Nome Checker Cab’s six licenses expired earlier this year, so the city council opened up what had been a limited market. The first new entrant started rolling this summer: Bootz & Co. Cab, a one-truck operation specializing in airport rides. The carrier is named for co-owner Billi Jean Miller’s dog, who is also the mascot of Miller’s specialty drink and snack shop, Tundra Delights. Miller and co-owner Ashley Earp had to wait until summer for a barge to deliver a new vehicle so they could repurpose a 2021 Toyota Tacoma for their cab service. They plan to add more vehicles and drivers to the fleet.

Cook Inlet natural gas producer HEX added a support vessel to its fleet, the 190-foot Atlantis, owned by HEX subsidiary Atlantis LLC. The vessel, built in 2000, is homeported in Homer and managed by Homer-based Fortune Sea Management through its newly established Maritime Division. In addition to supporting HEX’s offshore operations, Atlantis is for hire to provide additional service capacity for other industries.

A $99.6 million contract to JAG Marine Group keeps the Ketchikan Shipyard busy overhauling the NOAA Ship Henry B. Bigelow. The work involves replacing the propulsion system and increasing the number of single-person staterooms while upgrading several other systems. The contract is expected to drive demand for skilled maritime labor while supporting year-round employment beyond seasonal Alaska Marine Highway System maintenance cycles.

jagmarinegroup.com

Patients in need of capsulotomies, usually to correct scarring after cataract surgery, can find it at Ketchikan Eye Care Center. The clinic acquired a medical laser to begin offering the procedure this year, along with trabeculoplasties, which can prevent glaucoma. Optometrist Joseph Johnson, who bought the practice last year, says his goal has been to help patients avoid costly trips to Anchorage or Seattle. The laser is also quick, with procedures finished in a few minutes.

ketchikaneyecare.com

Petersburg regained a craft store after years without one. Olivia Martinsen opened Tangled Thread in May, located in Petersburg Indian Association’s Hallingstad-Peratrovich building. Martinsen sells yarn, fabric, embroidery supplies, weaving materials, felting options, and tools. In addition to running a legal practice, Martinsen is an avid crocheter, so she says she wanted a place to buy yarn.

Shoppers in Haines got a new Quick Shop store, less than two years after the original convenience, liquor, and sporting goods store burned down. Owner Mike Ward says he rebuilt as quickly as possible because he heard a retail chain might come to Haines. Insurance didn’t cover the entire rebuilding, and Ward says he took a $2.5 million loss, but it was worth building fresh in Haines, where most of the buildings are old and retrofitted.

hainesoutfitter.com

Expanding services in the Mat-Su, Northrim Bank opened its twenty-first statewide location in Palmer. Practically in the shadow of the town’s iconic water tower, the bank at 585 S. Valley Way offers advising, consulting, and everyday financial services that were previously a dozen miles away at the nearest Northrim location in downtown Wasilla.

northrim.com

Managed IT service provider Stratus Services expanded beyond Alaska, opening an office in Meridian, Idaho, on the outskirts of Boise. The company has served the region from Anchorage since 2022, and the new location signals a commitment to the fast-growing Treasure Valley. “Having a presence in Meridian allows us to deliver more talent, expanded services, and better hands-on support to businesses that deserve uncompromised service,” says Jason Isenhart, an Idaho local and Stratus Services’ managing director of MSP operations.

stratus-services.com