alaska’s proposed natural gas pipeline.
BY Nathaniel HerzOct 16, 2024
Dozens of fish died near a Southeast Alaska gold mine. Two months later, state regulators haven’t determined what killed them.
State fish scientists say the circumstances of the fish kill suggest that it stems from a water quality problem. But regulators say they're still waiting from data from the Kensington gold mine's operator.
BY Max GrahamOct 4, 2024
Interesting Stuff: How Alaska regulators ignored a gas conservation scheme. And: What happened to those Kodiak king salmon?
The Regulatory Commission of Alaska rejected a proposal to increase electricity rates for heavier users. And: updates on the Kodiak king salmon bycatch incident and the future of Peter Pan Seafood.
BY Nathaniel HerzSep 30, 2024
Two Kodiak trawlers caught 2,000 king salmon. Now, a whole fishery is closed.
The incident is sure to draw more scrutiny on the issue of bycatch — the industry term for the unintended harvest, typically of salmon or halibut, by boats targeting other species.
BY Nathaniel HerzSep 25, 2024
A new film highlights the traumas inflicted on Indigenous children by residential schools. Alaskans say that history needs more attention.
“Sugarcane” is set in British Columbia. But after recent screenings in Sitka and Anchorage, advocates say the documentary’s themes are as relevant and urgent just across the Canadian border in Alaska.
BY Nathaniel HerzSep 23, 2024
Original Peter Pan Seafood investor wins auction for troubled company's assets
Rodger May, an entrepreneur and fish trader, narrowly beat out another industry player, Silver Bay Seafoods, with his $37.3 million bid. The sale must still be approved by a Seattle court.
BY Nathaniel HerzSep 19, 2024
Interesting stuff: Anchorage water wars, a Doyon pipeline deal and a law firm’s look at the Permanent Fund
Interesting Stuff is back from hibernation. Items include a feud between bottled water companies and Anchorage's water utility, a Doyon subsidiary's acquisition of a share of a major pipeline on the North Slope and continuing turnover at the Regulatory Commission of Alaska.
BY Nathaniel HerzSep 18, 2024
In latest sign of North Slope’s evolution, privately owned Texas company targets Chevron’s Alaska assets
A little known Texas company is buying a share of a key North Slope pipeline and asked to buy all of Chevron's oil interests in the region — reviving questions about the Alaska oil industry’s capacity to decommission aging infrastructure and pay damages in the event of a spill.
BY Nathaniel HerzSep 16, 2024
In internet-less Sitka, it's both "mayhem" and a "golden moment"
Some surgeries are on hold. Businesses have gone cash-only. Starlink units are a precious commodity. But more people are talking, sharing stories and "doing what they used to do without the internet."
BY Nathaniel HerzSep 6, 2024
In Anchorage, a coal-inspired startup could help pave the path to wind and solar
Cache Energy has backing from energy company Halliburton and plans to test its technology in Kotzebue next year. It uses pellets derived from limestone to save wind and solar energy for periods when it’s dark or calm.
BY Nathaniel HerzSep 2, 2024
A public serv-fish announcement: You should be eating more black cod.
Alaska caught black cod is oily and delicious, and it's selling at rock bottom prices right now in part because of the devaluation of the Japanese yen.
BY Nathaniel HerzAug 30, 2024
Small Cook Inlet producers say they need state government help before drilling for new natural gas
One company, Bluecrest, said it will need more support even after a state agency agreed to forgive some $7 million in loans. Another company, HEX, says it needs the state to agree to a royalty reduction before it will drill a well.
BY Nathaniel HerzAug 26, 2024
Alaska's embattled economic development agency signs contracts with seven law firms
AIDEA has long used outside attorneys. What’s new is selecting firms in advance, which the agency's leader says allows work to happen more quickly than going through the state’s procurement process each time an issue comes up.
BY Nathaniel HerzAug 20, 2024
The mining industry is booming. Help us cover it in Alaska.
I want to hire a talented, young reporter to do more of what Northern Journal is already doing — independent journalism on Alaska’s lands and natural resources.
BY Nathaniel HerzAug 15, 2024
“Huge disaster”: Historically weak pink salmon runs strain Alaska’s seine fishermen
Skippers in Prince William Sound and Kodiak say this year's pink harvest is one of the worst they’ve ever seen. “I wake up every morning and I try to apply for a different job," one said.
BY Max GrahamAug 9, 2024
Inside the “titanic” legal case that will help determine Alaska’s energy future: an analysis of what’s at stake
Northern Journal waded through hundreds of pages of written testimony and hours of recorded public hearings to explain how an Anchorage electric utility’s proposal to raise its rates could affect consumers — and the region’s scarce supply of natural gas.
