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.

Anchorage Cab Driver Charged With Assault

Anchorage police say a cab driver has been charged with sexual assault. Paul Velasco was arrested Tuesday and ordered held on $100,000 bail. Police say Velasco on May 1 took a call for a woman wanting a ride from East Sixth Avenue to her home on Newell Street. Police say Velasco instead took the 42-year-old woman to a trailer court and assaulted her.

Alaska National Guard calls up 65 members for state coronavirus response, hundreds more on standby

The Guard’s planes and helicopters could be key to moving sick people from rural Alaska to advanced medical care.

Language Tool Teaches Tlingit Alphabet

The Tlingit language includes 50 letters, including some sounds that are not found in other languages.

Tax Relief Proponents Gather Petition Signatures

The Fairbanks Borough is seeking voter signatures statewide for an initiative petition to change state rules that govern local property tax exemptions. Dan Bross, KUAC...

Alaska Native Languages Bill Clears Final House Committee

A bill that would symbolically make 20 Alaska Native languages official state languages is heading to the House floor for a vote. Download Audio

Aniak Fuel Spill May Be Smaller Than Reported

Shane Iverson, KYUK – Bethel The Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation believes that a sizeable fuel spill in the Kuskokwim River village of...

Have questions about police accountability and use of force in Alaska? We’ve got some answers.

What does data show about police shootings and use of force in Alaska, particularly when it’s used on people of color? What do we know about how officers are disciplined for violating those policies? We ask and answer those questions, and others, about Anchorage police and the Alaska State Troopers.

‘Not in our Smokehouse’ calls elders and youth to action

The Elders and Youth Conference kicked off in Anchorage today. This year’s theme is a call to action “Not in Our Smokehouse!” Download Audio

Oil spill in the Tongass Narrows

Clean-up crews are on the scene of an oil spill that occurred this morning in the Tongass narrows across from Ketchikan International Airport. The...

Senators aim for $1,600 dividends, early school funding

The Senate Finance Committee draft budget would cut $98 million to fund the operations of state government from the House’s version of the budget. Listen now
Pete Kaiser poses with two of his dogs on a snowy finish line.

Bethel’s Pete Kaiser notches his 6th Kusko 300 win

Three former champions overcame an icy, windy trail to finish at the front of the 2022 Kuskokwim 300. The race also teased at the future of Kuskokwim mushing, with other local mushers also finishing in the top 10.

In Sitka, mild winters push deer population to near-capacity

A biologist attributes the boom in deer population to mild winters since the “Snowpocalypse” of 2007-8. But in biological terms, huge deer numbers are not necessarily a great thing.

Verdict looms in Sockeye Fire trial

A half-dozen jurors are set to decide whether an Anchorage couple started a costly Willow wildfire in 2015, known as the Sockeye Fire. Listen now
Four Alaska Native men stand in a log room

Federal judge dismisses Fairbanks Four’s civil case

The Fairbanks Four’s attorney says they will appeal to the 9th Circuit Court. He expects that process to take another two years.

Former Naknek Electric Association manager sentenced for embezzling over $500,000

Donna Vukich, 60, was sentenced to almost three years in prison for misappropriating funds from the utility. Federal authorities said this is the largest embezzlement from an organization receiving federal funds ever prosecuted in Alaska.

Alaska News Nightly: Monday, Nov. 23, 2015

With leadership overhaul, Walker consolidates gas line power; Costco won't sell genetically engineered salmon, for now; Starving sea birds stranded in Anchorage, Mat-Su; Sitka tribal council pens FBI, alleging racism in police dept; Fairbanks building awaits demolition... or revitalization?; Juneau high school sleep-out raises $3K for homeless youth; Family remembers man who died at AFN; Ailing Coast Guard cutter gets replacement with same name Download Audio

Graduation Marks 10th Anniversary Of Dental Health Aide Therapist Program

A group of six dental health aide therapists graduated from training Friday in Anchorage. The ceremony also marked the 10th anniversary of the innovative program that places mid-level dental practitioners in under-served rural communities across Alaska. 81 villages in the state now have therapists. Download Audio
Crime scene tape.

Palmer police make arrests in 2 early-year homicides

Palmer police say the town typically sees one domestic violence homicide per year — but officers have responded to two in the first week of 2024.
Boats in a sweeping bend in a river

Dillingham urges governor to close Bristol Bay fishery

The City of Dillingham and the Curyung Tribal Council wrote a strongly worded letter to Governor Mike Dunleavy Monday urging him to consider closing Bristol Bay’s commercial fishery to protect the community from the coronavirus pandemic.

Charges Dropped Against Man With Wolf Hybrid Dogs

Dan Bross, KUAC – Fairbanks Charges have been dropped against a Healy man accused of keeping two illegal wolf hybrid dogs.  Fairbanks Assistant...