News

This week on 49 Voices, we’re doing something a little different. Our long-time editor and producer Annie Feidt will be leaving Alaska News Nightly to manage Alaska's new Regional Journalism Collaborative focused on energy and environment. As our editor she may very well be furious that we changed to tonight’s program without her permission, but we thought it was important to let her know how much she'll be missed. Download Audio

At low prices, North Slope production taxes could drop to zero; legislators offer $32.5 million for Anchorage LIO; landslide suit raises questions about Benchlands liability; House passes foster care improvement bill, says more needs to be done; House passes Indigenous Peoples Day bill; 2016 Cama-i Dance Festival starts in Bethel; Mat-Su map indicates little known streams; AK: Sitka, one of the best kept secrets for surfers; 49 Voices: Tribute to Annie Feidt

The state of Alaska has suspended online standardized testing in schools this year because of ongoing problems connecting to a Kansas-based server. In a press release issued this afternoon, the Department of Education said that “repeated technical disruptions have rendered the affected tests invalid.”

The state House passed a foster care improvement bill Friday afternoon. Under the new legislation, the state would put a stronger focus on finding foster kids permanent homes and prioritize placing them with relatives when possible. Download Audio

Warmer winters have pushed Sitka snowboarders and other adventurers out of the mountains and into the water. The ocean swell and rock breaks right near the heart of town create prime wave conditions. But locals are worried about revealing too much about what their secret spot. Download Audio

The 2016 Cama-i Dance Festival starts Friday night in Bethel. The festival will feature performers from all over the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta and beyond. Download Audio

The state House unanimously passed a bill Friday morning that would create Indigenous Peoples Day on the 18th of October every year and Katie John Day on May 31. Download Audio

A Catholic bishop in Juneau told the House Judiciary Committee that the church reversed a 75-year-old policy of allowing people of other faiths to get married in one of its landmark chapels after same-sex marriage became legal.

The August 18th landslide in Sitka was unprecedented, claiming the lives of three men and raising safety concerns about the Benchlands, a strip of land nestled between the mountains and the ocean. The city sold four parcels, totaling 20 acres, to Sound Development LLC in 2013 and construction was in progress when the landslide hit, damaging one home and completely destroying another. Download Audio

This week on Alaska Edition, we are discussing the pot industry in the state. Listen Now:

The state government would buy the Legislative Information Office in downtown Anchorage for $32.5 million, under a recommendation made Thursday night by the Legislative Council. Download Audio

Sanders fan vs. ‘superdelegate’: Re-enacting a 100-year feud; ex-EPA official Phil North returns to U.S. for lawsuit between EPA and Pebble; Petersburg schools testing down due to Kansas cable debacle; Legislative council meets to discuss fate of LIO building; Alaska experiences second warmest winter in last 90 years; cost to apply for a marijuana permit? $50K. If you’re lucky; Palmer's Meat and Sausage fights to stay open; tractor falls in Tuntutuliak River causing oil spill; study evaluates economic impact of 'quiet recreation' on BLM lands; new high-quality digital Alaska maps available to the public Download Audio

Anyone from land managers to off-road enthusiasts will now have access to high-grade digital maps for Alaska. The University of Alaska Fairbanks and the Department of Natural Resources partnered to produce the first high-resolution satellite image map of the state. Download Audio

Former EPA official Phil North returned to the United States and is cooperating with a deposition in a lawsuit between the Pebble Partnership and the Environmental Protection Agency. KDLG's Dave Bendinger has more: Download Audio

The state's Board of Agriculture and Conservation (BAC) today Thursday heard public comments on a new proposal that could keep Palmer's Mt. McKinley Meat and Sausage open Download Audio

Hundreds of people across Alaska are trying to figure out how to sell commercial cannabis, spending big to be able to prepare applications for licenses.

If you thought Alaska was pretty warm and dry this winter, you were right. In fact, it could come close to setting a record. Download Audio

Petersburg middle and high schoolers are back taking mandated-state tests Thursday, March 31 after a cable-break in Kansas knocked out testing statewide Tuesday morning. Students in in grades six through 10 were part-way through completing the math portion of the test when the interruption happened. Officials think the students answers were recorded and not lost. Download Audio

The Legislative Council meets Thursday to decide what to do about the Anchorage Legislative Information Office. A judge recently ruled the state lease for the building is illegal, because the state didn’t open it up to competitive bidding. Download Audio