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.

DOT Works To Dig Out Richardson Highway

State Department of Transportation crews will be working for days to get the Richardson highway completely opened. Download Audio

UAS Training Takes To Skies Above JBER

Soldiers from the 425th Brigade Special Troops Battalion conducted an Unmanned Aircraft System – or UAS – training flight on Thursday morning in the skies over Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage. Download Audio

Department of Defense Prepares For More Arctic Activity

Shell may be abandoning their plans for drilling in Alaska’s Arctic waters in 2014, but vessel traffic, tourism and other activity will continue to advance. As part of our ongoing look at future plans for port development and military oversight of Arctic safety and security, APRN’s Lori Townsend recently spoke with Daniel Chiu the undersecretary for strategy at the Department of Defense. Chiu says the Pentagon expects large increases in defense activity is likely decades out, but he says DOD is closely following climate science to ensure they have the lead time to adjust if necessary. Download Audio

Democrats Introduce Medicaid Expansion Legislation

Democratic state lawmakers are introducing legislation in the House and Senate to expand Medicaid in Alaska. Governor Sean Parnell rejected the expansion, which is part of the Affordable Care Act, in November. Download Audio

Taku River Tlingit Sue To Stop Tulsequah Mine

The Taku River Tlingit First Nation has filed suit in the Supreme Court of British Columbia to stop the Tulsequah Chief Mine. The old mine is at the headwaters of Southeast Alaska’s most prolific salmon stream. Download Audio

Shishaldin Volcano’s Alert Status Upgraded After Unusual Activity

The Alaska Volcano Observatory upgraded the alert level at Shishaldin Volcano in the Aleutian Islands on Thursday after observing some unrest at the summit. Download Audio

Alaska News Nightly: January 30, 2014

Shell Calls Off This Year’s Exploratory Drilling Plans For Alaska; Unalaska Copes With Shell’s Decision Not To Drill; Murkowski Pushes To Lift Crude Oil Exports Ban; DOT Works To Dig Out Richardson Highway; UAS Training Takes To Skies Above JBER; Department of Defense Prepares For More Arctic Activity; State Dems Introduce Legislation To Expand Medicare In Alaska; Taku River Tlingit Sue To Stop Tulsequah Mine Download Audio

Mountain View Community Plan Process

Last year, the Anchorage Community Land Trust, in partnership with the Mountain View Community Council, began the process of creating a 2014 Mountain View Neighborhood Plan. Focus groups were held with Clark Middle School students, program participants, business owners, and residents to hear their thoughts on land use in Mountain View. Read more.

Planned Parenthood Suing Over Abortion Funding Reg

Planned Parenthood of the Great Northwest says it is suing over regulations in Alaska that would further define what constitutes a "medically necessary" abortion for purposes of receiving Medicaid funding. Download Audio

Fire Destroys Fairbanks Apartment Building

Fire destroyed an apartment building in Fairbanks this morning. The blaze caused multiple injuries and two residents were unaccounted for as of this morning. Download Audio

State Senators Push For Criminal Justice Reform

Criminal justice reform may be coming to Alaska. After spending the summer collecting more information on efforts happening in other parts of the country, the Senate Judiciary Committee has started holding hearings again on their omnibus crime bill. Download Audio

Bill Aims To Arm VPSOs As Danger Levels Rise

The legislature’s Community and Regional Affairs Committee convened Tuesday to discuss House Bill 199, a proposal to allow arming village public safety officers in rural Alaska. Download Audio

House Passes Bill Extending PILT, Alaska’s Village Safe Water Program

The U.S. House today passed a farm bill that includes programs for Alaska unrelated to agriculture. The bill continues another year of funding for Payment in Lieu of Taxes, a program that pays municipalities surrounded by federal land to compensate for the loss of tax base. The so-called PILT program sends about $26 million a year to Alaska and is a large portion of the budget for some local governments. The bill also renews Alaska’s Village Safe Water program, which gets some $30 million a year from the federal government. Download Audio

State of the Union Address Irks Alaska’s Delegation

President Obama gave his State of the Union address Tuesday night, and the response from Alaska's U.S. senators was swift and negative, particularly to Obama's pledge to act without Congress where he can. Download Audio

From Paying $1,000 A Month For Health Care To $100

A Juneau woman says getting insurance under the Affordable Care Act means she’ll take better care of herself. Prior to January 1st, Bonnie Berg was paying up to $1000 a month for health insurance. Now, she’s paying less than $100. Download Audio

Senate Panel Hears Bill On Elementary School Reading Programs

With education being a hot issue this legislative session, some politicians are looking at the basics of learning in their effort to improve student outcomes. Today, the Senate Education Committee held its first hearing on a bill that would establish a reading program targeted at kindergarteners through third graders. Download Audio

Richardson Highway Opens North Of Mile 19

The Alaska Department of Transportation opened up a section of the Richardson Highway today. DOT cleared avalanches from the road north of mile 19, but the highway is still closed between Miles 12 and 19. Download Audio

Can You Guess When The Road To Valdez Will Reopen?

Nobody knows when the Richardson Highway is going to reopen, but the Valdez Parks and Recreation Department is hoping everyone has a fun time guessing. Download Audio

Baranof Goat Study Unlocks Clues To Island’s Paleo Past

A study to help establish goat hunting guidelines on Baranof Island has revealed much more than how to manage the goat population. It has sparked a mystery. And it’s offered clues to what the island looked like before there were hunters. Download Audio

Nauman May Be the Only Woman in this Year’s Quest, But She’s One Tough Rookie

Not everyone who signs up for the Yukon Quest International Sled Dog race actually gets a dog team to the start line.  When sign-ups opened last fall, at least two women added their names to the roster, but one dropped out two weeks ago.  That leaves one woman in a field of 18 mushers. Download Audio