🌠From Polar Nights to Pipeline Fights: Today’s Alaska in Focus

By Gina Hill | Alaska Headline Living | November 2025

🌞 Utqiagvik Enters Polar Night

A view from the Utqiaġvik Sea Ice Cam taken on Nov. 18, 2025 at 08:34:59 AKST, showing the landfast ice off the coast of northern Alaska. Image credit: University of Alaska Fairbanks, Sea Ice Group. 
  • The northernmost U.S. town begins 64 days without sunlight. Residents rely on twilight and community rituals to stay active.
  • Cultural significance: a time for reflection, storytelling, and preparing for winter subsistence activities.
  • Health tips: keep routines, get outside when possible, and consider light therapy.

🏛️ Anchorage Mayor Proposes 3% Sales Tax

Suzanne LaFrance, the first elected female mayor of Anchorage, grew up in Palmer, Alaska, and spent over 25 years in the private sector before entering public service, she once managed budgets and projects for AT&T. 
  • Mayor Suzanne LaFrance proposes a 3% city sales tax to fund property tax relief, infrastructure, and housing/childcare programs.
  • Public debate: Regressive nature of sales taxes sparks concerns for low-income households.
  • Next steps: Anchorage Assembly approval needed before April 2026 ballot.

🎓 University of Alaska Projects Big Jump in Health Costs

The University of Alaska Anchorage campus backed by the rugged Chugach Mountains, and beneath it all, wetland forests and trails that host moose, foxes, and even bears. The campus isn’t just in nature. It IS nature. /Image: University of Alaska
  • UA estimates 8–10% increase in medical, pharmacy, and dental costs.
  • Pharmacy costs driven by high-cost drugs like GLP-1s.
  • UA may cut coverage for some medications and emphasizes wellness programs to reduce long-term costs.

🗳️ Anchorage Electronic Voting Portal Under Scrutiny

Municipal Clerk Jamie Heinz addresses misconceptions from a recent New York Times article, clarifying that Anchorage’s secure document portal is a carefully controlled electronic voting option for registered voters who apply in advance, with ballots printed and processed alongside all other votes. Photo credit: MOA Elections.
  • Misreporting in national media mischaracterized Anchorage’s secure portal as risky mobile voting.
  • Actual use: voluntary, identity-verified, printed and processed like standard ballots.
  • Officials defend system security and highlight its role for voters in remote areas.

📻 KYUK Faces Deep Cuts After Funding Collapse

Most of the KYUK staff gather proudly outside their Bethel, Alaska radio station on Aug. 19, 2021, celebrating their Edward R. Murrow Award win. Photo credit: Katie Basile/KYUK Public Media
  • KYUK, the public radio and TV station in Bethel, is slashing staff and programming after losing up to 70% of its federal funding.
  • Staff Impact: Full-time employees drop from 10 to 4, with 10 part-time/on-call roles remaining.
  • Programming Cuts: “Coffee at KYUK” loses three English episodes weekly; the weekly Yugtun (Yup’ik) episode is preserved.
  • Technical Risk: Technical director hours cut from 40 to ~10/week, raising concerns about equipment maintenance and reliability.
  • Revenue Strategy: KYUK plans more grants, underwriting, and two annual pledge drives.
  • Community Role: The station remains a critical lifeline for rural Yup’ik villages, providing news, emergency alerts, and native-language programming.
  • Outlook: Staffing and workload will be reassessed in March 2026 to gauge sustainability.

🌊 Western Alaska Storm & Evacuations

TUNTUTULIAK, Alaska – Alaska Organized Militia members assigned to Task Force Bethel remove debris and waterlogged insulation from buildings at Tuntutuliak, Alaska, Oct. 24, 2025. In the wake of Typhoon Halong, AKOM members are on the ground in western Alaska laying the groundwork for recovery operations in affected communities. (Courtesy photo)
  • Typhoon Halong remnants caused severe flooding; over 1,500 evacuees relocated to Anchorage or Bethel.
  • Ongoing concern: many evacuees unsure when they can return home.
  • Climate & infrastructure challenges spotlighted in remote communities.

🛢️ Federal Moves to Expand Oil & Gas Development

An aerial view of the rugged Brooks Range within the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, showcasing the remote peaks and untouched wilderness of northern Alaska. Photo credit: Lisa Hupp/USFWS, Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
  • Interior Department reopens millions of acres, including ANWR coastal plain, for drilling.
  • Economic opportunity vs. environmental risk remains a major flashpoint.
  • Legal ruling requires reinstatement of some leases previously canceled under prior administration.

🐺 Aerial Predator Control Controversy

Brown bears gather at Brooks Falls in Katmai National Park & Preserve, fishing on the leaping sockeye salmon. Though it may look chaotic, many of the same bears return year after year. Studies show that between 32–80 individual bearsare identified every summer at Brooks River, and many of them are repeat visitors./Image: NPS.gov
  • Alaska resumes helicopter gunning of bears and wolves to protect caribou and moose populations.
  • Critics argue it’s inhumane and not scientifically justified.

🔑 Key Take‑Aways

  • Extreme environment: Polar nights, storms, and rising sea levels test resilience.
  • Fiscal pressures: UA health costs and Anchorage tax debates affect everyday Alaskans.
  • Community resilience: KYUK and cultural practices keep rural and Indigenous voices alive.
  • Energy & environmental flashpoints: Expanded drilling and predator control spark national attention.

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