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CONTENTS OCTOBER 2026 | VOLUME 42 | NUMBER 10 | AKBIZMAG.COM
10 TELECOM & TECH AI 101
How artificial intelligence helps businesses of all sizes Christi Foist
By Christi Foist
18 MEDIA & ARTS Hard-Pressed
Alaska journalists rewrite the rules of survival By Scott Rhode
28 ENVIRONMENTAL Breaking Clean
Remediation of drug-contaminated properties By Christi Foist
40 DEATHCARE
Everyone’s a Customer
Businesses providing end-of-life options Valerie Jaimes
By Sam Davenport
46 NONPROFIT
Community Investments
Corporate engagement is just good business By Tracy Barbour
110 PROFESSIONAL SERVICES Silver Surfing
Riding the wave of business successions By Terri Marshall
34 EDUCATION 126 CONSTRUCTION
For Want of a Nail…
Materials logistics overcoming Alaska challenges
By Jamey Bradbury
APU, an Alaska Native University
Anchorage school pursues its own tribal college model By Alexandra Kay
114 FINANCE
Alaska in a Basket
Exchange-traded fund tracks the state’s economy By Rachael Kvapil
120 MANUFACTURING The Right Structure
Enduring Arctic environments By Sam Davenport
134 OIL & GAS
Choreography in Steel
Who builds pipelines and what they’re used for By Christi Foist
138 TOURISM Niche Activities
Truly unique Alaska experiences By Vanessa Orr
146 LEADERSHIP
Doing Good by Being Good: Micromanagement By Lincoln Garrick
150 THE FISHBOWL Adjusting Perceptions
In the Fishbowl with Jon Bittner By Tasha Anderson
HIGHLIGHTS 8 FROM THE EDITOR 154 INSIDE ALASKA BUSINESS 4 | October 2026
156 RIGHT MOVES 158 ALASKA TRENDS
160 OFF THE CUFF 162 AD INDEX
Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com
BUILDING ALASKA TOGETHER First National understands the unique challenges of doing business in Alaska. Facing tight deadlines and remote locations, you need a bank that moves as quickly as you do — one that is responsive, reliable, and able to make decisions locally. Let’s work together to build Alaska’s future, one project at a time.
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CONTENTS OCTOBER 2026 | VOLUME 42 | NUMBER 10 | AKBIZMAG.COM
S P EC I A L S EC T I O N : TO P 49 E R S 54 2026 TOP 49ERS
94 BILLIONS WITH A ‘B’
An exclusive club is larger than ever By Amy Newman
102 JOINING THE RANKS
106 WHAT’S THE SPECIAL SAUCE?
By Vanessa Orr
Compiled by Tasha Anderson
Contango Silver & Gold, Denali Universal Services, and Shee Atiká
Values, people, and long-term growth are more than gravy
ABOUT THE COVER The Top 49ers are Alaska’s largest companies by revenue, an accolade that requires drive, purpose, and something else—a special sauce only these companies have that draws their clients and customers back again and again. Lots of companies make money, thousands of them in Alaska. But the Top 49ers are an incomparable blend of hometown, Alaska-grown spice and making-the-money seasoning. It’s not just that they started here; it’s not just that they do good work; it’s not just that they build Alaska communities; it’s not just that they draw Outside money in; it’s not just that they create Alaska jobs—it’s the fusion of all of these elements and more that sets the Top 49ers apart. It’s the special sauce that they bring to every job that’s landed them in the ranks. Design by Monica Sterchi-Lowman
6 | October 2026
Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com
You bring out the best in us. Providence Alaska Medical Center (PAMC) is honored to be the only hospital in Alaska recognized as Best Regional Hospital in U.S. News & World Report’s 2026-2027 Best Hospitals Rankings. PAMC was recognized as High Performing in 13 adult specialties, procedures or conditions. Our award-winning care reflects the exceptional work of our caregivers, providers and community partners, who share our commitment to ensuring Alaskans get the best care possible close to home. Learn more at Providence.org/PAMCawards.
www.akbizmag.com
Alaska Business
October 2026 | 7
FROM THE EDITOR VOLUME 42, #10 Costco sells macadamia nut clusters, which are a delectable blob of caramel,
EDITORIAL Tasha Anderson, Managing Editor
macadamia nuts, and chocolate. They’re little clumps of heaven, and I have
Scott Rhode, Senior Editor
stopped buying them because my self-control when they’re in the house
Rindi White, Associate Editor
usually comes down to: I won’t eat the whole bucket today.
Emily Olsen, Editorial Assistant
A few years ago, Costco brought in a version of the clusters that wasn’t the Kirkland brand. I don’t remember what brand it was, but it was the only option
PRODUCTION Monica Sterchi-Lowman, Art Director Fulvia Caldei Lowe, Production Manager Patricia Morales, Visual Content Designer
and had the same name, so I grabbed one. I got home, manhandled the Costco haul into the house, divided up the food into the fridge, the freezer, and the pantry, and sat down to eat one of my favorite treats. It wasn’t good. They had too much chocolate. The quality of the chocolate
BUSINESS
was good, the nuts were great, the caramel was the same, as far as I could tell.
Billie Martin, President Jason Martin, VP & General Manager James Barnhill, Accounting Manager
But the ratio of chocolate within the treat was different—and not just different, but wrong. Absolutely wrong. So wrong, in fact, that I didn’t even finish eating them. I gave three-quarters of the bucket away to small children, who had no care for whether the chocolate ratio of the cluster ruined the entire thing.
SALES Charles Bell, VP Sales & Marketing 907-257-2909 | cbell@akbizmag.com
Weston Giliam, Account Manager 907-257-2911 | weston@akbizmag.com
Joshua Wilks, Account Manager 907-257-2917 | jwilks@akbizmag.com
Tiffany Whited, Marketing & Sales Specialist 907-257-2910 | tiffany@akbizmag.com
But I cared. The original macadamia nut clusters (which I’m happy to report are currently available at Costco) were a little piece of perfectly designed heaven, and having eaten the exact right creation, there was no settling for something similar but subpar. That’s what makes a special food special: there may be similar foods, similar flavor profiles, other products within the realm, generally speaking. But when the special sauce hits, it hits; there are no substitutes, variations are unacceptable, adjustments are unthinkable, because it’s no longer a special
CONTACT akbizmag.com | 907-276-4373 Press releases: press@akbizmag.com Billing: accounts@akbizmag.com Subscriptions: circulation@akbizmag.com
sauce. It may be another very special sauce, but it’s not THE sauce. When we celebrate the Top 49ers, we know what we have. It’s not just a group of Alaska companies (though we love you all); it’s not just a collection of wealthy corporations (though we’re always excited for economic growth); it is a
alaska-business-monthly
magical combination of local insight, Alaskan values, and business done right:
akbizmag
a super special sauce that we have had the privilege of documenting for more
AKBusinessMonth
than forty years.
AKBusinessMonth
Alaska Business (ISSN 8756-4092) is published monthly by Alaska Business Publishing Co., Inc. 501 W. Northern Lights Boulevard, Suite 100, Anchorage, Alaska
99503-2577;
Telephone:
(907)
276-4373.
© 2026 Alaska Business Publishing Co. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written permission from the publisher. Alaska Business accepts no responsibility for unsolicited materials; they will not be returned unless accompanied by a stamped, self addressed envelope. One-year subscription is $39.95 and includes twelve issues (print + digital) and the annual Power
Tasha Anderson Managing Editor, Alaska Business
List. Single issues of the Power List are $15 each. Single issues of Alaska Business are $4.99 each; $5.99 for the July & October issues. Send subscription orders and address changes to circulation@akbizmag.com. To order back issues ($9.99 each including postage) visit simplecirc.com/back_issues/alaska-business.
8 | October 2026
Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com
Photo Credit: Raina Wessen Photos
PeopleAK
Boutique HR and organizational development solutions
P
eopleAK solves the “people”
providing broader expertise at a
Bradison says. “Then we remain
p ro b l e m s
lower cost than hiring one full-time
on call to ensure the changes are
senior employee,” Bradison says.
adopted and working as intended.
behind
open
positions, retention concerns, and operational pain points that can hinder growth and efficiency. “We’re not an academic consultancy; we’re boutique problem solvers with industry-specific experience,” says President and CEO Paula Bradison. From its Anchorage hub, PeopleAK’s recent work spans a nationwide executive
search,
year-round
shareholder training, a nonprofit leadership succession plan, and labor-market research for employers entering the Alaska market. “We allow clients to address specific
The
firm
through
differentiates strong
relationships,
itself
statewide
cross-disciplinary
hours of analysis or retain the full team for a twelve-week project supporting business expansion. PeopleAK’s
team
connections
and
developed
across
brings
deep
experience the
state,
keeping its work grounded in Alaska’s realities, from Lower 48 headquarters to rural operations.
subject-matter
over to clients, so they own it,”
www.akbizmag.com
desired success.”
A client might purchase a few
“We turn our work product back
often
fully adopt it and achieve their
expertise, and the ability to scale.
pain points with help from multiple experts,
Change only has value when clients
AlaskaBusiness Business Profile Alaska Business
PeopleAK Paula Bradison President and CEO 330 L Street, Suite 2 Anchorage, Alaska 99501 (907) 276-5707 www.peopleak.com
October 2026 | 9
TELECOM & TECH
AI 101
CHJIMA | Adobe Stock
How artificial intelligence helps businesses of all sizes By Christi Foist
I
n a short time, AI has gone from
it to be indispensable,” says Kyle
seeking to use AI in their business,
creating freaky-fingered phony
Easterly,
CEO
however, will want to choose one
photos to a serious business
of the “AI deployment service”
of the four main standalone apps:
Delve Group in Anchorage.
OpenAI’s
ChatGPT,
Claude,
Microsoft’s
tool. With that rapid change has come
co-founder
and
Anthropic ’s
equal parts hype, critique, and alarm.
Machuca says even businesses that
To help small businesses leverage AI’s
seem low-tech—he cites the example
potential while avoiding the perils of
of a landscaping contractor—could
“Stick with the big stuff,” says Matt
security breaches and “slop,” Alaskan
still benefit from AI-driven tools.
Weber, owner of Kenai-based Weber
experts have been staying abreast
However offline or hands-on a
and Co., a digital marketing agency
of the march of progress to help
company’s services, that business
that does technology consulting for
businesses stay informed.
or sole proprietor still must deal
AI. “I wouldn’t go chasing like these
“Artificial intelligence is a game
with tasks such as payroll, financial
boutique small operations or people
changer for a lot of small businesses
reports, or creating business policies.
who are building layers on top of the
in Alaska,” says Carlos Machuca,
AI could help save time with such
big guys,” he adds. “The big guys are
director of the AI resource program
administrative tasks, Machuca says.
eventually going to win.”
at
the
Alaska
Small
Copilot,
or
Google’s Gemini.
The favorite of these experts
Business
Main Systems and How to Choose
is Claude, which Machuca thinks
While Machuca has been leading nonprofit consultations, the private
From Google to Adobe and Canva,
with numbers or writing code.
with
many longstanding business software
Similarly, Easterly says both Claude
technology too. “We ourselves are
providers increasingly incorporate
and ChatGPT are “the most well-
small and growing. We’ve found
AI functionality. Most companies
resourced” and have help manuals.
Development Center (SBDC).
sector
is
keeping
10 | October 2026
apace
is
especially
good
for
working
Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com
“There’s a lot of resources out there about them.” Between the two
apps,
Claude
is
optimized
for handling massive files while retaining context, whereas ChatGPT is designed for speed and versatility, trained by human reviewers to prioritize helpfulness. Machuca compares ChatGPT to
“I would very, very strongly encourage people to not start with public-facing use of AI… The last thing I would do is jump right into writing all of my social media content, producing images for it.”
a Swiss Army knife and says you
Kyle Easterly, Co-founder and CEO, Delve Group
can use it for almost any business. Easterly says this AI can also generate images, like flow charts, which can be very useful. Gemini and Copilot got more mixed reviews. Easterly calls Gemini a “distant third,” but Machuca’s a big fan of its Notebook LM. He says this tool “grounds your data,” allowing one to work only from that material. Machuca also uses Gemini’s podcast feature to create audio conversations about articles he wants to read, which he listens to during workouts. Whatever tool one lands on, choosing a paid plan unlocks better tools while giving a business some protections. “I meet all kinds of people that use the free one, and they have all this trouble with it,” Easterly says. “It’s not the same product at all” as the paid versions. Most paid or “pro” versions start around $20 a month. For help getting started, the Alaska SBDC offers lots of free resources, Machuca says. To get personalized advice, small businesses can sign up for a business advisor. The SBDC website also offers a mix of paid and free videos on topics such as marketing, financial projections, data analysis, and how to create an AI assistant. To
start
using
AI,
Easterly
recommends businesses begin in the background. “I would very, very strongly encourage people to not start with public-facing use of AI,” www.akbizmag.com
Alaska Business
October 2026 | 11
“AI works best if you already have a deep
he says. “The last thing I would do
with “organizational scar tissue.” By
is jump right into writing all of my
that he means exporting, importing,
social media content, producing
or compiling things from multiple
images for it.”
systems. He gives the example: “I’m
Instead, he suggests starting by using AI to write an employee manual
going to pull things out of these four systems and put it into Excel.”
understanding
or to document certain business
Machuca says this cross-platform
of your topic and
processes. “The analogy is, Hollywood
compilation could help a small
is using a ton of AI right now, but you
company create the kind of business
don’t see it on the screen,” he says.
plan that banks often require to get
“They’re using it to hone down to a
a loan. An entrepreneur might have
better finished product.”
a bunch of financial documents from
what you want to do… If you have a solid foundation,
which to pull several different figures.
What AI Does Well
Rather than spend hours combing
use
of
through the documents to pull the
understanding
its
figures needed, a business owner
you organize,
strengths and weaknesses, and
could tell their AI tool to abstract the
understanding one’s own. “AI works
data needed for the business plan.
brainstorm, and
best if you already have a deep
AI has also allowed SBDC to offer
expand your
understanding of your topic and
services it didn’t have before, such
what you want to do,” says Jennifer
as industry-specific templates for
Carroll, a UAF associate professor
standard operating procedures. “Now,
in the Department of Alaska Native
because of artificial intelligence, we
use it as a crutch
Studies and Rural Development,
can hyper-personalize,” Machuca
who’s led multiple initiatives on AI
says.
or as a shortcut,
and curriculum. “You have to be able
templates for every industry that
to catch all the different little things
you can imagine,” such as a dog-
that aren’t going to go right. If you
grooming business.
then AI can help
learning. But if you
you’re vulnerable.” Jennifer Carroll Associate Professor UAF Department of Alaska Native Studies and Rural Development
Thoughtful, AI
requires
effective
“We
can
actually
create
have a solid foundation, then AI
Both Carroll and Easterly also
can help you organize, brainstorm,
like using AI as a search engine
and expand your learning. But
replacement. “The quality level now
if you use it as a crutch or as a
is… 100 times better probably, at
shortcut, you’re vulnerable.”
least,” Easterly says, compared to
Weber says AI tools are especially
hallucination-prone web searches
good at “simple, repeatable things
when ChatGPT splashed onto the
or data ingestion.” As an example, he
scene in 2022.
cites analysis of the 500 leads he got in a recent month. Rather than create an Excel script to go through them all,
Tools like Claude or ChatGPT
he could have an AI tool go through
still have significant limits. AI tools
the leads list.
struggle with tasks that require
AI is also “very good at crossing multiple sets of data” and compiling it,
12 | October 2026
What AI Does Poorly
Weber
says.
This
uniquely
human
traits
such
as
creativity, imagination, or judgment.
includes
“AI is built to give you an answer
compiling information spread across
confidently, so it will tell you things
multiple software programs and
with confidence that may or may not
systems. Easterly says one of the
be true,” Weber says. For example,
things AI is really good at is dealing
if one asks AI for a contract, it might
Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com
cause a so-called “hallucination,” he
an Alaska Native image-generation
and clear policies. Machuca says
says, where “it goes and invents an
request might yield something that
businesses
email that never existed and says,
uses “clothing from some well-known
employees understand what tools
‘Here’s the contract.’”
tribe of the Lower 48.”
the company allows, as well as AI’s
When “you’re asking it to bring
Machuca says AI also might not
things to the table” rather than to find
understand the seasonality of certain
or synthesize existing information,
industries or activities, like what time
“that’s where you’ve got it to be really
of year Alaskans might be fishing.
should
ensure
that
capabilities and limitations and the risks of improper use. Depending on the setup, some AI models can access internal or
“People should understand that
personal documents, such as Google.
way
it’s trained on… what is common,
“That could be a layer of risk if you
imagination works on AI is just [to]
right, within our society,” Carroll
don’t have the right education on
recycle a lot of ideas that are already
says. “Alaska is not common; Alaska
how to access those documents,”
out there,” he says. He and Carroll
Natives
Machuca says.
also note the models’ ignorance of
not built to use our voice. I think
Security risks are “tricky,” Weber
Alaska life and culture, especially in
that’s something that any of the...
says. For one client, his firm resolved
rural contexts.
businesses that are looking to use it
the document-access challenge by
should be mindful of.”
creating an account for their Google
careful,” Easterly says. Machuca
agrees.
“ The
“The material that these systems
are
not
common…
It’s
admin. By controlling what folders
have been trained on is not Alaskan
Important Business Safeguards
material, is not Northern material,” says Carroll. “The solutions that
and Slack channels that account could access, the client limited what Claude
requires
could access. A cleaner solution might
such
as
exist, but sometimes those take IT
employee training, data encryption,
or other resources a small business
it gives you, the answers it gives
Effective
you… are geared toward a Lower 48
important
population.” For example, she says
use
of
AI
safeguards
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Alaska Business
October 2026 | 13
almost
“If you do all the same things you
becomes a risk analysis that you have
would normally do for Google to
to do for yourself every time you
rank, guess what? They pretty much
connect another tool,” Weber says.
work for AI,” Weber says. “The best
doesn’t
“AI is built to give you an answer confidently, so it will tell you
have.
“Security
adding
advice I could ever give you… that
additional account users. “There’s risk
costs you nothing is, go get a lot of
when it’s just you and then there’s risk
reviews. Make sure you’re engaging
about… are the other people around
with people on social media when
me using it right?” Easterly says.
they engage with you.… And be
The
same
applies
to
things with
As an example, he cites the
interesting.… Make sure people
settings for whether an AI tool can
are shouting your name from the
confidence that
use your data to help improve the
rooftops when somebody goes into a
model for everyone. This benign-
forum and says, ‘Hey, who’s the best
may or may not
sounding checkbox can have great
fishing guide?’”
be true… It goes
Easterly says. “If you uncheck that
require
box, then it’s actually reasonably
education, no matter how much or
safe” to use AI tools. But he says
little a person or business uses the
an email that
companies should “verify that maybe
tool. “It’s like trying to avoid the
never existed
once a week and make sure you
internet,” Easterly says. “You can
didn’t accidentally put it back. Or,
do it for a while, but pretty quickly
if you’re sharing an account with
here… it’s going to be impossible
somebody, they didn’t change it.”
to avoid.”
and invents
and says,
consequences for data security,
AI’s growing capabilities also
AI
diligent
education
cybersecurity
is
everyone’s
‘Here’s the
Some team plans also offer the ability to control certain settings
responsibility because of the power it
contract.’”
across the organization.
puts in the hands of users, ethical and stricter
otherwise. Machuca says AI’s ability
Matt Weber
regulation of their data protections,
to create deepfake videos can make
Founder and Owner
such as health insurance privacy,
certain scams more plausible and
Weber and Co.
should probably get a professional’s
persuasive. If someone supposedly
help
“Nobody
contacts a business with a request
should be DIYing HIPAA with AI,”
that could put the company at risk,
Easterly says.
“make sure you call back to make sure
Businesses
when
that
using
face
AI.
that that’s the right person,” he says.
Keep Honing the Fundamentals
Carroll says keeping a sharp mind will
Despite all the buzz around AI,
be more important than ever. “The
As AI’s use and influence grows,
haven’t
best analogy I’ve seen for this is to
changed. Weber says he gets lots of
working out,” she says. Learning does
calls from people concerned about
for the brain what exercise does for
how AI affects search results. But just
muscles. “You need to put your brain
like Google before it, Weber says AI
under friction, under tension. You
“scrapes the internet” for available
need to work it. And that’s how you
information: social media posts, a
see gains in your own learning and in
company’s website, what people say
your ability to handle material.”
business
fundamentals
about it, and other companies’ links.
14 | October 2026
Used
effectively,
AI
becomes
Search engine optimization feeds AI
one more piece of equipment in
the same type of results.
the gym.
Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com
Alaska is home, and we’re proud to invest in its future. For more than 70 years, MTA has grown alongside the people, businesses, and communities we serve. Today, we’re continuing that work by expanding connectivity, strengthening our network, and delivering the reliable service Alaskans count on every day.
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Alaska Business | Local, reliable, internet.
October 2026 | 15
Delve Group Custom-Built AI-Powered Software Solutions
A
nchorage-based Delve Group
required major budgets, long timelines,
forward. “Because it's so new, most of
builds custom AI-powered
and a narrow business case. Now Alaska
us are still discovering what it's actually
software for companies that
businesses across industries can leverage
capable of,” she says.
have reached the limits of generic tools
solutions that previously seemed out of
or still rely on tedious, time-consuming
reach. “We build software that otherwise
knowledge comes into play. “When
manual processes. Co-founded by
wouldn’t have been built before AI
clients come to us for a service, they’re
spouses Kyle and Blythe Easterly, Delve
development techniques became
paying for our expertise,” Blythe says.
Group turns advanced AI capabilities
feasible,” says Kyle.
“We know if there is an AI model that
Photo Credit:Port MacKenzie
That’s where Delve Group’s specialized
into operational reality. Its cutting-edge
Delve Group’s work is intentionally
can solve for their problem, which
AI solutions include AI assistants and
broad, spanning healthcare, energy,
model to deploy, and how to deploy
conversational tools; data intelligence
telecom, field services, and other sectors.
it appropriately.”
and reporting; operations and compliance
This allows the company to learn quickly
Delve Group uses its expertise to
management; planning and decision
from different projects and industries,
make software adjust and respond to
support; custom workflow applications;
build iteratively, and turn emerging AI
clients’ needs. It meticulously designs
and document intelligence.
capabilities into production systems that
solutions around workflows—not around
fit how clients already operate. Delve
forcing clients into one-size-fits-all, off-
Group’s ultimate goal is
the-shelf systems. For example, Delve
to engage with clients for
Group helped a healthcare client convert
the long term. “It’s not just
inbound voicemails into a screen-based
project work; it’s about an
triage workflow, flagging urgent calls
ongoing relationship,” Kyle
and saving an estimated ten-plus hours
explains.
per day. For a field-service client, the
In the past, custom software often
company is building scheduling tools that
HELPING BUSINESSES
can present multiple scenarios, allowing
MOVE FORWARD
decision-makers to choose the strongest
Blythe
option instead of relying on one person’s
says
organizations
are
many still
knowledge and a single schedule.”
learning the difference
16 | October 2026
between using generative
DELIVERING QUALITY
AI as a stand-alone tool and
Delve Group is an “iteration maximalist”
applying agentic workflows
when it comes to building, testing, and
that can help move work
refining solutions. Instead of asking
Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com
Photo Credit: Amber Johnson Photography
clients what they want, disappearing
products,” Blythe says. “We are scaling
for months, and returning with finished
and delivering quality at the same time.”
On a personal level, the Easterlys care
software, its team strives to begin with
Delve Group urges businesses to
about supporting the broader business
something functional. “We have had a
examine their processes and think
community. They often volunteer at
100-percent success rate in 2026 where,
beyond using AI as a side tool. “To
public events to help educate people
at our first meeting on a project, we are
actually get value out of AI—more than
about AI’s vast potential. “We see this
looking at a working piece of software,”
just basic help—the AI has to be inside
technology as having a ton of benefit,”
Kyle says. Those early versions are
of your work,” Kyle explains. Delve Group
Blythe says, “and we definitely want it to
not disposable mockups; they are the
is helping organizations close that gap
be beneficial for everyone.”
foundation for the production system
by turning what AI can do into systems
they actually use.
that follows. Internally, Delve Group uses the same philosophy it sells. The company has built its own AI-enabled systems for proposals, demos, testing, and operations. “We are applying AI to our process to the extent that we can continually repeat and improve our process and improve our
www.akbizmag.com
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Alaska Business
October 2026 | 17
E
MEDIA & ARTS
xtra,
extra!
Newspaper
goes to press! That’s the story:
a
local
paper
is
putting ink on newsprint, for a change. The Anchorage Press, an alternative weekly, has been a webonly shadow of its former self since 2022, but under new ownership, the newspaper is coming back. “Every single person I talked to mentioned how the Anchorage Press used to be where they got their
information
around
what
was happening in town, and it has created a huge gap that folks have tried to step into,” says Veri di Suvero, former executive director of the Alaska Public Interest Research Group. Since departing the consumer advocacy nonprofit last year, di Suvero is entering the journalism business, acquiring the Anchorage Press alongside veteran reporter Nathaniel Herz. The Press,
the
Anchorage
unfortunately,
coincides
revival
of
with the demise of its sister paper, also formerly owned by Arizonabased Wick Communications. The Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman printed its final edition on May 29, and then its archives and trademark changed hands to Amy Bushatz, founder and executive editor of the Mat-Su Sentinel.
Hard-Pressed Alaska journalists rewrite the rules of survival
18 | October 2026
concedes
that
the
Frontiersman, published in Palmer since 1947, was no longer sustainable as a print publication. That’s partly why Wick Communications sold it. Bushatz observes, “It was not a secret. It’s not like predicting the fall of the Roman Empire; it was market trends.”
Stillf x | Adobe Stock
By Scott Rhode
Bushatz
Trends had claimed The Cordova Times a month earlier, ending its print run and switching to online only. The Skagway News downsized from ink to pixels in 2022. Even the Anchorage
Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com
Daily News is daily only on its website,
of the Wrangell Sentinel. “Long
at the periphery of the family-owned
printing twice weekly since 2024. And
ago, advertisers would cover two-
media chain’s attention.
this year marks the end of Alaska
thirds of the cost of newspapers,
Magazine;
readers a third.”
Georgia-based
Morris
Absentee Sabbatini
to
Independent
owners
led
Mark
create
the
Juneau
last
year
after
he
Communications announced this
In addition to choking off revenue
summer that December’s issue would
from legacy media, the internet
departed as managing editor of
be its last.
changed news consumption habits.
the Juneau Empire. The capital city’s
Social
hometown newspaper, published
In
this
e n v i ro n m e n t ,
the
media
accelerated
that
Anchorage Press rising from web-only
trend since 2006, when Facebook
since
hiatus is what editors call a man-
became an open channel for anyone
Alabama-based Carpenter Media
bites-dog story.
with an email address, siphoning
Group in 2024.
local TV news.
If it bleeds, it leads, so this story
Industry
was
acquired
by
“Carpenter was looking at making
audiences away from daily papers and
The Usual Suspects
1912,
both cost cuts and editorial policy drive
changes I couldn't agree with. There
can begin with a murder. What killed
consolidation, which brings struggles
was not a high priority necessarily
the news business?
of its own. Such was the case of
on having local people cover local
pressures
Frontiersman,
to
news,” Sabbatini recalls. “A quote
pretty much killed off classified
Herz. He speculates, “I think Wick
from one of the regional directors
ads in newspapers, which were a
bought the property right before
that I’ll always cite is, ‘We think
source of revenue. And Facebook
the bottom fell out of the print
people in Alberta and people in
is free for businesses to post their
media business, and then it was not
Alaska are pretty much interested in
daily specials or whatever else they
a priority for them as a place for an
the same thing.’ In other words, if
want,” notes Larry Persily, publisher
investment.” Alaska properties were
you run an interesting story from a
The internet, obviously. “Craigslist
the
according
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Alaska Business
October 2026 | 19
small community in Canada, people
pretty natural step to sort of create
Herz. “I don’t know that it is a setup
in Juneau will care as much about
the thing that I really wanted to see
that would work for everyone.”
that as they do about local news,
and be in the state,” he says.
Much
of
the
Juneau
Empire
staff left with Sabbatini to start the
Juneau
Independent
as
migrating
where he landed. “We have plenty of
back to print. Upon the relaunch
readers now. Our daily readership is
A n c h o ra g e
in
far higher than the Juneau Empire was
homepage
getting when I was there,” he says,
Now
which I thought was not good.”
a
free, online newspaper.
Sabbatini, too, is comfortable
of
that
the
thing
S e p t e m b e r, for
the
the
Northern
is
P re s s
Journal
was
redirected to anchoragepress.com,
If You Can’t Beat the Internet… Sabbatini is doing much of the same work he did at the Juneau Empire, but as a free website. “The
described “acquiring”
as
the
Herz’s
newspaper website
and
adding: “Some of that is because we don’t have a paywall and they do.” Ink and paper would be his preference, Sabbatini confesses, Independent
but
alt-weekly.
would need two things for that
Herz appreciates pursuing projects
to
the
Juneau
merging his reporting into the
happen.
First,
money.
And
goal is simply to do everything a
without four layers of management
second, the Juneau Empire would
paper of record would do,” he says.
approval. He does lament the lack
need to go away completely; with
Herz, who came to Alaska in 2013
of workplace health insurance. And
about 1,500 subscribers in town,
and wrote for the Anchorage Daily
libel insurance. And a recognizable
Sabbatini doesn’t think Juneau could
News for five years, started the
brand name. But the autonomy and
support two newspapers.
Northern Journal as a newsletter
flexibility of his online presence has
and website to concentrate on
been fun and fulfilling. “I’m not going
Startup Mindset
environment and government topics
to say that it’s better; it has worked
In the meantime, a lot of good
that interest him. “This felt like a
for me at this phase of life,” says
reporting can be done online. “Amy is
20 | October 2026
Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com
probably the quintessential example,”
the Mat-Su Sentinel to compete with
says Sabbatini. “When I launched the
the Frontiersman; I started the Mat-Su
Independent, she was somebody I
Sentinel because there’s more than
looked at very much and asked her
enough news to go around, because
for all kinds of advice.” He adds that
they were not covering things that I
the Frontiersman sale was remarkable;
thought were important, but I could
he wouldn’t want to take over the
help with that,” Bushatz says.
Juneau Empire that way.
Still, Bushatz says she made no
The former executive editor of
bones about putting herself in a
describes
position to absorb the Frontiersman.
herself as having a “startup mindset.”
That was her plan in 2022 while
That said, she admits she’s making it
freelancing for the Anchorage Press
up as she goes along. “I am saying
as it faded away. “If I could set up a
every day, ‘I’m gonna figure it out.’
news organization to be in a position
There’s a whole lot of stuff I don’t
to catch them, should they ever be
know, that I'm figuring out,” says
catchable, that would be a good
Bushatz. “The nice thing about
thing for our community,” she says.
institutions is they have institutional
The paper became catchable in early
knowledge; there’s experience and
2025, when Wick Communications
data and history and all that stuff
announced it would sell. Bushatz
to lean on.”
contacted a broker and an out-of-
Military.com,
Bushatz
Now she owns a nearly eightyyear-old institution. “I did not start
“I did not start the Mat-Su Sentinel to compete with the Frontiersman; I started the Mat-Su Sentinel because there’s more than enough news to go around.” Amy Bushatz Founder and Editor Mat-Su Sentinel
state funder, but the owners took no action on her offer.
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Alaska Business
October 2026 | 21
The sale of the Frontiersman did not include its operations or printing press, but Amy Bushatz did acquire its legacy. That includes both its intangible brand and its physical archives of back issues and photographs. Alaska Business
revived
is now on the Mat-Su Sentinel website.
Sabbatini established the Juneau
Bushatz’s bid. Attending a lonely
And she took custody of its archives:
Independent as a nonprofit. “The
borough assembly meeting, she
back issues, file photos, and website
idea of doing this as a nonprofit was
learned that the $100,000 the
links, now presented without a
important to me. It wasn’t because I
borough spent annually to print
paywall, in service of Bushatz’s
thought that was necessarily more
public notices would end when the
nonprofit mission.
sustainable, but it’s a mindset to
A
tip
last
February
me,” he says. “After working with the
newspaper shrank from two weekly editions to one. Bushatz sensed a
Nonprofit Eggs
Empire and seeing what’s happened
scoop, not just as a reporter but as a
News has been a public service
to other for-profit media, I want the
buyer. “I had seen their prospectus,
for nearly two centuries, since the
overwhelming reality and perception
and that was a significant amount
1846 formation of the Associated
to be that we are doing this strictly
of their profit margin,” she recalls.
Press as a not-for-profit cooperative.
as
By May, Wick Communications was
In Alaska, the largest statewide news
public service.”
ready to sell.
a
news
organization,
as
a
operation is the noncommercial
Nonprofit is a tax status, not a
The transaction, for a price Bushatz
Alaska Public Media network. And
business model, as Bushatz points
would not disclose, did not include
the state’s second-largest paper
out, but it does diversify the eggs in
the printing facility on Palmer-
by circulation, the Fairbanks Daily
the proverbial revenue basket. “When
Wasilla Highway, even though Wick
N ew s - M i n e r ,
six-day
that basket fails because the world
Communications was eager to divest
printing
ownership
changes, whether you’re a for-profit
everything. Bushatz bought the
since 2016 of the Helen E. Snedden
or nonprofit, we’re totally screwed,”
intellectual property, valued mainly
Foundation, a nonprofit established
she explains. “So right now we have
in terms of subscriber loyalty; thus,
by the wife of former publisher
revenue from small grants, small local
Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman branding
Bill Snedden.
donations, advertising, corporate
22 | October 2026
maintains
under
the
Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com
sponsorships, events, and new (in the last couple of weeks because of the Frontiersman acquisition): obituaries and
some
public
notices.
And
content syndication; we sell stories to Anchorage Daily News and Alaska Public Media.” Although di Suvero’s background is in community organizing, not journalism, and they are setting up the Anchorage Press as a workergoverned
cooperative
and
a
social venture, it remains a forprofit business. Advertising and subscriptions underwrite the paper’s free distribution. Still, Herz is taking hints from nonprofit
fundraising,
and
a
sponsorship deal with Out North, a
501(c)3
arts
organization
in
Anchorage and operator of KONR noncommercial radio, is part of the revenue mix. “The modern print newspaper revenue stream looks like the old print newspaper revenue stream except
with
more
stuff
because there’s less of the traditional revenue
coming
through
those
streams,” he says.
