Alaska State News

Smith stepped in as interim president and CEO of the corporation in April, when Dan Winkelman stepped down from his role after 12 years. Now she has been formally appointed to the role.

In 2025, a federal court judge required the proposed Donlin Gold mine project to reexamine some of its possible environmental impacts. This week, a draft of that supplemental report was released for public comment.

Rental assistance may still be available for people who have not yet applied. Those who have already received rental funds from FEMA and need continued help can apply for the agency’s Continued Temporary Housing Assistance.

Some mail services to the community are paused, and mail is being distributed from a temporary space in the village.

On the morning of Sept. 22, responders located the body of 59-year-old Jonathan Lomack at a spot roughly 150 feet from where his boat had been found, several miles downriver of Akiachak.

The decision to vacate the conviction of 65-year-old Peter Albrite centers around doubts about his competency and comes just weeks after former Bethel Judge Terrence Haas stepped down as the state’s top public defender amid allegations of judicial conflict of interest in the case.

Jonathan Lomack was last seen leaving Bethel by boat at 10:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 16. The 59-year-old was headed upriver to his home community of Akiachak.

The plane appears to have crashed in a wooded area near the village under unknown circumstances, according to online federal aviation records.

The Bethel Police Department has confirmed that the bodies of 27-year-old Joseph Pete and 34-year-old Gary Pete Jr. were recovered at approximately 4:30 p.m. on Sept. 16. Next of kin have been notified.

Close to a year after ex-Typhoon Halong, hundreds of Kipnuk residents remain scattered across the state. But this past summer, some families returned to the village to visit their home and practice subsistence.