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.”

Three students play with a ball outside.

State prioritizes new construction for Napakiak school threatened by erosion

Napakiak’s existing school is within 64 feet of an eroding riverbank.
A mass of people with signs that say Trump and Trump Won.

They believe in Trump’s ‘Big Lie.’ Here’s why it’s been so hard to dispel

The resilience of the "Big Lie" is prompting consternation and creative efforts to reach those who remain adamant — despite all evidence to the contrary — that the 2020 presidential vote was rigged.
A portrait of a man

Ed Rasmuson remembered for putting Alaska ahead of politics

Alaska lost a champion and a colossal philanthropist when retired banker Ed Rasmuson died Tuesday at age 81.
A man plays guitar and sings

Bethel residents donate food and music to a new batch of stranded travelers at Grant Aviation

Many travelers who had been stuck in Bethel for weeks over the holidays have finally made it home to their villages on Grant Aviation flights. But now, there's a new batch of passengers stranded.
A man snowblows

Southeast Alaska’s ever-deepening snow ‘a real problem and a real hassle’

Winter weather is in full effect across Alaska, but unusually high snow accumulation is testing Southeast. Usually some snow melts between storms, but that’s not happening this winter.

Authorities locate mother of baby found in box in Fairbanks

Authorities have located the mother of a baby found abandoned in a cardboard box in frigid conditions in Fairbanks last week, Alaska State Troopers reported Wednesday.
A small plane is flipped upside down.

12 photos of the wreckage from Mat-Su’s powerful windstorm

As winds subside, Alaskans in the Mat-Su are assessing damage and cleaning up the wreckage. Here's what that looks like.
A man looks at the snowy ground.

As winds subside, Mat-Su residents take stock of devastation

Finding food and supplies is still challenging for residents, many who have been without power for days.
Anchorage School District Superintendent Deena Bishop at Huffman Elementary School on Monday, Nov. 2, 2020.

Anchorage schools could temporarily close if COVID, travel and weather leave them too understaffed

Already, the district has had to close one school this week for four days.
Senators Dan Sullivan and Lisa Murkowski speaking to the media

Delta Junction man who threatened to murder Alaska’s US senators pleads guilty

Jay Allen Johnson signed a plea agreement that states he’s guilty of threatening to murder Sen. Lisa Murkowski and Sen. Dan Sullivan ins separate voicemail messages he left in September.

In gun-loving Alaska, some ammo is scarce

In a state where hunting is a way of life — not to mention a way to put food on the table — that's a problem.
Searches pull a snowmachine out of water.

New Stuyahok man found alive more than 18 hours after he went missing

"He saved everything on the snowmachine, and went up, built a fire, dried off his clothes and changed into dry clothes," said one searcher about Andrew Wyagon. "Amazingly, he had a space blanket that helped keep all the chill off all night. Sitting in space blankets works wonders.”

Alaskans are stuck on vacations that won’t end

Airline cancellations continue, leaving some Alaskans unable to return for a week.
A semitruck is overturned

Strong winds hammer Mat-Su, leading to widespread damage and power outages

The winds, reaching up to 91 mph Sunday near Palmer, flipped small planes, overturned semitrucks, toppled trees, tore off roofs and closed Mat-Su schools for at least two days.
A woman in a yellow shirt and mask hands two boxes to someone under a glass plexiglass sheet

With signs of omicron spike in Alaska, residents scramble for hard-to-get tests

In Alaska’s largest city, many pharmacies are sold out of at-home COVID-19 test kits, and long lines have formed at testing sites.

Alaska prepares to sue feds over contamination on Native corporation land

Much of the contamination dates to the Cold War or World War II.
totem poles

Hydaburg residents have running water again after days without

Hydaburg residents have running water again after a snowstorm and freezing rain caused parts of the Southeast community’s water system to freeze last week.
Sign that reads "COVID-19 Test Kits"

What Alaska’s move to more at-home COVID tests and fewer lab tests means for managing the pandemic

Home test kit results aren’t necessarily captured in state pandemic data, which impacts other public health systems officials have been using to manage the pandemic.
A man puts on a face mask.

With omicron, you need a mask that means business

To block a variant this transmissible, scientists say you need an N95 or other high-filtration mask. Here's how to find a good one and when to wear it.

Fairbanks woman finds abandoned newborn at intersection

A newborn was found abandoned in a cardboard box at an intersection in Fairbanks on Saturday afternoon.