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According to the Russian media outlet Port News, a Russian icebreaker has just completed the fastest transit of the Northern Sea Route. Along with setting the speed record, the icebreaker also completed the trip over a month after the shipping season usually ends in the Arctic. Download Audio

The Holy Bible is now available in the modern Yup’ik orthography after nearly half a century of work put in by fluent Yup’ik speakers in the Bethel area and the American Bible Society. A number of elders were involved with the project. Download Audio

One person is confirmed dead after a small plane struck an office building in downtown Anchorage at 6:18 a.m Tuesday morning. Investigators say the pilot was not sanctioned to fly the aircraft. Download Audio

Tournament organizer Heath Day said the Alaska Fellowship of Christian Athletes organized the tournament to give teams from across Alaska a chance to play each other before the state tournament in region. Download Audio

Tests results are back on dead sea otters from Kachemak Bay. About 82 percent of them had streptococcus syndrome, which is caused by a bacterial infection, according to biologists with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Download Audio

Alaska is about to become the first state to have pot cafes where people can buy and consume marijuana, similar to Amsterdam. Right now, that’s not legal in other states that have recreational marijuana. Download Audio

Robert Meireis had a tough life that included a history of violence, years in prison, even tattoos tying him to white supremacist groups. He lived a violent life on the edge of society. That he met a violent end in a double murder discovered last month in West Juneau wasn’t necessarily a surprise to some people who knew him. And yet, he also had people that cared about him and were stunned when the news broke.

If Scott Harrison is going to prove that his disability are connected to his time in the military, the VA needs to comb through his service treatment record. Which, given his time as a Marine in the 80s, presents problems. Download Audio

Mike Romine is a Sitka man with a love of Christmas lights. His home has become an attraction every December with its huge displays, coordinated to musical hits such as “Uptown Funk” and “Let it Go” from Disney’s Frozen. But this season, as Sitkans work to recover from a deadly natural disaster, the lights hold a special meaning. Download Audio

The Haines-Fairbanks Pipeline that was built by the Army in the 1950s polluted Alaska land through fuel spills and leaks. The Army is now working to assess the contamination so that it can be cleaned up for good.

The Department of Veterans Affairs in Alaska has made healthy strides in improving care over the last few years. But some patients still fall through the cracks. In the first of a two-part story, an ex-Marine explains his difficulties navigating care and benefits through the VA, and the effect its had on his life. Download Audio

A suspect has been identified and charged in a recent stabbing death in the capital city. But another stabbing death remains unsolved. It's been more than a year since Juneau man Christopher Kenney died from a knife wound. The 50-year-old was found in his home two days after Thanksgiving last year and police still aren't sure if it was a murder or suicide. Download Audio

More and more Alaskans are heading Outside for major elective surgeries. Flying to the Lower 48 for things like knee and hip replacements can save patients and their health plans tens of thousands of dollars. Health care experts hope the practice will help put pressure on Alaska prices for those surgeries. And there is some evidence the strategy is working. Download Audio

Friday evening a seal made its way out of Nome’s iced-in port and up into the west side of town. Although it showed some physical signs of sickness, on Saturday local experts ultimately decided to release the seal back into the wild. Download Audio

On Sunday evening, the issue of Alaska coastal erosion will be featured on the Al Jazeera America program "Fault Lines." The correspondent for the story is former APRN reporter Libby Casey. She says they highlighted Newtok and Kivilina on the northwest Arctic coast. Download Audio

In a long day of wrestling that went almost till midnight last Friday, dozens of Western Alaska wrestlers earned a chance to go to the state tournament in Anchorage.

George Frese, Kevin Pease and Eugene Vent were released from the Fairbanks Correctional Center last night, and met up with hundreds of supporters a short time later at the Chief David Salmon Tribal Hall in Fairbanks.

It’s been a hard year for some Alaskans. Salvation Army branches around the state report significantly more requests for holiday assistance than last year. Here’s how the Southeast fishing community of Petersburg is responding to the need. Petersburg’s Salvation Army Community Center is collecting toys for 70 children this Christmas season. That’s up from 50 last year. About 85 families including around 230 people will get boxes of food. Those numbers are up too.

According to a new White House report, 38,000 Alaskan households receive benefits from Food Stamps. Two-thirds of those households have children. Half of them are in deep poverty. The statistics go on and on. But is the program working? Many people say yes, though there are some hiccups. Download Audio

Last month 25-year-old Alaskan Natalie Hanson placed fourth at an international powerlifting competition in Germany. Download Audio