State symbols

Main article: List of Alaska state symbols

The forget-me-not is the state's official flower and bears the same blue and gold as the state flag.

• State motto: North to the Future
• Nicknames: "The Last Frontier" or "Land of the Midnight Sun" or "Seward's Icebox"
• State bird: willow ptarmigan, adopted by the Territorial Legislature in 1955. It is a small (15–17 in or 380–430 mm) Arctic grouse that lives among willows and on open tundra and muskeg. Plumage is brown in summer, changing to white in winter. The willow ptarmigan is common in much of Alaska.
• State fish: king salmon, adopted 1962.
• State flower: wild/native forget-me-not, adopted by the Territorial Legislature in 1917.^[121] It is a perennial that is found throughout Alaska, from Hyder to the Arctic Coast, and west to the Aleutians.
• State fossil: woolly mammoth, adopted 1986.
• State gem: jade, adopted 1968.
• State insect: four-spot skimmer dragonfly, adopted 1995.
• State land mammal: moose, adopted 1998.
• State marine mammal: bowhead whale, adopted 1983.
• State mineral: gold, adopted 1968.
• State song: "Alaska's Flag"
• State sport: dog mushing, adopted 1972.
• State tree: Sitka spruce, adopted 1962.
• State dog: Alaskan Malamute, adopted 2010.^[122]
• State soil: Tanana,^[123] adopted unknown.

See also

• Alaska portal
• United States portal

• Index of Alaska-related articles
• Outline of Alaska – organized list of topics about Alaska
• Sports in Alaska

Notes

1. 
   

Byron Mallott, the Democratic gubernatorial nominee, suspended his campaign and became the running mate of Bill Walker, an independent who left the Republican Party. They won the election with 48.1% or 134,658 votes.

Public health and public safety

Public health and public safety

See also: Dentistry in rural Alaska

The Alaska State Troopers are Alaska's statewide police force. They have a long and storied history, but were not an official organization until 1941. Before the force was officially organized, law enforcement in Alaska was handled by various federal agencies. Larger towns usually have their own local police and some villages rely on "Public Safety Officers" who have police training but do not carry firearms. In much of the state, the troopers serve as the only police force available. In addition to enforcing traffic and criminal law, wildlife Troopers enforce hunting and fishing regulations. Due to the varied terrain and wide scope of the Troopers' duties, they employ a wide variety of land, air, and water patrol vehicles.
Many rural communities in Alaska are considered "dry," having outlawed the importation of alcoholic beverages.^[114] Suicide rates for rural residents are higher than urban.^[115]
Domestic abuse and other violent crimes are also at high levels in the state; this is in part linked to alcohol abuse.^[116] Alaska has the highest rate of sexual assault in the nation, especially in rural areas. The average age of sexually assaulted victims is 16 years old. In four out of five cases, the suspects were relatives, friends or acquaintances.^[117]

Culture

See also: List of artists and writers from Alaska

A dog team in the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, arguably the most popular winter event in Alaska.

Some of Alaska's popular annual events are the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race that starts in Anchorage and ends in Nome, World Ice Art Championships in Fairbanks, the Blueberry Festival and Alaska Hummingbird Festival in Ketchikan, the Sitka Whale Fest, and the Stikine River Garnet Fest in Wrangell. The Stikine River attracts the largest springtime concentration of American bald eagles in the world.
The Alaska Native Heritage Center celebrates the rich heritage of Alaska's 11 cultural groups. Their purpose is to encourage cross-cultural exchanges among all people and enhance self-esteem among Native people. The Alaska Native Arts Foundation promotes and markets Native art from all regions and cultures in the State, using the internet.^[118]

Music

Main article: Music of Alaska

Influences on music in Alaska include the traditional music of Alaska Natives as well as folk music brought by later immigrants from Russia and Europe. Prominent musicians from Alaska include singer Jewel, traditional Aleut flautist Mary Youngblood, folk singer-songwriter Libby Roderick, Christian music singer-songwriter Lincoln Brewster, metal/post hardcore band 36 Crazyfists and the groups Pamyua and Portugal. The Man.
There are many established music festivals in Alaska, including the Alaska Folk Festival, the Fairbanks Summer Arts Festival, the Anchorage Folk Festival, the Athabascan Old-Time Fiddling Festival, the Sitka Jazz Festival, and the Sitka Summer Music Festival. The most prominent orchestra in Alaska is the Anchorage Symphony Orchestra, though the Fairbanks Symphony Orchestra and Juneau Symphony are also notable. The Anchorage Opera is currently the state's only professional opera company, though there are several volunteer and semi-professional organizations in the state as well.
The official state song of Alaska is "Alaska's Flag", which was adopted in 1955; it celebrates the flag of Alaska.

