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.

49 Voices: Gary Hanchett of Bettles

Gary Hanchett is a do-everything kind of Alaskan -- he is the vice mayor of Bettles, the backup postmaster, election chair, tour guide and trapper. He tells us about some of the more notorious residents of Bettles -- the mosquitoes. Download Audio:

A year after Roxanne Smart was killed, Chevak still waits for justice

The community of Chevak in Southwest Alaska has been breathing a collective sigh of relief after the arrest of a man in July for the murder of Roxanne Smart. The 19-year-old was found stabbed to death in the middle of town last August. But it was a tough year for the tight-knit community as they waited for an arrest. The town lived for nearly a year with a killer among them.

Climate Change in the Far North

President Obama will be in Alaska soon, and he says climate change is the reason for the visit. On the next Talk of Alaska, scientists who've studied warming in Alaska for decades join us on the program to offer perspective from the front lines. APRN: Tuesday, August 25, at 10:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. Listen now:

Homelessness In Alaska

Homelessness is a problem that ails both urban and rural Alaska, both for families and individuals. And organizations and municipalities have been writing plans to deal with the issue for decades. What works? What doesn't? What does homelessness look like on the front lines? We'll have a panel of experts to tackle those questions in studio on Alaska Edition. KSKA: Friday, August 21, at 2:00 p.m. and Saturday, August 22, at 6:00 p.m. KAKM: Friday, August 21, at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday, August 22, at 6:00 p.m. Download Audio:

Archaeologists uncover new Yup’ik artifacts near Quinhagak

At a site near the Southwest Alaska village of Quinhagak archeologists are racing against time to uncover Yup’ik artifacts before the effects of climate change cause them to erode into the sea. The old village continues to reveal artifacts that give a glimpse into the daily lives of Yup’ik people hundreds of years ago.

Story-telling gives refugee teens a voice in their new community

Everyone has a story to tell, but it may not be the story you’d expect. An Anchorage non-profit called StoryWorks is helping teenagers find their stories, and this summer they focused on students who arrived in the state as refugees.

Second body recovered from slide, crews hone in on the third

Search crews have recovered two bodies from the Kramer Avenue landslide in Sitka. One man remains missing but search dogs have alerted to a third location on the south side of the slide, where work focused Thursday afternoon. Officials hoped to recover all three bodies before heavy rain predicted Friday. Download Audio

Alaska News Nightly: Thursday, August 20, 2015

Second body recovered from slide, crews hone in on the third; To stand a fighting chance, anti-Medicaid lawsuit needs to show irreparable harm; NOAA: whale deaths in the Gulf are three times the average; As fur seal numbers in the Aleutians decline, one population is curiously thriving; Flint Hills refinery asks for loosened cleanup standards; Transforming teaching: Nanwalek School received Apple tech grant; Storyworks: Refugees share their journeys Download Audio

NOAA: Whale deaths in the Gulf are three times the average

Since May 2015, 11 fin whales, 14 humpback whales, one gray whale, and four unidentified cetaceans have been found dead around the islands of the western Gulf of Alaska and the southern shoreline of the Alaska Peninsula, according to NOAA. Canadian authorities are also seeing an uptick in whale deaths off the coast of British Columbia. Download Audio

As fur seal numbers in the Aleutians decline, one population is curiously thriving

Northern fur seals have been declining for decades in their stronghold on St. Paul Island in Alaska’s Pribilof Islands, but their numbers are taking off on Bogoslof Island, a couple hundred miles to the south. Download Audio

Flint Hills refinery asks for looser cleanup standards

Flint Hills continues to push for a less stringent standard for removal of a spilled chemical from groundwater at the company’s shuttered North Pole refinery. Removal of the industrial solvent sulfolane is costing the refinery a lot of money, and opinions differ on how clean groundwater should be. Download Audio

Transforming teaching: Nanwalek School received Apple tech grant

For students and teachers in the village of Nanwalek, this academic year will likely be very different from years past. They are the recipients of a technology grant from Apple that could change the face of education in the village entirely. Download Audio

To stand a fighting chance, anti-Medicaid lawsuit needs to prove irreparable harm

Medicaid expansion is set to roll out in Alaska September 1st. It would offer health coverage to up to 40,000 very low-income adults who don't have children. The lawmakers suing to stop expansion will ask a judge for a preliminary injunction. That would prohibit the state from implementing the program before the issue is decided in court. Both sides of the lawsuit have specific points they need to prove to win the case. Download Audio

From Guatemala to Alaska: Adapting to a new life | INDIE ALASKA

Even though Spanish is widely spoken in Alaska, coming from a Spanish-speaking country is not as easy as it seems. At least it wasn't for Kimberly Mejía Gúzman and her family, who moved from Guatemala, in Central America, to Anchorage, about one year ago. Driven by the hope for new and better opportunities, Kimberly's family soon discovered how difficult it is to adapt to a new lifestyle so far away from home.

Navy submarine pops up in Dutch Harbor unannounced

A U.S. Navy submarine pulled into Unalaska Bay near the town landfill Friday morning. The sub made no contact with the Port of Dutch Harbor, according to Harbor Master John Days.

Body recovered from landslide debris

Sitka Fire Chief Dave Miller reports that a team of cadaver dogs from Juneau led searchers to a sweatshirt on the west side of the slide, and subsequently to the body. Miller would not confirm the identity except to say, "It's one of the boys."

Fleeing the slide: a survivor tells his story

As crews continue to cautiously work through debris searching for the three victims of Tuesday’s deadly landslide in Sitka, it’s clear that the event could have been much worse. There are many homes below and to either side of the slide, and there were two other people directly in its path who escaped. Download Audio

Alaska News Nightly: Wednesday, August 19, 2015

Gov. Walker visits Sitka, meets with families of those presumed dead; Running from the slide: two city officials, one survivor; Out with Mew, in with the new: DEA agent to take over as APD chief; Ellis sentenced to 3 years, 2 suspended for death of 51-year-old cyclist; Small-scale hydro project comes online in Iguigig; Glacier Bay’s missing stories find a new home in Tlingit tribal house Download Audio

Gov. Walker visits Sitka, meets with families of those presumed dead

Governor Bill Walker was in Sitka today to assess the damage from a series of landslides that hit the city after heavy rains Tuesday (August 18). He also met with the families of three people missing since Tuesday morning. Meanwhile, the search for the three men was proceeding slowly, hampered by fears of further landslides. Download Audio

Out with Mew, in with the new: Anchorage hires a new police chief

A man with a long history in drug enforcement will take the reins as Anchorage's new police chief. The city administration says he'll be in step with a plan to develop a community policing model. Download Audio