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.

15-Year-Old Plane Crash Survivor Honored By Coast Guard

The 15-year-old survivor of a plane crash near Juneau was recognized by the U.S. Coast Guard Thursday for helping to save the other three passengers despite his own injuries. Download Audio

Yukon King Run Stronger Than Expected

A stronger than expected run of Yukon River Chinook salmon is allowing fishery managers to loosen subsistence harvest restrictions on both the U.S. and Canadian sides of the river. The better-than-anticipated run is still small by historical standards, but may signal that Yukon King stocks are beginning to rebuild. Download Audio

Alaska senators vote in favor of highway bill

Congress has averted a crisis in U.S. Highway funding. The Senate passed a House bill on Thursday to keep the highway program afloat until at least Halloween.

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

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

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.

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

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.

Post-Flooding Gravel Work to Raise Dalton Highway

A contractor is expected to begin work soon building up a portion of the Dalton Highway severely damaged earlier this year by overflow ice and flooding from the Sag River. It’s part of plan to armor the major North Slope oil field supply conduit against future ice and flood impacts.

6.3 Earthquake Shakes Much of Alaska Tuesday Evening

A magnitude 6.3 earthquake shook much of Alaska Tuesday night. It was felt from the Alaska Peninsula to Fairbanks. According to the U.S. Geological Survey earthquake site, the quake occurred just after 6:35 p.m.

Woman Dead after Shooting Herself at Spring Creek Correctional Center

A woman is dead after shooting herself in front of a Kenai Peninsula correctional facility on Monday. The woman has been identified as 31-year old Amanda Bee of North Pole.

Cathay Pacific flight makes emergency landing at Shemya air station

A Cathay Pacific flight en route from Hong Kong to Los Angeles made an emergency landing at an Aleutian Islands military airport early Wednesday morning due to smoke inside the plane.

Without Troopers, Girdwood Looks For New Law Enforcement

At the end of the year, Alaska State Troopers says it will close their post in Girdwood. The town’s quest to court a new source of law enforcement is off to a rocky start. Download Audio

Wet Weather Gives Wildland Firefighters An Edge

The statewide wildfire response that’s been operating at peak for more than a month is ramping down. Wet weather over areas of the interior has calmed many fires. Download Audio

VA Secretary to Visit 49th State

Alaska can expect another high-level Washington visitor next month. The Secretary of Veterans Affairs, Robert McDonald, plans to come to the state for several days starting Aug. 11.

Denali Wolf Hunt Nears Opening Despite Low Population Numbers

Wolf hunting season is scheduled to open next month in and around Denali National Park, despite record low wolf numbers. This spring, Park biologists counted fewer than 50 Denali wolves, heightening a long running battle over the popularly viewed animals. Download Audio

Groups seek halt to POW wolf hunting, logging

Citing a state study that shows a sharp decline in the wolf population on Prince of Wales Island and surrounding islands, six conservation groups have asked state and federal officials to take steps to help preserve the remaining animals. Download Audio

Troopers: Chevak Man Admits to Murder of Roxanne Smart

Alaska State Troopers say a Chevak man has admitted to killing Roxanne Smart last summer. The announcement was made Saturday through an online dispatch that they had arrested 20-year-old Samuel Atchak, of Chevak.