NEW: newly reported developments or upcoming opportunities. UPDATE: later substantive information on a covered story. ONGOING: continuing useful information. RESOLVED: the reported issue has ended. BACKGROUND: dated historical context, not a new development or confirmation of current availability. UNCONFIRMED: a story, continuing story or detail that could not be confirmed against its cited source on the edition date; the note under the headline says what is not confirmed. Today and countdown lines carry "(unconfirmed)" for the same reason. All local times are Alaska Daylight Time.
Counting continues after Tuesday's November 3 general election. KUAC reported in its November 3 morning newscast that preliminary results would begin coming in around 9 p.m. on Election Night, but that final results will not be available until November 18.
The air traffic control tower at Fairbanks International Airport will close overnight, from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m., under a temporary Federal Aviation Administration order, KUAC reported October 26. KUAC reported that an FAA statement cites a staffing shortage and that the overnight closures will last until further notice.
Flights can still take off and land overnight, with pilots supported by air traffic control staff in Anchorage, KUAC reported. An Alaska Airlines spokesman told the station the airline does not expect significant effects except in low-visibility conditions, and an Alaska Airmen's Association official noted Fairbanks is prone to ice fog.
The Fairbanks City Council holds its last scheduled special work session on the 2027 city budget today, Friday, November 6, from 7 a.m. to noon, according to the city's meeting calendar. Sessions were also scheduled for November 2, 4 and 5.
A special City Council meeting was scheduled for Wednesday, November 4, at 9:45 a.m. Its agenda listed two items: new requirements at city code section 70-63 enacted by Ordinance 6350, which requires a request-for-proposals process for leases of city-owned property, and a request to lease office space in City Hall. The agenda does not show what action was taken.
A special work session on the Explore Fairbanks annual report is set for 5:30 p.m. on Monday, November 9, ahead of the council's regular meeting at 6:30 p.m. that night. The city clerk's notice of council action says two ordinances were advanced to that November 9 meeting: Ordinance 6358, ratifying a collective bargaining agreement with IBEW Local 1547, and Ordinance 6359, as amended, on the council's rules of procedure.
The City of Fairbanks rescheduled Mayor Mindy O'Neall's budget town hall, first set for October 20, to Tuesday, November 10, because of inclement weather and slick roads. The city's October 20 notice does not give a time or place for the new date, and the city's November meetings calendar does not list it.
The original session was planned at Noel Wien Library from 5:30 to 7 p.m. as a chance to learn about the city budget and suggest services residents would like the city to offer.
The Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation is taking public comment through November 30 on a proposal to divide the borough's air quality nonattainment area into separate Fairbanks and North Pole areas. DEC says the split would fall roughly along Badger Road and that no final decision has been made.
Public hearings are set for Tuesday, November 17, from 3:30 to 7 p.m. in the large conference room at Noel Wien Library, 1215 Cowles Street, and Wednesday, November 18, from 3:30 to 7 p.m. at Hotel North Pole.
Noel Wien Library, the North Pole Branch Library and the Bookmobile are closed today, Friday, November 6, for a staff training day, according to the borough library's holiday closure schedule.
All three are also closed Wednesday, November 11, for Veterans Day, and Thursday, November 26, and Friday, November 27, for Thanksgiving.
KUAC reported November 4 that most Fairbanks homes rely on heating oil and that residents are paying over $6 a gallon, up from about $3.75 a year ago. The station tied the increase to higher oil prices linked to the Iran war.
Steve Colt, an economist at the Alaska Center for Energy and Power, told KUAC that Fairbanks residents are fully exposed to the price increase, unlike Anchorage, which has natural gas.
The Fairbanks North Star Borough School Board's next regular meeting is Tuesday, November 17, at 6 p.m. in the ADC Board Room, 520 Fifth Avenue, according to the district's meetings calendar. A board work session is set for Monday, November 16, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.
Board committees also meet in the ADC Board Room from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.: the Curriculum Committee on Wednesday, November 11, and the Budget Committee on Thursday, November 12, and Thursday, November 19. The district says agendas are posted on BoardDocs four days before each meeting.
The school district invites families with children in pre-kindergarten through third grade to a Family Math & Reading Rally on Thursday, November 12, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at Ladd Elementary School, according to a district announcement posted November 3.
Randy Smith Middle School Principal Liesl Wietgrefe has been named Region VI Principal of the Year by the Alaska Association of Secondary School Principals, the school district announced October 30.
Ryan Middle School Assistant Principal Bruce Bell was named the association's Region VI Assistant Principal of the Year, the district said.
Fairbanks Arts Association's Limited Edition open exhibition of small works opens with a reception today, Friday, November 6, from 5 to 7 p.m., at the Bear Gallery on the third floor of the Alaska Centennial Center for the Arts, 2300 Airport Way. The show is on view through November 28, Monday through Saturday, from noon to 6 p.m.
The show has no jury and is open to Interior Alaska artists 18 and older. Works are 12 inches or smaller in any direction and all are for sale. The association's rules exclude generative AI.
The Fairbanks North Star Borough School District has a School Board policy and administrative regulations on artificial intelligence, posted on its instructional technology page. The policy says AI should support, not replace, professional and academic work, and that staff and students are responsible for everything they submit, including AI-generated content.
The district's family FAQ says any student use of generative AI is optional, teacher-directed and guided, and that digital tools go through a district vetting process to protect student privacy. Families can ask classroom teachers how their students may be using AI.
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum spoke at a Fairbanks Chamber of Commerce event on October 14 and promoted Alaska's potential for artificial intelligence data centers, KUAC reported. KUAC noted the pitch came the same week Golden Valley Electric Association issued its first energy emergency alert.
KUAC reported that Alaska has seen proposals for as many as 15 data centers, and that the Fairbanks North Star Borough Assembly passed a resolution in August asking the Alaska Legislature to impose a moratorium on data centers pending a plan to address community concerns.
The Fairbanks City Council adopted Resolution No. 5241 at its October 26 meeting, according to the city clerk's notice of council action. The resolution authorizes the city to apply for and accept a $36,962 federal Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant, which, according to the resolution, the Fairbanks Police Department would use to lease GPS-enabled vehicle fleet tracking technology. No local match is required.
The city's fiscal note says the grant would pay for a three-year lease, and keeping the equipment and tracking after that would cost at least $12,081 a year in subscription fees.
Fairbanks North Star Borough Mayor Grier Hopkins has proposed a temporary moratorium on granting land-use permits for large data centers, Alaska's News Source reported October 23. The pause would last until December 31, 2027, when the borough's Regional Comprehensive Plan update is expected to be finalized.
The ordinance defines large facilities as those with an aggregate peak electrical demand of 5 megawatts or more. It would be referred to the Planning Commission, which must make a recommendation within 90 days. The report gives no date for an Assembly vote or public hearing.
The latest confirmed movement, the open question and the next checkpoint.
Golden Valley Electric Association returned to Energy Emergency Alert Level 0, normal operations, at 7 p.m. Saturday, October 24, after one of two generation units under scheduled maintenance returned to service. The co-op says no action is needed from members. GVEA had issued a Level 2 alert Monday, October 12, urging members to conserve and prepare for possible controlled outages, and a second alert, a Level 1, KUAC reported October 22. GVEA spokesperson Ashley Bradish told KUAC in October that more Level 1 and Level 2 alerts are likely because the generation shortfall is not a quick fix.
Still unresolved: GVEA says maintenance continues on a second generation unit and construction on the Railbelt Intertie is still underway.
Next checkpoint: A new GVEA energy emergency alert, or the second unit's return from maintenance.
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