naktuvuk Pass, Atqasuk, Kaktovik, Nuiqsut, Point Hope, Point Lay, Utqiaġvik, and Wainwright account for the overwhelming majority of the North Slope Borough’s 9,000 permanent residents, but aside from Nuiqsut, which can be accessed by the Dalton Highway for four months of the year, the remaining Arctic communities are removed from the rest of the state.

That may change in the future, creating new possibilities for the state’s Arctic infrastructure.

According to Jeff Currey, Department of Transportation and Public Facilities’ (DOT&PF) Northern Region materials engineer, the North Slope may undergo changes that would see new road systems brought to the Arctic.

laska has some of the best renewable energy resources in the world, according to Renewable Energy Alaska Project Founder and Executive Director Chris Rose. Yet the current lack of a domestic energy policy, transmission costs, and the isolation of more than 200 communities create a challenging environment in which to develop those resources and bring them to market.

“Alaska has no domestic energy policy focused on how Alaskans are going to reliably and affordably produce and consume energy. In an energy-constrained world increasingly concerned with climate change, this is a handicap,” Rose says.

“Places around the globe that are seeing that local, clean, stably-priced, and inexhaustible renewable energy is the future are going to be the most prosperous places to be, and the ones that will attract the most outside investment. With as many renewable energy resources that Alaska has, the state should be actively working to seize the opportunity we have to keep money in local economies, create jobs, and be less dependent on volatile world fossil fuel prices.”

he bimodal nature of our state’s healthcare system, pressure on pediatric specialists, and the rugged nature of the state are all challenges facing pediatricians who practice in Alaska.

“The way I heard it when I was a student was most healthcare providers walk into the pediatric floor and think it’s the saddest part of the hospital, right? Because there are sick kids,” says Dr. Monique Child of Polar Pediatrics. “Some of us walk in there and go: this is the best part—there are popsicles and stickers and kids get better.”

Child points out that unlike many instances in adult medicine, children’s bodies seem determined to heal themselves.

n Alaska’s isolated North Slope—more than 650 miles from Anchorage via airplane—thousands of individuals work in the oil and gas industry. While many of those employees have their medical needs covered by their employers, what happens if someone gets hurt or sick? How do the nearly 10,000 people who reside within the North Slope Borough’s boundaries receive medical care?

Beacon Occupational Health and Safety Services has ten remote medical locations across the North Slope; six are accessible by car and three are situated on islands, accessed by ice roads in the winter and marine vessels in the summer. The tenth location is only accessible by plane.

n September, US Congressman Don Young announced that $18 million in Health and Human Services grants would be dispersed to Alaska healthcare organizations and services around the state.

“Our state’s unique geography can present many roadblocks when it comes to the delivery of essential healthcare services,” Young said in a September press release. “Time and time again Alaska’s healthcare providers have been able to rise to the occasion to deliver high-quality care in our cities, rural areas, and Native communities.”

Some grants will fund specific projects and initiatives while others will continue ongoing programs. Other grants will open doors for more opportunities in urban and rural Alaska, such as new job positions or virtual medical assistance.

igned into law by Richard Nixon in 1970, the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) was designed to ensure employees work in an environment free from toxic chemicals, temperature stress, mechanical dangers, excessive noise levels, and other hazards. But in Alaska’s oil and gas industry, OSHA safety standards are considered a low bar, with many companies opting to adhere to much stricter safety guidelines of their own making.

ransportation companies in Alaska are used to facing all sorts of challenges, from tricky weather and remote locations to short delivery windows—but no matter the obstacle or the cargo, they take great pride in getting things where they need to go.

Case in point: a few years ago, Matson found itself moving a more traditional form of transportation. An Alutiiq kayak, estimated to be built in or before 1869, was discovered in storage at Harvard’s Peabody Museum. The museum agreed to loan the forty-pound, split-prow kayak (created with humpback whale sinew, hair, wool yarn, wood, plant fiber cordage, and spruce root) to the Alutiiq Museum in Kodiak for a period of ten years—the only problem was getting it there.

he visitor industry in Alaska encompasses more than seasonal travelers viewing wildlife, exploring the wilderness, or taking in local culture. There are a large number of visitors who come to work, attending meetings and conferences and boosting the economy even though they may not participate in traditional tourism activities.

While 2019 was a good year for conventions and meetings in the Last Frontier, 2020 looks to be strong as well. And this is especially important, considering that these functions help contribute to the state’s bottom line outside of the summer season.

t is the sneaking suspicion of the Alaska Business editorial team that many of our readers are aware of where they can purchase a cup of coffee. And even if you are one of those few Alaskans who don’t already have a favored coffee stop, one of the bounties of the Last Frontier is an abundance of convenient drive-through coffee huts located (seemingly) every few blocks in Alaska’s urban areas. So the following list is really a celebration of Alaska’s unique coffee culture that we have built together, one achingly-frigid-morning-when-you-don’t-want-to-get-out-of-your-car-for-anything at a time.

Anchorage-based Aftershock Espresso has sit-in and drive through options and a new ownership team as of March. facebook.com/aftershockespresso/

Black Cuppushes inDecation in coffee and espresso at its midtown café, which it bills as “cozy, friendly, and a perfect place to meet.” blackcupak.com

Dark Horse Coffee is located in downtown Anchorage and focuses on a warm, comfortable atmosphere. darkhorsecoffee.com

Heritage Coffee Roasting Co. as been operating for more than twenty-five years, serving Juneau residents and visitors from seven locations, including two drive-through coffee huts. heritagecoffee.com

Jitters serves locally-roasted coffee at its Eagle River location, which opened in 1994 and features a convenient drive through. jitterseagleriver.com

Local-roaster Kaladi Brothers Coffee has several standalone locations in Anchorage, Soldotna, Wasilla—and one on Pike Street in Seattle—as well as kiosks in business locations such as Title Wave, Rustic Goat, and New Sagaya. And a Kaladi Brothers location is coming soon to the newly refreshed Midtown Mall. kaladi.com

McCafferty’s downtown Fairbanks location roasts its coffee in house and features live music by Sand Castle on the weekends. facebook.com/McCaffertysCoffeeHouse/

Sleepy Dog Coffee is an espresso café and coffee roaster in Eagle River that also sells its beans wholesale. facebook.com/sleepydogcoffee/

SteamDot has three locations in Anchorage; its flagship café is known as “The Lab” and features a “pour over” bar. SteamDot roasts beans daily to provide the freshest coffee possible. steamdot.com

In Wasilla, Keely’s Coffee House has a drive through and a dining space and just recently came under new ownership. facebook.com/keelyscoffeehouse/

atrick Lampi has been with the Alaska Zoo for the past thirty-three years. He got his start working nights as a zookeeper in 1986 when the zoo was much smaller. “The thing I liked about [that time] is the zoo would close at 6 p.m., even in the summer… so for the last few hours of the day it was just me at the zoo with the animals. It was very relaxing.” Lampi was promoted to curator in 1993 and to his current position of executive director in 2005. Being executive director is “not so zen,” he says laughingly, but interesting and important nonetheless.

“The zoo wouldn’t be here without the community. It’s a private nonprofit, but it’s a community zoo. It’s not just the city of Anchorage, the whole state is involved. We’ve taken in animals from every corner of the state and we’ve had kids come from every corner of the state…It’s a real pleasure to be a part of this team and watch it grow and evolve. It will be very interesting to see where it goes.”