The Alaska Senate voted without dissent Monday to allow the Department of Natural Resources to stop publishing some public notices in local newspapers.
Senators approved Senate Bill 68 by a 17-0 vote. It now advances to the House for consideration. Sens. Lyman Hoffman, D-Bethel; Bert Stedman, R-Sitka; and Shelley Hughes, R-Palmer, were excused absent.
Before the final vote, newspaper publishers unsuccessfully asked legislators to reconsider their plans. Allowing the state to control its public notice process poses transparency risks, they testified, and it likely will harm papers’ finances, potentially reducing the amount of independent reporting available in Alaska.
“Newspapers certainly are concerned that not everyone has internet coverage, and it’s going to just further depress the finances of a money-losing business that’s important to communities,” said Larry Persily, owner and publisher of the Wrangell Sentinel.
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“Public notices are one of the few remaining revenue streams we have left,” he said.
SB 68 addresses only a fraction of the notices required, by state law, to appear in local newspapers, and it doesn’t affect notices published by local cities and boroughs, most of whom still require newspaper publication as well.
The bill only applies to “public notices relating to the sale, appropriation, or removal of water,” commonly required of mining projects.
Persily said he nonetheless thinks it’s the sign of a national trend reaching Alaska.
“I’m actually surprised it took this long,” he said.
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States are moving away from mandatory print publication, with some requiring publication on a newspaper website instead. Florida, for example, implemented a law this year that allows a local government to publish notices on a public website instead of through a newspaper.
In the United States, mandatory publication dates to the first Congress, in 1789, and the practice has continued as a way to keep the public informed.
Speaking to the Senate on Monday, Giessel said that newspaper readership has declined and that internet access has become common in Alaska.
Requiring only online publication — with print publication as an optional backup — isn’t a barrier to access, she said.
Sen. Bill Wielechowski, D-Anchorage, said after the vote that getting rid of the public notice newspaper requirement isn’t a new idea, but he opposed it the last time it came around because he didn’t believe his district had appropriate internet access.
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Now, following the advance of technology, he believes it does, and he voted for the bill.
Virginia Farmer, publisher of the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, and Ryan Binkley, owner and president of Anchorage Daily News, were among those who testified against it, mostly on transparency grounds.
“The public has relied on community newspapers to keep them informed and to publish public notices. If the state government publishes their own notices, where’s the transparency in that?” Farmer wrote in a letter to Giessel.
Binkley, who wrote a separate letter, said by phone that he’s surprised the Senate was willing to give the executive branch more power over public notice requirements.
“That’s a lot of power for the executive branch to hold. I’m surprised the Legislature wants to continue to consolidate power,” he said.
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He also said he was skeptical of claims by state agencies that publishing their own notices will have no cost.
“Anybody who runs a business knows that a website isn’t free,” he said.
Binkley said that if legislators are concerned about the cost of print notices, they might consider changing the law to require publication on newspaper websites instead.
“If the goal is for people to see those notices and be able to find them as easily as possible,” he said, “use the website with the highest amount of traffic in the state. If you want eyeballs on notices, if you want them easily findable, there’s no better place than adn.com or the local paper in any community.”
Alaska Airlines has given its chief financial officer, Shane Tackett, another responsibility — president. Tackett will assume his additional role at the SeaTac-based airline on June 29. (M. Scott Brauer/Bloomberg)
Alaska Airlines has given its chief financial officer, Shane Tackett, another responsibility — president.
Tackett will assume his additional role at the SeaTac-based airline on June 29, according to a news release Wednesday.
Tackett will continue leading the organization’s finance, fleet management, investor relations, supply chain, internal audit and information technology functions, according to the release. His new responsibilities as president include oversight of Alaska Airlines’ commercial division.
Tackett previously held positions in labor relations, e-commerce and financial planning at the company, according to his LinkedIn profile.
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“I started at Alaska more than 25 years ago, and over that time we’ve built a stronger, more resilient airline with a clear strategy for the future,” Tackett said in a statement.
He said he is excited to lead more of the organization in his new role and deliver to guests, employees and owners.
In a statement, Alaska Airlines CEO Ben Minicucci said Tackett has led the company through challenges and helped it grow over his 25-year tenure.
“Bringing commercial and finance leadership together under Shane will strengthen alignment and accelerate our priorities as we continue advancing our strategy and creating long-term value for our stakeholders, said Minicucci, who also serves as CEO and president of the airline’s parent company, Alaska Air Group.
