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Fairbanks is a
home rule Home rule is government of a colony, dependent country, or region by its own citizens. It is thus the power of a part (administrative division) of a state or an external dependent country to exercise such of the state's powers of governance wi ...
city and the borough seat of the
Fairbanks North Star Borough The Fairbanks North Star Borough is a borough located in the state of Alaska. As of the 2020 census, the population was 95,665, down from 97,581 in 2010. The borough seat is Fairbanks. The borough's land area is slightly smaller than that o ...
in the U.S. state of
Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U ...
. Fairbanks is the largest city in the Interior region of Alaska and the second largest in the state. The 2020 Census put the population of the city proper at 32,515, and the population of the
Fairbanks North Star Borough The Fairbanks North Star Borough is a borough located in the state of Alaska. As of the 2020 census, the population was 95,665, down from 97,581 in 2010. The borough seat is Fairbanks. The borough's land area is slightly smaller than that o ...
at 95,655 making it the second most populous metropolitan area in Alaska after Anchorage. The Metropolitan Statistical Area encompasses all of the Fairbanks North Star Borough and is the northernmost Metropolitan Statistical Area in the United States, located by road ( by air) south of the Arctic Circle. Fairbanks is home to the
University of Alaska Fairbanks The University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF or Alaska) is a public land-grant research university in College, Alaska, a suburb of Fairbanks. It is the flagship campus of the University of Alaska system. UAF was established in 1917 and opened for c ...
, the founding campus of the University of Alaska system.


History


Native American presence

Athabascan peoples have used the area for thousands of years, although there is no known permanent Alaska Native settlement at the site of Fairbanks. An archaeological site excavated on the grounds of the
University of Alaska Fairbanks The University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF or Alaska) is a public land-grant research university in College, Alaska, a suburb of Fairbanks. It is the flagship campus of the University of Alaska system. UAF was established in 1917 and opened for c ...
uncovered a Native camp about 3,500 years old, with older remains found at deeper levels.Gibbon, Guy E. and Ames, Kenneth M
''Archaeology of Prehistoric Native America: An Encyclopedia''
Taylor & Francis, 1998. p. 116
From evidence gathered at the site, archaeologists surmise that Native activities in the area were limited to seasonal hunting and fishing as frigid temperatures precluded berry gathering.''Gold Rush Town'', p. 65 In addition, archaeological sites on the grounds of nearby Fort Wainwright date back well over 10,000 years. Arrowheads excavated from the University of Alaska Fairbanks site matched similar items found in Asia, providing some of the first evidence that humans arrived in North America via the Bering Strait land bridge in deep antiquity.


European settlers

Captain
E. T. Barnette Elbridge Truman Barnette (1863 – May 22, 1933) was a Yukon riverboat captain, banker, and swindler, who founded the city of Fairbanks, Alaska and later served as its first mayor. Biography He was born in 1863 in Akron, Ohio. In 1886, he was sen ...
founded Fairbanks in August 1901 while headed to Tanacross (or Tanana Crossing, where the Valdez–Eagle trail crossed the Tanana River), where he intended to set up a trading post. The steamboat on which Barnette was a passenger, the ''Lavelle Young'', ran aground while attempting to negotiate shallow water. Barnette, along with his party and supplies, were deposited along the banks of the Chena River upstream from its confluence with the Tanana River. The sight of smoke from the steamer's engines caught the attention of gold prospectors working in the hills to the north, most notably an Italian immigrant named Felice Pedroni (better known as Felix Pedro) and his partner Tom Gilmore. The two met Barnette where he disembarked and convinced him of the potential of the area. Barnette set up his trading post at the site, still intending to eventually make it to Tanacross. Teams of gold prospectors soon congregated in and around the newly founded Fairbanks; they built drift mines, dredges, and lode mines in addition to panning and sluicing. After some urging by James Wickersham, who later moved the seat of the Third Division court from
Eagle Eagle is the common name for many large birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of genera, some of which are closely related. Most of the 68 species of eagle are from Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, j ...
to Fairbanks, the settlement was named after Charles W. Fairbanks, a Republican senator from
Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th ...
and later the twenty-sixth vice president of the United States, serving under Theodore Roosevelt during his second term. In these early years of settlement, the Tanana Valley was an important agricultural center for Alaska until the establishment of the Matanuska Valley Colonization Project and the town of Palmer in 1935. Agricultural activity still occurs today in the Tanana Valley, but mostly to the southeast of Fairbanks in the communities of
Salcha Salcha ( Tanana: ''Soł Chaget'', Tanacross: ''Saagescheeg'') is a census-designated place (CDP) in Fairbanks North Star Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska. It is part of the Fairbanks, Alaska Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 1,09 ...
and
Delta Junction Delta Junction ( uk, Делта-Джанкшен, Delta Dzhankshen) is a city in the Southeast Fairbanks Census Area, Alaska, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 958, up from 840 in 2000. The 2018 estimate was down to 931. ...
. During the early days of Fairbanks, its vicinity was a major producer of agricultural goods. What is now the northern reaches of South Fairbanks was originally the farm of Paul J. Rickert, who came from nearby Chena in 1904 and operated a large farm until his death in 1938. Farmers Loop Road and Badger Road, loop roads north and east (respectively) of Fairbanks, were also home to major farming activity. Badger Road is named for Harry Markley Badger, an early resident of Fairbanks who later established a farm along the road and became known as "the Strawberry King". Ballaine and McGrath Roads, side roads of Farmers Loop Road, were also named for prominent local farmers, whose farms were in the immediate vicinity of their respective namesake roads. Despite early efforts by the
Alaska Loyal League The Alaska Loyal League was a small group of Fairbanks businessmen who were instrumental in supporting early Tanana Valley agriculture and enterprise. They included: A. Browning; George Coleman, manager of the Northern Commercial Company; F.S. G ...
, the Tanana Valley Agriculture Association and William Fentress Thompson, the editor-publisher of the '' Fairbanks Daily News-Miner'', to encourage food production, agriculture in the area was never able to fully support the population, although it came close in the 1920s. The construction of Ladd Army Airfield starting in 1939, part of a larger effort by the federal government during the New Deal and
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
to install major infrastructure in the territory for the first time, fostered an economic and population boom in Fairbanks which extended beyond the end of the war. In the 1940s the Canol pipeline extended north from Whitehorse for a few years. The Haines - Fairbanks 626 mile long 8" petroleum products pipeline was constructed during the period 1953-55. The presence of the U.S. military has remained strong in Fairbanks. Ladd became Fort Wainwright in 1960; the post was annexed into Fairbanks city limits during the 1980s. Fairbanks suffered from several floods in its first seven decades, whether from ice jams during spring breakup or heavy rainfall. The first bridge crossing the Chena River, a wooden structure built in 1904 to extend Turner Street northward to connect with the wagon roads leading to the gold mining camps, often washed out before a permanent bridge was constructed at Cushman Street in 1917 by the Alaska Road Commission. On August 14, 1967, after record rainfall upstream, the Chena began to surge over its banks, flooding almost the entire town of Fairbanks overnight. This disaster led to the creation of the Chena River Lakes Flood Control Project, which built and operates the Moose Creek Dam in the Chena River and accompanying spillway. The project was designed to prevent a repetition of the 1967 flood by being able to divert water in the Chena upstream from Fairbanks into the Tanana River, thus bypassing the city.