BY Nathaniel HerzAug 8, 2024
Biden administration rejects Inslee’s top choice for Alaska fish commission, reappoints trawl official
Washington’s Democratic governor had advanced an ally of tribes and conservation groups for appointment to the federal commission that manages lucrative fisheries off the Alaska coast. But the U.S. commerce secretary instead reappointed an official from a Seattle-based trawl company.
BY Nathaniel HerzJul 30, 2024
A Canadian gold mine spill raises fears among Alaskans on the Yukon River
Officials say cyanide pollution at Victoria Gold’s Eagle Mine poses no health risks to Alaskans. But advocates worry it could compound a yearslong salmon crisis on the Yukon River — and should draw new attention to Canadian mines in areas that drain into Alaska waterways.
BY Max GrahamJul 24, 2024
Inside the U.S. Coast Guard’s Aleutian encounter with China’s military — and what it means
This edition of Northern Journal is sponsored by The Boardroom, a shared workspace in Anchorage. Exciting news: The Boardroom is expanding from its HQ downtown and opening a second space in Midtown this month. More information here. The Chinese warships weren’t showing up on civilian radar. But the American commercial fishing fleet could still tell that something strange was happening in the Aleutian Islands last weekend. Crew on the fishing vessels picked out a U.S. Coast Guard cutter, the
BY Nathaniel HerzJul 12, 2024
News from, and about, Northern Journal
Greetings from Northern Journal headquarters — also known as my couch, here at home in Airport Heights. I'm just back from an amazing reporting trip to Kodiak. I'd been there twice before, each time briefly to cover the biennial Fish Debate, but this trip was longer. In addition to my time in Kodiak city, I spent a few days in the Alutiiq/Sugpiaq villages of Ouzinkie and Old Harbor, talking to residents about their access to the island's commercial fisheries. Fourth of July in Old Harbor is not
BY Nathaniel HerzJul 7, 2024
Inside a company’s bid to make Alaska’s next big oil field lower-carbon
With the future of fossil fuels in question, an Australian oil company is branding its new Arctic development as climate-friendly.
BY Max GrahamJul 2, 2024
As salmon season kicks off, some Alaska fishermen fear for their futures
A year into the the crisis in Alaska's $6 billion commercial fishing industry, there are some signs of recovery. But major threats persist, many of which fishermen feel powerless to affect.
BY Nathaniel HerzJun 23, 2024
Alaska lawmakers rejected Dunleavy's first pick, a talk show host, for a lucrative fish job. His new pick? An ex-talk show host.
In May, lawmakers narrowly rejected a talk radio host’s appointment to a highly paid position regulating Alaska's commercial fisheries. Now, after the failure of that pick, Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy has chosen a new appointee with a similar — though not identical — background for the job.
BY Nathaniel HerzJun 12, 2024
Biden administration advances conservation group's bid to list Gulf of Alaska king salmon as endangered or threatened
Experts say that the request, if granted, could force restrictions not just on salmon fishermen but also on activity that affects river habitat, like road and residential construction.
BY Nathaniel HerzMay 23, 2024
Shell abandons North Slope oil leases, raising questions about the industry’s future in Alaska
As the world pivots toward lower-carbon energy sources in response to global warming, experts say some of the state’s hard-to-tap oil prospects are becoming less attractive.
BY Nathaniel HerzMay 22, 2024
Something woolly is afoot in Alaska 🦣🦣
A mammoth investigation.
BY Nathaniel HerzMay 11, 2024
Could Alaska be the final destination for Japan’s carbon pollution? The Biden administration wants to find out.
The U.S. Department of Energy’s new study is a reflection of the growing interest in injecting and storing climate-warming carbon pollution in underground reservoirs in Alaska.
BY Nathaniel HerzMay 7, 2024
This oil platform stopped pumping 30 years ago. Alaska still won’t make the owner tear it down.
Removing all the offshore oil infrastructure from Cook Inlet could cost $1 billion. But some platforms have sat idle for decades, as inspectors say they're in an "advanced state of disrepair."
BY Nathaniel HerzMay 6, 2024
Northern Journal goes multi-platform
Introducing the Northern Journal podcast.
BY Nathaniel HerzApr 29, 2024
City spending standoff threatens Cook Inlet access for Anchorage boat launch users
The director of Anchorage's city-owned cargo port says maintaining the boat launch is a money-losing operation that his agency won't continue. No one else has stepped up to take over.
BY Nathaniel HerzApr 25, 2024
In Donlin lawsuit, Murkowski, Sullivan and Peltola come to mining project's defense
Alaska's congressional delegation, in documents filed in federal court late Tuesday, called the proposed Donlin mine one of the state's “most important and necessary economic development projects.”
BY Nathaniel HerzApr 23, 2024
Alaska Senate proposes $7.5 million aid package for struggling fish processors
The program, if approved, would target smaller companies than those that won a share of more than $100 million in salmon and pollock purchases by the federal government earlier this year.
