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 blue cruise ship in front of a large mountain

It happened: Someone on a large cruise ship in Juneau has tested positive for COVID-19

A city official says the individual did not circulate in Juneau as a tourist, but will leave the capital city by air ambulance. The city is working with the cruise lines and the state’s health department to respond.
a person behind a podium at a press conference

‘Utterly confusing’ campaign reporting leads to $52,650 fine recommendation for Bronson campaign

The Bronson campaign's finance reports were not "even close to compliant" until the day of the run-off election, according to staff from the Alaska Public Offices Commission.
woman stands at podium. men in suits on either side of her.

Alaska GOP gives Murkowski a thumbs down. Nationally, Republicans still give her campaign cash.

The state party wants Murkowski to lose, but to L48 Republicans, she's still got it.
A couple people sit at a desk

Ahead of special session, Alaska lawmakers consider phasing in PFD changes along with new revenue

The Alaska Legislature has nine days to go before the scheduled start of a special session. And it’s not yet clear whether a working group of lawmakers will recommend proposals the rest can consider during the session. 
Young caucasian woman smiles for a portrait outside

Seward’s Lydia Jacoby cruises through Olympic semifinal

Lydia Jacoby, 17 from Seward, cruised through her Olympic semi-final, winning her heat and posting the third-fastest time of the day in the women's 100-meter breaststroke. 

UAF team digs up Chena, the abandoned gold rush boomtown that preceded Fairbanks

A group of University of Alaska Fairbanks researchers and students that spent six weeks at an archeological site just west of the city are compiling reports on what they found in the area, where the gold-mining town of Chena boomed more than a century ago before going bust.
A worker sprays the wall of a rock tunner

Federal fisheries officials raise concern over Kensington Mine expansion

An 88-foot dam in place now to hold back about 4 million tons of liquid mine waste that contains heavy metals from the ore. This tailing treatment facility, formerly known as Lower Slate Lake, lies upstream from Berners Bay which makes conservationists — and some federal regulators — nervous should it ever fail.
A cruise ship at a dock on an overcast day.

‘It’s been a long two years’: First large cruise ship since 2019 docks in Juneau

Juneau residents have mixed feelings about the ship’s arrival amid an uptick an COVID-19 cases, but for the most part, the feeling at the dock and inside downtown businesses on Friday was one of hope.

Wave of coronavirus infections in Cordova shuts down seafood processor

The COVID spike in Cordova comes as much of Alaska experiences a sharp rise in coronavirus cases. Health officials say the latest wave of infections is mostly driven by the highly-contagious delta variant infecting unvaccinated people.
A glass reflection of a woman pushing a stroller

Uptick in COVID-19 cases prompts new restrictions in Juneau

Juneau has 80 active cases of COVID-19 among residents and non-residents. And that has triggered the city’s emergency operations center to raise the local risk level to moderate.
a nurse administers a vaccine to a patient

Alaska leads nation with steepest climb in coronavirus hospitalizations

According to The New York Times on Thursday evening, Alaska had the country’s fourth-highest increase in coronavirus cases over the past two weeks, and it was also the state with the steepest rise in coronavirus-related hospitalizations.

US churches reckon with traumatic legacy of Native schools

The discoveries of hundreds of unmarked graves at former residential schools for Indigenous children in Canada have prompted renewed calls for a reckoning over the traumatic legacy of similar schools in the United States — and in particular by the churches that operated many of them.
A young boy holds an american flag and a poster

Here’s how to watch Alaska’s Olympians

Fans will be able to watch Seward swimmer Lydia Jacoby and Eagle River rugby player Alev Kelter, in their respective competitions on TV or online next week, but they may have to stay up late -- or get up early to catch the action live.
An Alaska arlines jet in the sky

Alaska Airlines passenger flew on Southeast flight after testing positive for COVID-19, health officials say

Alaska Airlines says it prevented a COVID-19 infected passenger from boarding a flight in Seattle on Tuesday after they’d arrived from Alaska on a multi-leg trip that included Sitka, Juneau and Ketchikan.
Three peopole hold their paddles and pose in front of a small cabin in front of some mountains

Haines paddlers say dry suits, satellite phone may have been difference between life and death

A U.S. Coast Guard helicopter crew rescued three Haines paddlers on Sunday along the Tsirku River, east of Klukwan. One says that dry suits and a satellite phone may have made the difference between life and death.
The seal of the state of alaska as seen from below

The Guardian reports Alaska assistant attorney general behind racist, anti-semitic and homophobic posts

The Alaska Department of Law is looking into allegations that Assistant Attorney General Matthias Cicotte posted racist, anti-semitic and homophobic comments on social media.
Two women talk, both wearing face masks, near medical equipment.

First Lady visits Anchorage. Her message: Get vaccinated

"I'm asking all of you, who are listening right now, to choose to get vaccinated," said First Lady Jill Biden.
A sunny beach with a couple people on it

The Pacific Northwest heat dome just skirted Southeast. What will Alaska’s own extreme heat waves look like?

A heat wave in the Lower 48 cooked shellfish alive on Pacific Northwest beaches and triggered excessive-heat warnings in several states. Climatologists say it’s because of a dome of heat that drove temperatures high above 100 degrees Fahrenheit and even skirted part of Southeast Alaska.
A photograph of a remote, grassy landscape with a few small shacks on it, near a river.

After spotting SOS sign, Coast Guard rescues man who says he was attacked by a bear near Nome

Officials say the Kodiak-based helicopter crew was flying from Kotzebue to Nome when they saw an SOS sign on top of a shack near a remote mining camp.
A girld in a purple tank top gets a shot from a white man in a red masik

Cases are rising but masks to remain optional for students, says Anchorage School District

Local districts make their own decisions about mask wearing for fall as cases are on the rise as the youngest students remain ineligible for a covid vaccine.