Read the latest news from regional and global sources, presenting different voices and perspectives.

Alaska’s ‘Nazi Creek’ is no more, as federal geographic names board approves traditional alternative
A small creek on Alaska’s Little Kiska Island has been renamed, more than 80 years after it was named after Germany’s Nazi Party by World War II soldiers fighting in the Aleutians. Nazi Creek was the last landmark in the United States to bear the...

Alaska spaceport deal draws rocket-launch industry interest
The global space-launch industry is welcoming the prospect of launching rockets from Alaska’s two spaceports to relieve the backlog at larger facilities in the Lower 48. Top officials with Alaska’s two civilian launch facilities say their new...

Anchorage’s Human Resources Department suffers from massive turnover under Mayor LaFrance
The Human Resources Department for the Municipality of Anchorage has experienced a striking level of staff turnover over the past year, losing 18 employees since Mayor Suzanne LaFrance took office in July 2024. At the time LaFrance assumed office,...

PBS station highlights Anchorage Mayor’s distain for ICE arrests of illegal aliens
Alaska Public Media, which is a taxpayer-funded PBS affiliate, took time to highlight the fact that Anchorage’s hard-leftist mayor is opposed to the Trump Administration’s efforts to arrest illegal immigrants in Alaska’s largest city. In a July 10...

Missouri governor repeals voter-approved paid sick Leave and minimum wage law
Eight months after voters approved it, Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe signed the repeal of a law Thursday that had guaranteed paid sick leave to workers and inflationary adjustments to the minimum wage.The move marked a major victory for the state’s...

Sick leave is now mandatory in Alaska
On July 1, Alaska’s new sick-leave and minimum wage increase law took effect. Approved by voters in November, it states that someone working at a business with 15 or more employees will earn one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked,...

Alaska governor’s office says state has no plans to build ‘Bear Alcatraz’ to jail ICE detainees
By Corinne Smith / The Alaska Beacon After a Fox News interview raised the possibility of Alaska building a “Bear Alcatraz” Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facility, the office of Gov. Mike Dunleavy said on Tuesday that the state has...

Proposed seasonal sales tax would take advantage of Juneau’s summer tourism
Cruise ship tourists visit shops in downtown Juneau on Wednesday, July 10, 2025. (Photo by Clarise Larson/KTOO) The Juneau Assembly is moving forward with a plan to ask voters this fall whether to implement a new seasonal sales tax system next...

Empire Archives: Juneau’s history for the week ending July 12
Empire Archives is a series printed every Saturday featuring a short compilation of headline stories in the Juneau Empire from archived editions in 1985, 1995, and 2005. The stories include names, AP style, and other content of their eras. This...

Yukon-based poet announces ‘Alaska Highway Poetry Crawl’ tour
Peter Jickling will be making his way down the Alaska Highway for several Peace region dates later this month. (photo submitted by Peter Jickling) FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — A poet with extensive experience throughout his travels in Canada will descend...

Shelves are bare on St. Paul Island as 10 tons of food sit stranded in Anchorage
It's been more than a month since St. Paul Island had a full shipment of groceries. Foggy weather and a lack of reliable transportation have left the Bering Sea community waiting on thousands of pounds of food from Anchorage. "It's been over a...

Deadliest Catch returns: Season 21 spotlights the struggling Alaska crab industry
July 10, 2025 The red king crab fishery in Alaska has faced historic closures in recent years, leaving many harvesters sidelined and processors searching for opportunities elsewhere to meet demand. Discovery Channel’s Deadliest Catch returns for...

Bill requiring car rental apps to collect Alaska taxes avoids second veto
Alaskans who rent out their cars on platforms like Turo and Getaround are no longer required to collect and submit state rental car taxes themselves. Earlier this year, the state Legislature passed a bill mandating that the car-rental platforms...

North Carolina ranks 1st in the nation for business
North Carolina has regained the top position from CNBC as ‘America’s Top State for Business in 2025’. The annual ranking evaluates all 50 states across 135 metrics in 10 key categories of competitiveness, including economy, business friendliness,...

Must Read Alaska mistakes one John Williams for another in ‘on-brand’ blunder
Renowned composer John T. Williams is not running for the U.S. House in Alaska. Nor is Cordova fisheries workforce specialist John D. Williams, whose biographical information filled out a post announcing the candidacy of a “John Williams” on the...

Fight over new FBI headquarters site stalls government funding bill
WASHINGTON — A fight over where to relocate the FBI’s headquarters ground the Senate appropriations process to a halt on Thursday — a setback for lawmakers working to avert a government shutdown by the Sept. 30 deadline. The Senate Appropriations...

Missouri governor repeals paid sick leave law approved last year by voters
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Eight months after voters approved it, Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe signed the repeal of a… JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Eight months after voters approved it, Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe signed the repeal of a law Thursday that...

Oregon’s U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley will seek re-election in 2026
Oregon’s junior U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley, a Democrat, will seek a fourth term in Congress. Merkley, 68, announced Thursday he’d run again for the Senate seat he’s held for more than 16 years. He’s represented Oregon in the U.S. Senate since 2009,...

'Alaska has the resources, but America needs the will'
'Alaska has the rare earths we need' Frank Murkowski at The Wall Street Journal China is "exploiting U.S. reliance on rare earth and critical minerals by ordering restrictions on exports," says Frank Murkowski. Alaska has "untapped deposits of...

Win Gruening: Juneau leaders lose the plot on affordability, but voters may push back in October
By WIN GRUENING Repeatedly, the City and Borough Assembly has missed opportunities to mitigate the rising costs of living in Juneau. While paying lip service to the importance of affordability, substantial increases to the budget have been passed...