Patrick Gilchrist

1 week ago | fm.kuac.org | Patrick Gilchrist

A Fairbanks North Star Borough assembly member wants to ask voters if the borough should hike its hotel-motel tax rate from the current level of 8% to 12%. Also known as a bed tax, that’s the rate tacked onto the cost of booking short-term rentals, like hotel rooms. Assemblymember Tammie Wilson is sponsoring the ordinance, which, if passed by the assembly, would put the question on the ballot during municipal elections this October. Were yes votes to prevail, the 4% increase would start in January.

1 week ago | fm.kuac.org | Patrick Gilchrist

Interior Alaskans should get to soak up some midnight sun in t-shirt weather this weekend, but a red flag warning remains in effect. Thunderstorms sparked a dozen new wildfires Thursday, including one that triggered an evacuation. A Fairbanks woman drowned Tuesday after a rafting accident on the Chatanika River. Many Interior Alaskans got a text Thursday saying they had owed fines to the DMV, and yes, it's a scam.

1 week ago | fm.kuac.org | Patrick Gilchrist

State appropriations falling short of grant match requirements is risking $600 million in federal dollars slated to pay for transportation projects in Alaska. That’s according to Alaska Department of Transportation (AKDOT) Deputy Commissioner Katherine Keith. She said Wednesday the department isn’t anticipating construction delays for now and is moving forward with the second amendment to its Statewide Transportation Improvement Program (STIP).

1 week ago | fm.kuac.org | Patrick Gilchrist

The Fairbanks North Star Borough Assembly sunk an ordinance last week that would have shortened the window in which the borough accepts absentee votes cast by mail. Had it passed, the measure would have set an election-day deadline for the receipt of the mailed ballots. To be counted, borough code currently requires that absentee mail-in ballots are postmarked by election day and that the borough clerk’s office receives them no later than the Tuesday after an election.

2 weeks ago | fm.kuac.org | Patrick Gilchrist

After spending months deciding on major cuts, the Fairbanks North Star Borough School District’s (FNSBSD) Board of Education will likely need to find more ways to trim its budget for the upcoming fiscal year. That’s because Gov. Mike Dunleavy released line item vetoes Thursday that include dropping state per-student education funding well below the level approved by the Alaska Legislature.