Bycatch has emerged as one of the defining issues in Alaska's U.S. Senate race, putting candidates' records, fisheries policy and campaign contributions under a new spotlight. Commentary and illustration by Holly Todd.
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With less than a month until the Aug. 18 primary election, the coalition of 23 Democratic, independent and Republican lawmakers is calling on the state to reverse the purge that moved 3,048 voters to the inactive list. Typical purges affect around 200 voters.
Legislators call on Alaska election officials to reverse voter purge that hit new citizens - The Alaska Current
Despite concerns about "old data," the state pushed ahead with the unprecedented purge that seems to have targeted new citizens.
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According to the memo, the Division of Elections approached the DMV with a “non-routine” request to check the citizenship status of 15,200 voters.
Alaska lawmakers demand answers on state voter purge that disqualified citizens - The Alaska Current
The purge comes as the Division of Elections is already being accused of bending or ignoring the law to favor Republicans.
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A proposed Mat-Su industrial park reflects Alaska's latest economic bet: leveraging abundant land and energy to attract data centers. The proposal also opens a broader debate over electricity, land use and the future of industrial development in the state. Commentary and illustration by Holly Todd.
OPINION: Elections in our sparse and sprawling state have never really gone over without a hitch.
Buxton: Between voter purge and partisan ballot hijinks, what’s the Division of Elections even doing? - The Alaska Current
It's almost as if an election denier is running the show and this is all the goal.
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Schultz will still appear on the Aug. 18 ballot and can formally drop out once the election is held. The general election is Nov. 3.
Hill will get a head-to-head with Begich after Schultz’s exit, but will progressives rally? - The Alaska Current
Republicans hope the exit will fracture the anti-Begich vote.
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Sitka Democratic candidate Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins will be running with a fundraising haul that’s nearly double every other candidate save for the Republican who gave his own campaign $1.25 million.
JKT reports big haul heading into governor’s race primary - The Alaska Current
The former Sitka lawmaker’s fundraising haul shows many indicators of grassroots support in Alaska, but also includes some big-ticket Outside donors.
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The deadline to register to vote in Alaska’s Aug. 18 primary election is this Sunday, and it’s set up to be one of the more consequential state primaries in recent memory.
Here’s why you need to register to vote in Alaska’s primary - The Alaska Current
The Aug. 18 primary election may not be that exciting, but it will narrow the 17-candidate field for Alaska's next governor.
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Repeal Now is the latest campaign supporting an initiative to repeal Alaska’s open primary system.
Key backer of RCV repeal caught in Medicaid fraud crackdown - The Alaska Current
The campaign's effort to hide its billionaire backers may have backfired.
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At this point, Mike Dunleavy's governing style may be defined less by the bills he signs than by the budgets he vetoes. He's becoming Alaska's veto governor. Illustration and commentary by Holly Todd
A tax deal once considered all but inevitable is now hanging by a thread.
Once-certain AKLNG tax cut deal unravels as legislators grapple with S-corp taxes, secret agreements and slights - The Alaska Current
Things were looking good for the subsidy before issues about corporate taxes, a secretive agreement and name-calling entered the picture.
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The effort to overturn ranked-choice voting and the effort to remove Petersburg's Dan Sullivan from the ballot share an underlying premise: that Alaska voters can't be trusted to figure things out for themselves. Illustration and commentary by Holly Todd.
COMMENTARY: Rather than relying on Alaska's own attorneys, the Division of Elections turned to a lawyer from a conservative Lower 48 firm to defend its decision to keep Dan J. Sullivan off the ballot.
Alaska brought on a right-wing attorney to defend the decision to remove Dan J. Sullivan from the ballot - The Alaska Current
Accused of partisan meddling in the 2026 elections, Alaska officials turned to a conspicuous choice for legal representation.
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Petersburg Sullivan's case is scheduled to be heard in the Anchorage Superior Court on Thursday.
‘You don’t need any special legal training to smell a rat.’ Legislators question Dan J. Sullivan’s removal from the ballot - The Alaska Current
Republicans suggest the case isn't at all about the qualifications for holding office but about the qualifications for running for office.
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Even if Petersburg's Dan J. Sullivan were trying to confuse voters — which he denies — a new lawsuit argues that's beside the point.
Lawsuit argues Alaska election officials can’t disqualify Dan J. Sullivan — even if he was running as decoy - The Alaska Current
The lawsuit seeking to put him back on the ballot argues the state isn't allowed to consider motive — even if there were evidence, which there isn't.
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Every year, Alaskans eagerly await our summer frenzy. In this June photo essay by Emily Mesner, she spent 24 hours following the light and documenting Anchorage.
Where We’re Anchored: June - The Alaska Current
June brings (hopefully) warm temps and (undoubtedly) a fever that is postmarked by blooms of backyard rhubarb, sunburnt faces and the promise of abundance.
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Deep in the Tongass, accessible only by boat, a century-old printing press sat silent for seven years. The nearly one-ton Vandercook press at Sea Pony Farm near Pelican has been restored by the Sitka Conservation Society and is being used to connect art, conservation and community.