Geography and climate


Topography

Fairbanks is in the central Tanana Valley, straddling the Chena River near its confluence with the Tanana River. Immediately north of the city is a chain of hills that rises gradually until it reaches the White Mountains and the Yukon River. The city's southern border is the Tanana River. South of the river is the Tanana Flats, an area of marsh and bog that stretches for more than until it rises into the
Alaska Range The Alaska Range is a relatively narrow, 600-mile-long (950 km) mountain range in the southcentral region of the U.S. state of Alaska, from Lake Clark at its southwest endSources differ as to the exact delineation of the Alaska Range. ThBo ...
, which is visible from Fairbanks on clear days. To the east and west are low valleys separated by ridges of hills up to above sea level.U.S. Geological Survey. "Bulletin – United States Geological Survey, Issue 284", U.S. Geological Survey. 1906. P. 110. The Tanana Valley is crossed by many low streams and rivers that flow into the Tanana River. In Fairbanks, the Chena River flows southwest until it empties into the Tanana. Noyes Slough, which heads and foots off the Chena River, creates Garden Island, a district connected to the rest of Fairbanks by bridges and culverted roads. According to the
United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of th ...
, the city has an area of ; of it is land and of it (2.48%) is water.


Location

The city is extremely far north, close to 16 degrees north of the Pacific border between the U.S. and
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by to ...
. It is on roughly the same parallel as the northern Swedish city of Skellefteå and Finnish city of Oulu. Due to its warm summers, however, Fairbanks is south of the arctic tree line.


Climate

Fairbanks’ climate is classified as humid continental ( Köppen ''Dfb'') closely bordering on a
subarctic climate The subarctic climate (also called subpolar climate, or boreal climate) is a climate with long, cold (often very cold) winters, and short, warm to cool summers. It is found on large landmasses, often away from the moderating effects of an ocean, g ...
(''Dfc''), with long very cold winters and short warm summers. October through February are the snowiest months, and snow is limited from March to May. On average, the season's first accumulating snowfall and first inch of snow fall on October 1 and October 11, respectively; the average last inch and last accumulating snowfall are respectively on March 29 and April 15, though it does flurry in May in some years. The
snowpack Snowpack forms from layers of snow that accumulate in geographic regions and high elevations where the climate includes cold weather for extended periods during the year. Snowpacks are an important water resource that feed streams and rivers as t ...
is established by October 18, on average, and remains until April 23. Snow occasionally arrives early and in large amounts. On September 13, 1992, of snow fell in the city, bending trees still laden with fall leaves. That September was also one of the snowiest on record, as fell, compared to the 1991-2020 median of only a trace during the month. November and December are the snowiest months, whilst in contrast, March and April are not very snowy, as these are typically very dry months in central Alaska. The snowiest season has been from July 1990 to June 1991 with , whilst the least snowy was from July 1918 to June 1919 with only . The average first and last dates with a freezing temperature are September 11 and May 14, respectively, allowing a growing season of 119 days, although freezes have occurred in June, July, and August; the last light frost is often in early June; and the first light fall frost is often in late August or early September. The plant hardiness zone is 2 with annual mean minimums below -40. Fairbanks is the coldest large city in the U.S.; normal monthly mean temperatures range from in January to in July. On average, temperatures reach and on 7.0 and 13 days annually, respectively, and the last winter that failed to reach the former mark was that of 2017-18. Between 1995 and 2008, inclusive, Fairbanks failed to record a temperature of . The highest recorded temperature in Fairbanks was on July 28, 1919, compared to the Alaska-wide record high temperature of , recorded in Fort Yukon. The lowest was on January 14, 1934. The warmest calendar year in Fairbanks was 2019, when the average annual temperature was , while the coldest was 1956 with an annual mean temperature of . The warmest month has been July 1975 with a monthly mean of and the coldest January 1906 which averaged . Low temperatures below have been recorded in every month outside June through September. The record cold daily ''maximum'' is on January 18, 1906, and the record warm daily minimum is on June 26, 1915; the only other occurrence of a daily minimum was June 25, 2013 in the midst of a particularly warm summer. These widely varying temperature extremes are due to three main factors: temperature inversions, daylight, and wind direction. In winter, Fairbanks' low-lying location at the bottom of the Tanana Valley causes cold air to accumulate in and around the city. Warmer air rises to the tops of the hills north of Fairbanks, while the city itself experiences one of the biggest temperature inversions on Earth. Heating through sunlight is limited because of Fairbanks's high-latitude location. At the winter solstice, the center of the sun's disk is less than two degrees over the horizon (1.7 degrees) at the local noon (not the time zone noon). Fairbanks experiences 3 hours and 41 minutes of sunlight on December 21 and 22. At the summer solstice, about 182 days later, on June 20 and 21, Fairbanks receives 21 hours and 49 minutes of sunlight. After sunset, twilight is bright enough to allow daytime activities without any electric lights, since the center of the sun's disk is just 1.7 degrees below horizon.Greater Fairbanks Chamber of Commerce
“Climate”
, fairbankschamber.org. Accessed October 7, 2009.
During winter, the direction of the wind also causes large temperature swings in Fairbanks. When the wind blows from any direction but the south, average weather ensues. Wind from the south can carry warm, moist air from the Gulf of Alaska, greatly warming temperatures. When coupled with a
chinook wind Chinook winds, or simply Chinooks, are two types of prevailing warm, generally westerly winds in western North America: Coastal Chinooks and interior Chinooks. The coastal Chinooks are persistent seasonal, wet, southwesterly winds blowing in from ...
, temperatures well above freezing often result:Shulski, p. 154 for example, in the record warm January 1981, Fairbanks’ average maximum was and 15 days had a maximum above freezing, whilst during a spell of sustained chinook winds from December 4 to 8, 1934 the temperature topped for five consecutive days. In addition to the chinook wind, Fairbanks experiences a handful of other unusual meteorological conditions. In summer, dense
wildfire A wildfire, forest fire, bushfire, wildland fire or rural fire is an unplanned, uncontrolled and unpredictable fire in an area of combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire may be more specifically identi ...
smoke accumulates in the Tanana Valley, affecting the weather and causing health concerns. When temperature inversions arise in winter, heavy ice fog often results. Ice fog occurs when air is too cold to absorb additional moisture, such as that released by automobile engines or human breath. Instead of dissipating, the water freezes into microscopic crystals that are suspended in the air, forming fog. Another one of Fairbanks' unusual occurrences is the prevalence of the aurora borealis, commonly called the northern lights, which are visible on average more than 200 days per year in the vicinity of Fairbanks. The northern lights are not visible in the summer months due to the 24 hour daylight of the midnight sun. Fairbanks also has extremely low
seasonal lag Seasonal lag is the phenomenon whereby the date of maximum average air temperature at a geographical location on a planet is delayed until some time after the date of maximum insolation (i.e. the summer solstice). This also applies to the mini ...
; the year's warmest month is July, which averages only warmer than June. Average daily temperatures begin to fall by late July and more markedly in August, which on average is cooler than June. From 1949 to 2018, Fairbanks's mean annual temperature has risen by , a change comparable to the Alaska-wide average; winter was the season with the highest increase, at , while autumn had the smallest, at only . However, the mean annual temperature increase from 1976 to 2018 in Fairbanks stood at a more moderate ; this stepwise temperature change, also observed elsewhere in Alaska, is explained by the Pacific Decadal Oscillation shifting from a negative phase to a positive phase from 1976 onward.


