Articles & Op-eds
Must Read Alaska: Polaris building demo starts in Fairbanks
by Suzanne Downing
The Polaris Hotel, Fairbanks’ tallest building and biggest eyesore, is coming down at last. It was built in 1952 with its annex constructed in 1973. Originally designed as an apartment building, it was converted into a hotel but in 2001, 800,000 gallons of water flooded the basement; it was abandoned in 2002. The City of Fairbanks foreclosed on the property over unpaid taxes. The City of Fairbanks received a Targeted Brownfield Assessment for the main portion of the 11-story building in … Continue Reading
05.26.23
Fairbanks Daily News Miner: Honoring the fallen on Memorial Day
by Sen. Lisa Murkowski
When you walk the hollowed grounds of Arlington, Gettysburg and Normandy, you see row upon row of marble headstones. Etched into them are names known to many and names known to none. What the men and women who rest beneath them have in common is their brave, selfless service to our nation—and lives cut short and unlived. Memorial Day is an opportunity for us to honor all who gave what President Abraham Lincoln called “the last full measure of devotion.” The United States is an… Continue Reading
05.26.23
Cordova Times: NOAA Fisheries allocates $15.7M for Copper River/Prince William Sound fishery disasters
by Margaret Bauman
NOAA Fisheries has allocated over $220 million in fisheries disaster funds appropriated by Congress in the Disaster Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act for fishery disasters in Alaska and Washington, including the 2020 Copper River/Prince William Sound coho and pink salmon fisheries. For the 2020 Copper River/Prince William Sound salmon fisheries along, the allocation totals $15.7 million, NOAA Fisheries said. U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo announced the allocations on May 18, sayin… Continue Reading
05.26.23
KTUU: Kuskokwim Consortium receives highest national honor for libraries
by Shannon Cole
The Institute of Museum and Library Services announced Friday that Bethel’s Kuskokwim Consortium Library is the recipient of the 2023 National Medal for Museum and Library Science, the highest accolade given to libraries and museums in the United States. Additional recipients of the award include the Los Angeles County Library, New Jersey’s Long Branch Free Public Library, and the Toledo Lucas County Public Library in Ohio. The library was nominated — for the second year in a… Continue Reading
05.13.23
Fairbanks Daily News-Miner: OPINION: Returning Indigenous remains is the correct move for universities, institutions
by News Miner
The Daily News-Miner applauds a bipartisan coalition of senators urging immediate compliance with a lawful federal act in existence for more than 30 years that mandates a return of ancestral remains and related cultural artifacts taken from Indigenous people in Alaska and countless Lower 48 sites. Leading the charge is U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) and our state's Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski. Particularly disturbing is that the senators cite remains that were desecrated or exhibited … Continue Reading
05.13.23
Cordova Times: USDA will purchase up to $119.5M in Alaska sockeye, Pacific groundfish
by Cordova Times
U.S. Department of Agriculture officials have agreed to purchase up to $119.5 million worth of Alaska sockeye salmon and Pacific groundfish for distribution through federal food assistance programs, after months of efforts by the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute and the state's Congressional delegation. The deal is to involve up to $37.5 million in canned Alaska sockeye salmon, up to $30 million in Alaska sockeye salmon fillets, and up to $52 million in Pacific groundfish projects. The Pacif… Continue Reading
05.12.23
Alaska Beacon: Speedier permitting of energy projects gains bipartisan backing on U.S. Senate panel
by Jacob Fischler
Members of both parties on the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee voiced their support Thursday for reforming the federal process for approving energy projects, saying it should be prioritized to secure domestic energy supply and boost renewable energy. There is bipartisan interest in revising the permitting process and members of both parties have offered competing proposals to accomplish it. Chairman Joe Manchin III, a centrist West Virginia Democrat who has authored a permit… Continue Reading
05.10.23
Frontiersman: Senators Murkowski, Tester lead bipartisan push to protect critical services, essential resources for veterans
by Katie Stavick
This week, the Critical Health Access Resource and Grant Extension (CHARGE) Act to extend veterans' programs and services is set to expire, taking with it support for unhoused veterans, caregivers, and State Veterans Homes. To ensure continuous support for the nation's veterans, caregivers, and their families, Senator Lisa Murkowski and Jon Tester of Montana have introduced a bipartisan bill to extend essential Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) programs and authorities currently set to expir… Continue Reading
05.09.23
Seafood Source: USDA to purchase USD 119.5 million worth of Alaskan sockeye and groundfish
by Nathan Strout
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) intends to purchase USD 119.5 million (EUR 109 million) worth of Alaskan sockeye salmon and Pacific groundfish for federal food assistance programs, according to Alaska's congressional delegation. "USDA's purchase of Alaska seafood is great news for our fishing industry and all who depend on federal food assistance," U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) said in a statement. "Alaskan fishermen stand ready to help feed their communities, and these purchase… Continue Reading
05.08.23
Alaska’s News Source: Murkowski announces legislation protecting veteran health, housing resources
by Elinor Baty
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski and Montana senator Jon Tester have announced a bipartisan push to protect critical services and essential resources for our nation's veterans. The duo introduced legislation that would extend essential Department of Veterans Affairs programs and authorities that are currently set to expire on May 11 of this year. The bill is called the Critical Health Access Resource and Grant Extensions Act (CHARGE). The CHARGE Act protects measures … Continue Reading
05.07.23