Pressing Silence: Sea Pony Press - The Alaska Current
Deep in the Tongass, enshrouded by the West Chichagof-Yakobi Wilderness, sits a behemoth.
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Alaska election officials say the other Dan Sullivan wasn't really running for Senate — he was running to confuse voters. The evidence? A nickname. Commentary and illustration by Holly Todd.
A new complaint alleges the group behind Alaska's latest ranked-choice voting repeal effort violated campaign finance laws dozens of times.
Group behind latest effort to repeal ranked-choice voting is intentionally misleading voters, complaint alleges - The Alaska Current
Along with the usual campaign finance violations, the group is accused of attempting to hide the fact that it's primarily backed by an Outside billionaire.
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The Alaska House advanced legislation to reduce taxes on the proposed Alaska LNG pipeline, with supporters arguing it could help deliver lower-cost gas to Fairbanks and Southcentral Alaska.
AKLNG bill advances out of the House, highlighting state’s geographic divide - The Alaska Current
While some lawmakers were worried that the AKLNG project may be giving up too much for too long, the possibility of cheaper energy won many over.
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The decision rests on a series of circumstantial factors rather than evidence of direct coordination with any other campaign and is likely headed for a court challenge.
Dan Sullivan going by ‘Dan’ is just the proof the Division of Elections needed to disqualify him - The Alaska Current
There's no smoking gun, just a bunch of red yarn linking non-disqualifying issues together into a convenient narrative.
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A squeaky etching press. A thousand hand-printed butterflies. A lifetime of watching the natural world. Meet Ketchikan printmaker Evon Zerbetz, the latest artist featured in the Pressing Silence series.
Pressing Silence: Evon Zerbetz - The Alaska Current
On one end of her home studio a giant, three-dimensional steel form stands tall, adorned with butterflies of different colors, dimensions, and designs.
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Chris Hill didn't grow up outdoors. Raised in the D.C. suburbs, she discovered climbing at summer camp, became a conservation leader and eventually found her way to Alaska through a love of wild places — and fly fishing. The latest in the Trail Blazers series.
Trail Blazers: Chris Hill - The Alaska Current
Chris Hill didn't grow up outdoors. Raised in the Washington D.C. suburbs, she was an arts kid — interested in photography, crafts, and spending hot Maryland summers mostly inside.
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Cross-country skiing first connected Arleigh Hitchcock to the outdoors as a kid. Years later, Alaska's mountains, glaciers and trails have shaped a life built around adventure, community and stewardship.
Trail Blazers: Arleigh Hitchcock - The Alaska Current
During their childhood in Washington, cross country skiing was an important part of Arleigh Hitchcock’s connection to the outdoors.
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The Division of Elections says Petersburg Republican Dan Sullivan is ineligible to challenge U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan, though it has yet to publicly detail the evidence behind its decision.
Alaska Division of Elections plans to disqualify the Other Dan Sullivan without proof of alleged fraud - The Alaska Current
If past issues with the Division of Elections putting its thumb on the scale for conservative causes are anything to go by, this will almost assuredly end up in court sooner rather than later.
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House lawmakers gave AKLNG another boost Wednesday, advancing a bill that would slash taxes on the project. The measure now heads toward a floor vote as the special session enters its final week.
AKLNG bill advances without the option for local governments to cut their own deals - The Alaska Current
With a little more than a week remaining in Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy's special session, the gasline subsidy bill is nearing a vote in the House.
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Lt. Gov. Nancy Dahlstrom has launched an investigation into whether Petersburg Republican Dan Sullivan is trying to confuse voters — despite questions about whether the state has the authority to police a candidate's motives for running.
Alaska Republicans are absolutely losing their minds over the other Dan Sullivan - The Alaska Current
They can’t believe another Dan Sullivan would run for office and have launched an investigation.
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OPINION: Lawmakers spent another week digging into the project and found that many of the biggest savings for Alaskans hinge on export markets that don't yet exist.
AKLNG’s proposed gas contract highlights the project’s underlying challenge: There just aren’t that many Alaskans - The Alaska Current
The AKLNG special session continued this week, giving more clarity on what will be an undeniably difficult project, no matter the subsidy lawmakers ultimately approve.
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The filing period for Alaska’s statewide races closed on Monday, setting up an expansive, 17-candidate field for the state’s next governor — and there’s just about someone for everyone. thealaskacurrent.com/2026/06/04/m...
Matt Buxton’s definitive way-too-early tier list of Alaska’s candidates for governor - The Alaska Current
Having trouble wading through the 17 candidates for governor? We've got our latest VIBES breakdown of the field.
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Haines is small, remote and packed with artists. In the latest Pressing Silence, Baylee Pearson shares how printmaking, community and life in Southeast Alaska inspire her work under the name Misfit Prints. thealaskacurrent.com/2026/06/02/p...
Pressing Silence: Haines is for the misfits - The Alaska Current
A Sitka native and current Haines resident, Baylee Pearson spent the last 10 years between the two locales taking inspiration from the lands she’s spent a lifetime on.
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