People and culture


Demographics

Fairbanks first appeared on the 1910 U.S. Census as an incorporated city. It incorporated in 1903. The U.S. Census Bureau estimates that the population of the city in 2011 was 32,036 people, 11,075 households, and 7,187 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 12,357 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 65.0%
White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White ...
, 10.0% Black or African American, 10.1% Native American or Alaska Native, 5.1% Asian (1.92% Filipino, 1.15% Korean, 0.62% Laotian, 0.37% Chinese, 0.35%
Nepali Nepali or Nepalese may refer to : Concerning Nepal * Anything of, from, or related to Nepal * Nepali people, citizens of Nepal * Nepali language, an Indo-Aryan language found in Nepal, the current official national language and a language spoken ...
), 0.8%
Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/ racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of O ...
. In addition, 9.0% of the population identified as Hispanic or Latino. The population estimate for the Fairbanks North Star Borough was 99,192. The racial makeup of the North Star Borough was 78.2% White, 5.0% Black, 7.2% Alaska Native or Native American, 2.8% Asian, 0.4% Pacific Islander; 6.3% identified as Hispanic or Latino. Of the 11,075 households, 39.9% had children under the age of 18, 47.2% were married couples living together, 12.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.1% were non-families. 27.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 6.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.56 and the average family size was 3.15. The median age of the population was 28 years, with 9.6% under the age of 5, 26.0% under the age of 18, 14.7% from 18 to 24, 32.8% from 25 to 44, 16.4% from 45 to 64, and 7.3% who were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females, there were 105.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 108.2 males. The median income for a household between 2007 and 2011 was $55,409. Males had a median income of $30,539 versus $26,577 for females. The per capita income for the city was $19,814. About 7.4% of families and 10.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 11.6% of those under age 18 and 7.0% of those age 65 or over. The percentage of high school graduates or higher is 88%. 20.4% of the population 25 years and up had a bachelor's degree or higher.


Media

Fairbanks' largest newspaper is the '' Fairbanks Daily News-Miner'', which also includes a weekly entertainment guide, Latitude 65. A few other periodicals also serve Fairbanks and the Fairbanks North Star Borough: ''
The Ester Republic ''The Ester Republic'' is a small, independent monthly newspaper published in Ester, Alaska, and established January 1999. The paper serves as an alternative media publication for the Tanana Valley. It is the only newspaper that has been published ...
'' and the University of Alaska Fairbanks student newspaper, the '' Sun Star''. Fairbanks is also served by television and radio. Leading radio stations include AM Stations KFAR 660 talk radio, KCBF 820
ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...
Radio Network, KFBX 970 talk radio and KJNP 1170 religious radio. FM stations include 88.3 popular Christian, KUAC 89.9
National Public Radio National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other n ...
,
KSUA KSUA (91.5 FM) is a student-run college radio station licensed to Fairbanks, Alaska, United States. Broadcasting from the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) campus with 3,000 watts effective radiated power (ERP,) it serves the Alaska Interior ...
91.5 University of Alaska, Fairbanks, KDJF ("CHET FM") 93.5 everything country KXLR 94.3 Alaska's new country KWDD 95.9 classic rock KYSC 96.9 soft rock, KWLF 98.1-"Wolf 98.1", top 40, KJNP-FM 100.3 religious radio, KAKQ-FM 101.1-"Magic 101.1" pop music, KIAK-FM 102.5 country music, KTDZ 103.9-"K-TED" adult hits, KKED 104.7 rock music,
KQHE KQHE (92.7 FM) is a radio station licensed to serve the Fairbanks, Alaska area, including Fairbanks, North Pole, and Nenana. The station is owned by Little Flower Ministries and airs a Catholic religious format, using a mixture of locally prod ...
92.7 religious talk, and
KDFJ-LP KDFJ-LP (105.9 FM) is an FCC licensed low power FM radio station serving Fairbanks, Alaska and parts of North Pole, Alaska. The station is owned and managed by Bible Baptist Church of Fairbanks. It airs a Religious radio Religious broadcasti ...
105.9 religious radio. Fairbanks' major television affiliates are KATN ( ABC) 2.1, Fox 2.2,
The CW ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...
2.3, KUAC-TV ( PBS),
KTVF KTVF, virtual channel 11 (UHF digital channel 26), is an NBC- affiliated television station licensed to Fairbanks, Alaska, United States. Owned by Atlanta-based Gray Television, it is sister to two low-power stations: primary MeTV and secondary ...
( NBC), and KXDF-CD ( CBS). Cable TV is available from GCI. Satellite TV from Dish Network and
DirecTV DirecTV (trademarked as DIRECTV) is an American multichannel video programming distributor based in El Segundo, California. Originally launched on June 17, 1994, its primary service is a digital satellite service serving the United States. I ...
are also available.


