News

Another fire near the Alaska Native village of Tyonek is drawing a full response from state firefighters. The blaze erupted late Monday afternoon at the village airport, which is across the Chuitna River from Tyonek. But heavy winds in the area pushed the fire across the river in several spots by evening, forcing an evacuation of the village. Download Audio

About 200 national wildlife refuges have oil and gas development. Among them: the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge, the only refuge in Alaska with active petroleum extraction. The agency that manages refuges, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, wants rules to regulate that activity. Alaska Congressman Don Young doesn’t like the idea, and he wasn’t quiet about it at a Congressional hearing today. Download Audio

In January, Gov. Sean Parnell removed Marty McGee from a board that deals with the oil producers' tax bill. Now, McGee wants to take on oil tax policy again – but as a state legislator. Download Audio

If you have lived in Southcentral Alaska for a year or more, you are almost certain to have felt an earthquake. But a damaging quake is something else again. Experts tell us a quake as powerful as the Great Alaska Earthquake of fifty years ago isn’t likely any time soon, but it doesn’t take a Magnitude Nine to do big damage. Download Audio

Wildfire Continues To Burn On Central Kenai Peninsula; Tyonek Fire Draws Response From State Firefighters; USFW Wants to Regulate Oil & Gas on Refuges; Young; Fired Oil Tax Assessor To Run For State House; Seismologist Delivers Cautionary Notes; Ammo Shortages Still Hampering Rural Subsistence Hunters; New Equipment Means New Opportunities For Polar Bear Treatment; Former Sitka Principal Found Not Guilty On All Counts; ASD Passes Amended Budget, Adds Back In Teacher Positions Download Audio

The Anchorage School Board voted to increase the 2014-2015 school budget by $26.5 million on Monday night, which takes the total up to almost $770 million. With the additional money the district will only lose 57 teachers instead of 143. Other funds will go toward charter schools, early literacy programs, and updating aging science teaching kits. Download Audio

A report released Monday from the Government Accountability Office suggests U.S. participation in the Arctic Council lacks coordination and follow-through. Download Audio

It’s been a little more than two weeks since the Alaska Dispatch took ownership of the Anchorage Daily News. Pat Dougherty was the Executive Editor of the Daily News and had been with the paper for 34 years. He’s speaking publicly about the sale for the first time. He says he retired from that position when the sale became final because he and Dispatch founder Tony Hopfinger wouldn’t have been able to work together. Dougherty says he was surprised when he first heard that Alaska Dispatch publisher Alice Rogoff was buying the paper. And he says there’s one thing about the sale he wants the community to understand. Download Audio

State fire crews are scrambling to contain a wildfire near Tyonek on the west side of Cook Inlet. Download Audio

An Anchorage assemblywoman is rolling out a proposal to repeal Mayor Dan Sullivan’s labor law changes. Download Audio

An analysis by the state finds no health impacts from coal ash and dust from the downtown Fairbanks Aurora Energy Plant. Particulates from the facility drift onto properties in the surrounding neighborhood, but the state report dispels health concerns. Download Audio

Report Says U.S. Participation In Arctic Council Lacks Coordination, Follow-Through; Former Executive Editor Pat Dougherty Speaks On ADN Sale; Crews Work To Contain Wildfire Near Tyonek; Assemblywoman Proposes Anchorage Labor Law Changes; Democrats Leave Nome With Updated Platform, Candidate Endorsements; State Finds No Health Impacts From Aurora Energy Plant; Bethel Novelist Wins Rasmuson Grant; Remembering Harvey B. Marvin Download Audio