News

All news stories, regardless of topic (local, statewide + national news stories, as well as Talk of Alaska, Alaska News Nightly, Alaska Insight, Alaska Economic Report). Some news stories may also have other categories marked, which will also put them on a subpage. Not all news stories will fall into a subpage.

YWCA is One Year Closer to Closing the Wage Gap for Women

The YWCA Alaska is one year into their initiative to eliminate the gender pay gap in Alaska by 2025. State Dept. of Labor and US Census data show that women in Alaska only make about 68 cents for every dollar made by a man. The question is, why?

Final Sitka landslide victim recovered

Search crews have recovered the final victim of the Aug. 18 Sitka landslide. The body of 62-year-old William Stortz was found Tuesday afternoon. Download Audio

Speaking at Assembly, officials say: ‘Thank you, Sitka’

At the first meeting of the Sitka Assembly since last week’s landslides, city officials spoke emotionally about the loss of three local men — and said they had been overwhelmed by the response of city staff, volunteers, and ordinary citizens. Download Audio

Bethel preschool re-opens after monumental cleanup effort

The Bethel M.E. preschool is 95 percent back to normal after a week of cleaning up after vandals ransacked the school, costing hundreds of thousands of dollars in damages. Download Audio

Hoonah hydro project cuts energy bills for local businesses

Alaska’s newest hydro power project has been generating electricity since the beginning of August, but it only recently had its ribbon cutting ceremony. The city of Hoonah is cutting diesel consumption by about a third which could help the local economy. Download Audio

Voices From Nome’s Dream Theater

Back in 1944, a 15-year-old Alaska Native girl named Alberta Schenck stood up against the segregated seating policy at Nome’s Dream Theater. Her case, paired with Elizabeth Peratrovich’s, was eventually instrumental in the passing of the 1945 Anti-Discrimination Act in Alaska. That was 10 years before Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat, and nearly 20 years before the passing of the Civil Rights Act. Download Audio

Juneau protest looks to give BC mines a classic Alaska ‘boot’

Xtratuf boots are ubiquitous in Southeast Alaska and often associated with fishing. On Wednesday, about a hundred pairs of the brown rubber boots along with photos of Alaskans were on the steps of the Capitol building to protest mines in British Columbia. Download Audio

State sets POW wolf harvest quota at 9

A wolf harvest quota has been set for Game Management Unit 2, which is Prince of Wales Island and surrounding islands. According to a joint news release from the U.S. Forest Service and the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, biologists have set the state harvest at nine wolves.

Ketchikan prosecutor position to remain vacant

The Alaska Legislature has cut funding for every branch of state government, including the Department of Law, which oversees District Attorney offices throughout the state. This means Ketchikan’s D.A.s are taking on a larger workload as they wait to have a vacant position filled.

State ferries to increase cancellation fees

The Alaska Marine Highway System will soon charge more for canceling reservations.

Alaska News Nightly: Tuesday, August 25, 2015

Walker hopes to reframe the president's perspective; Gov. Walker continues to fight land into trust for Alaska tribes; Anchorage law firm intervenes on behalf of state in anti-Medicaid lawsuit; Vets vent about poor VA care during listening sessions in Fairbanks, Kenai; Comrades fondly remember Iraq War veteran 'Eskimo Joe'; El Nino, 'The Blob' prime Alaska for another warm winter; Quitting meth: two teens tell their story Download Audio

Gov. Walker continues to fight land into trust for Alaska tribes

Governor Walker is continuing the state’s appeal of a case that clears a path for Alaska tribes to put land into trust. Lawyers for the state filed an opening brief late Monday to appeal a ruling that overturns the so-called “Alaska exemption.” Download Audio

Anchorage law firm intervenes on behalf of state in anti-Medicaid lawsuit

An Anchorage law firm is helping the state fight the Legislative Council's lawsuit aimed at stopping Medicaid expansion. Download Audio

Vets vent about poor VA care during listening sessions in Fairbanks, Kenai

Alaska military veterans testified yesterday at listening sessions in Kenai and Fairbanks about problems accessing federally funded health care benefits. Interior veterans shared concerns specific to the Veterans Choice Act, as well as more general issues about working with the Veterans Administration. Download Audio

Comrades fondly remember Iraq War veteran ‘Eskimo Joe’

Earlier this month, 49-year-old Joseph Murphy died at Juneau’s prison 12 hours after being booked on noncriminal charges. Among other things, Murphy was an Iraq War veteran. His squad commander says it changed him forever. Download Audio

El Nino, ‘The Blob’ prime Alaska for another warm winter

Alaskans can expect warmer, drier days this coming winter. That, according to the National Weather Service, is drawing on new tools and techniques to peer into the future. Download Audio

Life Beyond Addiction: The Story of Two Young Women Making It, Together

Last spring we spoke with a young couple who moved to Wasilla in their attempt to quit meth. Now, six months later, they are still sober, living in Anchorage, and living a new life.

Walker Hopes to Reframe POTUS Perspective

President Obama’s visit to Alaska is now less than a week away, and he's not the only one with an agenda for his trip. “It’s an exciting time for Alaska. We don’t have a lot of presidents who stop here unless they’re low of fuel," Gov. Walker says.

BC minister: Tulsequah Chief Mine leak should be fixed

British Columbia’s top mine official says the Canadian province needs to address pollution pouring out of an abandoned tunnel east of Juneau.

Alaska News Nightly: Monday, August 24, 2015

Walker plans to recommend TransCanada buy-out in gas project; As national media hone in on Alaska, ICC plots its course; The devil's in the details: How to keep a presidential visit secure; Calling from Alaska jails? It's complicated; Parents feel sticker shock at rising price of high school activity fees; New science shows Sitka geologically separate from rest of Alaska; 'It's Good to Be Here' -- Working at the Brother Francis Shelter Download Audio