Sports

There are many winter sports in Fairbanks, including cross-country skiing, and dog mushing. Fairbanks hosted the
2014 Arctic Winter Games The 2014 Arctic Winter Games, officially known with the slogan "Great Spirit - Northern Dreams", was a winter sport, winter multi-sport event which took place in Fairbanks, Alaska, United States, between 15–22 March 2014. Some events took plac ...
from March 15–22, 2014. Fairbanks has hosted many different skiing events including the 2003 Junior Olympic Cross Country Ski Championship and the 2008 and 2009 U.S. Cross Country Distance Nationals. Fairbanks also has an annual 50k race called the Sonot Kkaazoot and the Fairbanks Town Series races which consists of four different races. The Chest Medicine Distance Series races consists of only 3 races. Fairbanks is also home to the Yukon Quest, an international 1,000 mile sled dog race that is considered one of the toughest in the world. The race alternates its starting and finishing points each year between Fairbanks, Alaska and Whitehorse, Yukon. Hockey is also present in Fairbanks. Two teams include the University of Alaska Fairbanks Nanooks men's team ice hockey, which plays at the Carlson Center, and the Fairbanks Ice Dogs. The
Fairbanks Ice Dogs The Fairbanks Ice Dogs are a Tier II junior ice hockey team in the North American Hockey League's Midwest Division. The Ice Dogs play home games at the 2,200-seat Big Dipper Ice Arena in Fairbanks, Alaska. History Originally started in 1997 i ...
, a junior hockey team in the North American Hockey League, play at the Big Dipper Ice Arena. Prior to the formation of the Ice Dogs, the Fairbanks Gold Kings was formed as a league team by the Teamsters Local 959 in 1974. The team took on a life of its own beyond local league play, and played out of the Big Dipper for many years until moving to Colorado Springs, Colorado (becoming the Colorado Gold Kings) in 1998. The
Alaska Goldpanners The Alaska Goldpanners of Fairbanks are a collegiate summer baseball team which was founded in 1960 as an independent barnstorming team. The Goldpanners were charter members of the Alaska Baseball League at the league's inception in 1974. The Go ...
is a summer collegiate / semi-pro baseball team, playing home games at
Growden Memorial Park Growden Memorial Park is an outdoor park in Fairbanks, Alaska, United States.Originally called Memorial Park, the park was renamed in 1964 in memory of James Growden who, along with his two sons, lost his life in the tsunami created by the Good ...
. The park is home to the annual
Midnight Sun Game The Midnight Sun Game is an amateur baseball game played every summer solstice at Growden Memorial Park in Fairbanks, Alaska, United States. Because the sun is out for almost 24 hours a day, the game starts at about 10:30 at night and completes a ...
, an annual tradition since 1906, played without artificial lights starting after ten at night on the summer solstice. The city was briefly represented in the Indoor Football League by the Fairbanks Grizzlies. Fairbanks is the starting and ending point for the Yukon 800 speedboat race, held annually in June.


Government

Fairbanks is a regional center for most departments of the state of Alaska, though the vast majority of state jobs are based in either Anchorage or Juneau.


Municipal


City

Fairbanks, unlike other larger cities in Alaska, still has separate borough and city governments. The City of Fairbanks was incorporated on November 10, 1903.


Borough

The Fairbanks North Star Borough, created by the Alaska Legislature under the Mandatory Borough Act of 1963, was incorporated on January 1, 1964.


Police

The Fairbanks Police Department is the law enforcement agency responsible for the city. Since its establishment, three officers have died in the line of duty. The police department has also had trouble keeping their employees, as in 2021, the '' Fairbanks Daily News-Miner'' reported that "The Fairbanks Police Department hired 45 officers in the past five years and lost 50 in the same time frame." The department also reported that out of 45 sworn officer positions, only 34 were filled, or about 75%.


Politics

The majority of Fairbanks is politically conservative, with three distinct geographical areas representing differing ideological views. The western part of the city, centered on the
University of Alaska Fairbanks The University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF or Alaska) is a public land-grant research university in College, Alaska, a suburb of Fairbanks. It is the flagship campus of the University of Alaska system. UAF was established in 1917 and opened for c ...
, is Democratic-leaning. The downtown area and the eastern parts near Fort Wainwright are Republican-leaning, and the
North Pole The North Pole, also known as the Geographic North Pole or Terrestrial North Pole, is the point in the Northern Hemisphere where the Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface. It is called the True North Pole to distinguish from the Ma ...
area farther east is even more conservative. Thus, many residents have noted that a neighborhood's position on the map of Fairbanks (west to east) mirrors its political orientation (left to right).


Federal

The district centered on downtown Fairbanks typically votes for Republican candidates for president, although Joe Biden nearly won it in 2020. The boundaries of the district have changed slightly in the elections listed here.


