Alaska’s Friday Five

A Bering Sea survival, $100 oil, a governor’s race twist, a historic hospital handoff and 25 years of remembering

Alaska delivered a little bit of everything this week: an extraordinary survival at sea, oil prices climbing back above $100 a barrel, another twist in the governor’s race, a historic change in tribal health care and a day that still carries enormous weight 25 years later.

Here are five Alaska stories worth knowing before the weekend.

1. Three Days in the Bering Sea

A 15-year-old boy is alive after spending nearly three days clinging to an overturned skiff in the frigid waters near St. Lawrence Island.

The survivor, Derek Parker Aghnaanga of Savoonga, was located Monday afternoon by a U.S. Coast Guard HC-130 Hercules crew from Air Station Kodiak, about four miles east of St. Lawrence Island. He was clinging to the capsized vessel and showing symptoms of hypothermia.

The Coast Guard deployed a raft and survival equipment before coordinating with the nearby fishing vessel Northwest Explorer, which headed to the scene and rescued Aghnaanga.

The rescue came with devastating loss. Aghnaanga’s older brother, Sidney Kulowiyi, 35, and a cousin also were found in the water and died. The Coast Guard transported the two deceased boaters and Aghnaanga to Nome.

The search involved Coast Guard aircraft and helicopters, the Alaska Rescue Coordination Center, Alaska Air National Guard units from Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska State Troopers and local authorities in Savoonga.

The Coast Guard ultimately ended the search after rescuing one survivor and recovering the two deceased boaters.

For Aghnaanga, the story is one of extraordinary survival. For two families and a community on St. Lawrence Island, it is a tragedy.

And, for anyone who spends time on Alaska’s waters, it is another reminder that cold water, distance and changing conditions leave very little room for error.

2. $100 Oil Is Back

North Slope crude has crossed the $100-a-barrel mark, putting Alaska’s oil-dependent state finances back in an increasingly interesting position.

The state’s Spring 2026 Revenue Forecast was built around an average Alaska North Slope oil price of $75 a barrel for fiscal year 2027. Actual prices have been running higher than that forecast.

The higher prices are good news for state revenue. They can also mean higher costs for Alaskans, particularly when rising crude prices filter through to gasoline, diesel, heating fuel, freight and other expenses.

That tension is nothing new in Alaska. The state budget depends heavily on petroleum revenue, while many of the people benefiting from that revenue are also paying the higher energy costs created by a stronger oil market.

The state’s FY2027 budget also acknowledged that higher oil prices can cut both ways. When Gov. Mike Dunleavy signed the budget in June, his administration noted that increased oil prices had produced higher-than-expected state revenue while also driving up energy costs for rural school districts and increasing expenses for freight, construction materials and maintenance.

So, yes, $100 oil is good for Alaska’s treasury.

It is not necessarily good news for every Alaskan’s wallet.

3. The Governor’s Race Has Entered Its Next Act

The Alaska governor’s race took another turn this week when Lt. Gov. Nancy Dahlstrom reversed her earlier decision not to certify Republican Treg Taylor for the November general-election ballot.

On Sept. 4, Dahlstrom certified Taylor and Republican Jose Tagle after initially declining to certify them based on concerns stemming from Alaska Public Offices Commission recommendations involving financial disclosures. A preliminary review by the Alaska Department of Law found numerous potential discrepancies between candidates’ disclosures and public records, while emphasizing that the review did not itself determine that a violation had occurred.

With Taylor back on the ballot, the November governor’s race is currently listed as a four-candidate field: Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins (D), David Bronson (R), Treg Taylor (R) and Bernadette Wilson (R), according to Ballotpedia’s 2026 Alaska gubernatorial election page.

The Division of Elections said it would update its certified candidate list and proceed with the general election.

So, for voters wondering where things stand: Treg Taylor is back on the November ballot, and the governor’s race now has four candidates. The next chapter belongs to the voters.

4. A Hospital Changes Hands, and Alaska Changes With It

A major institution in Alaska Native health care is now officially under Tribal ownership.

On Aug. 24, the Indian Health Service transferred ownership of Alaska Native Medical Center in Anchorage to the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium.

ANMC is at the center of the Alaska Tribal Health System and serves as the statewide referral center for specialty care.

The transfer represents a major step in Tribal self-determination. IHS said the transfer is intended to support continued investment in the medical center and its mission of providing health care to Alaska Native people.

ANTHC called the transfer historic, noting that the hospital is now under Tribal ownership after decades of federal ownership.

This isn’t simply a change in the name on a deed.

It puts ownership of one of Alaska’s most important health-care institutions directly in Tribal hands and gives the Alaska Native health system greater control over its future.

For patients walking through ANMC’s doors, the transfer does not suddenly change the care they receive.

But for Alaska Native health care, who owns the hospital matters.

5. Twenty-Five Years Later, Alaska Still Remembers

Twenty-five years ago today, the United States changed forever.

Alaskans are marking the anniversary of Sept. 11, 2001, alongside the rest of the country, but today’s remembrance is also deeply personal for people here.

Gov. Mike Dunleavy has ordered the United States and Alaska flags flown at half-staff from sunrise to sunset today, honoring those killed in the attacks, their families, first responders, caregivers and servicemen and women.

Across the country, ceremonies are marking the 25th anniversary. At the Flight 93 National Memorial in Pennsylvania, the National Park Service is holding its annual Sept. 11 observance, including the reading of the names of the passengers and crew members who died aboard Flight 93.

Twenty-five years is long enough for an entire generation to have grown up without firsthand memories of that morning.

For those who remember, it can still feel like yesterday.

The people who were killed. The firefighters and police officers who ran toward the danger. The passengers who fought back aboard Flight 93. The families who waited for phone calls that never came. The service members who went to war afterward. The first responders and others whose health was affected by the aftermath.

Today is about remembering all of them.

And making sure the story survives the generation that witnessed it.

Alaska, That’s Your Friday Five

From a teenager clinging to an overturned boat in the Bering Sea to the price of a barrel of North Slope crude, Alaska’s biggest stories this week run from deeply personal to profoundly consequential.

There is tragedy, survival, money, politics, history and a major shift in who controls an essential piece of Alaska’s health-care system.

That’s Alaska.

Sources

U.S. Coast Guard Arctic District
Search-and-rescue operation near St. Lawrence Island, including the rescue of the 15-year-old survivor and recovery of two deceased boaters. U.S. Coast Guard Arctic District: St. Lawrence Island Rescue

Alaska Department of Revenue
State revenue forecasts, including Alaska North Slope oil-price assumptions and state revenue information. Alaska Department of Revenue

Office of Gov. Mike Dunleavy
FY2027 budget information and the administration’s explanation of the effects of higher oil prices on state revenue and energy costs. FY2027 Budget: Governor Dunleavy

Alaska Division of Elections
Official decisions regarding Treg Taylor’s certification for governor, including the Aug. 31 decision and Sept. 4 reversal. Sept. 4: Dahlstrom Will Certify Treg Taylor

Indian Health Service
Official confirmation of the Aug. 24 transfer of Alaska Native Medical Center to the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium. Indian Health Service: ANMC Property Transfer

Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium
Official announcement of the historic transfer placing Alaska Native Medical Center under Tribal ownership. Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium

Office of Gov. Mike Dunleavy
Patriot Day 2026 statement and official flag-status notice for Sept. 11. Patriot Day 2026

National Park Service
Official information on the 25th annual Sept. 11 observance at Flight 93 National Memorial. Flight 93 National Memorial: September 11 Observance

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