Alaska in film and on television

See also: List of films set in Alaska

Films featuring Alaskan wolves usually employ domesticated wolf-dog hybrids to stand in for wild wolves.

Alaska's first independent picture entirely made in Alaska was The Chechahcos, produced by Alaskan businessman Austin E. Lathrop and filmed in and around Anchorage. Released in 1924 by the Alaska Moving Picture Corporation, it was the only film the company made.
One of the most prominent movies filmed in Alaska is MGM's Eskimo/Mala The Magnificent, starring Alaska Native Ray Mala. In 1932 an expedition set out from MGM's studios in Hollywood to Alaska to film what was then billed as "The Biggest Picture Ever Made." Upon arriving in Alaska, they set up "Camp Hollywood" in Northwest Alaska, where they lived during the duration of the filming. Louis B. Mayer spared no expense in spite of the remote location, going so far as to hire the chef from the Hotel Roosevelt in Hollywood to prepare meals.
When Eskimo premiered at the Astor Theatre in New York City, the studio received the largest amount of feedback in its history to that point. Eskimo was critically acclaimed and released worldwide; as a result, Mala became an international movie star. Eskimo won the first Oscar for Best Film Editing at the Academy Awards, and showcased and preserved aspects of Inupiat culture on film.
The 1983 Disney movie Never Cry Wolf was at least partially shot in Alaska. The 1991 film White Fang, based on Jack London's novel and starring Ethan Hawke, was filmed in and around Haines. Steven Seagal's 1994 On Deadly Ground, starring Michael Caine, was filmed in part at the Worthington Glacier near Valdez.^[119] The 1999 John Sayles film Limbo, starring David Strathairn, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, and Kris Kristofferson, was filmed in Juneau.
The psychological thriller Insomnia, starring Al Pacino and Robin Williams, was shot in Canada, but was set in Alaska. The 2007 film directed by Sean Penn, Into The Wild, was partially filmed and set in Alaska. The film, which is based on the novel of the same name, follows the adventures of Christopher McCandless, who died in a remote abandoned bus along the Stampede Trail west of Healy in 1992.
Many films and television shows set in Alaska are not filmed there; for example, Northern Exposure, set in the fictional town of Cicely, Alaska, was filmed in Roslyn, Washington. The 2007 horror feature 30 Days of Night is set in Barrow, but was filmed in New Zealand.
Many reality television shows are filmed in Alaska. In 2011 the Anchorage Daily News found ten set in the state.^[120]

Education

The Alaska Department of Education and Early Development administers many school districts in Alaska. In addition, the state operates a boarding school, Mt. Edgecumbe High School in Sitka, and provides partial funding for other boarding schools, including Nenana Student Living Center in Nenana and The Galena Interior Learning Academy in Galena.^[109]
There are more than a dozen colleges and universities in Alaska. Accredited universities in Alaska include the University of Alaska Anchorage, University of Alaska Fairbanks, University of Alaska Southeast, and Alaska Pacific University.^[110] Alaska is the only state that has no institutions that are part of the NCAA Division I.
The Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development operates AVTEC, Alaska's Institute of Technology.^[111] Campuses in Seward and Anchorage offer 1 week to 11-month training programs in areas as diverse as Information Technology, Welding, Nursing, and Mechanics.
Alaska has had a problem with a "brain drain". Many of its young people, including most of the highest academic achievers, leave the state after high school graduation and do not return. As of 2013, Alaska did not have a law school or medical school.^[112] The University of Alaska has attempted to combat this by offering partial four-year scholarships to the top 10% of Alaska high school graduates, via the Alaska Scholars Program.^[113]

Cities, towns and boroughs

See also: List of cities in Alaska by population, Alaska locations by per capita income, and List of boroughs and census areas in Alaska

Anchorage, Alaska, Alaska's largest city.