State

Fairbanksans elected the first two Libertarian Party members to serve in a state legislature in the United States.
Dick Randolph Richard L. Randolph (born April 10, 1936) is a longtime insurance agency owner in Fairbanks, Alaska who is best known as the first person to be elected to partisan office under the banner of the Libertarian Party with his election to the Alaska ...
, who had previously served two terms in the Alaska House as a Republican, was first elected as a Libertarian in 1978 and re-elected in 1980.
Ken Fanning Kenneth James Fanning (born April 28, 1947) is an American hunting and fishing guide and former politician. In 1980, Fanning was elected to the Alaska House of Representatives as a Libertarian, becoming the second person elected to a U.S. state le ...
was also elected to the House as a Libertarian in 1980. In the 1982 elections, Randolph ran unsuccessfully as the LP's nominee for Governor of Alaska, while Fanning lost re-election to the House to Democrat
Niilo Koponen Niilo Emil Koponen (March 6, 1928 – December 3, 2013) was an American educator and politician. Early life Born in New York City to Finnish parents, he lived with them in a housing cooperative in a Jewish neighborhood in the Bronx. Koponen ...
, following redistricting. At present, the Fairbanks area comprises two entire districts, and most of a third district, in the Alaska Senate. The state senators for the Fairbanks area are Democrat Scott Kawasaki and Republicans
Robert Myers Jr. Robert Myers Jr. (born 1983) is an American politician serving as a member of the Alaska Senate for the Q district, which includes North Pole and other parts of the Fairbanks North Star Borough. Early life and education Born in Fairbanks, Alas ...
and
Click Bishop Clark C. "Click" Bishop (born July 25, 1957, in Mexico, Missouri) is an American politician and a Republican member of the Alaska Senate since January 18, 2013 representing District C. Bishop served as the state's Commissioner of the Departmen ...
. The area comprises five entire districts, and a portion of one other district, in the Alaska House. Representatives for the Fairbanks area are Democrats Adam Wool and
David Guttenberg David Guttenberg (born May 26, 1951) is an American politician serving as a member of the Fairbanks North Star Borough Assembly. A member of the Democratic Party, he was a member of the Alaska House of Representatives The Alaska State House ...
, along with Republicans Bart LeBon,
Steve M. Thompson Stephen Max "Steve" Thompson (born October 27, 1944) is a retired businessman and Republican politician from the US state of Alaska. He has been a member of the Alaska House of Representatives from District 2 in Fairbanks since 2011. He previous ...
, and
Mike Prax Glenn "Mike" Prax (born May 25, 1956) is an American politician. He is a Republican representing District 3 in the Alaska House of Representatives The Alaska State House of Representatives is the lower house in the Alaska Legislature, the st ...
, appointed to fill the seat after
Tammie Wilson Tammie Wilson was a member of the Alaska House of Representatives, representing District 3. Wilson ran for the Fairbanks North Star Borough (FNSB) Assembly each year from 2006 to 2008. In 2006 she challenged incumbent Charlie Rex. Rex was reel ...
resigned in early 2020 (both Republicans).
Dave Talerico David M. Talerico is an American politician from Alaska. A Republican, he has served in the Alaska House of Representatives since 2015. He represents House District 6, a vast district in The Bush that encompasses the Denali Borough and other u ...
, a Republican member of the House who lives in the Denali Borough community of Healy, represents Richardson Highway communities beyond the North Pole area but within the Fairbanks North Star Borough boundaries. The election of Nov. 2020 saw the retirement of Talerico and the defeat of Coghill for newcomers to the political system. Downtown Fairbanks also voted for Democrat
Mark Begich Mark Peter Begich ( ; born March 30, 1962) is an American politician who served as a United States senator from Alaska from 2009 to 2015. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as Mayor of Anchorage from 2003 to 2009. Born in ...
in his campaigns for U.S. Senate and governor, and for independent
Bill Walker Bill Walker may refer to: Australian rules football * Bill A. Walker (1886–1934), Australian rules footballer for Essendon * Bill Walker (Australian footballer, born 1883) (1883–1971), Australian rules footballer for Fitzroy * Bill J. V. Wal ...
as governor in 2014.


Facilities and services


Utilities

Electricity is provided by the Golden Valley Electric Association, an electric cooperative formed in 1946 to serve areas that the City of Fairbanks' Municipal Utilities System (FMUS) didn't serve. In 1997, GVEA purchased the electric distribution system from FMUS. The downtown coal fired power plant was also purchased by Usibelli Coal Mine under the subsidiary Aurora Energy and contracts to provide power to GVEA. There are four steam turbines fueled by coal. Interior Alaska is not connected to the electrical grid of the contiguous United States and Canada, but a 138kv transmission line constructed in 1985 connects Fairbanks with electric companies serving the Southcentral Alaska area: Matanuska Electric Association, Chugach Electric Association and Homer Electric Association. Until 2019, GVEA held the world record for the largest rechargeable battery BESS, which weighs approximately 1,300 tons. The battery was installed to help bridge the gaps that occur during power outages from the transmission line to Southcentral Alaska. The battery can provide 25 megawatts of electric for 15 minutes or provide power for 7 minutes to about 12,000 homes. The
University of Alaska Fairbanks The University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF or Alaska) is a public land-grant research university in College, Alaska, a suburb of Fairbanks. It is the flagship campus of the University of Alaska system. UAF was established in 1917 and opened for c ...
operates its own coal-fired generating station on campus, providing electricity and steam heat to university buildings. As of 2019, a new fluidized bed 20 megawatt coal-fired power plant was completed, replacing the old dual boiler system Until 1996, telephone service was provided by the Fairbanks Municipal Utilities System (FMUS), owned by the City of Fairbanks. In that year, the voters in the City of Fairbanks authorized the sale of FMUS, which included telephone, electrical, and sewer and water. The telephone system was sold to PTI, a subsidiary of Pacific Power and Light, a subsidiary itself of
PacifiCorp PacifiCorp is an electric power company in the western United States. PacifiCorp has two business units: # Pacific Power, a regulated electric utility with service territory throughout Oregon, northern California, and southeastern Washington. ...
. However, PacifiCorp's purchase of The Energy Group, a diversified energy company with operations in the United Kingdom, Australia, and the U.S. with debt put pressure on PacifiCorp and they sold the telephone holdings to CenturyTel. CenturyTel didn't hang onto it long, not being interested in the Alaska portfolio they had acquired from PacifiCorp. They sold the telephone utility to Alaska Communications, Inc., a private company, some of whom were Alaskans involved in the prior PTI company. Alaska Communications (ACS) had promised that Fairbanks was to be the corporate headquarters with a new building at the corner of Cushman St. and 1st Avenue. That changed as, in the process of acquiring the Fairbanks based telephone utility, the Anchorage Telephone Utility came up for sale, ACS purchased it and Anchorage became the headquarters for Alaska Communications Systems. General Communications Inc. (GCI has competed against ACS in Fairbanks since 1997 with installation of an earth station on the site of the former satellite monitoring system of the European Space Research Organization, now the European Space Agency.GCI
"Company Overview"
, GCI.com. Accessed September 30, 2009.
GCI purchased ACS's mobile phone service from ACS in 2014, when ACS had a lot of debt. Other mobile providers are national companies AT&T Mobility and Verizon Wireless. A pair of fiber optic cables provide long-distance telephone and Internet service. One parallels the Parks Highway and connects Fairbanks to Anchorage, while the other parallels the Richardson Highway and connects Fairbanks to Valdez. A third, spur fiber optic cable parallels the Trans-Alaska Pipeline and connects Fairbanks to
Prudhoe Bay Prudhoe Bay is a census-designated place (CDP) located in North Slope Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska. As of the 2010 census, the population of the CDP was 2,174 people, up from just five residents in the 2000 census; however, at any give ...
. In 2020, Matanuska Telephone Association's subsidiary MTA Fiber Holdings has recently completed the AlCan One fiber installation from its prior connections from Wasilla to Fairbanks and North Pole, continuing down the Alaska Highway to the Canadian border where it connects with Canadian carriers. Broadband Internet access is provided by GCI, ACS, Ace Tekk and a handful of satellite Internet and wireless Internet services.


