After a Facebook post defending Golden Heart Plaza sparked criticism, the mayor offers a public apology, clarifies his intent and invites the community to a conversation.

One of the most cynical things Alaska legislators ever did (and that’s saying something) was voting to gut the 2002 minimum wage increase less than one year after passing it.

Lisa Murkowski has often stood out and stood alone. Time and again she has been one of a few Republican voices willingness to challenge Elon Musk’s unfocused efforts to re-shape the federal bureaucracy and share her well-reasoned dissenting opinions. Murkowski has shown uncommon courage in a…

April 29 is International Dance Day, so it’s a fitting moment to recall (or consider for the first time) why dancers are as necessary to a society as teachers, doctors and engineers. The day was established by UNESCO’s International Theatre Institute to “revel in the universality of this art…

There is so much going on in Washington — Trump, executive orders, tariffs, DEI, the firing/rehiring of federal and state workers — that Alaskans are missing three critical realities that are impacting us right now.

What is a charter school?

On April 22, the Alaska Legislature had the opportunity and responsibility to secure stable and meaningful investment in our children’s education.

Endowments have been around for a long time. Many universities have maintained them for decades, and they serve as major revenue generators. Have you ever heard of a university threatening to overdraw its endowment fund? Probably not—because endowments are designed specifically to prevent th…

It’s spring and temperatures are rising; snow is melting and sunshine lingers well into the evening. Millions of birds are returning from their wintering grounds. Soon frogs will sing and plants will grow.

‘Good morning,” says this particular day — April 19.

Please urge senators to vote “no” on the SAVE Act.

Laurie Mead, the owner of Kyrie N’ Friends, a licensed child care facility in Soldotna, serves a hot meal for lunch every day. For some kids, she knows that this homemade entrée may be the only hot meal they eat all day. When Mead learns that families in her program are struggling, she sets …

Interior Alaska has been battling expensive electric and heating bills for decades. Our reliance on trucked-in fuel and an aging grid leaves us vulnerable to supply disruptions, but our electric transmission and distribution systems limit the blend of power we can access and prevent efficien…

In her April 8 Community Perspective entitled “The Legality of Trump’s Tariffs,” Barbara Haney criticizes the recent “Bridge the Divide” event that discussed whether President Trump’s tariffs, amongst other actions, exceed the presidential powers granted under The Constitution of the United …

It’s an honor to serve as Alaska’s U.S. senator. Public criticism comes with the job, and I rarely respond to attacks publicly. But when critiques cross over to insulting my wife and her Alaska Native heritage, I feel that a public response is necessary.

A major political correction — and potentially a partisan realignment — is likely on the horizon if moderates from both parties can organize and cooperate in pursuit of their shared goals, Michael Walleri writes in this Community Perspective.

In his Community Perspective, Andy Warwick makes several pitches on how to reverse Alaska's current financial state.

We are writing on behalf of the Denali Regional Healthcare Working Group — a newly formed, volunteer coalition of residents and stakeholders working to bring health care to the Denali Borough. At present, the Denali Borough is one of the least medically served regions in the state. Interior …

Alaska has a 125-year history, first as a territory and then as a state, of sending people with a mental illness to be locked in psychiatric facilities that had a known history of grossly mistreating patients.

When I was born in 1946 at the end of World War II, the country was celebrated not only the end of the war but the role the United States could play in restoring a free world order. As history records, that job turned out to be an ongoing challenge, but worth the effort.

In the recent rounds of federal cuts, an important community program was defunded: Community Meals. Community Meals are free weekly dinners offered at the Southside Community Farmers’ Market: every Tuesday, June through September, 4-6:30 p.m. at 24th and Rickert. These healthy, locally-sourc…

Roll it back to 1979: Alaskans were enjoying abundant wild fish and game, the economy was roaring, and educators were free to teach students in the best ways they knew how. Alaska was full of opportunity and ripe for Outside attention. We experienced a national celebration of interest in Ala…

The record-low snow conditions south of the Alaska Range have had big impacts across the state, especially around wildfire potential. In early March, the Iditarod had to move the race to the northern route, while the Alaska Division of Forestry & Fire Protection (DOF) declared an early w…

I strongly oppose the change to Alaska’s Constitution to allow spending from a proposed single-component Permanent Fund.

The Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act (SAVE) is currently being considered in Congress.

