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Andy Romanoff, the executive director of the nonprofit organization Alaska Heat Smart, speaks at an empty-chair town hall held for U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) on Thursday, March 20, 2025. (Jasz Garrett / Juneau Empire)

News

Juneau shows up for democracy at empty-chair town hall

Constituents across Alaska feel unheard by congressional delegation, take the lead in community outreach.

U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) walks through a hallway of protesters with his wife, Julie Fate Sullivan, before his annual address to the Alaska Legislature on Thursday, March 20, 2025. (Jasz Garrett / Juneau Empire)

News

Sullivan generates warmth and heat with energy filled speech to Alaska Legislature

Senator takes barrage of friendly and confrontational questions from lawmakers about Trump’s agenda.

A plane flies over the town after taking off from the dirt runway on Sept. 14, 2019, in Kivalina. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

News

Possible Postal Service changes present challenge to Alaska Bypass Mail

Rural communities depend on service for food shipments.

Lt. Gov. Nancy Dahlstrom (R-Alaska) chats with U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) before her annual address to the Alaska State Legislature on March 18, 2025. (Jasz Garrett / Juneau Empire)

News

Murkowski embraces many of Trump’s goals, but questions his methods

Senator addresses flood concerns, federal firings, Medicaid worries in annual speech to Legislature.

Rep. Jeremy Bynum, R-Ketchikan, speaks Feb. 21, 2025, on the floor of the Alaska House of Representatives. (James Brooks/Alaska Beacon)

News

Alaska legislators ask feds to reinstate program that sent money to rural schools

The Alaska House of Representatives is asking Congress to fix a problem with a program that pays money…

An aerial view of downtown Juneau. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire file photo)

News

Local federal workers get mixed messages about returning to jobs after firings rescinded

DOT worker says he’s supposed to resume work Thursday; Forest Service worker says status still unclear.

The Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center on Feb. 22, 2025. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire file photo)

Opinion

My Turn: Volunteer for the right cause

Recently I was asked by a friend to volunteer at the Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center to help keep…

The Office of Personnel Management in Washington. (Eric Lee/The New York Times)

News

Judge orders Trump administration to rehire thousands of fired workers; at least some to get back pay

Treasury, Veterans Affairs, Agriculture, Defense, Energy and Interior departments affected by order.

Students arrive at Thunder Mountain Middle School on Aug. 15, 2024. (Laurie Craig / Juneau Empire file photo)

News

New firings gut nearly half of U.S. Education Department, 25% of NOAA; Forest Service staff get 45-day reprieve

Trump administration moves quickly on additional mass firings, despite some being declared illegal.

Sabrina Donnellan and her family attend a community luncheon for federal employees at Shepherd of the Valley Lutheran Church on Saturday, March 8, 2025. (Jasz Garrett / Juneau Empire)

News

Fired and current federal employees find solidarity as community offers support

Trump administration seeks to make government more efficient; fired employees say opposite will happen.

The Office of Personnel Management cannot order agencies to cut staff, a federal judge ruled Thursday. (Valerie Plesch for The New York Times)

News

Judge tells Trump administration to retract memos directing mass firings

A federal judge ordered the Trump administration on Thursday to retract directives that prompted the firing of thousands…

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration vessel Rainier pulls into port at Coast Guard Station Juneau on Sept. 16, 2020 for rest and replenishment of stores. (Michael S. Lockett / Juneau Empire file photo)

News

Mass firings begin at NOAA as part of Trump’s federal government downsizing

More than 10% may be let go from agency that oversee weather forecasting, Suicide Basin monitoring.

Daniel Nichols, a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers, presents results from the organization’s Infrastructure Report Card for Alaska during a presentation Wednesday at the Alaska State Capitol. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)

News

Alaska improves slightly to a C on Infrastructure Report Card, state ferries still at bottom with a D

Authors say Biden-era funding bills a key reason for improvement, ponder impact of Trump’s cuts.

U.S. House Speaker Speaker Mike Johnson put down revolts on a budget bill Tuesday among centrist Republicans who feared that the plan would require deep cuts to Medicaid and conservatives who wanted more reductions. (Kenny Holston/The New York Times)

News

U.S. House passes GOP budget teeing up enormous tax and spending cuts

Officials say cuts may result in 100,000 Alaskans losing Medicaid coverage, 70,000 losing SNAP benefits.

Elon Musk on stage with a chainsaw gifted to him by President Javier Milei of Argentina, left, during the 2025 Conservative Political Action Conference at the Gaylord National Resort and Conference Center in National Harbor, Md., on Thursday, Feb. 20, 2025. (Eric Lee/The New York Times)

News

Update: Trump administration, breaking with Musk’s directive, says replying to his email is voluntary

Federal workers told Saturday by Musk failure to reply by Monday would be treated as a resignation.

Jude Humphrey, a Student Conservation Association intern for the U.S. Forest Service, reads a story about snowflakes to kids during a Mendenhall Minis event at the Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center on Saturday morning. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)

News

Firing on: Remaining Forest Service staff fill in to keep Mendenhall Glacier activities flowing

As visitor center continues lectures and kids’ events, fired employees get a show of community support.

U.S. Rep. Nick Begich III, R-Alaska, address the Greater Juneau Chamber of Commerce on Thursday. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)

News

Begich supports Trump’s federal cutbacks, but ‘I recognize the process won’t be perfect’

Congressman says cutting most Mendenhall Glacier staff may have been hasty; also wants faster flood fix.

A pilot flies over Denali National Park and Preserve in an undated photo. (iStock/Getty Images Plus)

News

Federal Aviation Administration withdraws from Alaska groups that work on safety

On Feb. 5, one day before the crash of Bering Air Flight 445, the Federal Aviation Administration informed…

U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Jan. 24, 2025. (Tom Brenner/The New York Times)

News

Murkowski takes tough questions at virtual town hall, but doesn’t connect with all constituents

Alaska senator critical of many Trump actions; questioners ask what she’s doing about it beyond words.

A ranger watches a bear cross a path at the Mendenhall Glacier Recreation Area. Officials and former employees say nearly all of the staff at the Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center have been fired by the Trump administration during the past week. (Photo courtesy of Megan Whitesall)

News

Only two employees left at Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center after 80% of staff fired, official says

Tourism industry, city officials say they are uncertain about next steps as cruise season approaches.