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.

An iPhone screen says the current risk is "low"

New dashboard warns Sitkans of landslide risk

A landslide warning system developed in Sitka is now available to the public as an online dashboard, and work is underway to export the project...
people stand outside a giant ship

Ketchikan City Council approves seasonal sales tax to capitalize on summer tourism

Within city limits, the sales tax will go up in April and then down again the following October.
a picture of a man and woman

Alaska’s ‘Farm Family of the Year’ has deep Soldotna roots

The award honors families that epitomize a commitment to local agriculture. And the Lancashire family has been committed to local food for longer than most.
a herd of caribouo eat grass in some rolling hills

The last remaining private bidder in last year’s ANWR lease sale pulls out

Knik Arm Services says it doesn’t want to wait out legal battles over development in the refuge.
exterior: a plane being towed away after making an emergency landing

Private plane makes emergency landing on Bethel road after running out of fuel

Tyler Bartlett and his copilot were just 3 miles away from the Bethel airport on Sunday afternoon when they felt the Cessna 172 begin to sputter.

Alaska News Nightly: Monday, August 22, 2022

The last remaining private company with a lease to drill in ANWR has pulled out. Also, local opposition builds against Donlin Gold's proposed mine. And the unusual bet that motivated a Bristol Bay high school student to graduate.
a man in a tie

Anchorage HR director ‘walled off’ from investigating library staff complaints

HR director Niki Tshibaka has faced criticism over his support for Deputy Library Director Judy Eledge as complaints regarding her conduct were being investigated by the city’s Office of Equal Opportunity Director.
People disembark from a cruise ship on a sunny day

Alaska job numbers for July up from year earlier

Alaska had about 9,900 more jobs last month than it did in July 2021, as the state experiences a more typical tourism season following two pandemic-stunted years.
the cover of an Igiugig childrens book

Igiugig receives statewide literacy award for its robust library that started as a community bookshelf

Igiugig, a community of about 70 residents, has pursued big things from its little library.
a man in a kuskpuk speaks into a microphone

Former Alaska state Rep. Westlake died after son ‘pummeled’ him, according to manslaughter charges

Tallon Westlake, 36, faces charges of manslaughter and evidence tampering in the death of his 62-year-old father, Dean, who was from Kiana and served in the Alaska House of Representatives from January to December 2017.
view of a mountainside of a docked cruise ship

Rockslides are battering a Skagway cruise ship dock and crushing the town’s economy

Skagway’s mayor says the city needs to do something about the slides so it can get back to the full load of cruise ships its economy depends on. And that needs to happen fast.
a syringe extracts a liquid

Pfizer asks FDA to greenlight new omicron booster shots, which could arrive this fall

Pfizer has submitted data on its bivalent COVID-19 booster shot that specifically targets the latest omicron subvariants. If authorized, the company says the shots could be ready as soon as September.
a drill site on mountainside

New federal climate package could spur mine development in Alaska

The tax and climate bill includes $7,500 tax credits for people who buy new electric vehicles — but there’s a pretty big catch.
soaked tents in muddied woods

Heavy rain creates muddy conditions for homeless residents at Anchorage’s Centennial Campground

As campers contend with what feels like constant rain, some are planning ahead for winter.
A man in a suit leans toward two elementary-school-aged children in the foreground.

Anchorage’s new schools superintendent confronts bus driver shortage and low enrollment as the academic year begins

Dr. Jharrett Bryantt begins his tenure with a shortage of bus drivers causing reduced bus service -- a crisis, as Bryantt calls it -- as well as other staffing issues and concerns about safety felt nationwide following one of the deadliest-ever school shootings in U.S. history, near the end of last school year in Uvalde, Texas.

Line One: Pediatric endocrinology in Alaska

Children in Alaska are sometimes affected by unique pediatric endocrine disorders like rickets, precocious or delayed puberty, short stature, thyroid dysfunction and pituitary gland disorders.
soaked tents in muddied woods

Alaska News Nightly: Friday, August 19, 2022

As homeless campers in Anchorage try to stay out of the rain, advocates say the city needs to plan for winter. Also, scientists say tundra fires in Alaska could become more frequent. And a new app helps people in Sitka track landslide warnings.
large boat on the water

Draft ferry schedule includes more sailings, but leaves some communities with large service gaps

The 418-foot flagship Columbia will be back online in November for the first time since it was sidelined to save money in 2019.