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 woman in a hat gets a lick on the face from a dog.

Don’t get dragged! Iditarod musher shares tales from the trail

Blair Braverman says if she lets go of the sled, the dogs will race on without her. The question, she says, is not how to get sled dogs to go. Rather, it's how do you get them to stop?

Eugene Carl Haberman, perennial presence at Southcentral Alaska’s public meetings, dies at 70

If you’ve ever sat in on an Anchorage Assembly, Mat-Su Assembly, Anchorage School Board, or any other local government meeting, you probably heard him say this: "When the public process is done appropriately, the decision made by the governing body is more likely in the public interest.”
Shipping containers stacked on top of one another.

The pandemic economy’s latest victim? The lowly shipping container.

Delayed containers are a symptom of and contributor to global supply chain problems. But imagine a world without them.
A screenshot of a live video shows people standing around the president who is sitting at a desk outside.

Congressman Young, brushing off backlash, cheers Biden’s signing of infrastructure bill

Congressman Don Young, 88, also dispels rumors: Yes, he is running in 2022.
Two people walk through a prison.

Alaska correctional officer smuggled drugs and phones into prison, charges say

Angela Lincoln, 43, faces one criminal count each of conspiracy and bribery. She worked as a correctional officer at Goose Creek Correctional Center, a medium-security facility southwest of Wasilla on Point McKenzie, from 2014 to 2020.
A bundle of syringes in a white box

Alaska doctors seek COVID-19 misinformation investigation

Alaska doctors plan to ask the State Medical Board to investigate concerns about the spread of misinformation about COVID-19 vaccines and treatments by other physicians.
A photograph of a smiling man, with a flower border around it.

Man killed at Fairbanks store ‘doing nothing more than walking outside with his groceries,’ says mayor

“It was so unexpected and so tragic," says City of Fairbanks Mayor Jim Matherly.
Two muppets stand together.

Sesame Street makes history with the debut of its first Asian American muppet

What's in a name? Well, for Ji-Young, the newest muppet resident of "Sesame Street," her name is a sign she was meant to live there.
fat sow with white ears

Well-known white-eared bear found dead of gunshot wound in Sitka neighborhood

The sow was recognizable to many Sitkans for her white-tipped ears. Recently, she had been featured as the cover image on the Sitka Bear Report social media page. (Sitka Bear Report/Sam Schenck)

Flying for Thanksgiving? Expect packed planes, unruly passengers and cancellations

Brace yourself for long lines in crowded airports and jam packed flights, because the early pandemic days of half-empty planes are long gone.
A man in an ENSTAR vest.

Some Americans will pay more for natural gas, but not Alaskans, ENSTAR says

ENSTAR spokesperson Lindsay Hobson says the company has pre-existing long-term gas contracts, insulating Alaska from the price increase.
A courtroom with a lawyer testifying

Alaska Supreme Court explains ruling on governor’s appointees

If the Alaska Legislature wants to reject a governor’s appointees, it will have to take a vote on them, the state Supreme Court said in an opinion issued on Friday. 
Rows of portable cots and plastic totes fill the floor space of the Sullivan Arena shelter

With full shelter and temps falling, advocates raise alarm about risks to Anchorage’s unhoused population

“People are gonna freeze to death this weekend,” said Jasmine Boyle, director of the Anchorage Coalition to End Homelessness.
Joe Gerace talks with people in front of dumpsters in front of the Sullivan Arena shelter

Anchorage Assembly confirms Bronson’s pick for health director

Joe Gerace was appointed by Bronson in September after his first pick for the position, David Morgan, resigned shortly before his confirmation hearing.
As seen from above, a barge partway frozen in the river

Alaska Logistics is leaving two barges to freeze in the Kuskokwim River

A company is once again leaving its barges in the frozen Kuskokwim River over the winter. Two years ago, Alaska Logistics abandoned a gravel barge near Aniak during freeze up and retrieved it after breakup in the spring. The company is preparing to do the same with two more barges this year.

Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski announces re-election bid

Lisa Murkowski has so far raised $4.6 million for her '22 campaign. Trump has endorsed her conservative challenger.

Alaska’s cannabis industry increasingly competitive, with most retail shops per capita in U.S.

Insiders say the industry is very competitive and cannabis entrepreneurs have to be shrewd to keep their businesses alive.

How Anchorage’s ‘flufftastic’ snowfall exceeded forecasters’ expectations

National Weather Service climate researcher Brian Brettschneider -- back for our Ask a Climatologist segment -- says there are a couple reasons for that.
Lt. Gen. David Krumm sitting in a chair in an office

The military sharpens its focus on the Arctic

As the Arctic warms, it increasingly has the potential to become an arena where world powers compete for dominance. While Russia and China are beefing up their Arctic presence, the Pentagon has been slow to make the Arctic a priority. Alaska Public Media’s Liz Ruskin reports that may be changing.
masked woman speaks into microphone

After Anchorage Assembly passes rules to assert authority, Mayor Bronson accuses it of a ‘power grab’

The Anchorage Assembly approved two ordinances during its Wednesday night meeting aimed at asserting their legislative authority, creating more friction between the generally progressive body and Mayor Dave Bronson, the conservative head of the city's executive department.