BY Nathaniel HerzApr 17, 2024
Western Alaska tribes, outraged by bycatch, turn up the heat on fishery managers and trawlers
The years-long debate is taking on increasing urgency, as subsistence harvesting bans continue and the policy responses under consideration threaten to impose steep costs on industry.
BY Nathaniel HerzApr 5, 2024
Troubled state-backed seafood company says it will lease out two plants, and could sell its assets
Peter Pan Seafoods said Thursday that another processing company would lease and operate two of its Alaska plants for the summer salmon season. But another facility, in King Cove, is still in limbo.
BY Nathaniel HerzApr 5, 2024
Alaska fishermen and processing plants are in limbo as a state-backed seafood company teeters
“We are all sort of on pins and needles,” said a local official in King Cove, where fishermen and elected leaders are waiting to learn the fate of Peter Pan Seafoods' shuttered plant.
BY Nathaniel HerzMar 30, 2024
Federal judge sides with Biden administration, rejects Alaska bids to expand Kuskokwim River salmon fishing
A federal judge has settled a dispute that began in 2021, when the Dunleavy administration tried to expand salmon fishing opportunities beyond those offered by the federal government.
BY Nathaniel HerzMar 29, 2024
A new nominee to the Bering Sea fisheries management council would tip its balance toward tribes and away from trawlers.
Washington Democratic Gov. Jay Inslee has advanced Becca Robbins Gisclair, an attorney and conservation advocate, for a seat currently held by Anne Vanderhoeven, who works in the trawling industry.
BY Nathaniel HerzMar 25, 2024
An Alaska Olympian went to D.C. to testify on climate change. Then a senator dredged up four-year-old tweets.
Louisiana Republican U.S. Sen. John Kennedy subjected Anchorage cross-country skier Gus Schumacher to a pop quiz about climate science in an exchange that went viral in conservative circles.
BY Nathaniel HerzMar 25, 2024
Alaska utility regulators work shorthanded as policymakers consider tighter qualifications
Alaska’s five-member public utility commission has a vacancy with no announced timeline for filling it. Meanwhile, some policymakers and advocates want to tighten commissioner qualifications.
BY Nathaniel HerzMar 20, 2024
AIDEA signs new consulting contracts, two with ex-Dunleavy aides, paying up to $295/hour
Rex Rock and John Moller, both of whom used to advise Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy on rural affairs, were hired through a competitive procurement process along with two others.
BY Nathaniel HerzMar 18, 2024
Amid salmon crash, Alaska's Yukon River residents say a new pact with Canada leaves them behind
The plan could close fishing for 7 more years and open the door for hatcheries. In villages along the river, Tribal leaders say the state has cut them out of the process, and want federal oversight.
BY Nathaniel HerzMar 18, 2024
Interesting stuff: Utility data request gets rejected, a heat pump in every village home, and a "zero-sum game" for pink and sockeye salmon?
Big energy news for the Northwest Arctic Borough, while a new study adds to the pile of evidence suggesting that booming, hatchery-boosted pink salmon populations could be harming wild sockeye.
BY Nathaniel HerzMar 1, 2024
Can jet-setting ski racers be climate activists? Anchorage athlete leans into “imperfect advocacy.”
Climate change poses an existential threat to cross-country skiing. But it's hard to talk about for some top athletes, who fear being accused of hypocrisy because of their travel-intensive lifestyles.
BY Nathaniel HerzFeb 26, 2024
Alaska lawmaker’s bid to revive stalled green energy policy defines coal as “clean”
Sutton Republican Rep. George Rauscher says he wants to encourage innovation without leaving fossil fuels behind. But one critic is blasting his new bill as a “jumbled mess.”
BY Nathaniel HerzFeb 23, 2024
Schumacher's win, after two tough years, shows world-class talent is "still in there"
Anchorage cross-country talent Gus Schumacher won an international cross-country ski race Sunday, something no other American man has accomplished in more than 40 years.
BY Nathaniel HerzFeb 19, 2024
Green energy advocates say Anchorage electric utility is "freezing out" efforts to draft a gas-saving price structure
Renewable Energy Alaska Project wants state regulators to step in and force Chugach Electric Association to hand over detailed data on customers' energy consumption.
BY Nathaniel HerzFeb 8, 2024
Mountains to ocean: A dispatch from Canadian coal country
Here's how piles of coal in Vancouver harbor connect back to a multinational mining company with operations in Alaska.
BY Nathaniel HerzFeb 7, 2024
Amid cold snap, equipment failure stresses Alaska's natural gas delivery system
I interviewed the president of Enstar, which runs urban Alaska's gas utility, about problems with a storage facility and how they connect to long-term energy challenges facing the region.
