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Gov. Mike Dunleavy greets visitors to the annual holiday open house at the governor’s mansion on Tuesday. Hundreds of people indulged in cookies and music by local students during the three-hour event. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)

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Cookies, carols and quizzes for Christmas

How the governor’s holiday favorites compare to his constituents visiting his annual open house.

Santa and Mrs. Claus chat with the flight crew of an Alaska National Guard cargo plane while en route to Nuiqsut, Alaska, on Tuesday, Nov. 29, 2022. Operation Santa Claus, the guard’s outreach program, attempts to bring Santa and Mrs. Claus and gifts to children in two or three Alaska Native villages each year. (AP Photo / Mark Thiessen)

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Santa visit brings joy to a frosty Alaska Inupiat village

Once again, it was time for Operation Santa Claus in Alaska.

“I Voted” stickers await Alaskan voters during in-person voting at Mendenhall Mall. (Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire File)

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Congressional winners raise, spend and save big bucks

Murkowski and Peltola have plenty of funds left over after heavy spending sprees to end elections

Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire A gas pump at Petro One gas station off Egan Drive shows prices on Friday that, at about $4.90 a gallon for regular unleaded, are lower than peaks earlier this year but still far above the national average. The price of Alaska North Slope crude oil dropped to $74.22 a barrel on Wednesday, far below the $87 the state needs to average to break even for the fiscal year, however, consumers have cause for good cheer as nationwide gas prices are now cheaper than a year ago, dropping about one-third from their $5 a gallon average.

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Oil hits lowest price of ’22 a week before state budget is due

$74.22 a barrel far below $87 break-even price for FY23; governor mum on how drop may affect FY24

Alaska Republican state Rep. David Eastman, standing, speaks on the House floor on Friday, Feb. 4, 2022, in Juneau. (AP Photo / Becky Bohrer)

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Case against state lawmaker with Oath Keepers ties moves to trial

Trial is slated to begin Monday.

Gail Fenumiai talks about some of Alaska’s most unusual elections on Friday, her last day as director of the state Division of Elections in Juneau after a 20-year career with the division. Behind her are congratulatory and farewell plates covering the walls, while her floor was strewn with a “balloon drop” from well-wishers before she arrived. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)

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Elections director makes a final call

Gail Fenumiai retires and gets her own balloon drop after 20-year career at division

Then-Senate President Cathy Giessel, R-Anchorage, sits in her office at the State Capitol in February 2020. After a recount, Giessel has been reaffirmed as the winner of a narrow three-way race for an Anchorage-area Senate seat. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire File)

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Recount reaffirms former senate president as winner of Anchorage-area race

Cathy Giessel won her bid for a state Senate seat.

A state court judge is weighing whether to allow a case to proceed to trial that alleges that Rep. David Eastman's ties to the far-right Oath Keepers group disqualifies him from holding office. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire File)

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Judge weighs how to proceed on case against Eastman

He said he would aim to issue a ruling by Friday.

In this screenshot from official Senate video, U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan, an Alaska Republican, discusses oil and gas policy during an Armed Services Committee meeting at the U.S. Capitol in May. (Screenshot)

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Georgia’s Senate loss unlikely to be Alaska’s

Despite, 51-49 Dem majority, Murkowski and Sullivan likely to keep seats.

This photo shows the Alaska State Capitol. Pending recounts could determine who will spend time in the building as part of the new state Legislature. Recounts in two Anchorage-area legislative races are scheduled to take place this week, a top state elections official said Tuesday. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire File)

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Recounts set for 2 Alaska legislative races

Senate District E race and the House District 15 race.

The entrance of the University of Alaska Southeast in Juneau as seen on May 25, 2022. (Lisa Phu / Alaska Beacon)

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University of Alaska faculty union ratifies contract

United Academics certified the ratification vote results Monday.