Communicating Public Service The difference between a donor and subscriber might be academic; the money spends the same. “My donors are very similar to subscribers in their level of payment,” notes Bushatz. “Nobody's walking in here plunking down ten grand on my desk. That’d be great. If you know anyone like that, send them here.” Nonprofit status sweetens the deal for donors, who can deduct the charitable contribution from taxes, and that’s a selling point. Bushatz says, “The advantage that being a nonprofit gives you is in communicating, primarily. I can say to www.akbizmag.com
Alaska Business
October 2026 | 23
Like a phoenix, the Anchorage Press rises again, covering urban events and news from an independent perspective. Distribution partners host giveaway racks, like this one at Bear Tooth Theatrepub & Grill. Alaska Business
people, ‘Think about this as a public
years, and he has bought and sold
old nonprofit trying to boost the
service. You support other nonprofits
other papers; he famously gave
financial viability of local newspapers.
because you think they’re doing good
away The Skagway News in 2020 for
It developed the Alaska Public Notices
in your community.’”
a token $20 payment. He’d do it
website as a clearinghouse for public
That message is repeated regularly
again in Wrangell. “I’d give it away
notices that also run in print. In
during public broadcasting pledge
for a dollar. I'm going to be 75; I’m
Alaska, the revenue from printing
drives. However, Persily cautions
tired,” Persily says. “But you can’t
notices of tax delinquent properties,
that fundraising isn’t sustainable
give away a failing business. I guess
upcoming public meetings, project
everywhere. “Some of these really
you could, yeah, but I can’t imagine
bids, or other legally required notices
small towns, I’m not sure there’s
anyone being dumb enough to take
totals about $2 million per year,
enough nonprofit money in town to
a failing business.”
representing one of local newspapers’
make it work,” Persily says.
Putting the paper into the black
largest advertising streams.
As an example, the Wrangell Sentinel
will take some creativity. Persily says,
The coalition also facilitates grants,
isn’t currently turning a profit as a
“Much like several other newspapers
such as a funding opportunity that
weekly newspaper, but switching
in Alaska, we are all searching for
became available in 2024: Press
to donor support would be too
answers. But as of now, the answers
Forward Alaska, the first statewide
much to ask. Persily says, “I’m not
have eluded us, and several of us
chapter of an initiative backed by
sure how much I could squeeze the
lose money.”
the
MacArthur
Foundation
and
the John S. and James L. Knight
town in donations when they're also giving money to high school sports
Searching for Answers
Foundation. Nonprofit and for-profit
teams, senior center, hospice, church
Gloomy as that sounds, Persily is
newsrooms can apply for money to
lighting a candle. Among his other
strengthen coverage. The coalition
Persily is now on his third stint
hats, he’s executive director of the
was among the first recipients of a
owning the Wrangell Sentinel in fifty
Alaska News Coalition, a two-year-
$100,000 grant.
programs, and all the rest.”
24 | October 2026
Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com
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The
coalition
also
promotes
collaboration, especially in Southeast, where resources are stretched thin. “There are newspapers in Skagway,
of them. As my 14-year-old would
“The advantage
say, they are musty, crusty. And so I treasure them very much.”
that being
Paper holds appeal for Wrangell
Ketchikan; Juneau has two,” Persily a nonprofit
Sentinel readers. Persily says, “They
observes. “I don’t think Southeast can
gives you is in
yeah, I could go online only, stop
communicating,
how much advertising and how many
Haines, Sitka, Petersburg, Wrangell,
afford that many papers. I think we need to start looking at collaborating, consolidating. It’s triage.” In that spirit, Wrangell’s public radio station KSTK teams up with
like having the printed paper. So, printing, and save a lot of money. But readers would I lose?” So far, the
primarily. I can
numbers haven’t convinced him. Physical media entails certain
Persily’s newspaper. “We were both say to people,
infrastructure, as Herz and di Suvero
‘Think about this can’t afford to the same meeting.
are
That’s crazy,” Persily says. “So we are
the new owners need to scavenge
sending the one reporter that we
going to share the cost of a reporter and share stories, so it hopefully will keep the town informed at a financial level that maybe we can afford.”
as a public service. You support other nonprofits because
you think they’re for an exchange program. Through a a reporter from a rural newsroom covers
the
capitol
in
Juneau
during
the
legislative
session.
Meanwhile, a student journalist replaces home,
the
correspondent
learning
the
basics
at
To
distribute
the
Anchorage Press at handout sites, its old wire racks. “They’ve gotten repurposed,” di Suvero says. “Now there’s a bunch of Anchorage Press racks that have been solidly serving other newspapers for years, so we
Persily is also the editor-mentor
grant from the Atwood Foundation,
learning.
doing good in your community.’”
can’t just walk in and reclaim them.” Herz and di Suvero aim to stock about thirty-five sites. “In its heyday, the Press had over a hundred drop
Amy Bushatz Founder and Editor, Mat-Su Sentinel
sites just around town,” di Suvero notes. “And then recently we found one wire rack at Wildman’s in Cooper Landing.”
of
the profession. The goals are to
Anchorage Daily News owner Ryan
When she bought the Frontiersman
improve the quality of reporting
Binkley and the Helen E. Snedden
from Wick Communications, Bushatz
and
Foundation
accepted the Anchorage Press as
the
breadth
of
coverage
statewide, as well as to train the next
with
fighting
the
good fight.
part of the bargain because she knew she could hand it over to Herz
generation of journalists.
Bundled in Wire
and di Suvero. “They’re both very
that
When she started her career
smart people, and they know their
launched in 2022 to publish free-
at a print newspaper, Bushatz
audience,” she says. “Anchorage Press
to-share coverage of state politics,
recalls, “One of my first jobs ever
belongs in Anchorage hands.”
supported by the nonprofit States
included calling the movie theater
Newsroom. The Northern Journal
to transcribe the movie times.” She
an
had a distribution deal with the
might’ve been the last person to do
incarnation remains to be seen, as
Alaska Beacon.
that, she adds.
is true of the press, as a profession,
Collaboration is also key at the Alaska
Beacon,
a
website
Whether the revival will become institution
like
its
previous
Herz says, “What we’re really trying
Now she is the custodian of the
generally. Sabbatini says, “Journalism
to do is just figure out what is the
Frontiersman’s old copies, palletized
can be a business, and it can
model that’s going to be successful
and shrink wrapped until she can
definitely survive as a business, and
and profitable (or at least sustainable)
convey them to a library or museum
there’s different schools of thought
in Alaska in this modern-day media
for digitization. She says, “They have
about what it needs to do to survive
industry
a certain odor, and there are a lot
and be profitable.”
landscape.”
26 | October 2026
He
credits
Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com
www.akbizmag.com
Alaska Business
October 2026 | 27
F
E N V I R O N M E N TA L
entanyl and methamphetamine are dangerous drugs, even for people who never touch the stuff. A synthetic form of morphine, fentanyl is extremely
potent, to the extent that casual contact with trace
Breaking Clean
amounts can cause a medical crisis. It’s mostly “cooked” in laboratories in Mexico, according to the US Drug Enforcement Administration, whereas meth could be and has been made in a variety of places, including Alaska. As use of those drugs has grown in the past few years, it’s increased contamination in homes, apartments, and vehicles. That has contributed to growing demand for the small number of Alaska businesses that provide testing
Remediation of drug-contaminated properties
and remediation for drug contamination. Griffin Forster, the Association of Alaska Housing Authorities’ executive director, says the issue shapes his organization’s work. ‶It’s enough of a problem that we… have a regular training on meth remediation and contamination—generally once a year,ʺ he says. ‶It is a
By Christi Foist
problem that a lot of folks in the housing management space contend with.” “Testing numbers keep increasing every year,” says Patrick Hartshorn, owner and senior environmental consultant at Advance Look Building Inspections and Environmental Testing. Since 2016, the farthest back he could get data from the lab he uses, Hartshorn has tested 123 buildings and 47 vehicles. As of mid-July, he’d already tested 16 structures and 9 cars in 2026. If that pace continues, he estimates he’ll test about 30 buildings and 18 cars this year—double and triple his average workload.
The Rise in Testing Over the past few years, Alaskans’ drug use has increased significantly. Overdose deaths provide an imperfect measure of overall drug use, but data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) paint a stark picture. From 2020 to 2024, Alaskans’ overdose deaths increased 97 percent to 337 overdose deaths, according to the CDC’s State Unintentional Drug Overdose Reporting System. For 2024, the most recent year available in the CDC’s
Couper f ield | Adobe Stock
reporting system, Alaska had almost twice as many
28 | October 2026
overdose deaths per 100,000 residents as the national rate (which excludes California, Florida, and Texas). At the same time, deaths from fentanyl occurred in Alaska at a higher rate compared to the overall rate (75.4 vs. 65.1 percent), and more of those who died (82.8 percent of Alaskans vs. 72.9 percent overall) had “at least one potential opportunity for intervention.”
Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com
Another measure of drug use comes
from
the
US
Substance
Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). For 2024, the most recent year for which it has published data, SAMHSA estimates that 3.56 percent of Alaskans aged 12 or older used an illicit drug in the past month; this figure excludes marijuana-only users. Drawing on several years’ worth of SAMHSA data, a December 2025 paper in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene estimates that Alaska had 17,447 housing units needing cleanup from meth contamination in 2022. The paper’s author, James E. Dennison, further estimates that this contamination could affect nearly 40,000 Alaskans
confirms, “The statute is based on
“People buy
the reason for contamination,” not the level thereof. Austin McDaniel,
a house, and
a spokesperson for the Alaska State
they move in,
Troopers, says the agency hasn’t
and what’s the
Alaska in several years.”
come across a meth lab “anywhere in Rules for classifying a property
first thing? The
as a meth lab define contamination
neighbor always
centimeters. However, Alaska Statutes
of 0.1 mg of meth per 100 square
comes over, ‘Oh,
46.03.500 through 46.03.599 limit the
you bought the
like homes or physical properties.
cleanup requirements to structures They
drug house.’”
not
manufacture
Patrick Hartshorn Owner and Senior Environmental Consultant Advance Look Building Inspections and Environmental Testing
and cost $770 million to clean up.
do
cover
possible
in—and
therefore
contamination of—other places, even though the DEC web page “Illegal Drug Manufacturing Sites” states, “Small labs can easily be located in homes, motels, boats, or even in the back of a car.”
The paper does not address vehicle contamination nor estimate home
service, a fact that may partly relate
contamination due to fentanyl use.
to Alaska’s limited laws on the issue.
Federal
OSHA
standards
for
worker safety offer some protection for workers who might encounter
Worker headaches caused Bristol
drug contamination. For example, a
start testing its apartments for
Legal Requirements and Gray Areas
drug contamination around 2018,
Two
an apartment after the eviction of a
Bay Housing Authority (BBHA) to
main
sources
provide
maintenance employee who cleans
says former executive director
requirements
from
tenant with known or suspected drug
Kevin Tennyson. “At one time, we
drug contamination: a 2003 state
use. Or a car detailer who works on a
had at least forty to fifty units that
law focused on meth labs and a
stolen vehicle the owner recovered.
were contaminated above the state
handful of Occupational Safety and
Law enforcement and other first
norm,” Tennyson says, representing
Health Administration (OSHA) rules
responders also face risks. In all
nearly
intended to protect workers. When
those cases, OSHA law applies to any
asked if their authority ever covers
hazards encountered, like the source
BBHA now tests all units upon move
drug contamination, both the state
of headaches that BBHA employees
in and move out, says Tennyson, and
and Anchorage health departments
kept getting.
he estimates they remediate one or
referred questions to the Alaska
half
of
the
authority ’s
housing stock.
two apartments a year. Hartshorn's tests routinely show levels of drug contamination that exceed acceptable levels. And they
Department
for
of
cleanup
Environmental
Safety
Conservation (DEC). Evonne Reese, an environmental program
specialist
William “Dale” Williamson, chief of enforcement for Alaska Occupational
with
DEC’s
and
Health,
standard
1910.1030
Pathogens
applies
says
OSHA
Bloodborne when
either
almost never involve cases in which
Contaminated
Program,
contaminated sharps or visible blood
Alaska law requires cleanup to render
says the associated guidance and
are present. “If either of these is
the cars or buildings safe for use.
standards adopted into regulation
present, an Exposure Control Plan
Sites
Advance Look has tested only a tiny
only cover meth production, not
must be developed and implemented,
fraction of structures affected. Few
fentanyl. The law itself refers only to
workers must be trained, and the
other companies provide the same
“controlled substance[s].” Reese also
plan must be followed,” he says.
www.akbizmag.com
Alaska Business
October 2026 | 29
Keeping Families Healthy
uses the testing report, among
Tenants responsible for damaged
other data about the property, to
“Testing is or contaminated property are legally liable, in theory, but in practice particularly the process of collecting through important because civil courts isn’t worth the expense. “Ideally it would be great to recover you can’t reliably the cost,” says BBHA Executive Director Patricia MacDonald, but “very determine rarely are you going to be able to the presence cover costs for damages.” Through her previous role as or absence of board chair for the Interior Regional Housing Authority, she’s discussed a hazardous the issue with other housing substance simply authorities. “We’ve all talked about ‘How do we recover that cost,’ [but] by looking at a the probability is very low,” she says.
“It’s just a cost of doing business these days and trying to keep
vehicle.”
BBHA
first
Brent Olsen Owner
started
Northern Lights Detailing
remediating apartments, it hired a
and recommend a remediation plan. Furthermore, industry standards call for separation between the business that does the actual cleanup and remediation and the one that does the pre- and post-cleanup testing. With structures like a home, re m e d i a t i o n
involves
s ev e ra l
steps, Hartshorn says. After the initial
testing,
the
third-party
consultant determines the level of contamination. Based on that information, the consultant creates a “scope of work” that includes relevant industry standards, “any professional opinion recommendations above and
families healthy.” When
diagnose the scale of the hazard
beyond,” as well as a detailed plan for what to clean and how and what to destroy. Plan in hand, an owner ideally then seeks bids for the job and has the
private contractor, which cost around $100,000, MacDonald says. The
Under an administrative review that
third-party consultant review them.
authority has since trained employees
Governor Mike Dunleavy ordered,
Hartshorn says he sees lots of bids
to do the cleaning, which has reduced
the state is considering changes
that just give a number and no details
the cost somewhat.
to the meth lab statute that could
of what a company proposes to do.
Several cleanup guides or public
involve adopting part of the industry
As a third-party consultant, he wants
health resources from various states
standard. If the state does adopt
to see specifics of how a cleanup
and the US Environmental Protection
the standard, Reese says, “It would
company will do the work.
Agency
particular
only apply to the properties included
Once the homeowner chooses
vulnerability of children exposed
in the Illegal Drug Manufacturing
a vendor, remediation starts. The
to drug contamination—especially
Sites program.” The state expects
process involves both specialized
those still crawling on floors or at the
to
cleaning and heating the house to
stage where they put everything in
2027, she says.
stress
the
announce
final
changes
in
around 90°F, Hartshorn says, to draw contaminants to the surface.
their mouths. “Children [are] the primary focus,”
Remediating a Structure
The number of days devoted to
of protective measures, Hartshorn
In cases of suspected or known
cleaning and heating depends on
says. “It’s to protect the kids cause
drug contamination, Hartshorn says
the level of contamination: maybe
they’re the innocent ones.” Toward
the property owner should start with
three days for lower levels, four to
that end, he’s provided training and
getting a “thorough and complete
seven for higher.
educational sessions for hundreds of
assessment” that includes testing
“The hardest thing with most all of
people in industries that might deal
every room. “People always think
these projects I get involved with… is
with drug contamination, such as
testing is the only thing,” he says.
convincing people that their personal
real estate agents and homeowner
“No, you have to do an assessment.”
belongings need to be dealt with”
groups. He’s also pushed the state to
Testing is the sampling and analysis
Hartshorn says. “I’ve seen beautiful
align its standards with the industry’s.
of chemical residues; assessment
kitchens get taken out and completely
30 | October 2026
Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com
thrown in the dump” because of what
in, and what’s the first thing? The
The Car Detailers
the wood absorbs.
neighbor always comes over, ‘Oh, you
Vehicle cleanup can be more
The
Environmental
Protection
bought the drug house.’”
complicated because of the demand
Agency’s 2021 set of “Voluntary
The issue isn’t limited to specific
for regular car detailing services.
Guidelines for Methamphetamine
areas or demographics. “I have
Given the choice, vendors would
and Fentanyl Laboratory Cleanup”
tested
prefer to deal with dog hair or donut
provides
megamillion
houses
on
for
the Hillside," Hartshorn says. "It’s
cleaning different types of household
everywhere.” Early in his career,
items, from windows to switch
Hartshorn worked as a DEA-certified
Anchorage-based Alpenglow Auto
plate covers and toys. The section
drug investigator with the Wrangell
Detail, says “many detailers turn
repeatedly calls for disposal of items
Police Department. “The people
down recovered vehicles just because
“in a manner that prevents reuse.”
who are truly consuming have
of liability issues.”
detailed
Sometimes
guidance
homeowners
don’t
money,” he says.
Prior cleaning
Thompson,
to
launching
owner
his
of
own
vendor
business, Thompson worked for
moved all their belongings into
several shops around town. “When
a newly purchased house, thus
consultant does a visual review of
we get a phone call asking to get a
contaminating all those possessions.
the work to confirm it followed the
stolen vehicle that was recovered
“Anything that’s been touching the
plan. If everything looks good, the
detailed, that does usually mean
surfaces, it’s now been considered
consultant retests the structure.
it will have something hazardous
contaminated,” Hartshorn says.
If all tests show acceptable levels,
in the vehicle,” he says. “If not
Hartshorn says “a large portion of
the consultant writes a clearance
careful, [we] could either hurt an
our projects that we do… are because
letter showing the home is legally
employee or, if we miss something,
people buy a house, and they move
“fit for use.”
hurt a client… It’s not worth the
www.akbizmag.com
the
Jacob
completes work, the third-party
learn of contamination until they’ve
Once
crumbs than drug residue.
Alaska Business
October 2026 | 31
“We cannot put families and children—the next generation of families and elders—in
“Many of these vehicles are in
Reese says the list was last
extremely poor condition when
updated
they’re recovered,” he says. Olsen
businesses
says they usually evaluate a vehicle
details to include on the website,”
with suspected drug contamination
she
first and decide whether to test and
verification process.”
two
years
[listed]
says.
“There
ago.
“ The
provide
the
is
no
state
how to approach the job. “Testing
Hartshorn says someone seeking to
is particularly important because
hire a cleaner should look for OSHA
you can’t reliably determine the
hazardous waste certification. Ideally
presence or absence of a hazardous
the cleaner would also have training
substance simply by looking at a
in decontamination procedures and
vehicle,” he says.
exposure control.
homes that are
Both Olsen and Hartshorn say
When
cleaning a contaminated vehicle
property,
contaminated…
is
expensive.
Alaska agent Carolyn DeYoung says
Earlier this year, Hartshorn tested
prospective buyers should always
a brand-new truck—likely worth
visit during the day and night before
about $80,000—that was declared
committing to a purchase. “That’s a
a total loss because the cleaning
must,” she says. “It’s amazing what a
and interior replacement would’ve
neighborhood may or may not do at
cost $45,000.
night” that’s not evident by day.
Our mission is to put people in safe, affordable housing. And that’s not safe.” Patricia MacDonald Executive Director Bristol Bay Housing Authority
complicated
and
Thompson
Signature
to
buying
Real
a
Estate
“Cleaning meth out of a car is
Buyers or renters might also consider testing a home before
First, drug use in cars results in
move-in. “There’s no way to know
higher contamination levels than in a
if someone’s been utilizing meth in
home because of the confined space.
a home,” MacDonald says. “There’s
Second, cars are usually upholstered
no way to know if someone’s been
in material that must be replaced
utilizing meth in a hotel room that
rather than remediated. Third, it’s
you’ve stayed in… Same goes with
extremely difficult to clean the airflow
fentanyl. It just takes a little bit.”
or chemical compounds reached.
Anyone attempting to do tests themselves
should
know
their
sensitivity. Hartshorn says some
vehicles sometimes.” Both
comes
extremely difficult,” Hartshorn says.
system and every surface that powder insurance issues to take those
it
and
Valiant
Self Protection
commercial wipes can only detect re q u i re
contamination at or above 0.5 mg of
say most recovered stolen cars
certifications for providers who offer
meth per 100 square centimeters,
show signs of drug use. Anecdotally,
drug remediation services. DEC’s list
which is five times more than the level
Alaska State Troopers see a similar
of “sampling and decontamination
Alaska allows for structures involved
pattern, but they don’t keep statistics
equipment providers” comingles
in meth production.
tracking
when
at least three different types of
“We cannot put families and
vehicles are recovered, there’s drug
businesses: those selling equipment,
children—the next generation of
paraphernalia,”
says.
including
PPE;
those
offering
families and elders—in homes that
“That’s definitely something that we
sampling
and
testing
services;
are contaminated,” MacDonald says.
see across the state.”
and a handful that actually do
“That’s just unfathomable to me.
Brent Olsen, owner of Northern
decontamination. However, some
We can’t put people in dirty homes.
Lights Detailing, says his company
sources for this article note that they
Our mission is to put people in
sees about five recovered vehicles
don’t appear on DEC’s list and don’t
safe, affordable housing. And that’s
a week, during summer months.
advertise drug decontamination.
not safe.”
Detailing owner Jacob Waddell Brown
it.
“Many
32 | October 2026
times
McDaniel
Alaska
does
not
Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com
Congratulation Bill! Watterson Construction Co. would like to congratulate our founder Bill Watterson on his upcoming retirement. We wish you well and thank you for the leadership and knowledge you have shared over the last 45 years.
www.akbizmag.com
Alaska Business
October 2026 | 33
Alaska Pacif ic Universit y
E D U C AT I O N
APU, an Alaska Native University
Anchorage school pursues its own tribal college model
F
By Alexandra Kay or Alaska Pacific University
accessible to all, that would cultivate
from tribal governance but by
(APU), being called an Alaska
Indigenous
rooted
leaning into it. The timing matters:
Native university is not a
in Alaska. That founding vision
Federal Tribal College designation
marketing label. It is the organizing
resurfaced in 2016, when APU
requires a student body more than
principle
became tribally governed through
50 percent American Indian or
overhaul that is reshaping how the
a
Alaska
Alaska Native, and APU currently
small Anchorage school defines
Native Tribal Health Consortium. It
runs between 30 and 38 percent.
itself, who has a seat at its table,
deepened further in 2017, when the
Rather than wait years to cross
and where its next generation of
university restructured and renewed
that threshold before making any
students will come from.
its focus on Alaska Native students.
structural change, the university
behind
a
governance
leadership
partnership
with
the
The founder of Alaska Methodist
Now, with the Alaska Native Tribal
has rolled out a new three-tier
University, as it was originally
Health Consortium stepping back
membership model, inviting tribes,
called in 1957, was Unangax̂ from
from higher education to focus
tribal organizations, and supporting
the village of Unga in the Aleutian
its resources on statewide health
partners to help govern and sustain
Islands.
Gould
services, APU is charting its own
the institution long after any single
envisioned a high-quality university,
path forward—not by walking away
partnership ends.
Peter
34 | October 2026
Gordon
Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com
Membership Structure Native
governance
isn’t
new
territory for APU. In 2019, the university crossed a smaller but related threshold—20 percent Alaska Native enrollment—earning federal recognition as an Alaska Nativeserving institution, a category nested inside the broader minority-serving
“The new governance model maintains and enhances the mission. By helping students reach their fullest potential and collaborating with partners, we aim to address real-world challenges and create meaningful change for the benefit of all.”
institution designation.
Janelle Vanasse, President, Alaska Pacific University
At the time, then-APU President Robert
Onders
described
the
enrollment number as the easy part.
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The harder, longer transformation, he said, was incorporating Indigenous
Championships. Community. Opportunity
knowledge and governance into the university’s actual structure, a process APU was still only beginning. Seven
years
l a t e r,
that
transformation is still underway, led by Onders’ successor. “This new membership model represents an important next step in APU’s journey as a self-defined Alaska Native University,” says APU President Janelle Vanasse. “It deepens our partnerships with Alaska’s tribes and supporting organizations, ensuring
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that Alaska Native leadership and knowledge continue to guide our governance and vision.” The new structure sorts partners into
three
tiers:
stewardship,
associate, and allied. Stewardship membership, reserved for tribes
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and tribal organizations, carries a $100,000 annual commitment and the right to appoint a trustee directly to APU’s board. Associate membership is also limited to tribes and tribal organizations, but it carries no financial minimum; it’s meant as a way for a tribe to formally sanction APU as its Alaska Native university without a dollar figure attached. Allied membership, open to non-tribal entities and individual
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Alaska Business
October 2026 | 35
twelve years old, and Alaska Native
commitment. Associate and allied members can nominate a trustee for an at-large board seat, while a onetime unrestricted gift of $2 million or more secures twenty years of membership outright. “It
deepens
our
partnerships
with Alaska’s tribes and supporting organizations,” Susan Anderson, APU’s senior liaison for membership and external relationships, says of the model, “ensuring that Alaska’s Native leadership and knowledge continue to guide our governance and
vision.
These
members
are core to our Alaska Native university vision.” “Community
engagement
and
impact are at the heart of our mission,” Vanasse says. “The new governance model maintains and enhances the mission. By helping students reach their fullest potential and collaborating with partners, we
corporations and tribes regularly
“APU works
sponsor rising employees through it.
directly with our partners to identify needs and explore
APU’s
nursing
program
grew
out of a similar need, identified directly by tribal health providers. In Bethel, APU partners with the Yukon Kuskokwim Health Corporation and
opportunities to
Yuut Elitnaurviat to deliver licensed
fill those needs
partnership trains registered nurses
collectively… It
practical nurse training. A parallel in
Utqiaġvik
alongside
Samuel
Simmonds Memorial Hospital and
all starts with
Iḷisaġvik College.
a conversation
partners to identify needs and
with the tribes
needs collectively,” Anderson says.
and tribal
“APU works directly with our explore opportunities to fill those “It all starts with a conversation with the tribes and tribal organizations to
organizations to
identify needs.”
identify needs.”
certification
APU
has
also
built
teacher-
pathways
tailored
to rural school districts facing shortages,
along
with
an
aim to address real-world challenges
Susan Anderson
and create meaningful change for the
Senior Liaison for Membership
environmental public health program
and External Relationships
designed around the changing needs
Alaska Pacific University
of rural communities. The university
benefit of all.”
One Student’s Path
is now working with partners on
Tyler Young’s path through APU is a
entry-level business roles and cultural
case study in what that engagement
as meaningful. “Being around other
tourism, an area where APU has
looks like. Young, who is Sugpiaq on
students and engaging with the APU
already run ethical guide training
his father’s side and Tsimshian on his
community more deeply has been
aimed at preparing guides, Native
mother’s side, enrolled at APU in 2019
really positive,” Young told APU for
and non-Native alike, to represent
while working in trauma-informed
a profile the university shared on his
Indigenous
care at Southcentral Foundation.
experience, crediting instructors and
responsibly to visitors.
He started in the Alaska Native
advisors whom he feels are setting
governance program before realizing
him up well for the work ahead.
his calling was elsewhere, eventually
land
and
culture
Indigenous-Led, Not Indigenous-Only
shifting into counseling psychology,
Filling the Gaps
The university describes itself
a field he says lets him extend the
The governance model is also built
as a gathering place where Alaska
healing work already central to his
to serve workforce needs directly.
Native knowledge leads, all students
own life and to his Indigenous values
Stewardship members, in particular,
belong, and Indigenous and Western
around being a good relative.
use their relationships with APU to
approaches
Young began his coursework online
train their own employees for specific
grow leaders for the next seven
during the COVID-19 pandemic and
gaps. The Alaska Native Executive
generations.
didn’t move to in-person classes
Leadership program is the longest-
“This model helps all students
until fall 2025, a shift he describes
running example. It’s more than
who are seeking a quality, highly
36 | October 2026
come
together
to
Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com
interactive education opportunity
Cook Inlet Region, Inc. President Tabetha Toloff and CEO Swami Iyer share their talent and experience with Alaska Pacific University students.
that feels like a family,” Vanasse says. Students consistently report feeling
Alaska Pacif ic Universit y
connected at APU, she notes, and professors and staff who genuinely care about them, something she says resonates especially with students from rural Alaska seeking a small, personalized, hands-on environment. Looking ahead, Anderson describes APU’s goal less as a single metric than sustained partnership. “Alaska Pacific University is committed to being a purpose-driven institution, focused on creating positive impacts in
the
community,”
she
says.
“Through partnerships with member organizations, APU will align its
keeps the university tied directly to
across the Alaska communities the
efforts with the needs and well-being
the regions it serves.
university exists to serve—a view Anderson shares.
of local communities.” That means
For Vanasse, success comes down
continued research and projects
to reach: more students moving
That growth is already showing up
benefiting Alaska’s environment,
through APU’s programs, and a
outside the humanities and health
health, and economy, work she says
bigger,
fields where APU has traditionally
www.akbizmag.com
more
lasting
Alaska Business
footprint
October 2026 | 37
built its reputation. Last year, NASA awarded the university nearly $5 million to establish a Microplastics Research and Education Center on its Anchorage campus, funded through a federal program aimed at strengthening science capacity and workforce diversity at minorityserving institutions. The grant is building out APU’s existing Alaska and Arctic Waterways Analytics Lab, working toward accreditation to test the state’s waterways—including traditional drinking water sources— for microplastics and, eventually, PFAS contamination. Alaska Native and rural communities are central to the project’s design, and the students involved get funded research roles and internships alongside NASA scientists, the same workforcepipeline model already at work in
APU’s
nursing
and
teacher-
certification programs. Microplastics research is a small The spring 2025 cohort of students seeking an associate degree in nursing. The school also trains licensed practical nurses, and a bridge program helps them level up as registered nurses Alaska Pacif ic Universit y
example of what “widening the mission” can look like beyond the governance chart: research money and expertise that might otherwise have
gone
to
an
out-of-state
university land in Alaska instead, run by and for the state it studies. Anderson and Vanasse describe that same principle as driving the membership model. Time is still ticking toward the 50
percent
Native
enrollment
threshold. APU’s board can apply for federal tribal college status the moment enrollment crosses it, and Vanasse estimates it’s roughly eight years out, given APU’s current growth rate. Until then, though, a tribe doesn’t Rural students in the Tumyaraa Summer Bridge program, a two-week college prep course for Alaska Native 10th and 11th graders that awards credit for academic classes, cultural participation, and field trips around the Anchorage area.
need to wait on a number to help run
Alaska Pacif ic Universit y
classrooms.
38 | October 2026
the university, appoint a trustee, or send its own workforce through APU’s Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com
www.akbizmag.com
Alaska Business
October 2026 | 39
D E AT H C A R E
Everyone’s a Customer
Rachel Bernhardt
Businesses providing end-of-life options By Sam Davenport
A
“Most of the families we serve
“The state rate is a little bit lower
Saint
are looking at what we call simple
[than the national rate] because the
Patrick’s Catholic Church
cremation, immediate cremation.
Alaska Native population hasn’t really
Richardson
They’re going to do services on their
embraced the cremation concept,”
National Cemetery, and Angelus
own, celebrations of life on their own.
Hasara says.
Memorial Park: the final resting
But we have the ability to do viewings
nchorage Park
Memorial
C e m e t e r y,
Columbarium,
Fort
places for residents of Alaska’s
and
largest city are filling up. Roughly
followed by cremation,” he says.
complete
funeral
services,
The
Cremation Association
of
North America reports 62.8 percent as the national average in 2025, and
14,000 people are buried at the city-
Hasara says Cremation Society of
77.4 percent for Canada. Hasara
owned Anchorage Memorial Park
Alaska representatives have been
came from Minnesota and says that
Cemetery, which is almost out of
attending
Assembly
state had a 20 percent cremation
space for its traditional burial plots.
meetings for more than a decade
rate at the time. Now, it’s more than
While the city races to alleviate an
to inform them that the cemetery
50 percent.
above-ground housing shortage, the
is running out of space. “I think it is
He says the United States cremation
dearly departed are also in need of
a lack of understanding on the part
rate is rapidly growing and has
alternative abodes for the hereafter.
of people,” Hasara says. “But at the
become more prevalent.
To Ashes Dominic Hasara is the co-founder,
Anchorage
same time, our government and
“We are a mobile society, where
the forces that be are doing nothing
people don’t grow up and live their
about it. They see no priority.”
whole life in the same place,” Hasara
president, and general manager of
Hasara says Alaska has a 60
says. “We move around. And with
Cremation Society of Alaska, a family-
percent cremation rate, meaning the
cremation, you can be cremated, and
owned funeral home founded in 2007.
percentage of the population who
those cremains can be transported to
The Cremation Society of Alaska has
opt for cremation is greater than
wherever. They can be buried in the
locations in Anchorage and Wasilla.
traditional burial methods.
hometown cemetery, back where you
40 | October 2026
Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com
grew up, or they can be buried here in Alaska—they can be scattered.” In Alaska, Hasara says people planning their final wishes isn’t as prominent as other states, but it is growing. “I probably get about ten calls a week just with people inquiring about pre-planning services,” Hasara
“There is this general phobia that we have of dying in general, but it’s something that we are all going to deal with, and then we don’t.” Rachel Bernhardt, Founder and Board President, Alaska Natural Burial
says. “It could be just a simple call just trying to ask about the price of cremation and they’re thinking about it. And then there’s people that go as far as wanting to get all the wishes written down, everything in order, and being paid for everything in advance.”
End-of-Life Allies Brehan Corveau is an end-oflife doula and the president of the Alaska End-Of-Life Alliance, a coalition dedicated to making conversations about death a normal, accessible part of life in Alaska. While the organization doesn’t directly provide funeral services, it makes space to offer community education and an open and honest dialogue about dying.
