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This 2019 aerial photo provided by ConocoPhillips shows an exploratory drilling camp at the proposed site of the Willow oil project on Alaska's North Slope. Alaska's push to become a bigger player in the clean energy market is in the spotlight this week at a conference convened by Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy, even as the state continues to embrace new fossil fuel production, including the controversial Willow oil project. (ConocoPhillips)

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‘Leap of faith:’ Alaska pursues carbon offset market while embracing oil

Alaska’s push to become a bigger player in the clean energy market is in the spotlight this week…

Rep. Josiah Patkotak, I-Utqiagvik, explains the history of the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska during an Alaska State House floor session in February. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)

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America’s farthest-north state representative is planning to leave the Alaska Capitol

Patkotak says he’s running to be the next mayor of the North Slope Borough.

NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer at sea during the 2022 Caribbean Mapping expedition. The ship will be in Alaska waters for much of this year. (Anna Sagatov / NOAA)

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New mapping efforts seek to expand knowledge of Alaska’s waters

Around 70% of Alaska’s waters are unmapped…

State Sen. Bert Stedman, a Sitka Republican who co-chairs the Senate Finance Committee, details a list of 24 projects costing about $34 million that were added to the state budget during negotiations with House members Thursday. Behind Stedman in the audience section is nearly the entire 16-member House minority caucus, which voted in favor of the budget along with 10 members of the Republican-led House majority. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)

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Unusual House coalition OKs budget to end special session on first day

10 members of Republican-led majority join minority after $34M in targeted capital projects added

U.S. first lady Jill Biden, left, and first lady of Alaska Rose Dunleavy watch a performance by Ayaprun Elitnaurvik students during an event at Bethel Regional High School in Bethel, Alaska on Wednesday, May 17, 2023. Ayaprun Elitnaurvik is a Yugtun immersion school in Bethel. Biden and Interior Secretary Deb Haaland traveled to Bethel to highlight the Biden-Harris administration's investments to expand broadband internet connectivity in Native American communities, including Alaska's Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta. (Loren Holmes/Anchorage Daily News via AP)

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Digital divide: Jill Biden visit touts efforts to connect Alaska Native villages to outside world

Jill Biden visited Bethel on a stopover to Japan to highlight internet-access progress.

In this aerial photo chunks of ice follow flooding from an ice jam in Crooked Creek, Alaska, May 15, 2023. Ice jams along two Alaska rivers unleashed major flooding over the weekend. (Jennifer Wallace / Alaska Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management)

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Surging Alaska rivers leave behind huge chunks of ice, damaged homes

ANCHORAGE — Ice jams that blocked two Alaska rivers broke loose over the weekend, unleashing a surge of…

Rep. Craig Johnson, an Anchorage Republican and sponsor of the a bill to reject the 67% pay raise slated for legislators and around a 20% raise for the governor, speaks to House Representatives Tuesday afternoon. The bill passed in a 29-11 vote but the efforts are likely too late to stop the increases from going into effect. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire)

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House passes bill to reject raise for lawmakers — but pay hike still likely

“I can’t even imagine what working-class people are thinking.”

Senate President Gary Stevens, R-Kodiak, tells reporters why the bill for next year’s budget was held over Tuesday until the final day of the session on Wednesday. The Senate floor session is scheduled to start at 11 a.m., giving the Senate and House 13 hours to resolve their differences before the 121-day session deadline. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire)

News

Senate stalls budget for suspenseful final day

Legislature will have 13 hours to solve differences over PFD, other issues to avoid special session

State Senate leaders depart the House Speaker’s office following a long meeting between members of both chambers Saturday afternoon that failed to resolve budget differences with only four days left until the scheduled adjournment of the legislative session. Leaders with both chambers have said there’s a strong likelihood of a special session, but a breakthrough on some key items late Monday may allow legislators to finish in time on Wednesday if they work at a whirlwind pace. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)

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‘It’s the weirdest session I’ve ever seen’: Odds for special session fluctuating drastically

Accusations by House and Senate leaders lead to late pacts as Legislature tries to adjourn on time

Courtesy Photo / Alaska Airlines Juneau artist Crystal Kaakeeyáa Worl, who is Tlingit and Athabascan, poses with an Alaska Airlines 737-800 aircraft decorated with Worl’s latest work, Xáat Kwáani (Salmon People). Alaska Airlines held a unveiling ceremony on Friday, May 12 to welcome the plane into service.

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Formline meets airline: Crystal Worl’s salmon-inspired design takes to the skies

Xáat Kwáani makes its inaugural flight.

