Josh Edge, Alaska Public Media

Spending Bill Includes $75 Million For Fisheries Disaster Assistance; US, Russia Drafting Voluntary Bering Strait Passage Regulations; Early Bills Tackle Lawsuits, Medical Care; Signatures Submitted for Minimum Wage Initiative; Alaska Ranks 5th In Millionaires Per Capita; Alaska’s Population Grows By 3.7 Percent In Three Years; Health Campus Proposed To Handle Anchorage’s Homeless; 2014 Kuskokwim 300 Brings Past Champions And New Trail; AK: Girls Wrestling; 300 Villages: Hooper Bay Download Audio

Senate Passes $1.1 Trillion Spending Bill; Fewer Kids Going to Preschool in Alaska, Waiting Lists Long; Tribal Councils Express Opposition To Permitting Bill; Despite Pipeline Progress, State Proceeds with Two Lines; Railbelt Electric Companies May Undergo Changes; 60-Foot Tug Sinks Near Wrangell; Stedman Says Hydro Funds Tight, Otter Bill Will Change; With Loss Of Dock, Gustavus Residents Worry About Tourist Season; Cameras Capture Northern Migration Download Audio

Former DNR Commissioner Dan Sullivan Raises $1.2 Million For Senate Race; Shishmaref Delegation Meets With Climate Change Task Force; Lawsuit Could Bring Federal Oversight Into Salmon Harvests; Juneau Businesses Take The Bitcoin Lead; Fairbanks Militia Leader Holding Anti-Gun-Control Rally; World Wildlife Fund Releasing Walrus Ivory Report; Grant Advances Kasaan Longhouse Repairs; Dena’ina Athabascan Exhibit Wraps Up At Anchorage Museum Download Audio

Federal Spending Package Secures Funds For Tribal Health Care Facilities; Alaska's Affordable Care Act Enrollment Remains Low; Refinery Owner Seeks Lower Cleanup Level For Tainted Groundwater; Akutan Volcano’s Geothermal Power Potential Increases; Bering Sea Ice Sees 7-Year Expansion; Interior Alaska’s River, Lake Ice Thinner Than Normal; Allen Moore Wins Copper Basin 300; Trailbreakers Prepare Yukon Quest Route; UAA Planetarium Offers Unique Look Into McNeil Bear Sanctuary Download Audio

Parnell Announces New Pipeline Plan, Changes AGIA Agreement; Supreme Court Okay’s Referendum Repealing Controversial Labor Law; Treadwell Campaign Attacks Begich On ANWR; Ravn Investigating Cause Of St. Mary's Crash; Lawmakers File Dozens Of Bills In Advance Of Session; Air Quality Regulations Worry Fairbanks, State Officials; Winter Grizzly Sightings Raise Concerns Near Denali Park; AK: Shipwreck; 300 Villages: Chickaloon Download Audio

This week, we’re heading to Chickaloon, a small community located along the Glenn Highway, surrounded by mountains and glaciers. Patricia Wade is a member of the Chickaloon tribe. Download Audio

Wal-Mart, State Officials Discuss Alaska Salmon; Army Corp Of Engineers Finalizes Deep-Water Port Recommendations; Senate Debates Emergency Unemployment Policy Extension; Parnell Names Folger Public Safety Commissioner; Meeting On Wood Stove, Boiler Pollution Draws Big Crowd; Alaska Supreme Court Weighs Labor Law Referendum; Copper Basin 300 Field Shapes Up; Joining Antarctica's Exclusive 300 Club Download Audio

Army Cuts Will Be Small For Alaska Military; Marijuana Initiative Sponsors Submit Petition To Division Of Elections; Researchers Say Ocean Acidification Could Make Fish Anxious, Impact Fisheries; Mat-Su Mayor, Fish & Wildlife Commission Divided Over Legislation; Bethel Artists To Learn About Fish Skins; Holly Brooks Hopes To Ski Past Her (Younger) Competitors; Pacific High: A (New) Century Of Education In Downtown Sitka; Bernice Joseph Dies At Age 49 Download Audio

