Inside Alaska Business
Mat-Su Sentinel
The May 29 edition of the Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman was the last to roll off the press, but its legacy continues. The nonprofit Mat-Su Sentinel acquired the seventy-nine-year-old newspaper from Wick Communications. Mat-Su Sentinel owner Amy Bushatz says although the paper is now closed, its archives and website will remain available for use, now without a paywall. The sale included the Anchorage Press, a former alternative weekly, which Bushatz sold to nonprofit news website Northern Journal.
Credit Union 1
MAC Federal Credit Union is officially part of Credit Union 1. Both cooperatives approved the merger as of June 1, creating an institution with nearly 112,500 members, $1.7 billion in assets, and nineteen branches statewide. MAC was established for Fort Wainwright soldiers and thus extends Alaska’s only state-chartered credit union into the Fairbanks area.
HEX
The state’s only Alaskan-owned natural gas producer renamed the legacy company it bought a Cook Inlet monopod platform from. HEX LLC rebranded Furie Operating Alaska as HEX Operating, and HEX Cook Inlet is now HEX Energy. HEX formed in 2019 to acquire Furie at a bankruptcy auction. Furie began as Escopeta Oil, a Texas company that came to Alaska in 1999 and consolidated leases into the Kitchen Lights Unit.
Alyeschem
Construction is underway on the North Slope’s first value-added petrochemical plant. Alyeschem broke ground in May on a factory to process natural gas into methanol, avoiding the need to transport the chemical up the Dalton Highway, and to use hydrogen to scrub sulfur out of diesel fuel. Truckable modules fabricated in Texas will be assembled on site, and the facility is expected to come online in late 2027.
SEARHC
SouthEast Alaska Regional Health Consortium (SEARHC) cut the ribbon in Sitka of the new Mt. Edgecumbe Medical Center in April, featuring expanded inpatient capacity, enhanced emergency and surgical services, and updated technology. SEARHC self-funded approximately $300 million across two phases. Meanwhile in Juneau, SEARHC opened Front Street Urgent Care clinic to better serve Downtown and Douglas Island.
Two Coppers Casino
A ribbon cutting in July introduced Douglas Island to the first electronic gaming hall in Juneau. The Central Council of Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska is offering pull tabs, bingo, and slot-style machines at Two Coppers Casino. It also faces the same legal ambiguity over its land allotment as the Native Village of Eklutna, which did not stop its Chin’an Gaming Hall from doubling staff and adding games and a food truck to accommodate demand.
APA Corporation
The Texas-based parent of North Slope oil explorer Apache Corporation is becoming a producer as well. APA Corporation announced in June it would acquire Savant Alaska, operator of the Badami Unit, for $70 million. The deal gives Apache access to Badami infrastructure nearer to its active exploration prospects.
Betti’s
Fans of The Writer’s Block Bookstore & Cafe in Spenard were saddened by its sudden closure late last year, when owner and co-founder Vered Mares moved out of state. Mares sold her business to a new buyer, who is maintaining The Writer’s Block brand while seeking a new location. Meanwhile, the old location has a new tenant with a similar business model. Emily Klopfer is opening the shop this summer as Betti’s, named for her dog, who in turn was named for Klopfer’s late grandmother, Betti Cuddy. Klopfer is blending her publishing and performance experience with her exposure to hospitality. The shop has a mix of story hours for children, all-ages inventory, and all-genres entertainment at night.