Top Stories

The first 30-day session would begin on May 20, the day after the regular session ends. It will focus on finishing work on the state budget, and on a constitutional amendment intended to protect the Permanent Fund’s earnings reserve, permanent fund dividends and a fund lowering rural electricity costs.

A bill targeting plastic waste in the ocean and other marine debris cleared the U.S. Senate last week. Sen. Dan Sullivan sponsored it, with support from right and left. Listen now

The remains of 17 service members who died in a 1952 plane crash near Mount Gannett have been identified by the Department of Defense and will soon be returned to their families. An Alaska National Guard Blackhawk helicopter crew discovered the crash site two summers ago on Colony Glacier during a training exercise. A team went back to the site to recover what they could later that month. Some of the family members reflected on the experience. Download Audio

Talking about mental health is hard, but it’s important for anyone who is struggling to know that they’re not alone. Alaska Public Media’s Adam Nicely brings us this story of an Anchorage community project with that goal, called Mental Health Mosaics.

Anchorage officials are again asking people, businesses and medical providers to donate protective equipment "immediately," including homemade masks. Despite community donations so far, Anchorage continues to face a shortage of personal protective equipment, the city says.

Republican James Kaufman and Democrat-nominated Independent Suzanne LaFrance are battling to represent House District 28, in South Anchorage, including the Hillside and Girdwood. Both say solving Alaska’s fiscal crisis is their first priority, but their strategies are different.

In a Tuesday letter, lawyers for the bank holding debt for renovations threaten to sue the state over breach of contract. Download Audio

Alaska Public Media’s Wesley Early spoke with Bronson last week about his first year in public office, and his future goals for addressing homelessness and navigating a stark divide with the local Assembly. 

Now, everything that was hypothetical is going to get real. One of the big questions that could finally get answered this: what oil companies, if any, are actually interested in drilling in the Refuge? Listen now

Anchorage police originally charged Tallon Westlake with manslaughter.

Unlike most judges, her background is not as a prosecutor or major corporate lawyer, and her personal life also defies stereotypes.

The charges against Kirby Calderwood are the first public explanation of what happened to Anesha “Duffy” Murnane since she went missing in October 2019.

BP, which has been a major employer in Alaska for decades, is planning to sell all of its assets in the state to Hilcorp, a smaller, private company.

The 1,000-mile Yukon Quest was canceled for the second year straight, but organizers are hoping to experiment on a shortened 350-mile course this year by allowing mushers to take their mandatory rest on the trail, instead of in checkpoints. 

Final preliminary results posted Tuesday night by the Alaska Division of Elections show 161,614 people voted in the special election for U.S. House, Alaska’s first statewide election by mail.

“Looking at the store, I mean I grew up with it all my life, and so did practically everyone here. It was our only store standing," said Lydia Raymond-Snowball. "Now it’s gone."

Legislative candidates are handling the weekslong wait in different ways. For Cathy Giessel, it’s spending some time catching up on less political activities, like quilting.