Inside Alaska Business
Western States Regional Council of Carpenters
Construction is underway for an Apprenticeship Training Center in East Anchorage near Boniface Parkway and the Glenn Highway. The Western States Regional Council of Carpenters broke ground in June for the 30,000-square-foot facility. The project aims to support the next generation of skilled carpenters and pile drivers, as workers who started their careers building the Trans Alaska Pipeline System are retiring.
Interior Gas Utility
Commercial operations are set to begin this month at a natural gas liquefaction plant on the North Slope, where LNG will be trucked to Fairbanks and North Pole for the Interior Gas Utility. Harvest Alaska, an affiliate of Hilcorp, has been building the facility near Pump Station 1 to supply 150,000 gallons of LNG per day, replacing gas the borough-owned utility had been sourcing from Cook Inlet.
Juneau Hydropower, Inc.
The Regulatory Commission of Alaska gave the go-ahead to Juneau Hydropower, Inc. for the Sweetheart Lake project to become the capital city’s second hydroelectricity supplier, after Alaska Electric Light & Power’s Snettisham dam. To remain a licensed utility, regulators are requiring Juneau Hydropower to work with the established utility on building an intertie. The grid extension would add Sweetheart Lake’s 19.9 MW to the 78.2 MW generated at Snettisham.
Graphite One
California-based electric vehicle manufacturer Lucid Motors wants to lock in a supply of Alaska-mined flake graphite. The company announced a multi-year deal in June at the Alaska Sustainable Energy Conference in Anchorage to source the mineral from Graphite One, which is developing a mine north of Nome. The companies previously reached an agreement to supply synthetic graphite for Lucid’s vehicle batteries. An April report puts 2028 as the startup date for Graphite One to begin synthetic graphite production at a factory in northeast Ohio, and 2030 would see the start of mining.
Kenai Aviation
The US Department of Transportation rejected two proposals for subsidized Essential Air Service to Unalakleet, replacing Ravn Alaska flights that ended in April. Alaska Central Express and Sterling Airways (a.k.a. Aleutian Airways) said they could fill the twice-daily route to Anchorage, but only with federal funds to lower fares. Kenai Aviation had stepped in with unsubsidized service and will continue that contract, offering one-way fares of about $500 for a seat on its nine-passenger Beechcraft King Air.
Aleutian Airways
A ribbon-cutting ceremony at Kenai Municipal Airport in June formally launched Aleutian Airways’ twice-daily connection to Anchorage. The carrier flies the thirty-passenger Saab 3000 turboprop on the 35-minute trip, gate to gate, for a $145 ticket. Aleutian Airways also remains the only carrier flying between Anchorage and Homer, a service that started last fall, after Ravn Alaska exited Homer in March “due to our inability to arrive at an equitable agreement with the airport,” the company said.
Peninsula Oilers
Revenue problems rained out the season for the Peninsula Oilers. The club suspended its schedule in June while the Alaska Baseball League’s four other teams continued to play into August. It was the first time in fifty years the club had to suspend its season because of financial difficulties, specifically a sudden drop in revenue from the organization’s bingo and pull tabs hall in Old Town Kenai. Executive assistant Diana Tice says the Oilers hope to play again next summer, given the economic contribution when fans, players, and players’ families visit the area.
Explore Fairbanks
The newest inductees into the Fairbanks Tourism Hall of Fame are Native elder Dixie Alexander, architect Charles “C.B.” Bettisworth, and The Great Alaskan Bowl Company owner Lewis Bratcher. At its 2025 Annual Awards Banquet in April, Explore Fairbanks also honored Jonathan and Amanda Huff with the Jim and Mary Binkley Award for reviving the 8 Star Events Center into a versatile venue. Alaska ComiCon was given the Raven Award for highlighting Fairbanks as a hub for creativity and entertainment. The Aurora Award for preserving Fairbanks heritage went to the Fairbanks Pioneer Museum. Bobby Nikolaides, owner of Bobby’s Downtown, won the Golden Heart Award for fostering community through hospitality. And Shaya Tuck of Fountainhead Hotels was recognized as a Service Superstar.
Jason’s Donuts
Second comes right after first, as Buzz Aldrin said, and even the second-best donut in the country is pretty great. Jason’s Donuts in Eagle River was the runner-up to a bakery in Missouri in a contest arranged by bracket competition website The64. The shop that opened on Old Glenn Highway just two years ago bested Anchorage favorite Dino’s Donuts to advance to the quarterfinals against a shop that overcame Portland, Oregon, landmark Voodoo Doughnut. Manager Andreea Koski credits fans of Jason’s Donuts’ New York-style recipes.