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.

As Alaska welcomes Ukrainian refugees, state resurrects program to help immigrants get jobs

The Office of Citizenship Assistance will help refugees overcome the employment challenges that come with resettling to a new country.

Alaska not expecting ash from Kamchatka eruption, for now

Shiveluch Volcano's eruption is not expected to create any ash deposits on the ground in Alaska, but that could change.
A group of people wave political signs on the sidewalk of a bust street.

A week after Anchorage election, most left-of-center Assembly candidates maintain their leads

City officials have counted about 54,000 of the 66,000 ballots they’ve received so far.

Western Alaska chum bycatch limits are moving forward — slowly

Potential new limits on the accidental catch of chum salmon by pollock trawlers are still years away from being implemented.
Jesse Kiehl and clean water advocates

Talk of Alaska: New proposed PFAS regulations

We discuss the way forward for eradicating PFAS contamination from Alaska’s water and soil on this Talk of Alaska
the Ketchikan Public Library

Ketchikan Public Library Advisory Board to take input on request to remove book on teen sexuality

Ketchikan resident Tanya Hedlind has asked the library to pull a book on teen relationships, citing what she called “sexually explicit material.”
Friends of Whale Pass

Whale Pass timber sale moves forward, leaving residents with questions

Despite an outcry from residents in the small Prince of Wales Island town, a nearly 300-acre timber sale on nearby land is poised to go forward.
a black bear

It’s spring and Juneau’s bears are waking up hungry

Bears usually start to emerge from hibernation in April. And right on time, Juneau's initial bear sightings were reported online late last month.
a boatload of herring eggs

A millennia-old Sitka subsistence fishery replenishes the spirit, and the freezer

The frenzy around Sitka's commercial sac roe fishery overshadows a far quieter Indigenous fishing tradition that’s taken place for millennia.
two women

One camp at a time, a Seattle group is transforming its approach to homelessness

If JustCARE creates a successful Seattle housing program, it will come at a time when homelessness is overwhelming larger cities across the West.
Stanley Wright

New bill proposes to eliminate ‘predatory’ payday loan lenders in Alaska

House Bill 145 would restrict payday loan companies to the interest rates and fees charged by normal banks.
Alyse Galvin

To help state budget, legislator proposes income tax: $20 for most Alaskans, more for those with upper incomes

House Bill 156 would tax Alaskans 2% of any annual income above $200,000. If someone makes less than that amount, they’d pay $20.
A man and a woman shoveling snow in front of their apartment building.

Anchorage sets new record for amount of snow on the ground in April

There's 31 inches of snow stacked up in West Anchorage, with more in other parts of town.
protesters

Conservation groups sue EPA seeking rules for discharges from cruise ships and other vessels

Two groups are suing the EPA over its alleged failure to finalize standards to protect U.S. waterways from harmful vessel discharges.
a gillnet boat

With no commercial interest in Togiak herring, Alaska looks to the Atlantic for inspiration

Togiak is Alaska’s largest herring fishery. But as the market for roe has shrunk, the remote fishery has become financially unfeasible.
Homer

In unprecedented move, federal council takes no action on Cook Inlet salmon plan

Management of the Cook Inlet commercial salmon fishery will likely fall to the federal government — which fishermen warn could severely limit it.
a police siren

Troopers warn of lethal batch of drugs in Mat-Su after 3 overdose deaths in 24 hours

The lethal batch of illegal drugs likely contains fentanyl, according to Alaska State Troopers.
many fish in water

Fish hatcheries, long seen as a last resort, get a new look amid Yukon River salmon crisis

First Nations groups in the Yukon Territory and Alaska GOP Gov. Mike Dunleavy's administration are advancing discussions about whether hatcheries could help stem a steep crash in salmon populations.
A helicopter on a mountainaouus snow field

Family of Czech billionaire sues over fatal Alaska heli-ski crash

The companies should have known about the crash immediately and notified authorities, the lawsuit says.
an illustration of a person in a military uniform, with text throughout

The Army increasingly allows soldiers charged with violent crimes to leave the military rather than face trial

A federal watchdog called for ending the practice nearly 50 years ago, but the military pushed back. Now, soldiers leave the Army with a negative discharge, avoiding possible federal conviction and with little record of the allegations against them.