BY Nathaniel HerzJan 27, 2024
Political pressure builds as state-led Alaska LNG project goes another year without a deal
GOP Gov. Mike Dunleavy is asking legislators to spend another $4.5 million on marketing and development of the huge LNG project. But lawmakers sound increasingly skeptical.
BY Nathaniel HerzJan 24, 2024
Alaska senator vows to kill renewables bill as energy debate heats up in Juneau
Republican state Sen. Jesse Bjorkman says a bill in his committee that sets green power targets for electric utilities is "going nowhere." But lobbyists are lining up to push it forward.
BY Nathaniel HerzJan 17, 2024
Peter Pan's King Cove plant will stay closed this winter as fishing industry turmoil spreads
“It's one of the most difficult days of my life,” said Rodger May, one of the company’s owners and a longtime player in Alaska’s seafood industry.
BY Nathaniel HerzJan 11, 2024
Washington conservation group proposes listing Alaska king salmon under Endangered Species Act
The chinook are threatened by climate change and competition from hatchery-raised fish, and existing state and federal management are failing to stem their decline, says the Wild Fish Conservancy.
BY Nathaniel HerzJan 11, 2024
As ConocoPhillips' Willow project advances, two local governments have withdrawn their criticism
The tribal and city councils in Nuiqsut withdrew their support for a joint letter they sent last year blasting the “endless expansion of oil development and the complete encirclement of our village."
BY Nathaniel HerzJan 10, 2024
Alaska lost a lawsuit that challenged a COVID-era emergency moose hunt. Now, it's appealing for a second time.
It's one of multiple cases in which the Dunleavy administration is clashing with the federal government over fish and game management, and over who has the ultimate regulatory power in that realm.
BY Nathaniel HerzJan 5, 2024
Interesting stuff: Anchorage solar project advances, parking rates could rise and state explores tunnel under Knik Arm
Plus: Tribal governments near a major proposed graphite mine on the Seward Peninsula criticize the Biden administration for failing to consult them before granting $37.5 million to the project.
BY Nathaniel HerzJan 3, 2024
Could a new Alaska coal power plant be climate friendly? An $11 million study aims to find out.
With state and federal money, University of Alaska researchers plan to explore the viability of a new coal plant in the Susitna River valley that would inject its carbon emissions underground.
BY Nathaniel HerzDec 27, 2023
One year and $250,000 later, Alaska's new spending database is missing in action
Lawmakers unanimously approved adding heavily scrutinized state corporations, like AIDEA, to a database of public spending. But two months after a legal deadline, the new system hasn't launched.
BY Nathaniel HerzDec 20, 2023
Millions for a carbon capture study, Alaska's gas pipeline and a Copper River trail project: A tour of Gov. Dunleavy's capital budget.
Other highlights: money for tree planting and thinning, a new state vessel and plane, and a major budget boost for the state grant program funded by oil production in the National Petroleum Reserve.
BY Nathaniel HerzDec 17, 2023
I just reviewed 1,000 pages of Alaska budget documents — so you don't have to.
Buried in GOP Gov. Mike Dunleavy's new budget plan are items to escalate the state's subsistence fight with the feds, enhance drone use for law enforcement and pay for a growing number of autopsies.
BY Nathaniel HerzDec 14, 2023
Interesting stuff: A major Anchorage trailhead upgrade, a legislative trip to North Dakota and Begich-hosted mayoral forums
Plus, Alaska's state-owned economic development agency could invest in a new North Slope infrastructure project.
BY Nathaniel HerzDec 11, 2023
Biden administration could wade into lawsuit over Southeast Alaska tribal fishing rights
The federal government says it's considering submitting a friend-of-the-court brief in a lawsuit over fishing rights between the state and the Southeast Alaska tribal government of Metlakatla.
BY Nathaniel HerzDec 6, 2023
Want to ski, shoot, and hang out with Anchorage Olympians? Try biathlon.
A tale of how I skied faster than Kikkan Randall for exactly five minutes and 39 seconds until I got tired and she hit more rifle targets than I did.
BY Nathaniel HerzDec 3, 2023
There's lots of gas in Cook Inlet. Here's why some companies aren't drilling.
Leaders of Alaska's biggest gas and electric utilities say they don't want to risk customer money to invest in uncertain drilling efforts, when imported LNG appears reliable and competitively priced.
BY Nathaniel HerzNov 29, 2023
Mining exec: Alaska’s pricy, fossil fuel-based power could thwart investment
Kinross Gold, whose Fairbanks-area mine employs 700 people, says its Alaska investments have "extremely high" energy costs and carbon emissions compared to other projects in its portfolio.
BY Nathaniel HerzNov 18, 2023
U.S. military quietly revokes planned contract for small nuclear plant at Alaska Air Force base
The military had planned to give a contract for a "micro-reactor" to Silicon Valley firm Oklo — whose chairman, Sam Altman, also led the company behind the ChatGPT artificial intelligence chatbot.
