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.”

older man speaks at podium

Alaska law enforcement seizes almost 2.5 million doses of fentanyl this summer

Investigators also seized roughly 50 pounds each of heroin and methamphetamine, plus about 30 pounds of cocaine.
kids playing in Newtok

Newtok residents are desperate to relocate after September storm

Newtok is among more than 40 communities in Western Alaska affected by the storm.
fishing boats

Rewrite of federal fisheries law navigates rough partisan waters

Even though a rewrite of the Magnuson-Stevens Act cleared the House Natural Resources Committee, its path forward is anything but guaranteed.

Kodiak’s St. Paul Preschool is closing, adding to island’s childcare shortage

St. Paul Preschool administrators say they can’t find a new director to keep the school open.
two men side by side

Challengers fillet Dunleavy’s fish policies at Kodiak debate

Gov. Mike Dunleavy didn't attend Monday's debate. The two gubernatorial candidates who did attend, Les Gara and former Gov. Bill Walker, took aim at his policies.
Goose Creek Prison. Photo by Ellen Lockyer, KSKA - Anchorage.

15th person dies this year in Alaska Corrections custody

William Ben Hensley III, 34, was pronounced dead Sunday at Goose Creek Correctional Center. He had been in Corrections custody for one month.

Dunleavy, Tshibaka are no-shows for Kodiak candidate debates

Gov. Mike Dunleavy didn't attend Monday's gubernatorial debate in Kodiak, with Kelly Tshibaka skipping Tuesday's U.S. Senate debate.
A large tan building with people around the steps

More than 100 people move to Sullivan Arena homeless shelter after city closes Centennial Campground

Anchorage homelessness coordinator Alexis Johnson says roughly 100 people are still staying at Centennial Campground.
three people sit down for a meal

The hidden faces of hunger in America

More than 1.2 million people struggled to put food on the table at some point last year in the Washington, D.C. region. Tens of millions more are struggling across the country.
a very large brown bear in the water

It’s that time of year again: Katmai’s Fat Bear Week is back

The competition began in 2014, and has grown into a national phenomenon.
damaged boats and sheds in chevak

A storm is on track to hit a portion of Western Alaska pummeled by last month’s typhoon remnants

The new storm developing in Russia is anticipated to move north of the Siberian Peninsula toward Alaska midweek.
bus driver speaking in microphone

Anchorage School District says rotating bus schedule will continue until further notice

District leaders had previously hoped to end its rotating bus schedule by the start of October. But not enough drivers are coming back from tourism jobs in time.
a black and white photo of a man preparing to go on the radio

‘An egregious act of spiritual abuse’: Behind the closure of Juneau’s Memorial Presbyterian Church

Presbyterian church leaders have determined that closing the church was an act of racism.
a man writes at a table inside

His grandmother was forbidden to speak Lingít in school. Now, school is helping him reclaim it.

Learning the language at University of Alaska Southeast has been key to Dave Ketah’s journey

Infusing language and culture into Alaska education | Alaska Insight

September 30th-Orange Shirt Day is an annual remembrance of the boarding school era on Native people when children were torn away from their families. What does it mean to decolonize education?
A group of preschoolers sits in a circle singing Alutiiq songs.

A new generation of Alutiiq speakers fight language loss in Kodiak

Half of the people whose first language is Kodiak Alutiiq have died over the last few years. But that’s not stopping new speakers from learning Alutiiq and passing along a distinct culture and worldview to the next generations.

‘It’s a lot’: Homeless residents at Anchorage campground get ready to move out following days of uncertainty

Some say they'll go back to the Sullivan Arena shelter, which the city confirmed on Thursday would reopen.
A dog team on a snowy day

Alaska musher and reality star Jessie Holmes injured while cleaning up storm damage

Holmes was trapped underneath the pile of plywood, insulation and other building materials.
A woman in a beige blazer and a man with glasses and a mustache sit onstage and listen intently to someone in the far left corner of the stage.

Watch the debate on whether Alaska should hold a constitutional convention

Organized by Alaska Public Media & UAA’s Seawolf Debate Program, proponents and opponents of the constitutional convention question make their case.

Providence pressured patients to pay, even when eligible for free care, according to New York Times

The nonprofit Providence hospital system includes Alaska's largest hospital.