Economy

Doyon, Limited, an oil services company, is based in Fairbanks.


Taxes

*Sales: none *Property: 20.777 mills (7.171 city/13.606 borough areawide) *Special: 5% alcohol tax (city only); 16% tobacco tax (8% city/8% borough); 8% accommodations tax


Education

The
Fairbanks North Star Borough School District The Fairbanks North Star Borough School District is a public school district based in Fairbanks, Alaska (USA). With a student enrollment of slightly over 14,000, it is the state's second largest public school district. The district encompasses a ...
operates public schools serving the City of Fairbanks and the Fairbanks North Star Borough. The school board is made up 10 members in total, three of which only have advisory votes. They are elected to three year terms. For the 2011-2012 school year, enrollment in the district was 14,260. For the 2021-2022 school year, enrollment was 12,268, down 14% from the 2011-2012 school year. In February 2022, the school board made several decisions, including one to close three elementary schools in the Fairbanks North Star Borough, which would save the district $3 million a year. The school district made the decision based a on $20 million budget shortfall. Alaska Public Media reported that "The district will also restructure district middle schools to encompass grades 6 through 8, while most elementary schools will become K-5 schools."


Transportation

As the transportation hub for Interior Alaska, Fairbanks features extensive road, rail, and air connections to the rest of Alaska and Outside. At Fairbanks' founding, the only way to reach the new city was via steamboat on the Chena River. In 1904, money intended to improve the
Valdez-Eagle Trail The Richardson Highway is a highway in the U.S. state of Alaska, running 368 miles (562 km) and connecting Valdez to Fairbanks. It is marked as Alaska Route 4 from Valdez to Delta Junction and as Alaska Route 2 from there to Fairbanks. I ...
was diverted to build a branch trail, giving Fairbanks its first overland connection to the outside world. The resulting Richardson Highway was created in 1910 after Gen.
Wilds P. Richardson Wilds Preston Richardson (20 March 1861 in Hunt County, Texas – 20 May 1929) was an officer of the United States Army notable for being an explorer and geographer of Alaska in the early decades of the 20th century. During World War I, he was pr ...
upgraded it to a wagon road. In the 1920s, it was improved further and made navigable by automobiles, but it was not paved until 1957. Fairbanks' road connections were improved in 1927, when the Steese Highway connected the city to the Yukon River at the gold-mining community of
Circle A circle is a shape consisting of all points in a plane that are at a given distance from a given point, the centre. Equivalently, it is the curve traced out by a point that moves in a plane so that its distance from a given point is cons ...
. In 1942, the Alaska Highway connected the Richardson Highway to the Canadian road system, allowing road travel from the rest of the United States to Fairbanks, which is considered the unofficial end of the highway. Because of World War II, civilian traffic was not permitted on the highway until 1948. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, a series of roads were built to connect Fairbanks to the oil fields of Prudhoe Bay. The Elliott Highway was built in 1957 to connect Fairbanks to Livengood, southern terminus of the
Dalton Highway The James W. Dalton Highway, usually referred to as the Dalton Highway (and signed as Alaska Route 11), is a road in Alaska. It begins at the Elliott Highway, north of Fairbanks, and ends at Deadhorse (an unincorporated community within the ...
,''The Milepost''
"Elliott Highway"
Morris Magazine Network. Accessed October 7, 2009.
which ends in
Deadhorse Deadhorse is an unincorporated community located within the CDP of Prudhoe Bay in North Slope Borough, Alaska, United States, along the North Slope near the Arctic Ocean. The town consists mainly of facilities for the workers and companies that ...
on the North Slope. West of the Dalton intersection, the Elliott Highway extends to Manley Hot Springs on the Tanana River. To improve logistics in Fairbanks during construction of the
Trans-Alaska Pipeline The Trans-Alaska Pipeline System (TAPS) is an oil transportation system spanning Alaska, including the trans-Alaska crude-oil pipeline, 11 pump stations, several hundred miles of feeder pipelines, and the Valdez Marine Terminal. TAPS is one of ...
, the George Parks Highway was built between Fairbanks and Palmer in 1971. Until 1940, none of Fairbanks' surface streets were paved. The outbreak of World War II interrupted plans to pave most of the city's roads, and a movement toward large-scale paving did not begin until 1953, when the city paved 30 blocks of streets. During the late 1950s and the 1960s, the remainder of the city's streets were converted from gravel roads to asphalt surfaces. Few have been repaved since that time; a 2008 survey of city streets indicated the average age of a street in Fairbanks was 31 years. Public transportation has been provided by the Metropolitan Area Commuter System, an agency of the borough government, since 1977. Bus service links much of the urban Fairbanks area, with most routes connecting at the downtown transit center. University Bus Lines, a private company, existed for several decades before MACS started. The company, which was owned first by Paul Greimann and later by Walt Conant, mainly linked downtown Fairbanks with the university campus and the military bases.


Air transport

Fairbanks International Airport Fairbanks International Airport is a state-owned public-use airport located three miles (5 km) southwest of the central business district of Fairbanks, a city in the Fairbanks North Star Borough of the United States state of Alaska. Fairba ...
serves as a major hub for Alaska air travel. Several regional and charter airlines use or have used the location as their main base of operations due to its central location in the state. Commercial airlines also connect Fairbanks to the lower 48 and select international destinations. Fairbanks is the smallest city in the United States to be served by transatlantic flights, as Condor operates direct flight to
Frankfurt Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , " Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on it ...
in the summer tourist season.


