After seventeen turbulent months of suspended travel, tourists are again flocking to Alaska this summer, bringing a much-needed boost to local economies and a seemingly endless barrage of silly questions about life in Alaska.  At Big John’s Truck Stop in Soldotna, where a constant stream of summer visitors stop en route towards fishing charters, cashiers keep a running list of memorable tourist queries. The list offers a comprehensive look into the mindset of tourism in the post-COVID environment. Among them: Can I fill the gas tank for my RV from the Alaska Pipeline?  Where do they offer moose rides?  Is there an income tax here? Where is the nearest public transportation?  How long do I have to stay to get my free 1000 dollars?  Can you see the northern lights in the summer?  Can you really see Russia from Sarah Palin’s house? How do you sleep when it is dark all winter?  Do you think we could save the polar bears by teaching...

  When Kevin Currier moved up to Fairbanks in 1992, he didn’t wait long to buy his own slice of paradise. The 1.5 acre plot of land, located just off Farmers Loop Road, had everything he wanted. A gravel pad was already installed and it lay just outside the permafrost zone, not too far from the golf course.  Currier built a one bedroom dry cabin on the property with the help of two friends his first summer, but he was enrolled at the university and just barely managed to get the plywood and insulation up before the weather turned. He spent his first three winters in the unfinished house, as first one thing, then another, kept him from finishing the construction of his home.  “You know how it is here in Alaska,” said Currier. “It’s really the land of opportunity. Trails to ride, mountains to climb, late night calls from the troopers to go field dress another roadkill moose... Unfortunately, that’s always made it hard to find those extra couple days to finish...

  The decades-long battle over proposed large mines in Southwest Alaska may be catching up to modern times, with a newly-discovered deposit of cryptocurrency worth billions of dollars.  Proponents are calling the newly discovered “Rubble” cryptocurrency prospect, located near the site of the proposed Pebble mine, the region’s next great hope for economic development, jobs, and “HODLing .”    The Vancouver, Canada based junior exploration company Northern Dynasty announced their recent findings regarding Rubble on Monday, and unveiled plans to extract the highly variable digital currency using “really super efficient and safe methods that won’t disturb anything.” “This is big,” said new Northern Dynasty CEO Brogan Putnam.  “This is like kinda Scrooge McDuck doing the backstroke in a swimming pool of gold coins type big, picture it - but like, with crypto, so yeah maybe like that but with virtual reality goggles instead of the actual pool of gold co...

Following Governor Mike Dunleavy’s April 2021 proposal to allow ATVs and snowmachines on Alaska highways, the City of Palmer recently announced that they would be hosting “Monster Jam 2021” along the Glenn Highway near the Alaska State Fairgrounds.  The press release from the Monster Jam event series announced the highway venue as “the latest evolution for Monster Jam. We are excited to take our event series literally onto the road, and to bring some of our greatest legends to Alaska.”  The monster truck series will run for a full weekend in mid-July, and will feature fan favorite trucks Gravedigger, Megalodon, and Great Clips Mohawk Warrior, along with a motocross jump series feature to open the event.  Asked about the legality of holding a monster truck rally on a state highway, Alaska’s assistant highway commissioner Josh Leutzinger said, “With new regulations expected to take effect for off-road vehicles, there’s nothing on the books preventing the ev...

Palmer resident Duane Poseur, who harvested a bull moose in his driveway on September 1 on his first day as an official Alaska resident, plans to return home to California after fulfilling his Alaska hunting dream. According to neighbors who witnessed the event, Poseur dispatched the moose with 17 shots from an AR-15: one in the lower gut, one in the rear hindquarters, one on the rear right hoof, the remaining 14 shots missing the animal. When Poseur arrived in the Mat-Su valley 365 days ago from Chico, California, he knew he was in for a long, cold winter.  He arrived on August 31, one day before the opening of the general season for moose in the area.  He suffered through a full year of unemployment and separation from his wife while awaiting his Alaska resident status, and exactly one year later on September 1, Poseur harvested a bull moose munching on his wheatgrass crop in the backyard garden. “I went from having two taco trucks and a boba shop just aroun...

  Politicians who face limited options for locating state revenue sources may be in for a windfall under the latest version of the governor’s budget package. Dunleavy’s most recent fiscal plan proposes to sell the islands of the Aleutian chain back to Russia. Dunleavy’s plan for fiscal year 2022, titled “ A Path Forward, ” sets forth several provisions to give Alaska residents permanent fund dividend payments that many claim have been unconstitutionally withheld during the past half-decade of budget shortfalls.  Russia held control of Alaska for nearly 75 years in the late 18 th and early 19 th centuries. They sold Alaska to the United States in 1867 for 7.2 million dollars. The Dunleavy proposal comes with an asking price of 350 million dollars.  "When you account for inflation, that’s more than double what the United States paid for the entire state in 1867. So really, we are coming out ahead in a lot of ways,” said Dunleavy spokesperson Jeff Turner....