Alaska State Rep. David Eastman, a Wasilla Republican, is shown seated on the House floor on April 29 in Juneau. His district seat is among those whose fate is unknown, due to a pending lawsuit challenging his eligibility because of his membership in Proud Boys. (AP Photo/Becky Bohrer, File)

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New playfield, but familiar waiting game for new state House majority

Three pending races among unknowns that may again drag fight out for months.

Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy addresses the audience during his inauguration ceremony Monday, Dec. 5, 2022, in Anchorage, Alaska. Dunleavy, a Republican, last month became the first Alaska governor since Democrat Tony Knowles in 1998 to win back-to-back terms. (AP Photo/Mark Thiessen)

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Dunleavy sworn in for second term

Says his goal is to “work with everybody to create an Alaska for the next 50 years.”

Bill Walker, left, Bill Sheffield, center and Frank Murkowski are among the majority of Alaska governors who failed to win a second term for reasons ranging from unpopularity to scandals. (Credits: Michael Penn / Juneau Empire file photos and Al Grillo / AP)

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Alaska usually not big on second chances for governors

State has reelected executives at lowest rate in the nation.

A chart shows non-genital syphilis cases in Alaska have risen about 1,340% between 2017 and 2021, reflecting an enormous increase in cases nationwide. But Alaska is among the states with the highest rates of increase, with the third-highest rates of syphilis and chlamydia in 2020, the most recent year state-by-state comparisons are available. (Alaska Department of Health)

News

Syphilis cases still skyrocketing statewide

1,340% increase between 2017 and 2021 largely due to state’s relative youth and health care access

The snowy steps of the Alaska State Capitol are scheduled to see a Nativity scene during an hour-long gathering starting at 4 p.m. Friday which, in the words of a local organizer, is “for families to start their Gallery Walk in a prayerful manner.” But two Outside groups dedicated to placing Nativity scenes at as many state capitol buildings as possible are proclaiming it a victory against the so-called “war on Christmas.” The head of Alaska’s Legislative Affairs Agency, which has administrative oversight of the building, said the gathering is legal since a wide variety of events occur all the time, often with religious overtones, but the placement of a fixed or unattended display is illegal. (Jonson Kuhn / Juneau Empire)

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Scene and heard: Religious freedom groups say Nativity event makes statement

State officials say happening planned for Capitol relatively common and legal.

AP Photo / Al Grillo In this July 13, 2007, photo, workers with the Pebble Mine project test drill in the Bristol Bay region of Alaska, near the village of Iliamma.

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EPA proposes restrictions to block proposed Pebble Mine

The decision will now be forwarded to the EPA Office of Water.

In this photo provided by the National Transportation Safety Board, NTSB investigator Clint Crookshanks, left, and member Jennifer Homendy stand near the site of some of the wreckage of the DHC-2 Beaver, Wednesday, May 15, 2019, that was involved in a midair collision near Ketchikan. The National Transportation Safety Board said Tuesday that the Federal Aviation Administration should tighten rules about minimum visibility during flights and require more weather training for pilots who fly around Ketchikan. (Peter Knudson/NTSB via AP)

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Safety board recommends new measures for Alaska air tours

The board wants regulations for Ketchikan similar to requirements in Hawaii and the Grand Canyon.

Gavel (Courtesy photo)

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Maassen named new chief justice of Alaska Supreme Court

Longtime private attorney appointed to court in 2012 expects to continue predecessor’s approach.

The ranked choice outcome for Alaska’s U.S. Senate race is shown during an Alaska Public Media broadcast on Thursday. Incumbent Lisa Murkowski defeated fellow Republican Kelly Tshibaka by getting more than 50% of votes when two lower-finishing candidates were eliminated, with votes from people opting for Democrat Pat Chesbro as their first choice providing the necessary margin. Murkowski supporters note she won more first-choice votes than Tshibaka and thus would have prevailed without ranked choice voting, while Tshibaka supporters claim the challenger would have prevailed back in August under a closed-primary system and thus almost certainly would have won the general election. (Alaska Division of Elections)

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Voting far from over for ranked choice

Alaska certain to revive the debate during coming months as many nationwide hail it as a success.