www.alaskabookmarks.com - What's up in Alaska? News and interesting links from The Last Frontier

Lynx life near the Haul Road

By Sara WilburLocated 60 miles above the Arctic Circle, Coldfoot is a busy truck stop on Alaska’s Dalton Highway. Step off the gravel pad, which underlies a year-round population of 34, and you’ll head into several hundred miles of dense boreal forest and the mountain tundra of the Brooks Range.It’s midsummer and peak travel time on the Dalton, Alaska’s only road to the Arctic Ocean. Large trucks of many types haul freight, fuel, machinery and other supplies to Deadhorse and Prudhoe Bay, and pas

Somebody had to say something

Political comment for the day:There's a candidate for governor of Alaska named Treg Taylor. You may have seen his ads claiming he will stop those nasty Outside liberals coming here to fight for the woke agenda and protect Alaska from the antifa coming North. He prides himself on being an Alaskan having been born here. It is like he's pointing a finger at me as one of those liberal outsiders. Well here's the deal: you pride yourself in being a born Alaskan but I, an incomer with a long history a

OPINION: Commemorating the president comes down to a coin flip

<p>President Donald Trump is infatuated with gold, from bathroom fixtures in the White House to gold coasters, ceilings, door frames and fireplace decorations in the Oval Office.</p>

Stephens Cruises: Wildlife and glacier boat tour from Valdez on Prince William Sound

Departing from Valdez, Alaska the Stephens Cruises wildlife and glacier boat trip is a wonderful day out on the water ...

The rainy season is coming

By Rick Thoman Alaska Climate Specialist Alaska Center for Climate Assessment and Preparedness International Arctic Research Center/University of Alaska FairbanksWith the calendar turning towards August, the western Alaska “rainy season” is underway. Like most of mainland Alaska, late summer and early autumn is often the rainiest time of year both in terms of the frequency of rain and the amount of rain. Physically this is related to the annual climate cycle in the northern hemisphere. The Ber

State improperly deletes naturalized citizens from voter rolls

The lieutenant governor has only one job—other than looking after the state seal—and Nancy Dahlstrom isn’t getting the job done in supervising the Division of Elections.In removing thousands of names from Alaska’s voter rolls, Division of Elections Directory Carol Beecher admitted to legislators this week, the state used old data that hasn’t been checked.This Alaska Beacon story by James Brooks and Corinne Smith does a good job in detailing the debacle: “Based on interviews with affected people

Alaska Native communities prepare for man camps driven by new mining boom

(Illustration by Kalyn Fay Barnoski/High Country News)This article first appeared on High Country News and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.In Interior Alaska, near the Canadian border, a small Alaska Native community called Dot Lake Village sits just off the Alaska Highway. Cradled between the Alaska Range and the Tanana River, it is a tight-knit community whose roughly 180 tribal members live a traditional subsistenc

Alaska’s biggest economic engine lacks visibility

The Hurff A. Saunders Federal Building is seen on Nov. 13, 2025 (Photo by Corinne Smith/Alaska Beacon)Half of Alaska’s economic growth from 2015 to 2023 came from one source. Not oil, which added perhaps $4.5 billion over that stretch. Not mining or fishing, which together added less than a quarter of that. Federal spending grew by nearly $9 billion over those years, against roughly $16.5 billion in total state GDP growth. Twenty billion dollars is roughly what Washington D.C. spent in Ala

Prince William Sound commercial salmon catch crawls to 1.4M fish

Commercial harvesters in Prince William Sound delivered an estimated 1.4 million salmon to processors through July 23, in a season marked by a healthy but well below forecast catch.In the Copper River District, the sockeyes were averaging six pounds and the Chinooks 12-13 pounds, but overall below the anticipated harvest, said Jeremy Botz, a veteran fisheries biologist in the Cordova office of the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G). In Prince William Sound chum salmon weighed an aver

Flood of poll watchers, observers, monitors to descend on midterm voters

Voters line up outside Shiloh Hills Baptist Church in Kennesaw, Georgia, on Election Day, May 19, 2026. (Photo by Ross Williams/Georgia Recorder)WASHINGTON — Political party poll watchers are showing up more and more, usually outside polling places.They have a different mission than the nonpartisan election observers long regarded as bulwarks of credibility, and there’s concern that voters will be confused who’s there to influence them and who’s there to protect them.The growing presence of part

Zucchini Bread

Classic Zucchini Bread, is the of kind recipe that shows up every summer when the garden gets ahead of you and you need somewhere for all that zucchini to go. This loaf is moist, lightly spiced with cinnamon, and comes together with ingredients you likely already have on hand. Ready to make a classic? Let’s...The post Zucchini Bread appeared first on Little House Big Alaska.

