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 map, mostly of the Susitna Valley

Alaska road project pits conservative lodge owners against conservative state administration

According to the Anchorage Daily News, a coalition that includes lodge owners and other business people is spending $200,000 on a campaign to defeat the West Susitna Access Road.
smoke on the tundra

Half of Pilot Station is without running water as tundra fire nears

By Monday, the fire burned about 12 miles from the village, and the Pilot Station mayor said that he may soon have to turn off running water to the entire community.
sailboats on the water

4 sailors in Race to Alaska are rescued after boats capsize

The event is in its sixth year and draws contestants from across the country with a goal of being first to get from Port Townsend, Washington, to Ketchikan, Alaska, on a non-motorized vessel that is completely self-supported.
a crowded airport

Summer air travel could be expensive and chaotic. Here’s how to avoid trouble

Air travel demand is back to pre-pandemic levels, while fares are soaring. Staffing shortages leave airlines with little wiggle room when bad weather hits, which could lead to delays and cancellations.
A mother and children sit at the National Guard Armory in Bethel, AK.

People who fled the lower Yukon River tundra fires are asking when they can return home

People who left communities threatened by the East Fork Fire on the lower Yukon River are asking when they will be able to return home.
two people voting

As a test, Alaska’s special US House primary may be too special

A by-mail special election may not be a true test of Alaska's new open primary
The entrance of a school with a mountain behind it

Juneau children given floor sealant instead of milk at summer school program, parents say

Juneau School District officials say 12 children and two adults drank the sealant.
a man looks at a computer

The Fed delivers biggest interest rate hike in decades to combat surging inflation

The Federal Reserve raised interest rates by three-quarters of a percentage point Wednesday in an effort to combat stubbornly high inflation. It's the biggest rate increase in 28 years.
A portrait of a woman outside in a white jacket

St. Mary’s school superintendent Dee Dee Ivanoff is helping community stay safe as the surrounding tundra burns

As Alaska’s largest tundra fire in 15 years has burned behind her home village, Ivanoff has become one of the key organizers of the response effort.
four photos of four people

It’s still Palin, Begich, Gross and Peltola in Alaska US House race

If that order holds, those four will advance to the special general ballot in August.
The inside of Sullivan Arena currently serving as housing for the homeless.

Advocates concerned about where Anchorage’s homeless will go after Sullivan shelter closes

Anchorage homelessness advocates say they’re concerned about where people will go when the mass shelter at the Sullivan Arena closes at the end of the month.

Mat-Su school board approves policy banning transgender athletes from girls’ sports

The vote followed nearly two hours of public testimony from local parents, students, teachers and community members. More people spoke against the ban than for it, but the testimony was close to evenly split.
a school in front of a mountain

Parents say calls came too late after children drank floor sealant at Juneau summer school

Superintendent Bridget Weiss said boxes containing pouches of milk and boxes containing pouches of floor sealant were delivered on the same pallet.
firefighters outside near a dirt road

Alaska never saw large tundra fires like the East Fork Fire until climate change provided more fuel

The East Fork Fire in Western Alaska is the state's largest at the moment, estimated at more than 150,000 acres Thursday, and it's burning in a region where, just a couple decades ago, large fires would not have been expected.
ballot and pen

About 1 in 8 rural Alaska ballots have been rejected in special primary, raising red flags with lawmakers

The rejection percentage varies starkly by region. In areas near Bethel, it’s the highest, at around 17%. That means about 1 in every 6 ballots were rejected — with the votes not counted.
a shopper in a mask walks by a store

Who wins and who loses when the Fed hikes interest rates?

Another month, another Federal Reserve interest rate hike.
a man in a suit

Special election results prompt losing candidates to consider dropping out of regular US House election, too

Finishers outside the top four in the special primary are pondering dropping out of the regular election.
An older woman and three teenagers hold a baby

Southwest Alaska fire evacuees start returning home, but changing climate presents lingering risks

People who evacuated are returning to a home that’s seeing ever-increasing effects of climate change.
a person break dances

Alaska’s only b-girl claims her spot on the world stage

Bri Pritchard, also known as Snap1, started breaking when she was 17. She’s 30 now and an Olympic hopeful.