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.

Old Nome Hospital Sells for $450k

Nome’s old hospital has sold for $450,000, and the new owners now have an eBay listing asking for $2.5 million for the 55,000 square-foot facility.

Heroin, Meth Seized In Kodiak Arrests

Three Kodiak residents are behind bars and more heroin is off the streets after their arrest Monday afternoon.

Alaska Edition: May 16, 2014

Two state troopers die during an arrest in Tanana - a memorial service draws 4,000. The battle over SB 21, the oil tax bill, continues through intense advertising and campaigning. The State Assessment Review Board meets in Anchorage. Economist Scott Goldsmith weighs in on SB21, the oil tax bill. Advocates of same-sex marriage are in court. The state's annual Cook Inlet lease sale is held. Voting-rights advocates charge the state's translations of the election ballots into Native languages are faulty. Fairbanks four granted new hearing by judge. KSKA: Friday, May 16 at 2:00 p.m. and Saturday, May 17 at 6:00 p.m. KAKM: Friday, May 16 at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday, May 17 at 4:30 p.m. Download Audio

TSA Offering Travelers A Chance To Streamline Security Experience

Travelers heading to the Anchorage airport this summer to catch a flight could face one less hurdle before they make it out of town. The Transportation Security Administration is offering flyers the chance to be streamlined through security checkpoints. Download Audio

How Much Is The Pipeline Worth?

This week the State Assessment Review board or SARB has been holding hearings in Anchorage over the dispute in how much the Trans Alaska Pipeline should be worth. Download Audio

Working Group Discusses Caribou Decline, Ambler Road

Caribou users in the Northwest Arctic Borough were told Wednesday that North America’s largest herd declined by more than a quarter in just two years. The group also questioned state officials on how a proposed road to the Northwest Arctic Borough would impact subsistence resources. Download Audio

Alaska News Nightly: May 15, 2014

Earmarks: Congress Mulls Return of Practice that Enriched Alaska; Sealaska Reports $35 Million Net Loss Last Year; Oil Tax Referendum Groups Ramp Up Campaigns; How Much Is The Pipeline Worth?; TSA Offering Travelers A Chance To Streamline Security Experience; Clearwater Lodge Burns Down; Working Group Discusses Caribou Decline, Ambler Road; Olympic Aspirations: Training At The Alaska Boxing Academy Download Audio

Oil Tax Referendum Groups Organize For Campaign’s Final Stretch

With three months to go before the primary election, groups with a stake in the oil tax referendum are ramping up their campaigns. Download Audio

Earmarks: Congress Mulls Return of Practice that Enriched Alaska

In Sen. Ted Stevens’ day, Alaska thrived on earmarks, the congressional practice of directing federal dollars to home-state projects. Lawmakers agreed in 2011 to end the tradition, in response to public outrage over projects such as Alaska’s so-called “bridge to nowhere.” To this day, nearly every account of alleged excess features as Exhibit A the bridge that would’ve connected Ketchikan to its island airport. But now, there’s serious talk in Washington of bringing back the earmark. Download Audio

Olympic Aspirations: Training At The Alaska Boxing Academy

Alaska isn't exactly known as a hotspot for boxing talent, but an Olympic caliber coach is hoping to change that. He started the Alaska Boxing Academy two years ago and already has a few athletes who are dreaming big about competing nationally and internationally. Download Audio

Clearwater Lodge Burns Down

The Clearwater Lodge near Delta Junction burned to the ground this morning. The rustic lodge was a popular gathering place for fishermen, birders and others who come to the Clearwater River. Download Audio

Sealaska Reports $35 Million Net Loss Last Year

Southeast Alaska’s regional Native corporation says it had a net loss of $35 million last year. Sealaska’s 2013 annual report says three-quarters of the loss came from its construction subsidiary. It badly underestimated the cost of two building projects in Hawaii. Download Audio

Skagway Man In Custody After Slashing Police Car Tires

A Skagway man is in custody after allegedly on a vandalism spree and slashing the tires of most of the squad vehicles on the town’s police force and setting a police dispatcher’s car on fire.

Copper River Commercial Salmon Fishing Kicks Off Thursday

The Copper River commercial fishing season kicks off Thursday morning. Download Audio

Diesel Fuel Spilled Into Nushagak River

A vessel transiting the Nushagak River apparently hit something overnight that punctured a fuel tank. An estimated 2,000 gallons of diesel fuel leaked from the vessel. Download Audio

Old And Bold Pilots: Chuck Sassara

Alaska is celebrating a century of aviation. As part of an occasional series on Alaska aviators, we’re gathering stories of flying. Chuck Sassara came to Alaska in 1955 after graduating from UCLA. He and his wife Ann drove the Alaska Highway in a VW bus. He got a job the day they got to Anchorage with Pacific Northern Airlines. Download Audio

With Wedding On The Line, Plaintiffs Prep For Same-Sex Marriage Challenge

Five gay couples are behind the lawsuit challenging Alaska’s ban on same-sex marriage. The suit was filed Monday in federal court. And in this case, the political is especially personal. Download Audio

East High grads reflect on diversity

Seniors from most of Anchorage’s high schools are graduating this week and next. The district's high schools rank among the most diverse in the nation. East high tops that list with more than 2000 kids from every corner of the world. Grads spoke about how all that diversity affected their education. Download Audio

Alaska News Nightly: May 14, 2014

Couples’ Decision To Fight Alaska’s Same-Sex Marriage Ban A Personal One; Diesel Fuel Spilled Into Nushagak River; East High School Most Diverse In Nation; APICDA Tries to Draw Graduate Students Back Home; Unalaska Tallies Cost of Blasting Issues at Wastewater Plant, Landfill; Copper River Salmon Fishing Kicks Off Thursday; Old And Bold Pilots: Chuck Sassara Download Audio

Bethel Novelist Wins Rasmuson Grant

Don Rearden has won a Rasmuson Project Award grant of $7,500 to turn his novel, The Raven’s Gift, into a screenplay. Rearden says he painstakingly filled out paperwork for a handful of applications and survived years of rejection before he finally won the Rasmuson grant. Download Audio