News

All news stories, regardless of topic (local, statewide + national news stories, as well as Talk of Alaska, Alaska News Nightly, Alaska Insight, Alaska Economic Report). Some news stories may also have other categories marked, which will also put them on a subpage. Not all news stories will fall into a subpage.

Tuck Fined $14,000 For Campaign Finance Violations

House Minority Leader Chris Tuck acknowledged that he mixed up his campaign contributions with his personal savings and failed to make accurate and timely disclosures. Download Audio

Kerry Names Ex-Coast Guard Boss Special Rep to Arctic

Secretary of State John Kerry today named former Coast Guard commandant Robert J. Papp Jr. as special representative to the Arctic. Kerry created the new position to elevate Arctic issues in America's foreign policy and national security strategy as the U.S. prepares to assume the chair of the Arctic Council. Download Audio

Murkowski Joins Democrats on Vote for Birth Control Coverage

A U.S. Senate bill requiring companies to cover birth control in employee healthcare plans failed a procedural vote today . Both Alaska senators voted for the bill, aimed at undoing the Supreme Court’s decision in the Hobby Lobby case. Sen. Lisa Murkowski was one of only three Republicans to vote for the measure, dubbed the “Not My Boss’s Business Act.” Download Audio

Authorities Investigate Explosion in Petersburg

Details are emerging about an explosion that injured a Petersburg person over the weekend and has brought federal explosives agents there to investigate. Download Audio

Permitting Officials Explore Alternatives For Donlin Gold Mine

Donlin Gold is in a multiyear permitting process for the proposed gold mine located north of Crooked Creek about 120 miles upriver from Bethel. Scientists and engineers are now studying not just Donlin’s proposed plan, but several variations that would significantly change the mine. Download Audio

Alaska LNG Project community meeting provides questions and hope

The Alaska LNG Project hosted a community meeting in Anchorage on Tuesday night. About 90 people listened to an explanation of the newest version of a plan to get natural gas from the North Slope to market. Project manager Steve Butt explained this project is different from previous failed attempts to build a gas pipeline. Download Audio

Fall Chum Season Opens on the Yukon

The fall chum salmon season on the Yukon begins Wednesday. Download Audio

Arctic Climate Researchers Zoom in on Plankton

They’re not recognizable like polar bears or whales. But phytoplankton are a key part of life in the Arctic – and now, they’re at the center of a new research effort to predict how the region will respond to climate change. Download Audio

Scientists Find Climate Cooling Effect in Ancient Thermokarst Lakes

Scientists have long believed melting permafrost emits large amounts of carbon-rich greenhouse gases like methane and carbon dioxide to the atmosphere resulting in a warming climate. But a new study published online by the journal Nature today indicates ancient lakes that formed after permafrost in the Arctic first melted roughly ten thousand years ago may in fact have a net climate cooling effect over long time scales. The study also increases the total amount of carbon estimated in the frozen soils of the Far North by more than 50 percent. Download Audio

Alaska News Nightly: July 16, 2014

Tuck Fined $14,000 For Campaign Finance Violations; Kerry Names Ex-Coast Guard Boss Special Rep to Arctic; Murkowski Joins Democrats on Vote for Birth Control Coverage; Judge Blocks Law Limiting Medicaid Payments For Abortion; Authorities Investigate Explosion in Petersburg; Permitting Officials Explore Alternatives For Donlin Gold Mine; Alaska LNG Project Community Meeting Provides Questions and Hope; Fall Chum Season Opens on the Yukon; Arctic Climate Researchers Zoom in on Plankton; Scientists Find Climate Cooling Effect in Ancient Thermokarst Lakes Download Audio

Lesser Sandhill Cranes: Feeding the Colt

Feeding a colt (that's a baby crane) is a full time job. These Lesser Sandhill Cranes are finding leeches, worms, snails, fish, and other invertebrates in the mud. More.

Judge Blocks Law Limiting Medicaid Payments For Abortion

In an order issued on Tuesday, Judge John Suddock wrote that there are "serious questions of constitutional validity" of a new state law that puts limits on what qualifies as a "medically necessary" abortion. Download Audio

Questions Remain About Alaska’s Prison Deaths

A number of inmate deaths in Alaska prisons over the past few months have prompted state legislators to seek answers. But at a hearing hosted by Senator Hollis French (D – Anchorage) on Tuesday in Anchorage, few questions were resolved. Download Audio

Residents protest home demolition, Knik Arm Bridge

More than 50 people gathered in the Government Hill neighborhood this afternoon to protest the demolition of two homes. The state is clearing the land to make way for the proposed but not yet funded Knik Arm Bridge. Download Audio

House Considers Bill To Provide Advance Funding To IHS

The CEO of Kotzebue-based Maniilaq Association on Tuesday urged a U.S. House subcommittee to pass a bill that would provide advance funding for the Indian Health Service. Download Audio

Sullivan Reports Almost $1.2M In Donations In 2nd Quarter

In the U.S. Senate race, it appears Republican candidate Dan Sullivan is sustaining his fundraising momentum. Download Audio

World Eskimo Indian Olympics Start Wednesday

The World Eskimo-Indian Olympics start Wednesday in Fairbanks, with qualifiers for events like one-armed reach and the Race of the Torch ahead of opening ceremonies at 6 p.m. inside the Carlson Center. Download Audio

In Fight Over Marijuana, Alcohol Becomes Taboo

While alcohol is usually a fixture of most political fundraisers, there will be no wine or cocktails at events focused on the marijuana initiative. Download Audio

Hazardous Material Containers Cleaned Up In Galena

A state report on the response to the 2013 flooding in Galena says more than 5,000 containers of hazardous material scattered throughout the area during the disaster were collected. Download Audio

Sunken Barge Irks Kuskokwim Residents

Residents of fish camps along ‘Steamboat Slough’ near Bethel are calling for an abandoned barge to be removed. The barge has been sitting half submerged in the middle of the slough for more than a year. Download Audio