BY Nathaniel HerzNov 17, 2023
Monthly premiums for health insurance on the federal marketplace will rise 16% in Alaska next year
The spike comes after an 18% increase the previous year, which means prices have risen more than one-third in two years. Experts say inflation and booming post-pandemic demand for care are the cause.
BY Nathaniel HerzNov 16, 2023
Dissident shareholders ousted the pro-logging board of Yakutat's Indigenous village corporation. Here's what comes next.
An interview with Meda DeWitt, a former chair of the Recall Dunleavy campaign who now leads the board of directors of Yak-Tat Kwaan, the village corporation in the Southeast Alaska community.
BY Nathaniel HerzNov 11, 2023
Sealaska's chief executive to depart, but company says its strategy will stay the same
Anthony Mallott, who's led the Southeast Alaska regional Native corporation for nearly a decade, is leaving his job, along with another executive, Jaeleen Kookesh.
BY Nathaniel HerzNov 10, 2023
Interesting Stuff: More legislators press AG on Cook Inlet gas, a $750,000 settlement and an Aleutian murder mystery
Also: A state utility regulator wanted to block the Permanent Fund's board chair and a renewable energy advocacy group from weighing in on an Anchorage utility's proposed rate hike.
BY Nathaniel HerzNov 9, 2023
Why I won't be sending you a Nat Herz bobblehead
A thank-you for Northern Journal's first year in business, and a request as it heads into year two.
BY Nathaniel HerzNov 8, 2023
Interesting Stuff: Apache's return to the North Slope, AIDEA's pro-Pebble legal contract and the death of snow days
Also: The pilot in the Halibut Cove float plane-boat faceoff makes her case to a federal judge, and a high-profile hire in the Alaska Senate.
BY Nathaniel HerzNov 4, 2023
If Alaska wants more Cook Inlet gas, taxpayers should get ready to pony up
The state will likely have to spend real money to get companies to drill more wells in Cook Inlet. But how much should Alaska invest in petroleum when cheap wind and solar are on the horizon?
BY Nathaniel HerzNov 3, 2023
With little movement on salmon bycatch, Alaska advocates look to Biden administration for executive action
A federal agency says it's considering a rewrite to guidelines that shape management plans for Bering Sea and other fisheries. But it has not yet committed to taking action.
BY Nathaniel HerzOct 31, 2023
Interesting stuff: a guilty plea in Kachemak Bay seaplane case, a state contract for McKinsey and Dunleavy's revived pro-family efforts
Plus: an array of stakeholders weigh in on Anchorage's electric utility's proposal to raise rates, AIDEA pays $500,000 for road data and Dunleavy gets a new press aide.
BY Nathaniel HerzOct 16, 2023
A new rush arrives on the Seward Peninsula: for graphite, not gold
Graphite is crucial for electrical vehicles, but China controls the global supply. A mine on the Seward Peninsula could help change that — but it's perched above an essential Iñupiaq subsistence area.
BY Nathaniel HerzSep 26, 2023
Amid natural gas crunch, an Alaska utility asks to resurrect in-state gas pipeline
Enstar wants to take over the project last estimated to cost $10 billion. But its own chief executive acknowledges that the pipeline isn't viable without multi-billion-dollar subsidies from the state.
BY Nathaniel HerzSep 11, 2023
Interesting stuff: natural gas incentives, a new pact on Indigenous language election materials and a possible corporate shakeup in Yakutat
Plus, read my attorneys' warning letter to the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority, or AIDEA, which has refused to fully process a basic public records request for more than two months.
BY Nathaniel HerzSep 8, 2023
Alaska watches, nervously, as Ukraine war pushes more Russian oil through Bering Strait
A sharp increase in oil tankers carrying Russian oil to China prompts new warnings of risks to Alaska villages and the fish, seals and whales they harvest.
BY Nathaniel HerzSep 2, 2023
Alaska Gov. Dunleavy names ad consultant, talk show host Porcaro to commercial fisheries agency
Mike Dunleavy has appointed ally Mike Porcaro, a longtime GOP advertising consultant and talk radio host, to a highly paid job as a commissioner at the Commercial Fisheries Entry Commission.
BY Nathaniel HerzAug 24, 2023
LNG imports are likely coming to Anchorage. But advocates say policy changes can forestall them.
A new report says Anchorage's electric utility can put off the need for LNG imports by five years through renewable power projects and energy conservation.
BY Nathaniel HerzAug 22, 2023
Interesting stuff: More from the mammal beat, Dunleavy visits a mining prospect and a tribe's quick reversal in an oil project lawsuit
An update on the fate of The Walrus, coyotes attack Alaska soldiers in Louisiana and Gov. Mike Dunleavy visits a mining prospect in the Alaska Range, which could connect to the West Su Access road.