Fairbanks, Alaska's second-largest city and by a significant margin the largest city in Alaska's interior.

Juneau, Alaska's third-largest city and its capital.

Bethel, the largest city in the Unorganized Borough and in rural Alaska.

Homer, showing (from bottom to top) the edge of downtown, its airport and the Spit.

Barrow (Browerville neighborhood near Eben Hopson Middle School shown), known colloquially for many years by the nickname "Top of the World", is the northernmost city in the United States.

Cordova, built in the early 20th century to support the Kennecott Mines and the Copper River and Northwestern Railway, has persevered as a fishing community since their closure.

Main Street in Talkeetna.

Alaska is not divided into counties, as most of the other U.S. states, but it is divided into boroughs.^[108] Many of the more densely populated parts of the state are part of Alaska's 16 boroughs, which function somewhat similarly to counties in other states. However, unlike county-equivalents in the other 49 states, the boroughs do not cover the entire land area of the state. The area not part of any borough is referred to as the Unorganized Borough.
The Unorganized Borough has no government of its own, but the U.S. Census Bureau in cooperation with the state divided the Unorganized Borough into 11 census areas solely for the purposes of statistical analysis and presentation.^{[citation needed]} A recording district is a mechanism for administration of the public record in Alaska. The state is divided into 34 recording districts which are centrally administered under a State Recorder. All recording districts use the same acceptance criteria, fee schedule, etc., for accepting documents into the public record.^{[citation needed]}
Whereas many U.S. states use a three-tiered system of decentralization—state/county/township—most of Alaska uses only two tiers—state/borough. Owing to the low population density, most of the land is located in the Unorganized Borough. As the name implies, it has no intermediate borough government but is administered directly by the state government. In 2000, 57.71% of Alaska's area has this status, with 13.05% of the population.^{[citation needed]}
Anchorage merged the city government with the Greater Anchorage Area Borough in 1975 to form the Municipality of Anchorage, containing the city proper and the communities of Eagle River, Chugiak, Peters Creek, Girdwood, Bird, and Indian. Fairbanks has a separate borough (the Fairbanks North Star Borough) and municipality (the City of Fairbanks).^{[citation needed]}
The state's most populous city is Anchorage, home to 278,700 people in 2006, 225,744 of whom live in the urbanized area. The richest location in Alaska by per capita income is Halibut Cove ($89,895).^{[citation needed]} Yakutat City, Sitka, Juneau, and Anchorage are the four largest cities in the U.S. by area.

Cities and census-designated places (by population)

As reflected in the 2010 United States Census, Alaska has a total of 355 incorporated cities and census-designated places (CDPs).^{[citation needed]} The tally of cities includes four unified municipalities, essentially the equivalent of a consolidated city–county. The majority of these communities are located in the rural expanse of Alaska known as "The Bush" and are unconnected to the contiguous North American road network. The table at the bottom of this section lists the 100 largest cities and census-designated places in Alaska, in population order.
Of Alaska's 2010 Census population figure of 710,231, 20,429 people, or 2.88% of the population, did not live in an incorporated city or census-designated place. Approximately three-quarters of that figure were people who live in urban and suburban neighborhoods on the outskirts of the city limits of Ketchikan, Kodiak, Palmer and Wasilla.^{[citation needed]} CDPs have not been established for these areas by the United States Census Bureau, except that seven CDPs were established for the Ketchikan-area neighborhoods in the 1980 Census (Clover Pass, Herring Cove, Ketchikan East, Mountain Point, North Tongass Highway, Pennock Island and Saxman East), but have not been used since. The remaining population was scattered throughout Alaska, both within organized boroughs and in the Unorganized Borough, in largely remote areas.^{[citation needed]}

