Top Stories

News stories, radio and TV episodes that warrant one of six spots on our homepage. The homepage is in chronological order of publication date, so stories are moved off the homepage as more are categorized “top stories.”

A yellow orb with black background

A second version of omicron is spreading. Here’s why scientists are on alert.

It's a sibling of the first omicron variant that swept the world. Is it more contagious? Does it cause severe disease? Will it keep current omicron surges going? Researchers are looking for answers.

In the state’s largest school districts, families wait for last year’s food assistance

According to the Food Bank of Alaska, just 28 school districts in the state have received P-EBT funds for the 2020-2021 school year. Families in the state’s largest districts – Anchorage, the Matanuska-Susitna Borough, Fairbanks and others – are still waiting.

After vandalism, museum continues to share Jewish life in Alaska

https://youtu.be/v3z0j-sBtWA Incidents of antisemitism have been on the rise nationally and worldwide. Here in Alaska, a series of events last year highlighted the need for...

Anchorage nordic skier Rosie Brennan heads to Beijing Olympics with high hopes for herself — and the next generation of athletes

Anchorage resident and U.S. cross-country ski team member Rosie Brennan says she's helped by her experience, not just in Olympic or World Cup racing, but in having already navigated the first year of a global pandemic as an athlete.
A wolf ru8nning in the snow as seen from above

64 wolves taken in controversial Prince of Wales harvest

The Alaska Department of Fish & Game reported Wednesday that some 64 wolves were taken during a month-long hunting and trapping season on and around Prince of Wales Island. The most recent population estimate, from fall of 2020, says there’s around 386 wolves in the area.
A white man in a zipper fleexe stands next to an american flag

Alaska joins Texas to sue over National Guard vaccine rule

JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy has joined Texas Gov. Greg Abbott in seeking to block the U.S. Department of Defense from mandating COVID-19 vaccines for National Guard members who are under state command.
A red salmon as seen from underwater

Tribal groups petition federal government to eliminate or limit Bering Sea salmon bycatch

The petition asks the U.S. Department of Commerce to eliminate chinook salmon bycatch in the Bering Sea completely and to put a cap on chum salmon bycatch. It does not specify an acceptable limit for chum bycatch.
Construction workers stand on a wooden platform with a stack of lumber next to them on a sunny day in the tundra

More tiny homes are coming to the Y-K Delta, thanks to pandemic relief funds. But are they a good idea?

A surge of new housing is coming to the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta. Most of those new units are slated to be of the trendy, tiny home variety. But with households in the region generally much larger than the national average, some tribes are questioning whether tiny homes are a good fit for the communities.
A dog team tied up in a harness

Kuskokwim mushers cope with extreme cold, rain and glare ice: ‘It’s been weird’

Some Kuskokwim mushers competing in this weekend’s K300 race say that they’ve been contending with some of the most challenging training conditions of their careers.
woman at a microphone with an alaska flag behind her.

Alaska’s COVID case count keeps climbing

COVID was the 4th leading cause of death for Alaska in 2020.
A courtroom

Suspect’s college girlfriend and lead trooper investigator testify in Sophie Sergie murder trial

The former girlfriend and chief investigator of the 1993 murder of Sophie Sergie took witness stand in a Fairbanks courtroom on Tuesday to testify in a case that was cold for nearly three decades.
Two women talk to each other inside

Tongans in Juneau wrestle with how best to help loved ones affected by the eruption and tsunami

Telephone links between Tonga and the rest of the world are slowly being reconnected, but they’re unreliable, and the internet is still down.
Two people in red jackets pose for a photo

Anchorage skier Scott Patterson’s US championship was a Hail Mary. Now he’s headed to the Olympics.

Scott Patterson and his sister Caitlin grew up skiing in Anchorage. And now both compete at the highest level of the sport.
people leaving a building under a sign that says "vote here."

Here’s how Alaska’s unique new election system will work

Alaska elections will be held for the first time this year under a unique new system that scraps party primaries and uses ranked choice voting in general elections.
A white truck cab without any cargo on a snowy road with cargo containers stacked behind it

Alaska trucking companies say their employees are quitting over Canada’s COVID vaccine mandate

The impact to consumers is still unclear, but some companies say they’ve lost the majority of their truck drivers since Jan. 15, when Canada's vaccine requirement went into effect.
Slick roads outside buildings

High winds cause Alaska Airlines jet to slide on icy Dillingham runway

The jet was carrying 74 passengers and four crew members. The airline said no one was injured.
An illustration of two people and the alphabet

Starting in 2024, U.S. students will take the SAT entirely online

The College Board, the organization behind the test, also announced that the exam will shrink from three hours to two, and students will be able to use a calculator for the math section.
A group ice skates down the middle of the road

Anchorage’s rapid warm-up caused temperature to jump 11 degrees in one minute, turning streets to ice rinks

Snow melted this weekend. Puddles formed. Streets iced over. And jackets were ditched, as one day in the 40s stretched into four in a row.
A group of people stand on a frozen river around a cross cut into the ice.

What the celebration of Epiphany looked like this year on the frozen Kuskokwim River

The Epiphany is a holiday celebrated by Orthodox Christians all over the world, commemorating the baptism of Jesus Christ in the River Jordan. In Napaskiak, people celebrated on the frozen Kuskokwim River.