Corveau
also
volunteers
with Hospice of Anchorage and at Providence Alaska Medical Center with the No One Dies Alone program. “When I came into work one day, I took the stairs, and on the door was a posting for one of [Alaska End-OfLife Alliance’s] first meetings, and I was like, ‘This is literally a sign. I am going to this meeting by noon that day.’ I signed up for the [University of Vermont’s] doula training, and was like, ‘I am not waiting until I am retired. This is my personal interest, and I want to be more fulfilled that way,’” Corveau says. She completed the University of Vermont’s doula training program, but she likes to refer to herself as a deathcare educator instead www.akbizmag.com
Alaska Business
October 2026 | 41
Rachel Bernhardt is the founder of Flameless Cremation Services, a water cremation service in Midtown Anchorage offering services for animals.
published a report in April that said
Rachel Bernhardt
over the last fifteen years. Alaskans
the number of Alaskans over the age of 65 has more than doubled 75-years-old or older account for 5 percent of the state’s population, which is expected to double over the next fifteen years. Because of Alaska’s aging population, RaymondYakoubian anticipates more services providing deathcare support, and she says the ball needs to start rolling now to offer those options. “I think that there are a lot of options for things that are not available to us in Alaska that are available in other states,” RaymondYakoubian says. “We don’t have access to aquamation for humans, natural organic reduction for humans. We don’t have medical aid in dying. You know, there are these things
of a doula, a role mostly but not
She works with humans as well as
that are available in other places that
exclusively related to childbirth.
companion animals.
Alaska is just starting to try and catch of
up with. And I am a firm believer we
Rest with Radiance, which provides
Vermont’s doula training program
should have all the options available
emotional, physical, and spiritual
that
to us—and that it is up to us to make
support to Alaskans and families of
Raymond-Yakoubian says that there
Alaskans during or after death.
are five D’s that should trigger an
Corveau and Raymond-Yakoubian
“That’s the part of it that I enjoy the
updated advance directive: deaths,
are also both on the board of
most and what I’ve been asked more
divorces, disabilities, a new decade of
directors for End-of-Life Options
to participate in,” Corveau says.
your life, or a new diagnosis.
Alaska, a group of Alaskans who
Corveau has her own practice,
She says there are plenty of
She
“A
leads
the
Corveau
lot
of
University
completed,
people
are
the decision about what we want.”
just
provide education and encourage
free conversation starter guides
uncomfortable
the
public discussions about medical
and resources available, like Five
conversations,” Raymond-Yakoubian
aid in dying, also known as assisted
Wishes—a
says. “I think Alaska needs to make
suicide or death with dignity. Medical
Alaska
these conversations more accessible
aid in dying allows terminally ill or
Advance Health Care Directive Form
and more available to people to have,
mentally competent adults with six
from the state.
and that’s like a lot of what [Corveau]
months or less to live to voluntarily
Also on the Alaska End-Of-Life
and I do, and some of our colleagues
and legally request, receive, and
Alliance board is Julie Raymond-
are talking to people all the time.
self-administer a medication to
Yakoubian, a home funeral guide
Like, these are the things you need to
accelerate their death in a humane
with her own practice, The Ritual
know. This is what a death doula is.”
way.
directive
simplified option—or
advance
the
with
and
Medical
aid
in
dying
is
authorized in thirteen states and
Bough in Girdwood, where she offers end-of-life doula services, home
Options Available
Washington, DC, but not Alaska.
funeral guide services, and ritual and
Alaska’s aging population continues
In 2001, the Alaska Supreme Court
ceremony-related services that don’t
to climb. The Alaska Department of
ruled that the privacy clause in the
have to be death or dying related.
Labor and Workforce Development
state constitution did not override
42 | October 2026
Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com
the state’s interest in prohibiting
from Moen Park—surrounded by the
physicians from harming patients.
Potter Marsh Watershed Park.
Legislation to permit physicians to
Rachel Bernhardt is the founder
assist patients in ending their lives
and
board
president
of
Alaska
has been proposed but not passed.
Natural Burial, an Anchorage-based
so
organization honoring the cycles of
independent, and everyone is very
life and death through environmental
focused on, ‘It is my choice to do X Y
conservation
or Z thing,’ whether it has to do with
practices. “There’s nothing non-
dying or not,” Raymond-Yakoubian
biodegradable
states. “I am optimistic. I don’t know
Bernhardt says. “So the human body
how soon it will happen. You know,
can go in there. Any kind of joint
there is a lot of grassroots support
replacements and stuff—that is going
building that needs to be done, and
to go in there, too. But the idea is that
education that needs to be done
the clothing that they are wearing
about what this actually means.”
doesn’t have zippers or any metal.
“For
Alaskans,
we
are
and in
sustainable the
ground,”
The shroud or casket that they are
To Dust By whatever manner Alaskans’
in is going to be something that is readily biodegradable.”
lives end, a new deathcare option is
Bernhardt describes it as the
taking shape. Alaska Natural Burial
first of its kind in the state with an
is developing a cemetery in south
estimated capacity for more than
Anchorage—across Golden View Drive
2,000 natural graves. The nonprofit’s
www.akbizmag.com
Alaska Business
“I think that there are a lot of options for things that are not available to us in Alaska that are available in other states… I am a firm believer we should have all the options available to us— and that it is up to us to make the decision about what we want.” Julie Raymond-Yakoubian Owner, The Ritual Bough
October 2026 | 43
Flameless Cremation Services, a water
Rachel Bernhardt says the Alaska Natural Burial site above Potter Marsh would be the first of its kind in the state and have an estimated capacity for more than 2,000 natural graves.
cremation (using warm water and a natural alkaline solutions to break down remains) service for animals. In addition to dogs and cats,
Rachel Bernhardt
Bernhardt
and
her
staff
have
conducted water cremations for pigs, goats, mini horses, and large and exotic pets. She eventually wants to expand the business to include people. “There’s no kind of clear path forward. It is a little daunting, actually, but the intention is we will just adhere to any regulations that currently exist about running a
The Anchorage Assembly approved the project in June of this year.
regular
crematory,
a
flame
crematory,” Bernhardt says. “So we need to have a licensed funeral
Rachel Bernhardt
director on staff. We need to be registered as a funeral home. All of those things.” In addition to her deathcare business and nonprofit, Bernhardt promotes community awareness. She participates in “Death Cafés,” monthly talks at the library to challenge taboos around end-of-life issues and explore burial options. “There is this general phobia that we have of dying website outlines decades of work
“It’s something that’s really still very
in general, but it’s something that we
relating to the 9.6-acre parcel, which
familiar, but embracing also the idea
are all going to deal with, and then
was owned by the Municipality of
of letting families be involved, in
we don’t,” Bernhardt says. “We are all
Anchorage’s Heritage Land Bank.
actively participating with lowering
just kind of dooming ourselves to be
In June, the Anchorage Assembly
the body into the ground, backfilling
in these little segregated cells of grief
voted to transfer the land to Alaska
the grave, all of that kind of hands-on
and misery.”
Natural Burial, after voters in 2024
stuff… It’s really super transformative
Bernhardt worked with organ and
rejected a bond proposition to
for families to play a physical role in
tissue donation programs for years,
fund development of two new city
doing that, whatever that is—if it’s
which led to her career surrounded by
cemeteries. Bernhardt says Alaska
just one shovelful of dirt.”
mementos of mortality. Demystifying
Natural Burial is just waiting on the
Bernhardt first became interested
death is now her life. She shares, “I
municipality to draft the deed to
in deathcare after reading an article
was at a family’s house yesterday.
move forward on the parcel.
about human composting. She says
I was present for the euthanasia of
hear
that sent her down the rabbit hole,
their animal, and then I was there
[about] natural burial, they think it
where she began to learn about
for another two hours, and there
is something drastically different,
end-of-life care in Alaska. In addition
was room for laughter. There is room
but it is just burial without all the
to her work with Alaska Natural
for joy and all sorts of unexpected
extra nonsense,” Bernhardt says.
Burial, Bernhardt is the founder of
emotions to kind of come in.”
“I
think
when
44 | October 2026
people
Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com
Self-Determination for Community Benefit Creating local opportunity and generating revenue to benefit our community.
CHINANGAMINGHALL 20813 BIRCHWOOD SPUR RD., CHUGIAK, AK chinancasino.com
NONPROFIT
Corporate engagement is just good business
Alaska Communications
Community Investments By Tracy Barbour
A
laska businesses go above
communities that support their
investing in nonprofits that support
and beyond to make a
operations, Wolf says. Philanthropy
Alaska’s next generation, according
tangible impact through
is also good for business, especially
to Senior Manager of Corporate
community support. To strengthen
when
employee
Communications Heather Marron. In
the communities they serve, they
retention. “We see companies invest
addition to scholarships, the program
contribute via major donations,
in Alaskan communities because
directs $25 for each new internet
employee-driven volunteerism, or
that’s what makes their employees
subscription during the campaign
long-term partnerships.
feel connected and want to stay and
to a youth-focused nonprofit, up to
work,” Wolf says.
$15,000 per year.
Alaska has a strong culture of
it
comes
to
“Now in its sixteenth year, Summer
charitable giving and community
Strategic, CommunityFocused Giving
service, a tradition that’s reflected in
both
formal
and
informal
of Heroes has awarded scholarships to ninety-eight outstanding youth
companies
representing more than thirty Alaska
decade, the state has consistently
are embracing more intentional
communities,” Marron says. “Along
ranked
in
approaches to philanthropy to foster
the way, we’ve received more than
volunteerism, according to Laurie
positive change throughout the state.
700 nominations and contributed
Wolf, president and CEO of The
Alaska
Foraker Group, a statewide nonprofit
signature
community
youth-focused nonprofits.
support organization. “I think that
relations program, Summer
Our current partner and
really speaks to the generosity of
of
good
beneficiary of our donation
Alaskans—and that’s just the formal
example.
statewide
is Big Brothers Big Sisters
volunteerism we have captured,”
initiative celebrates young
of Alaska.”
she says. “When we show up as
Alaskans (ages 6 to 18)
The
volunteers, which is a form of giving
who make a difference
volunteerism. For more than a fifth
in
the
nation
Across
industries,
Heroes,
and community investment, it has a
in
huge impact.”
Summer
more than $250,000 to
Communications’
their
is
The
a
communities.
Alaska Communications
small,
donations
strategic
approach
individual
into
a
more
shaped
by
Heroes
financial
re c o g n i z i n g
positive
actions,
customer and employee feedback.
contributions, in-kind donations, or
encouraging
community-minded
“Our research told us they wanted
employee volunteerism, it’s important
behavior, helping students pursue
us to support youth and education
for companies to give back to the
education through scholarships, and
and create something with statewide
t h ro u g h
46 | October 2026
about
from
evolved
of
Whether
is
Heather Marron
program
Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com
reach, reflecting our role as a statewide communications provider,” Marron explains. “This year, we received interest from nine rural Alaska communities that haven’t been represented in prior years of the program.” For
the
first
fifteen
years,
“We see companies invest in Alaskan communities because that’s what makes their employees feel connected and want to stay and work.”
Summer of Heroes supported Boys
Laurie Wolf, President and CEO, The Foraker Group
& Girls Clubs – Alaska. When the organization reduced its geographic footprint and service levels, Alaska Communications employees again helped guide the program’s future. “Their input led us to partner with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Alaska beginning with the 2026 campaign,” Marron says.
Expanding Impact Statewide As one of its most impactful initiatives in 2026, First National Bank Alaska broadened its charitable reach by partnering with the Federal Home Loan Bank of Des Moines
CORPORATE EVENTS THAT
MAKE AN
IMPACT.
Banquets, employee recognition, executive retreats, & much more!.
through its Member Impact Fund matching
grant
program.
The
collaboration resulted in $364,000 being awarded to thirteen nonprofit organizations statewide, according
(907) 302-2323 info@toastofthetownak.com ToastOfTheTownAK.com
to Tina Lynch, First National’s fair lending manager
and
quality
and
CRA
assurance officer,
a
position that exists because of the Community Reinvestment Act, a 1977 federal anti-discrimination law. “These organizations strengthen our communities by addressing critical needs, including affordable housing, homelessness, children’s welfare, and community health,” Lynch
says.
partnership,
“ T h ro u g h we
invested
this in
organizations making a meaningful difference, helping more individuals and families have access to resources
@ToastOfTheTownAK
and support.” www.akbizmag.com
Alaska Business
October 2026 | 47
First National contributes nearly $1
fits current needs. When the time
mental health hotline] information
million annually through donations
comes, they deliver health education
more accessible.”
and
sponsorships.
on a wide range of topics, hold a
“These investments reflect more
traditional health fair, and host a
than
c o r p o ra t e financial
Employee Participation Drives Impact
community meal.
support;
To reach the locations,
they represent the bank’s
Employee
engagement
is
a
to
the health providers travel
powerful force behind corporate
meaningful
aboard a tugboat chartered
giving. For example, GCI provides
relationships and improving
by Edison Chouest Offshore.
employees with sixteen hours of paid
the lives of the people we
“Getting everyone there and
volunteer time each year, which they
serve,”
back safely takes real focus,”
use to support everything from youth
Dugan says. “It’s truly an all-
sports to food drives.
ongoing
dedication
building
Lynch
says.
“As
an Alaska-based financial
Tina Lynch
institution, First National
First National Bank Alaska
remains
making
GCI’s Suicide Prevention Fund is
thoughtful decisions that support
another example of targeted, long-
the
individuals, families, and businesses
term investment that addresses a
and local organizations that make
for the long term.”
serious need. Suicide has deeply
Alaska feel like home. “Some of
affected families and communities
our most meaningful community
committed
to
Alyeska Pipeline Service Company
hands-on-deck event.”
For
many
GCI
employees,
community support is about helping neighbors,
schools,
teams,
long-standing
across Alaska, and ten years
partnerships
commitments to community well-
ago GCI decided to be part
because
being. For more than two decades,
of the solution, according
was already involved and
the company has coordinated the
to Senior Program Manager
wanted to bring others
Prince William Sound Traveling
of
along,” Vassar says. “That’s
Health Fair. The effort began when
Events Tiffany Vassar. “We
when
a local public health nurse asked
partnered with the Alaska
more than a donation; it
for help reaching the rural coastal
Community
communities she served. “We had
to create the GCI Suicide
the vessels and logistics to reach
Prevention Fund, which, over the
places that are tough to get to,”
past decade, has invested more than
strengthens Alaska Communications’
explains Alyeska Pipeline’s Valdez
$1 million in local organizations that
community support programs. In
Community and Public Relations
know their communities best and are
fact, it’s one of the reasons these
Manager Kate Dugan. “We said ‘yes,’
leading the work to prevent suicide
programs have been so successful,
and twenty-plus years later that
and
according
partnership is still going strong.”
Vassar says.
also
maintains
Contributions
promote
and
Foundation
mental
Tiffany Vassar GC I
wellness,”
an
started employee
giving
becomes
becomes neighbors helping neighbors.” Employee
involvement
to
Marron.
also
Because
employees
helped
Each year, Alyeska Pipeline leads
GCI supports programs focused on
programs,
they
a group of health and wellness
prevention, intervention, and post-
engaged.
Through
providers
vention, from building connection
Heroes, for instance, employees
and
providing
nominate deserving youth from their
training
personal networks, including family
from
partners
such
as the regional tribal nonprofit
awareness
to
shape
remain
these
actively
Summer
of
Chugachmiut, Providence
evidence-based
Alaska, the Alaska Native
and
Vassar
members. “One of the employee
Tribal Health Consortium,
says, “What we’ve learned
benefits of Summer of Heroes is that
and the communities of
over the last decade is that
we hold aside one scholarship for a
Tatitlek
connection,
education,
youth related to an employee,” she
Planning begins months
and
can
notes. “We see strong nominees for
in
input
lives. That’s why we’ve also
from teachers and other
worked to make resources
community members to
like
and
advance,
Chenega. with
ensure the programming 48 | October 2026
Kate Dugan
Alyeska Pipeline Ser vice Company
screenings.
training
suicide
save
this award each year.” The company also offers paid
prevention
volunteer time and an Employee
training and 988 [national
Volunteer Grant Program. In 2026
Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com
alone, it has distributed more than $10,000 in grants supporting youth development,
recreation,
arts
programs, animal welfare, basic needs services, and preservation of cultural traditions. Programs like Pack a Backpack give
Alaska
Communications
employees hands-on opportunities to
support
families
statewide.
“When employees see their ideas reflected in our community investments, they’re more likely to participate, volunteer, and advocate for the programs, which creates a ripple effect.” Heather Marron, Senior Manager of Corporate Communications, Alaska Communications
“Since launching the program in 2025, we’ve distributed more than 800 backpacks filled with school supplies through nonprofit partners in Anchorage, Fairbanks, Juneau, the Kenai Peninsula, and Oregon,” Marron says. First National employees also volunteer extensively throughout Alaska. Many of the organizations the bank supports benefit from the time and leadership of its officers, directors,
and
employees.
“By
investing in the causes employees are passionate about, we strengthen community
partnerships,
foster
e m p l oy e e
engagements,
and
help build healthier, more vibrant communities
for
all
Alaskans,”
Lynch says. The bank’s employees use their time and expertise to support a wide range of nonprofit organizations and community causes. They serve on nonprofit boards and participate in community events like Junior Achievement financial literacy classes, the United Way Anchorage’s Day of Caring, the Bean’s Café Empty Bowl Project, and Paint the Town in partnership with NeighborWorks.
How Companies Choose Where to Give When selecting charitable causes, Alaska Communications relies on customer and employee feedback. Their input is important, Marron says, www.akbizmag.com
Alaska Business
October 2026 | 49
Alaska Communications employees use paid volunteer hours to volunteer at Abused Women's Aid in Crisis in Anchorage.
Members of the GCI team at the 2025 Special Olympics Alaska Polar Plunge.
Alaska Communications
GC I
At right, Alaska Communications’ Yazmin Cortes prepares backpacks and supplies to donate to Big Brothers Big Sisters of Alaska. Alaska Communications
because they live in the communities
First National serves communities
“meaningful and responsible.” Branch
the company serves, volunteer with
statewide through online and mobile
managers are empowered to support
local organizations, coach youth
banking and a network of locations
local organizations and community
sports teams, serve on nonprofit
in nineteen Alaska communities.
events, while the bank’s Donations
boards, and understand firsthand
Consequently, the bank regularly
Committee evaluates larger statewide
where needs exist.
receives donation and sponsorship
or corporate requests.
“This approach has helped us build
requests from nonprofits working
First National carefully considers
programs that are both relevant
to improve the quality of life in
applications for support with the
and sustainable,” she says. “When
the communities it serves across
goal of maximizing the impact
employees see their ideas reflected in
the state.
of its charitable donations. “Our
our community investments, they’re
Lynch says the bank reviews
primary donation focus areas are
more likely to participate, volunteer,
requests at both the local and
youth, education, and emergency
and advocate for the programs, which
corporate
its
services,” Lynch says. “However, we
creates a ripple effect.”
charitable
a re
also invest in organizations that
50 | October 2026
levels
to
ensure
contributions
Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com
promote economic and community
BUILDING ALASKA’S FUTURE
development, arts and humanities,
TOGETHER
health, services for seniors and individuals with disabilities, and military and veterans’ programs.” Similarly, GCI focuses on areas
From a new chapter at Inlet View to projects statewide, help build what Alaska communities will rely on next.
where it believes it can make the greatest impact for Alaska: healthy communities; education and youth; digital
resilience;
and
culture,
community, and connection, Vassar says. Those priorities reflect the things that help communities thrive— strong schools, access to opportunity, support systems that improve wellbeing, and organizations that bring people together. “We are
look
deeply
for
partners
rooted
in
who
Come Build
Alaska,
With Us
understand local needs, and are creating meaningful change,” she
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emphasizes. “At the end of the day, our goal is simple: support the
A N C H O R A G E
J U N E A U
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people and organizations that are helping build a stronger, healthier, and more connected Alaska for future generations.” For Alyeska Pipeline, the decision about which causes to support comes down to a single idea: fueling
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healthy, vibrant communities where its employees and their families live and work. Dugan says, “We prioritize support for organizations that invest in and serve TAPS [Trans
Alaska
Pipeline
communities—especially
System] those
targeting health and social services, community
enrichment,
youth,
and the environment.”
Measuring Community Impact Organizations evaluate impact through
both
quantitative
and
qualitative measures, from donated dollars and volunteer hours to community
reach,
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engagement, Alaska Business
October 2026 | 51
and
GCI
long-term
looks
Alaska
beyond dollars and
Communications, for
volunteer hours to
instance, establishes
outcomes, such as
specific goals for
expanded programs
its programs and
or increased access
t ra c k s
to
outcomes.
p ro g re s s
o p p o r t u n i t y.
the
The real measure
year, according to
of success, Vassar
Marron. For Summer
says, is whether its
of Heroes, the goals
support is helping
include
organizations
t h ro u g h o u t
six
awarding
do
more for the people
scholarships
annually
and
they serve. “Did a
donating
up
student gain access
to
to
$15,000
its
Members of the GCI team at the 2025 Special Olympics Alaska Polar Plunge.
nonprofit
partner
GC I
through
to an opportunity they wouldn’t have otherwise had? Did
communities. “Since 1922, we have
a nonprofit expand a program that
The company also sets unique
remained dedicated to this mission,
meets a critical community need?
objectives to accomplish each year.
embodying the vision of former
Did a family receive support during a
“In 2026, we challenged ourselves
president D.H. Cuddy: The bank can
difficult time? Those are the outcomes
to receive nominations from at
only thrive if Alaska’s communities
that matter,” says Vassar. “When
least two communities that had
do as well,” Lynch says. She says,
our partners tell us they’re making
never previously participated in the
“We assess the effectiveness and
a greater impact because of our
program’s sixteen-year history, and
impact of our community support
support, that’s how we know we’re
we’re proud to say we far surpassed
through several lenses, including
moving in the right direction.”
that goal,” she says. “We’ve also
geographic
reach,
In reflecting on GCI’s commitment
made a significant impact over time,
employee involvement, bank focus
to community support, Vassar says
donating more than $250,000 to
areas, and the type of nonprofit
the company is “grateful” for its
youth-focused nonprofits in Alaska.”
organizations
The
nonprofit partners. “Every day we get
regularly
to see the difference they’re making
internet sales.
Alaska
Communications
also
or
regional
we
support.
Donations
Committee
ev a l u a t e s
performance
and
in communities across Alaska, and
engagement and awareness. Marron
monitors partnerships to ensure
it’s inspiring,” she says. “Alaska has
explains: “This year, the Summer of
lasting impact.”
some really extraordinary people
looks
at
broader
measures
of
Alyeska Pipeline aims for a mix
Heroes webpage became the fourth most-visited page on the Alaska
of
Communications
qualitative
and
quantitative
working to make their communities stronger, and we’re proud to stand alongside them.”
during
measurement. The company tracks
the month of May. While that wasn’t
program participation and gathers
Ultimately, giving back is more
a formal goal, it demonstrated
community feedback after events like
than a corporate responsibility, Wolf
strong
and
the Traveling Health Fair. “Beyond
says. It’s a shared commitment to
showed the program is helping
the numbers, our staff is in regular
Alaska’s economic vitality and overall
us
contact with key stakeholders around
well-being. No one sector can do it
the state,” Dugan says. “And with 94
alone—not nonprofits, government,
percent of Alyeska employees living
or corporate Alaska. “We truly need
website
community
connect
with
interest Alaskans
and
create brand awareness.” First National recognizes that ongoing
corporate
support
of
in Alaska, we definitely hear about it
one another,” she says. “It’s about
charitable
causes
continues
to
when we’re doing things well—and
creating and sustaining a rising tide
when we miss the mark.”
together.”
improve quality of life throughout its 52 | October 2026
Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com
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TO P 4 9 E R S
2026 TOP 49ERS By Tasha Anderson
T
he Top 49ers are Alaska’s largest companies, ranked by gross revenue, that were founded in Alaska, are headquartered here, and are not owned by Outside companies. As the name indicates, the ranks include forty-nine companies.
To
gather
the
data,
Alaska
revenue from 2024 to 2025, but the
in
Business invites more than 200
other 70 percent saw a gain of at
Bears Alaska in Wasilla.
companies to participate in a
least 2 percent. General contractor
survey process, in which those
Cornerstone General Contractors
approximately divided in half in
companies self-report revenue,
saw the highest jump in revenue,
terms of their business activities.
employee numbers, and updates
59 percent from 2024 to 2025.
Because of their diverse business
on leadership and noteworthy
Seven other Top 49ers—Ahtna,
lines, spanning from technology
news. The companies are also
Davis Constructors & Engineers,
to construction to security, the
asked to verify that they meet
Ukpeaġvik Iñupiat Corporation,
Alaska Native regional, village,
the Top 49ers criteria, and Alaska
Black Gold Express, Bering Straits
and
Business verifies independently that
Native Corporation, and Northrim
classified as one sector, and for
those criteria are met.
Bank—saw revenue increase more
2026 there are twenty-six Alaska
than 20 percent over 2024.
Native corporations on the list.
Once that process is complete, the companies are ranked; some
to
the
Top
urban
and
49ers
Three
are
corporations
also
are
The remaining twenty-three Top
are invited to participate in further
revenue, ASRC also has the most
49ers are in the construction
editorial coverage for the special
employees worldwide and in Alaska,
industry (five), industry support
section; and all are invited to the
17,355 and 4,108 respectively,
(five), finance (four), transportation
annual Alaska Business Top 49ers
followed closely by NANA, which
(three), utility (three), mining (two),
luncheon to celebrate.
has 14,221 worldwide and 3,160
and retail (one) sectors.
The results for 2026 are in, and
addition
The
Bay,
highest
here are a few highlights:
In
Prudhoe
Alaskan employees. As a group, the
49ers
employ
The three new Top 49ers, which
more
have never before appeared in the
The top six 49ers echo the
than 100,000 people worldwide,
ranks, are from three different
2025 ranks: Arctic Slope Regional
and approximately one-quarter
industries: Shee
Corporation (ASRC) is at #1, followed
of them are in Alaska.
Alaska Native urban corporation
by Bristol Bay Native Corporation,
Top
Atiká is the
While approximately half of the
for Sitka; Contango Silver &
Corporation,
Top 49ers are headquartered in
Gold is a mining company, with
Chenega Corporation, Lynden, and
Anchorage, the remaining half
interest in one operating mine
Calista Corporation.
NANA
Regional
are home-based throughout the
and several other projects in
As a group, the 2026 Top 49ers
state. Many of these are Native
various phases of exploration;
earned more than $30 billion in
corporations with headquarters
and Denali Universal Services
revenue in 2025, and ASRC makes
within their regions, but the list
p rov i d e s
up nearly 20 percent of that
also
services, as well as security
total, with the top five companies
Usibelli Coal Mine and Contango
accounting for nearly 50 percent.
Silver & Gold in Fairbanks, Black
Congratulations to all of the Top
of
Gold Express in North Pole, Cruz
49ers, whose efforts are powering
the 2026 Top 49ers saw a drop in
Construction in Palmer, Colville
Alaska.
Approximately
54 | October 2026
one-third
includes
companies
like
facility
and
camp
and emergency response.
Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com
Arctic Slope Regional Corporation
#1 Arctic Slope Regional Corporation
#2 Bristol Bay Native Corporation
2025 Rank: 1 | 4% Change in Revenue
2025 Rank: 2 | 5% Change in Revenue
2025 Revenue: $5,978,261,000
2025 Revenue: $3,370,140,000
2024 Revenue: $5,747,713,000
2024 Revenue: $3,211,912,000
2023 Revenue: $5,498,216,000
2023 Revenue: $3,172,056,000
2022 Revenue: $4,752,955,000
2022 Revenue: $2,725,190,000
2021 Revenue: $3,876,830,000
2021 Revenue: $2,162,939,000
Services/Products: ASRC’s diverse operations in
Services/Products: Industrial services, construction,
government contracts, industrial services, financial solutions, petroleum refining and marketing, energy support services, and construction give it the capabilities to serve a wide range of federal, commercial, industrial, and energy customers.
government services, seafood, and tourism. Employees: 6,759 Worldwide | 1,781 Statewide Year Founded in Alaska: 1972
Jason Metrokin, Pres./CEO | Anchorage | 907-278-3602 | bbnc.net
Employees: 17,355 Worldwide | 4,108 Statewide Year Founded in Alaska: 1972
Rex A. Rock Sr., Pres./CEO | Utqiaġvik | 907-852-8633 | asrc.com www.akbizmag.com
Alaska Business
October 2026 | 55
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#1 | Arctic Slope Regional Corporation Petro Star's Valdez Refinery supports Alaska's energy needs. Through the success of operating companies like Petro Star, ASRC continues to create value for shareholders while remaining grounded in our Iñupiaq values, which guide our business and stewardship responsibilities.
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#2 | Bristol Bay Native Corporation BBNC descendants Jacob and Jackson Fritze having fun in Dillingham. In 2025, BBNC shareholders voted to open enrollment to descendants. Ivan Agerton
#3 NANA Regional Corporation
#4 Chenega Corporation 2025 Rank: 4 | 10% Change in Revenue
2025 Rank: 3 | 12% Change in Revenue
2025 Revenue: $1,600,000,000 2024 Revenue: $1,460,000,000
2025 Revenue: $3,176,048,000
2023 Revenue: $1,400,000,000
2024 Revenue: $2,847,287,147
2022 Revenue: $1,280,000,000
2023 Revenue: $2,466,731,743
2021 Revenue: $1,100,000,000
2022 Revenue: $2,445,916,656
Services/Products: Chenega provides expertise and
2021 Revenue: $1,769,700,000 Services/Products: Resource development, land
management, federal contracting, engineering & design, surveying & mapping, food & facilities management, camp services, security, industrial & commercial fabrication & installation, transportation & logistics services. Employees: 14,221 Worldwide | 3,160 Statewide
support to defense, intelligence, and federal civilian customers. Through our portfolio of companies, Chenega competes in 8(a), small business, and full and open markets. Employees: 9,000 Worldwide | 100 Statewide Year Founded in Alaska: 1974
Charles W. Totemoff, Pres./CEO | Anchorage | 907-277-5706 | chenega.com
Year Founded in Alaska: 1972
John Aġnauqługaq Lincoln, Pres./CEO | Kotzebue | 907-442-3301 | nana.com 56 | October 2026
Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com
CREATING A STRONGER FUTURE
FOR OUR PEOPLE
FOR OUR STATE
From humble beginnings with three small businesses on Alaska’s North Slope, Arctic Slope Regional Corporation (ASRC) has grown into the largest business established and headquartered in Alaska, a title we have held for more than three decades. ASRC’s success creates long-term value for our shareholders, strengthens Iñupiaq economic and cultural freedom while building a resilient future for our communities, state, and nation.
www.akbizmag.com
A S RAlaska C . Business COM
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2025
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#3 | NANA NANA shareholder Jaelyn Natiġvik Kuutuuq Cleveland and her children, Chasity Paaniikaaluk Qalhaq Williams, Alvin Kituq Williams, and Kenai Aaquk Kayuqtauq Williams, enjoy a day picking tundra blueberries together near Kobuk, in the NANA region. Brian Adams
#5 Lynden
#6 Calista Corporation
2025 Rank: 5 | ≈0% Change in Revenue
2025 Rank: 6 | 17% Change in Revenue
2025 Revenue: $1,358,000,000
2025 Revenue: $1,276,772,000
2024 Revenue: $1,360,000,000
2024 Revenue: $1,089,783,000
2023 Revenue: $1,350,000,000
2023 Revenue: $968,700,000
2022 Revenue: $1,300,000,000
2022 Revenue: $788,526,000
2021 Revenue: $1,080,000,000
2021 Revenue: $722,630,000
Services/Products: The Lynden family of companies provides transportation and logistics solutions. They serve the entire state of Alaska and offer a full range of transportation options across all modes—air, land, and sea—so customers can optimize time and costs when shipping to, from, or within Alaska.
Services/Products: Calista Corporation is the parent company of 40+ subsidiaries in the industries of defense contracting, construction, real estate, environmental services, natural resource development, marine transportation, oil field services, and heavy equipment.
Employees: 2,594 Worldwide | 1,087 Statewide
Year Founded in Alaska: 1972
Year Founded in Alaska: 1954
Andrew Guy, Pres./CEO | Anchorage | 907-275-2800 | calistacorp.com
Employees: 4,995 Worldwide | 1,150 Statewide
Jim Jansen, Chairman | Anchorage | 907-245-1544 | lynden.com 58 | October 2026
Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com
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BBNC shareholders are the stewards of our region, caretakers of our cultures, investors in the next generation, and the strength behind our corporation. Together, we are determined to build a more resilient future. Bristol Bay Native Corporation, always more than a corporation.
www.akbizmag.com
Alaska Business
October 2026 | 59
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#4 | Chenega Corporation Chenega Corporation welcomed a record number of shareholder and descendant youth to Fish Camp in Prince William Sound, where they strengthened cultural connections, learned traditional skills, and built lifelong friendships. Chenega Corporation
#7 Bering Straits Native Corporation
#8 Ukpeaġvik Iñupiat Corporation
2025 Rank: 8 | 28% Change in Revenue
2025 Rank: 9 | 23% Change in Revenue
2025 Revenue: $1,185,000,000
2025 Revenue: $1,130,086,577
2024 Revenue: $925,000,000
2024 Revenue: $920,531,521
2023 Revenue: $799,000,000
2023 Revenue: $813,530,107
2022 Revenue: $543,100,000
2022 Revenue: $693,397,740
2021 Revenue: $468,215,000
2021 Revenue: $582,554,430
Services/Products: BSNC owns and operates more
Services/Products: Commercial/government services, technical/professional services, logistics support, heavy civil/vertical construction, marine construction, oil field support, architectural/ engineering, marine transportation, municipal services, lands & real estate management, vehicle rentals, sand & gravel sales.
than fifty diverse companies in government contracting, IT services, security, and more. Grounded by our mission, our focus is to offer exceptional government, commercial, and regional services. Employees: 3,887 Worldwide | 633 Statewide Year Founded in Alaska: 1972
Employees: 3,842 Worldwide | 660 Statewide
Cindy Massie, Pres. | Anchorage | 907-563-3788 | beringstraits.com
Year Founded in Alaska: 1973
Dr. Pearl K. Brower, Pres./CEO | Utqiaġvik | 907-852-4460 | uicalaska.com 60 | October 2026
Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com
Celebrating
another year among
Alaska’s Top 49ers
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#7 | Bering Straits Native Corporation BSNC celebrates the rich culture and traditions of the Bering Strait region during the 2026 Katiluta Cultural Festival, a community gathering featuring traditional dance and drumming. As a 2026 Alaska Business Top 49er, BSNC is proud to honor the people, culture, and communities at the heart of the corporation. Devan Otton
#9 Chugach Alaska Corporation
#10 Koniag 2025 Rank: 7 | -9% Change in Revenue
2025 Rank: 10 | 19% Change in Revenue
2025 Revenue: $876,697,000 2024 Revenue: $958,655,000
2025 Revenue: $964,000,000
2023 Revenue: $936,052,000
2024 Revenue: $813,500,000
2022 Revenue: $699,322,000
2023 Revenue: $775,000,000
2021 Revenue: $464,068,000
2022 Revenue: $745,000,000
Services/Products: Koniag is an Alaska Native
2021 Revenue: $783,000,000 Services/Products: Chugach has a portfolio of
complementary businesses across a range of industries including government, energy, and facilities services. Chugach also manages an investment portfolio and land and natural resource development projects in the region. Employees: 5,000 Worldwide | 500 Statewide Year Founded in Alaska: 1972
regional corporation with a diversified portfolio of businesses providing government contracting, commercial technology services, energy and water solutions, real estate development, and strategic investments. Employees: 3,175 Worldwide | 130 Statewide Year Founded in Alaska: 1972
Ron Unger, Chairman/CEO | Kodiak | 907-290-8492 | koniag.com
Sheri Buretta, Chairman | Anchorage | 907-563-8866 | chugach.com 62 | October 2026
Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com
PROSPERITY BSNC’s Prosperity with Purpose reflects its ongoing commitment to advancing the corporation in the best interests of its shareholders and descendants. Rooted in responsibility and long-term thinking, BSNC is focused on creating sustainable value, strengthening shareholder wellbeing, and ensuring decisions today support opportunity and stability for future generations.
