Site Logo
Pins supporting the repeal of ranked choice voting are seen on April 20 at the Republican state convention in Anchorage. (James Brooks/Alaska Beacon)

News

State judge upholds most fines against group seeking repeal of Alaska ranked choice voting

An Anchorage Superior Court judge has ruled that opponents of Alaska’s ranked choice election system violated state campaign…

Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian people gather in Juneau for the opening of Celebration on June 5. (James Brooks/Alaska Beacon)

News

Federal judge considers lawsuit that could decide Alaska tribes’ ability to put land into trust

Arguments took place in early May, and Judge Sharon Gleason has taken the case under advisement.

A celebratory sign stands outside Goldbelt Inc.’s new building during the Alaska Native Regional Corporation’s 50th-anniversary celebration on Jan. 4. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire file photo)

News

Medical company sues Goldbelt for at least $30M in contract dispute involving COVID-19 vaccine needles

Company says it was stuck with massive stock of useless needles due to improper specs from Goldbelt.

The Boney Courthouse building in Anchorage holds the Alaska Supreme Court chambers. (Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon)

News

Alaska Supreme Court schedules June 25 hearing for homeschool lawsuit appeal

Arguments to occur five days before the end of a hold on the lower court’s ruling.

Students leave the Marie Drake Building, which houses local alternative education offerings including the HomeBRIDGE correspondence program, on April 4. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire file photo)

News

Educators and lawmakers trying to determine impacts, next steps of ruling denying state funds for homeschoolers

“Everybody wants to make sure there’s a way to continue supporting homeschool families,” Kiehl says.

Former President Donald Trump speaks to a capacity crowd at the Alaska Airlines Center in Anchorage on July 9, 2022. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire file photo)

News

Alaska among states with lawsuits seeking to make Trump ineligible to run

Federal court complaint filed in September gets more attention after successful Colorado challenge.

Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire
Alaska Attorney General Trig Taylor (foreground) discusses litigation the state Department of Law is involved with during Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s (left background) unveiling of his proposed budget during a press conference Thursday at the Alaska State Capitol.

News

Legislative Council votes to sue Dunleavy administration in state employee union dues case

Legislators say executive branch violated separation of powers with unauthorized spending.

The Alaska Division of Insurance of some health care providers disagree about the impact of a state regulation setting minimum payments for out-of-network providers. Provider groups sued the state this week. (Photo by Valeriya/Getty Images Plus)

News

Alaska health care providers sue to keep state rule mandating minimum payments for care

State plans to end regulation on Jan. 1, citing upward pressure on prices,

A moose is seen in an Anchorage neighborhood near Kincaid Park on April 27, 2022. (Photo by Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon)

News

Federal judge rules against state of Alaska in lawsuit challenging COVID emergency hunt

Other disputes between state and federal fish and game managers are pending.

Nome’s Anvil City Square, with a giant gold pan and statues of the “Three Lucky Swedes” whose discovery kicked off the 1899 Gold Rush, is seen on Sept. 5, 2021. (Photo by Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon)

News

Proposed class-action lawsuit claims Alaska prisons are holding people without criminal charges

A woman from Stebbins has sued the Alaska Department of Corrections, alleging that she and many other people…

Fall colors are seen on Aug. 24, 2015, along the Canning River on the western edge of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. The Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority, the last entity to hold leases in the refuge coastal plan, has gone to federal court to try to get the canceled leases reinstated. (Photo by Katrina Liebich/U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service)

News

Alaska development agency sues federal government over canceled oil leases

Lawsuit about ANWR drilling argues Biden administration put politics over legal mandates

The Adventure Bound tour boat is seen here docked at Aurora Harbor in July. The vessel’s owner-operator was given four notices of deficiencies last year, but continued to operate, according to a U.S. Coast Guard report that also raises questions about the agency’s handling of a grounding incident involving the company. (Meredith Jordan / Juneau Empire File)

News

Fuel company sues Adventure Bound and its owners

Longtime local tour boat company’s last purchase was Feb. 1.

Fallen trees covered with moss are seen in the Shorty Creek area of the Tongass National Forest on Aug. 16. (Photo courtesy of the U.S. Forest Service)

News

State challenges Biden’s revival of Roadless Rule in federal court

Complaint filed Friday continues more than two decades of battles over Tongass policy.

Doug Vincent-Lang, commissioner of the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, explains the state’s position on fisheries management on the Kuskokwim River during a press conference Friday in Anchorage. Gov. Mike Dunleavy announced during the event the state is seeking summary judgment in a lawsuit by the federal government that accuses the state of illegal subsistence management practices. (Screenshot from official video by the Governor of Alaska)

News

Dunleavy, Taylor push to get Kuskokwim case tossed

Jurisdictional battle with feds could have long-ranging implications

The campus of the University of Alaska Fairbanks is seen from the air on Sept. 20, 2022. (Photo by James Brooks/Alaska Beacon)

News

Former UAF student sues school, alleging injuries from hot sauce

Woman seeking more than $100,000 from incident in culinary arts class.

Youth plaintiffs in the climate change lawsuit, Held vs. Montana, arrive at the Lewis and Clark County Courthouse, on June 20, 2023, in Helena, Mont., for the final day of the trial. A Montana judge on Monday sided with young environmental activists who said state agencies were violating their constitutional right to a clean and healthful environment by permitting fossil fuel development without considering its effect on the climate. (Thom Bridge/Independent Record via AP, File)

News

Victors in landmark climate change lawsuit reset sights on Alaska

Montana ruling establishes youths’ rights to clean environment, after similar case failed in Alaska.

The Odess Theater is seen on May 22, 2019, on the campus of the Sitka Fine Arts Camp, which operates the former home of Sheldon Jackson College. (Photo by Flickr user Jasperdo/Creative Commons)

News

Sitka Fine Arts Camp withdraws immigration lawsuit after feds reconsider issue

A key employee for one of Alaska’s major arts organizations has received a federal immigration visa, ending a…

The Odess Theater is seen on May 22, 2019, on the campus of the Sitka Fine Arts Camp, which operates the former home of Sheldon Jackson College. (Photo by Flickr user Jasperdo/Creative Commons)

News

Sitka Fine Arts Camp files rare immigration lawsuit in support of theater manager

The camp, which operates the campus of Sheldon Jackson College, was seeking a technical expert

Lawyers want investigation of police shooting reopened

News

Lawyers want investigation of police shooting reopened

Attorneys say new evidence merits reexamination of previously cleared officer.

State attorneys Elizabeth Bakalar, foreground left, and Margaret Paton-Walsh, foreground right, listen to arguments made by attorney Jon Choate on Thursday, Sept. 21, 2017 in Alaska Superior Court in Juneau. At background left is Judge Philip Pallenberg, who is expected to decide the Alaska Democratic Party’s lawsuit against the state next week. (James Brooks | Juneau Empire)

News

Alaska Democrats fight in court to put independents on their primary ballot

For state attorney Margaret Paton-Walsh, it’s a Jenga tower waiting to collapse. For Alaska Democratic Party attorney Jon…