№ Community name Type 2010 Pop. 1 Anchorage City 291,826 2 Fairbanks City 31,535 3 Juneau City 31,275 4 Badger CDP 19,482 5 Knik-Fairview CDP 14,923 6 College CDP 12,964 7 Sitka City 8,881 8 Lakes CDP 8,364 9 Tanaina CDP 8,197 10 Ketchikan City 8,050 11 Kalifornsky CDP 7,850 12 Wasilla City 7,831 13 Meadow Lakes CDP 7,570 14 Kenai City 7,100 15 Steele Creek CDP 6,662 16 Kodiak City 6,130 17 Bethel City 6,080 18 Palmer City 5,937 19 Chena Ridge CDP 5,791 20 Sterling CDP 5,617 21 Gateway CDP 5,552 22 Homer City 5,003 23 Farmers Loop CDP 4,853 24 Fishhook CDP 4,679 25 Nikiski CDP 4,493 26 Unalaska City 4,376 27 Barrow City 4,212 28 Soldotna City 4,163 29 Valdez City 3,976 30 Nome City 3,598 31 Goldstream CDP 3,557 32 Big Lake CDP 3,350 33 Butte CDP 3,246 34 Kotzebue City 3,201 35 Petersburg City 2,948 36 Seward City 2,693 37 Eielson AFB CDP 2,647 38 Ester CDP 2,422 39 Wrangell City 2,369 40 Dillingham City 2,329 41 Deltana CDP 2,251 42 Cordova City 2,239 43 Prudhoe Bay CDP 2,174 44 North Pole City 2,117 45 Willow CDP 2,102 46 Ridgeway CDP 2,022 47 Bear Creek CDP 1,956 48 Fritz Creek CDP 1,932 49 Anchor Point CDP 1,930 50 Houston City 1,912

№ Community name Type 2010 Pop. 51 Haines CDP 1,713 52 Lazy Mountain CDP 1,479 53 Sutton-Alpine CDP 1,447 54 Metlakatla CDP 1,405 55 Cohoe CDP 1,364 56 Kodiak Station CDP 1,301 57 Susitna North CDP 1,260 58 Tok CDP 1,258 59 Craig City 1,201 60 Diamond Ridge CDP 1,156 61 Salcha CDP 1,095 62 Hooper Bay City 1,093 63 Farm Loop CDP 1,028 64 Akutan City 1,027 65 Healy CDP 1,021 66 Salamatof CDP 980 67 Sand Point City 976 68 Delta Junction City 958 69 Chevak City 938 King Cove City 71 Skagway CDP 920 72 Ninilchik CDP 883 73 Funny River CDP 877 74 Talkeetna CDP 876 75 Buffalo Soapstone CDP 855 76 Selawik City 829 77 Togiak City 817 78 Mountain Village City 813 79 Emmonak City 762 80 Hoonah City 760 81 Klawock City 755 82 Moose Creek CDP 747 83 Knik River CDP 744 84 Pleasant Valley CDP 725 85 Kwethluk City 721 86 Two Rivers CDP 719 Women's Bay CDP 88 Unalakleet City 688 89 Fox River CDP 685 90 Gambell City 681 91 Alakanuk City 677 92 Point Hope City 674 93 Savoonga City 671 94 Quinhagak City 669 95 Noorvik City 668 96 Yakutat CDP 662 97 Kipnuk CDP 639 98 Akiachak CDP 627 99 Happy Valley CDP 593 100 Big Delta CDP 591

Taxes

To finance state government operations, Alaska depends primarily on petroleum revenues and federal subsidies. This allows it to have the lowest individual tax burden in the United States.^[103] It is one of five states with no state sales tax, one of seven states that do not levy an individual income tax, and one of the two states that has neither. The Department of Revenue Tax Division^[104] reports regularly on the state's revenue sources. The Department also issues an annual summary of its operations, including new state laws that directly affect the tax division.
While Alaska has no state sales tax, 89 municipalities collect a local sales tax, from 1.0–7.5%, typically 3–5%. Other local taxes levied include raw fish taxes, hotel, motel, and bed-and-breakfast 'bed' taxes, severance taxes, liquor and tobacco taxes, gaming (pull tabs) taxes, tire taxes and fuel transfer taxes. A part of the revenue collected from certain state taxes and license fees (such as petroleum, aviation motor fuel, telephone cooperative) is shared with municipalities in Alaska.
Fairbanks has one of the highest property taxes in the state as no sales or income taxes are assessed in the Fairbanks North Star Borough (FNSB). A sales tax for the FNSB has been voted on many times, but has yet to be approved, leading lawmakers to increase taxes dramatically on goods such as liquor and tobacco.
In 2014 the Tax Foundation ranked Alaska as having the fourth most "business friendly" tax policy, behind only Wyoming, South Dakota, and Nevada.^[105]