Tackett’s promotion comes as the airline navigates challenging macroeconomic factors, including rising fuel costs and weakening consumer demand for travel.
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Alaska Air Group — which includes Alaska and Hawaiian Airlines, as well as regional carrier Horizon Air and ground support company McGee Air Services — saw its profits drop 70% in 2025 year over year. It continued to face financial woes in 2026.
The company lost $193 million in the first three months of 2026 as it dealt with skyrocketing jet fuel prices due to the war in Iran.
Alaska study sees mixed results on links between kelp farms and CO2 levels
Published 5:30 am Thursday, June 18, 2026
A study into the amount of CO2 absorbed at a pair of Alaska kelp farms is throwing some cold water on hopes that seaweed could be an answer to climate change.
Alaska kelp farms, which have been viewed as a potential boon for reducing local carbon-dioxide levels, have surprisingly murky effects on atmospheric CO2 removal, according to a new study.
A University of Alaska Fairbanks-led project measured the amount of CO2 that was emitted and absorbed at two kelp farms in the Gulf of Alaska during the 2023-2024 growing season. The outcome was mixed — one farm slightly reduced carbon dioxide in the local environment while the other added more to it.
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Marine carbon dioxide removal (mCDR) has been touted as a potential strategy to reduce atmospheric carbon dioxide levels, with the ocean serving as a sink for human-produced CO2.
The study, which was recently published in the journal Ocean Science, is the first to measure mCDR in Alaska waters. It focused on kelp farms, which can draw down CO2 through the process of photosynthesis.
“It’s easy to jump on the bandwagon that seaweed is going to change the world, but ultimately we want to be honest to the public,” said Amanda Kelley, an associate professor at UAF’s College of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences and a contributor to the study.
“Really, it’s very nuanced, and there are a lot of factors that affect kelp’s ability to do that.”
Josianne Haag, who led the project as a UAF doctoral student, installed sensors both inside and outside kelp farms in Windy Bay near Cordova and Kalsin Bay on Kodiak Island. From seeding to harvest, hourly data was collected on ocean chemistry, temperature, salinity and oxygen levels.
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The two sites had numerous differences, including the type of seaweed being planted, the timing of their growing seasons and the size of the farms. Also, Windy Bay’s tides are more extreme than Kalsin Bay’s.
The results were striking and varied. The farms flipped between absorbing and releasing carbon dioxide depending on the amount of sunlight and the time of day. Extreme low tides affected CO2 levels by flushing groundwater into the area, briefly raising carbon dioxide levels.
A film of marine fauna grew on some of the farm equipment in Kalsin Bay, leading to a burst of carbon dioxide production through their respiration.
Overall, the Windy Bay farm slightly reduced nearby atmospheric marine carbon dioxide levels while the Kalsin Bay farm boosted them. Measurements will continue at the farms for at least two more years, but the first season revealed that a kelp farm’s recipe for carbon intake and output is surprising and complex.
“It’s really not doing much in either direction,” Haag said. “The farms aren’t necessarily harming anything, but we shouldn’t be blowing out of proportion that they’re going to save us from climate change.”
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The study was part of the Mariculture Research and Restoration Consortium project, which is an ongoing effort to look at the impacts and benefits of mariculture in Alaska. Mar ReCon research is funded by the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Trustee Council.
By Alaska Division of Forestry & Fire Protectionon
At approximately 7:30 p.m. Wednesday evening, a fire was reported off Healy Spur Road. The Division of Forestry & Fire Protection, along with the Tri-Valley Volunteer Fire Department and Anderson Fire Department, responded to the Gagnon Coal Seam Fire (#206).
Estimated at 3 acres, the fire was burning in grass with approximately 50% of the perimeter actively burning. A five person Initial Attack squad, helicopter, and engine responded. Light rain was reported at the incident upon arrival.
There are no structures threatened, and there are no evacuations in place. This will be the last update on this incident, unless conditions change.
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This map shows the location of the Gagnon Coal Seam Fire (#206) located on the Healy Spur Road east of Usibelli on Wednesday, June 17, 2026. Click on the image to download a PDF type file to enlarge or print.
‹ DFFP is responding to the Bulchitna Fire in the Fish Lakes area of the Yentna River
Categories: Active Wildland Fire, Alaska DNR – Division of Forestry & Fire Protection (DFFP)
Tags: 2026 Alaska Fire Season, coal seam, DFFP Northern Region, Gagnon Coal Seam Fire
