KTOO

Voters have until 8 p.m. to cast their ballots.

The ballot drop boxes are located at City Hall, the AEL&P office in Lemon Creek, Douglas Library, the Mendenhall Valley Public Library and Statter Harbor boat launch.

Ballots sent in by mail need to be postmarked on or before Election Day and a first-class stamp is required. Vote centers at City Hall and the Valley Library will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Tuesday for in-person voting.

This year, the election features three ballot propositions, three open seats on the Juneau Assembly and two open seats on the school board.

Tuesday is the last day to vote in Juneau’s by-mail election Ballots turned in on Election Day aren’t counted in the unofficial results released that night. They’ll be added to later unofficial result updates. Final results will be certified on Oct. 20.

Voters in Juneau are deciding in this municipal election whether to approve paying a slightly higher sales tax during the tourism season. The money brought in is supposed to help fund recreation.

Ballot Proposition C asks voters whether to approve a 1% seasonal sales tax that boosts funding for the city’s recreational facilities and programs.

The additional tax is estimated to cost the average household about $300 a year, according to the Juneau Economic Development Council.

Proposition C asks voters whether to approve a 1% seasonal tax in Juneau The additional tax is estimated to cost the average household at least $300 a year and is supposed to help fund recreation.

We have a new voter guide for the 2026 General Election!

KTOO, Alaska Beacon, Alaska Public Media and the Anchorage Daily News collaborated to publish a voter guide intended to help Alaskans make informed choices when they vote. Each news organization asked its readers, viewers and listeners this basic question: What do you want candidates to talk about?

Our guide allows you to see how they responded to questions about those topics and compare their answers. While some candidates did not participate, we reached out to all of them multiple times in multiple ways to ensure everyone had an opportunity to respond.

Polls for the primary election close at 8 p.m. Alaska Daylight Time on Nov. 3.

See the guide here: https://www.ktoo.org/2026voterguide/

Independent expenditure groups are pouring tens of millions of dollars into Alaska’s races for governor and Congress.

The Republican Governors Association donated some $1.6 million to a new group in late September called Kodiak PAC. It aims to boost Republicans in the governor’s race, according to filings with state regulators.

Around the same time, a group calling itself Forward Frontier for JKT brought in more than $1.3 million in support of Democrat Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins. That came from the Democratic Governors Association, a group called Democratic Action and the public employee union AFSCME , the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees.

(From Alaska Public Media)

Outside groups pour millions into Alaska's governor, congressional races Independent expenditure groups have spent more than $31 million in Alaska's Senate race and more than $6 million in the House race since the August primary.

Vice President J.D. Vance will hold a campaign event on Monday in Fairbanks to boost Republican candidates in this year’s general election, and President Donald Trump is expected to visit Alaska later this month on a similar mission.

The vice-president’s visit was officially announced Friday by the Trump 47 Committee, an operation of the Republican National Committee and Trump’s Save America PAC.

The President’s visit has not yet been formally announced, but an official with Republican governor candidate Dave Bronson’s campaign said on Friday that they expect Trump to visit Alaska on Oct. 16 at a to-be-announced location and have been filling out paperwork before Bronson meets Trump in person.

(From Alaska Beacon)

Vice President Vance to visit Fairbanks on Monday, Trump expected in Alaska later this month The President and Vice President are visiting states across the country to boost Republican candidates ahead of the November election.

Every year KTOO works with a local artist to create a new design for our membership thank you gifts. This year we’re honored to partner with Harper Gunn. When you contribute to KTOO this fall, we invite you to pick up one of the new logo items with her art, including baseball hats, phone-sized dry bags and ceramic mugs with Heritage Coffee.

Every donation directly supports our ability to bring you local news, Gavel Alaska, KRNN, KXLL and important connections to where we live. You can make your donation at ktoo.org. Thank you for supporting public media in Juneau.

Scientists predict that a super El Niño could break ocean temperature records this winter. El Niño’s occur when trade winds weaken and water in the central Pacific Ocean warms. With upcoming forecasts of a super El Niño, the seafood industry is bracing for what could be a difficult year.

The last major El Niño between 2014 and 2016 had disastrous consequences for fisheries across the West Coast. The federal government disbursed more than $141 million in fisheries disaster relief.

Hotter seas cause more toxic algal blooms, which could hurt Alaska’s shellfish industry. Researchers at the University of Alaska Southeast are trying to detect toxic blooms sooner, before oyster farms are forced to shut down.

UAS scientists are trying to predict harmful algal blooms as super El Niño heats up Biochemist Jason Kuhn and his team are using eDNA to see if they can detect blooms before they make shellfish toxic.

A Juneau man whose remains were discovered inside a chest freezer in July died of natural causes, according to a Juneau Police Department release. Juneau police previously identified the person as Ross Pasquan. He would’ve been 74 at the time his remains were found.

The State Medical Examiner’s Office determined that Pasquan’s death was related to severe cardiovascular disease.

Following a monthslong investigation, investigators found that Pasquan’s wife hid his death and continued applying for and receiving benefits in his name, according to Juneau Police.

Police investigation reveals a Juneau woman concealed her husband’s death and body to receive benefits It’s unclear when Ross Pasquan’s remains were put into a chest freezer. Juneau Police estimate it was between 2018 and 2025. That’s based on the freezer being manufactured in 2018 and his wife’s…

Hundreds of thousands of Alaskans are receiving their Permanent Fund Dividends this week. This year’s payout is $1,200, which includes a $200 “energy relief” payment.

There are a lot of things you could do with the money, but how should you spend it? An economist and a financial advisor have some advice for you.

Laurel Renkert is a financial advisor in Anchorage who recommends splitting your PFD into even thirds: spending, saving and splurging. That’d be $400 of this year’s check in each category.

(From Alaska Public Media

How to make the most of this year’s $1,200 Permanent Fund check Laurel Renkert, a financial advisor in Anchorage, recommends splitting your PFD into even thirds: spending, saving and splurging. That’d be $400 of this year’s check in each category.

Alaska’s decades-long quest to obtain millions of acres of land from the federal government under the Alaska Statehood Act is getting closer to an end.

But because the state is getting closer to its goal, its requests now exceed a limit in federal law.

This week, the Alaska Department of Natural Resources announced that it is preparing to surrender the claims to as much as 5.7 million acres scattered across the state, an area collectively bigger than New Jersey.

(From Alaska Beacon)

Alaska prepares to surrender some Statehood Act land claims as it nears 105 million-acre goal This week, the Alaska Department of Natural Resources announced that it is preparing to surrender the claims to as much as 5.7 million acres scattered across the state, an area collectively bigger…