Patrick Kane returning to Chicago Blackhawks on 2-year, $16M deal

The Chicago Blackhawks are reuniting with iconic winger Patrick Kane, signing the unrestricted free agent to a two-year, $16 million contract that carries an average annual value of $8 million and includes a full no-move clause. The 37-year-old veteran returns to the organization where he spent the first 16 seasons of his professional hockey career before being traded to the New York Rangers in February 2023 and subsequently playing for the Detroit Red Wings.Blackhawks general manager Kyle David

Chugachmiut Head Start Hiring

Build-A-Boat Photo Contest

KVAK wants to see your photos! Send us a picture of you building your boat for your chance to WIN a roll of duct tape!!Submit photo by midnight Sunday, August 2nd.var gform;gform||(document.addEventListener("gform_main_scripts_loaded",function(){gform.scriptsLoaded=!0}),window.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded",function(){gform.domLoaded=!0}),gform={domLoaded:!1,scriptsLoaded:!1,initializeOnLoaded:function(o){gform.domLoaded&&gform.scriptsLoaded?o():!gform.domLoaded&&gform.scriptsLoaded?window.

Lawsuits seek to overturn permit for road construction through Alaska wildlife refuge

Brant fly over Izembek Lagoon at Izembek National Wildlife Refuge.on Sept. 28, 2016. The refuge is used as a migratory stop for nearly the entire global population of Pacific black brant. a type of goose. Two new lawsuits are challenging a federal permit for a road that would cross Izembek habitat used by the brant and other migratory birds. (Photo by Kristine Sowl/U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service)Two weeks before construction could begin on a controversial road that would cut through Izembek Nat

No. 1 pick Fernando Mendoza signs $57.27 million rookie contract with Raiders

Quarterback Fernando Mendoza, the top overall selection in the 2026 NFL Draft, has officially agreed to terms on his rookie contract with the Las Vegas Raiders. The franchise formally announced the signing Thursday as rookies reported to training camp. Mendoza, who is the team’s first top pick since 2007, secured a four-year agreement worth $57.27 million fully guaranteed, complete with a fifth-year club option. The standard four-year arrangement features a $38.1 million signing bonus. Ac

Dan + Shay celebrate lasting love with the single “Marry You Again”

Dan + Shay – comprised of Dan Smyers and Shay Mooney – have released “Marry You Again,” a heartfelt new single that continues the rollout for their upcoming sixth studio album, Young, due Aug. 21 via Warner Records Nashville. The romantic track follows previously released songs “Young” and “Say So,” offering another preview of what the Grammy-winning pair have described as their most personal project to date.The song arrives after Smyers and Mooney spent recent weeks surprising fans

Tim McGraw sets fall 2026 engagement on Las Vegas strip

Tim McGraw has announced a highly anticipated return to the Las Vegas Strip for an extended engagement in the fall of 2026. The upcoming series of performances follows his previous critically acclaimed, sold-out residency at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace.The multi-Grammy Award winner will present a high-energy production showcasing three decades of chart-topping hits. During his prior brief engagement in Las Vegas, McGraw captivated audiences alongside elite professional rodeo athletes. While

Hollywood Vampires to release Montreux Festival Performance as new live album

Hollywood Vampires will revisit one of the band’s most acclaimed concert performances with the release of At Montreux Jazz Festival, a new live album capturing its 2018 appearance at Switzerland’s famed Montreux Jazz Festival.The collection, featuring Alice Cooper, Johnny Depp, Joe Perry and Tommy Henriksen, is scheduled for digital release on Aug. 7, followed by CD and vinyl editions on Oct. 16 through earMUSIC. The announcement marks the group’s first new release since 2023 a

Collective Soul’s “Touch and Go’ set for global release release on July 31

Collective Soul is transitioning its latest studio effort into a widespread commercial release. Originally distributed as an exclusive vinyl offering for Record Store Day on April 18, the band’s 13th studio album, “Touch and Go,” is slated for a broader rollout across retail and streaming channels this summer, with a physical compact disc edition arriving at major outlets on July 31. Previously, the album could only be obtained on 180-gram colored vinyl at participating brick-a