BY Nathaniel HerzAug 10, 2023
In brief: Gleason hands Alaska and AIDEA an Arctic Refuge defeat
A federal court judge rejected a lawsuit from the state of Alaska and the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority that challenged a suspension of oil leases in the Arctic Refuge.
BY Nathaniel HerzAug 7, 2023
The great Alaska walrus caper of 2023
How did a walrus get four miles from shore, to the middle of an Alaska oil field? I hunted for answers — and found them.
BY Nathaniel HerzAug 5, 2023
Interesting stuff: Alaska tribal health groups battle over documents in court; Clarkson and Kelly return to politics
Plus: More details about the removal of a university researcher from a state electricity task force, which came after she "disappointed" the head of the Alaska Energy Authority.
BY Nathaniel HerzAug 3, 2023
Interesting stuff: Former Peltola chief of staff will lobby, consult for Alaska interests in D.C.
Alex Ortiz, a longtime staffer to the Alaska delegation, has taken a job as a lobbyist and consultant at Capitol Hill Consulting Group, whose clients include Native corporations and a mining company.
BY Nathaniel HerzJul 26, 2023
Alaska salmon fishermen fume over low prices, but processors say they're hurting too
Bristol Bay fishermen are calling for strikes, lawsuits and “the goddamn picket signs and pitchforks” in response to low salmon prices. But an industry expert says processors have been "screwed," too.
BY Nathaniel HerzJul 20, 2023
Alaska Gov. Dunleavy fires two Susitna road opponents from land management advisory board
Israel Mahay, who owns a Susitna river jet boat business, had chaired the Recreation Rivers Advisory board. Mike Overcast, who owns a heliskiing lodge in the Susitna watershed, was set to replace him.
BY Nathaniel HerzJul 18, 2023
Interesting stuff: a new wind project takes shape outside Anchorage, as AIDEA mulls options for struggling state-owned oil field
Alaska Renewables is proposing a major new wind development near the village of Tyonek, the Legislature's ethics committee loses its administrator and Murkowski gets a new communications director.
BY Nathaniel HerzJul 11, 2023
A crucial van service in Anchorage's public safety system is short-staffed, straining city fire and police
The Anchorage Health Department has withheld five months of payment from contractor Securitas, which operates a van service that picks up intoxicated people at a lower cost than emergency responders.
BY Nathaniel HerzJun 23, 2023
Updated: In "major victory" for Southeast Alaska trollers, federal appeals panel reverses fishery closure
The Southeast Alaska troll chinook fishery will open as scheduled July 1, after a federal appeals panel reversed a lower court ruling that would have kept the $85 million industry off the water.
BY Nathaniel HerzJun 21, 2023
"We can go fishing": appeals court says Southeast Alaska troll fishery can open this summer
A federal appeals panel issued a last-second ruling Wednesday that will allow this summer’s Southeast Alaska troll chinook salmon fishery to open as scheduled July 1.
BY Nathaniel HerzJun 21, 2023
Alaska Gov. Dunleavy removes university researcher from energy task force leadership post
GOP Gov. Mike Dunleavy removed Gwen Holdmann, of the Alaska Center for Energy and Power, from her vice chair position on the task force he's established to reduce the state's high electricity prices.
BY Nathaniel HerzJun 20, 2023
Interesting stuff: Dunleavy’s investment whisperer, a North Slope worker death and an Ambler road critic joins the project's sponsor
This week, we show how Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy's administration has turned to investor Ellie Rubenstein for advice, and pry loose some details about the death of an employee of a Hilcorp contractor.
BY Nathaniel HerzJun 13, 2023
A conservation group's lawsuit already closed an iconic Alaska fishery. Now, it's pushing for Endangered Species Act protections for king salmon.
The Washington-based Wild Fish Conservancy plans to ask the federal government to list Southeast Alaska, Southwest Alaska and Cook Inlet king salmon under the Endangered Species Act.
BY Nathaniel HerzJun 7, 2023
From Alaska Public Media — Alaska Gov. Dunleavy policy adviser who said ‘divorce is worse than rape’ resigns
An investigation I did for Alaska Public Media, with our partners at American Public Media, found that GOP Gov. Mike Dunleavy's new "pro-family" policy advisor had aired shocking views on his podcast.
BY Nathaniel HerzMay 30, 2023
No relief for beleaguered Southeast Alaska trollers as judge rejects request to keep fishery open
Alaska Fish and Game Commissioner Doug Vincent-Lang said the state would appeal the denial immediately. But the clock is ticking before the scheduled July 1 start to the king salmon fishery.
BY Nathaniel HerzMay 26, 2023
News Donuts: Ambler delays, a North Slope tax dispute and growing opposition to Alaska's LNG project
The mining company leading the Ambler mine project has shelved a planned summer drilling program amid delays to a related road proposal. Plus a property tax dispute over the Point Thomson oil field.