Rail transport

After large-scale gold mining began north of Fairbanks, miners wanted to build a railroad from the steamboat docks on the Chena River to the mine sites in the hills north of the city. The result was the Tanana Mines Railroad, which started operations in September 1905, using what had been the first steam locomotive in the Yukon Territory. In 1907, the railroad was reorganized and named the
Tanana Valley Railroad The Tanana Valley Railroad (TVRR) was a narrow gauge railroad that operated in the Tanana Valley of Alaska from 1905 to about 1917. A portion of the railroad later became part of the Alaska Railroad. History The TVRR was incorporated as the T ...
. The railroad continued expanding until 1910, when the first gold boom began to falter and the introduction of automobiles into Fairbanks took business away from the railroad. Despite these problems, railroad backers envisioned a rail line extending from Fairbanks to Seward on the Gulf of Alaska, home to the Alaska Central Railway. In 1914, the US Congress appropriated $35 million for construction of the Alaska Railroad system, but work was delayed by the outbreak of World War I. Three years later, the Alaska Railroad purchased the Tanana Valley Railroad, which had suffered from the wartime economic problems. Rail workers built a line extending northwest from Fairbanks, then south to Nenana, where President Warren G. Harding hammered in the ceremonial final spike in 1923. The rail yards of the Tanana Valley Railroad were converted for use by the Alaska Railroad, and Fairbanks became the northern end of the line and its second-largest depot. From 1923 to 2004, the Alaska Railroad's Fairbanks terminal was in downtown Fairbanks, just north of the Chena River. In May 2005, the Alaska Railroad opened a new terminal northwest of downtown, and that terminal is in operation today. In summer, the railroad operates tourist trains to and from Fairbanks, and it operates occasional passenger trains throughout the year. The majority of its business through Fairbanks is freight. The railroad is planning an expansion of the rail line from Fairbanks to connect the city via rail with
Delta Junction Delta Junction ( uk, Делта-Джанкшен, Delta Dzhankshen) is a city in the Southeast Fairbanks Census Area, Alaska, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 958, up from 840 in 2000. The 2018 estimate was down to 931. ...
, about southeast.


Crime

Compared to communities of similar population, Fairbanks' crime rate (violent and property crimes combined) is higher than Alaska's average, which in turn is higher than the U.S. average. Fairbanks similarly has a higher than average rate of rape and sexual assault, and in 2010 was ranked the third most dangerous U.S. city for women with 70 rapes per 100,000 inhabitants.


Attractions and points of interest

The city of Fairbanks and the greater Fairbanks area is home to a number of attractions and events, which draw visitors from outside of Alaska throughout the year. Summer tourist traffic primarily consists of
cruise ship Cruise ships are large passenger ships used mainly for vacationing. Unlike ocean liners, which are used for transport, cruise ships typically embark on round-trip voyages to various ports-of-call, where passengers may go on tours known as ...
passengers who purchase package tours which include travel to Fairbanks. Many of these tourists spend one or more nights at a local hotel and visit one or more attractions. Tourism the rest of the year is mostly concentrated around the winter season, centered upon the northern lights, ice carving and winter sports. In addition, other events draw visitors from within Alaska, mostly from the community's trading area throughout Interior Alaska and the
North Slope North Slope can refer to: * Alaska North Slope, a region encompassing the northernmost part of the U.S. state of Alaska * North Slope Borough, Alaska, a borough in Alaska whose boundaries roughly coincide with that of the region * North Slope, Taco ...
. ;Within city limits * Creamer's Field Migratory Waterfowl Refuge * Golden Days Parade (July) *
Midnight Sun Game The Midnight Sun Game is an amateur baseball game played every summer solstice at Growden Memorial Park in Fairbanks, Alaska, United States. Because the sun is out for almost 24 hours a day, the game starts at about 10:30 at night and completes a ...
(June 21) * Pioneer Park * World Eskimo Indian Olympics (July) ;Outside city limits * Ski Land *
Georgeson Botanical Garden The Georgeson Botanical Garden is located at 117 West Tanana Drive on the University of Alaska Fairbanks campus in Fairbanks, Alaska, United States. The five acre garden hosts a variety of research and educational programs in subarctic horticult ...
* Gold Dredge No. 8 * World Ice Art Championships and IceAlaska Ice Park * Riverboat Discovery * Robert G. White Large Animal Research Station *Santa Claus House in
North Pole The North Pole, also known as the Geographic North Pole or Terrestrial North Pole, is the point in the Northern Hemisphere where the Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface. It is called the True North Pole to distinguish from the Ma ...
* Tanana Valley State Fair (August) * University of Alaska Museum of the North * Chena Hot Springs


State Parks

Alaska State Parks operates the ''Chena River State Recreation Site'', a park in the middle of Fairbanks with a campground, trails, and a boat launch. (There is a similarly named Chena River State Recreation Area, a much larger park, about outside Fairbanks)


Notable people

*
John Luther Adams John Luther Adams (born January 23, 1953) is an American composer whose music is inspired by nature, especially the landscapes of Alaska, where he lived from 1978 to 2014. His orchestral work '' Become Ocean'' was awarded the 2014 Pulitzer Prize ...
(born 1953), composer whose music is inspired by nature, especially the landscapes of Alaska, where he lived from 1978 to 2014 * Lincoln Brewster (born 1971), contemporary Christian musician,
worship Worship is an act of religious devotion usually directed towards a deity. It may involve one or more of activities such as veneration, adoration, praise, and praying. For many, worship is not about an emotion, it is more about a recogni ...
pastor * Susan Butcher (1954–2006),
dog musher Mushing is a sport or transport method powered by dogs. It includes carting, pulka, dog scootering, sled dog racing, skijoring, freighting, and weight pulling. More specifically, it implies the use of one or more dogs to pull a sled, most comm ...
, noteworthy as the second woman to win the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race in 1986, the second four-time winner in 1990, and the first to win four out of five sequential years. She is commemorated in Alaska by the ''Susan Butcher Day'' *
Jon Button Jon Button (born February 10, 1971) is an American bass player born in Fairbanks, Alaska, and based in Los Angeles, California. Button has played on commercial, film and television scores and toured with a number of well-known artists. He play ...
, bass player born in Fairbanks, Alaska, and based in Los Angeles, California * John Drury Clark (1907–1988), born and raised in Fairbanks; noted American rocket fuel developer, science fiction writer, and chemist * Daryn Colledge (born 1982),
offensive guard Offensive may refer to: * Offensive, the former name of the Dutch political party Socialist Alternative (Netherlands), Socialist Alternative * Offensive (military), an attack * Offensive language ** Fighting words or insulting language, words that ...
for the Arizona Cardinals; played for the Green Bay Packers and helped the team gain their victory in Super Bowl XLV *
Mike Dunlap Michael Gregory Dunlap (born May 27, 1957) is an American professional basketball coach who serves as assistant coach for the Milwaukee Bucks of the National Basketball Association. Dunlap is the former head coach of the NBA's Charlotte Bobcats. ...
(born 1957), NBA and college basketball head coach, was born in Fairbanks * Denali Foxx (born 1992), a.k.a. Cordero Zuckerman, drag queen, figure skater and contestant who made it to the Top 8 on the thirteenth season of RuPaul's Drag Race * Jessica Gavora (born 1963), writer on culture and politics; chief speechwriter for Attorney General John Ashcroft and a senior policy advisor at the Department of Justice * Vivica Genaux (born 1969),
coloratura mezzo-soprano A mezzo-soprano or mezzo (; ; meaning "half soprano") is a type of classical female singing voice whose vocal range lies between the soprano and the contralto voice types. The mezzo-soprano's vocal range usually extends from the A below midd ...
* James C. Hayes (born 1946), mayor of Fairbanks (1992–2001), the first African-American mayor in the state of Alaska *
Ruthy Hebard Ruth Cecilia Hebard (born April 28, 1998) is an American professional basketball player for the Chicago Sky of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She played college basketball for the Oregon Ducks. While at West Valley High Sch ...
(born 1998), a first-round selection of the Chicago Sky in the 2020 WNBA draft, was raised from infancy in Fairbanks, attending West Valley High School * Rick Holmstrom (born 1965), electric blues and
rhythm and blues Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated in African-American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly ...
guitarist, singer-songwriter *
Kevin Johansen Kevin Johansen (born 21 June 1964) is an US-born Argentine musician and singer-songwriter. He is known for mixing several rhythms and languages in his musical work. Biography Kevin Johansen was born on June 21, 1964 in Fairbanks, Alaska, to Marta ...
(born 1964), musician, singer-songwriter * Lance Mackey (1970-2022), four-time winner of the Yukon Quest and Iditarod sled dog races, lived in the Fairbanks area *
Kelly Moneymaker Kelly Susan Moneymaker (born June 4, 1970) is an American singer, songwriter, and producer. She was born and raised in Fairbanks, Alaska. Early career As a teenager, Moneymaker moved to Seattle to co-found the band BoyToy with Michele Rundgren ...
(born 1970), singer, songwriter, producer * Daishen Nix (born 2002), professional basketball player for the Houston Rockets of the National Basketball Association, born in Fairbanks. *
Will Turpin William Ross Turpin (born February 8, 1971) is an American musician. He is best known for being the bassist of the rock band Collective Soul. He is also a solo artist, and tours with his backing band, the Way. His debut EP, ''The Lighthouse'', wa ...
(born 1971), bass player * Paul Varelans (1969–2021),
MMA Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incor ...
and UFC pioneer, fought out of Fairbanks. The city was cited as the inspiration behind his nickname, "The Polar Bear"


