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.”

A helicopter in the sky

Victims of Sitka charter wreck identified as a local boat captain and visitors from California and Hawaii

The passengers aboard the fishing charter boat were two sisters and their partners visiting Alaska from out of state.
a person speaks into a microphone

400 military officers were just promoted. Sen. Sullivan says the confirmation blockade shouldn’t have lasted so long.

Sen. Tuberville has blocked every military confirmation vote since February to protest an abortion policy. He finally relented.

Dispute looms over Anchorage parking meter policy

The battle centers on a new plan to start charging at parking meters during weekends, and whether the changes will drive business in or out of the area.

Climber collapses, dies on Denali

A 51-year-old climber died on Denali Friday evening after collapsing at the summit. Eli Menaker, APRN - Anchorage
Juneau

The average single-family home costs more in Juneau than anywhere else in Alaska, study says

New economic data from the Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development reveals higher costs for almost everything.

Video shows teen tasered repeatedly in Sitka jail

Sitka police are defending their actions in the arrest of an 18-year-old man last year, who was tasered multiple times in his jail cell. A Sitka teacher over the weekend posted a video showing the arrest of a Native high school student. Download Audio

Pebble boosts spending to lobby feds

Washington, D.C. firms report Pebble paid them $1.2 million to lobby Congress and the executive branch in 2018.

EPA Appeals Board Lets Air Quality Permit for Chukchi Drilling Go Through, but New GAO Study Says Government Still Not Adequately Prepared for Arctic Offshore Spill

The air quality permits for Shell Oil's Chukchi Sea drilling plans have passed muster with an appeals board of the Environmental Protection Agency.  A...

Alaska Senators No Fans of Iran Deal

The Obama administration faced a tough crowd this morning as it defended its nuclear agreement with Iran in Congress. Both of Alaska’s senators are among the chorus of lawmakers who say the deal is bad for the U.S. Download Audio
Homes clustered in the grass, under a cloud

Adak — the nation’s westernmost city — made it 18 months with only one COVID case, until now

City Manager Layton Lockett said the city has nine new cases of the virus — all of them visitors to the remote island. It's the first time the virus has reached the community of roughly 100 people since they recorded their first case last December.

Murkowski at odds with Trump’s call to end NEA funding

President Trump’s budget calls for ending funding for the National Endowment for the Arts. The NEA has been a frequent target of Republicans, but U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski supports the endowment, and Tuesday she won an award for it. Listen now

Most Alaska students are not proficient in reading and math, state test scores show

Seventy percent of third through ninth graders were not proficient in English, while 77% were not proficient in math.
a bottle of pills

Safeway to pay feds $3M after Wasilla pharmacy lost thousands of pain pills

The supermarket chain Safeway Inc. has agreed to pay $3 million dollars in a settlement that involves missing pain medication from a pharmacy in Wasilla. Listen now

Prosecutors argue Stevens trial should stay in DC

The prosecutors in the case against Senator Ted Stevens say his trial should not be moved to Alaska.  In documents filed yesterday in US...

Jury hears taped phone calls between Bill Allen and Ted Stevens

Jurors in the trial of Alaska Senator Ted Stevens listened this morning to three audio recordings of conversations between Stevens and former Veco CEO...
Nunam Iqua

Nunam Iqua man charged with murdering woman during snowmachine trip

Fredrick Abraham, 25, was arrested after 30-year-old Joan Camille's death during a March 15 trip between Nunam Iqua and Emmonak.
People standing in front of white capitol dome holding banners that say protect the Arctic.

Biden hires more Arctic drilling opponents for Interior Department

Interior's new communication director and a BOEM advisor worked to block Arctic oil projects.
A sign on a beige wall that says "Anchorage Health Department"

Anchorage reproductive health officer fired

Sharon Smith says she was fired without any explanation, the latest in a string of departures from the health department.
A man in a tie and jacket stands in front of a podium, flanked by three people.

Alaska seeks to collect more than 20,000 missing DNA samples from people charged with crimes

Alaska law requires that state and local law enforcement agencies collect DNA samples from all people charged with a crime against another person or a felony. But over the past 25 years, that hasn't happened in thousands of cases.
An Iditarod musher poses with two dogs wearing yellow flowers.

Iditapod: A familiar champ for a unique Iditarod

Dallas Seavey has won the 2021 Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, tying Rick Swenson's five first-place finishes for the most ever. Will he be back next year to vie for a sixth? That is the question... Also, a sleepless but not tired Alaska Public Media reporter Tegan Hanlon fills us in on the scene at the finish, including interviews with Seavey and Aaron Burmeister, who took second.