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.

Instrument data ‘another piece of the puzzle’ in fatal plane crash

The National Transportation Safety Board released a preliminary report on the fatal plane crash that occurred 18 miles west of Juneau on July 17. Download Audio

Under Alaska Management, Mosquito Fork is Open for Business

The federal government has backed down in a long running legal dispute with the State of Alaska over ownership of an eastern interior river. State ownership the Mosquito Fork of the Forty Mile River will open it up to new activity, including mining. Download Audio

Wrangell Opens A New Cultural Center, Carving Shed

The Wrangell Cooperative Association cut the ribbon on its cultural center and carving shed Saturday, completing the second phase of the tribe’s three-part Native cultural revival plan. The center will serve as a place for recreating eight sacred totem poles and for teaching Native arts. Download Audio

Ketchikan Borough To Vote on Tobacco Tax

The Ketchikan Gateway Borough has completed drafting an ordinance that would impose a $3-per-pack tobacco tax within borough boundaries. The ordinance also would tax other tobacco products – including e-cigarettes – at 75 percent of their wholesale price. Download Audio

AcroYoga Under the Midnight Sun | INDIE ALASKA

“Bird," “star" and “mermaid” are some of the AcroYoga positions that can be seen around Anchorage at least twice a week, when a group of friends meets to practice this combination of acrobatics and yoga.

Kuskokwim Silver Salmon Run Underway

Silver salmon are running up the Kuskokwim River and managers say the coho at the Bethel Test Fishery will soon be more abundant than chums.

Feds ask cruise ships, boats to stay farther away from seals

Federal officials are asking cruise ships, tour boats and kayaks to stay far away from harbor seals in Alaska’s glacial fjords. The marine mammals rest, sleep and birth their pups on floating ice. NOAA Fisheries says new research shows the marine mammals are much more likely to dive into the water when vessels approach the current legal limit.

Activists rappel off Oregon bridge to stop Shell icebreaker

More than a dozen activists rappelled off the St. Johns Bridge in an effort to stop a Shell Oil Arctic icebreaker from leaving Portland.

University of Alaska Fairbanks cuts $20 million from budget

The University of Alaska Fairbanks has announced it will cut $20 million from its budget this upcoming year.

Psychiatric Hospital for Military Opens Amid VA Funding SNAFU

The Chris Kyle Patriots Hospital in Anchorage opens as healthcare systems serving Alaska's military are struggling to meet demand.

Alaska News Nightly: Wednesday, July 29, 2015

Alaska Senators No Fans of Iran Deal; Psychiatric Facility For Vets Opens In Anchorage; In Blow To the State, Court Strikes Down Roadless Rule Exemption in the Tongass; Jim Johnsen Named New University of Alaska President; Wrangell Doc Found Guilty of Sharing Child Porn; Saxman Regains Rural Status; Dalton Highway Gets A Post-Flood Facelift; Report: Alaska Falls Short on Curbing LBGT Discrimination In The Workplace; On Love, Adoption and Raising 3 Kids With FASD Download Audio

Alaska Senators No Fans of Iran Deal

The Obama administration faced a tough crowd this morning as it defended its nuclear agreement with Iran in Congress. Both of Alaska’s senators are among the chorus of lawmakers who say the deal is bad for the U.S. Download Audio

Conservationists Declare Victory in Court’s Tongass Road Ruling

The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals struck down a 2003 exemption today that would have made it possible to build roads through the Tongass National Forest. Download Audio

Saxman Regains Rural Status

The Organized Village of Saxman is now officially rural again. The Federal Subsistence Board voted during a work session Tuesday in Anchorage to return communities to the status they held before 2007. Download Audio

Jim Johnsen named new University of Alaska president

The University of Alaska Board of Regents on Tuesday appointed Dr. Jim Johnsen as the next university president. Johnsen is on a 5-year contract, making $325,000 dollars annually. Download Audio

Wrangell doc found guilty of sharing child porn

Former Wrangell doctor Greg Salard has been found guilty of distributing and receiving child pornography. The 12-person jury returned Tuesday with a verdict in U.S. District Court after an hour and a half of deliberations. Download Audio

Report: Alaska Falls Short on Curbing LBGT Discrimination In The Workplace

Last Wednesday, the University of California, Los Angeles, published a report on employment discrimination in Alaska based on sexual orientation and gender identity. Alaska is home to more than 19,000 lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender adults, according to a Gallup poll. Download Audio

Bethel Advances The Possibility of A City-Run Liquor Store

The Bethel City Council last night took one step towards a possible return to local option status. By a 4-to-3 vote, they introduced an ordinance, which, if passed by council next month would let voters would decide in October whether to allow local alcohol sales solely through a city-run liquor store. Download Audio

On Love, Adoption and Raising 3 Kids With FASD

Not many people wish to raise a child with a fetal alcohol spectrum disorder, or FASD. Diane Lohrey is no different. But when she and her husband adopted three children, all later diagnosed with an FASD, they accepted the hardships and the rewards. Download Audio

Court Strikes Roadless Rule Exemption in Tongass

A divided federal appeals court has affirmed a lower-court decision that would reinstate prohibitions on road-building and timber harvests in roadless areas of the nation's largest national forest.