Articles & Op-eds
Alaska Public Media: A new e-waste program is recycling tons of batteries from rural Alaska
by Michael Fanelli
The organizers of a new initiative that retrieves e-waste from across rural Alaska report they collected and recycled over 145,000 pounds of lead-acid batteries from 45 communities last year. Backhaul Alaska is an idea from U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, and now receives federal grant money from the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Department of Transportation and Environmental Protection Agency to address the challenge of getting hazardous waste out of remote Alaska communities. Reilly Kosinski works for… Continue Reading
09.05.23
Fairbanks Daily News-Miner: EPA administrator makes push to help ANCSA land cleanup
by Jack Barnwell
The head of the Environmental Protection Agency completed an Alaska tour Friday with a stopover in Fairbanks to announce large grants to three Alaska Native Corporations aimed at cleaning up contaminated lands conveyed at the time of Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act. EPA Administrator Michael Regan’s Alaska tour was the latest in the agency’s national Journey to Justice campaign, an initiative launched in 2021 to highlight how marginalized and low-income communities suffer from environmental… Continue Reading
09.04.23
Anchorage Daily News: OPINION: Alaska’s all-of-the-above energy policy is an example for the US
by Duff Mitchell
In the midst of our nation’s ongoing struggle to bridge the divide around energy innovation, navigating the dynamics around a changing climate and the recognized need for a consensus-driven path toward a long-term energy future, Alaska’s energy leadership has been on full display in recent months. Collectively, Alaska has shown a refreshing, directional approach to responsible energy solutions; offering a powerful example and in many ways a standard for the rest of the country to follow. This l… Continue Reading
08.24.23
Frontiersman: “There’s so much potential for agriculture” Senators Sullivan and Murkowski welcome Senator Boozman, discuss future of Alaska agriculture
by Katie Stavick
During the Opening Day of the 2023 Alaska State Fair, Alaska Senators Dan Sullivan and Lisa Murkowski welcomed Arkansas Senator John Boozman to the state as part of a national tour to gather input from farmers and other agricultural communities with a stake in the future of farming. Senator Boozman is the senior ranking member of the Agriculture Nutrition and Forestry Committee in the Senate and has been visiting a number of states ahead of the next legislative session, in which Congress will b… Continue Reading
08.23.23
Alaska Beacon: Infrastructure law, supported by Alaska delegation, in turn brings big payout to the state
by Yereth Rosen
Alaska has gotten the most money per capita from the federal infrastructure law passed in 2021, a message relayed at a news conference on Tuesday where the latest injection of funds for the state was announced. Rep. Mary Peltola, D-Alaska, and officials from the Biden administration used the event at the Alaska Native Heritage Center to announce awards totaling $100 million for broadband service in three rural areas. That brings Alaska broadband spending from the Infrastructure Investment and J… Continue Reading
08.16.23
Anchorage Press: Alaska Sens. Murkowski, Sullivan push Alaska priorities into new federal farm bill
by Tim Bradner
Alaska’s two U.S. senators are pushing major new additions go the pending federal farm bill that would add new support for the state’s seafood industry as well as traditional farming and livestock growing. The seafood initiative is a joint undertaking by Alaska Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan with the aim of extending to seafood producers federal support that has long been enjoyed by farmers and large agricultural companies. Examples would be loans at favorable rates and product labeling… Continue Reading
08.15.23
Alaska News Source: Transportation secretary tours Port of Alaska, talks investment in aging infrastructure
by Steve Kirch
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg visited Alaska’s biggest city Tuesday as part of a three-day tour of the state. Buttigieg’s tour of the Port of Alaska on Tuesday provided a look at how federal dollars are being spent to improve the port. Alaska is the beneficiary of more than $5 billion in federal investments from President Joe Biden’s bipartisan infrastructure law, which was signed in November 2021. “This is a port that faces unique challenges. There… Continue Reading
08.12.23
Juneau Empire: Fixing the ferry’s future: Alaska Marine Highway steers fleet toward three replacements
by Meredith Jordan
When the Alaska Marine Highway System officially drops the first part of its three-part master plan with state lawmakers at the end of the month it also will be the first time the ferry system has had a fleet plan. That isn’t typical and starting from scratch is part of the reason it’s taking a while to pull it together, said AMHS Marine Director Craig Tornga. A draft of the three-year plan was circulated a few weeks ago. The sexiest part — three new vessels in five years — got some attention.… Continue Reading
08.09.23
Waste Today: RBC supports Backhaul Alaska program
by Tess Kazdin
The Responsible Battery Coalition (RBC), Milwaukee, Wisconsin, a coalition of companies and academic organizations committed to the responsible management of vehicle and equipment batteries, has announced the success of Backhaul Alaska’s 2022 battery retrieval program. The hazardous waste hauling program retrieved and recycled approximately 145,000 pounds of spent lead-acid batteries from 45 remote Alaskan communities, RBC says. According to RBC, lead-acid batteries are a vital energy source in… Continue Reading
08.08.23
Anchorage Daily News: Federal plan would grant Southeast Alaska Native communities land settlements in Tongass National Forest
by Riley Rogerson
WASHINGTON — More than 50 years after the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act passed Congress, a federal proposal seeks to resolve claims with so-called “landless” Alaska Natives from five Southeast Alaska communities that were left out of the landmark law. Supporters say concerns about logging and public access to the lands have stalled progress on the legislation, but they are hopeful the political atmosphere has changed enough that the policy has a chance of moving forward. When ANSCA was s… Continue Reading
08.03.23
