On Friday, The Spruce Tip Investment Group received shareholder approval to acquire the satirical news publication The Goldstream Courant in a cash-and-stock deal worth roughly $1.8 billion. The move will create an Alaskan news empire with assets of roughly two websites, one and a half social media accounts, and three broken 1986 Ski-Doo Tundra snowmachines.   While the Courant is based near Fairbanks and focuses primarily on local issues, The Spruce Tip is omnipresent, omnipotent, and focuses on Alaskan statewide issues. Courant editor-in-chief Kevin Brietenbach resigned to the merger, which seemed to have caught him by surprise. “We’re looking forward to being part of The Spruce Tip family of publications,” he said in an interview while swigging a Yoo-Hoo from a refrigerator at the back of the Goldstream General Store after a five hundred mile fat bike race. “We’ve worked hard to create a voice of our own, but in the end we just couldn’t compete with The Spruce T...

  Okay, so the headline is pretty much real--we stole that shit straight off Anchorage Daily News--but  who the hell actually believes a headline like that? Let’s report what lawmakers actually [probably] said  in the face of oil revenue windfalls.   Rep. David Eastman, a Wasilla Republican and life member the Oath Keepers–which has been  described by some as a domestic terrorist hate group–suggested that at least some of the excess  money could be used to support his fellow members in Alaska. Many Oath Keepers face skyrocketing  legal bills after their indictments for participating in the Jan 6th insurrection and attack on the US  capitol.   Sen. Scott Kawasaki, a Fairbanks Democrat, strongly opposed this notion, suggesting instead that the  money go to support legal costs not related to sedition or treason.     "Like, no way dude, that money needs to go to social programs, and to pay MY legal bills after that  snafu...

After seventeen turbulent months of suspended travel, tourists are again flocking to Alaska this summer, bringing a much-needed boost to local economies and a seemingly endless barrage of silly questions about life in Alaska.  At Big John’s Truck Stop in Soldotna, where a constant stream of summer visitors stop en route towards fishing charters, cashiers keep a running list of memorable tourist queries. The list offers a comprehensive look into the mindset of tourism in the post-COVID environment. Among them: Can I fill the gas tank for my RV from the Alaska Pipeline?  Where do they offer moose rides?  Is there an income tax here? Where is the nearest public transportation?  How long do I have to stay to get my free 1000 dollars?  Can you see the northern lights in the summer?  Can you really see Russia from Sarah Palin’s house? How do you sleep when it is dark all winter?  Do you think we could save the polar bears by teaching...

  When Kevin Currier moved up to Fairbanks in 1992, he didn’t wait long to buy his own slice of paradise. The 1.5 acre plot of land, located just off Farmers Loop Road, had everything he wanted. A gravel pad was already installed and it lay just outside the permafrost zone, not too far from the golf course.  Currier built a one bedroom dry cabin on the property with the help of two friends his first summer, but he was enrolled at the university and just barely managed to get the plywood and insulation up before the weather turned. He spent his first three winters in the unfinished house, as first one thing, then another, kept him from finishing the construction of his home.  “You know how it is here in Alaska,” said Currier. “It’s really the land of opportunity. Trails to ride, mountains to climb, late night calls from the troopers to go field dress another roadkill moose... Unfortunately, that’s always made it hard to find those extra couple days to finish...

  The decades-long battle over proposed large mines in Southwest Alaska may be catching up to modern times, with a newly-discovered deposit of cryptocurrency worth billions of dollars.  Proponents are calling the newly discovered “Rubble” cryptocurrency prospect, located near the site of the proposed Pebble mine, the region’s next great hope for economic development, jobs, and “HODLing .”    The Vancouver, Canada based junior exploration company Northern Dynasty announced their recent findings regarding Rubble on Monday, and unveiled plans to extract the highly variable digital currency using “really super efficient and safe methods that won’t disturb anything.” “This is big,” said new Northern Dynasty CEO Brogan Putnam.  “This is like kinda Scrooge McDuck doing the backstroke in a swimming pool of gold coins type big, picture it - but like, with crypto, so yeah maybe like that but with virtual reality goggles instead of the actual pool of gold co...