Inside Alaska Business
Erickson Unlimited
The Anchorage Downtown Weekend Market is returning to the heart of Anchorage at EasyPark’s Chinook Parking Lot on Third Avenue, under new management. EasyPark hired event producers Brad Erickson and Kristin George, of Absolutely & Erickson Unlimited Events, to manage the weekly event all summer. As a team under the Erickson Unlimited brand, they have been creating concerts and festivals for the last eight years. “Activating our parking facilities with community events supports a vibrant downtown, and their experience and leadership make them a great fit for this next chapter,” says Jeff Read, parking director for EasyPark. Local vendors, food offerings, and live entertainment return to the market on May 2 and every weekend until Labor Day.
Alaska Communications
A relationship between Alaska Communications and SurePath AI is meant to give Alaska businesses a safe onramp to AI innovation without security tradeoffs. SurePath AI is a Colorado-based developer of a platform that monitors interactions with public generative AI services to apply clients’ internal policies. “SurePath AI provides a single control plane to monitor and manage GenAI usage, enforce org-wide policies, and govern how AI accesses enterprise data in real time,” says SurePath AI CEO Casey Bleeker. Alaska Communications’ Chief Revenue Officer Dale Kipp adds, “By collaborating with SurePath AI, Alaska Communications is leveraging the industry’s leading governance platform known for offering a secure path for AI adoption.”
Wells Fargo
Financial coaches from the national nonprofit Operation HOPE are setting up inside the Midtown Anchorage headquarters branch of Wells Fargo bank. The Anchorage HOPE Inside location continues Wells Fargo’s commitment to make financial education and guidance more accessible to those most in need. “HOPE Inside brings financial coaching into everyday community spaces, so people can build credit, save, and plan for the future where they already live and bank,” says John Hope Bryant, who founded Operation HOPE after the 1992 riots in his home neighborhood of South Central Los Angeles.
Alaska Cargo and Cold Storage
Alaska Cargo and Cold Storage (ACCS) broke ground in February on Phase 1 of its logistics campus at Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport (ANC). The initial phase on a 29-acre site near ANC’s primary cargo ramp includes 100,000 square feet of climate-controlled and dry cargo storage facilities within the airport’s secure area and Foreign Trade Zone. ACCS is developing the campus as a hub for cold chain and time-sensitive logistics between Asia, Europe, and North America, enabling carriers to consolidate, transload, and distribute high-value goods. Upon completion, ACCS will be the only large-scale, leasable air cargo warehouse at ANC with direct aircraft parking adjacent to the bulk of current cargo operations.
Hilcorp
This year is shaping up as Hilcorp’s biggest for Cook Inlet natural gas drilling in more than a decade. The company is planning twenty-seven gas wells, second only to the twenty-eight drilled in 2014 and an increase from 2025’s twenty wells drilled. Hilcorp Alaska senior vice president Luke Saugier told state legislators in January that the company is now able to operate two rigs full-time all year.
Chugach Electric Association
Disappearing federal incentives for wind power have Chugach Electric Association losing interest in Little Mount Susitna Wind, a proposed 120-MW turbine farm. Instead, the co-op filed for state and federal permits to explore four hydroelectric options. Two are in the Matanuska Valley: Caribou Creek could generate 18 MW, and Boulder Creek could generate 12 MW. The other two are on the Kenai Peninsula: Godwin Creek near Seward could generate 16 MW, and a run-of-river project on Canyon Creek near Hope Highway could produce 6 MW. By comparison, Chugach operates the 19-MW Cooper Lake hydroelectric project. Studies would take years to complete; tax credits are available for projects that begin before 2034.
Providence Alaska Medical Center
For a second consecutive year, US News & World Report recognized Providence Alaska Medical Center (PAMC) for high-quality maternity care. The Anchorage hospital is the only facility in the state to receive the 2026 High Performing in Maternity Care (Uncomplicated Pregnancy) designation for its labor and delivery services. Among nearly 900 care centers evaluated, only half received recognition. Hospitals are evaluated on factors such as the rate of serious complications in newborns, how often they perform C-sections that aren’t medically necessary, and whether they follow best practices for breastfeeding.
Fred Meyer
The state’s prize for promoting Alaska Grown produce returns to a major retailer. Fred Meyer is the winner of the 2025 Golden Carrot award in recognition of its marketing efforts during the 9th annual Alaska Grown $5 Challenge campaign, encouraging shoppers to spend $5 each week on local produce. The Oregon-based arm of the Kroger supermarket chain has won the Golden Carrot twice before, honoring the Palmer location in 2019 and 2020. For 2025, however, the prize comes to Midtown Anchorage. Fred Meyer-Northern Lights maintained Alaska Grown displays throughout the year, with marketing materials provided by the Alaska Division of Agriculture. Beginning this year, the Alaska Grown $5 Challenge is expanding from six months to a year-round campaign.