Wesley Early, Alaska Public Media

2017 is nearly gone. There were lots of big news stories in the past year. What was important, and what was just plain interesting. What were your local top stories of the past year? Listen Here

New oil estimate for NPR-A: It's 'HUGE'; State looks to settle TAPS tariff cases; North Slope borough storm gets disaster declaration; Refuge drilling opponents prepare for next phase of struggle; Bethel Search and Rescue seeks stronger partnership with local police; Alaska Christmas trees: backyard charm or out-of-state beauty?; AK: Anchorage celebrates winter solstice with tour of trees; 49 Voices: Anita Laulainen of Palmer Listen now

Man killed in fourth Anchorage officer-involved shooting of the year; Two arrested in Juneau for murder in Anchorage cold case from 1995; Pebble announces federal permit application; State’s latest water quality report has bad news for popular Kenai River; $200m for Fort Greely interceptors in spending bill; Chugach announces proposal to by ML&P; Homer fishermen grapple with cod decline; For some Native corp shareholders, cultural role outweighs the economic; Ask a Climatologist: A remarkably warm December Listen now

Trump lauds ANWR passage; Young: 'We finally got it done'; Oil companies aren’t promising to drill in ANWR…so how interested are they?; ACLU won't challenge Assembly's modified anti-camping measure; Anchorage firefighter wins nearly $780,000 in lawsuit against city; Walker budget proposes fix for spring ferry funding foul-up; Alaska’s only tribal college will waive tuition for Alaska Native students; T-rexes, minions and more at the ninth annual Polar Plunge; The real cost of child care in Juneau Listen now

Long ANWR battle ending quietly; Climate task force begins work – and push-back begins, too; New trial ordered for man convicted in Coast Guard killings; State mandated review of Juneau’s untested sexual assault kits is underway; Mat-Su teacher contract negotiations hit impasse over pay, health insurance; Local athletes hope to represent Juneau at Native Youth Olympics; Preventing problems with exercise for elders Listen now

Pebble names First Quantum Minerals as new partner; Landslide south of Anchorage creates 'unusual' highway blockage; Sarah Palin's son charged with hitting father; Walker wants to borrow money to pay $900 million in oil tax credits; Permanent Fund Corporation to study ethical and sustainable investing; Why prison drug treatment programs in Alaska ramped down at ‘exactly the wrong time’; Wolves and logging both cut into Prince of Wales deer; Mt. Edgecumbe girls smash records at state wrestling tournament Listen now

Amid sexual harassment claims, Rep. Westlake says he’ll resign; Murkowski unsure Congress can investigate Trump on groping charges; Walker proposes smaller budget, plans to fill gap with savings; Conoco hopes to crack open off-limits North Slope land; Alaska marijuana regulators issue first-ever license revocation after slew of violations; ACLU sounds alarm on non-criminal immigrant detentions in Anchorage; Marine biologists seek answers in a warmer Bering Sea; AK: How do you recruit more young Alaska Native nurses?; 49 Voices: Alexandria McLearen of Anchorage Listen now

Credit rating agency sees a ‘clear path,’ as Alaska tries to balance its budget; Alaska investigators nab 3 in botnet attacks, 'click fraud' scam; ACA health insurance applications due Friday; Kenai sees return of tree-killing beetle; Warming in Utqiaġvik so fast, NOAA algorithm flags as mistake; King Cove closer to goal of 100 percent renewable energy; Four Alaska firefighters dispatched to battle California blazes; Two really, really big cruise ships headed to Alaska; Alaskans are aging in Alaska, so now what? Listen now

Protests fail to slow tax bill, or Arctic drilling; State Division of Elections denies GOP primary block; Washington man sentenced to 10 years in prison for extensive Alaska scamming spree; Iditarod to tighten race trail security, rewrite “gag rule”; What a change in city code could mean for Sitka’s LGBTQ community; Ravn Alaska to fly between Anchorage and Bristol Bay; Tribal members want more authentic Native art in Haines Listen now

Trump signs defense bill to allow more missile interceptors in Alaska; State’s revenue department predicts slow uptick in oil prices; Scientists warn Arctic “refrigerator” is failing, with global consequences; Walker names members of Alaska climate leadership team; Alaskan soldier from Wasilla dies in Afghanistan; Nonpartisan report says Wilson incident in June wasn’t sexual harassment; State prosecutor decides not to charge Sen. Wilson in reporter slapping; Togiak herring forecast for 2018 to be a little larger than this year; Chinook gusts up to 80 mph knock out power around Interior; In Russia, a competitor for Alaska’s gasline project comes online; Wrangell schools roll out anonymous, anti-bullying app Listen now

With 35th homicide this year, Anchorage hits an all-time high; Warning from left: Deficit could eat Alaska's ANWR money; Canada rejects transboundary mine permit protest; AIDEA board OKs sale of Pentex to Interior Gas Utility; GOA Pacific cod allocations hacked 80 percent after massive stock decline; Staggeringly low forecasts for king salmon in the Stikine; Reaching out to youth where they are; Does Sitka’s Baranov statue impress or oppress? Listen now

