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.”

Ketchikan trollers

More Southeast Alaska communities set to oppose lawsuit that threatens king salmon fishery

Southeast Alaska governments are speaking out against a lawsuit that threatens to shut down trolling for king salmon across the region this year.
Duke Russell by his Subaru

Duke Russell couldn’t keep walking away from Anchorage’s neediest people. Now he’s feeding hundreds a day.

“Once you see stuff happen, you just can’t walk away anymore, you know?” the Spenard artist said.
Three people sit at a desk talking together.

New developments in Anchorage’s homeless services | Alaska Insight

In late February, Catholic Social Services in Anchorage will open its new 3rd Avenue Navigation Center.
a musher prepares food outside in a cooler

Yukon Quest sled dog race faces an uncertain future

The once-iconic 1,000-mile race has splintered into separate, shorter races on the Alaska and Canadian sides of the border.
Seen from a hill, a snow-covered landscape almost completely obscured by low, dense fog.

Not everybody’s on board with a Fairbanks utility’s deal to source North Slope natural gas

Interior Gas Utility signed a historic 20-year contract with Hilcorp, but some experts are concerned it wasn’t the best option for Interior residents.
woman in brown sitting on a chair

When committee devolves to ‘bickering,’ Alaska congresswoman takes her exit

U.S. Rep. Mary Peltola says she’s seen too much inflammatory rhetoric and too little action.
volunteers put together baggies of personal hygiene products and snacks

Why Alaska’s homelessness experts are ambivalent about the point-in-time count

The federally mandated snapshot of people experiencing homelessness is widely publicized, but an existing system offers more robust and up-to-date information.
A hand holding naloxone

Anchorage police now carrying overdose-reversing naloxone

Anchorage police were among the last major law enforcement agencies in the state to carry naloxone.
Mike Dunleavy

Dunleavy says he will sue over EPA’s veto of Pebble Mine

Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy says he’s going to pursue legal action against the Environmental Protection Agency’s veto of the Pebble Mine.
The Nome court. (Photo: Matthew F. Smith, KNOM file)

Alaska public defenders to refuse some Nome and Bethel cases due to shortage of attorneys

The head of the Alaska Public Defender Agency notified the judges overseeing the Nome and Bethel judicial districts of the plans Tuesday.
a Chinese surveillance balloon

Chinese surveillance balloon passes over Alaska, Montana

U.S. officials said the balloon flew over the Aleutian Islands and through Canada before it was spotted over Billings, Montana.
people in yellow shirts in a meeting room

Contract negotiations to resume after striking Mat-Su bus drivers pack school board meeting

“This bus company does not care about the safety of these children as much as we bus drivers do,” Alice Smith told the school board.

Alaska Public Safety officials release a draft policy to put body cameras on troopers

The seven-page draft policy covers everything from when troopers should turn on the cameras to how and when the footage will be released.
small bodies of water dot the tundra

Federal decisions on Pebble Mine and the Willow drilling project aren’t the final word

Alaska Public Media's Liz Ruskin discusses what's next for the proposed Pebble Mine and the Willow drilling project.
people stand with signs

Alaska senators say $1,000 increase to per student funding is ‘beginning of a conversation’

A bill introduced Wednesday proposes the highest single-year increase to the base student allocation, but some say it’s not enough.
Daniel Winfree

Retiring from the high court, Alaska’s chief justice defends its system of selecting judges

Members of the Senate’s coalition majority say they don’t expect changes to the system before the 2024 election, but others aren’t sure.
cruise ships on the water

Facing busier tourist seasons, Wrangell is buying high-end port-a-potties off eBay

Wrangell’s only downtown public restroom is a small brown building with just two toilets.
a young child in the hospital

A single-shot treatment to protect infants from RSV may be coming soon

Up to 80,000 children under age 5 in the U.S. are admitted to the hospital for RSV each year.

Congresswoman Peltola hires Josh Revak, a Republican former rival, to run her Alaska office

“We may have different party affiliations, but the job is about serving all Alaskans,” Revak said
people wave signs on a picket line

No new offer in Mat-Su school bus drivers’ strike as parents’ anger builds

The bus strike has tangled transportation in a district that serves roughly 19,000 students across a region about the size of West Virginia.