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.”

Anchorage’s Mobile Crisis Team hopes funding to operate 24/7 will expand ability to address mental health crises

For the last year, the MCT has been on the streets, responding to mental health crises. A few months ago, it got funding from the city to operate 24/7.

Ironman Alaska athletes likely spent millions while they were in Juneau

Ironman Alaska finishers Richard Secretaria and Joseph Paray figure that, between themselves and their significant others, they spent around $8,000 on their trip.

Ballot measure to defund Ketchikan’s library over drag queen storytime certified for Oct. 4 election

Only people who live in unincorporated areas of the borough will be eligible to vote on the measure.

Cheney and Murkowski: Trump critics facing divergent futures

They hail from their states' most prominent Republican families. They have been among the GOP's sharpest critics of former President Donald Trump.
a person holds a voting sticker in a polling place

View the latest vote tallies in Alaska’s special U.S. House and primary elections

Alaska voters on Aug. 16 cast their ballots in the state's first ranked choice election to decide who will serve the remainder of the late Congressman Don Young's Term.

Supreme Court rules against forward funding for education, confirms limit on legislative power

The decision settles a three-year-old dispute between the Legislature and Gov. Mike Dunleavy.

Sweeney files as official write-in candidate in special US House race

Republican Tara Sweeney finished fifth in the June special primary, just below the cut-off to appear on the special general election ballot.
A view from a plane of steep slopes, with poor visibility

Families of tourists killed in 2021 floatplane crash near Ketchikan sue Holland America and Southeast Aviation

The lawsuit comes just over a year after a DeHavilland Beaver floatplane crashed into treetops on a steep slope in Misty Fjords National Monument Wilderness, about 12 miles northeast of Ketchikan.

Anchorage Assembly looks into vetting future mayoral appointments following health director’s fabricated resume

"I think it’s really important that all of the appointments that came forth under this administration be reviewed again, and that we know the facts,” said Assembly member Kameron Perez-Verdia.
A man drives a small boat

The important role of water taxis in Alaska | INDIE ALASKA

When a massive, unexpected landslide blocked the only road to Lowell Point, Tom Miller knew his water taxi service was the only way to move residents, school children, and tourists back and forth to the nearby town of Seward.
a person cheers through a cafe

Groups get creative to help Alaska voters understand ranked voting ahead of Aug. 16 election

The first ranked voting election will be the Aug. 16 special U.S. House election.
small bodies of water dot the tundra

Despite setbacks, Pebble Mine gets new investment of $9.4 million

The new investor signed an agreement for even greater potential investment over a two-year period — up to $47 million in total.
three people standing, with two women shaking hands.

Why Republicans in Alaska’s first ranked choice election reserve their venom for each other

Sarah Palin and Nick Begich are going after each other in the special U.S. House race.
Three white men in three different photos side by side.

3 well-funded conservatives are running for Alaska governor. 1 will likely not survive the primary.

Next week’s primary election is going to pare the list of 10 gubernatorial candidates to four, and it’s unlikely that Wasilla Rep. Christopher Kurka and Kenai Peninsula Borough Mayor Charlie Pierce can both survive.
The wreckage of a small white and blue plane leans against a stand of spruce trees.

NTSB says 2 pilots in fatal Soldotna crash had ‘unobscured’ view of each other’s plane

The National Transportation Safety Board is not yet pointing to one probable cause for the crash. But the new, 11-page report zooms out on the many factors that could’ve contributed, like visibility.
A man in a tie stands in front of two men ins uits

Anchorage students will go weeks without bus service amid driver shortage

The Anchorage School District only has enough drivers to serve 7,000 students out of the 20,000 that use the bus.
Joe Gerace walks by a sign in front of building that reads "Sullivan Arena"

How we reported our story on the fabricated resume of now former Anchorage health director Joe Gerace

A joint investigation between Alaska Public Media's Lex Treinen and American Public Media's Curtis Gilbert found that Joe Gerace misrepresented his military, medical and educational background to get a job leading Anchorage's health department.
a close up photo of a person's hand filling up a gas tank

Inflation is cooling thanks to gas prices, but many things still cost a lot more

Falling gasoline prices put a dent in the July inflation rate, which fell to 8.5% from 9.1% in June. But other costs such as housing continue to climb, putting a strain on many family budgets.
a woman in a blue shirt stands in an empty smokehouse

How Alaskans on the lower Yukon River are faring 2 years into the chum salmon crash

Without salmon, people say they’re eating less protein and spending far more on groceries.