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 yellow orb with black background

A second version of omicron is spreading. Here’s why scientists are on alert.

It's a sibling of the first omicron variant that swept the world. Is it more contagious? Does it cause severe disease? Will it keep current omicron surges going? Researchers are looking for answers.
A musher and dogs race to a finish line lined with people

The K300 starts Friday and it will look a bit different this year. Here’s what to know.

“It’s going to be a fast trail, that’s for sure, at least in the lower part of the river,” said the race manager.

In the state’s largest school districts, families wait for last year’s food assistance

According to the Food Bank of Alaska, just 28 school districts in the state have received P-EBT funds for the 2020-2021 school year. Families in the state’s largest districts – Anchorage, the Matanuska-Susitna Borough, Fairbanks and others – are still waiting.

After vandalism, museum continues to share Jewish life in Alaska

https://youtu.be/v3z0j-sBtWA Incidents of antisemitism have been on the rise nationally and worldwide. Here in Alaska, a series of events last year highlighted the need for...
A bunch of people in a chamber

Anchorage Mayor Bronson vetoes Assembly rules regarding silent protest and ‘dangerous or distracting’ items

In a statement Wednesday night, Bronson called the rules an infringement on public speech and state laws concerning firearm possession.

Anchorage nordic skier Rosie Brennan heads to Beijing Olympics with high hopes for herself — and the next generation of athletes

Anchorage resident and U.S. cross-country ski team member Rosie Brennan says she's helped by her experience, not just in Olympic or World Cup racing, but in having already navigated the first year of a global pandemic as an athlete.
A wolf ru8nning in the snow as seen from above

64 wolves taken in controversial Prince of Wales harvest

The Alaska Department of Fish & Game reported Wednesday that some 64 wolves were taken during a month-long hunting and trapping season on and around Prince of Wales Island. The most recent population estimate, from fall of 2020, says there’s around 386 wolves in the area.
A white man in a zipper fleexe stands next to an american flag

Alaska joins Texas to sue over National Guard vaccine rule

JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy has joined Texas Gov. Greg Abbott in seeking to block the U.S. Department of Defense from mandating COVID-19 vaccines for National Guard members who are under state command.
A red salmon as seen from underwater

Tribal groups petition federal government to eliminate or limit Bering Sea salmon bycatch

The petition asks the U.S. Department of Commerce to eliminate chinook salmon bycatch in the Bering Sea completely and to put a cap on chum salmon bycatch. It does not specify an acceptable limit for chum bycatch.
Construction workers stand on a wooden platform with a stack of lumber next to them on a sunny day in the tundra

More tiny homes are coming to the Y-K Delta, thanks to pandemic relief funds. But are they a good idea?

A surge of new housing is coming to the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta. Most of those new units are slated to be of the trendy, tiny home variety. But with households in the region generally much larger than the national average, some tribes are questioning whether tiny homes are a good fit for the communities.
A dog team tied up in a harness

Kuskokwim mushers cope with extreme cold, rain and glare ice: ‘It’s been weird’

Some Kuskokwim mushers competing in this weekend’s K300 race say that they’ve been contending with some of the most challenging training conditions of their careers.

Anchorage Assembly asks court to dismiss Bronson lawsuit over his firing of chief equity officer

Attorneys for the Assembly ask that the judge dismiss the mayor’s lawsuit, stating that the mayor’s legal claims “depend on a foundational misunderstanding of the ordinance and the Anchorage Municipal Charter.”
woman at a microphone with an alaska flag behind her.

Alaska’s COVID case count keeps climbing

COVID was the 4th leading cause of death for Alaska in 2020.
A courtroom

Suspect’s college girlfriend and lead trooper investigator testify in Sophie Sergie murder trial

The former girlfriend and chief investigator of the 1993 murder of Sophie Sergie took witness stand in a Fairbanks courtroom on Tuesday to testify in a case that was cold for nearly three decades.
A photo of a multi-story building.

Alaska Senate rejects salary boost proposal for legislators

The Alaska Senate on Wednesday unanimously rejected a proposal that would raise the annual salary for lawmakers but place new restrictions on the daily allowance that they can receive.
A headshot of a woman with short blonde hair, wearing a blue polo.

Biden picks Anchorage attorney to serve as U.S. attorney for Alaska

S. Lane Tucker is an attorney in the Anchorage office of the law firm Stoel Rives LLP.
Two women talk to each other inside

Tongans in Juneau wrestle with how best to help loved ones affected by the eruption and tsunami

Telephone links between Tonga and the rest of the world are slowly being reconnected, but they’re unreliable, and the internet is still down.
Two people in red jackets pose for a photo

Anchorage skier Scott Patterson’s US championship was a Hail Mary. Now he’s headed to the Olympics.

Scott Patterson and his sister Caitlin grew up skiing in Anchorage. And now both compete at the highest level of the sport.
Three pPolyneesian women stnad around a table piled with clothing and fold it

Here’s how to help Tonga tsunami relief efforts in Anchorage

The Polynesian community in Anchorage is collecting donations they hope to ship to Tonga as soon as possible.
A man in a suit and tie behind a podium.

Dunleavy calls on Legislature to take action on PFD, state land sale and food security in State of State address

And he urged lawmakers to prove people wrong who say nothing will get done in an election year.