Federal politics

Main article: Politics of Alaska

See also: Arctic Policy of the United States

Presidential election results^[97]

Year	Republican	Democratic
1960	50.9% 30,953	49.1% 29,809
1964	34.1% 22,930	65.9% 44,329
1968	45.3% 37,600	42.7% 35,411
1972	58.1% 55,349	34.6% 32,967
1976	57.9% 71,555	35.7% 44,058
1980	54.4% 86,112	26.4% 41,842
1984	66.7% 138,377	29.9% 62,007
1988	59.6% 119,251	36.3% 72,584
1992	39.5% 102,000	30.3% 78,294
1996	50.8% 122,746	33.3% 80,380
2000	58.6% 167,398	27.7% 79,004
2004	61.1% 190,889	35.5% 111,025
2008	59.4% 193,841	37.8% 123,594
2012	54.8% 164,676	40.8% 122,640
2016	51.3% 163,387	36.6% 116,454

Alaska regularly supports Republicans in presidential elections and has done so since statehood. Republicans have won the state's electoral college votes in all but one election that it has participated in (1964). No state has voted for a Democratic presidential candidate fewer times. Alaska was carried by Democratic nominee Lyndon B. Johnson during his landslide election in 1964, while the 1960 and 1968 elections were close. Since 1972, however, Republicans have carried the state by large margins. In 2008, Republican John McCain defeated Democrat Barack Obama in Alaska, 59.49% to 37.83%. McCain's running mate was Sarah Palin, the state's governor and the first Alaskan on a major party ticket. Obama lost Alaska again in 2012, but he captured 40% of the state's vote in that election, making him the first Democrat to do so since 1968.
The Alaska Bush, central Juneau, midtown and downtown Anchorage, and the areas surrounding the University of Alaska Fairbanks campus and Ester have been strongholds of the Democratic Party. The Matanuska-Susitna Borough, the majority of Fairbanks (including North Pole and the military base), and South Anchorage typically have the strongest Republican showing. As of 2004, well over half of all registered voters have chosen "Non-Partisan" or "Undeclared" as their affiliation,^[106] despite recent attempts to close primaries to unaffiliated voters.
Because of its population relative to other U.S. states, Alaska has only one member in the U.S. House of Representatives. This seat is held by Republican Don Young, who was re-elected to his 21st consecutive term in 2012. Alaska's at-large congressional district is one of the largest parliamentary constituencies in the world.
In 2008, Governor Sarah Palin became the first Republican woman to run on a national ticket when she became John McCain's running mate. She continued to be a prominent national figure even after resigning from the governor's job in July 2009.^[107]
Alaska's United States Senators belong to Class 2 and Class 3. In 2008, Democrat Mark Begich, mayor of Anchorage, defeated long-time Republican senator Ted Stevens. Stevens had been convicted on seven felony counts of failing to report gifts on Senate financial discloser forms one week before the election. The conviction was set aside in April 2009 after evidence of prosecutorial misconduct emerged.
Republican Frank Murkowski held the state's other senatorial position. After being elected governor in 2002, he resigned from the Senate and appointed his daughter, State Representative Lisa Murkowski as his successor. She won full six-year terms in 2004 and 2010.

• Alaska's current statewide elected officials
• 

  Bill Walker, Governor
  
• 

  Byron Mallott, Lieutenant Governor
  
• 

  Lisa Murkowski, senior United States Senator
  
• 

  Dan Sullivan, junior United States Senator
  
• 

  Don Young, at-large United States Representative
  

Law and government

State government

The center of state government in Juneau. The large buildings in the background are, from left to right: the Court Plaza Building (known colloquially as the "Spam Can"), the State Office Building (behind), the Alaska Office Building, the John H. Dimond State Courthouse, and the Alaska State Capitol. Many of the smaller buildings in the foreground are also occupied by state government agencies.

