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.

Jesse Kiehl and clean water advocates

Alaska senator’s fight to regulate ‘forever chemicals’ gets a boost from new federal standards

PFAS compounds, known as “forever chemicals” because they don’t break down in the environment, have been linked to cancer.

How an Alaska oil and gas expert thinks the state could make money by not drilling in ANWR

Larry Persily wants the state to consider selling carbon credits for keeping the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge's oil and gas in the ground.
a Russian fighter jet

The U.S. military releases footage of Black Sea drone crash with Russian jet

Declassified footage shows two Russian fighter jets flying near a U.S. drone over the Black Sea and, the Pentagon says, colliding with it.
the Alaska State Capitol

Alaska legislators are again on track to ignore the 90-day session law imposed by voters

Court rulings have upheld the Legislature's ability to work until a 121-day constitutional limit, saying that guideline takes precedence.
a sunflower sea star

Threatened listing proposed for sunflower sea star after population devastated by wasting disease

The creature, with a range from Baja California to the Aleutians, would be the first sea star with an Endangered Species Act listing.
Willow project

Willow oil project approval intensifies Alaska Natives’ rift

Some say that oil money can’t counter the damages caused by climate change, but others defend the project as economically vital.

ACLU sues Alaska prison system over forced medication policy

The ACLU says Mark Andrews' experience shows that a policy affecting many people in state custody with mental illness should be struck down.
People cut up meat in a kitchen.

On appeal, state wins right to challenge subsistence hunting decision for Kake

The state can try again to get a judge to rule that a 2020 emergency hunt was illegal.
a man and a gyrfalcon

Haines falconer trains bird of his dreams

Mario Benassi has had a lifelong passion for birds of prey, including his latest hunting partner — a female gyrfalcon named Mirum.
A man in a black parka with two dogs

Iditapod: The all-Indigenous Iditarod podium

Alaska Native mushers took the podium in the 2023 Iditarod, with the Knik Kid, Ryan Redington, winning his first championship and Bethel's Pete Kaiser and Aniak's Richie Diehl mushing into second and third place. The race's top 10 were all into Nome by Wednesday morning, and we have an update on Rookie of the Year honors, as well as three Dogs of the Day, two listener questions and a story about collecting dog pee. Also: This'll do it for Season 7 of the Iditapod. Thanks for coming along with us on this thousand-mile journey!
a dog in a dog box

Jet, who always knows where she’s going

Wade Marrs says this will be the last Iditarod for his longtime leader Jet.
A musher drives a sled

From snow hooks to alarm clocks: Here’s what 5 Iditarod mushers say they’ve lost along the trail

Mushers have a lot to keep track of on the trail and sometimes leave things behind.
A man with curly hair in a parka with a fur ruff

Eddie Burke Jr. wins Iditarod Rookie of the Year

The former amateur boxer and garbage truck driver had the best rookie finish since Jessie Holmes in 2018, finishing in seventh place.
Interior: a CPR dummy rests on the ground as volunteers prepare to practice administering Narcan.

Narcan trainings new to Kodiak’s ComFish trade show schedule

Daily forums aimed at identifying and stopping an opioid overdose will include instructions on how to use the overdose-reversing drug.
downtown Juneau

Juneauʼs property assessments show a sharp increase in home values

The higher valuations don't necessarily mean higher property taxes, as the Juneau Assembly has yet to set a mill rate.
tuberculosis

Line One: World Tuberculosis Day

Tuberculosis is a disease with a complicated history in Alaska. For decades, the state has led the country in rates of infection, but care for people with tuberculosis has a history of discrimination and mistreatment. However, treatments have changed and health workers say cases are especially high right now. On this Line One, host Dr. Justin Clark explores the scope of tuberculosis in Alaska, and the treatments for those who have it.
grocery shoppers

The unexpected American shopping spree seems to have cooled

Retail spending declined 0.4% in February compared to January, the Commerce Department said on Wednesday.
the Willow project

Conservation groups sue to block Biden-approved Willow oil project on Alaska’s North Slope

A day after President Biden approved the controversial North Slope oil development, opponents sought to stop it from moving forward.
Nushagak sockeye salmon

Board of Fish limits sockeye fishing to conserve Nushagak kings

The Board of Fisheries has approved an action plan to help conserve the Nushagak River’s sharply declined king salmon runs.
the Alaska House Finance Committee

After years of contentious fights, Alaska’s state budget is advancing smoothly in the House

House subcommittees made few changes to a proposal authored by Gov. Mike Dunleavy.