House Majority calls on Dean Westlake to resign amid sexual harassment allegations; One of the Fairbanks Four sues the city over alleged civil rights violations; As Alaska’s gasline corporation pushes for deal in Asia, legislators push for more information; Parents help uncover marijuana edible dealing in Bethel High School; Road crews reopen Richardson Highway after avalanche; DOT officials struggle to keep up with recent snow storm; Ask a Climatologist: Jet stream pattern keeps Alaska warm, Lower 48 cold; AK: In the industrial heart of Anchorage is a warehouse full of wild birds; 49 Voices: Peter Twitchell of Bethel Listen now

Senate votes 'aye' on Balash; Drilling foes see NPR-A bids, request redo on ANWR estimate; Sen. Wilson says unreleased video shows he didn’t harass Capitol worker; Despite decades of backcountry experience, beloved coach died in avalanche; Father of child who shot himself arrested on weapons charge; How would the salmon ballot initiative impact development in Alaska?; Can Newtok house a village with army surplus?; Coast Guard ends search for men missing in Juneau channel; Feds trying to find scam victims after $586M Western Union settlement Listen now

Murkowski strikes sweet note on immigration; Sexual assault allegations are aimed at a Juneau lawmaker; Alaska GOP votes to block three House Reps from primaries; State lease sale draws higher bids than BLM sale of NPRA tracts; High Levels of Biotoxin Found in Dead Walrus; Experts Unsure of Regional Affect; Anchorage assembly tweaks rules on abating illegal homeless camps; Overturned skiff had been heading to tug boat anchored in Gastineau Channel; Tongass in transition: Striking a chord with old growth trees

Don Young raises concerns over AEL&P purchase; Young selected to negotiate final tax bill; With Conyers out, Young becomes 'dean of the House'; Tongass in transition: An uncertain future for Alaska’s last big mill; Alaska boy finds gun in nightstand, fatally shoots himself; Russia banned from 2018 Olympics, AK skiers speak out against doping; Research continues on elevated mercury levels in some non-migratory fish in Southwest Alaska; Critics sue over mine exploration near Alaska eagle preserve; New fiber-optic cable system to turbocharge North Slope broadband access; Letting youth run the court to give their peers a second chance Listen now

Sullivan kills cruise tax, Murkowski adds tax help for ANCs; Safety of Alaska-bound fuel barges under scrutiny; Can the Iditarod standardize kennel care?; State ferry Taku won’t become a Portland hotel after all; UAA graphic design student wins artistic license plate competition; University of Alaska's first Rhodes Scholar: A voracious reader with deep King Cove roots; How do you get people to care about climate change? Maybe with a drone; Portugal. The Man: From Alaska beginnings to national acclaim Listen now

Tax bill still up for debate, but no sign of dropping ANWR drilling in sight; Sullivan defends tax cuts, disputes cost; U.S., Russia and others agree to ban fishing in the Arctic Ocean; Premera pays state $25M to offset high health insurance rates; Educational partnership mixes math with Native design; Hatchery association reduces release numbers in Tutka Bay; Meshik Processing Center aims to be operational for the 2018 salmon season; AK: Talking Trash: Composting startup tackles Juneau’s green waste; 49 Voices: Don Allen on the MV Columbia Listen now

Protesters rally in Washington DC against opening ANWR to oil drilling; Fairbanks woman arrested, charged with murder of half-brother, partner; Officials look to reform cannabis testing after disputes over potency; Alaska musher in doping scandal signs up for Norway race; With future once uncertain, veterans memorial wall to get new home in Wasilla; Talking Trash: Once a bear attractant, Yakutat’s dump now award-winning; Russian Unangax reconnect with Alaska neighbors during St. Paul trip; For foster youth, sometimes the solution is saving each other Listen now

Senate votes to take up tax bill, bringing rigs closer to ANWR; Prudhoe Bay job numbers fell to lowest since 2007 this year; Army Corps requires less wetlands mitigation in Alaska; Fairbanks sees 9th and 10th homicides of the year; Alaska DOC commissioner wants to stop easy access of illegal drugs in prisons; Why nobody likes Anchorage's potential alcohol tax but its powerful sponsor; Ask a Climatologist: Chukchi Sea ice at record low; Sitka installs LED lights for a brighter, safer skate park Listen now

Feds approve first oil exploration in Arctic federal waters since Shell; Relocating the climate-affected village of Newtok may require an act of Congress; Distressed fuel barge awaits inspection following tug detachment; Fairbanks man charged with North Pole mother's murder; Talking Trash: Isolated Gustavus deals with national park-sized garbage problem; Sitka Tribe of Alaska receives $2 million grant to help domestic violence victims; New Alaskan-helmed Tom Clancy novel launches Listen now