U.S. House Passes Bill to Allow Sale of Feathery Art
The U.S. House today passed a bill to allow Alaska Natives to sell handicrafts that include the feathers of migratory birds. Alaska Congressman Don Young, who sponsored the bill, says it will end a "bizarre policy" that allows Native people to hunt the birds and make handicrafts from feathers but not sell their creations.
Download Audio
Wasilla VA Clinic Without Doctors
The Wasilla Veterans Affairs clinic is without a doctor. Two physicians there have decided not to renew their contracts, and now one nurse practitioner is handling the patient caseload.
Download Audio
Support Alliance Endorses Sullivan for Senate
U.S. Senate challenger Dan Sullivan has won a rare endorsement from the Alaska Support Industry Alliance. Sen. Mark Begich nets the purse seiners.
Download Audio
NPS Proposes Permanent Ban on Predator Hunting Practices in Alaska’s Preserves
The National Park Service published a proposal in the national register last week that would permanently prohibit some sport hunting practices in Alaska’s ten national preserves. The Park Service has sparred with the state for years over hunting in National Preserves.
Download Audio
Anchorage School District Questions 6th Grade Placement
The Anchorage School District is trying to decide if 6th graders should be placed in elementary or middle schools. Currently there are some in each. District staff have been weighing the options for more than a year because it impacts future school infrastructure upgrades. They're also looking at what's best for the students academically. Some 6th graders think middle school is definitely the way to go.
Download Audio
Aleutian Risk Assessment Unveils Spill Prevention Plan
For years, shipping safety advocates have called for better protections against oil spills in the Aleutian chain. Now, the plan for a new response system is finally finished. The Aleutian Islands Risk Assessment’s draft report recommends some familiar solutions in new places – all at a cost of almost $14 million a year.
Download Audio
Does Vigor Still Need Local Tax, Utility Breaks?
As Ketchikan’s shipyard continues to grow and attract contracts, questions arose last week about whether the community should continue to offer tax and utility breaks for the property.
Download Audio
US Trained Alaskans As ‘Stay Behind Agents’
Fearing a Russian invasion and occupation of Alaska, the U.S. government in the early Cold War years recruited and trained fishermen, bush pilots, trappers and other private citizens across Alaska for a covert network to feed wartime intelligence to the military, newly declassified Air Force and FBI documents show.
Two Charged In Fatal Anchorage Shooting
Two people were arrested and charged in a fatal shooting in East Anchorage last week.
Unalaska Could Face Fines For Wastewater Plant Delays
The city of Unalaska is falling behind on construction of a new wastewater treatment plant -- and they could face up to $200,000 in federal fines as a result.
Alaska News Nightly: September 5, 2014
Tour Bus Rollover on the Parks Highway Results in One Fatality; Kiana Teacher Arrested on Missouri Child Sex Abuse Charges; Huge Increase For Healthcare.gov Insurance Rates In Alaska; Snow Falls In Near Tok; Mayor Calls For Federal Review of Fairbanks Four Case; Reaction to Alaska Voting Rights Ruling; Foundation Swoops in to Save Sacred Alaskan Artifacts at Auction; AK: Military Training; 300 Villages: Edna Bay
Download Audio
Tour Bus Rollover on the Parks Highway Results in One Fatality
A tour bus rollover near Mile 173 of the Parks Highway has resulted in at least one fatality. Alaska State Troopers say the report of the rollover came in just after 8:00 am on Friday.
Download Audio
Kiana Teacher Arrested on Missouri Child Sex Abuse Charges
A Missouri man who spent the last four years teaching throughout western Alaska has been arrested on charges of sexually abusing his adopted daughter—and is alleged to have subjected his six other adopted children to “years of physical abuse and neglect.”
Download Audio
Huge Increase For Healthcare.gov Insurance Rates In Alaska
Alaskans who buy health insurance on the Affordable Care Act marketplace will see a significant rate hike for next year. The state Division of Insurance says consumers can expect to pay an increase of more than 30 percent on average for coverage.
Download Audio
Snow Falls In Near Tok
This week’s cooling trend brought snow to the Alaska Range. More than 9 inches of snow was on the ground Wednesday near the Log Cabin Wilderness Lodge.
Download Audio
Mayor Calls For Federal Review of Fairbanks Four Case
The mayor of the city of Fairbanks is calling for federal review of long questioned murder convictions of 4 Native men. The mayor joins numerous leaders and groups pressing for review of the Fairbanks Four case.
Download Audio
Reaction to Alaska Voting Rights Ruling
Plaintiffs in a voting rights lawsuit are reacting to news that a Federal Court Judge has ruled in their favor. Wednesday a judge ruled that the State of Alaska violated the Voting Rights Act by failing to provide translations into Native languages.
Download Audio
Foundation Swoops in to Save Sacred Alaskan Artifacts at Auction
As early as the late 1700s, European visitors and explorers in Alaska wrongly took objects that were sacred and important to the indigenous people. Several of these items were set to be auctioned off in Paris last December, despite protest from tribal groups around the U.S. It was a done deal, until an anonymous buyer stepped in.
Download Audio
AK: US Army Rangers Train In Alaska’s Rugged Interior
In a forested area outside of Fairbanks, the U.S. Army operates a remote facility where it trains military servicemen and women in cold, mountainous environments. It’s called the Northern Warfare Training Center. And in August, they hosted an elite unit of Army Rangers.
Download Audio
Wasilla’s VA Clinic Operating Without Doctors
The Veterans Affairs clinic in Wasilla is without doctors, after the three physicians working under contract over the summer decided not to renew those.
Download Audio