abitational insurance, also known as landlord insurance, is critical for owners of apartments, condominiums, and other types of multi-family housing. This specialized type of commercial insurance protects property owners against claims stemming from third-party injuries and losses due to fire, weather-related storms, criminal activity, and other potential hazards.

But the habitational insurance market is under considerable strain due to significant losses incurred by major insurance carriers. Severe weather events—wind and hailstorms, wildfires, hurricanes, and tornadoes—have caused a surge in claims. In Alaska, the difficulties with the habitational insurance sector are exacerbated by the conditions of aging buildings desperately needing repairs and infrastructure upgrades.

he US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE)–Alaska District functions as one of more than forty districts worldwide, with a portfolio of projects that have significant impacts for the state and regional economies, national security, and human health and safety. USACE has a global workforce of approximately 37,000 mostly civilian personnel.

Cameron McLeod, a public affairs specialist with USACE-Alaska District, says the district’s mission areas include emergency management, military construction, environmental services, regulatory, international, and interagency services, and civil works and planning.

USACE–Alaska District provides a full range of engineering, science, technical, and construction support services in peacetime and war to strengthen national security, energize the economy, and reduce risk from disaster in the state, according to its website. Established in 1946, USACE–Alaska District has served as the nation’s leader in Arctic engineering and construction, forging an influential role in development of the “Last Frontier” vision.

mong all the species of seafood in Alaska waters, it’s good to be king.

“King crab represents Alaska and is iconic for its size, taste, and rarity,” says Jamie Goen, executive director of Alaska Bering Sea Crabbers, a trade association for independent crab harvesters. “It’s massive compared to other popular crabs, like Dungeness, snow crab, or blue crab from the East Coast. Plus, it tastes delicious.”

In 2024, Alaska’s total commercial king crab harvest was valued at $109.1 million, or 73 percent of the value of all Alaska crab harvested, says Greg Smith, communications director for the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute. That represented a 14 percent increase over 2023 harvest values. The king crab fishery accounted for 8 percent of Alaska’s total seafood harvest value in 2024, he adds.

hales are safer in their ocean home thanks to Matson and its high-tech collaborations. The Hawai'i-based provider of ocean transportation and logistics services is using AI-driven technology on containerships to detect and avoid marine mammals. The company is leveraging its historic collaboration with Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) in Massachusetts, the world’s leading independent nonprofit dedicated to ocean science, technology, education, and communication.

In 2023, Matson awarded WHOI a $1 million research grant and provided access to company vessels and crews to facilitate the development of a system designed to make oceans safer for both whales and maritime personnel. By 2024, this collaboration advanced from the research phase to commercial application, resulting in the launch of WhaleSpotter, a company co-founded by WHOI scientist Daniel Zitterbart and Sebastian Richter, co-developer of the AI detection algorithm. Richter is chief technology officer while industry veteran Shawn Henry, a former executive at equipment tracking tag manufacturer Humatics, serves as WhaleSpotter’s CEO.

nhabited for more than 2,000 years, St. Lawrence Island near the Bering Strait sustains a population of more than 1,400 mostly Siberian Yupik people with its local bounty of seabirds, marine mammals, fish, and imported ungulates. Archaeologists have uncovered signs of ancient famines, however, as a record of the island’s precarious food security. Savoonga, the largest community on the island, is taking steps to strengthen its food independence.

An upgraded fish processing plant in Savoonga is on track to start services this summer. Norton Sound Economic Development Corporation (NSEDC) began replacing the thirty-year-old halibut plant in June 2025 after modules arrived from Finland. Fish processing provides economic opportunities for commercial and resident fishers as well as employment within the community.

he word “landfill” conjures up unglamorous images: garbage pits, trash heaps. In the North Slope Borough, though, landfills rely on engineering approaches found almost nowhere else in the United States, making use of the region’s natural environment.

Two major landfills—the Oxbow Landfill near Deadhorse and the Barrow Landfill near Utqiaġvik—are undergoing expansion and upgrades as part of a long-term strategy to keep pace with both community and industrial waste streams. Both projects reflect how Arctic conditions shape infrastructure decisions—and how permafrost itself becomes a design feature rather than an obstacle.

hen The Wildbirch Hotel officially opened in June 2025, it signaled an era of revitalization in Downtown Anchorage. As the boutique property now nears full completion, the 200,000-square-foot hotel has become a catalyst for growth on surrounding blocks.

Construction was not without its challenges, however. When former US Senator Mark Begich and former Alaska Department of Revenue Commissioner Sheldon Fisher (partnering as MASH LLC) bought the property in 2020, it was at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Before the hotel could be renovated, the partners needed to raise funds for the purchase; and before guests could enjoy the accommodations, people displaced by the pandemic had to move out of the property, a former Holiday Inn then known as the Aviator Hotel.

etween its invitation-only soft opening on January 20, 2025 and January 1, 2026, the Chin’an Gaming Hall paid out more than $16 million in jackpot prizes. But to Native Village of Eklutna (NVE), the true value of the Chin’an Gaming Hall is just starting to be realized—and it’s already spreading the wealth, strengthening the tribal and surrounding community.

very Alaskan knows that a bush pilot who’s “rigid” about their destination—regardless of incoming fog or shifting winds—is a dangerous one. Clinging to a predetermined course in the face of clear warning signs isn’t just stubborn, it is reckless disregard, inviting catastrophe. This same survival logic applies in the boardroom. As savvy leaders navigate the “economic weather” of 2026—marked by volatile interest rates, labor shortages, and uncertain global economics—the stakes have never been higher. Leaders should not mistake blind stubbornness for strength; they should embrace agile and flexible leadership.

laskans know that what works in other places doesn’t always work here. Local knowledge is required to successfully adapt to Alaska’s extremes, and those who have spent time learning what works and what doesn’t have invaluable insights.

Your organization faces the same reality. The local knowledge within an organization must be leveraged to ensure the business continues to evolve and grow. Mentoring is an effective tool for passing on knowledge, developing leaders, strengthening relationships, and building your workforce.

But only when you understand how to use it.

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