Small Plane Makes Emergency Landing On Anchorage Road; Polar Star Called Off After Ice-Bound Ships Get Free; Murkowski Calls For End To Crude Export Ban; New Rules Adopted For Abortion Payment Conditions; Judge Sen Tan To Step Down; Susitna-Watana Dam Timeline Pushed Back; Buccaneer Seeks New Revenues In New Year; Technology Gives Exhibit Statewide Presence; Era Alaska Changes Name To Ravn Alaska; Why The Capital City Isn’t As Likeable As It Should Be Download Audio

This week, we’re heading to the community of Tununak, on Nelson Island. James James is the tribal administrator for the Native Villages of Tununak. Download Audio

Arctic Port Feasibility Study Expected In March; Election Year Ramps Up; Slow to Moderate Job Growth Forecasted This Year In Alaska; State Urges Residents To Get Flu Vaccine; Nome Completes Annual Bird Count; Mild Weather Helps Unalaska’s Christmas Bird Count Expand; AK: History; 300 Villages: Tununak Download Audio

Exxon, Chevron Make Big Contributions To Preserve New Oil Tax Law; New Energy Politics Changes Likely To Affect Alaska; CH2M Hill Selected to Rescue Anchorage Port Project; Legislative Task Force Clashes Over Education Funding; New Mat-Su Trooper Unit Gets First Arrests; Expansion Planned For Nome Graveyard; Alaska Air National Guard Finds Missing Snowmachiner; Climate Change, Arctic Activity Expected To Multiply Pollutant Concentrations; ‘Targeted Hunt’ Aims For Moose Near Roadways; Yukon Commercial Fishermen May Be Able To Use Purse Seine Gear Download Audio

Alaska Tapped To Be UAV Test Site; Part 1: Lt. General Russell Handy On Arctic Strategy; Pioneering Alaska Doctor Marcell Jackson Dies; Slow Business, High Costs Shut Down Paxson Lodge; BLM Builds Long-Term Clean Up Plan For Red Devil Mine Site; Preventing Language Loss: A 3-Step Process; MAP Students Train For ETT Download Audio

Thousands of Alaskans to Lose Unemployment Benefits Saturday; Budget Pressure Mounts On Senate Appropriations Committee; Interior Alaska Temperatures Dip To 50 Below; Appeals Court Reinstates Overfishing Charges Against Kookesh, Two Others; Human Skeletal Remains Exhumed From Cable House; Chena River Getting Cleaner; AK: Hair; 300 Villages: Port Heiden Download Audio

This week, we're heading to Port Heiden, a community of about 100 people on the Alaska Peninsula. Scott Anderson is mayor of Port Heiden. Download Audio

Alaska Flu Cases Skyrocket In December; Army Corps Of Engineers Discuss Deep Water Port Options; Study Shows Military's Impact On Alaska; Fairbanks Residents Wake Thursday To Minus 41; Gambell Carvers Get Ivory To Work With; Same-Sex Marriage Ruling’s Effect On Alaska; Russian Mission Man Dies In Snowmachine Crash; Sitka Moorage Fee Hike Takes Effect Jan. 1; ANB Harbor Replacement Moves Forward Download Audio

I attended the American Geological Union (AGU) Fall Meeting this week in San Francisco. It’s billed as “the largest worldwide conference in geophysical science,” with over 20,000 attendants.

More Than 700 Alaskans Sign Up For Health Coverage; Interior Gas Utility Lays Out Fairbanks LNG Plan; Kenai Groups Oppose Commercial Setnetting Ban; Southeast Dungeness Crab Catch Surpasses Expectations; Selling A Small Business; Alaska Flags To Be Lowered For Former State Rep; 17,000 Alaskans Fall Into Health Care Gap; Walt Monegan Remembers Special Christmas Memory Download Audio

Jewell Rejects Road Through Izembek; State Suggests New KABATA Finance Strategy; Rio Tinto Considers Pulling Out Of Pebble Mine; 1 Dead In Talkeetna Spur Road Crash; Reindeer Herders Ask For Help As Herds Dwindle; Experts Caution Against Breed-Specific Dog Laws; WWAMI Program Prepares To Undergo Changes; An Alternative Take On The Christmas Tree; At Unalaska’s Methodist Church, Telling A Special Christmas Story Download Audio