2026
BERINGSTRAITS.COM
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#8 | Ukpeaġvik Iñupiat Corporation Members of Ukpeaġvik Iñupiat Corporation’s board of directors, executive leadership, and staff pose in front of the HC Contractors asphalt plant in North Pole during a site visit to subsidiaries HC Contractors and HC Redi-Mix.
#8
Ukpeaġvik Iñupiat Corporation
#26 | Contango Silver and Gold Building strong roots and real partnerships in Alaska, team members gathered with the community in Hatcher Pass for a ribbon cutting ceremony at the Lucky Shot project this summer. Judy Patrick
#26
#11 Global Credit Union
#12 Cook Inlet Region, Inc.
2025 Rank: 11 | 19% Change in Revenue
2025 Rank: 12 | 4% Change in Revenue
2025 Revenue: $785,283,180
2025 Revenue: $638,268,000
2024 Revenue: $662,153,643
2024 Revenue: $616,000,000
2023 Revenue: $609,795,376
2023 Revenue: $560,015,000
2022 Revenue: $544,119,473
2022 Revenue: $539,777,000
2021 Revenue: $486,106,000
2021 Revenue: $611,749,000
Comprehensive financial services for consumers and businesses, including deposits, lending, mortgages, investments, and insurance. Nearly 1,000 Alaska-based employees support members and businesses across communities throughout the state. Insured by NCUA.
Services/Products: CIRI creates shareholder value
Employees: 2,058 Worldwide | 955 Statewide
Employees: 3,000 Worldwide | 100 Statewide
Services/Products:
through a diversified portfolio of high-quality operating and financial assets. Through owned businesses and expert partnerships, it invests in government services, real estate, energy, infrastructure, IT/cyber, natural resources, private equity, and securities.
Year Founded in Alaska: 1948
Year Founded in Alaska: 1972
Geofferey Lundfelt, Pres./CEO | Anchorage | 907-563-4567 | globalcu.org
Swami Iyer, CEO | Anchorage | 907-274-8638 | ciri.com
64 | October 2026
Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com
2026
PURPOSE . PERFORMANCE. PROUD TOP 49ER. In 2025, UIC surpassed $1 billion in revenue and achieved record profit, a milestone built on disciplined strategy and a diversified portfolio. As we mark another year among Alaska’s Top 49ers, we remain focused on purposeful growth and creating lasting value for our Iñupiat shareholders and the communities we serve.
ONE BILLION STRONG U I C C O R P O R AT E | A R C T I C O P E R AT I O N S & D E V E L O P M E N T | C O M M E R C I A L S E R V I C E S GOVERNMENT CONSTRUC TION | GOVERNMENT SERVICES
u ic a l a s ka . c o m
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#9 | Chugach Alaska Corporation A natural fit: Chugach President Katherine Carlton (left) welcomes founder Jennifer Park (right) and the Copper River Fleece team as Chugach acquires the beloved Cordova apparel company in July 2026. Chugach Alaska Corporation
#13 Sealaska 2025 Rank: - | - Change in Revenue
#14 Afognak Native Corporation 2025 Rank: 13 | -6% Change in Revenue
2025 Revenue: $621,776,000 2024 Revenue: -
2025 Revenue: $540,909,000
2023 Revenue: $500,783,000
2024 Revenue: $572,583,000
2022 Revenue: $410,741,000
2023 Revenue: $624,744,000
2021 Revenue: -
2022 Revenue: $650,800,000
Services/Products: Our businesses, under the
2021 Revenue: $657,600,000
umbrella of Woocheen, LLC, help improve ocean health and mitigate climate change. They fall into three categories: government services ( e n v i ro n m e n t a l re m e d i a t i o n , construction management); geosciences (geotechnical services and analytics); and foods (sustainable seafood).
Services/Products: Afognak Native Corporation, Afognak Commercial Group, Alutiiq, LLC, and their subsidiaries offer exceptional services including leasing, timber, engineering, security, logistics, facility maintenance, retail liquor, and oil field support.
Employees: 1,320 Worldwide | 32 Statewide Year Founded in Alaska: 1972
Sarah Dybdahl, Pres. | Juneau | 907-586-1512 | sealaska.com 66 | October 2026
Employees: 2,895 Worldwide | 310 Statewide Year Founded in Alaska: 1977
Dan Corbett, CEO/Interim Pres. | Kodiak | 907-486-6014 | afognak.com Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com
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A MON G ALAS KA’S LARGES T COMPANIES
Growth That
Comes Home For more than five decades, Chugach has grown into one of Alaska’s largest and most enduring companies. The stronger we grow, the more opportunity returns to our shareholders and descendants.
2026
Among Alaska’s Top 10 for more than two decades. Named a Best Place to Work in Alaska.
See where Chugach is headed.
CHUGACH.COM www.akbizmag.com
Alaska Business
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#10 | Koniag Koniag and the Kodiak Area Native Association unveiled a new sculpture in Kodiak in May 2025. Created by local artist Mark Witteveen, the 22-foot sculpture symbolizes unity, cultural heritage, and the enduring connection of Sugpiaq people to the lands and waters of the Kodiak region. Koniag
#15 Goldbelt Incorporated
#16 Three Bears Alaska
2025 Rank: 14 | 5% Change in Revenue
2025 Rank: 15 | 9% Change in Revenue
2025 Revenue: $503,587,222
2025 Revenue: $490,809,000
2024 Revenue: $481,000,000
2024 Revenue: $448,746,192
2023 Revenue: $404,211,538
2023 Revenue: $297,715,012
2022 Revenue: $404,023,096
2022 Revenue: $386,814,000
2021 Revenue: $497,000,000
2021 Revenue: $323,438,062
Services/Products: Tourism, government contracting,
Services/Products: Retail grocery; beer, wine, and
cybersecurity, facility management, IT consulting, transportation, security services, logistics, engineering, and construction.
spirits; general merchandise; sporting goods; pharmacy; Ace Hardware; and fuel.
Employees: 2,421 Worldwide | 241 Statewide
Year Founded in Alaska: 1980
Year Founded in Alaska: 1974
Paul Sonnenberg, Pres./CEO | Wasilla | 907-357-4311 | threebearsalaska.com
Employees: 1,312 Worldwide | 1,257 Statewide
McHugh Pierre, Pres./CEO | Juneau | 907-790-4990 | goldbelt.com 68 | October 2026
Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com
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#13 | Sealaska Bamby James and Brandon Ware, with assistance from Jaxon Shilts, carry the Kadashan Totem Pole. Cedar Group
#6 | Calista Corporation 2025 Calista Interns with Calista Corporation President/CEO Andrew Guy. Russ Slaten | Calista Corporation
#14 | Afognak Native Corporation The Afognak Center on Near Island provides a welcoming space for shareholders and local organizations. Afognak Native Corporation
#13
#17 Ahtna, Inc.
#18 Olgoonik Corporation
2025 Rank: 19 | 21% Change in Revenue
2025 Rank: 18 | 18% Change in Revenue
2025 Revenue: $447,851,777
2025 Revenue: $442,000,000
2024 Revenue: $369,429,741
2024 Revenue: $375,000,000
2023 Revenue: $357,395,348
2023 Revenue: $325,400,000
2022 Revenue: $324,900,009
2022 Revenue: $262,500,000
2021 Revenue: $324,071,788
2021 Revenue: $259,700,000
Administrative and management, base and facilities operations, construction, environmental services, government contracting, logistics and p ro c u re m e n t , re s o u rc e d ev e l o p m e n t , environmental housekeeping, and security and investigative services.
Services/Products:
Services/Products:
Employees: 1,031 Worldwide | 375 Statewide
We have built a strong reputation for work in commercial construction, overland transport, oil field support, well site remediation, and remote logistics and operations. Employees: 1,567 Worldwide | 85 Statewide Year Founded in Alaska: 1973
Mike Mora, CEO Anchorage 907-562-8728 | olgoonik.com
Year Founded in Alaska: 1972
Kathryn Martin, Interim Pres. Glennallen 907-822-3476 | ahtna.com
70 | October 2026
Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com
2025 Rank: 17 | 5% Change in Revenue 2025 Revenue: $415,161,644 2024 Revenue: $394,826,796 2023 Revenue: $380,000,000 2022 Revenue: $275,000,000
#6
2021 Revenue: $231,893,388
Government contracting; IT; ops & maintenance; training & logistics; environmental remediation; engineering, prototyping, manufacturing; land & resource management; commercial real estate, brokerage services, property management; fuel & port services; hospitality & tourism; retail; renewable energy. Services/Products:
Employees: 1,251 Worldwide | 235 Statewide Year Founded in Alaska: 1972
Skoey Vergen, Pres./CEO Anchorage 907-561-4300 | aleutcorp.com
#14
Building Alaska for over 40 years
• Heavy Civil • Oil Field • Marine Transportation • Camps
PALMER : 907.746.3144 | DEADHORSE: 907.670.2506 | KENAI: 907.283.1085 ONLINE AT CRUZCONSTRUCT.COM www.akbizmag.com
Alaska Business
October 2026 | 71
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#19 Aleut
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#15 | Goldbelt Incorporated The future site of Goldbelt Aaní, a modern cruise destination on Douglas Island. Christian Gomez
#25 | Northrim Bank Northrim Bank's senior and executive leadership team. Amber Johnson | Chris Arends Photography
#5 | Lynden Lynden employees helped move construction materials in support of Typhoon Halong relief efforts.
#15
Lynden
#43 | Credit Union 1 Credit Union 1 celebrated the grand opening of its Skagway branch in April 2025. Tatum Buss | Strategies 360
#25
#20 Chugach Electric Association
#21 Tyonek Native Corporation
2025 Rank: 20 | 5% Change in Revenue
2025 Rank: 21 | -5% Change in Revenue
2025 Revenue: $375,700,000
2025 Revenue: $323,800,000
2024 Revenue: $358,400,000
2024 Revenue: $341,146,301
2023 Revenue: $362,700,000
2023 Revenue: $330,300,000
2022 Revenue: $354,400,000
2022 Revenue: $308,787,701
2021 Revenue: $354,500,000
2021 Revenue: $289,709,829
Services/Products:
safe, affordable, nearly 89,000 Alaskans.
Chugach reliable
provides power to
Employees: 450 Worldwide | 450 Statewide Year Founded in Alaska: 1948
Arthur Miller, CEO Anchorage 907-762-4489 | chugachelectric.com
Services/Products: TNC specializes in aerospace and
defense manufacturing, aircraft maintenance, modification and overhaul, cyber security training, land management of more than 190,000 acres in the Cook Inlet region, construction services, and oil and gas services support. Employees: 1,545 Worldwide | 16 Statewide Year Founded in Alaska: 1973
Stephen Peskosky, CEO | Anchorage | 907-272-0707 | tyonek.com
72 | October 2026
Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com
2025 Rank: 22 | 6% Change in Revenue 2025 Revenue: $303,107,045 2024 Revenue: $286,714,618 2023 Revenue: $229,313,841 2022 Revenue: $191,855,472 2021 Revenue: $182,286,396
#5
Services/Products: Construction, federal contracting
services, IT/cyber security, fire suppression/life safety, hospitality (Bristol Inn and Bayside Diner), residential and commercial real estate. Employees: 530 Worldwide | 102 Statewide Year Founded in Alaska: 1972
Cameron Poindexter, Pres./CEO | Dillingham | 907-842-5218 | choggiung.com
#43
FOR the BENEFIT of OUR PEOPLE. FOR the BENEFIT of ALL PEOPLE.
www.akbizmag.com
Alaska Business
October 2026 | 73
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#22 Choggiung, Limited
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#34 | Huna Totem Corporation At Huna Totem Corporation, communities and culture are as important as growth of the business. Huna Totem Corporation
#18 | Olgoonik Corporation Team Olgoonik has extensive experience with well plugging and abandonment projects. Judy Patrick
#28 | Cape Fox Corporation In 2025, Cape Fox Cultural Foundation unveiled new street signs around Ketchikan. The new signs are in Tlingit and English, as shown here. Cape Fox Corporation
#34
#23 Davis Constructors & Engineers | Mass Excavation
#24 First National Bank Alaska
2025 Rank: 24 | 22% Change in Revenue
2025 Rank: 23 | -3% Change in Revenue
2025 Revenue: $288,209,645
2025 Revenue: $265,700,000
2024 Revenue: $236,296,491
2024 Revenue: $272,533,000
2023 Revenue: $207,928,281
2023 Revenue: $240,244,000
2022 Revenue: $188,943,940
2022 Revenue: $184,630,000
2021 Revenue: $133,579,001
2021 Revenue: $171,091,000
Services/Products: Davis Constructors & Engineers
Friendly, knowledgeable Alaskans provide a full range of personal, business, wealth management, and digital banking services. With 28 locations in 19 communities, First National Bank Alaska combines local decision-making with personalized service to help Alaskans achieve their financial goals.
offers complete project management services to assist with design and construction of all types of building projects. We have completed more than $2.9 billion in Alaska projects. Employees: 225 Worldwide | 225 Statewide Year Founded in Alaska: 1976
Luke Blomfield, Pres. | Anchorage | 907-562-2336 | davisconstructors.com
Services/Products:
Employees: 639 Worldwide | 621 Statewide Year Founded in Alaska: 1922
Betsy Lawer, Board Chair/CEO/Pres. | Anchorage | 907-777-4362 | fnbalaska.com 74 | October 2026
Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com
2025 Rank: 27 | 30% Change in Revenue 2025 Revenue: $255,000,000 2024 Revenue: $195,960,000 2023 Revenue: $158,326,000 2022 Revenue: $134,405,000
#18
2021 Revenue: $136,869,000 Services/Products: Banking
services such as deposits and loans available through our network of twenty-one statewide branches, and robust online and mobile banking platforms. Treasury management products include a toptier Commercial Purchase Card program and merchant services through our partner Worldpay. Employees: 521 Worldwide | 388 Statewide Year Founded in Alaska: 1990
Mike Huston, Chairman/Pres./CEO | Anchorage | 907-562-0062 | northrim.com
#28
Honoring Our Past. Leading Our Future. Gana-A’Yoo delivers innovative, value-added solutions with exceptional service that is guided by respect for our customers, shareholders, environment, and traditional values
www.akbizmag.com
Alaska Business
October 2026 | 75
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#25 Northrim Bank
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#38 | Kikiktagruk Iñupiat Corporation Ribbon cutting ceremony for the Last Frontier Housing Initiative. TC Madison | Kikiktagruk Iñupiat Corporation
#30 | Natives of Kodiak Natives of Kodiak, Inc. shareholders, family members, and employees. Natives of Kodiak
#38
#16 | Three Bears Alaska Three Bears Alaska has grown from its local roots into one of the state's largest retailers. Three Bears Alaska
#47 | Craig Taylor Equipment New tractors being staged for delivery to a large project near Fairbanks. Craig Taylor Equipment
#30
#26 Contango Silver and Gold
#27 Colville 2025 Rank: 25 | -8% Change in Revenue
2025 Rank: - | - Change in Revenue
2025 Revenue: $189,876,000 2024 Revenue: $206,717,858
2025 Revenue: $200,000,000
2023 Revenue: $129,531,087
2024 Revenue: -
2022 Revenue: $122,812,809
2023 Revenue: -
2021 Revenue: $79,442,093
2022 Revenue: -
Services/Products: Colville provides statewide
2021 Revenue: Services/Products: Mining and mineral production
exploration/development. Employees: 40 Worldwide | 20 Statewide Year Founded in Alaska: 2008
Rick Van Nieuwenhuyse, CEO | Fairbanks | 907-888-6937 | contangoore.com
transportation, logistics, fuel distribution, aviation support, industrial supplies, camp services, waste management, equipment rentals, and recovery services, delivering safe, dependable solutions for Alaska’s commercial, industrial, and government sectors. Employees: 242 Worldwide | 242 Statewide Year Founded in Alaska: 1981
Helmericks Mark, Owner | Prudhoe Bay | 907-659-3198 | colvilleinc.com
76 | October 2026
Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com
2025 Rank: 31 | 13% Change in Revenue 2025 Revenue: $185,311,117 2024 Revenue: $163,607,080 2023 Revenue: $165,440,225 2022 Revenue: $166,479,451
#16
2021 Revenue: $147,183,908 Services/Products: Cape Fox Corporation has
two lines of business: tourism in Alaska with restaurants, a lodge, and retail; and government contracting with multiple subsidiaries that offer capabilities in IT, construction, healthcare, professional, and facilities services. Employees: 1,462 Worldwide | 202 Statewide Year Founded in Alaska: 1973
Chris Luchtefeld, CEO | Ketchikan | 907-225-5163 | capefoxcorp.com
#47
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Alaska Business
October 2026 | 77
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#28 Cape Fox Corporation
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#44 | Shee Atiká, Inc. Shee Atiká donated 4,000 pounds of sockeye salmon, expanding access to local fish in school meals. Caitlin Blaisdell | Sitka Conservation Society
#36 | Denali Universal Service DUS employees from security, culinary, and facility services showcase the teamwork and expertise that support Alaska's critical industries. Denali Universal Services
#40 | Gana-A' Yoo, Limited Gana-A’Yoo, Limited reached a significant milestone with the acquisition of a new Midtown Anchorage headquarters. Gana-A' Yoo, Limited
#44
#29 Matanuska Electric Association
#30 Natives of Kodiak 2025 Rank: 26 | -12% Change in Revenue
2025 Rank: 29 | 4% Change in Revenue
2024 Revenue: $204,621,857
2025 Revenue: $184,073,133
2023 Revenue: -
2024 Revenue: $176,718,443
2022 Revenue: -
2023 Revenue: $164,041,846
2021 Revenue: -
2022 Revenue: $160,964,943
Services/Products: NOK has diversified holdings
2021 Revenue: $157,629,815 Services/Products: Alaska’s oldest and second
largest electric cooperative, MEA powers more than 58,000 co-op members and 72,000 meters in communities across the entire Mat-Su Borough, Eagle River, and Chugiak. Our mission is to provide safe, affordable, and reliable power with exceptional member service. Employees: 240 Worldwide | 240 Statewide Year Founded in Alaska: 1941
2025 Revenue: $179,110,478
in commercial, government contracting, timber, land, and resource management. NOK’s portfolio includes diverse business operations for various state and federal agencies and commercial clients across the nation within the environmental, construction, and service sector. Employees: 465 Worldwide | 14 Statewide Year Founded in Alaska: 1973
Monica James, Pres./CEO | Kodiak | 907-486-3606 | nativesofkodiak.com
Tony Izzo, CEO | Palmer | 907-761-9300 | mea.coop
78 | October 2026
Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com
2025 Rank: 32 | 12% Change in Revenue 2025 Revenue: $177,927,119 2024 Revenue: $158,979,487
#36
2023 Revenue: $148,248,000 2022 Revenue: $144,008,083 2021 Revenue: $145,579,765
Fuel storage and sales; residential and commercial real estate; construction; retail; textile manufacturing.
Services/Products:
Employees: 1,064 Worldwide | 62 Statewide Year Founded in Alaska: 1973
Charles Fagerstrom, CEO | Nome | 907-387-1200 | snc.org
#40
Roger Hickel Contracting, Inc. delivers excellence throughout the State of Alaska in design, pre-construction, and construction services. The Alaska Airlines passenger terminal at the Kodiak Benny Benson State Airport in Kodiak, Alaska is one of our many projects.
For a complete listing and more information visit our website www.rogerhickelcontracting.com 11001 Calaska Circle | Anchorage, Alaska 99515 Ph. 907-279-1400 | Fax 907-279-1405 | contact@rhcak.com
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Alaska Business
October 2026 | 79
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#31 Sitnasuak Native Corporation
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#46 | Watterson Construction Co. This year Watterson Construction Co. completed a state-of-the-art recreational facility at Fort Wainwright. Kevin G. Smith Photography
#32 Construction Machinery Industrial 2025 Rank: 30 | -4% Change in Revenue
#33 Cruz Construction 2025 Rank: 28 | -17% Change in Revenue 2025 Revenue: $160,760,553 2024 Revenue: $194,000,000
2025 Revenue: $165,800,000
2023 Revenue: $166,494,857
2024 Revenue: $172,800,000
2022 Revenue: $123,488,417
2023 Revenue: $159,000,000
2021 Revenue: $89,558,663
2022 Revenue: $108,000,000 2021 Revenue: $115,000,000 Services/Products: Distributor of construction,
mining, and logging equipment in Alaska. Representative for Volvo, Hitachi, Atlas Copco, Doosan, Metso, Link-Belt, and many other manufacturers.
Services/Products: Oil and gas operations, ice roads, snow trails, tundra transport, heavy haul, heavy-civil, equipment, marine transportation, camps, logistics, oilfield exploration, engineering, and consulting. Employees: 400 Worldwide | 400 Statewide Year Founded in Alaska: 1981
Employees: 116 Worldwide | 116 Statewide
Jeff Miller, Pres. | Palmer | 907-746-3144 | cruzconstruct.com
Year Founded in Alaska: 1985
Ken Gerondale, Pres./CEO | Anchorage | 907-563-3822 | cmiak.com 80 | October 2026
Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com
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TO P 4 9 E R S
#49 | Grant Aviation Grant Aviation team members unload passengers and cargo from a flight, helping connect the people and communities they serve across rural Alaska. Grant Aviation
#45 | Roger Hickel Contracting A rendering of the Alaska Airlines passenger terminal at Kodiak Benson State Airport, one of Roger Hickel Contracting's newer projects. Alaska Airlines
#37 | MTA Fiber optic cable awaits deployment at MTA’s Palmer campus. Logan Dellinger| Nomad Cinematics
#49
#34 Huna Totem Corporation
#35 Cornerstone General Contractors
2025 Rank: 38 | 14% Change in Revenue
2025 Rank: 48 | 59% Change in Revenue
2025 Revenue: $128,443,177
2025 Revenue: $125,785,412
2024 Revenue: $112,817,682
2024 Revenue: $79,125,974
2023 Revenue: $93,830,000
2023 Revenue: $51,118,880
2022 Revenue: $70,506,878
2022 Revenue: $60,859,615
2021 Revenue: $35,629,092
2021 Revenue: $52,000,000
Services/Products:
To u r i s m
and
government contracting. Employees: 627 Worldwide | 429 Statewide Year Founded in Alaska: 1973
Russell Dick, Pres./CEO | Juneau | 907-789-8500 | hunatotem.com
CORNERSTONE GENERAL CONTRACTORS
Cornerstone offers a comprehensive range of commercial general contracting & construction management services, including p re - d ev e l o p m e n t , preconstruction, construction, and construction continuation. We emphasize transparent client service, innovation, risk management, safety, and community impact. Services/Products:
Employees: 115 Worldwide | 115 Statewide Year Founded in Alaska: 1993
Joe Jolley, Pres. | Anchorage | 907-561-1993 | cornerstoneak.com 82 | October 2026
Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com
2025 Rank: - | - Change in Revenue 2025 Revenue: $125,000,000 2024 Revenue: 2023 Revenue: 2022 Revenue: 2021 Revenue: -
#45
Services/Products: Facility
management and camps: culinary, housekeeping, maintenance, and resident-ready services. Security and emergency response (armed capable): integrated access control, patrol, EMT-ready, wildlife hazard mitigation. Employees: 1,203 Worldwide | 684 Statewide Year Founded in Alaska: 1946
Maria Bourne, Pres./CEO | Anchorage | 907-522-1300 | denaliuniversal.com
#37
for voting us your #1
Best Printing Service & Best Swag Supplier! pipalaska.com
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Alaska Business
October 2026 | 83
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#36 Denali Universal Services
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#39 | The Kuskokwim Corporation The Kuskokwim Corporation balances shareholders, stewardship, and sustainability. Growing capacity with its people, nourishing connected roots, and building financial resilience equip the joint village corporation to serve the Middle Kuskokwim. The Kuskokwim Corporation
#37 MTA 2025 Rank: 36 | 6% Change in Revenue
2025 Rank: 34 | -2% Change in Revenue
2025 Revenue: $122,235,000 2024 Revenue: $115,379,000
2025 Revenue: $120,986,000
2023 Revenue: $115,870,000
2024 Revenue: $123,920,500
2022 Revenue: $108,893,000
2023 Revenue: $117,407,463
2021 Revenue: $138,000,000
2022 Revenue: $84,173,000
Services/Products: MTA provides residential and
business technology solutions, such as internet and cybersecurity products. MTA provides Alaska with limitless bandwidth capacity through its AlCan ONE fiber line, and it partners with enterprise, government, and wholesale partners on scalable networking solutions. Employees: 309 Worldwide | 300 Statewide
2021 Revenue: $79,307,587 Services/Products: Scientific/security/IT support
to services support contracts. Commercial and residential rental properties, retail sales portfolio. Government BOS/JOC/SABER/ IDIQ contracts, design-build, heavy civil, and development construction contracts. Employees: 321 Worldwide | 37 Statewide
Year Founded in Alaska: 1953
Demian Voiles, CEO | Palmer | 907-745-3211 | mtasolutions.com 84 | October 2026
#38 Kikiktagruk Iñupiat Corporation
Year Founded in Alaska: 1973
Thomas Baker, Pres./CEO | Kotzebue | 907-277-7884 | kikiktagruk.com
Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com
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From the edge of Alaska
NUNIVAK to your table.
FREE-RANGE REINDEER
·
SHIPPED FROZEN STATEWIDE
nunivakreindeer.com www.akbizmag.com
Alaska Business
October 2026 | 85
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#33 | Cruz Construction Cruz Construction employees mine gravel near Oliktok Point to build the first new drill pad in the Prudhoe Bay unit this century. Cruz Construction
#42 | Black Gold Express Black Gold Express transported massive bridge beams from Seattle to Alaska’s North Slope. Marshall Walser
#27 | Colville For generations, Colville has kept Alaska moving, safely delivering essential fuel and services across some of the state’s most remote and challenging terrain. Colville
#33
#39 The Kuskokwim Corporation
#40 Gana-A’ Yoo, Limited 2025 Rank: 33 | -6% Change in Revenue
2025 Rank: 35 | -3% Change in Revenue
2024 Revenue: $127,120,150
2025 Revenue: $119,308,239
2023 Revenue: $112,068,877
2024 Revenue: $122,813,801
2022 Revenue: $72,056,260
2023 Revenue: $107,640,674
2021 Revenue: $74,041,908
2022 Revenue: $132,542,074
Services/Products: The
2021 Revenue: $122,795,621
Construction, government services, environmental services, lighting, aerospace, aircraft maintenance and repair, real estate, and rural retail. Services/Products:
Employees: 322 Worldwide | 45 Statewide
Gana-A’Yoo family of companies provides services in the areas of construction (design-build, secure, and historical), demolition, operations and maintenance, IT, logistics, custodial, food services, and manufacturing. Employees: 393 Worldwide | 102 Statewide
Year Founded in Alaska: 1977
Andrea Gusty, Pres./CEO | Anchorage | 907-243-2944 | kuskokwim.com
86 | October 2026
2025 Revenue: $119,061,500
Year Founded in Alaska: 1978
Melissa McGinty, Interim CEO | Anchorage | 907-569-9599 | ganaayoo.com
Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com
2025 Rank: 41 | 12% Change in Revenue 2025 Revenue: $113,000,000 2024 Revenue: $101,000,000 2023 Revenue: $97,300,000 2022 Revenue: $99,357,000 2021 Revenue: $94,300,000
#42
Services/Products: Since 1943, Usibelli Coal Mine
has provided Alaskans with an affordable, reliable fuel source for power and heat generation. As the state’s only operating coal mine, we support local jobs, strengthen Alaska’s economy, and invest in responsible environmental stewardship. Employees: 198 Worldwide | 157 Statewide Year Founded in Alaska: 1943
Joseph E. Usibelli Jr., Pres./CEO | Fairbanks | 907-452-2625 | usibelli.com
#27
A trusted name in Alaska law.
Providence Imaging Center 6"x4" Card insert
LBBLawyers.com | 907-276-5152
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Alaska Business
October 2026 | 87
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#41 Usibelli Coal Mine
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#20 | Chugach Electric Association In 2025, Chugach launched Alaska’s first community solar program, giving members the opportunity to subscribe to a shared renewable energy resource. Chugach Electric
#48 | Udelhoven Oilfield System Services For more than fifty-five years, Udelhoven Companies has built a reputation for safety, quality, reliability, and strong partnerships. With deep roots in Alaska and expertise spanning industrial, pipeline, fabrication, commissioning, and construction services, Udelhoven continues to deliver solutions built to last. Udelhoven Oilfield System Services
#20
#48
#42 Black Gold Express
#43 Credit Union 1
2025 Rank: 45 | 23% Change in Revenue
2025 Rank: 42 | 9% Change in Revenue
2025 Revenue: $109,760,000
2025 Revenue: $109,427,043
2024 Revenue: $88,901,000
2024 Revenue: $100,698,593
2023 Revenue: -
2023 Revenue: $92,423,998
2022 Revenue: -
2022 Revenue: $77,760,445
2021 Revenue: -
2021 Revenue: $70,736,844
Services/Products: Black Gold Express provides
Services/Products: Credit Union 1 is a full-service
trucking and logistics support for the oil and gas, construction, and mining industries in Alaska.
financial institution known for its affordable and personalized loans, community outreach, and cutting-edge money management tools. We value accessible, “people first” lending as one of our most vital community services.
Employees: 396 Worldwide | 389 Statewide Year Founded in Alaska: 1987
Jim Huffman, Pres. | North Pole | 907-490-3222 | blackgoldalaska.com
Employees: 453 Worldwide | 395 Statewide Year Founded in Alaska: 1952
Mark Burgess, Pres./CEO | Anchorage | 907-339-9485 | cu1.org 88 | October 2026
Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com
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Service Alaska can count on Delivering the necessities for everyday life in the Last Frontier.
Matson.com/Alaska
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Alaska Business
October 2026 | 89
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#11 | Global Credit Union Global Credit Union employees gather on the outdoor terrace of the Global Credit Union C Street Headquarters in Anchorage. Mary Lila Photo
#12 | Cook Inlet Region, Inc. CIRI's success reflects a thoughtful balance between honoring its Alaska Native heritage and advancing its business objectives. Cook Inlet Region, Inc.
#31 | Sitnasuak Native Corporation Guided by Iñupiaq values, Sitnasuak works to preserve and protect the lands and waters of the Nome area for kiŋuniavut (future generations). Sitnasuak Native Corporation
#11
#44 Shee Atiká, Inc. 2025 Rank: - | - Change in Revenue
2025 Rank: 44 | 10% Change in Revenue
2025 Revenue: $101,203,105 2024 Revenue: -
2025 Revenue: $98,863,484
2023 Revenue: -
2024 Revenue: $89,913,137
2022 Revenue: -
2023 Revenue: $81,334,658
2021 Revenue: -
2022 Revenue: $98,490,509
Services/Products: Shee Atiká (SAI) has seven
government contracting companies in cloud infrastructure, cybersecurity, software development, logistics, systems integration, environmental, and radar R&D. SAI operates Sheet’ká Rainforest Park, an outdoor destination celebrating Southeast’s culture and beauty. Employees: 364 Worldwide | 32 Statewide Year Founded in Alaska: 1974
#45 Roger Hickel Contracting
2021 Revenue: $69,204,276 Services/Products: General contractor of civil,
industrial, and commercial projects throughout the state of Alaska. Employees: 100 Worldwide | 100 Statewide Year Founded in Alaska: 1995
Sean Hickel, Pres./CEO | Anchorage | 907-279-1400 | rogerhickelcontracting.com
Tim Castro, Pres./CEO | Sitka | 907-747-3534 | sheeatika.com
90 | October 2026
Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com
2025 Rank: 39 | -9% Change in Revenue 2025 Revenue: $98,757,000 2024 Revenue: $108,300,000 2023 Revenue: $83,300,000 2022 Revenue: $81,400,000
#12
2021 Revenue: $51,000,000 Services/Products: Watterson helps clients and
designers move their projects from concepts to concrete. As one of Alaska’s largest general contractors and premier alternate delivery specialists, Watterson’s focus is helping design/ build and CM/GC teams maximize project goals, within budget and schedule constraints. Employees: 98 Worldwide | 98 Statewide Year Founded in Alaska: 1981
Jim Watterson, Pres. | Anchorage | 907-563-7441 | -
#31
PORT MACKENZIE
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OFFICE: 907-861-7792 | EMAIL: PORTMACKENZIE@MATSUGOV.US | PORTMACKENZIE.MATSUGOV.US www.akbizmag.com
Alaska Business
October 2026 | 91
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#46 Watterson Construction Co.
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#24 | First National Bank Alaska First National Bank Alaska employees celebrate being named Best Place to Work for the 11th consecutive year by Alaska Business readers. Matthew Waliszek | Photo Emporium
#19 | Aleut In 2025, The Aleut Corporation relocated its headquarters to Denali Towers in Anchorage. Aleut
#22 | Choggiung Ltd. The 2026 Choggiung Limited Board of Directors. Choggiung Ltd.
