Charges: ConocoPhillips employee and cop friend stole millions in fraud scheme
A senior ConocoPhillips employee tricked the oil company into paying more than $3 million to a business owned by his friend, an Anchorage police officer, for work that was never performed and materials that were never received, according to criminal charges filed this week.
Mat-Su elementary student tests positive for COVID-19
The school district says the student is in 3rd grade at Machetanz Elementary and did not attend school Thursday.
State confirms 16 COVID-19 infections at McLaughlin Youth Center
That includes 12 young Alaskans at the youth detention center and four staff members.
‘Move out of the way’: Bering Sea fishing boats report close encounter with Russian military
Bering Sea pollock fishermen had a close encounter Wednesday with Russian military vessels conducting pre-planned exercises, according to industry officials and a U.S. Coast Guard spokesman. It happened in waters where fishing is reserved for American boats, but international vessels are not barred.
BIA opens Anchorage office to investigate cold cases of missing and murdered Indigenous people
Federal authorities in Anchorage Wednesday marked the start of a new effort to bring the perpetrators of those crimes to justice.
Anchorage Assembly passes ban on conversion therapy
The Anchorage Assembly voted to ban conversion therapy for minors on Wednesday, after a two-day public hearing. Conversion therapy, as defined in the ordinance, is a practice that seeks to change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity. It has been discredited and condemned by the American Psychological Association and many other medical and civil rights organizations.
Anchorage Pioneer Home resident with COVID-19 dies
The death comes as the Pioneer Home works to contain a cluster of infections among a vulnerable population.
This machine is a microcosm of Alaska’s, and America’s, COVID-19 testing successes and failures
A federal shipment of Cepheid supplies directed to fishing towns has allowed providers to test tens of thousands of samples on a rapid basis. But in other communities, Cepheid machines are sitting largely idle because of a lack of the cartridges needed to process each sample.
LISTEN: How months of reporting on attorney general’s unwanted texts led to his resignation
The Anchorage Daily News and ProPublica reported that Clarkson sent a junior state employee 558 text messages to her personal phone in the month of March. In the texts, Clarkson asked the woman to come to his house at least 18 times, often using a kiss emoji and commenting on the woman’s beauty.
Some sitting Republican lawmakers lose ground in primary, while others take leads
Five incumbent Republican House members and the Senate President face difficult odds. It’s unlikely there are enough votes left to count for them to make up the amounts they’re trailing.
Brother Francis Shelter confirms 20 COVID-19 cases
All of the cases were asymptomatic, according to Brother Francis managers.
NTSB: Alaska lawmaker killed in midair crash did not have required medical certificate
The federal agency says Rep. Gary Knopp was denied a medical certificate in June 2012 because of vision problems. It released the information as part of its investigation into the fatal crash that killed Knopp and six others.
Seattle entrepreneur and Unalaska businessman to start flight co-op between Unalaska and Anchorage
Two people are promoting a new idea that they say could help address the Unalaska's persistent travel problems: a flight co-op.
The vision is a $10/month service that offers protection against delays and would aim to provide seats on charter flights for $600.
Alaska Natives and Pacific Islanders are harder hit by COVID-19 in Alaska. The reasons are complex.
Multi-generational housing, lack of proper plumbing in rural villages, and cultures where physical touch is valued have made Alaska Native and Pacific Islander groups more affected by COVID-19.
Unemployed Alaskans won’t see $300 federal relief for more than a month
The state unemployment insurance program will pay workers an extra $300 per week, but it will take some time before workers receive the payments.
LISTEN: Study shows Alaska salmon are shrinking
The shrinking of chinook, sockeye, coho and chum salmon has a negative impact on the number of eggs fish lay, but smaller body sizes also mean fewer meals, fewer commercial fishing dollars and fewer nutrients transported into rivers every year.
‘We will give you one heck of a fight’: Lawsuits filed against oil drilling plan for Alaska’s Arctic Refuge
The Gwich'in Steering Committee and more than a dozen environmental groups are suing the Trump administration over its controversial plan to open up a northern part of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil and gas development.
Corps says Pebble Mine would degrade aquatic environment; Pebble CEO says he can mitigate that
The Corps of Engineers hasn't killed Pebble. It's just imposed conditions that may be impossible to meet.
Documents: pilots had just seconds to see each other before fatal George Inlet crash
The crash in May of 2019 killed six people and injured ten more.
Young votes to protect Alaska’s bypass mail, but bill likely won’t go far
Alaska Congressman Don Young voted for a Democratic bill to prohibit changes to the U.S. Postal Service that would slow delivery.