The Native Village of Eyak is unloading its ownership interest in the Cordova Times, asking for no money in return. If a new operator cannot be found, the weekly paper will have to end publication. Started in 1914 as the Cordova Daily Times, the newspaper was purchased by Eyak in 2016. Bid proposals are due May 1. It’s up to the Eyak tribal council to choose a qualified candidate from among the potential owners.
thecordovatimes.com

The Kensington Mine near Juneau can extend its operations for another ten years. The US Forest Service approved mine owner Coeur Alaska’s plan to expand the main tailings dam, raising it by 36 feet, and doubling the rock waste storage that was projected to be filled to capacity as early as this year. By filling two lakebeds, the mine can increase its daily production rate by 50 percent to 3,000 tons per day. Kensington has been operating since 2010.
coeuralaska.com

Think Office acquired BiNW of Alaska, strengthening its position in the field of business interiors. Think Office is the exclusive Knoll dealership in Alaska, and BiNW of Alaska was the exclusive Herman Miller dealership. The company has absorbed employees that were working for BiNW of Alaska. Think Office is a veteran-owned and -operated business furniture and architectural products dealership based in Anchorage and serving all of Alaska.
thinkofficellc.com

The Alaska Native regional corporation for Kodiak Island expanded its IT portfolio to include Texas-based cloud services provider Stratum, folding it into its Open Systems Technologies (OST) subsidiary. “This acquisition with OST is a strategic move to better serve our customers as demand grows for cloud, IoT, healthcare-focused cloud deployments, and managed services,” says Stratum CEO and co-founder Ryan Trimberger.
koniag.com

A joint venture of Fairbanks-based Doyon, Limited and Huna Totem, the Native village corporation for Hoonah, is now the 80 percent owner of Alaska Independent Coach Tours. The 50/50 venture, called Na-Dena’, is meant to combine both corporations’ experience in marketing and operating tourism businesses in the Interior and Southeast.
doyon.com | hunatotem.com

Coastal Villages Region Fund (CVRF), Norton Sound Economic Development Corporation (NSEDC), and the world’s largest seafood company, Maruha Nichiro (owner of Westward Seafoods), are expanding their pollock partnership. The three are buying nine vessels, which add 4 percent of the Bering Sea pollock quota to the 4 percent the partners already acquired with six vessels in 2011. The new fleet can operate in both the Bering Sea and Gulf of Alaska, thanks to investments made by the previous owners.
coastalvillages.com | nsedc.com | maruha-nichiro.com

A deluxe hotel on top of the Downtown Anchorage Transit Center is one step closer to development. The Anchorage Assembly in January approved a ground lease between the Anchorage Community Development Authority (which owns the parking structure) and the private venture 6th Avenue Center LLC, which aims to add a 156-room hotel, 32 residential apartments, restaurant, and retail spaces. Construction is scheduled to begin in October 2022 with an estimated completion date of September 2023.
acda.net

Could the first civilian nuclear reactor in Alaska power the Copper River Valley? That’s what the region’s electric utility wants to find out. Copper Valley Electric Association (CVEA) is collaborating with Ultra Safe Nuclear Corporation (USNC) of Seattle on a feasibility study for a 10-megawatt generator. USNC has a trademark design for a Micro Modular Reactor energy system, the size of two 40-foot shipping containers, which would be loaded with a 20-year supply of uranium fuel. The study, to be completed by July, is meant to determine if nuclear energy can reduce CVEA’s dependence on diesel-fired generators.
cvea.org | usnc.com