#24
#47 Craig Taylor Equipment 2025 Rank: 40 | -6% Change in Revenue
2025 Rank: 37 | -14% Change in Revenue
2025 Revenue: $98,623,000 2024 Revenue: $104,370,000
2025 Revenue: $97,589,180
2023 Revenue: $86,788,000
2024 Revenue: $114,000,000
2022 Revenue: $68,146,916
2023 Revenue: $92,000,000
2021 Revenue: $56,109,877
2022 Revenue: $82,917,932
Services/Products: Craig Taylor Equipment is a
full-service dealership for John Deere, Peterbilt, Bobcat, Doosan, Dynapac, and many other manufacturers. Providing equipment sales, parts, service, and rental for the industries that are building Alaska’s future. Employees: 112 Worldwide | 112 Statewide Year Founded in Alaska: 1954
Chris Devine, Pres./CEO | Anchorage | 907-276-5050 | craigtaylorequipment.com
92 | October 2026
#48 Udelhoven Oilfield System Services
2021 Revenue: $52,581,004 Services/Products: Mechanical
and electrical inspection, functional check-out, quality a s s u ra n c e / q u a l i t y c o n t ro l , plumbing, welding, modular fabrication, industrial and commercial construction. Employees: 202 Worldwide | 180 Statewide Year Founded in Alaska: 1970
Scott Selzer, Pres. | Anchorage | 907-344-1577 | udelhoven.com
Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com
2025 Rank: 43 | 2% Change in Revenue 2025 Revenue: $97,300,000 2024 Revenue: $95,000,000 2023 Revenue: $92,900,000 2022 Revenue: 2021 Revenue: -
#19
Services/Products: Scheduled and charter passenger
and cargo air transportation. Employees: 425 Worldwide | 425 Statewide Year Founded in Alaska: 1971
Gabriel Kompkoff, Pres./CEO | Anchorage | 888-Fly-Grant | flygrant.com
#22
WE’RE A PEOPLE COMPANY CULINARY, HOUSEKEEPING, JANITORIAL, SECURITY DenaliUniversal.com
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Alaska Business
October 2026 | 93
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#49 Grant Aviation
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BILLIONS WITH A ‘B’ An exclusive club is larger than ever
Bristol Bay Native Corporation
By Amy Newman
94 | October 2026
Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com
this year’s group of Top 49ers excels in their respective
sectors. To find a spot on the list, they’d have to. This year, for the first time, eight of those companies make up an elite group, having generated more than $1 billion in gross annual revenue. Arctic Slope Regional Corporation (ASRC), Bristol
Bay
Native
“The addition of Coinstar to ASRC’s family of companies aligns with ASRC’s progress toward diversified earnings, long-term stability, and value for the corporation.” Rex A. Rock Sr., President and CEO, Arctic Slope Regional Corporation
Corporation
(BBNC), NANA Regional Corporation, Chenega Corporation, Lynden, Calista Corporation, Bering Straits Native Corporation (BSNC), and Ukpeaġvik Iñupiat Corporation (UIC) all were in the ten-digit club in 2025. Some companies surpassed $1 billion years ago and, for the most part, never looked back; for others, the milestone is brand new. And while every company in this elite class has its own priorities and business lines, what each has in common is a focus on disciplined expansion, strategic investments, and diversification in the pursuit of sustainable growth. Never
before
have
so
many
Alaska-based companies earned $1 billion in one year. Even adjusting
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for inflation, the richest cohort was seven companies in the 2012 Top 49ers whose gross revenue in 2011
Scan the QR code to learn more.
would’ve been worth $1 billion of today’s dollars. What happened in 2025 to lift so many to new heights? Some of these Elite Eight shared what they believe contributed to their billion-dollar success and just how much further they hope to rise.
CLEAR VISION, STRATEGIC INVESTMENTS Many Alaska businesses have been named a Top 49er since the first list in 1985. Some of those stays were temporary, while others were longterm. None have been as steadfast www.akbizmag.com
www.aleutventures.com/frosty-fuels Alaska Business
October 2026 | 95
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E
very company included in
TO P 4 9 E R S The UIC board of directors and executive management team tour the Port of Vancouver pier project in April 2026. UIC majority-owned companies HME Construction and Northbank Civil and Marine were conducting marine construction work as part of UIC’s expanding Pacific Northwest operations. Ukpeaġvik Iñupiat Corporation
as ASRC, which debuted at #13 in the
That foresight helped ASRC expand
years of strategic effort that serves
inaugural edition and reached the top
from three small businesses in
as a foundation for the financial
slot in 1995, a position it has now held
Utqiaġvik to a portfolio of companies
solutions business line,” he explains.
for thirty-two years. ASRC was also
with a footprint in all fifty states
“The addition of Coinstar to ASRC’s
the first Top 49er to reach $1 billion in
and select international markets.
family of companies aligns with
gross revenue, achieved in 2000, one
Today, ASRC includes more than 110
ASRC’s progress toward diversified
year ahead of its self-imposed target.
businesses spread across six core
earnings, long-term stability, and
business
value for the corporation.”
“ASRC’s success over the last fiftyfour years reflects a disciplined
segments—government
services, industrial services, financial
ASRC’s
reach
beyond
Alaska
approach to growth, one that honors
solutions, petroleum refining and
was another strategic decision,
the long-term vision of ASRC’s early
marketing, energy support services,
one aligned with the corporation’s
leaders, who set the foundation for
and construction—plus its North
overarching goal to create a balanced
building a resilient enterprise that
Slope operations.
portfolio to benefit shareholders,
has endured for generations,” says
The financial solutions business
employees, and the communities
President and CEO Rex A. Rock Sr.
segment began in February 2026 with
it serves. The diversification also
“Their vision was clear but profound:
the acquisition of Coinstar, a move
ensures the corporation can weather
create long-term stability while
Rock describes as a monumental step
the storm of fluctuating markets.
reinvesting in future generations of
forward in the corporation’s history.
“Revenue generated nationally
ASRC shareholders.”
“The acquisition built on several
flows back to support shareholder
96 | October 2026
Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com
dividends, philanthropic contributions entities
that
support
the
community and cultural wellbeing of our shareholders, and investment in Alaska-based operations,” Rock says. “ASRC’s companies operate under a unified strategic direction anchored in long-term value. When one sector
“We have built considerable momentum, but we are also mindful that growth becomes more challenging as the company becomes larger.”
softens, another often strengthens,
Pearl K. Brower
helping us maintain steady earnings
President and CEO, Ukpeaġvik Iñupiat Corporation
and deliver sustainable benefits to our Iñupiaq shareholders.” ASRC’s most recent strategic plan, completed in 2025, calls for the corporation to continue to diversify opportunities and investments to ensure meaningful, durable returns for its more than 14,000 shareholders. “ We
remain
committed
to
continued business growth and creating
lasting
shareholders,”
value
Rock
for
our
says.
“We
continue to refine our corporation’s diversification strategy while staying true to our core principles: invest with purpose, evaluate opportunities for long-term value, and balance the portfolio to ensure resilience.”
CONSOLIDATING SUCCESS BBNC is another perennial billionaire on the Top 49er list. It has ranked second in gross annual revenue every year since 2017 and surpassed the $1 billion revenue mark in 2007. Since then, BBNC’s annual revenue has more than tripled. Vice President of Communications Carmell Engebretson says there is no single reason for BBNC’s continued growth
and
success.
“BBNC’s
performance is a result of a consistent series of strategic decisions,” she explains. “BBNC has worked over the last couple of decades to diversify its revenue stream. We’ve invested in five different lines of business that have allowed the corporation to withstand www.akbizmag.com
Alaska Business
October 2026 | 97
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to
TO P 4 9 E R S Bering Straits Native Corporation is headquartered in Nome, and, even as it expands nationwide and globally, still carries out projects within the region. Devan Ot ton | Bering Straits Native Corporation
market fluctuations that may have an
dividends remain predictable,” she
Long-term, BBNC is guided by
impact in any one area.”
explains. “The board, through its
priorities the board identified in
Those business lines encompass
dividend policy, ensures predictable
2023.
industrial services, construction,
and increasing shareholder dividends
the responsible development and
government
while preserving cash flow for growth,
protection of Bristol Bay lands,
supporting a balanced approach.”
fisheries, and resources; generating
services,
seafood,
and tourism, and they collectively
Those
include
balancing
sufficient earnings to fund dividends
manage more than eighty subsidiary
BBNC’s 2025 activities were more
companies and serve clients across
on the administrative side. A decade’s
and
Alaska, the Lower 48, and overseas.
worth of acquisitions prompted
growing the company’s financial
BBNC’s twelve-member board of
BBNC to integrate and streamline
strength to ensure its long-term
directors and its leadership team,
back-office operations, Engebretson
viability through the development of
led by President and CEO Jason
says, and the corporation spent
economic opportunities throughout
Metrokin, blend profit with purpose
a considerable portion of 2025
the Bristol Bay region.
to
business
consolidating platform-level systems
opportunity pursued aligns with
to maximize the effectiveness and
cultural and corporate values and
success of its business operations.
BERING STRAITS’ BILLION-DOLLAR BOOST
is financially sound. Opportunities
BBNC shareholders also voted at their
BSNC is one of two companies that
are
their
annual meeting last October to open
crossed the $1 billion threshold for
dividend potential, job growth, and
enrollment to descendants of original
the first time in 2025; its $1.185 billion
community impact, Engebretson
shareholders and missed enrollees,
landed the corporation at #7 on this
says. “Our leaders have a strong
and Engebretson says the corporation
year’s Top 49ers list. President Cindy
focus on financial stewardship that
has been working to enroll and
Massie says the achievement was the
ensures operations are sustainable,
welcome new enrollees over the
result of BSNC’s years-long adherence
investments
past year.
to a sustainable growth plan.
ensure
also
that
every
evaluated
yield
98 | October 2026
for
returns,
and
shareholder
benefits;
and
Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com
Bering Straits Native Corporation
TO P 4 9 E R S
Built with Purpose
Bering Straits Native Corporation
We are built on people, culture, and a shared commitment to something greater.
Learn more at ciri.com
2026
“Reaching more than $1 billion in annual revenue was the result of years of disciplined planning, strategic investments, and a steadfast focus on sustainable growth,” she says. “This achievement reflects our commitment to pursuing the right
opportunities,
operating
with excellence, investing in our employees,
fostering
a
strong
workplace culture, and responsibly stewarding our lands and resources.” B S N C ’s
diversified
business
model allows it to compete in broader markets, manage risk, and build a stronger, more resilient corporation, Massie says. Its suite of companies supports infrastructure development, government services, national security missions, disaster response, commercial supply, and in-region operations throughout Alaska, the United States, and internationally. www.akbizmag.com
Alaska Business
October 2026 | 99
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BSNC’s most recent expansion was its June 2026 acquisition of the Alaka'ina Family of Companies, which was established in 2004 as a government contractor owned by a Native Hawaiian organization. The acquisition added nine businesses and more than 4,000 worldwide employees
to
BSNC’s
portfolio.
Alaka'ina’s primary focus is military base operations support, information technology, administrative services, and
medical
under
research
federal
and
support
commercial
contracts. It will operate under newly formed subsidiary entity BeringAlaka'ina Holdings. “The acquisition [is] an important milestone
that
expands
garnering it the #8 spot on this year’s
“Reaching more
Top 49ers list. It’s a feat President and CEO Pearl K. Brower says the
than $1 billion in
Utqiaġvik village corporation’s board of directors, shareholders, leadership,
annual revenue
and employees can take pride in.
was the result of
But the number doesn’t matter
years of disciplined planning, strategic
to her as much as what that number represents. “UIC exists for our shareholders,” says Brower. “Growth gives a greater capacity
investments, and
to create jobs, support education
a steadfast focus
provide
on sustainable
Slope, and create opportunities for
and
our
shareholder
benefits,
future generations.” UIC’s
Cindy Massie, President Bering Straits Native Corporation
in the federal marketplace, broadens
d ev e l o p m e n t ,
invest in Utqiaġvik and the North
growth.”
capabilities, strengthens our position
w o r k f o rc e
recent
focus
has
been
both organic growth of its existing businesses and strategic acquisitions and opportunities that complement its capabilities and align with its long-
our customer base, and creates new opportunities for long-term growth,”
corporation capable of adapting to
Massie says.
changing markets while still providing
“Our team begins with a strategic
meaningful benefits to shareholders
fit,” Brower explains. “An opportunity
meaningful benefits to shareholders
and
says.
has to make sense within UIC’s
and
was
And the benchmark for success
broader portfolio, strengthen or
founded not only to participate in
will continue to be whether BSNC’s
complement capabilities we already
the modern economy but to serve
growth is sustainable and aligned
have, provide access to markets
our
with its values.
where we see long-term potential, or
It also allows BSNC to provide descendants.
“BSNC
shareholders,
descendants,
descendants,
Massie
term goals.
communities, lands, and culture,”
“We don’t measure success by
Massie says. “Record performance
how quickly we grow but by how
enabled BSNC to provide its highest-
responsibly
ever dividend and Elder distributions
says. “As BSNC looks toward the
conditions, competitive advantages,
while
in
future, we remain committed to
and the opportunity for sustainable
scholarships, workforce development,
ensuring our corporation continues
growth
cultural
to reflect the values upon which it
considers
continuing
to
initiatives,
invest and
other
we
grow,”
Massie
help us diversify risk.” Financial
performance,
management
are
strength,
other when
market
factors
UIC
determining
was founded. We will continue our
fit. So, too, does whether the
shareholders
mission to improve the quality of
opportunity
BSNC serves is likely to increase; like
life of our people through economic
responsibility to shareholders.
BBNC, BSNC shareholders voted in
development
2025 to open enrollment to lineal
our
descendants of original shareholders
culture and heritage.”
shareholder programs.” The
number
of
and missed enrollees. BSNC’s
short-
and
long-term
goals include the continued pursuit
land
and
while
protecting
preserving
our
MORE THAN JUST REVENUE UIC cracked the $1 billion mark with
can create through employment, workforce development, scholarships, shareholder benefits, and investment in our communities,” she says. This
expansion and building a diversified
over its 2024 gross annual revenue,
UIC’s
opportunities
100 | October 2026
UIC’s
so are the opportunities that growth
an impressive 22.8 percent increase
strategic
further
“Financial returns are essential, but
for
of
will
philosophy recent
has
guided
expansions
and
Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com
acquisitions. In 2025 UIC acquired Wa s h i n g t o n - b a s e d
TO P 4 9 E R S
a majority interest in Vancouver, Northbank
Civil and Marine, which further strengthened its civil, maritime, and infrastructure capabilities, Brower says, and UIC played a key role in supporting development of the new AC Stuaqpak supermarket as landlord of Utqiaġvik’s largest retail building. In 2026, its subsidiary UIC Arctic Operations & Developments established Tundra Timber and purchased
more
than
750,000
pounds of lumber for delivery to Utqiaġvik; UIC also finalized a land sale agreement with Iḷisaġvik College in 2026 that supports the college’s plans for a future campus, Brower adds. UIC’s
strong
performance the
in
financial
2025
allowed
to
p rov i d e
shareholders
c o r p o ra t i o n with
a
regular
and
trust
distribution
special
JOIN OUR TEAM careers.doyon.com
and continue its investment in scholarships, workforce development, medical and funeral assistance, community programs, and other shareholder priorities. Long-term,
U I C ’s
financial
objective is to reach $2 billion in annual revenue by 2030. It’s an ambitious goal but one Brower believes
is
achievable
if
UIC
remains disciplined in executing its current strategy. “We
have
momentum, mindful
built but
that
considerable we
growth
are
also
becomes
more challenging as the company becomes larger,” Brower says. “The goal is not to reach a particular ranking at the expense of sound business decisions. It is to build a company with the scale, strength, and resilience to serve our shareholders for generations.” www.akbizmag.com
Alaska Business
October 2026 | 101
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JOINING THE RANKS Contango Silver & Gold, Denali Universal Services, and Shee Atiká By Vanessa Orr
M
49ers
Kinross, began producing gold at the
“We are currently building tunnels
list is a sure sign of
Peak Gold Joint Venture, now known
underground for exploration at
success:
members
as the Manh Choh mine, and the 30
the Lucky Shot project, located
are part of an elite class of Alaska
percent stake is now its main source
in
businesses, all of which were founded
of revenue.
explains Contango CEO Rick Van
aking
the
Top
the
Willow
Mining
District,”
Nieuwenhuyse. “We are currently
within the state and continue to
By focusing on high-grade deposits,
operate their headquarters here.
Contango maximizes the return on
working
This year’s list includes three new
every tonne of rock moved. Today,
outlining expected gold production
companies—Contango
&
the company is exploring for gold,
of 40,000 to 50,000 ounces of gold a
Gold, Denali Universal Services,
silver, copper, and zinc at project
year. With permits in hand, we hope
and Shee Atiká, Inc.—that arrive on
sites throughout the state. These
to begin production in 2028.”
the list by different routes: not just
include Johnson Tract on the west
The Johnson Tract project is located
by earning enough revenue but by
side of Lower Cook Inlet, Lucky Shot
on Cook Inlet Region, Inc. private
becoming more Alaskan.
in Hatcher Pass, Triple Z on federal
land. Contango is focusing on road
land near Tetlin, and the Kitsault
construction to allow underground
Valley Project just across the border in
tunneling for additional exploration
British Columbia.
and feasibility study work along
Silver
RENAMED AND REDOMICILED Contango Silver & Gold Inc. has
on
a
feasibility
study
been exploring for minerals in Alaska
All that Alaska activity was not
with federal permitting under Title
since 2009, when it was founded as
enough to qualify the company for
41 of the Fixing America’s Surface
Contango Silver and Gold. The spinoff
the Top 49ers before. What changed
Transportation Act. Just across the
of Texas-based Contango Oil & Gas
this year was a merger with Kitsault
border from the Panhandle town
Company began exploring on Tetlin
Valley developer Dolly Varden Silver
of Hyder, Contango is working on
tribal land at the tribe’s invitation.
Corporation. While becoming half-
a project at the southern tip of the
Though the land didn’t hold high
Canadian, the reorganized corporation
Golden Triangle of British Columbia,
potential for oil and gas as originally
also redomiciled its headquarters to
just south of the high-grade Brucejack
intended, it did contain a high-grade
Fairbanks. As an officially Alaska-based
and Eskay Creek gold mines.
gold deposit. Long story short: by
company, Contango Silver & Gold is
2024, Contango, in partnership with
putting down deeper roots.
102 | October 2026
“The Kitsault project contains a similar kind of polymetallic ore
Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com
for us,” he says, listing minerals from
security profile needs to be, from
and zinc,” says Van Nieuwenhuyse,
copper, lithium, germanium, and
physical to technological security,”
noting that Kitsault will blend well
indium to rare earths. “They all have
says Bourne. “We can also provide
with
Tract
special applications, and as society
training which varies depending on
project, which is near enough to
continues to advance, it will need all
what their workforce needs, including
tidewater to ship high-grade ore by
of these materials.”
active shooter drills and incident
Contango’s
Johnson
barge to a mill.
HIGH GRADE
management activities.”
HOSPITALITY AND SECURITY AT HEART
NO SLOWING DOWN
Direct shipping of ore is at the
Denali Universal Services started
Bourne credits the company ’s
heart of Contango’s strategy, enabling
thirty-five years ago as Doyon
success to the fact that it is “people
the company to scale production
Universal Services, an oil and gas
focused,”
faster and more profitably than
support
customers but taking care of its
its peers.
Limited and its joint venture partner,
contractor
for
Doyon,
not
only
serving
its
employees.
“One of the challenges in mining
French conglomerate Sodexo. In
is the length of time it takes for
2024, Sodexo sold its stake to a
working
permitting and then building mills
team of investors led by Denali
working twelve-hour days, doing
and tailings facilities and power
Universal Services President and
really physical jobs,” she adds.
plants to run them,” says Van
CEO Maria Bourne. Now a woman-
“People don’t think about what
Nieuwenhuyse. “We focus on high-
owned, Alaskan-owned business, the
goes into having a clean room and
grade ore that can be transported
Anchorage-based company qualifies
nice meal in such remote areas;
to an existing facility, like Fort Knox,
for the Top 49ers list in its own right.
there are a lot of hands behind
which has excess capacity and is
The new owners have also expanded
the scenes making it happen. Our
already permitted. We take advantage
its reach to six other states as well,
people are trained to handle difficult
of existing infrastructure.”
providing facilities management,
situations from medical emergencies
security services, and training and
to safety issues, even in a remote
consulting services.
environment with limited resources
Van Nieuwenhuyse notes that this also removes the controversy of building facilities in remote sites.
“Our
integrated
out
there,
and no law enforcement.”
management
grade to pay for its transport, we
janitorial,
and
Russian Far East and an accountant
don’t need to permit or build all
maintenance, as well as a very
by training, considers field trips
that infrastructure, resulting in
expansive culinary hospitality group,”
to remote sites to be a highlight
a
says Bourne. The division serves
of her job. “Every time I go to a job
mainly oil and gas companies and
site, I get rejuvenated by seeing the
smaller
environmental
footprint,” he says. In the future, Contango plans
includes
employees
“As long as the ore is high enough
much
division
facilities
“We have some of the hardest-
housekeeping,
Bourne,
originally
from
the
industrial operators working on the
job they do and the commitment
to either build or acquire its own
North Slope.
I see. Our employees show an
processing facility, combining its
Denali
direct-ship-ore model with a hub-and-
Services
spoke model. “Our goal is to provide
critical infrastructure security for oil
critical metals for our society—
and gas facilities, as well as ports,
leaders
nothing works without metals,” Van
airports, and hospitals. The company
approximately 90 percent come from
Nieuwenhuyse explains.
also
U n i v e r s a l ’s Division
provides
Security
specializes
security
in
incredible caliber of talent and dedication,” she says. Bourne notes that all company are
hand-selected,
and
training
a law enforcement or leadership
He frames his business in national
and consulting services and offers
background. “As first-line supervisors
security terms. “China produces more
industrial fire and medical emergency
and leaders, everything depends
than two times the materials we do
programs as well.
on these key individuals,” she says.
in the United States, but as they’ve
“When a customer is developing
“We invest a lot of time and money
demonstrated multiple times, they
a new site, we can perform a needs
developing our leaders in order to
can’t be counted on to provide them
assessment, determining what their
create a smooth operation.”
www.akbizmag.com
Alaska Business
October 2026 | 103
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containing gold, silver, copper, lead,
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While Alaska is its home base,
Shee Atiká’s IT subsidiaries have
Denali Universal Services has been
also taken off, including Alaska
park
growing in the Lower 48 over
Northstar Resources, which delivers
Adventures and an immersive lunch
the past five years. “We’re also
enterprise cloud services, application
experience, Sheet’ká Salmon Tales,
looking forward to expanding in
services,
centered on indigenous culture and
Alaska, especially with upcoming
network services; Alaska Northstar
developments in oil and gas and
Federal, which performs AI and
natural resources,” says Bourne. “I
machine
don’t see us slowing down.”
and
c y b e r s e c u r i t y,
and
The site hosts an aerial adventure named
Sheet ’ká
Treetop
local wild foods. “We invested a lot in the area;
learning
development
it’s a really beautiful place,” says
g ov e r n a n c e ,
D ev S e c O p s
Castro. “Everyone we’ve hired to
development, cloud operations, and
work in the park is a shareholder or
more; and Shee Atiká Federal, an IT
lives locally, so all of the money and
of
firm specializing in mission-focused
goodwill stays in the community. We
perseverance, according to President
cybersecurity services tailored for
also hold multiple free events out
and CEO Tim Castro, in part because
federal government customers.
there for the community.”
SITKA STANDOUT Shee
Atiká’s
story
is
one
Alaska Native urban corporations are
Five years ago, the corporation
ineligible to participate in revenue
acquired
sharing under the Alaska Native
chain
400 people across thirty-two states,
company
but the company primarily works in
Claims Settlement Act sections 7(i)
Lakota Solutions, which provides
Alaska and the southeastern United
and 7(j) that regional and village
infrastructure
support,
States including Georgia, Florida,
corporations receive.
support,
management,
corporation
for
3,400
and
Shee Atiká now employs nearly
supply
The
logistics
management
lifecycle
IT
integrated logistics support, and management.
and Alabama. “Even though we work in different
shareholders who trace their ancestry
program
Lakota
states, one of our goals is to
to Sitka has learned to be self-
Federal provides comprehensive
always increase shareholder hire,”
sufficient. “At the start, we did a lot
environmental
says Castro. “While distributions
of forestry and logging, but we didn’t
support
have much else,” says Castro, who
environmental
compliance
good
joined the company in 2019. “In the
and
stakeholder
thing, so we’re always trying to
mid-1970s, our shareholders self-
engagement, and demolition and
funded the corporation to keep the
construction support.
and
construction
services,
remediation,
such
as
are
great, job
jobs
are
is
life-changing
a
better.
A
hire more shareholders.” According to Castro, Shee Atiká’s
lights on. Since then, we have had
Shee Atiká also acquired Eikon
success can be attributed to its
to build everything else from the
Research in Huntsville, Alabama, a
corporate team and its board of
ground up.”
technology company that provides
directors. “Our team is a group
companies
the US Department of Defense with
of rock stars—they really are,” he
later, Shee Atiká stands on firm
innovative radar systems, advanced
says. “We also have a very good
ground, as shown by its inclusion in
modeling
partnership
with
the Top 49ers list. “We always find
and customized user interfaces.
directors;
everyone
a way to get to the next level,” says
Another subsidiary started by the
organization believes in our mission
Castro. “It’s in our DNA to do things
corporation itself, Shee Atiká Systems,
and momentum is picking up.”
ourselves, and sometimes that means
provides technical and engineering
doing things differently and thinking
services, helping federal clients
membership in the billion-dollar
outside the box.”
overcome
challenges
club on next year ’s Top 49ers
through systems integration and
list and beyond? “As I tell our
expert staffing solutions.
shareholders, I want to get Shee
Several
subsidiary
Since 2019, shareholder benefits have increased year after year, and distributions have increased fivefold.
and
simulation
complex
tools,
Can
Shee
Atiká
our
board
across
maintain
of the
its
Atiká to a point where, instead of
All of its shareholders are also
THRIVING IN THE RAINFOREST
entitled to funeral benefits, and the
Shee Atiká has also expanded into
thrive,” Castro says. “We’re still on
corporation offers scholarships for
tourism with Sheet’ká Rainforest Park,
an uphill climb, but the best is yet
school, cultural, and trade classes.
a nature-based destination in Sitka.
to come.”
104 | October 2026
saying we persevere, we say that we
Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com
TO P 4 9 E R S
Providence Imaging Center
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Alaska Business
Scan for tour of mobile coach. provimaging.com October 2026 | 105
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WHAT’S THE SPECIAL SAUCE? Values, people, and long-term growth are more than gravy Compiled by Tasha Anderson
S
weet or savory, hot or cold, it’s rare to find a dish that isn’t improved with a special sauce. Alaska’s prominent businesses have all refined their own special sauces: culture developed over decades, tried and tested processes and procedures, bespoke approaches to leadership or recruitment, and individual goals and measures of success.
Many of the 2026 Top 49ers shared with Alaska Business a few of the ingredients found in their special sauces that
have led to their accomplishments. Their contributions have been edited for length and house style.
BRISTOL BAY NATIVE CORPORATION
helps fulfill our mission of providing
subsistence fishing and hunting
for
and
and gathering berries and greens.
As has been the case since our
cultural welfare of shareholders and
Today we serve our communities and
founding, what guides us and defines
descendants. That creates a powerful
shareholders through our successful
us is culture. Enriching our Native way
sense of purpose that drives how we
businesses and other endeavors
of life has always driven our growth
do business. Because our success is
that benefit the people of the Yukon-
strategy,
directly tied to improving the lives
Kuskokwim Region. “Pillerkiurluki
of our shareholder-owners, we take
kinguliaput” translates in Yup’ik
a long-term approach to building
to “Making a plan for our future
trusted customer relationships and
generations.” In everything we do,
delivering exceptional performance.
we take our culture with us, and we
diverse
portfolio,
and
consistent earnings.
CHENEGA CORPORATION Chenega’s “special sauce” is that we measure success by more than
the
economic,
social,
CALISTA CORPORATION
work to improve the economic and social well-being of our shareholders and communities through growth,
financial performance. As an Alaska
Calista itself is Yup’ik for “the
Native corporation, every contract
worker.” Traditionally we would
leadership,
we win and every dollar we earn
work to serve our families through
financial discipline.
106 | October 2026
collaboration,
and
Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com
shareholders and communities.
and future generations, durable
Opening the rolls to first-generation
growth follows.
Our record financial performance
descendants and missed enrollees was
re f l e c t s
extending ownership, opportunity,
Koniag’s success starts with its
s t ro n g
and cultural connection to future
people and its purpose. As an Alaska
family
g e n e ra t i o n s . . .
our
Native regional corporation, Koniag
of companies, and a long-term
values are woven into our business
takes a long-term approach to
strategy rooted in our values.
strategy. When we put people first,
growth, focusing on opportunities
Every contract secured, business
listen closely to customers, and
that
acquired, and investment made
remain accountable to shareholders
shareholders,
t h oughtful
dedicated
decisions,
e m p l oy e e s ,
leadership
across
our
a
historic
step
KONIAG
did not happen by chance. It
t ow a rd
U l t i m a t e l y,
create
lasting
value
for
descendants,
and
strengthens BSNC’s ability to create lasting
value.
This
prosperity
allows us to invest with purpose in our shareholders, our culture, and our traditions in ways that strengthen our communities for generations to come.
Our “special sauce” is a peoplefirst culture where shareholders define our purpose, employees our
performance,
BIGGER JOBS. Brice Equipment Tire Sales & Service
CHUGACH ALASKA CORPORATION
drive
BIG TIRES.
and
customers fuel our growth. We invest in talented people, empower them to make decisions close to the customer, and hold ourselves accountable for delivering reliable,
Alaska’s toughest industries demand tires that can handle tough conditions. Brice Equipment Tire Sales & Service brings our expertise and knowledge under one roof for mining, construction, transportation, logistics, and more. • OTR tires for heavy equipment • Specialty drill rig tires • Commercial truck & trailer tires • Light passenger tires • Professional tire service Serving North Slope & Interior customers. Anchorage/Mat-Su coming soon.
high-quality work. That approach builds trust, strengthens longterm customer relationships, and leads to contract renewals, new opportunities, g row t h .
It
and
also
sustainable guides
our
acquisition philosophy. We look for strong companies with capable leaders,
loyal
customers,
and
cultures worth preserving, then provide the resources, relationships, and scale to help them succeed without losing what made them special. The results are visible across our business…
A proud subsidiary of Calista Corporation.
But business and financial growth are not the finish line. They allow us to create greater value for www.akbizmag.com
Alaska Business
October 2026 | 107
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BERING STRAITS NATIVE CORPORATION
TO P 4 9 E R S
communities. The company invests
and if you pair that with good people
HUNA TOTEM CORPORATION
in strong partnerships, supports local
working hard and having fun along
Every
leadership, and remains committed
the way, success seems to follow!
to delivering excellent service for purpose, relationships, and a focus on people has helped Koniag grow while staying true to who it is.
COOK INLET REGION, INC.
we
make
is
measured against the same three principles: culture, community, and
FIRST NATIONAL BANK ALASKA
its customers. That combination of
decision
business excellence. Growth is not something we chase—it is something
For more than a century, First
we earn by asking whether an
National Bank Alaska’s mission has
opportunity strengthens who we
guided how we serve customers,
are and benefits our people, our
invest in employees, strengthen
communities, and our partners.
communities
long-
That discipline is what has carried
investments, in our stewardship
term value for shareholders. That
our growth, rooted in care and
of land and resources, and in our
enduring purpose has built trust
responsibility.
commitment to steady, long-term
and
growth. We will forever remain
across Alaska.
CIRI remains disciplined in our
focused
on
creating
fueled
long-term
and
deliver
sustainable
growth
CORNERSTONE GENERAL CONTRACTORS
value for our shareholders and
NORTHRIM BANK
Breakthrough mindset: Don’t wait
strengthening the cultural foundation
We remain consistent in our focus
for a crisis... continually innovate
of doing good work, building long-
and improve. Set goals that seem
term relationships, and providing
unachievable, and plant your flag: “It
superior customer first service.
shall be.”
that defines us.
AFOGNAK NATIVE CORPORATION Our “special sauce” is combining
CONTANGO SILVER AND GOLD
DENALI UNIVERSAL SERVICES
the resilience and values of our
Hire the right people, treat them
Investing in relationships with our
Alutiiq heritage with disciplined
well, and make sure they have the
employees and our clients for the
business practices. By investing in
right tools to accomplish the objective
long-term and not chasing the short-
our people, diversifying our business
of the job!
term transaction.
portfolio, and maintaining strong
CAPE FOX CORPORATION
relationships, we continue to adapt, grow, and create long-term value for our shareholders and communities.
GOLDBELT INCORPORATED Goldbelt’s special sauce combines
At
the
heart
of
Cape
Fox
family
Corporation
is
c o m m u n i t y.
Everyone
THE KUSKOKWIM CORPORATION
and
At The Kuskokwim Corporation,
works
our “special sauce” isn’t a business
together, celebrates together, and
strategy; it’s our purpose. Everything
succeeds together. The secret to
we do is guided by our mission to
with
our success has been more than a
improve the quality of life for our
The Gold Standard—excellence in
unified group of employees; it has
shareholders and our responsibility
everything we do. Guided by Tlingit
been a community of individuals
to steward nearly 1 million acres
values of integrity, respect, and
who support our mission and our
of our ancestral homeland. Our
service, we create lasting value for
shareholders. Our greatest impact
guiding principles ensure every
our Alaska Native shareholders whose
is not measured by the number
decision creates lasting value not
homelands are in Juneau and the
of
the
only for today’s shareholders, but
communities we serve.
number of employees we have; it
for generations to come. We don’t
is measured by what we have done
pursue opportunities simply because
together to support others through
they ’re
Our “special sauce” has been to live
philanthropy and by the unity of
opportunities that strengthen our
our values—responsibility, courage,
the team that comes together every
region, create meaningful careers,
integrity, respect, fairness, and
day with the mission to advance
build local capacity, and reflect our
respect for Alaska Native culture—
the company.
values. Profit matters, but it’s the
entrepreneurial
thinking
CHOGGIUNG LIMITED
108 | October 2026
years
in
business
nor
profitable.
