The Alaska Current

12/18/2025

Anchorage cyclist Ana Jager has gone from Alaska kid on bikes to elite endurance rider — including a win at the 2,700-mile Tour Divide. Now she’s paying it forward, helping run Anchorage GRIT to give middle school girls, trans and nonbinary kids access to bikes, adventure and self-confidence. Read more in this week's Trail Blazers column.

Ana Jager grew up in Anchorage, Alaska in an active outdoor family.

12/17/2025

The U.S. House won’t vote to extend ACA insurance subsidies, after Speaker Mike Johnson blocked it — all but guaranteeing huge premium hikes for ~29,000 Alaskans on the marketplace.

The U.S. House will not take up a vote on extending critical health insurance subsidies.

12/17/2025

Skipping the usual press conference, Gov. Dunleavy rolled out a final-year budget that’s mostly status quo — and wildly unrealistic. A $3,650 PFD, a $1.8B deficit, no new revenue and no real plan.

Alaska Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy rolled out his budget proposal last week, unveiling a visionless spending plan for his final year in office.

12/16/2025

Pandemic shutdowns reignited Alicia Lespin’s love of music. The Anchorage esthetician, singer and drag artist went from singing along at Middle Way Cafe to fronting a band, blending jazz, drag and global influences. Read more about her in this week's Creative Currents.

Esthetician, singer and drag artist Alicia Lespin says that music has always been a constant throughout her life, but it wasn’t until the pandemic that her passion was reignited.

12/16/2025

From Dermot Cole: Peterson, 44, endorsed by Sen. Dan Sullivan’s hand-picked selection committee and championed by Sullivan, refused to give a direct answer to the question of whether Trump lost the 2020 election.

The correct answer is yes. Trump lost.

This story was originally published by Dermot Cole, Reporting from Alaska. Aaron C. Peterson, who is in line for a lifetime appointment as the next federal judge in Alaska, can’t muster the political courage to admit that Donald Trump lost the 2020 presidential election. This doesn’t bode well f...

12/15/2025

Hidden in a must-pass funding bill: the beginning of the end for “Temu weed.” Intoxicating h**p products that dodged cannabis rules will be banned nationwide in 2026.

The legislation that reopened the federal government in November snuck through a provision that will bring an end to what those in Alaska’s recreational ma*****na industry have dubbed “Temu weed.”

12/06/2025

Meet Lou Donnellan — a tattoo apprentice in Anchorage working with the all-women collective From childhood doodles and cardboard dolls to fine-line tattooing, Lou’s journey is all about turning early creative curiosity into art. She draws inspiration from mentors at the shop and dreams of one day blending realism and dotwork styles. Hear more in this week’s Creative Currents.

12/02/2025

From doodling and DIY cardboard dolls to apprenticing at Anchorage’s women-run tattoo collective The Coven, artist Lou Donnellan is honing her craft in realism and fine-line work — and finding inspiration in a community of supportive, skilled tattooers.

From an early age, tattoo apprentice and artist Lou Donnellan says that she was making art.

12/02/2025

Meet Fairbanks-based artist Alyssa Quintyne, whose work centers around making art more accessible. Hear more about plans for her next exhibit “To Have a Heart” in last week’s Creative Currents column.

11/25/2025

From boiling berries into pigment to hosting virtual exhibitions, Fairbanks artist Alyssa Quintyne is creating art that’s both experimental and accessible. Read more about their work in this week's Creative Currents column.

Alyssa Quintyne is on a mission to make her art obtainable.

11/24/2025

The hope is that the fund will address longstanding problems with health care access and affordability in rural areas.

The $50 billion in federal funding over the next five years hopes to address longstanding problems with health care access and affordability in rural areas.

11/24/2025

After a decade away from painting, Cantwell artist Emily Rosenblatt returned to her work for healing — now creating antler jewelry, aurora art, and community through her Rage Craft Circle and
Hear more in this recent Creative Currents story.