Sister cities

Fairbanks is twinned with: *
Erdenet Erdenet ( mn, Эрдэнэт, literally "with treasure") is the third-largest city in Mongolia, with a 2018 population of 98,045, and the capital of the aimag (province) of Orkhon. Located in the northern part of the country, it lies in a valle ...
, Mongolia * Fanano, Italy *
Pune Pune (; ; also known as Poona, ( the official name from 1818 until 1978) is one of the most important industrial and educational hubs of India, with an estimated population of 7.4 million As of 2021, Pune Metropolitan Region is the largest i ...
, India * Tainan, Taiwan * Yakutsk, Russia * Yellowknife, Canada


References

*Cole, Dermot. ''Fairbanks: A Gold Rush Town that Beat the Odds''. Fairbanks. University of Alaska Press, 1999. . *Hedrick, Basil and Savage, Susan. ''Steamboats on the Chena''. Fairbanks. Epicenter Press, 1988. ASIN B000OM7YIK. *Shulski, Martha and Wendler, Gerd. ''The Climate of Alaska''. University of Alaska Press, 2007. .


Further reading

*Boswell, John. ''History of Alaskan Operations of United States Smelting, Refining, and Mining Company''. Fairbanks. University of Alaska, Mineral Industries Research Laboratory, 1979. *Cashen, William. ''Farthest North College President''. Charles E. Bunnell and the Early History of the University of Alaska. Fairbanks. University of Alaska Press, 1972. *Cloe, John and Monaghan, Michael. ''Top Cover for America''. Missoula, Montana. Pictorial Histories Publishing Co., 1984. *Cole, Terrence. ''The Cornerstone on College Hill: An Illustrated History of the University of Alaska Fairbanks.'' Fairbanks. University of Alaska Press, 1994. *Cooley, Richard. ''Fairbanks, Alaska: A Survey of Progress.'' Juneau. Alaska Development Board, June 1954. * Davis, Neil. ''The College Hill Chronicles: How the University of Alaska Came of Age.'' Fairbanks. University of Alaska Foundation, 1992. *Dixon, Mim. ''What Happened to Fairbanks? The Effects of the Trans-Alaska Oil Pipeline on the Community of Fairbanks, Alaska.'' Boulder, Colorado. Westview Press, 1978. *Kirchner, L. D. ''Flag Over the North, The Story of the
Northern Commercial Company The Alaska Commercial Company (ACC) is a company that operated retail stores in Alaska during the early period of Alaska's ownership by the United States. From 1901 to 1992, it was known as the Northern Commercial Company (NCC). In 1992, it resumed ...
''. Seattle. Superior Publishing Company, 1954. *Kruse, John A. ''Fairbanks Community Survey''. Fairbanks. Institute of Social and Economic Research, 1976. *Movius, Phyllis. ''The Role of Women in the Founding and Development of Fairbanks, Alaska, 1903–1923''. Fairbanks. University of Alaska Fairbanks, 1996. *Naske, Claus, and Rowinski, L.J. ''Fairbanks: A Pictorial History''. Virginia Beach, Virginia. The Donning Company, 1981. *Patty, Ernest. ''North Country Challenge''. New York. David McKay, 1949. *Potter, Jean. ''Alaska Under Arms''. New York. Macmillan, 1942. *Potter, Jean. ''The Flying North''. New York. Macmillan, 1947. *Rickard, T.A. ''Through the Yukon and Alaska''. San Francisco. Mining and Scientific Press, 1909. *Robe, Cecil. ''The Penetration of an Alaskan Frontier, The Tanana Valley and Fairbanks''. PhD dissertation,
Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the w ...
, 1943. * Wickersham, James. ''Old Yukon''. Washington, D.C. Washington Law Book Co., 1938. *Wold, Jo Anne. ''This Old House''. Anchorage. Alaska Northwest Publishing Co., 1976. *Wold, Jo Anne. ''Fairbanks: The $200 Million Gold Rush Town''. Fairbanks. Wold Press, 1971.


External links


Official website
of the City of Fairbanks
Fairbanks Chamber of Commerce

Fairbanks Convention and Visitors Bureau
* {{Authority control Borough seats in Alaska Cities in Alaska Cities in Fairbanks North Star Borough, Alaska Mining communities in Alaska Populated places established in 1901