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.

A woman in a purple outer layer ties a boot while sitting on a cafeteria bench

Wandering bison and bone-jarring moguls challenge back-of-the-pack Iditarod mushers

At least one musher was stopped by a half-dozen buffalo on the trail from Rohn to Nikolai.
a man with his hood up

Eureka musher Brent Sass is first into Cripple, the Iditarod’s halfway point

Defending champion Dallas Seavey was the first musher to leave of Ophir. Brent Sass later passed him on the trail.
A closeup of a black-and-white husky with blue eyes and a pronounced mask

Steve, who’s kind of a jerk

Fairbanks veteran Lisbet Norris doesn’t hesitate to say she has a favorite dog on her team of fluffy Siberian huskies. 
An oil platform at dusk

Hilcorp fined for its response to Cook Inlet and North Slope leaks

The Environmental Protection Agency said the oil and gas company took twice as long as it was allowed to monitor potential gas and chemical leaks from its Beaver Creek Unit facility near Nikiski.
Aerial view of a village with buildings interspersed with frozen wetlands

Federal government to fund relocation projects for 6 Alaska communities

The USDA will fund relocation of buildings and infrastructure in 6 Alaska communities threatened by erosion and flooding.

Alaska House bill would start process to rename highway named after convicted war criminal

A bill working its way through the state Legislature would start the process of renaming the Glenn Highway. Glenn was convicted of committing war crimes in the Philippines.
Commissioner of the Department of Revenue Lucinda Mahoney talks about the declining value of the state government's Russian assets as Gov. Mike Dunleavy listens on March 8, 20222, in the Alaska State Capitol in Juneau, Alaska. (Photo by Olivia Ebertz/KYUK)

Alaska sees a swift drop in the value of its Russian investments and looks to sell

Alaska's revenue commissioner said the value of state-held Russian investments has declined from $267 million at the end of last year to a current estimate of no more than $15 million.
Two people talking near a dog sled

Iditarod teams navigate rough, windblown trail into Nikolai

Hugh Neff said his 54-year-old arms were exhausted by the constant bumping. “I’ve taken a few Tylenols, let’s say,” he said.
A sled dog team

Aaron Burmeister and his 13-dog team are first to McGrath

For his first-place arrival, Burmeister won a pair of locally-made musher mitts and a musher hat.

Alaska hospital cases drop by more than half as omicron wave recedes

Anchorage hospital officials dare to hope that we're nearing a return to more normal conditions.
A portrait of a woman in a red jacket

Charlie Pierce picks Edie Grunwald as running mate in Alaska governor’s race

In her appearance alongside Pierce on Saturday, Grunwald said she wanted to purge ineligible voters from participating in elections.
A dog team

Iditarod rookie describes trip down steep and twisty Dalzell Gorge as ‘just zip, zoom, zag, bing, bang, boom’

Teams must navigate the Dalzell Gorge on their way to Rohn. It's marked by a series of steep downhills and some very tight turns.
A dog team mushes in

Iditarod teams met by ‘super good trail’ as they enter Alaska Range

At Rainy Pass Lodge, many mushers soaked up the mountain views and the love from a few excited tourists who arrived on charter planes.

How do mushers afford the Iditarod? Anja Radano says every year it’s a struggle.

Running the Iditarod takes months of preparation, training and a lot of money. While some mushers have major tour businesses and sponsors that help fund their kennels and pay for staff, Radano waits tables to help balance the big bills that come with being a dog musher.
An industrial facility

What the ban on Russian oil could mean for Alaska

There is at least one facility in Alaska that has historically included Russian crude among its foreign imports — the Marathon Refinery in Kenai.
Signs that says "Stand with Ukraine!"

Biden announces Russian oil import ban and warns gas prices could increase even more

President Biden described the move as a critical step to punishing Russian President Vladimir Putin for invading Ukraine, but said as a result, Americans should prepare for price hikes at the pump.
A musher in an orange jacket

Aaron Burmeister first Iditarod musher to reach Nikolai, while Brent Sass is first to dash out

The race started Sunday in Willow. The winner is expected sometime early next week in Nome, on Alaska’s western coast.
A close-up portrait of a man in glasses

Here’s what some of the first Iditarod mushers remember about the early years of the 1,000-mile race

A couple hundred people packed into the basement of Settlers Bay Lodge last week to commemorate the earlier years of the Iditarod. 
A woman ina helmet and parka holds two dogs around her arms

Iditapod bonus: Bridgett Watkins interview with Lex Treinen

Editor's note: This extended interview discusses a violent encounter with a moose and might not be suitable for all listeners. Alaska Public Media's Lex Treinen gets all the details of rookie Iditarod musher Bridgett Watkins' run-in with a moose while on a training run near Salcha, in Interior Alaska, in early February.
A mother and her teenaged daughter hug in a field of sunflowers

Petersburg residents worry about family and friends in Ukraine

Oksana Tolkachova says her family in Ukraine goes to bed every night fully dressed, ready to leave at a moment’s notice.