Nathaniel Herz, Alaska Public Media
Nathaniel Herz is an Anchorage-based journalist. He's been a reporter in Alaska for a decade, and is currently reporting for Alaska Public Media. Find more of his work by subscribing to his newsletter, Northern Journal, at natherz.substack.com. Reach him at natherz@gmail.com.
Tesla needs graphite. Alaska has plenty. But mining it raises fears in nearby villages.
Graphite is a critical ingredient in the batteries needed to power America’s electric vehicle revolution. But every ounce of it is imported. A proposed mine in a remote part of Alaska would change that. But some of the people who live nearby fear it will endanger their way of life.
Video raises new questions about governor’s oversight of aide
Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s pro-family policy adviser made controversial comments about abortion in his role as an aide to the governor.
Alaska Gov. Dunleavy’s policy adviser who said ‘divorce is worse than rape’ resigns
Jeremy Cubas made $110,000 a year as Gov. Dunleavy’s pro-family policy adviser. On his podcast, Cubas defended Hitler, used racist slurs and said a man raping his wife is "an impossible act.”
City contracts drive millions in pandemic profits for Anchorage soup kitchen
Bean’s Cafe cashed in big running the Sullivan Arena homeless shelter.
Unsettled: A podcast examining the legacy of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act
Fifty years ago, U.S. Congress passed legislation that permanently terminated Alaska Natives' land claims. On its anniversary, Alaska Public Media and the Anchorage Daily News, with Indigenous leaders from around the state as guests, examine the legacy of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act and its impacts on subsistence, culture and the state's economy.
Profits eluded Sealaska for decades. Now it’s ditching timber and plastics, and investing in kelp.
An investment in Barnacle Foods, while small, is a potent symbol of the corporation’s new vision. Other corporations are taking similar steps.
ANCSA made only Natives born before December 1971 corporate shareholders. Those born after want change.
Shares mean dividends, identity and a say in what corporations do. Many Alaska Natives under 50 are waiting to be included.
Proposed Ambler project underscores promise and peril of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act
Ambivalence about the Ambler road and mine projects extends across the Upper Kobuk River region, where jobs could support subsistence but development could jeopardize it.
Many see Red Dog as an ANCSA success story. What happens when the ore runs out?
The mine has brought wealth to Northwest Alaska, supporting Alaska Native communities and culture. But its relationship with the only village downstream is fraught, and the mine is running out of ore.
A historic settlement turns 50, but questions linger over whether it was fair
While the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act created monetary wealth for Alaska Native shareholders, it also came at a huge cost.
Clem Tillion, Alaska’s original ‘fish czar,’ dies at 96
A towering figure in the worlds of Alaska fisheries and politics — and in the intersection between the two — Tillion, 96, died Wednesday morning at his home in Halibut Cove.
Alaska reports record 1,330 new COVID cases and 7 deaths
Alaska on Thursday reported another daily record for new coronavirus cases, and it also recorded seven new deaths and a nearly 5% jump in hospitalizations as the state contends with its worst COVID-19 surge so far.
Alaska’s COVID hospitalizations still climbing, 1 in 5 patients now fighting virus
Alaska’s already overwhelmed hospitals took on another 20 patients with COVID-19 over the Labor Day long weekend, with more than 180 people hospitalized with the virus.
Mass testing can keep COVID out of schools. But none of Alaska’s largest districts are doing it.
A few small districts have instituted mass screening testing programs, to pick up COVID-19 cases in people without symptoms. But Anchorage, Fairbanks, the Kenai Peninsula and Mat-Su districts have not followed suit.
Alaska News Nightly: Monday, September 6, 2021
Stories are posted on the statewide news page. Send news tips, questions, and comments to news@alaskapublic.org. Follow Alaska Public Media on Facebook and on Twitter @AKPublicNews. And subscribe to the Alaska News Nightly podcast.
Monday on Alaska News Nightly:
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A new $350 million Bering Sea fish fight could hinge on a miniature Canadian railroad
The quickly escalating saga involves Donald Trump’s personal lawyer. And it stems from the way that one of Alaska’s biggest fishing companies, American Seafoods, is using an exemption in the federal law that typically allows only U.S. ships to move cargo between U.S. ports.
Anchorage Mayor Bronson revokes paid parental leave for city workers
Mayor Dave Bronson’s predecessor had granted non-unionized city employees four weeks of paid parental leave on her last day on the job. Bronson also revoked a policy allowing new parents to bring infants into the office.
Evolving COVID policies for state, Anchorage workforces leave public employees anxious
State workers are worried about catching the virus in offices with unmasked colleagues, while the Anchorage Police Department is allowing unvaccinated officers to return to work after a COVID-19 exposure — as long as they wear N95 masks and social distance when possible.
A frustrated Mat-Su doctor implored Alaskans to get vaccinated. The surprise: They listened.
An emergency room doctor in the Mat-Su gave an emphatic speech last week about the "soul-crushing" workload that doctors are facing amid the latest surge in COVID-19. He was deluged by messages afterward, including a dozen that reported he'd changed people's minds about vaccination.
Without safety net of mandates, Anchorage’s overtaxed, understaffed hospitals brace for more patients
As Alaska hospitals near capacity, health care experts say they're not sure the latest COVID surge will peak quickly, as it did in other countries. They point out that thousands of unvaccinated Alaska children are returning to classrooms this week — many in school districts where masks are optional.