hen I started occasionally cooking dinner for Clare House, a Catholic Social Services Alaska-run shelter for women and children in Anchorage, I usually had more of one ingredient than I could use up in even a potluck soup. From canned clams to mustard, salmon to bok choy, each ingredient called for a crowd to feed. Central Lutheran Church’s monthly commitment to cook a dinner for the sixty to seventy residents of Clare House provided the perfect solution.

Eventually these efforts stirred my own hunger. I wanted to know more about the citywide effort through which more than twenty churches and a few other groups provide mostly home-cooked meals for Clare House, 365 days a year.

t’s an exciting time for Credit Union 1 (CU1). It’s already one of the largest credit unions in the state, and is the only state-chartered credit union in Alaska. Last year, CU1 announced its intent to merge with MAC Federal Credit Union (MAC). At the same time, CU1 is expanding its business account services and business lending options to better serve small businesses and entrepreneurs throughout the state.

The proposed merger promises to be a significant development in Alaska’s financial sector, as it will enhance how local communities access banking and business services. The merger process began last March and has progressed through careful planning, collaboration, and the shared vision of these member-owned institutions—both Alaska-grown credit unions founded in 1952. Now the merger is awaiting the blessing of state and federal regulators, according to CU1 President and CEO Mark Burgess.

company ramping up its gold activity in Alaska is merging with another precious metal producer to broaden its asset base. Contango ORE, headquartered in Fairbanks, and Dolly Varden Silver Corporation, based in British Columbia, recently announced their intent to merge, pursuant to a statutory plan of arrangement under the Business Corporations Act of British Columbia.

Structured as a merger of equals, the companies say combining would provide investors with exposure to a diversified portfolio of well-capitalized North American assets. These holdings include the cash-generating, high-grade Manh Choh gold mine near Tok and the Johnson Tract and Lucky Shot projects in Alaska, and, post-merger, several high-grade silver and gold projects in British Columbia, collectively called the Kitsault projects. The merger also plugs Dolly Varden Silver into the direct shipping ore (DSO) business model that Contango uses, which seeks high-grade ore that can be sent to mills without expensive concentration processes.

hen an editor asked me to submit film-based photographs for a story of mine and the second roll came off the spool inside the camera, I faced what seemed like a classic problem. How could I salvage the film without exposing it to any light so I could mail the film—and not the whole camera—out of state for processing?

The solution—via a tip from local photographer Brian Adams—revealed an unexpected resurgence in film photography.

ven on a slow early February day, Circular clothing boutique on Sixth Avenue in Downtown Anchorage is hopping with customers. Kim Stalder, the owner, attends each one personally. For regulars, she suggests bargains they might like; for first timers, she recommends a local tailor who can alter a garment. The name of the shop indicates Stalder’s ecological consciousness, and her clientele is willing to pay a premium for apparel that lasts a lifetime and won’t end up in the waste stream.

With only one paid associate, Stalder’s business might seem lonely, especially compared to the state’s largest companies with hundreds or thousands of workers on the payroll. Yet she is part of an army of retail salespersons, the single most common occupation in the state, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).

Stalder isn’t surprised. “There are a lot of folks working at jobs like this,” she observes, whether selling clothes, shoes, furniture, cars, art, hunting and fishing gear, or whatever. A handful of the Corporate 100 have workforces made largely of retail salespersons, but most people in this category are scattered among small businesses like Circular.

nderutilized sources of labor could help alleviate Alaska’s staffing challenge.

Due to an aging workforce and an eleven-year streak of migration loss, the state is hurting for employees. According to the US Department of Labor, about 80 percent of Alaskans with no disability were employed in 2022.

Meanwhile, only 48 percent of Alaskans with disabilities were employed. Many highly capable Alaskans remain underemployed or excluded from the workforce—not because of lack of skill but because workplace cultures and systems haven’t been built with their needs in mind.

The rate of employment among individuals with non-apparent disabilities was even lower, at 38 percent. “Non-apparent disabilities” include a wide range of cognitive, neurological, behavioral, and chronic health conditions that aren’t immediately obvious to others. Autism, ADHD, traumatic brain injuries, mental health conditions, chronic pain, learning disabilities, and many long- and short-term health issues fall into this category.

hree new leaders have recently joined health systems throughout the state—Esther Pitts as president and CEO of Mat-Su Health Foundation; Mark Roberts as CEO of Alaska Regional Hospital; and Deborah Berini as CEO of Providence Alaska.

Berini arrived in February from the plains of Missouri. “We’re excited to drive the Alcan and to make Anchorage our home,” Berini says. “And I’m looking forward to joining Providence Alaska because of the unique alignment of mission, values, scale, and impact of this role.”

Berini is not entirely new to Alaska. Her partner grew up in Kenai, so she has made regular visits to the state.

s a business leader, you keep your attention on your competitors, the shifting market, brand sentiment, and regulatory shifts in your industry. However, your biggest operational risk might be the staff member sitting in the third row of your all-hands meeting who has stopped caring.

Welcome to the “Great Detachment”: a workforce too tired to quit but too checked out to contribute. High retention rates may feel like stability, but the reality is that many enterprises are experiencing a surge in organizational friction—a heavy, invisible drag in which trust has been replaced by performative busywork. This isn’t a communication issue; it is the result of a fundamental leadership trap—disconnectedness.

laska’s electric utilities often use diesel as a back-up to generate power. The fuel sits in tanks, always ready, and it can be fired up in a matter of minutes. Yet there may be a better way to store energy when demand is high and supply is low: long-duration energy storage (LDES).

LDES enables utilities to store energy that can be discharged to minimize the frequency and length of power interruptions. While lithium-ion batteries can provide short-term power (4 to 8 hours) and pumped storage hydropower can provide 10-plus hours of energy, those solutions don’t always work in Alaska. Batteries and pumped hydro also have safety and siting issues—including the fact that water—the source for hydropower—freezes in the winter. As a result, utilities are looking for a new way to harness and store energy to be used as needed.

anufacturing in Alaska is a different journey for every entrepreneur. In most cases, it involves seeing a need, determining how to fill that need, then gathering the support to lift it off the ground. But each step is governed by different decisions: what’s the right path for growth, what market makes the most sense for your product, and what constitutes success?

The MWOS is a pole-mounted device that tells current weather, accompanied by pannable 360-degree cameras, refreshed every five seconds. Once in place, users can determine whether to allow the system to be publicly available or keep the data private.

s it better to buy, build, or lease commercial property? It’s an important question because these options have vast discrepancies in costs as well as pros, cons, and other factors that business owners need to consider.

The current inventory of commercial real estate in Alaska—which ranges from office buildings and retail spaces to industrial properties, medical centers, hotels, and even large apartment complexes—is tight. This is especially true in Anchorage for industrial, warehouse, and well-located, service-type commercial properties, according to Manny Rodriguez, an associate broker with Jack White Commercial, which specializes in facilitating the purchase, sale, and lease of commercial properties.

formalized health and safety program is crucial for any business. While many business owners believe it is only important for companies with a large number of employees or businesses with high hazard operations, the truth is that every company can benefit greatly from a formalized health and safety plan. It can reduce the total cost of risk, increase safety throughout the operations, aid in dropping your experience modification factor, improve regulatory compliance, and prevent injuries. Other benefits include increased productivity, employee engagement, and helping maintain a positive safety climate and culture. And it is not that hard to start.

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