BY Nathaniel HerzMay 25, 2023
Anchorage's electric utility elects two "clean energy" board candidates, re-elects incumbent chair
Friday's election of Susanne Fleek-Green and Jim Nordlund, who ran on “clean energy,” marked a significant shift. But the results weren't a wholesale rejection of Chugach Electric's incumbent board.
BY Nathaniel HerzMay 20, 2023
Interesting stuff: a Girdwood lodge proposal, a Dunleavy trip to Germany and seafood news
Alaska's governor and Kim Kardashian in the same place? A new tourism lodge in housing-starved Girdwood? Read on for more.
BY Nathaniel HerzMay 17, 2023
As natural gas shortage looms, Alaska electric utilities and advocates are feuding over a renewable power bill
The two sides agree on the need to wean Alaska’s power grid from its deep dependence on natural gas. But they disagree sharply about how quickly the transition should happen, and potential costs.
BY Nathaniel HerzMay 11, 2023
New from Northern Journal: Interesting stuff
The inaugural edition of Interesting Stuff has items on the Southeast Alaska troll lawsuit, the timber controversy in Yakutat, a new pro-family advisor for the governor and a renewable energy project.
BY Nathaniel HerzMay 10, 2023
Alaska’s university system says two science education leaders are on administrative leave
The system says Herb Schroeder, who leads the Alaska Native Science and Engineering Program, is on non-disciplinary administrative leave, along with one of his deputies.
BY Nathaniel HerzMay 4, 2023
To protect orcas, federal judge orders closure of iconic Southeast Alaska troll fishery
A federal judge issued an order Tuesday voiding an environmental review that helped authorize the small-scale fishery, a $30 million industry that employs hundreds of people in Southeast Alaska.
BY Nathaniel HerzMay 2, 2023
Anchorage’s electric utility is having the most hotly contested election in years. We surveyed the candidates.
Nine candidates are vying for three seats on Chugach Electric Association's board of directors. Here are their positions on renewable power, transparency and liquefied natural gas imports.
BY Nathaniel HerzApr 28, 2023
AIDEA paid $63,500 to settle ex-spokesman's wrongful termination lawsuit
Karsten Rodvik sued Alaska's economic development agency in September for more than $1 million, claiming his termination was illegal and discriminatory. The case was quietly dismissed months later.
BY Nathaniel HerzApr 18, 2023
Yakutat tribal leader fears loss of land as bank sues Southeast Alaska village corporation for $13.3 million
Leaders of Yakutat's village corporation say they didn't pledge land as collateral for loans they took out to start a logging business. But some fear tribal land could be sold to satisfy the debt.
BY Nathaniel HerzApr 9, 2023
Fish hatcheries, long seen as a last resort, get a new look amid Yukon River salmon crisis
First Nations groups in the Yukon Territory and Alaska GOP Gov. Mike Dunleavy's administration are advancing discussions about whether hatcheries could help stem a steep crash in salmon populations.
BY Nathaniel HerzApr 7, 2023
Alaska lawmakers: Keep your pay raise. But it's time to fix per diem.
With Alaska legislators poised to accept a $34,000-a-year raise, there's no longer a justification for paying themselves $9,000 a month for living expenses in Juneau.
BY Nathaniel HerzMar 31, 2023
Alaska Gov. Dunleavy passes over tribal advocate for fishery council post, fueling calls for change
Criticism of Dunleavy's nomination to the North Pacific Fishery Management Council is a sign of the growing polarization and high stakes in Alaska fish politics amid historic crashes in salmon stocks.
BY Nathaniel HerzMar 21, 2023
A lawsuit targets a Southeast Alaska salmon fishery to save 73 orcas. Critics say the Washington-based plaintiffs should look closer to home.
The lawsuit aims to defend endangered killer whales. But the science is complex, and Southeast Alaska fishermen could be put out of work.
BY Nathaniel HerzMar 14, 2023
A PhD energy analyst and former state lawmaker got screened out from running for Anchorage's electric utility board — without an explanation.
Two advocates for reducing Chugach Electric Association's reliance on natural gas, Antony Scott and Harry Crawford, were rejected by a nominating committee. They say they'll run by petition instead.
BY Nathaniel HerzMar 2, 2023
Alaska odds and ends, and a quick European dispatch
Catching up on some nuggets from the state budget, news on a contentious mine and road proposal in Northwest Alaska, and links to some of my recent freelance pieces.
BY Nathaniel HerzFeb 23, 2023
Letter from Yakutat: Deep cuts on the Lost Coast
Logging is on the decline across Southeast Alaska. But in Yakutat, the local Indigenous-owned corporation is still cutting, over the objections of tribal and cultural leaders. Here's a firsthand look.