Fairbanks Daily News-miner: Sen. Murkowski addresses Alaska Tribal Court Conference on Violence Against Women Act
by Carter DeJong
On the second day of the 2023 Alaska Tribal Court Conference, US Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) spoke to hundreds of tribal leaders and discussed the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) and how it applies to Alaska Natives. “So many of you have been advocates for so long, advocates for others who are not able to speak for themselves,” Murkowski said. “I’m talking to those of you who are in this every day. They are not numbers. They are friends. They are relatives.” VAWA was originally passed in 1… Continue Reading
08.02.23
Peninsula Clarion: Murkowski talks LNG, local projects in Soldotna | Peninsula Clarion
by Ashlyn O'Hara
A memorial service for Kenai River sportfishing titan Bob Penney, good fishing and a meeting with Kenai Peninsula Borough officials were among the circumstances that brought U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski to the central peninsula on Tuesday. Speaking from a picnic table at Odie’s Deli, Murkowski caught up the Clarion on Kenai Peninsula projects, oil and gas resources and what it looks like to collaborate with local government to get things done. When it comes to the Alaska LNG Project, Murkowski sai… Continue Reading
08.02.23
Roll Call: Big shoes filled as Senate appropriators spread earmarks wealth
by Herb Jackson and Peter Cohn
The retirement of several titans of congressional appropriating hasn't slowed down the Senate's appetite for "congressionally directed spending" — better known as earmarks. Under new management this year, the Senate Appropriations Committee has allocated nearly $7.6 billion worth of earmarks among over 3,700 separate line items tucked into their fiscal 2024 bills, a CQ Roll Call analysis found. That's just a hair under the $7.8 billion provided in the initial Senate versions last year — whic… Continue Reading
07.31.23
Washington Post: After ‘terrorizing’ Congress, interns get selfies with all 100 senators
by Daniel Wu
On Thursday evening, a group of high school graduates waited nervously outside the Senate floor. Congress’s August recess loomed. The eight summer interns working for Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) didn’t have any bills to pass, but they too faced a pressing deadline. They were looking for Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.). An urgent call went out for the senator on Twitter, and finally, staffers ushered her through the Senate doors. “I don’t want to be left out!” Klobuchar told the group before th… Continue Reading
07.31.23
Anchorage Daily News: Murkowski interns secure photos with all 100 senators
by Riley Rogerson
WASHINGTON - As the U.S. Senate hustled to pass the defense authorization bill Thursday before Congress’ August recess, Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski’s interns completed another challenge: securing photos with all 100 senators. The cohort of eight high-school-age interns and two college-age coordinators - all from Alaska - was on a monthlong hunt to take a picture with every U.S. senator starting in early July.A separate group of Murkowski interns who worked in June kicked off the challenge, ultim… Continue Reading
07.27.23
Anchorage Daily News: Anchorage Assembly votes to secure expanded port terminals, financed partially with higher tariff
by Zachariah Hughes
Members of the Anchorage Assembly, with the backing of Mayor Dave Bronson’s administration, passed two important measures this week related to the modernization project at the Port of Alaska. The first ordinance affects the design of the port’s two cargo terminals, which are on track to be built out for maximum utilization in the coming decades. The second vote increased tariffs charged for products coming into the port, with the extra money intended to go specifically toward the modernization … Continue Reading
07.24.23
Alaska News Source: Sen. Lisa Murkowski introduces legislation to strengthen seafood industry By
by Steve Kirch
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - The “Farm Bill” is enacted every five years to address a variety of agricultural and food programs. This time around Sen. Lisa Murkowski is introducing legislation that will strengthen a variety of the farm bill provisions to better address needs in Alaska. Murkowski’s “Improving ARCTIC Act” seeks to improve access to healthy foods for Alaskans, food processing needs for Alaska producers, increase access to affordable housing, improve American forestry and floricultur… Continue Reading
07.23.23
Seafood Source: Murkowski looks to boost Alaska seafood with Improving ARCTIC Act
by Nathan Strout
U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) says her latest bill would strengthen Alaska’s seafood industry, creating a new label for wild-caught seafood, establishing a new grant program for domestic seafood processors, and adding new label requirements for genetically engineered or lab-grown seafood. The Improving ARCTIC Act is a collection of amendments to the Farm Bill meant to help Alaskan residents and industries. Congress updates and revises the Farm Bill every five years, and the last Farm Bill… Continue Reading
07.21.23
Anchorage Daily News: Anchorage Assembly set to make major decisions on future costs and designs at Port of Alaska
by Zachariah Hughes
Jul. 23—The Anchorage Assembly is set to vote this week on tariff revisions and construction designs for the Port of Alaska. The port, a critical piece of infrastructure in the northwest corner of Anchorage, handles a huge share of goods and critical materials that Alaskans all over the state depend on, from groceries and construction material to cement and aviation fuel. The dock terminals are aged and badly eroded, and municipal officials have struggled for years to redevelop them amid warnin… Continue Reading
07.20.23
Frontiersman: Alaska Sens. Murkowski, Sullivan push Alaska priorities into new federal farm bill
by Tim Bradner
Alaska’s two U.S. senators are pushing major new additions go the pending federal farm bill that would add new support for the state’s seafood industry as well as traditional farming and livestock growing. The seafood initiative is a joint undertaking by Alaska Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan with the aim of extending to seafood producers federal support that has long been enjoyed by farmers and large agricultural companies. Examples would be loans at favorable rates and product labeling… Continue Reading