We
pursue
Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com
ROGER HICKEL CONTRACTING
the right reasons. Our competitive
Our
company
empowers
GRANT AVIATION
its
We’ve never thought of ourselves
advantage isn’t just what we do;
employees to take on more and wear
as simply an airline. We’re part of the
it’s why we do it. Because our
multiple hats in one organization.
infrastructure that keeps rural Alaska
decisions are rooted in a long-term
Our team all works together on
functioning. Every day we’re moving
commitment to our people and our
multiple tasks. We have a very flat
people, food, medicine, mail, and
homeland, we invest with patience,
organization, and there are not
freight. When you build your business
build enduring partnerships, and
multiple layers to get through to
around serving communities instead
focus on sustainable growth instead
make decisions. We take a client-first
of just selling seats, your decisions
of short-term gains. That purpose-
approach to our builds, which in turn
become different and help build a
driven approach has allowed us to
brings repeat business.
lasting organization.
grow revenue while staying true to who we are. We believe companies that lead with purpose make better long-term decisions. Those decisions create stronger businesses, healthier communities, and enduring value for the generations that follow.
USIBELLI COAL MINE For more than eighty years, we’ve focused on doing the right things consistently: investing in our people, being a reliable partner to our customers, operating responsibly, and always looking for ways to improve.
Right-sized
That long-term approach has helped us earn trust across generations.
The smart alternative to supersized big law with the quality service Alaska businesses value.
BLACK GOLD EXPRESS Our success is built on a simple philosophy: hire great people, invest in them, and give them the tools to succeed. That commitment to safety, reliability, and continuous improvement has driven our growth across Alaska.
SHEE ATIKÁ At the heart of Shee Atiká’s success are the people who make it possible: its employees, shareholders, and directors.
By
working
together,
embracing opportunities for growth, and staying true to the corporation’s cultural heritage and long-term vision, Shee Atiká has built a strong
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Alaska Business
October 2026 | 109
TO P 4 9 E R S
result of doing the right work for
PROFESSIONAL SERVICES
Silver Surfing
Riding the wave of business successions
R
Pormezz | Adobe Stock
By Terri Marshall
oughly 76 million Americans
$10 trillion in assets. Taken together,
of business succession, according
were born between 1946
these
the
to staff at Transworld Business
and 1964, ushering in an
magnitude of the moment. This is
Advisors of Alaska, which provides
not a gradual shift but a generational
exit
transfer of economic control.
business valuations, and sales and
unprecedented
population
wave
which became known as the Baby
figures
underscore
and
succession
planning,
Boom. As the cohort ages, the United
While the phrase “silver tsunami”
States is undergoing one of the most
sounds ominous, it also represents
“The silver tsunami began around
significant economic transitions in its
one of the largest wealth transfers in
2019 and 2020, as Baby Boomers
history: the retirement of one fifth of
US history. Many of these businesses
started reaching age 65 at a rate of
the country’s population.
are
about 10,000 a day,” says Nicholas
Aptly called the “silver tsunami,” this
demographic
shift
directly
profitable,
well-established,
acquisition services.
and deeply embedded in their
Mastrodicasa,
communities.
managing broker of Transworld
the
founder
and
intersects with business ownership.
This generational turnover presents
Business Advisors of Alaska. “Baby
Baby Boomers own an estimated
risk and opportunities. Entrepreneurs,
Boomers are the ones who own
2.34 million small businesses in the
employees,
the largest majority of businesses.
United States, employing more than
investors have a rare chance to
As
25 million people. Even more striking,
acquire established businesses with
age, they want to spend time with
nearly half of all small business
proven revenue streams.
their
and
even
outside
privately held companies on the brink of transition.
reaching
retirement
grandchildren.
In
Alaska,
their grandchildren are probably
owners are over 55 years old, placing a substantial portion of the nation’s
they ’re
Where the Goods Are Old
outside of the state. And some are
Alaska’s population is aging rapidly.
permanently relocating just to get
The number of residents aged 65 and
out of the cold.”
Looking ahead, projections suggest
older has more than doubled over
These
that more than 12 million businesses
the past fifteen years, and their share
business
could change hands over the next
of the population continues to rise.
economy is dominated by small
decade, representing an estimated
Thus, Alaska is at the lip of the wave
businesses, accounting for more
110 | October 2026
retirements
matter
ownership.
for
Alaska’s
Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com
than 99 percent of all businesses in the state. Many of these are owner-operated enterprises built over decades. Moreover, Alaska’s small businesses often play an outsized role in community stability. In smaller towns and rural areas, a single business closure can have cascading effects. For example, the retirement of a
“Everyone has an expiration date; we just don’t know what it is, so sell when you’re healthy, so you still have time to enjoy your life once you’re not working so hard.” Nicholas Mastrodicasa Founder and Managing Broker, Transworld Business Advisors of Alaska
local contractor, fishing operation, or transportation provider may leave a gap that is difficult to fill. Other
community
impacts
include the loss of essential goods or services, reduced employment opportunities, and population decline as residents relocate. These dynamics
Imagine a smarter workspace
make succession planning both a business issue and a community resilience issue. As a result, when an owner decides to retire, finding the right buyer or even preparing the business for sale is complex.
The Process of Selling a Business Selling a business is a multifaceted process that requires careful planning and adherence to a series of steps over an extended period. “When a seller is selling their business, they’re also selling their legacy. Generally, they have built it from the bootstraps up, and we recognize that. It’s not just a commission-based transaction; it is somebody’s legacy, and it is part of their family,” says Mastrodicasa. “We’re all business owners. My partner Greg Torgeson and I have owned our own businesses that we bootstrapped up, so we know what it takes to build a business and are very
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respectful about it.” The process begins with an owner deciding to sell and approaching a broker. “We usually start with a www.akbizmag.com
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October 2026 | 111
“Baby Boomers are
consultation to get to know the
Even
the
advertising
process
business owner and learn more about
focuses on confidentiality. “The
their business. We want to know what
advertising is very vague,” explains
they do and how that got to where
Mastrodicasa. “It doesn’t give any
the largest majority
they are today,” says Transworld
details about the business other
Business Advisors of Alaska senior
than revenues and things like that.
of businesses. As
broker Gunner Hatten. “We introduce
We don’t use any identifiable photos
they’re reaching
them to Transworld by sharing what
in advertising. We want to keep this
the sales process looks like from a
process strictly confidential because
high-level view. The introduction
it could harm the owner if employees
is followed by doing a business
learn of a potential sale. You don’t
they want to spend
valuation, looking at multiple years
want
time with their
of financial performance and the
bankers, and lenders, who might start
company’s assets to help establish
to assume there are financial issues,
a
believe
and even suppliers might assume that
the business could fetch on the
the business is in trouble. You just
open market.”
don’t want to have to deal with that.
the ones who own
retirement age,
grandchildren. In Alaska, their
range
of
values
we
The business valuation is followed
grandchildren are
by a walk-through of the process
probably outside of
our goals align with their hopes and
the state. And some
to
scare
the
employees,
You want to announce the sale after it’s done, not before.”
with the sellers. “We want to be sure needs regarding their business sale.
The Process of Finding Buyers
If we’re on the same page, that’s
Buyers for businesses come from
are permanently
great; we can usually start to move
a diverse range of backgrounds and
forward,” explains Hatten. “If we’re
investment strategies. “You have
relocating just to
not on the same page, let’s say if the
first-time buyers, repeat buyers, and
price we think the business is worth
strategic buyers who may already
doesn’t meet the seller’s needs, that’s
own a business and are looking
where we can start to kind of give
for a company that would be a
them some guidance and advice on
good fit for what they own,” says
things that they might be able to
Mastrodicasa. “For example, if you
do in the coming years to possibly
own a manufacturing company and
increase the value of their business
you can buy out a supplier, that would
and make it more attractive to
be a strategic purchase, and prices
potential buyers.”
often come down.”
get out of the cold.” Nicholas Mastrodicasa Founder and Managing Broker Transworld Business Advisors of Alaska
Confidentiality is vital throughout
buyers
are
solo
the sales process. The sales process
entrepreneurs seeking to own and
begins
nondisclosure
operate their own enterprise, and
agreement (NDA) signed with the
with
others are serial entrepreneurs with
client. “The sellers are sharing very
experience building and running
confidential information with us,
multiple businesses. In addition,
so we always start with the NDA,”
there are established companies that
explains Mastrodicasa. “Throughout
aim to expand their operations by
the process, if we list the business
acquiring other businesses. These
for sale, or if somebody’s interested
businesses may pursue either vertical
in buying the business, we make
integration, adding companies along
the
their supply chain, or horizontal
(potential)
a
buyers
nondisclosure agreement.” 112 | October 2026
Some
sign
a
integration, which involves acquiring
Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com
competitors or similar businesses to
value
increase market share.
and
through
consolidation
was very interested in buying his
operational
improvements.
business. Finally, his wife answered
“Another group of buyers includes
Eventually, private equity groups
his cell phone, and he had passed
family offices, which are typically
may plan for a liquidation event or
away,” shares Mastrodicasa. “She
made up of a small group of
aim to achieve significant returns
was able to continue running the
individuals or family members who
for the investors participating in
business because we had systems,
have done really well for themselves
their funds.
processes, and controls in place in a management team, which made
and have a pool of money they can use to invest and purchase
The Bottom Line
businesses,” adds Hatten. These
The impending surge in retirement
groups pool their resources to invest
among business owners is not a
As for timing, Transworld advises
in and purchase businesses as part of
cause for apprehension, but it does
to start the process at least three
their investment portfolio.
warrant thoughtful preparation. With
years before an owner plans to sell.
On a larger scale, private equity
the right strategy, guidance, and
Three to five years is ideal as it allows
groups are key players in business
timing, the transition from ownership
ample time to review records and
acquisitions. These organizations
to retirement can be one of the most
help business owners prepare for the
manage substantial amounts of
rewarding chapters in a business
future when the sale takes place.
capital and often seek to consolidate
owner’s journey.
the business very attractive, and she ended up not selling.”
As Mastrodicasa says, “Everyone
specific
Even if a business owner isn’t
has an expiration date; we just don’t
industry. Their strategy frequently
ready to sell, preparations often
know what it is, so sell when you’re
involves
multiple
solve unexpected events. “In 2021,
healthy, so you still have time to enjoy
similar businesses across a broad
post-COVID, I couldn’t reach one of
your life once you’re not working
region, with the goal of enhancing
my sellers, and I had somebody who
so hard.”
companies
within acquiring
a
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Alaska Business
October 2026 | 113
FINANCE
Alaska in a Basket
Exchange-traded fund tracks the state’s economy
O
Prospr Aligned
By Rachael Kvapil
n July 2, 2025, New Jersey
the opportunity to invest in a state
What Is an ETF?
resident
Svorec
that has come to mean so much to
Amrita Nandakumar, president
and her husband Richard
Shane
her family. “It felt victorious,” she
of
Vident,
Stock
says. “You can invest in funds, and
how
an
Exchange closing bell ceremony
you can move funds. But to be part
market is important.
that marked the debut of The
of investing in something that has
To begin with, an ETF is like
Frontier Economic Fund (AKAF). The
never been seen before felt like
a mutual fund, but with certain
symbolic ceremony, led by the fund’s
an initiative not just for the state
differences. A mutual fund is a pool
developers and leaders from Alaska,
but for the people.”
of securities, such as publicly
attended
the
New
York
introduced the first state-based
says
ETF
understanding
functions
in
the
AKAF recently celebrated its first
listed companies or bonds, that
anniversary, a milestone that gives
trades once after the market closes
As the ticker symbol implies,
institutional investors a full twelve-
at its net asset value. ETFs like
the fund is a basket of Alaska-
month track record for evaluation.
AKAF are also a pool of securities;
related investments. Anyone who
For Prospr Aligned and Vident Asset
however, they trade on the stock
owns a share of AKAF will prosper
Management, the fund’s current
exchange all day long, much like
along with the hundred or so
asset
regular stocks.
companies that do business in, and
to develop AKAF, this milestone
“An ETF is a cross between a mutual
earn profits in, Alaska.
proves that Alaska’s economy and
fund and a stock,” says Nandakumar.
the businesses that sustain it are a
“An
profitable investment.
essentially a mutual fund, except you
exchange-traded fund (ETF).
Svorec,
an
AKAF
investor,
remembers feeling excited about 114 | October 2026
managers
who
partnered
exchange-traded
fund
is
Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com
buy and sell it like a stock. This is the
plan options. Therefore, investors in
big differentiator.”
ETFs must purchase them separately
“To be part of
Nandakumar explains that anyone
through a broker as part of a personal
can buy into a mutual fund at any
portfolio. ETFs have relatively low
time of day but won’t know how
expense ratios compared to actively
many shares they’ll receive for their
managed
investment until the fund’s value is
carry higher annual fees. ETFs
calculated after the market closes.
are considered more tax-efficient
For many people, that’s sufficient,
and have no minimum investment
especially those interested in a
beyond the price of a single or
longer-term investment and looking
fractional
for a reasonable price. In comparison,
on the other hand, often require
an ETF has its value recalculated
$1,000 or more to start. Finally, ETFs
every intra-second throughout the
offer greater transparency. The US
trading day. This is more beneficial
Securities and Exchange Commission
for people who want greater certainty
requires whoever sponsors an ETF
Shane Svorec
about the price they will buy at, or for
to post the fund’s full holdings daily,
Former President
those using some other short-term
with a one-day lag, so investors
Hillsdale Board of Education
investment strategy.
have full transparency.
mutual
share.
funds,
Mutual
which
funds,
investing in something that has never been seen before felt like an initiative not just for the state but for the people.”
Another difference is availability. Most 401(k)s, Individual Retirement
The State Stock Ticker
Accounts, and other retirement plans
The idea for AKAF as a state-based
offer mutual funds but not ETFs as
fund grew from the observation
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October 2026 | 115
The Frontier Economic Fund debuted on the New York Stock Exchange on July 2, 2025, and was given the honor of ringing that day's closing bell. Prospr Aligned
Alaska.
This
methodology
by
generating
tax
revenue
or
that Alaska has one of the most
in
distinct economies in the country.
considered employment footprints,
strengthening other aspects of the
For instance, when the Lower 48
capital investment, and critical
statewide economy. The second
suffers with high oil prices, Alaska
supply chain involvement.
relates to companies that use or
reaps investments and tax revenue.
The public-private partnership,
manage Alaska’s natural resources.
When unemployment drops in the
the first of its kind for an ETF, is
Third are companies making capital
Lower 48, historically it would rise in
built with strict boundaries around
investments within the state, such
Alaska, and vice versa. Thus, Alaska’s
government involvement. The State
as purchasing land or constructing
economy is a hedge bet compared
of Alaska did not seed AKAF with
buildings or infrastructure. And
to the broader market.
public tax dollars nor appropriate
finally, companies with government-
Prospr CEO Derek Kreifels says
state funds to purchase AKAF shares.
related initiatives through state,
his company and Vident quickly
State personnel are not involved
municipal, or tribal governments.
realized they could build an entire
in fund management; Vident is the
One
fund
manager of record, and Prospr
applies
is a consulting partner. The state
meet the primary criteria. “If one
government does not, and cannot,
of the public companies is saying
guarantee financial returns.
anything or doing anything that
around
companies
doing
business within the state. “We’re the ones that saw the gap and really brought the idea forward,” says Kreifels. “Our role was making
However,
the
Department
of
works
additional to
all
against
expectation
companies
another
that
Alaskan
the case for why Alaska deserves
Revenue’s involvement contributed
interest, then we don’t include them
its own stock ticker, and really to
several operational and strategic
in the fund,” says Kreifels. As the
connect the fund to the people
advantages that Vident and Prospr
CEO of the State Financial Officers
and institutions who know this
couldn’t replicate themselves. It
Foundation, Kreifels has criticized
economy from the inside.”
established credibility in an ETF
what he calls “political extortionists”
ETFs can be designed around
market that is wary of funds that
promoting “woke capitalism.”
any theme imaginable, but for an
contain arbitrarily chosen assets.
Alaska-branded
Prospr
It also creates a standard by which
currently avoids major financial
and Vident sought input from the
other institutional investors can
stocks such as Goldman Sachs,
state
capitalize on Alaska.
JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, Morgan
product,
government.
The
Alaska
Notably,
the
AKAF
portfolio
Department of Revenue supplied
Vident uses four primary criteria
Stanley, Bank of America, and PNC
granular economic data, putting
to evaluate the business activities of
Bank, which pledged to refuse
corporate
context
publicly traded companies in Alaska.
financing oil and gas development in
when defining what counts as a
The first pertains to companies that
the Arctic. Wells Fargo, despite such
meaningful
contribute to economic development
a policy, is a component of AKAF,
filings
into
economic
116 | October 2026
presence
Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com
however, due to its retail presence
developing the selection criteria
in Alaska. The fund also invests
took some creativity.
in KeyBank, which has no stated
Vident looked at the companies
exclusion of Arctic energy financing.
and industries that have a major
“Outperforming the S&P 500 not only validates
impact on Alaska’s economy. To date,
Done Differently in Alaska
the fund but also the
industrials, energy, and materials
Why not simply choose a basket
together account for more than
companies that choose to
of Alaska-based companies, such as
60 percent of the portfolio, with
do business in Alaska… It
those listed in the Top 49ers, and let
additional
investors buy into them via AKAF?
transportation,
should encourage people
Not so fast; hardly any of the largest
and consumer companies tied to
Alaska-based companies are publicly
the state’s economy.
positions
spanning
mining,
tourism,
to continue doing business in Alaska and increase
traded. Alaska Native corporation
An investment fund like AKAF
shares are restricted; many other
functions as a sum of its parts, so its
companies are privately held. GCI and
success depends on the performance
The more that any of these
Northrim Bank are major exceptions,
of the fund’s holdings. The current
both traded on the NASDAQ, and
top ten holdings include companies
companies do business in
a few others raise capital on the
involved in oil, gas, and fuels; ground
over-the-counter market, mostly
transportation; energy equipment
through mineral ventures.
and services; air freight and logistics;
Because there are so few publicly
and hotels, restaurants, and leisure. Every six months, a committee
traded companies headquartered in
Alaska,
Nandakumar
says
meets
to
rebalance
the
fund’s
their presence in the state.
Alaska, the more it will benefit the people who live there.” Amrita Nandakumar President, Vident Asset Management
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October 2026 | 117
AKAF HOLDINGS
The Frontier Economic Fund adjusts which companies factor into its composite portfolio, so this information is subject to change. At press time, the 140 or so components among its nearly $3 million in net assets include small investments in mineral exploration companies at the low end; multinationals such as Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Alphabet, The Walt Disney Company, Boeing, PepsiCo, Coca-Cola, Starbucks, and Walmart; and more Alaska-focused operators such as Northrim Bancorp, Contango Silver and Gold, Alaska Air Group, FedEx Corp., Cathay Pacific Airways, Alaska Commercial Company parent The North West Co., and Builders FirstSource, the Texas-based company that acquired Spenard Builders Supply in 2015. The most significant holdings in AKAF have weights ranging from 1.49 percent to 2.22 percent of the overall fund: • ConocoPhillips • SLB • ExxonMobil • Nippon Yusen [a Japanese shipping line] • DoorDash • APA Corp. [Badami oil field] • Uber Technologies • South32 [owner of half of Ambler Metals] • Halliburton • Baker Hughes holdings to ensure companies still
and surprising stories that we are
generated an annualized return of
meet the criteria. Rebalancing can
revealing through this fund. It sounds
21.91 percent, outperforming the S&P
affect a fund’s performance, as AKAF
crazy, but it’s an important part of
500, which generated 15.12 percent
proved after its six-month rebalance,
the Alaska experience.”
over the same period.
during which its holdings grew
For Svorec, buying into AKAF
from 136 to 147 companies, with
early was an “investment from the
not only validates the fund but
a revised list of top ten holdings.
heart,” a way of giving back to a
also the companies that choose
At that point, AKAF’s performance
state that has not only welcomed
to do business in Alaska,” says
increased significantly compared to
her family as visitors but welcomed
Nandakumar. “It should encourage
the S&P 500.
her son as a student within the
people to continue doing business in
University of Alaska system.
Alaska and increase their presence
Kreifels says some companies
“Outperforming
the
S&P
500
included in the fund are ones many
“This
is
not
our
first
in the state. The more that any of
Alaskans interface with regularly.
investment.
We’ve
made
many
these companies do business in
For example, DoorDash, known
investments
our
Alaska, the more it will benefit the
for its food delivery service, has
future,” explains Svorec.
focused
on
people who live there.” Despite the risks associated with all
consistently performed well alongside
Understanding the Market
investments, Nandakumar says AKAF
as ConocoPhillips and ExxonMobil.
As much as Nandakumar believes in
is a great way for Alaskans to invest
Part of this is due to the innovative
AKAF’s growth potential, she also has
ways
a responsibility to remind potential
more obvious heavy-hitters such
Alaskans
use
DoorDash’s
services for more than food. “Think of the mechanic fixing a
in their own success. “If
you’re
an
Alaska
resident
investors to do their research before
or you believe in Alaska’s long-
adding an asset to their portfolio.
term economic story and growth
truck in Soldotna who needs a part
AKAF currently has 90,000 shares
potential, then you should really
that he can’t get shipped for five
outstanding for a market price of
consider investing in this fund,”
days or four days, but a courier can
about $32 apiece. It has a thirty-
says Nandakumar. “We’ve done a
bring it from Anchorage the next
day yield of 1.26 percent, and by the
great job of creating a fund that
day,” says Kreifels. “Those are the fun
time of its first anniversary, AKAF
‘looks like Alaska.’”
118 | October 2026
Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com
www.akbizmag.com
Alaska Business
October 2026 | 119
M A N U FAC T U R I N G
The Right Structure
Enduring Arctic environments
W
Nikita| Adobe Stock
By Sam Davenport
hen one door closed
channels that they need to get into
whatever you are trying to get out to
for
to survive as a business… We want to
somewhere else,” Militello says. “We
Megan
Militello,
try to have the public support those
face a lot of the same challenges,
for
businesses that are actually making
and I think when I was going through
manufacturers in the state to connect
things here in Alaska—because how
that process, it seemed like everyone
and share resources, Militello co-
do we recirculate our dollars within
thought they were dealing with
founded the Alaska Manufacturing
the state instead of just giving them
these problems on their own. We all
Association (AKMA) in 2025. The
to everybody out of the state?”
were very siloed, and there wasn't
After
another opened.
seeing
a
need
something
overall mission of AKMA is to link manufacturers to
enhance
across
freight,
the
state
workforce,
infrastructure, supply chains, and market access. “I don't know how much people
Entrepreneur to Network Builder
bringing
the
people
together to try to overcome and share those resources or knowledge in
together. Everybody was on their own,
2019 and started her own granola
and we were all going to the same
company, Elevated Oats. That chapter
markets, and we were all doing the
Militello
moved
to
Alaska
is
of her life was four years of building a
same things, but how could we figure
everything. Everything is made; even
manufacturing business. She learned
it out together? I think throughout
agriculture, is manufacturing, right?
and saw firsthand the challenges
the whole process, I just learned that
We are producing something at
Alaska manufacturers face when it
doing things together as a community
scale to serve others,” Militello says.
came to importing goods up north.
is so much more powerful than trying
realize
that
manufacturing
to be in your own boat and on your
“VanderWeele Farm makes carrots,
“If you sell something out of
right? They have a whole system. They
Alaska, you are having to deal with
have equipment that they need to
the logistics of getting it out, and
After years of challenges, she
buy. They have bags that they need
the cost of whatever you brought up,
and her business partner made
to buy. They have the different sales
whatever you are making, and then
the difficult decision to shut down
120 | October 2026
own thing.”
Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com
Elevated Oats. Once Militello walked
little tricks and things that you
away, she was offered a position
can do to try to make your costs
with
Manufacturing
less. How do we reduce the cost of
Extension Partnership (MEP), part
shipping something up, but maybe
of a federally supported nationwide
it's not a full container or whatever
network. There is an MEP center in
the case may be?”
the
Alaska
every US state which is funded by
Militello was in the role for a year
the National Institute of Standards
and half, until the organization closed
and Technology, but Militello says the
in June 2025 due to lack of funding.
program requires a financial match.
She came back together with her
“Doing things together as a community is so much more powerful than trying to be in your
“My position was grant funded,
Elevated Oats business partner to
and it was all about supply chain
establish an organization focused
optimization,” Militello says. “It was
on manufacturers. She notes that
this new pilot program that they
manufacturers can still go to the
were running, so that more things
Alaska Small Business Development
could be made in Alaska. So, moving
Center, but manufacturing is so
Megan Militello
into that position really got me
unique and deserves to have its
Executive Director
connected with other manufacturers,
own focus.
own boat and on your own thing.” Alaska Manufacturing Association
not just in the maker space or the
“In Alaska, we only have about
food space, but in construction….
700 manufacturers, which is the
Logistics is the number one thing
smallest I think out of any state in
that people complain about all the
the nation,” Militello says. “If you talk
time when it comes to Alaska, and
about just California, it is like 54,000
not everybody understands these
or something crazy. The amount of
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October 2026 | 121
“We want people to know that it
manufacturers in all the other states
Artic Solutions
is huge compared to what we are
PanAlaska is a member of AKMA,
facing here.”
falling under the Alaskan-Made tier. It’s an Alaska manufacturer that
A Place for Everyone
specializes in expanded polystyrene
AKMA hosts quarterly networking
insulation materials, as well as
events to bring folks together and
modular building components that
share resources, hosting workshops
serve both residential and commercial
and roundtables that share the
infrastructure markets. PanAlaska
resources many businesses have
manufactures
spent years growing. The association
Modular Structural System, which are
that are smaller
has also organized listening tours
building panels specially insulated
for different policymakers to show
for cold weather that connect to
and trying to
barriers that Alaska manufacturers
one another to make houses or
face daily.
commercial buildings.
is possible to manufacture here, especially those business owners
scale… I think that
the
ArcticLight
AKMA has four different tiers
Glenn Brady, one of PanAlaska’s
for those interested in joining:
partners, says that he developed
Alaskan-Made, Alaskan-Designed,
the initial idea five years ago
business owners
Alaskan-Powered, and Alaskan-Ally.
from a conversation with a friend
hit walls, and they
Alaskan-Made is for businesses
about the Fairbanks community
that make their product here in
failing to deliver housing for the
Alaska. Alaskan-Designed is for
F-35 beddown at Eielson Air Force
businesses that design products in
Base. He is also the president of
state but manufacture elsewhere.
NanuqX Industries, which integrates
The Alaskan-Powered tier is for
manufacturing solutions for Arctic
Megan Militello
organizations, suppliers, service
infrastructure and national defense
Executive Director
providers, nonprofits, institutions,
using
Alaska Manufacturing Association
and individuals that support or
Modular Structural System to build
enable
its parts, a “hand in glove sort of
sometimes those
think that it is not doable.”
Alaska
manufacturing.
Finally, the Alaskan-Ally tier is for
A rc t i c L i g h t
thing,” Brady says.
businesses outside of the state
“Long story short, in that moment
that support or collaborate with in-
I realized that this failure was
state manufacturers.
impacting
“We want people to know that
122 | October 2026
P a n A l a s k a’s
national
mission,
defense,”
impacting Brady
says.
it is possible to manufacture here,
“It really spoke to the problems
especially those business owners
underpinning our state and local
that are smaller and trying to scale,”
economy. I wear other hats as
Mitello says. “I think that sometimes
well, not just engineering and
those business owners hit walls,
construction. That is my background,
and they think that it is not doable.
and amongst that, manufacturing on
We know that there are challenges
the brewery and restaurant services
when it comes to accessing capital or
side. So, I was really familiar with the
growing into different sales channels.
economic headwinds. We are looking
But this is where I think if we come
at our dwindling workforce because
together and try to give you the
nobody can afford to live here. There
information, give you the knowledge,
is the out migration, a real difficulty
so that you can shave some years
in hiring and retaining employees,
off of it.”
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“We are able to manufacture this technology, which
from all sorts of industries—bottom
Force Base to use as an aircraft
entry level, all the way up to high
weather shelter. “We will be able to park an F-35 or
skilled professionals.”
a helicopter in it and do the structural
The One-two Punch
and thermal testing, then redeploy local
it to a remote airport next year,”
builders and hearing what hurdles
Brady says. “That test program is
were getting in the way of building
underway and funded—it has been
housing, from supply chain problems
a lot of interesting inertia—like a lot
to the cost of raw materials. Brady
of recognition that the state needs
began to develop the technology,
to build rapidly. And in support of
and with higher
patent and test it, and has since
defense and resource development,
commercially deployed it across
disaster response capacity. It's like
performance
the state.
everything, everywhere, all at once.”
than current
“We have been out trying to raise
One technology from PanAlaska is
money to grow this, and it is what I
the panelized building and structures,
technologies.
call ‘deep pockets, short arms.’ There
and the other is a technology
is a lot of money in the state, a lot of
developed
This is the puzzle
capacity, but a lot of risk adversity,”
professor, Doug Goering, former dean
of Western and
Brady says. “And understandably
of the UAF College of Engineering
so, but at this juncture in where
and Mines.
is permafrost thaw stabilization, done more cheaply
Brady
began
talking
to
Alaska is and what we have coming,
North Slope,
by
Brady ’s
former
“[Goering] developed a technology
what is bearing down on us in
using
Alaska, with all
terms of external challenges, we are
tooling that we have for building the
dangerously far behind in our ability
panels,” Brady says. “We are able to
the infrastructure
to do these things.
manufacture this technology, which
melting into
power plant project years ago for a
done
the thawing
company out of San Francisco and
higher performance than current
was employed as an engineer, and
technologies. This is the puzzle of
permafrost and
[San Francisco] had just lost their
Western and North Slope, Alaska,
symphony orchestra, and meanwhile,
with all the infrastructure melting
destabilizing.
Fairbanks had two,” Brady continues.
into the thawing permafrost and
“Back when there was a Mercedes
destabilizing. This is a solution for
dealership here and a Nordstrom,
that—that
and there were double shifting
here… The potential for that is
schools, and now all that has gone
tremendous because it allows for
can manufacture
by the wayside. But the things that
massive reduction in gravel aggregate
make Alaska what it is—the university
use for infrastructure construction
here.”
system, the arts and culture, those
on the North Slope. Gravel is hugely
are all things that build upon a high
expensive. In Western Alaska, where
quality of life—and that we need to
they're having to barge gravel in to do
get back to.”
stuff, this reduces the need for gravel
This is a solution for that, that we
Glenn Brady Partner PanAlaska
“I
remember
working
on
a
Currently, Brady says there is a complex deal being put together
same
manufacturing
is permafrost thaw stabilization, more
cheaply
we
can
and
with
manufacture
by 70 percent.” Brady
says
that
combined,
PanAlaska
PanAlaska and NanuqX Industries are
manufacture and deploy a prototype
a homegrown “one-two punch” on
arch
Arctic infrastructure technology.
that
124 | October 2026
the
would structure
have on
Eielson
Air
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Alaska Business
October 2026 | 125
T
CONSTRUCTION
he story of moving equipment and supplies is the story of a complex network—where nearly every handoff between barge, truck, and sometimes
even sled involves a different company.
For Want of a Nail…
There’s competition in Alaska’s construction market, but not when it comes to logistics, according to Jeff Miller of Cruz Construction. He says, “Your best friends are your competitors. Alaska is a cool place that way because it is so hard and harsh that you need those allies, or else you’ll be left up the creek without a paddle.”
Alaska’s Transportation Network The spirit of collaboration was most recently visible during the response to damage in Western Alaska in the wake of Typhoon Halong, when construction companies
Materials logistics overcoming Alaska challenges
shared resources to accelerate recovery work. The network that made the typhoon response possible has been built over decades, through projects ranging from oil and gas infrastructure to federal government work and repairs in remote villages. The logistics of getting materials and machinery where
By Jamey Bradbury
they need to go in Alaska starts Outside. Small items, like tools or ladders, may come up via UPS. But pallets of construction material and heavy machinery arrive from the Lower 48 by barge, typically from Seattle or Tacoma, Washington, where they’ve been trucked from manufacturers across the country. For Alaska companies like Airport Equipment Rentals (AER), which has several trucking partners in the contiguous United States, the logistics of getting things into the state can be fairly straightforward. “We have a multitude of trucking companies within the Lower 48 that will go to the factories, pick up the equipment, get it to the port in Tacoma,” says Jerry Sadler, the company’s president. “From there, it’ll go either to TOTE for their roll-on, roll-off service, or maybe Span [Alaska, a subsidiary of Matson Logistics], or Alaska Marine Lines if we have customers in the Southeast.” Once shipments arrive in Anchorage, Sadler adds, “From there, we’ll figure it out.” UIC Oil & Gas Suppor t
With six locations on Alaska’s road system, AER can use its own truck and trailer for items going to the Interior or the North Slope. Delivery to other locations, though, may mean coordinating another barge, subcontracting with a trucking company, or driving a piece of equipment straight off a barge and onto a train car, to be hauled to its destination via railroad. 126 | October 2026
Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com
When ground and water won’t cut it, AER improvises. It has flown replacement machine parts like transmissions, cutting edges, and a disassembled road grader to remote sites using a Pilatus PC-12 turboprop,
“If your system says you have five, but you go and check the bin and you have zero, well, you just lost a lot of time.”
pulling the seats out and sliding
Jaylon Winborg
pallets through the rear cargo door.
Director of Warehousing and Logistics, ARG Industrial
AER has even used helicopters to get machinery where it needs to go. “We shipped a grader in Lynden’s [C-130] Herc before,” Sadler recalls. “We disassembled the grader into parts, and then they put it into the Herc and flew it out to the remote site.”
The Consequences of Cost The
cost
of
shipping
and
transportation is one more factor complicating an already complicated process. “It is expensive to transport in Alaska, not just to Alaska,” adds
Rosita
Johnson,
business
development manager at ASCI, which manages end-to-end logistics for major construction projects, from procurement through final delivery. ASCI’s own research—the Alaska Logistics Cost Index—found that moving goods to Alaska typically runs two and a half to three and a half times what the same shipment would cost in the Lower 48, and that’s before factoring in the cost of moving material around within the state. Timing can be everything. Ken
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Gerondale, president of Construction Machinery
Industrial,
re c a l l s
missing a barge by just one week when trying to deliver a truck the company had sold to a customer in Kaktovik. The truck ended up in Anchorage instead. “We had to have it trucked up to Deadhorse, and then it had to be put on a Herc and flown from
CROWLEY.COM/Alaska
Deadhorse to Kaktovik,” he says. “The www.akbizmag.com
Alaska Business
October 2026 | 127
How'd that road grader get to the middle of nowhere? Courtesy of a Lynden Air Cargo C-130 Hercules, of course! Airpor t Equipment Rentals
cost differential in that freight was
capacity. Some villages receive barge service only once per year.
over $60,000.”
