Top Stories

News stories, radio and TV episodes that warrant one of six spots on our homepage. The homepage is in chronological order of publication date, so stories are moved off the homepage as more are categorized “top stories.”

the Newtok Village Council building

‘We need to get them moved’: Federal agencies visit Newtok and Mertarvik

A Bureau of Indian Affairs team made a rare visit to Newtok by snowmachine Wednesday, after meeting with tribal council members in Mertarvik.
am an speaks into a microphone

With 20 days left in the session, Alaska governor and legislative leaders say they’re optimistic about budget and fiscal plans

Despite deep divides over the size of the PFD, the governor said there could be some “good news” before the end of the session about a fiscal plan.
women hold an era yes sign

Murkowski votes with Democrats to advance Equal Rights Amendment but measure stalls in Senate

Sen. Murkowski co-sponsored the ERA resolution. Sen. Sullivan voted no citing "serious constitutional infirmities."
family of Mark Cook

Family says untreated pain, solitary confinement led to man’s suicide at Juneau prison

Cook is the third person to die in Alaska Department of Corrections custody this year. And his death fits a pattern.

City of Anchorage sets aside more than $800K to pay legal settlements

Mayor Dave Bronson has been accused of wrongful termination by two former employees, and the city faces a lawsuit over work done on a canceled homeless shelter project.
Bert Stedman

Senate proposes one-time $680 increase to per-student funding paired with $1,300 PFD

Senate finance leaders hope to put the proposal to a vote of the full Senate next week, but it will have to be reconciled with the House version.
a hat

Former state trooper found dead on hunting trip near Cordova

Troopers say a pilot scheduled to pick up 44-year-old Alex Arduser on Egg Island found his partially submerged body Tuesday.
Alaska House representatives

Revised bill would require Alaska parents to approve students’ classes, textbooks and lessons

Parents would also have to OK students’ nicknames and pronouns at the start of the school year.

After 5 years of mail-in ballots, Anchorage election officials say voter turnout has gone up

About 28% of registered Anchorage voters cast a ballot in the spring election. It’s the lowest voter turnout since the city moved to by-mail voting. But election officials say it’s still higher than in years before the change.
Three women holding Alaska Native regalia,

Federal commission hears from Alaskans on high rate of missing and murdered Indigenous people

The Not Invisible Act Commission met in Anchorage this week to hear testimony from victims and from advocates working to prevent violence.
A white woman in yellow sitting at a seat

Alaska governor and Anchorage mayor remain close with city library leader, despite her history of offensive remarks

The inflammatory remarks from Anchorage's deputy library director, Judy Eledge, were most recently documented in a story by the Anchorage Daily News and ProPublica that included audio secretly recorded by one of Eledge's subordinates.
Alaska state senators

To avoid spending from savings, Alaska Senate ponders smaller dividend, shrunken school increase

The full Senate is expected to vote on a draft state budget next week as the legislative session nears its end.
Cots and totes are organized on the floor of an arena.

Anchorage’s Sullivan Arena shelter will close to hundreds Monday

Up to 90 people with mobility or other impairments will be able to stay in the shelter until May 31.
small bodies of water dot the tundra

Corps to reconsider permit rejection for proposed Pebble mine

It's a partial win for Pebble on appeal, but mine developers also have an EPA veto to contend with.
a man in a suit

Rep. Peltola’s party-bending chief of staff departs

Alex Ortiz was the last chief of staff for Rep. Don Young and helped cement Peltola's image as bipartisan.
A woman sits in a field of grass

As rural communities prepare for climate change, a UAA scientist is trying to connect them with data

Dr. Micah Hahn received an EPA grant to make air quality and health data easier to access in rural Alaska.

Anchorage’s former Golden Lion Hotel to open as low-income housing next month

Anchorage Homelessness Coordinator Alexis Johnson says the city plans to begin transitioning people into the Golden Lion as the Sullivan Arena mass shelter starts shutting down.
the Alaska State Capitol

State sales or income tax? As Alaska lawmakers consider proposals, economists weigh in

Sales taxes tend to hurt lower income Alaskans more than progressive income taxes, but economists say there are ways to mitigate the harm.
a collage of social media posts and a portrait of a woman

In secret recordings, a top Anchorage library official calls Alaska Natives ‘woke’ and ‘racists’

Despite Judy Eledge’s history of inflammatory comments and social media posts, Anchorage’s mayor placed her in a key position in the city’s library and Alaska’s governor awarded her public money and a national role.

Alaska writer Don Rearden finds AI has his number, and it freaks him out

Don Rearden challenged a bot to write a poem. The result was trippy for him, and for reporter Liz Ruskin.