January 2026 Good News
1. Alaska’s population grows after decades of decline. It’s not a significant increase (only 0.2%), but it’s the first time in more than a decade that the official census has shown an increase rather than a decrease. Specifically, the number of residents between 2024 and 2025 grew by 1,649 people, according to the Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development. The districts of Matanuska-Susitna and Kenai Peninsula have grown the most.
2. Alaska Pacific University receives the largest donation in its history. Billionaire philanthropist MacKenzie Scott donated $18 million to this small liberal arts college in December 2025 through her foundation, Yield Giving. MacKenzie Scott, co-founder of Amazon and ex-wife of Jeff Bezos, already donated more than $7 billion to 225 nonprofit groups and organizations working with disadvantaged communities across the United States in 2024, because her goal is to support those who work to empower others. The endowment at the Alaskan university will be used for student tuition assistance and campus improvements. 3. Major reforms are planned for Anchorage’s busiest and most dangerous highways. Specifically, plans are in place to redesign Seward Highway and Tudor Road, the central corridor for Anchorage’s road network, where traffic jams and accidents are frequent, including incidents in which large trucks have crashed into the bridge. The Midtown intersection is the busiest in Alaska, with 80,000 vehicles per day. The improvement work will not begin until 2030. The project will cost about $40 million. |