Fairbanks Daily News-Miner: A written code of conduct for the Supreme Court is owed the people
by News-miner Staff
U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and Angus King (I-Maine) introduced legislation requiring the Supreme Court of the United States to pen its own code of conduct. The Daily News-Miner editorial board read the news with interest. Our conclusion is that we support the need for the Supreme Court to publish a clear, significant and self-enforceable code of conduct on its own. We at the Daily News-Miner clearly see a cause for public concern with the Supreme Court's moral compass given an associate j… Continue Reading
05.05.23
Fairbanks Daily News Miner: Dunleavy, Murkowski recognize Missing and Murdered Indigenous People Awareness Day
by Staff Report
Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy and U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski both issued statements Friday recognizing the National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women. "Today, on May 5th, my heart is with the many families who have lost a loved one to violence and all those who have been affected by the crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous women and people. We honor the memory of your loved ones who are no longer with you in you," Murkowski in a released statement. "I join in raising aw… Continue Reading
05.05.23
Cordova Times: Bill would require code of conduct for U.S. Supreme Court
by Cordova Times
Legislation introduced in late April by Sens. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, and Angus King, I-Maine, would require the U.S. Supreme Court to create its own code of conduct and appoint an official to review potential conflicts and public complaints. Introduction of the bill on April 26 came in the wake of ProPublica's report that conservative Justice Clarence Thomas failed to disclose several expensive trips he and his wife accepted from Texas billionaire Harlan Crow. The two senators said the le… Continue Reading
05.04.23
Anchorage Daily News: Alaska’s U.S. senators join push to protect banks serving cannabis businesses
by Riley Rogerson
WASHINGTON - Alaska's two Republican senators are part of a group of federal lawmakers seeking to protect banks that serve the marijuana industry from federal penalties - an effort that has repeatedly flamed out in the face of GOP opposition and Democratic efforts to broaden the measure. The SAFE Banking Act would shield banks that serve legitimate cannabis businesses from federal penalties in states that have legalized marijuana, including Alaska. Because they lack banking access, most cann… Continue Reading
05.04.23
Fairbanks Daily News Miner: Judge orders closure of Southeast troll fishery to protect orcas
by Jack Barnwell
A Washington state-based federal judge ordered a closure of Southwest Alaska's troll fishery for the summer after voiding an environmental review that authorized the fishing activity. Judge Richard Jones sided Tuesday with the Washington-based nonprofit Wild Fish Conservancy, who filed a lawsuit in order to protect orcas on the coast of Lower 48 states and British Columbia. In his two-page order, Jones ordered the troll fishery closed pending a review of the 2019 Southeast Alaska Biological … Continue Reading
05.04.23
Cordova Times: Bruce’s Law reintroduced to combat fentanyl crisis
by Cordova Times
Bruce's Law, legislation to raise federal prevention and education efforts surrounding the deadly synthetic opioid fentanyl, has been reintroduced in the U.S. Senate by Sens. Lisa Murkowski, R-AK and Dianne Feinstein, D-CA. Senators Dan Sullivan, R-AK, Maggie Hassan, D-NH, and Tammy Baldwin, D-WI, are the original co-sponsors of the legislation, which is named after Robert "Bruce" Snodgrass, a 22-year-old Alaskan who died in 2021 from fentanyl poisoning. Murkowski said that the fentanyl cris… Continue Reading
05.03.23
Alaska Public Media: Murkowski says Supreme Court should live by an ethics code of its own making
by Liz Ruskin
A partisan slugfest broke out at the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee hearing Tuesday, when the panel met to consider an ethics code for the Supreme Court. "Last month we learned about a justice who for years has accepted lavish trips and real estate purchases worth hundreds of thousands of dollars from a billionaire with interests before the court," chairman Dick Durbin, D-Ill., said in his opening statement. Republicans accused Democrats of ulterior motives. "Very directly, this is a poli… Continue Reading
05.03.23
Fox News: OPINION: Americans don't trust the Supreme Court, but this helps the justices help themselves
by Sen. Angus King, Lisa Murkowski
A healthy democracy requires trust: trust in leaders, trust in public institutions, and trust in systems. As our founders warned in the Federalist Papers, preserving America's historically-rare democracy starts with citizens having faith in their government. But this trust is waning, and our fragile system is facing a crisis of confidence. Unfortunately, this erosion of faith over the years includes public views of the Supreme Court, resulting in all-time low confidence levels in this vital in… Continue Reading
05.02.23
Must Read Alaska: Murkowski introduces code of conduct bill for Supreme Court
by Suzanne Downing
Sen. Lisa Murkowski and Sen. Angus King of Maine have introduced the Supreme Court Code of Conduct Act, requiring the Supreme Court to establish a code of conduct that would follow the same ethics guidelines as other federal judges. The proposed bill would mandate that the Supreme Court create a code of conduct within one year from the date of enactment and appoint an official to handle any complaints of violations of the code. The official would accept information or complaints from the publi… Continue Reading
05.01.23
Your Alaska Link: Bruce's Law, named for late Alaskan, aims to tackle Fentanyl crisis in U.S.
by La’shawn Donelson
ANCHORAGE (Your Alaska Link) - Bruce's Law is a measure named after an Alaskan, Robert Bruce Snodgrass, who lost his life at the age of 22 to fentanyl poisoning. U.S. Senators Lisa Murkowski and Dianne Feinstein have reintroduced Bruce's Law into legislation to help federal efforts and increase education about the dangers of Fentanyl. "Bruce's Law is all about education. Bruce's Law is all about letting people know how how truly lethal fentanyl is, that it can poison you. And it is not it is n… Continue Reading