BY Nathaniel HerzFeb 12, 2023
After four years, joy in Utqiaġvik at the messenger feast's return
A dispatch from America's northernmost community, where hundreds gathered for a traditional Iñupiaq festival of dancing, gift-giving and connection.
BY Nathaniel HerzFeb 5, 2023
Inside Kodiak's crab standoff
Crews from more than 100 boats say they're staying at the docks until processors offer them a higher price. But experts say the fishermen are facing global market forces that are unlikely to budge.
BY Nathaniel HerzJan 26, 2023
Alaska, long a resource exporter, now wants to profit by leaving timber uncut and pumping carbon underground
Gov. Mike Dunleavy, in an interview, said he doesn't accept that carbon emissions cause climate change. But he still wants the state to benefit from markets that have arisen to address the problem.
BY Nathaniel HerzJan 12, 2023
Two companies' dispute over access to Alaska's next big oil development is now headed to court
ConocoPhillips has sued Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy's administration to block a state-issued permit that grants a competing company access to its new Pikka project, over Conoco-built roads.
BY Nathaniel HerzJan 3, 2023
Warming waters, not bycatch, are driving Bering Sea salmon and crab crashes. But Alaska’s fishing industry is barely talking about it.
Advocates say that seafood businesses, trade groups and fishermen need to take more action to advocate for lower carbon emissions, or risk continued catastrophic declines in their harvests.
BY Nathaniel HerzDec 29, 2022
Climate change and a looming gas crunch are turning the heat up on Alaska utilities. Are they up to the challenge?
Clean energy advocates are increasingly criticizing Anchorage's electric utility for doing business behind closed doors. I went to a board meeting to see for myself — and was exiled from the room.
BY Nathaniel HerzDec 22, 2022
Quick take: Is global warming driving the Anchorage snowpocalypse?
I wanted to know, so I asked two climatologists. The answer: It's complicated.
BY Nathaniel HerzDec 15, 2022
With leases suspended, Alaska agency wants $6 million more for Arctic Refuge drilling campaign
Alaska's economic development agency says it needs the money for next year's permitting, legal support and lease payments — though the Biden administration says the payments aren't due.
BY Nathaniel HerzDec 14, 2022
Mary Peltola ran a pro-fish, anti-bycatch campaign. Here's what her agenda could look like in Congress.
Translating a pro-fish platform into policy reality won’t be easy for Peltola, who will serve in the House minority. But experts say Peltola can still find ways to advance her fish first agenda.
BY Nathaniel HerzDec 12, 2022
ConocoPhillips loses bid to limit competitor’s access to Alaska’s next big oil project
Australia-based Santos got a permit from the state to access its new Pikka development by crossing Conoco's roads. After losing an appeal last week, Conoco could now take its case to court.
BY Nathaniel HerzDec 6, 2022
"Stalemate:" Prepare to wait weeks, or even months, before Alaska's House forms a majority.
Key decisions, like schools spending and the size of Alaska's oil-wealth checks, hang in the balance as lawmakers delay decisions until the result of a lawsuit challenging a Republican's eligibility.
BY Nathaniel HerzDec 4, 2022
Biden administration delays release of new Arctic Refuge drilling environmental review
The release, originally planned by the end of November, won't happen until the second quarter of next year.
BY Nathaniel HerzNov 30, 2022
Under attack on many fronts, AIDEA now faces a leadership void.
The state agency responsible for advancing the Ambler road and oil development in the Arctic Refuge has seen dozens of employees exit amid escalating attacks from conservation groups.
BY Nathaniel HerzNov 27, 2022
Alaska Native corporations take fight over carbon credits revenue to court
A new lawsuit pits three of the state's huge regional corporations against three others, in a battle that could jeopardize a four-decade-old pact that's guided distribution of more than $2 billion.
BY Nathaniel HerzNov 20, 2022
Could oil-rich Alaska be forced to import LNG? Two utilities are looking into it.
Amid warnings of diminished supplies in the medium-term future, Anchorage's major home heating and electric utilities have hired consultants to examine imports of liquefied natural gas.
BY Nathaniel HerzNov 17, 2022
A second-term Dunleavy administration will look very different from the first
And, scroll down for a bit of news from Alaska's economic development arm.
BY Nathaniel HerzNov 15, 2022
Ranked choice voting isn't better or worse. It's different.
Let's talk about what Alaska's new election system does, not how it works.
BY Nathaniel HerzNov 13, 2022
New from Nat Herz: Northern Journal
A dispatch from Tokyo, and news on the Alaska Peninsula.
BY Nathaniel HerzNov 11, 2022
Coming soon
This is Northern Journal, a newsletter about Things I'm hearing and seeing in Alaska. Subscribe now
BY Nathaniel HerzAug 23, 2022
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BY Nathaniel HerzJun 1, 2022