The Fairbanks North Star Borough has submitted paperwork to accept a $500,000 federal grant to paint the S.S. Nenana sternwheeler at Pioneer Park.

Tom Hewitt, special assistant to Borough Mayor Grier Hopkins, provided a brief update to the borough’s Historic Preservation Commission on Tuesday, noting the borough had a very narrow window to submit paperwork to the National Park Service.

The Friends of the S.S. Nenana successfully submitted a Congressionally Directed Spending request through Sen. Lisa Murkowski’s office and were awarded $500,000 in 2024 through the Save America’s Treasures grant program.

However, according to the organization, acceptance of the grant lingered for a year and faced a looming May 31 deadline.

“It was a bit of a whirlwind in our office on Thursday and Friday

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