“We try not to have too much excess inventory,” Johnson says,
The consequences of a mistake
“That’s one of the bigger pain
describing calculated reorder points
like that go beyond the financial
points and one of the reasons our
based on historical demand—enough
cost, he adds. “This truck was critical
construction season is so short,”
of a cushion to avoid a stock-out, not
for Kaktovik. It was a water delivery
Johnson points out. “The housing
so much that space sits full for a job
truck, and their old one had been
authorities, for example, they ’ll
that’s still months away.
down. If somebody gets a date
order their construction materials
ARG Industrial takes a similar
wrong or gets a shipping location
during the fall so they can get those
approach but leans on its network
wrong, and then you miss that barge
materials by the following spring.
of branches in Anchorage, Wasilla,
cutoff,” Gerondale says, pondering
Imagine trying to deliver those
Fairbanks, and Kenai to move its
the implications. “It’s easy to see
materials to Barrow—you can’t just do
inventory of cables, ropes, belts,
the financial part because you see
it every day.”
hoses, and fittings to wherever
those numbers right away, but the
The state’s seasonal construction
demand is building, so stock shifts
downstream of that is the [truck] not
calendar means that jobs are planned
as customers’ needs shift with
showing up when it’s needed.”
around barge schedules. A delay in
the season.
Plan and Plan Again Roughly 80 percent of Alaska
May can mean failure to complete a
The company takes warehousing
project before freeze-up in September
a step further for some customers,
or October.
placing inventory and equipment
villages and cities sit beyond the road
Planning against delays is part of
directly at customer job sites through
system. The limitations of Alaska’s
ASCI’s services. The company runs its
what Regional Operations Manager
transportation infrastructure create
own warehouses and uses software
Tyler Mitchell calls a vendor-managed
bottlenecks that demand planning.
to keep tabs on exactly where every
inventory program, with ARG staff
shipment sits. But warehouse space
flying to service sites like Prudhoe
through
in Anchorage is tight and expensive,
Bay every other week.
September. Remote airports and
so ASCI avoids simply stockpiling
coastal communities have limited
everything just-in-case.
Barges run on seasonal schedules, typically
from
128 | October 2026
May
Accuracy matters as much as quantity. “If your system says you
Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com
have five, but you go and check the
chooses, it comes down to, once
bin and you have zero, well, you
again, data visibility.
just lost a lot of time,” says Jaylon
“You don’t want that material
Winborg, director of warehousing
to just sit there collecting dust,”
and logistics for ARG. Both ASCI and
Johnson says, “but you need to know
ARG Industrial describe daily cycle
where it’s at.”
shipment—not
The Race to Point Lay
glamorous
work, but the alternative is a
Weather and remoteness are the
construction crew standing idle while
obvious challenges of transportation
a part that’s supposedly in stock
in Alaska. In winter, though, some
turns out not to be.
challenges
There’s also a piece of the puzzle that’s
easy
happens
to
to
overlook:
leftover
what
become
assets:
ice
roads become logistics corridors unavailable the rest of the year.
material?
Cruz Construction builds more
Johnson calls figuring out what
ice roads and ice infrastructure
to do with the excess materials
than any other contractor in Alaska,
“reverse logistics.” Companies have
consistently
options: redeploying material to
of miles of ice road and snow
other projects, donating it for a
trail annually.
tax write-off, scrapping it, working
“If
you
creating
want
to
that material to just sit there collecting dust, but
counts and dedicated staff tracking every
“You don’t want
you need to know where it’s at.” Rosita Johnson Business Development Manager ASCI
hundreds
do
remote
with a third-party auction house
construction and do it well, you
to sell it. Whatever a company
better know how to [build ice roads].
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Alaska Business
October 2026 | 129
Or we get hired by people to do it for them,” Miller explains. “We had one trail last year that was longer than the [proposed state-spanning] gas line—over 700 miles of trail for laying down fiber. We’ve built all the way out to Point Thomson, about 50 miles of road, and we do hundreds of miles a year of ice roads mixed in with snow trail.” Ice roads are temporary by nature, designed to be used for a season and disappear without a trace when spring arrives. This makes permitting more straightforward than permanent road construction. But
ice
roads
also
introduce
unpredictability. They depend on consistent cold temperatures and snow conditions. A warm spell can make them soft and treacherous. Sparse snow years limit where roads can be built. Optimal ice road conditions occur when temperatures hover
around
-20
to
-30°F;
dealing with flat light that visually
“We may take
blended the ground with the sky.
the equipment to
They had five to six hours of sleep each night, no showers for twelve
a customer’s job
days, no access to running water, and
site two months
they moved only 10 miles; other days,
before they need
minimal hygiene facilities. Some days when conditions were favorable, they managed 40 to 50 miles. The convoy
it or before the
had to balance speed against the
rental period
challenge of breaking trail where no
risk of equipment failure and the
starts… Having the forethought to get
established route existed. Yet Barron’s crew completed the 1,000-mile round trip in nineteen days—eight
days
faster
than
equipment to the
planned. The key to the haul’s
site before weight
Barron says. “I can bid and win
restrictions hit is definitely always a challenge.”
anything warmer makes conditions deteriorate rapidly. Late-season temperatures proved
success was its team of operators, work like you wouldn’t believe, but if I don’t have the crew to do it, then nothing gets completed.” The
Point
Lay
water
storage
repair project was a testament to the logistical complexity that can
Jerry Sadler
go into any Alaska construction
President
effort and the way planning can
Airport Equipment Rentals
make the difference.
challenging in 2025 when UIC Oil & Gas Support took on the task
April 29. So it’s the very last run of
of hauling 1.2 million pounds of
the winter.”
Other People’s Resources Other challenges to construction
construction materials over tundra
Barron had roughly three weeks
logistics aren’t as obvious to a
to repair one of the Point Lay ’s
to plan the operation. His team
layperson. Weight restrictions, for
two water storage tanks. About
assembled fourteen machines and
example, can change unpredictably.
400 miles north of Anchorage,
twenty-two trailers and began moving
Roads
Point Lay is accessible only by air,
material from Deadhorse, carrying an
100,000-pound loads in deep winter
water, or winter ice road. Waiting
average load of 60,000 pounds per
might only support 25,000 pounds
for a summer barge would bring
trailer. The journey covered about 520
when conditions soften. Contractors
materials to the village too late
miles each way; the caravan of trailers
must move equipment when they
for
the
traveled an average of eight miles per
can, often pre-positioning materials
only option was a late winter
hour through conditions that varied
months before they’re needed to
tundra haul.
from deep cold to thawing slush.
avoid losing the window.
construction
season;
that
safely
support
“It was the very bitter end [of the
“Late season tundra work can
“We may take the equipment to
season],” recalls Joe Barron, UIC Oil
always be hit or miss,” Barron says.
a customer’s job site two months
& Gas Support general manager. “So
“Trail conditions can deteriorate, and
before they need it or before the
these guys have been going, they’ve
it makes it softer snow.”
rental period starts,” says Sadler.
been working nonstop since January
The team’s operators worked 18-
15. And then we’re closing out on
hour days, fighting fatigue and often
130 | October 2026
“Having the forethought to get equipment
to
the
site
before
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Alaska Business
October 2026 | 131
Where Alaska’s Going
When the Eklutna Dam was being removed, an excavator had to be craned to the bottom.
The state’s changing economy, fluctuations in skilled workforce,
Airpor t Equipment Rentals
and future construction landscape continue to influence how logistics are done in Alaska. Tariffs on imported materials, manufacturing delays,
equipment
these
global
shortages—
p ro b l e m s
a re
amplified by Alaska’s dependence on Lower 48 supply chains. Supply chain disruptions hit Alaska with heightened force. Suppliers must forecast demand with remarkable accuracy, knowing they can’t easily adjust shipments mid-project. The Point Lay project succeeded because multiple subsidiaries of Ukpeaġvik Iñupiat Corporation—from UIC Oil & Gas Support and UIC Sanatu Construction to UMIAQ Design— could coordinate seamlessly and because contractors, suppliers, and transporters have developed systems to work together despite competition weight restrictions hit is definitely
and distance.
that job.” Still, even though Cruz Construction
always a challenge.”
But without continued investment
assets,
in these capabilities, the system
creates
partnership is key to getting things
becomes fragile. A loss of expertise, a
bottlenecks. Barge options have
done in Alaska. Miller points to a job
consolidation of services, or a shift in
consolidated,
fewer
in Russian Mission where Cruz barged
priorities could leave Alaska’s remote
specialized heavy-haul contractors,
some of its own freight but relied on
communities without the logistics
and
service
another operator, Ruby Marine, to
support they depend on. “There’s
providers have ceased operations.
help move material back to Nenana,
a lot of institutional knowledge in
This means contractors increasingly
with Lynden pitching in on top of that.
this state with local contractors
The limited availability of certain transportation
some
services there
remote
are air
has
developed
its
own
after
that is very impressive,” Miller says.
reliably control their project timelines.
Typhoon Halong, Miller also recalls
“It’s from what we messed up to do
Small companies without such assets
companies that might otherwise bid
wrong. Luckily, [we] made it out with
face increasing disadvantage.
against each other were working
our shirt on, and we’re able to live to
“More than ever, it’s important to
side by side; one even loaned its man
fight another day.”
be able to control your own destiny as
camp to another that didn’t have
much as economically feasible,” Miller
housing set up.
need to own their own assets to
During
recovery
efforts
That keeps
k n ow l e d g e A l a s k a ’s
is
what
construction
observes. When he started out in the
“It’s just a really small world up
industry moving. It’s the invisible
industry, on his first barge project
here,” he says. “If you don’t have
infrastructure that matters most
for Wilder Construction in the early
a good attitude of sharing your
in a state where getting anything
2000s, he remembers using “other
expertise or sharing your resources to
delivered requires not only knowing
people’s resources to do the job. We
help somebody out, it’s going to come
where you’re going but how to
didn’t own anything that we used on
back to bite you.”
get there.
132 | October 2026
Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com
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Anchorage, AK
October 2026 | 133
OIL & GAS
somchai20162516 | Adobe Stock
Choreography in Steel Who builds pipelines and what they’re used for By Christi Foist
T
he August special sessions
Mark Slaughter, chief commercial
projects always use steel. Campbell
in Juneau this year involved
officer for HEX. Greg Campbell,
says the type of steel depends on
much talk of volume and
president of ASRC Energy Services
what the pipe will transport, as well
contracts, costs and taxes. It’s
subsidiary AES Houston Contracting,
as environmental factors. “A lot
too soon to say if Alaska LNG will
adds, “They’re a much safer way to
of times, you have to have… low-
ever break ground. But now is as
transport commodities from point A
temperature steel that requires it
good a time as any to look at how
to point B.”
to be a much stronger steel than
The pipes themselves are usually
you may have in the Lower 48,” he
about a half-inch thick, Campbell
says. Slaughter says Alaska pipelines
The Big Picture
says, but some environments might
must be made to “arctic design
The ancients had their aqueducts,
require a thicker wall. The total
standards,” which requires special
but oil and gas pipelines were
diameter can range from two to
engineering training.
undreamed of until two things
sixty inches. Slaughter says most
happened: commercial oil drilling
Cook Inlet transmission lines range
began in Pennsylvania in the 1850s,
from maybe six to eight inches to
From initial approval to the first
and metallurgists invented methods
about twenty inches at the widest.
flow of oil or gas, pipeline projects
of manufacturing miles of wrought-
Lengthwise, pipelines in Alaska can
can take a long time. Several factors
iron pipe. “Pipelines are critical
run as short as a mile or up to the
contribute to this. At a basic level,
infrastructure that help move large
800-mile-long Trans Alaska Pipeline
Slaughter says such projects require
volumes of oil, natural gas, and
System (TAPS). The world’s longest
both a commodity supply of sufficient
refined products efficiently across
pipeline carries natural gas more
volume and “offtake agreements—
long
than 5,400 miles across the east-
and that’s the main thing. You need
vice
west breadth of China. The longest
customers.” Those firm commitments
president for Alaska operations.
crude oil pipeline has been under
allow the company that wants to
“They provide essential resources to
construction in Russia since 2006:
develop the pipeline to get the
keep communities, businesses, and
the 3,000-mile Eastern Siberia-Pacific
financing it needs for construction.
broader economies moving.”
Ocean Oil Pipeline, or ESPOOP.
pipelines get built.
distances,”
Kennedy,
Worley
says
Cameron
senior
Development Process
But customers don’t want to sign
A continuous tube replaces its
Except for a 6.25-mile “test leg”
contracts until they have proof of a
predecessors in fluid transport,
of the Kenai Peninsula’s North
product they can count on. “That’s
namely road and rail. Pipelines are
Fork Pipeline made with Fiberspar,
this challenge that’s always been
“the most cost-efficient, cost-effective
a composite of plastic and glass
around for decades,” Slaughter
way to move hydrocarbons,” says
fibers, Slaughter says Alaska pipeline
says, comparing it to the chicken-
134 | October 2026
Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com
egg dilemma. “In the gas world,
Once
everything’s
in
place,
temperature
plays
a
big
role,
having firm offtake agreements [i.e.,
construction starts, followed by
Campbell says. “Almost all of that
customer contracts] is critical to
thorough testing and commissioning,
pipe in the North Slope is above
financing a project.”
Kennedy says, noting “a high level of
ground,” he explains, “because of
coordination” and “robust planning.”
the permafrost areas.” To maintain
Once
a
project
gets
funded,
an even flow and avoid wax build-up
Kennedy says it moves to detailed engineering. Campbell says projects
Design and Engineering
inside the pipeline, oil must be kept
usually need “a lot of regulatory
Whether pipelines run above or
warm, he says, but “you can’t bury
compliance things that have to be
below ground depends on several
warm pipe in a permafrost area—it
done prior to the project getting
different
will cause the permafrost to thaw.”
factors.
Commodity
the green light to move forward.” Kennedy
says
these
projects
must comply with a combination of federal, state, and local laws; safety regulations; environmental re q u i re m e n t s ;
and
industry
engineering standards. After the project owner gets all needed approvals, the company can choose a construction firm, obtain materials, and arrange shipment. Main components, generally, are built outside Alaska and sometimes outside the United States. Slaughter says project timelines must allow for months to years of lead time. Finished
materials
then
get
transported via a combination of barge, rail, and truck, depending on the project site. Campbell says pipes, which usually come in forty-foot lengths, may get barged to the state and then go by train to Fairbanks. There, a contractor such as Flowline
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Alaska gets the pipe lengths doublejointed, coated, and insulated. Both Slaughter and Campbell say trucking to the project site can involve ice road construction. “We’ve
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gotta have ice roads built to access the tundra,” Campbell says. Work on these roads might start in late November or December. Houston Contracting’s main work season usually runs from January to early April. By mid-April, Campbell says they must be off the ice roads before
907-561-8922 • 360 E. Int’l Airport Road • Anchorage
they melt. www.akbizmag.com
Alaska Business
October 2026 | 135
Natural gas pipelines such as those HEX uses in Cook Inlet work differently. Slaughter says, “It’s better to bury a pipeline than have it above ground… also from a
gang is the front end… of the ballet,
“The pipe gang is
really,” Campbell says. This crew assembles the pipe in eighty-foot
the front end… of
sections supported by wood skids. For each connection point, workers
security perspective.” He says buried the ballet, really… pipes have less risk of damage and tampering. “Each offs,”
a p p ro a c h Kennedy
has
says.
t ra d e “Buried
pipelines may reduce exposure to
join the pipe pieces through a
Normally, when
series of repeated welding steps,
we’ve got the pipe
on the thickness of the pipes, “a
each known as a “pass.” Depending weld will probably have anywhere
gang firing line
between four and six passes on it,”
easier access for inspection and going, we can do
Campbell says.
about a mile a day.” has different sets of challenges and
the next join, “the firing line behind
requirements.”
Greg Campbell
weld,” Campbell explains. A third crew
The most prominent yet-to-be
President
follows these teams, usually at night,
built gas pipeline, lately developed
AES Houston Contracting
to x-ray everything and check for any
weather while above-ground offer
When the pipe gang moves onto
maintenance. Every project location
issues with the joins.
by Glenfarne Group as the Alaska LNG
project,
would
be
mostly
underground.
While
the
name
them comes in and fills and caps the
The next day, workers coat the
Construction and Testing
pipes and insulate the joints. At this of
point, connected pipe sections get
proposal
construction projects in Alaska,
lifted onto the VSMs and connected
would transport chilled, pressurized
pipeline work can go through the
to what’s already been assembled.
methane from the North Slope to a
winter. “You can build year-round,”
“Normally, when we’ve got the pipe
terminal at Nikiski, where it would
says Slaughter, who worked on the
gang firing line going, we can do
be supercooled into -260°F liquid.
Kenai Kachemak Pipeline during an
about a mile a day,” Campbell says.
Slaughter says LNG occupies far
earlier role with ENSTAR Natural Gas.
In a typical season, depending on the
less volume than natural gas for
“Construction through the winter is
project and pipe diameter, Houston
shipping on board tankers, greatly
actually easier. You can get through
Contracting can build thirty to forty
reducing transport costs. However,
the swamps, the wetlands easier.”
miles of pipeline.
indicates a liquified natural gas pipeline,
Glenfarne’s
Unlike
many
other
types
insulating a supercold pipeline along
For above-ground pipelines or
Once construction’s complete,
more than 700 miles is too great an
sections, Campbell says work usually
a pipeline goes through pressure
engineering hurdle.
starts with the “vertical support
testing, usually done with water.
to
members” (VSMs). These eighteen-
Slaughter says this hydrostatic
account for seismic activity. Kennedy
inch diameter pipes get “sunk about
testing helps identify leaks in the
says “design and construction have
forty feet in the ground,” Campbell
welds. It also involves having the
evolved significantly since TAPS
says,
was built in the 1970s.” Modern
connecting
Pipeline
design
also
has
horizontal
supports
pipeline hold a set pressure for
them
holding
twenty-four to forty-eight hours.
projects have “a stronger emphasis
the actual pipe. To install VSMs,
Depending on the pipeline length,
on environmental planning and
workers drill a hole in the ground
Slaughter says this testing can take
mitigation, quality assurance, and
and fill it with a mixture of sand
several days.
testing,” he says. Newer projects
and water that solidifies around the
also put a greater priority on
upright supports.
with
and
Campbell says the hydrostatic testing process, normally done in the
stakeholder
Once pipe lengths get transported
summer, also involves shooting disks
engagement” and involve “more
to the site and positioned on
known as “pigs” through the line.
rigorous risk management and
the ground, the pipe gang starts
This step, which might be repeated
documentation.”
assembly and welding. “The pipe
ten to twelve times, helps push
“c o m m u n i t y
and
136 | October 2026
Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com
contaminants out. The material used to make the “pigs” depends on the kind of commodity flowing through the pipe. Foam pigs wouldn’t work in gasoline, Campbell says, but they do
SAFETY • INTEGRITY • ACCOUNTABILITY • EXECUTION
in other contexts.
Maintenance and Operation After a pipeline starts transporting a commodity, the owner starts regular inspections and monitoring, much of this required by regulation. Slaughter
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says the US Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration added some of these requirements after some large pipeline explosions in the Lower 48. “The majority of pipelines these days are checked by smart pigs,” Campbell says. This type of “pig” carries instruments with a long battery life through the pipeline, checking things like corrosion, wall
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thickness, and deformations. Slaughter
says
the
inline
inspections required for transmission lines use magnets to check for
CHALLENGES MET P R O MISE S KE P T
corrosion. Caliper pigs also check for “deflection”—for example, if an aboveground pipe gets dented because someone banged it. Another
concern
involves
maintaining
pressure.
Slaughter
observes that if a supplier puts less gas into the pipeline than customers expect and withdraw, “the pressure
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falls because your ins don’t match your outs.” This drop can set other events in motion. Some systems can automatically adjust, but that can create other problems. To keep things flowing smoothly, “every day, every hour, people are talking to each other back and forth,”
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Slaughter says. “It’s just a constant dance, just nobody sees it.” The same could be said of much that goes into building a pipeline. www.akbizmag.com
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N
TOURISM
o matter where visitors to the 49th State choose to go, there are always unique activities available to those with an open mind and a
sense of adventure. “It’s probably the most unique Alaska experience you’ll ever get,” says Wesley Bowhay of Glacier Gardens,
Niche Activities
the attraction in Juneau that he manages. “You can see glaciers and whales in most other ports, but you won’t see upside-down trees like this anywhere else.” Established in 1998 as an add-on to a plant nursery, the Rainforest Adventure Tour now attracts between 50,000 and 100,000 people a year. Bowhay recalls the origins of his father’s business.
Truly unique Alaska
“While working at the nursery, our owner, Steve Bowhay,
experiences
decided to plant it upside down,” he says. “That gave him
accidently smashed a tree with a rental excavator and the crazy idea to create an awesome botanical garden, which took four years to build.”
By Vanessa Orr
Visitors first walk through the lower garden area, which includes the upside-down trees (now sourced from windblown trees downed on the property) that Steve Bowhay, now 68, handplants each year. The exposed roots are ornamented with between 50 to 150 different flowering plants. Participants ride four-passenger golf carts or an eighteen-passenger tram to travel 600 feet up the side of Thunder Mountain, where a guide shares information about the Tongass National Forest, its flora and fauna, and more. According to Bowhay, the tour is perfect for people of all ages who want to explore the natural world. While most visitors to Glacier Gardens are cruise ship tourists, Alaskans also appreciate the gardens and bring family and friends to this one-of-a-kind experience. The only run-of-the-mill quality of such unique a d v e n t u re s
is
that
Alaska
has
an
endless
supply of them.
Turf and Surf Those willing to venture further into the wilderness may enjoy joining St. Elias Alpine Guides to go mountaineering, skiing, or ice climbing (among other activities) in WrangellAlaska Sur f Guides
St. Elias National Park and Preserve. Not for the faint of heart, the mountaineering expeditions adhere to high standards. The McCarthybased company offers several group trips or can arrange custom private trips to climb different peaks or stay in skibased camps. 138 | October 2026
Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com
“We offer group trips to the highest high-altitude peaks out here, including Mount Blackburn, Mount Bona, Mount Bear, and Mount Sanford,” says owner and expedition coordinator
Anya
Voskresensky,
noting that three of those mountains are the fourth to sixth tallest peaks in the country. “Mount Bear is similar
“You can see glaciers and whales in most other ports, but you won’t see upside-down trees like this anywhere else.” Wesley Bowhay, Manager, Glacier Gardens
in elevation to [Mount] Rainier but a completely different beast in terms of climbing it. The mass of the mountain is bigger, and the remoteness factor makes for a unique expeditionary experience.” St. Elias Alpine Guides also offers ice climbing trips to Root Glacier, accessible from a trailhead north of the Kennecott Mines National Landmark. Visitors can choose from all-day trips or multi-day trips. “Root Glacier is heavily featured with canyons, valleys, waterfalls, and awesome terrain that makes for a great playground,” says Voskresensky. The guiding company also has a concession with the National Park Service to provide historical tours of the abandoned copper mill at Kennecott. While visitors can walk around freely, tour members get exclusive access to two buildings that are otherwise off-limits. “The highlight of the tour is the fourteen-story Concentration Mill building,” says Voskresensky. “We hike a trail to the top of the building and then go down eleven sets of stairs and ladders. We also visit the chemical leaching plant, which is otherwise closed to the public.” Voskresensky says that the two-hour mill tour is the number one activity for people visiting the area. Day trips are designed for those who may not have been ice- or rock-climbing
before.
Beginners
learn basic climbing techniques at a www.akbizmag.com
Alaska Business
October 2026 | 139
surf spots in different locations, checking out wildlife and glaciers, and sharing it with people from all over the world,” Reierson says. Every trip is different, depending on tides and the weather. Surfers may surf two hours out of Seward or venture eight hours by boat through the central Gulf. “We work with Mother Nature to provide the best experience for people,” Reierson adds. “We also have a hot shower on the deck
Exposed roots of trees planted upside down become cradles for flowering plants at Glacier Gardens in Juneau. The company offers Rainforest Adventure tours which showcase both planted and wild flora.
of the boat and a heated wetsuit drying and changing room to keep everyone comfortable.”
Sensing Opportunity
Glacier Gardens
Reierson was born and raised in Seward and began taking tourists surfing about ten years ago. “Seward is a great home base to chase waves along Alaska’s coast, and I was lucky enough to live on the road system,” he says. Wanting to find others to share the experience with—and split the cost of surf trips—he began his own boat-based business and has been “hanging ten” ever since. St. Elias Alpine Guides traces its history to 1978. Founded by Bob Jacobs, an elite mountain athlete who held the speed record for climbing
practice location before graduating
surroundings,” says company founder
Denali at that time, the company
to a moulin, which is a round hole
Scott Reierson, “and that’s easier to
originally offered one backpacking
melted by water.
do when you don’t have to share that
trip and one mountaineering trip
“Climbers are lowered down into
connection with a lot of other people.
annually. Now the company employs
the interior of the glacier and climb
You pretty much have the landscape
approximately forty guides to offer a
back out,” explains Voskresensky.
to yourself.”
range of outdoor adventure options.
“It’s a really unique and thrilling
Alaska Surf Guides offers six- to
For adventures below sea level,
experience to be in a vertical cave of
twelve-day boat trips for surfers,
Fred Drake started Snorkel Alaska
blue ice with water trickling down or a
typically
in
thundering waterfall nearby.”
accompanied by two crew. Tours are
Association of Diving Instructors
Visitors craving a wetter experience
primarily out of Seward, but Reierson
Master SCUBA trainer, got certified
can contact Alaska Surf Guides in
also roams throughout the Aleutian
as a diver at 15 years old, and it has
Seward. “A lot of our experience
Islands. “We’ve got 120 miles worth
been his passion—and his career—
has to do with connecting to the
of range from Seward to hit different
ever since. Drake worked as a SCUBA
140 | October 2026
six-passenger
trips
2001.
Drake,
a
Professional
Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com
State
experience they’re looking for so that
help women build confidence and
University, private island resorts, and
they, and the guides, have a good
skill, and they’re stoked to pass on
cruise ships before starting his own
time,” she says.
these lessons to beginners.”
instructor
for
Humboldt
St. Elias Alpine Guides is able to
Focus on this demographic has
offer trips specifically geared to
been a selling point for St. Elias Alpine
Cruise Lines when they sent their
women,
backpacking,
Guides. “Sometimes in more technical
first ship to Alaska, and we convinced
mountaineering, and ice-climbing.
sports, there’s a higher barrier of
them to put wetsuits on that ship,
“We’re unique in the industry in
entry for women,” Voskresensky
which is how snorkeling in Alaska was
that we have a roughly 50/50 ratio
says. “The energy on these trips is so
born,” Drake explains. “That became
of female and male guides,” says
positive and welcoming, and they are
the Dive into Adventure program,
Voskresensky. “Our female guides
some of the most fun trips we offer
business in Ketchikan. “I was working for Norwegian
including
which also offered sea kayaking, mountain biking, and hiking in the ports of call.” For the last twenty-five years, Drake has been offering the trip independently to anyone who wants to enjoy Alaska’s undersea world. “We take people from all walks of life. We’ve even taken people who don’t know how to swim,” says Drake. “While there are some medical/ weight restrictions, other than that, this tour is for anyone with an open mind and spirit of adventure.”
Adventure Seekers While snorkeling is an entry-level adventure, mountaineers in McCarthy need to be quite experienced and actively participate with the St. Elias Alpine Guides team. Guests can bring
Let’s get together Your space for any occasion
their own equipment or they can rent gear, and they are expected to prepare for the trip with briefings via video conference. “We go through every bit of gear they’re bringing to ensure they show up prepared,” says Voskresensky, adding that the first day of the trip is
Events | Concerts | Conferences | Conventions Banquets | Meetings | Trade Shows | Weddings In-house Catering | Equipment Technology
spent double-checking packing and going over planning. “Once out there, what you got is what you got.” As the expedition coordinator, Voskresensky vets every person who wants to go into the back country to make sure it’s the right trip for them. “We want to offer them the www.akbizmag.com
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Alaska Business
October 2026 | 141
St. Elias Alpine Guides' range of trips includes trekking high peaks, insider tours at the Kennecott Mine, climbs and descents into glaciers, and women-only adventures. St. Elias Alpine Guides
for both clients and guides. It’s just a
conditions are more rugged outside
south of the cruise ship docks, is 60
different vibe.”
of
winter
degrees,” says Drake. “It’s so warm
Reierson’s clients are, on average,
dives are reserved for experts.
now that a lot of people don’t even
expert or advanced surfers, but he
Unlike snorkeling in the Caribbean,
wear hoods and gloves.”
has also taken beginning surfers on
Alaska waters feature a kelp forest
Drake laughs when recalling how
trips. “Our passengers are people
environment where snorkelers can
often online reviews mention how
looking for adventure, who are okay
see different types of algae, sea stars,
warm snorkelers stayed. “My staff
with uncertainty and are looking for
spiny sea urchins, sea cucumbers,
and I also get praise for leading
something unique,” he says.
crab, small bait fish (like herring),
a very organized experience, and
perch, rock fish, and more.
having
Customers can bring their favorite
summer
months,
so
equipment
in
amazing
close
condition,” says Drake. “Some say that
hooded wetsuits, and boots and
encounters with orcas, humpback
they’ve come in with low expectations
gloves to rent. The tours run March
whales, octopus, and wolf eels,”
thinking it’s just a novelty tour, and it
through May and August through
says Drake.
has blown their minds.”
boards, and Reierson also has boards,
“We’ve
also
had
very
stay
The Wrangell and Saint Elias
in June and July, not only do visitors
comfortable in the water, even when
Mountains are likewise eye-openers
have plenty of other activities to
it’s 42°F at the beginning of the
for St. Elias Alpine Guides clients.
choose from, both on shore and on
season in April. The tour includes
“These peaks are often the perfect
the water, but the surf conditions are
7 mm wetsuits and top-end ScubaPro,
steppingstones for mountaineers
relatively flat.
BARE Sports, and TUSA equipment.
who have already done the Lower
October. During peak tourist season
Surprisingly,
swimmers
In peak summer, some of that
49 volcanoes and larger summits,”
A Very Different Feel
gear can stay dry. “Right now, the
says Voskresensky. “In Alaska, the
Snorkeling is possible any month
water temperature where we dive at
atmosphere thins out toward the
of the year, but Drake warns that
Mountain Point, which is five miles
poles, so the effects of elevation on
142 | October 2026
Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com
Surfing in Alaska is best during the shoulder seasons of spring and fall. Alaska Surf Guides' trips typically begin in Seward, but go where the weather and surf take them, even into the central Gulf of Alaska. Alaska Sur f Guides
Tourism moves Alaska forward. When visitors come to Alaska, they do more than experience our mountains, glaciers and wildlife — they support the businesses, workers and communities that make our state thrive. In just one year, visitor spending created $5.6 billion in total economic impact, supported 48,000 jobs and generated $181.7 million in state revenue.
ATIA champions this impact every day. As the leading voice of Alaska’s visitor industry, we represent more than 600 businesses and communities, working together to welcome travelers and share this beautiful place we call home. Source: Destination Analysts and McKinley Research Group, 2022
Credit: Corey Lynch
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Credit: Wáats'asdiyei Joe Yates (Haida)
Alaska Business
Credit: Chris McLennan
October 2026 | 143
Snorkeling in Alaska might entail swimming above kelp forests and encountering sea stars, jellyfish, and small fish, or it could include a close encounter with a humpback whale, octopus, orca, or wolf eel. Snorkel Alaska
the body are exaggerated. What is
ones on the mountain that year—or
gold panning, or visiting some of
16,000 feet here feels like 18,000 feet
even in several years. You can’t get
the state’s many fantastic museums,
closer to the equator.”
that extreme wilderness, extreme
others are looking for a little
mountain factor anywhere else.”
more adventure—and something
Furthermore,
mountaineering
in the Wrangell-St. Elias region is
While expeditions take a lot of
different from climbing in the Alaska
work to get ready, Voskresensky says
Range, according to Voskresensky, in
that it is well worth the time and
guarantees, so they sometimes need
that it is an isolated and independent
effort. “There are so many unknowns
to adjust their expectations,” says
experience. As one of the Seven
and unexpected obstacles, and that
Reierson. “If they’re excited about
Summits, Denali has Talkeetna-
makes the summit so much sweeter,”
visiting one of the most beautiful
based infrastructure, including air
she says. “It’s a very raw experience
places on the planet and doing an
taxis, climbing rangers, established
navigating this terrain. There are no
activity that sets their soul on fire,
campsites,
tracks, and no one else is in sight;
then their minds will be blown from
the adventure factor is through
the experience.”
and
base-camp
weather stations. “Out here, we have none of that,” says
Voskresensky.
“It’s
a
the roof.”
completely different. “Alaska
is
not
the
land
of
From mountain peaks and upsidedown trees to ocean waves and the
very
Nothing Like It
forests below, Alaska contains a
for pilots when they’re flying in.
People come to Alaska to see
lifetime’s worth of once-in-a-lifetime
There are no weather stations for
and do things that they’ve never
escapades. “There’s nothing quite like
100 miles, so pilots have to fly 20
experienced before. While some
taking part in your favorite activity in
minutes toward the mountain to see
visitors are content going bear
the most vast, impressive, beautiful
if they can even land. And once out
or whale watching, enjoying an
surroundings,” Reierson adds. “It’s
here, our climbers are often the only
outdoor salmon bake, practicing
incredibly rewarding.”
different feel for climbers and even
144 | October 2026
Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com
www.akbizmag.com
Alaska Business
October 2026 | 145
LEADERSHIP
Doing Good by Being Good: Micromanagement By Lincoln Garrick
E
ver had a boss that hovered?
