Jeremy Hsieh, KTOO - Juneau

Hot canola oil pangs off a stainless steel tub under the watch of a local fry bread master. Some people say it’s magic that turns a hand-stretched disc of dough into a puffy -- but-not-too-puffy -- piece of golden, delicious fry bread. Fry bread, that high calorie treat that can go savory or sweet, has generations of history in many Alaska Native families, where the untraditional food has become a cultural fixture. Download Audio

Until this week, Leah Francis was probably best known as an Alaska distance running champ from her days at Juneau-Douglas High School. That all changed after she went public saying she was forcibly raped by a fellow Stanford University undergraduate while in Juneau. Download Audio

The legislature has approved $5.8 million in additional repairs and renovations to the Capitol building.

It’s been 25 years since the Exxon Valdez tanker ran aground, spilling hundreds of thousands of barrels of oil in Prince William Sound. Download Audio

Republican Oklahoma Sen. Tom Coburn’s annual “Wastebook” released Tuesday purports to document cases of wasteful federal spending. Download Audio

David Brabaw is clutching a frozen, 8-pound turkey in a pair of as-seen-on-TV Ove Gloves. He’s got a bowler’s stance as he eyes the pins at the end of the lane over the bird’s rump. There’s a hush as bird strikes the pins, then an eruption of cheers as the pins settle, including an ecstatic, guttural “YEAH!” from Brabaw — he got a strike. Brabaw’s not at a rowdy bowling alley, but on the eighth floor of Juneau’s State Office Building. He was one of a handful of state workers turkey bowling on Wednesday during the lunch hour. That unmistakable sound of bowling pins getting knocked around echoed up several stories of the building. Download Audio

Outside room 119 at Juneau-Douglas High School, a sheet of paper taped to the wall says, “FOG MACHINE IN USE.” It’s the Friday before Halloween, and the usually no-nonsense control room and JDTV News anchor desk is dressed with spider webs, skeletons, jack-o-lanterns, black lights, and strobes. Download Audio

Juneau is buying bike racks that double as public art with locally inspired motifs. The city is paying Minneapolis-based Dero Bike Rack Co. $20,883 for the custom order.

Public opposition to a middle school sports travel ban adopted by the Juneau School Board last month continues to be one-sided, and the anonymity of the ban’s community supporters is breeding skeptics of the official explanation. Download Audio

Alaska’s high court became the first state supreme court in the country yesterday to hear an appeal in one of more than a dozen climate change lawsuits. The lawsuits pit young people against their states. The plaintiffs claim the state has an obligation to protect the atmosphere from excessive carbon emissions. Download Audio

In Barrow at the top of the world, receding sea ice is reshaping life. University of Alaska Fairbanks freshman Nelson Kanuk thinks the state is obligated to combat atmospheric climate change. He argues the atmosphere is a public trust to be preserved for future generations, like clean water or navigable waterways. Download Audio

When Filipinos hear “Alaska,” often the first two things that come to mind are milk and basketball. Download Audio

Peter Nestler has been hooked on jumping rope since second grade, when he saw an exhibition at Glacier Valley Elementary School. In third grade, he joined the Juneau Jumpers. By the time he finished high school, he had helped his team win seven world championships. Listen Now

A state antitrust lawyer says a proposed merger may pit the commercial shipping equivalents of David against Goliath in Southeast Alaska. Download Audio