Main article: Government of Alaska

Like all other U.S. states, Alaska is governed as a republic, with three branches of government: an executive branch consisting of the Governor of Alaska and the other independently elected constitutional officers; a legislative branch consisting of the Alaska House of Representatives and Alaska Senate; and a judicial branch consisting of the Alaska Supreme Court and lower courts.
The state of Alaska employs approximately 16,000 people statewide.^[95]
The Alaska Legislature consists of a 40-member House of Representatives and a 20-member Senate. Senators serve four-year terms and House members two. The Governor of Alaska serves four-year terms. The lieutenant governor runs separately from the governor in the primaries, but during the general election, the nominee for governor and nominee for lieutenant governor run together on the same ticket.
Alaska's court system has four levels: the Alaska Supreme Court, the Alaska Court of Appeals, the superior courts and the district courts.^[96] The superior and district courts are trial courts. Superior courts are courts of general jurisdiction, while district courts only hear certain types of cases, including misdemeanor criminal cases and civil cases valued up to $100,000.^[96]
The Supreme Court and the Court of Appeals are appellate courts. The Court of Appeals is required to hear appeals from certain lower-court decisions, including those regarding criminal prosecutions, juvenile delinquency, and habeas corpus.^[96] The Supreme Court hears civil appeals and may in its discretion hear criminal appeals.^[96]

State politics

Main article: Politics of Alaska

Further information: Political party strength in Alaska and Alaska political corruption probe

Gubernatorial election results^[97]

Year	Republican	Democratic
1958	39.4% 19,299	59.6% 29,189
1962	47.7% 27,054	52.3% 29,627
1966	50.0% 33,145	48.4% 32,065
1970	46.1% 37,264	52.4% 42,309
1974	47.7% 45,840	47.4% 45,553
1978	39.1% 49,580	20.2% 25,656
1982	37.1% 72,291	46.1% 89,918
1986	42.6% 76,515	47.3% 84,943
1990	26.2% 50,991	30.9% 60,201
1994	40.8% 87,157	41.1% 87,693
1998	17.9% 39,331	51.3% 112,879
2002	55.9% 129,279	40.7% 94,216
2006	48.3% 114,697	41.0% 97,238
2010	59.1% 151,318	37.7% 96,519
2014	45.9% 128,435	[a]

Although in its early years of statehood Alaska was a Democratic state, since the early 1970s it has been characterized as Republican-leaning.^[98] Local political communities have often worked on issues related to land use development, fishing, tourism, and individual rights. Alaska Natives, while organized in and around their communities, have been active within the Native corporations. These have been given ownership over large tracts of land, which require stewardship.
Alaska was formerly the only state in which possession of one ounce or less of marijuana in one's home was completely legal under state law, though the federal law remains in force.^[99]
The state has an independence movement favoring a vote on secession from the United States, with the Alaskan Independence Party.^[100]
Six Republicans and four Democrats have served as governor of Alaska. In addition, Republican Governor Wally Hickel was elected to the office for a second term in 1990 after leaving the Republican party and briefly joining the Alaskan Independence Party ticket just long enough to be reelected. He officially rejoined the Republican party in 1994.
Alaska's voter initiative making marijuana legal took effect 24 February 2015, placing Alaska alongside Colorado and Washington as the first three U.S. states where recreational marijuana is legal. The new law means people over age 21 can consume small amounts of pot — if they can find it. There is a rather lengthy and involved application process, per Alaska Measure 2 (2014).^[101] The first legal marijuana store opened in Valdez in October 2016.^[102]

Marine transport

Many cities, towns and villages in the state do not have road or highway access; the only modes of access involve travel by air, river, or the sea.

The MV Tustumena (named after Tustumena Glacier) is one of the state's many ferries, providing service between the Kenai Peninsula, Kodiak Island and the Aleutian Chain.