As the Alaskan who leads the board of the Alaska Gasline Development Corporation (AGDC), I write to provide a frank update about the Alaska LNG Project, which has been in the news a lot lately — AGDC signed a deal with Glenfarne to take over the project; President Trump and our Congressional…

I am writing as a private citizen and economist to respond to comments from a recent event titled “Bridge the Divide,” held at the Borough Assembly chambers. As a former faculty member who taught political economy at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, I was unable to attend the Saturday mee…

Like the turn of the seasons, we can regularly count on seeing opinion pieces here expounding the wisdom of “moving beyond our extractive industries and making a transition to an alternative economy.”

Authors Against Book Bans is a newly founded nationwide organization with an Alaska chapter, dedicated to maintaining the freedom of all Americans to read and consume whatever books and media resources they wish to have available. 

It’s as if we’ve forgotten the teachings of great philosophers who led the world into the Enlightenment era in the 17th century.

There is a path to increasing food security without a Department of Agriculture this legislative session.

How is it that Christian nationalists, evangelicals and the religious right can believe Trump’s persistent lies and his rejection of science, facts and reality? To understand, we must explore the correlation between these tendencies and Christian belief, especially as shaped by childhood ind…

There is a growing concern among Alaskans that oil and gas revenues to the State General Fund will be insufficient to satisfy programs such as education, law enforcement and transportation, as well as to continue to pay a reasonable dividend. The Alaska Department of Revenue Spring 2025 Fore…

As we chart our economic future, the contentious issue of raising oil taxes has again reared its less than attractive head. Long reliant on income from our petroleum resources to fund government, Alaska now stands at an important crossroads. The majority of revenue necessary to run state gov…

In 1997, the late British author, graphic designer and design historian David King published a book titled “The Commissar Vanishes: The Falsification of Photographs and Art in Stalin’s Russia.” The book presented images that originated between the Bolshevik seizure of Petrograd and the wanin…

This year’s version of the Fairbanks North Star Borough School District’s annual school-closing Hunger Games has brought into focus a particular ethical issue.

In a world of gridlock, waste and empty promises, Elon Musk stands out — not just as a visionary entrepreneur, but as a patriot who’s taking action where others won’t. Whether it’s putting Americans back in space, challenging government inefficiency or defending free speech, Musk is helping …

My father fought in the Battle of the Bulge during World War II, fighting for democracy against terrible and brutal dictators. He would be appalled at the shift away from democracy and of Ukraine’s treatment by the administration.

U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan gave cover to President Donald Trump and Elon Musk during his address to the Alaska Legislature last March 20, downplaying the pain that haphazard cuts and mass firings have caused to a state that’s more reliant on the feds than most. No, he said, the country’s not fac…

Dear Dr. Deena Bishop, Alaska commissioner of education, I write not with applause, but with profound disappointment and urgency.

As a former educator for over 30 years, I welcome the news that President Trump has signed an EO significantly decreasing the power and authority of the U.S. Department of Education. Since its creation in 1980, despite spending several trillion dollars of taxpayer money, student outcomes con…

K’eetahu tłeetaaltonh, there’s a trail in one direction.

A recent opinion piece, “Yukon Flats tribes stand firm: No drilling on our ancestral lands,” mischaracterizes Doyon’s efforts in the Yukon Flats, painting a false picture of secrecy and disregard for local voices. The reality is that Doyon has been transparent, engaged and thorough in its ap…

Middle-class fear, worry, tension and foreboding ... Social Security seems under attack. It was established during the Great Depression to promote minimum economic security for our nation’s people; for many, it is the difference between retiring with some dignity or in humiliating poverty.

The recent decision to close multiple Fairbanks schools, including Pearl Creek Elementary, has been justified as a necessary cost-saving measure. However, a closer look at Alaska’s school funding formula shows that closing schools might not actually save the district money and could even mak…

It’s been almost two months.

When new data emerges, it’s important to incorporate it into decision-making, even if it challenges initial predictions. The school district’s administration presented a model estimating savings from closing Pearl Creek, based on projected enrollment trends and redistributing students to oth…

I’d rather have dinner rolls than these gender roles handed out to the masses, like we all are made the same. You can’t hand out bread to the whole town and expect everyone to eat their share. There will be those riddled with gluten intolerance, wheat allergies, those fasting for religious p…

Once upon a time in a fabled land, far, far away, there lived a mad king.