A plane sits in brush on Fontaine Avenue at around 5:45 p.m. after a crash on Thursday, May 11, 2023, near Sterling, Alaska. (Courtesy Photo / Alisha Joe)

News

No injuries reported after Sterling plane crash

Alaska State Troopers were notified of the crash at around 5:45 p.m. on Thursday

State House members with wide-ranging views on a so-called “fentanyl bill,” including both of Juneau’s representatives, discuss proposed amendments during Wednesday’s floor session. Standing from left to right are Sarah Vance, R-Homer, Sara Hannan, D-Juneau, David Eastman, R-Wasilla, Andi Story, D-Juneau, and Alyse Galvin, D-Anchorage. The bill passed by a 35-5 vote Thursday, with Story voting in favor and Hannan against.

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‘Fentanyl bill’ passes House

Some drug offenders causing death can be charged withg murder under governor’s proposal.

A line of electric-assisted bicycle sit on display at Juneau Bike Doctor in February. On Monday the Senate passed a bill that would to regulate e-bikes under the same regulations as normal bicycles. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire File)

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Senate passes bill defining e-bikes the same as bicycles in Alaska

The increasingly popular way to ride is currently undefined in state law.

Izabelle Ith, second from left, poses with her Alaska High School Hall of Fame plaque. At left is ASAA Executive Director Billy Strickland. Second from right is Jo Ann Day, who nominated Ith for the honor. At right is Alaska state Rep. Mike Cronk who presented Ith with a legislative citation. (Brad Potter / ASAA)

Sports

Petersburg’s Izabelle Ith honored with Hall of Fame selection

Southeast athlete pushed Alaska competitors to their sporting limits.

A breeze lifts flags hanging outside of the Andrew Hope Building in downtown Juneau Monday afternoon. The Central Council of the Tlingit & Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska announced Monday morning its withdrawal from the Alaska Federation of Natives. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire)

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Tlingit and Haida withdraws from the Alaska Federation of Natives

The move goes into effect immediately, according to the tribe’s president.

Sightseeing buses and tourists are seen at a pullout popular for taking in views of North America's tallest peak, Denali, in Denali National Park and Preserve in August 2016. (AP Photo / Becky Bohrer)

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Denali National Park worker dies after triggering avalanche

DENALI NATIONAL PARK AND PRESERVE — A Denali National Park and Preserve employee died when he was caught…

Catherine Edwards, co-chair of Tlingit and Haida’s Violence Against Women Task Force hugs Áakʼw Ḵwáan spokesperson Fran Houston at at the steps of the Alaska State Capitol Friday evening for a rally and march to recognize Missing and Murdered Indigenous Peoples Awareness Day held each year on May 5. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire)

News

‘This is now a plea’: Rally brings awareness to missing and murdered Indigenous people

“We want answers — our families deserve answers on what happened to our people.”

Senate President Gary Stevens, a Kodiak Republican, listens to Sen. Löki Tobin, an Anchorage Democrat, as she speaks in support of a bill Stevens sponsored that would require Alaska high school students to complete a civics education course or receive a passing score on a civics assessment exam in order to graduate. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire)

News

Senate passes bill implementing new civics requirements to graduate high school

The bill advances as recent national data shows declining test scores on the topic.

State House Speaker Cathy Tilton, R-Wasilla, and House Rules Committee Chair Craig Johnson, R-Anchorage, talk to reporters in the speaker’s office Friday afternoon about the House’s priorities during the last 13 days of this year’s scheduled legislative session. Both legislators said a cap on spending is a priority of the Republican-led House majority as the budget for next year and the size of this year’s Permanent Fund dividend remain the biggest unresolved issues. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)

News

House Speaker declares spending cap a priority

Budget-cutting measure has ties to Senate’s plan to reduce PFDs — but it’s not a trade-off, leaders say

A red dress hangs on a tree in the courtyard at Winnipeg City Hall during a rally, Thursday, Dec. 15, 2022, in Winnipeg, Manitoba, to call on the city to cease dumping operations at Brady landfill and conduct a search for the remains of missing and murdered indigenous women believed to be buried there. Friday, May 5, 2023, marks Missing and Murdered Indigenous Peoples Awareness Day, a solemn day meant to draw more attention to the disproportionate number of Indigenous people who have vanished or have faced violence. (Daniel Crump / The Canadian Press)

News

Wearing red, Indigenous families honor missing relatives

“I join in raising awareness about an injustice that was once invisible.”