Alaska's well-developed state-owned ferry system (known as the Alaska Marine Highway) serves the cities of southeast, the Gulf Coast and the Alaska Peninsula. The ferries transport vehicles as well as passengers. The system also operates a ferry service from Bellingham, Washington and Prince Rupert, British Columbia in Canada through the Inside Passage to Skagway. The Inter-Island Ferry Authority also serves as an important marine link for many communities in the Prince of Wales Island region of Southeast and works in concert with the Alaska Marine Highway.
In recent years, cruise lines have created a summertime tourism market, mainly connecting the Pacific Northwest to Southeast Alaska and, to a lesser degree, towns along Alaska's gulf coast. The population of Ketchikan may rise by over 10,000 people on many days during the summer, as up to four large cruise ships at a time can dock, debarking thousands of passengers.

Air transport

Cities not served by road, sea, or river can be reached only by air, foot, dogsled, or snowmachine, accounting for Alaska's extremely well developed bush air services—an Alaskan novelty. Anchorage and, to a lesser extent Fairbanks, is served by many major airlines. Because of limited highway access, air travel remains the most efficient form of transportation in and out of the state. Anchorage recently completed extensive remodeling and construction at Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport to help accommodate the upsurge in tourism (in 2012–2013, Alaska received almost 2 million visitors).^[89]
Regular flights to most villages and towns within the state that are commercially viable are challenging to provide, so they are heavily subsidized by the federal government through the Essential Air Service program. Alaska Airlines is the only major airline offering in-state travel with jet service (sometimes in combination cargo and passenger Boeing 737-400s) from Anchorage and Fairbanks to regional hubs like Bethel, Nome, Kotzebue, Dillingham, Kodiak, and other larger communities as well as to major Southeast and Alaska Peninsula communities.

A Bombardier Dash 8, operated by Era Alaska, on approach to Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport.

The bulk of remaining commercial flight offerings come from small regional commuter airlines such as Ravn Alaska, PenAir, and Frontier Flying Service. The smallest towns and villages must rely on scheduled or chartered bush flying services using general aviation aircraft such as the Cessna Caravan, the most popular aircraft in use in the state. Much of this service can be attributed to the Alaska bypass mail program which subsidizes bulk mail delivery to Alaskan rural communities. The program requires 70% of that subsidy to go to carriers who offer passenger service to the communities.
Many communities have small air taxi services. These operations originated from the demand for customized transport to remote areas. Perhaps the most quintessentially Alaskan plane is the bush seaplane. The world's busiest seaplane base is Lake Hood, located next to Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport, where flights bound for remote villages without an airstrip carry passengers, cargo, and many items from stores and warehouse clubs. In 2006 Alaska had the highest number of pilots per capita of any U.S. state.^[90]

Other transport

Another Alaskan transportation method is the dogsled. In modern times (that is, any time after the mid-late 1920s), dog mushing is more of a sport than a true means of transportation. Various races are held around the state, but the best known is the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, a 1,150-mile (1,850 km) trail from Anchorage to Nome (although the distance varies from year to year, the official distance is set at 1,049 miles or 1,688 km). The race commemorates the famous 1925 serum run to Nome in which mushers and dogs like Togo and Balto took much-needed medicine to the diphtheria-stricken community of Nome when all other means of transportation had failed. Mushers from all over the world come to Anchorage each March to compete for cash, prizes, and prestige. The "Serum Run" is another sled dog race that more accurately follows the route of the famous 1925 relay, leaving from the community of Nenana (southwest of Fairbanks) to Nome.^[91]
In areas not served by road or rail, primary transportation in summer is by all-terrain vehicle and in winter by snowmobile or "snow machine," as it is commonly referred to in Alaska.

Data transport

Alaska's internet and other data transport systems are provided largely through the two major telecommunications companies: GCI and Alaska Communications. GCI owns and operates what it calls the Alaska United Fiber Optic system^[92] and as of late 2011 Alaska Communications advertised that it has "two fiber optic paths to the lower 48 and two more across Alaska.^[93] In January 2011, it was reported that a $1 billion project to connect Asia and rural Alaska was being planned, aided in part by $350 million in stimulus from the federal government.^[94]