What makes this trap dangerous
by innate psychological needs for
Supervised by always being
is the combination of disconnect,
autonomy. Essentially, we are all
there? Insisted on rewriting
its
culture,
motivated by need for autonomy,
sentence-by-
and the likelihood of increased
competence, and connection. When a
sentence and page-by-page? Then
employee turnover. The effect of
micromanager strips away autonomy,
congratulations, you’ve experienced
micromanagement
on
they deprive staff of independent
micromanagement. This leadership
intention
even
more
decision-making and systematically
trap may appear as just overly
significant within non-traditional
erode their self-belief. This creates an
detailed oversight, but it more
work environments, such as hybrid
environment of learned helplessness
significantly signals a lack of trust in
and remote settings. Early studies,
and
employees and makes innovating,
such as Christopher S. Mendoza’s
is then wrongly interpreted as
scaling, and responding to crisis
in 2025, indicate a correlation of
incompetence—prompting
extremely challenging.
more than 95 percent between
tighter oversight. The pattern looks like this:
submitted
reports,
effect
on
company
may
be
turnover
eventually
passivity,
which
In My Way or the Highway: The
micromanagement and turnover
Micromanagement Survival Guide,
intention. His research participants
Harry E. Chambers indicates that
reported
excessive meddling is more common
effects of micromanagement were
Stage 2: An employee’s ability
than not, with nearly eight out of
that
“the
detrimental
even
Stage 1: The micromanager imposes control on the employee.
so severe that they would voluntarily
to practice independent decision-
employees
experiencing
leave
making is eliminated.
micromanagement.
Researchers
monetary incentives.”
ten
the
organization
despite
Stage 3: Their self-efficacy collapses, specifically autonomy and
Shona Ryan and Christine Rose
Classic Stages
perhaps described it best as a
competence, which can’t hyper-
be developed without
scrutiny, and constant interventions,
supervision follow a predictable path
actual practice.
severely
described as a vicious confidence-
leader’s excessive control, relentless undermining
individual
Micromanagement
and
autonomy by dictating every minute
competence cycle. Psychologists
detail of daily work. Chambers
Edward Deci and Richard
found that a staggering 91 percent
Ryan
described
of micromanagers are completely
1985
within
unaware of their behavior and its
Determination Theory, which
effect on turnover.
argues that human behavior is driven
146 | October 2026
this
their
in
Self-
Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com
Stage 4: Behavioral passivity kicks in, where they stop taking initiative. Stage 5: Manager perceives
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The Place for Micromanagement There are strong arguments for high-control, close oversight in specific high-risk environments; decision
scientists
often
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legal frameworks for not being
critical on-the-ground decisions?
At the end of the day, I know I don’t
compliant, including catastrophic
Karp: I think the root of it is that
have the bandwidth to do everything.
fines or loss of licensing.
every time we do something right,
And delegating allows you to scale.
• Onboarding inexperienced
we try to acknowledge it. Because
Micromanagement also implies a
teams. When employees are new,
not only does it reinforce terrific
bunch of things: I don’t trust you, you
underperforming, or handling
work, it demonstrates that we have
don’t have any strengths. But that
completely unfamiliar systems,
experts throughout the organization.
isn’t true. Everyone brings something
close monitoring and step-by-step
Recognizing people isn’t just about
to the table. We all have strengths,
direction builds the necessary
morale; it is also acknowledging the
and we’re better together.
guardrails they need.
performance and team you already
I think you can micromanage or
The key distinction is intentionality.
have in-house. And encouraging
you can mentor. Find people who
self-direction actually increases
have potential, share with them the
or
your overall capabilities. If you have
best of your resources, and manage
situational tool. They apply it just
wins and you don’t celebrate them,
with a declared intent of growth.
when needed rather than incorporate
it’s a missed opportunity to create
it as their default and permanent
that environment. One that is safe,
Q: Micromanagement has been
management style.
compliant, and reinforcing the depth
connected to some leaders fearing losing
of our bench.
control. Can you share an instance
Effective
leaders
treat
supervision
as
temporary
a
close
Learning Opportunity
Q: When you hand over a major,
mistake after you stepped back? How
I sat down with Dave Karp, a
high-stakes project or account to a
did you handle the post-mortem to turn
business leader who epitomizes the
rising team member, how do you
it into a learning moment rather than
opposite of micromanagement more
balance giving them the room to learn
taking control back?
than anyone I know. He is a senior
(and potentially make mistakes) with
Karp: That does absolutely happen. I
vice president and Alaska managing
ensuring critical cargo deadlines and
think of it as a teaching and learning
director for Saltchuk, a family of
client expectations are met?
opportunity. It is not productive to
transportation
Karp: Every relationship you
dress people down if they made one
companies that includes Northern Air
have with your managers is in a
bad decision. It’s demoralizing for
Cargo, TOTE, Carlile Transportation,
different stage. I think in the early
everyone.
Cook Inlet Tug and Barge, and
stages, when you don’t fully know
others. I’ve known Dave for close
someone’s abilities and motivation,
the role of leader ego. Early in
to thirty years, since he was at the
it is a bit of a risk for a leader to
my career, I was climbing; I was
helm of Hawaiian Vacations, and
say, “I’m going to extend a level of
interested in being the smartest guy
cannot overstate his contribution
trust, but I’m also going to give you
in the room, but that’s not useful for
to
the grace to come back and get
creating a positive work culture.
Alaska
and
through
when an employee made an operational
distribution
business,
I think we don’t openly talk about
guidance.” But that’s how you grow
If someone did it differently
people. Challenge them, but not in
from how I would have, it doesn’t
Q: As you know, air cargo operations
a sink-or-swim sort of way. When I
necessarily mean they did it wrong. If I
in Alaska have many moving parts,
provide the space for them to take
had tried it my way, I may have failed
from weather and federal regulation
charge, it’s not a gauntlet that’s
too. I don’t think second-guessing
to layers of people, equipment, and
thrown down, where they need to
the outcome is all that helpful. I focus
facilities. Ramp or hub teams in remote
figure it all out on their own. I’m still
on how do we recalibrate. How does
bush communities often have to solve
available to contribute, and they
the team learn from this? Because
real-time problems without an executive
know that. My preference is to make
there will be more challenges ahead.
standing over them. How do you build
sure we’re making good decisions—
If you fail and your leader comes with
a culture that maintains high safety
together. That’s very different than
you and helps you avoid a repeat
and compliance standards while giving
saying, “Go do this and don’t screw
occurrence, it’s a strong indication
local managers the autonomy to make
it up.”
that they have confidence in you.
volunteerism, and philanthropy.
148 | October 2026
Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com
That’s how you build an environment
part of a leader’s job is helping your
Leading Leaders
where everyone can thrive. Everyone’s
people play to their strengths and
Tight oversight has its place, but
success is our success.
the talents they bring to the table.
micromanagement as a leadership
So I probably wouldn’t sideline but
philosophy ultimately destroys trust,
rather redirect.
drives away talent, and crushes
It’s the who, not the what. Amazing relationships lead to amazing results.
Don’t assume just because you
innovation. You can’t be a leader
Q: Empowering people isn’t just about
have a leader who has an interest
of leaders without giving teams
stepping out of their way; it’s about
in the details that you have a
the room to make decisions, learn
actively preparing them for their next
micromanager. They may want to
from mistakes, and grow. This
step. How do you identify whether an
help mentor you but just haven’t
requires shifting from control to
employee’s mistake is a sign they need
said those words. I might want
practical mentorship.
more coaching or if it’s a sign you need
to be along for the ride on this
to step back and trust them more?
project because it’s personally
Karp: Short of something really
interesting to me, and I want to
egregious, like erratic behavior, it
learn. Understanding the intentions
MBA director, and alumnus at Alaska Pacific
might be that redirecting is better
of the leader and having leaders
University. He has decades of experience in
than stepping back. As a leader, you
that exercise a level of humility
business, marketing, and communications
have resources available. Tools in
about their own skills is important.
fields, providing public affairs and strategy
your toolbox. You may have given
Sometimes we get wrapped up in
services for national organizations. impact.
the wrong task to the wrong person.
our leader shell and titles. You can’t
Throughout 2026, Garrick’s leadership
Someone may really struggle with
know everything along this work
series is exploring different ways for
one assignment, but they may
journey, and appreciating that
leaders to align their values with ethical
thrive with another. I think a big
takes humility.
conduct and create lasting positive impact.
Join us next month as we explore callousness. Lincoln Garrick is an associate professor,
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October 2026 | 149
THE FISHBOWL
Adjusting Perceptions In the Fishbowl with Jon Bittner By Tasha Anderson
W
e’re excited
products. They want to
to
expand their markets.
share
excerpts
You ask them,
(edited for style and
“How’s the local
length)
The
economy doing?”
Fishbowl, a new Alaska
“Oh, it’s terrible.
Business video series
Everything’s on fire.”
in
speak
“How’s the state
leaders
doing?” “Oh, God,
about the economy:
that’s even worse…
w h a t ’s
this is the end
from
which
Alaska
happening
Greatland Studios
with
we
and what we should do. In
this
first
installment, we were privileged to connect with
Jon
of times.” So we’re trying to understand, and we look at the economic data [because] both of
B i t t n e r,
president and CEO of the Anchorage
is floundering economically… What are
Economic Development Corporation
the challenges unique to Alaska that
(AEDC). The 501(c)(6) nonprofit is
are getting in the way of our economy
standpoint, we’re extremely low
where he launched his career in
finding and keeping momentum?
on unemployment, a little over 3
economic development and gained
Jon Bittner: It’s interesting. We’re
percent. Certain industries are sure
management experience. Bittner
seeing the exact same thing, but
they’re falling, but other industries
left for about nine years to lead the
there’s a nuance to it. We do a lot of
are going gangbusters: logistics,
Alaska Small Business Development
surveys; we do a lot of interaction
healthcare, things along those
center, and when AEDC was looking
with businesses. And when you ask
lines. So the economy isn’t really
for a CEO—preferably an Anchorage
individuals, “How are you doing
floundering. It’s more changing.
resident with history in management,
financially?” broadly speaking, people
And we’ve had these big
economic development, and growing
are saying, “I’m doing good.”… If you
disruptions, sure. That’s an
programs—Bittner was happy to
ask business owners, they’re saying,
issue as well.
answer the call, returning to AEDC
“My business is doing pretty good.”
in March.
Fifty percent of the ones that we’ve
happening is, some of this is
these can’t be true… From an employment
But what we actually think is
interviewed said they’re growing.
perception based. Before we
Tasha Anderson: I’ve heard from
They’re planning to grow. They want
turned on the cameras, we were
local businesses this idea that Alaska
to add people. They want to add
talking about how the internet and
150 | October 2026
Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com
digital media is changing things
plus, but they’re not the ones that we
noise, if you will.
need filling these jobs that we have.
and everybody is getting their information in really interesting ways.
Anderson: What are some of the
We have a lot of opportunity;
legitimate challenges and, as you said,
a lot of industries are growing.
some of the communication channels
structural issues that are top of mind
We’re getting a lot of new federal
that we’ve developed incentivize
for you?
investment, particularly through [US]
certain emotional reactions. You
Bittner: One
Department of War
get more engagement for fear, for
of the things
and Department
anger, for things like that. So if that’s
that we’re really
of Energy,
the way that a lot of people are
focused on right
transportation.
[getting information], it skews their
now is we are
There’s a lot of
perception of what the reality is.
losing people
new opportunities
in the 18- to
coming in, but
AEDC is going to be focusing on
64-year-old age
we need bodies
over the near term—it’s a little
range. That’s
to fill these
weird for an economic development
our workforce
jobs. It doesn’t
corporation—but we’re actually
population. The
going to have to get more into the
only demographic
hearts and minds thing… Something
in Anchorage—
to turn people’s perceptions around
and in the rest of
and say, look, let’s focus on the
the state, quite
real issues and not these perceived
frankly—that’s growing is 65-plus. And
state: if there’s no one to make that
issues, right? The signal from the
there’s nothing wrong with people 65-
happen, it’s not really as good as it
So one of the major things that
Greatland Studios
One of the implications of that is
matter how many businesses you start or how many opportunities you bring to the
seize the deal
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Alaska Business
October 2026 | 151
might want
could be.
to be in that
the things we
space but don’t
have to do is,
know it exists?
we have to
Bittner: I
figure out how
love Alaskan
to invest in
culture.
ourselves in a
I love,
way that keeps
especially,
the people
our fashion
we have here,
sense. It
here, but also
is both my
Greatland Studios
So one of
attracts more people from Outside to come here and stay here. And that’s a difficult thing for Anchorage in particular. It’s going to mean investing in ourselves as if we believed in ourselves. Not just enough to keep the lights on, not just enough to manage a decline, but to really say, “Hey, there is a positive future here worth investing in.”… We have to put the money where it needs to go that is impactful for the people who we’re trying to attract and retain. Anderson: How does Alaska differentiate itself to attract workers? Bittner: Trails and the quality of life and stuff like that, that’s great; it is valid and viable. But you have to have the foundation under it. If you don’t have good schools, it doesn’t matter how good your trails are, people aren’t going to want their kids to grow up here. We can have all the mountains in the world, but if our school systems are closing left to right, people are like, “Well, we’re going to try the second-best mountains in the world.” You have to invest in infrastructure; we have to have workable roads. You have to invest in public safety. 152 | October 2026
most and least favorite part of living here… you go to the opera,
You have to invest in education. And once you get those to a place where people are comfortable with them, then Anchorage’s value proposition, and Alaska’s value proposition, is really clear. There is a quality of life here. Everyone down in the Lower 48 says they have this unique quality of life. Broadly speaking, though, you can drive state to state, right? It doesn’t change that much between the states… you can find something comparable down there. I don’t believe the same is true for Alaska. We are truly unique. We are a unique experience in the United States and even the entire North America area. We have a lifestyle, an access to wilderness, a size and scope that just doesn’t exist anywhere else. That’s our selling point. But in order to make that sale, we have to have a baseline product that is workable. And that’s going to take some investment.
and people are dressed in tuxedos and Carhartts and Xtratufs. Where else do you see that? You don’t. I don’t. We collect people that march to the beat of their own drums. Again, a lot of people [in other places] say this, but I think it’s true here. I can’t say that about other places. The best way to get people to experience that for themselves and to fall for this place is to bring them up here short term. This is why the tourism industry is so important. It’s why the military is so important. There’s so many things that bring people up for brief periods of time so that they can experience the best of Alaska. And then when they leave, part of them thinks, “Man, I wish I had stayed here.” Then at least we’re on the list when they’re thinking about moving: “Hey, I had a really great time up there. I met some great people that really shared my values. This is where I can spend the rest of my life.”
Anderson: Alaska also has an interesting culture. How can we invite people to understand that culture who
The full interview is available on YouTube.
Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com
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October 2026 | 153
INSIDE ALASKA BUSINESS Span Elite
a new franchise. Little Caesars now
research resource for trip planning.
The founder of Arctic Harvest
occupies the location at 751 East
Morris Media continues to publish
Deliveries transitioned to a new job
Loop Road. Local franchise partners
the annual travel guide The Milepost.
helping entrepreneurs, so she sold
Walter Harmon and Gabby Lujan
alaskamagazine.com
the business to Alaska Commercial
held a ribbon-cutting ceremony in
Company. The oldest retailer in
July with a pizza-eating contest as a
Alaska is integrating the smaller
fundraiser for the West High School
company, which aggregates Alaska-
football team. The new location
grown vegetables and meats to
is Harmon’s fourth Little Caesars
distribute to local chefs, into its Span
restaurant in Anchorage.
Elite ecommerce service. Meanwhile,
littlecaesars.com
founder Kyla Byers says her new
is a chance to help others receive some of the coaching that was so important to her own journey. span-elite.com
Wells Fargo Two bank branches in Midtown Anchorage became one with the opening in August of a new Wells Fargo location. The bank redeveloped the property at Denali Street and
HOTWORX
The developer of the Donlin Gold project in the Middle Kuskokwim region is Canadian no more. Vancouver-based NOVAGOLD Resources consolidated ownership of
role as senior finance manager for Anchorage Community Land Trust
NOVAGOLD Resources
Benson Boulevard, which was a Denny’s restaurant for more than
Donlin Gold, acquiring investor John Paulson’s 40 percent stake. All 100 percent is now held by a new publicly traded US corporation domiciled in Delaware, NovaGold Corporation. Consolidation is intended to simplify decision-making, project development, and financing during a bankable feasibility study.
A mother-daughter team who
forty years. That enabled Wells
formerly lived in Alaska is returning
Fargo to close a branch across the
with a workout studio guaranteed
street inside the Midtown Mall,
to thaw chilled muscles even in
and the branch inside Wells Fargo
winter. Tracey Pidge and Ciara
regional headquarters at C Street
Boyce are bringing HOTWORX, a
and Northern Lights Boulevard
The Alaska Native village corporation
fitness franchise they’ve joined in
also moved.
for Hoonah will be welcoming Disney
Washington, to five locations across
wellsfargo.com
Cruise Line guests at Icy Strait Point
Alaska, beginning with a studio in
Hot yoga, hot Pilates, and hot cycle sessions can be booked through an app and accessed day or night. hotworx.net/studio/wasillasunmountain
Huna Totem Corporation
at least through 2041. Huna Totem
Wasilla. HOTWORX combines infrared heat with a 24-hour studio model.
novagold.com
Morris Media The end of Alaska came as little surprise. Morris Media Network, publisher of the monthly magazine, informed readers this summer that
Corporation signed a fifteen-year agreement securing preferential access at the cruise destination, the largest employer in Hoonah. The agreement gives Disney Cruise Line preferential docking at Icy Strait Point
the December/January issue would
for one vessel each week. Disney
be its last. The magazine, in print
Cruise Line expanded its Alaska
since 1935, stopped taking new
presence in 2026 to two ships, with
subscribers and ad clients late last
select seven-night itineraries aboard
A former Subway location in
year. Circulation was around 77,000
Disney Magic and Disney Wonder
Anchorage’s Government Hill
copies, with 90 percent of readers in
featuring calls at Icy Strait Point.
neighborhood is hot and ready with
the Lower 48, where it served as a
hunatotem.com
Little Caesars
154 | October 2026
Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com
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Alaska Business
October 2026 | 155
RIGHT MOVES Alaska Communications
·
Hobbs is a graduate of the US Naval
background includes biomass facilities,
Academy and served eight years in the
battery energy storage, and alternative
hired a new top executive.
US Navy. In 1996, he joined Chugach
energy feasibility studies.
The Anchorage-based
Alaska Corporation, and he started
telecom selected Courtland
working for Afognak in 2000.
Alaska Communications
Madock as CEO and
Madock
president. The former Anchorage telephone utility, now an affiliate of
·
Singletrack Advocates Singletrack Advocates (STA) named
·
Martin Miller, whose twenty-two
years of experience in design and project management includes twelve years at Coffman, is also promoted to Associate. Miller’s focus has been electric utility
Massachusetts-based ATN International,
George Pollock as its first Executive
infrastructure, and he has experience
brings Madock to Alaska from Chicago,
Director. STA Board President Lee Bolling
with HVAC and plumbing design for
where she was chief commercial
says, “As STA’s first Executive Director,
federal, commercial, and industrial
officer for WOW!, a multistate internet
he’ll play a major role in shaping the next
clients.
provider. She holds a bachelor’s degree
chapter of the organization, and we’re
in economics from the University of
excited about what’s ahead.” Pollock
Iowa and an MBA from Northwestern
arrived in Anchorage in 1993 and has
Civil engineering, surveying, and
University’s Kellogg School of
logged countless hours of volunteer
environmental firm R&M Consultants
Management. Madock succeeds Paul
trail work. Since the nonprofit was
Fenaroli, who is stepping down to focus
established in 2004, STA has built more
on family.
than 40 miles of singletrack at Kincaid
joins R&M’s Construction
Park, Hillside Park, and Chugach State
Services Department as
Tatitlek Corporation
·
Park.
A former village
R&M Consultants
·
hired new staff.
A zarsepandan
Aryan Azarsepandan
Engineering Associate,
focusing on construction administration,
corporation president has
Coffman Engineers
worked his way back up to
Multidiscipline engineering firm
management software implementation
top leadership. The Tatitlek
Coffman Engineers promoted a pair
to support transportation and
Corporation (TTC) promoted
of Associates in its Anchorage office
infrastructure projects. Prior to joining
Executive Vice President Dick Hobbs
to recognize their technical depth and
R&M, Azarsepandan worked for the
to become its new President. Prior to
·
Alaska Department of Transportation
Hobbs
joining TTC, Hobbs was President and
sustained contributions. Lee Bolling has nineteen years of
documentation, and construction
and Public Facilities. Azarsepandan
CEO of Afognak Native Corporation and
experience as a project manager, design
holds a bachelor’s degree in mechanical
its wholly owned subsidiary Alutiiq, LLC
team leader, and lead mechanical
engineering from UAA. He is a licensed
from 2006 to 2014. He joined the TTC
engineer on energy projects, including
pilot and a certified erosion and
Executive Management Team in 2018.
fourteen years with Coffman. His
sediment control lead.
RIGHT MOVES IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY NORTHERN AIR CARGO
Committed to the Alaska Spirit 156 | October 2026
Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com
·
Aviret t
Dylan Avirett joins R&M
cod sales. Weber’s first
previously served as the
as Staff Geologist in the
stint with CVRF in 2016
State of Alaska’s refugee
Earth Sciences Department,
to 2019 was as a seafood
coordinator. Spatrisano
where he conducts field
sales representative. He
holds a bachelor’s degree in
investigations, soil and rock
then worked in sales,
Weber
Spatrisano
history and political science
sampling, core logging, and technical
logistics, and processing operations,
from Western Michigan University
reporting. Avirett has experience with
most recently for Bristol Wave seafoods.
and a master’s degree in teaching and
government agencies, private industry,
He holds a mathematics degree from
learning from UAA.
and academic research programs,
Western Washington University.
including the UAA geology department Geophysical Surveys. His background
Holland America Princess
includes soil and rock sampling, core
Micaela Fowler is
and the Alaska Division of Geological and
·
·
Sara Clark comes to
Rasmuson Foundation with executive leadership experience spanning both nonprofit and government
Clark
logging, geospatial analysis, and
promoted to VP of
sectors. She earned a bachelor’s
geological research. Avirett holds a
Government Affairs for
degree in psychology and a master’s
bachelor’s degree in geological sciences
Holland America Line and
degree in public health, both at UAA.
Princess in Alaska. Fowler
Her academic career was driven by a
from UAA. He also served six years in the
Fowler
US Army Reserves.
joined HAP a year ago as the director of
profound dedication to Alaska and its
Southeast government and community
communities.
Coastal Villages Region Fund The largest Alaskan-owned seafood
·
company has some new leaders.
relations. She previously served in state
Matanuska Electric Association
government as Deputy Commissioner
·
of the Alaska Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development.
Matanuska Electric
Coastal Villages Region
Fowler is a graduate of UAS with a
Association's current
Fund (CVRF) promoted Nick
bachelor’s degree in social science.
CEO, Tony Izzo, is retiring
Souza, previously director
in January, and moving
of sales and marketing, to
Rasmuson Foundation
CEO. Souza has worked in
Rasmuson Foundation named two
will be led by Clay Koplin, who has been
key leadership roles for twenty years
new Directors of Programs, who both
CEO of Cordova Electric Cooperative
at CVRF, a nonprofit that pools the
supervise program officers throughout
for almost twenty years. A professional
Community Development Quotas of
the state’s largest philanthropic
electrical engineer with an MBA from
·
·
the Kelley School of Business at Indiana
Souza
twenty villages in Southwest. CVRF also welcomed back Patrick
organization. Issa Spatrisano is promoted
Koplin
forward the utility co-op
University, Koplin brings extensive
Weber as Crab Operations and Longline
from her previous position as
experience in Alaska electric systems.
Sales Manager, overseeing Bering Sea
Program Officer. Spatrisano joined
Izzo is working alongside Koplin
crab shares while also leading longline
the foundation in 2025, and she
through the transition.
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Alaska Business
October 2026 | 157
ALASKA TRENDS
W
ill next year’s Top 49ers list fill the top ten slots with billion-dollar companies? The trend is promising. Amy Newman’s article “Billions with a ‘B’” reports that eight companies achieved ten-figure revenues in 2025, up from six the year before. Even adjusting for inflation, eight is the most ever. Adding two more in 2027
is conceivable: Chugach Alaska is within striking distance, and Koniag has been close before. Three companies are new to this year’s Top 49ers, and eleven have risen in the ranks since 2025. The biggest jump in rank is Cornerstone General Contractors, up thirteen places to #35, beating its previous peak of #38 on the 2014 list. Cornerstone reports the biggest percentage increase in revenue since 2024, but the biggest boost in absolute dollars belongs to NANA Regional Corporation, up by $329 million, or almost an entire Chugach Electric Association’s worth. NANA has the second-largest payroll among Top 49ers, after ASRC, while Chugach Electric reports the largest allAlaskan workforce, with 450, followed by Grant Aviation’s 425. Eleven of the Top 49ers report no employees outside of Alaska. Dividing the total revenue of all Top 49ers by their worldwide workforce yields an average of $304,566 per employee, up from $287,074 a year earlier. Adjusted for inflation, per-worker revenue has been as high as $343,000 in 2011. Total revenue growth from 2024 to 2025 of 8.8 percent is higher than last year’s 5.34 percent. The biggest surprise (buried, appropriately, here at the bottom) is the rising threshold to enter. Companies needed at least $97 million in 2025 revenue to qualify, up from last year’s $77.9 million minimum. Even adjusting for inflation, no year has ever had a richer company at #49. This edition of Alaska Trends crunches more data collected from our annual Top 49ers survey.
3 New Top 49ers
$30.84B
$79M to $125M
Contango Silver and Gold (#26) Denali Universal Services (#36) Shee Atiká, Inc. (#44)
Total gross revenue generated by 2026 Top 49ers
Cornerstone General Contractors saw the largest percentage increase in revenue, 59%
Total Alaskan Employees in Top 49ers Companies by Decade 30,000
20,000
10,000
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Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com
Company with the Largest Increase in Revenue per Decade $500M
$400M
$300M
$200M
$100M
1980s Veco Corp.
1990s ASRC
2000s CIRI
2010s ASRC
2020s ASRC
1,000% Growth The combined gross revenue of the 2026 Top 49ers is 11x the revenue that the 1985 Top 49ers reported.
23% of Top 49ers’ total employees are Alaska residents, down from 24.8% last year.
Workforce Growth Single-Year Surge Bering Straits Native Corporation (BSNC) led single-year personnel growth in the most recent period, jumping from 2,699 employees in 2024 to 3,887 employees in 2025. BSNC was followed by Bristol Bay Native Corporation and Calista Corporation. www.akbizmag.com
In 1985, the Top 49ers employed 18,999 Alaskans. By 2026, that local footprint has grown to over 23,500 jobs. Since 2006, the total worldwide workforce of the Top 49ers has more than doubled, growing from 48,120 to 101,260 employees. Alaska Business
Billion Mark ASRC broke the $1B ceiling in 2000 with a gross revenue of $1B. In 2025, it reported gross revenue of $5.9B. October 2026 | 159
What book is currently on your nightstand?
Whistler by Ann Patchett and Zingerman’s Guide to Giving Great Service by Ari Weinzweig. What charity or cause are you passionate about?
Alaska Public Media… also different organizations for Alaska’s trails. What’s the first thing you do when you get home after a long day at work?
I snap into family mode, so the work shifts to a different kind of work. What vacation spot is on your bucket list?
Japan. If you could domesticate a wild animal, what animal would it be?
I would choose an owl and have it relay messages to all
Photos by Kerr y Tasker
my friends.
160 | October 2026
Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com
OFF THE CUFF
Elissa Brown C
old treats for A laskans seemed nutty,
AB: What’s your favorite local restaurant?
eleven years ago. Elissa Brown
Brown: Palmeira [Tropical Fusion], Turkish Delight, and
recal ls, “It felt li ke the punchline to a
Everest Restaurant.
joke, to our friends from Outside.” Since
AB: Dead or alive, who would you like to see perform live
then, her Wi ld Scoops k itchen has become
in concert?
a keystone in A nchorage’s craf t desser t
Brown: ABBA in their heyday.
scene. “We’ve helped open the door to
AB: Is there a skill you’re currently
other ice cream businesses,” says Brown.
developing or have always wanted to learn?
Bui lding community was her goal, af ter ex perimenting with recipes as a midd le school science teacher and studying ex periential
Brown: My daughter started learning violin recently, and it made me want to also learn violin
learning during a research fel lowship in
or fiddle… I do play banjo, and
Nor way. Brown says, “Ice cream is the perfect
I’ve been working on
vehicle for showcasing different ingredients
getting better.
that also tel l the stor y of the place where you
AB: What’s your
are.”
best attribute and worst attribute?
Alaska Business: What do you do in your free time?
Brown:
Elissa Brown: Anything outdoors… Running, biking,
My best
skiing.
attributes
AB: What’s your greatest extravagance?
are my
Brown: I have a good number of bicycles, and I feel like I
open-
could still acquire more.
minded creativity
AB: What’s the most daring thing you’ve ever done? Brown: After I graduated college, I led a self-supported bicycle trip across the USA with a group of teenagers… Getting lost, finding our way… We started in Georgia and ended up in California.
and limitless positivity… For worst: too much openmindedness
AB: What are you superstitious about?
can slow
Brown: I have some lucky ice cream socks if I need a little
decision
luck that day.
making.
www.akbizmag.com
Alaska Business
October 2026 | 161
ADVERTISERS INDEX 5th Avenue Jewelers................123. akdiamondco.com
Colaska.................................131. colaska.com
Airport Equipment Rentals.......163. airportequipmentrentals.com
Conrad-Houston Insurance Agency.................................149. chialaska.com
Alaska Mergers & Acquisitions, LLC....................121. akmergersandacquisitions.com Alaska Miners Association........133. alaskaminers.org Alaska Sausage Company, Inc.....19. alaskasausage.com Alaska School Activities Association..............................35. asaa.org Alaska Travel Industry Association............................143. alaskatia.org Aleut Corporation.....................95. aleutcorp.com American Heart Association.......21. heart.org Anchorage Convention Centers.................................141. anchorageconventioncenters.com Arctic Shred............................ 43. arcticshred.com Arctic Slope Regional Corporation.............................57. asrc.com Aspen Hotels.........................145. aspenhotelsak.com ASTAC - Arctic Slope Telephone Assoc....................101. astac.net Avis Rent-A-Car........................39. avisalaska.com Bering Straits Native Corp..........63. beringstraits.com Bristol Bay Native Corporation....59. bbnc.net
Construction Machinery Industrial..................................2. cmiak.com Cook Inlet Tug & Barge LLC.......147. cookinlettug.com Cornerstone General Contractors.............................51. cornerstoneak.com Craig Taylor Equipment.............97. craigtaylorequipment.com Credit Union 1..........................81. cu1.org Crowley Fuels.........................127. crowley.com Cruz Companies.......................71. cruzconstruct.com Davis Constructors & Engineers Inc.........................121. davisconstructors.com Delve Group............................16. delve-group.com Denali Universal Services...........93. denaliuniversal.com Dorsey & Whitney LLP............. 151. dorsey.com/locations/anchorage Doyon, Limited.......................101. doyon.com First National Bank Alaska............5. fnbalaska.com Fountainhead Development.....139. fountainheadhotels.com Gana-A' Yoo Ltd........................75. ganaayoo.com Global Credit Union................ 115. globalcu.org
Home Instead - HI Southern Alaska, Inc...............................20. homeinstead.com Huna Totem Corporation.......... 73. hunatotem.com IMA Financial Group..................41. imacorp.com Junior Achievement...................37. ja-alaska.org Landye Bennett Blumstein LLP...87. lbblawyers.com Long Spring...........................153. longspringak.com Lynden.................................164. lynden.com Matson Inc..............................89. matson.com Mat-Su Health Foundation.........31. healthymatsu.org MTA - Matanuska Telecom Association..............................15. mtasolutions.com NANA North..........................129. nananorth.com NANA Regional Corp.................61. nana.com NCB........................................51. ncb.coop Nenana Heating Services, Inc..........................147. nenanaheatingservicesinc.com NIMA Corporation....................85. nimacorporation.com Northern Air Cargo.................157. nac.aero Northrim Bank.........................69. northrim.com
PNC Bank.............................. 119. pnc.com Port MacKenzie........................91. portmackenzie.matsugov.us Providence Alaska Medical Center......................................7. providence.org Providence Imaging Center ....105. providence.org/locations/ak/imaging-center Resource Development Council................................... 11. akrdc.org Roger Hickel Contracting Inc......79. rogerhickelcontracting.com Schwabe, Williamson & Wyatt, P.C..............................109. schwabe.com/locations-anchorage-alaska Sourdough Express, Inc............ 77. sourdoughexpress.com Span Alaska Transportation LLC...................53. spanalaska.com Stellar Designs Inc................... 23. stellar-designs.com Structured Communication Systems..................................13. structured.com SYSTEMCENTER ALASKA............27. systemcenter.com/alaska The Plans Room......................149. theplansroom.com Think Office........................... 111. thinkofficellc.com Toast of the Town.....................47. toastofthetownak.com Tongass Federal Credit Union.... 23. tongassfcu.com
Oil Search (Alaska) LLC.................3. santos.com
TOTE Maritime Alaska LLC........125. totemaritime.com
Calista Corporation.................107. calistacorp.com
Great Originals Inc..................135. greatoriginals.com
Oxford Assaying & Refining Inc...........................155. oxfordmetals.com
Udelhoven Oilfield System Services, Inc..........................137. udelhoven.com
Chin'an Gaming Hall..................45. chinancasino.com
Greatland Studios.....................25. greatlandstudios.com
PeopleAK..................................9. peopleak.com
Ukpeaġvik Iñupiat Corporation....65. uicalaska.com
Chugach Alaska Corporation......67. chugach.com
Greer Tank..............................99. greertank.com
Petro Marine Services...............49. petromarineservices.com
Umialik Insurance Company..... 117. umialik.com
CIRI........................................99. ciri.com
Haskell Corporation................137. haskellcorp.com
PIP Marketing Signs Print..........83. pip.com/anchorageak500
Watterson Construction............33. wattersonconstruction.com
NEW EPISODE ALERT! Wild Smoke Competitive barbecuing demands elite dressings, so Shauna Donnelly invented her own. The newest episode of This Alaska Business visits the Wild Smoke kitchen, birthplace of more than a dozen special sauces, some exclusive to local eateries. Part 47 of THIS ALASKA BUSINESS, an ongoing video series. Real Stories. Real Alaska Businesses.
162 | October 2026
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