U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. visited Fairbanks and rural communities across the state are cleaning up toxic chemicals from fire suppressants.

The Fairbanks North Star Borough is applying for federal funding to rebuild its deteriorating animal shelter, and state biologists released a herd of wood bison in a wilderness area southwest of Fairbanks.

Sen. Lisa Murkowski did not rule out running for governor during a Monday news conference in Anchorage. // Fairbanks researchers recently successfully tested the feasibility of a system that stores heat in the ground in summer for use during winter. // A lack of reliable housing and other infrastructure leads to health and economic problems for kids in rural Alaska, according to panelists at a conference last week in Anchorage. //Wildfire season has slowed, but not ended. Warm, dry weather over the weekend created conditions in an area about 120 miles northeast of Fairbanks that've led to an uptick in fire activity there.

GVEA’s board of directors decided last week they're not ready to sign a contract to begin buying power from a proposed large-scale wind project. // Alaska lawmakers on Saturday voted to override Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s veto of state funding for public schools. // Alaska legislators also overrode Dunleavy’s veto of a bill enabling the legislative auditor to review tax and royalty settlements the state negotiates with oil companies. // State lawmakers refused Saturday to accept an executive order from Dunleavy seeking to create a state agriculture department. // A group of Indigenous leaders, scientists and policy-makers have published a study on the complex causes of the Yukon River's salmon population crashes in recent years.

State and federal firefighting crews warn of impacts caused by unauthorized drones near wildfires. A Fairbanks jury acquitted a local chiropractor of second-degree sexual assault last week. Lawmakers are headed to Juneau for what may be a one-day special session on Saturday.

The candidate filing period for Fairbanks North Star Borough municipal elections closed Tuesday. Sen. Lisa Murkowski reports progress on stalled quest to pick new Alaska District Court judges. Leaders from across the circumpolar north are gathering in Anchorage for the Arctic Encounter conference. There's been no damage reported in Adak after it saw the largest wave in Alaska from the powerful earthquake that struck off the coast of Russia this week.

A former Fairbanks North Star Borough assembly member is trying to create a new state political party, and local hotels and AirBnbs are seeing more vacancies than last year.

Mike Sfraga, the new interim chancellor for the University of Alaska Fairbanks, began his first day at the job on Monday. // The federal Bureau of Land Management will reopen portions of the popular White Mountains Recreation Area this week. // The Trump administration wants to eliminate funding for the Denali Commission, the federal agency that's helped Alaska villages develop more than $2 billion in infrastructure. // The Alaska International Business Center's president and CEO says President Trump's proposed tariffs will hurt Alaska businesses that export their products.

Researchers have begun using new and more accurate methods to measure wildfire smoke like the stuff that blanketed Fairbanks a few weeks ago. // The Fairbanks North Star Borough Assembly on Thursday postponed a vote on revising its ethics code 'til Aug. 14. // The Alaska Bar Association’s board of governors is considering whether to recommend disbarring former federal judge Joshua Kindred.

A Fairbanks woman has been charged with attempted murder. Former U.S. Representative Mary Peltola is suing the owners of the aircraft that her late husband was piloting when he died. A UAF institute will showcase the fruits of its research at events in Fairbanks and Palmer. What you need to know ahead of the special legislative session.