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 woman receives a nasal swab Covid test outside of the Denali Federal Credit Union Operations Center.

‘A steep downward trajectory’: Alaska sees 50% drop in reported COVID cases this week

Alaska’s downward trend follows other states' declines in case counts.

The state’s new budget director is a well-known fiscal hawk

Donna Arduin has worked on cutting spending for governors in six other states. She’s expected to propose deep cuts to address the $1.6 billion hole in the state’s budget.

Why this Alaska glacier is surging ahead of the others?

Geologic changes typically move slow. But one glacier in Denali National Park and Preserve could be moving at a decidedly un-glacial pace. Scientists think it’s doing something only a small amount of glaciers do, an event called “surging.” Listen now

Don Young Releases Latest Figures for Legal Defense

Alaska’s lone U.S. House member is continuing to rack up hefty legal bills. Congressman Don Young is also still paying them out of money...

Delegation, Environmentalists Debate Arctic Drilling Permitting Process

Photo and Story by Libby Casey, APRN – Washington DC Shell Oil Company has been waiting five years to get permission to drill ...

Governor Palin set to announce capital expenditure choices for fiscal 2008

Governor Palin is expected tomorrow to take action on the operating and capital budgets that came out of this year's legislature. And she will...

Air Force General dies at Elmendorf AFB

Brigadier General Thomas Tinsley was declared dead last night at 10:30 p.m. following an apparently self-inflicted gunshot wound to his chest. It's unclear whether...

Fairbanks woman charged with the murder of her two children

A Fairbanks woman is charged with killing her two infant children. Listen now

“We all walk the same paths”: Elder keynote address highlights generational parallels

Today heard a keynote address from Clare Swan, a Dena’ina Athabascan elder from the Kenaitze tribe on the Kenai Peninsula. Swan’s speech focused on the changes she’s seen in her lifetime, including the effects of commercial pressure on subsistence fishing, and population growth in Southcentral Alaska. Listen now

AK: Sawmill Farm, Tongass farm country

The Tongass Rainforest isn’t what you’d picture as a candidate for farm country. The terrain is rugged, the soil unstable, and it rains over 100 inches a year. The vast majority of Sitkans get their meat and dairy products off a barge, shipped hundreds of miles. But Bobbi Daniels of the Sawmill Farm is determined to change that. Listen now
Four air force firemen stand with a woman in front of the rear of a fire truck

With ‘baskets of love’ Anchorage woman marks 17th year of 9/11 memorial project

Donna Baker has become a familiar face at fire stations across the city with her annual appreciation effort.

Rescuers Continue Search for Man Missing Near Nome

Ben Matheson, KNOM – Nome Search and rescue crews from Nome and Teller are continuing the search for John Koezuna. The Rescue Coordination Center...

Fish and Game review recommends hatchery stray research in Farragut River

King salmon produced at Southeast Alaska hatcheries have been found at a higher level in the Farragut River, about 30 miles from Petersburg.
A person in masks, gloves and a white coat gives a shot in another person's arm.

CDC backs expansion of COVID boosters for all adults

CDC Director Rochelle Walensky gave the green light to boosters just hours after a panel of vaccine advisors voted unanimously to recommend boosters for anyone 18 and older.

How a longer growing season affects gardening | Alaska Insight

On this Alaska Insight, host Lori Townsend is joined by Anchorage horticulturist Debbie Hinchey and Will Criner, manager of gardens and facilities at the Alaska Botanical Garden to discuss what's new with growing and harvesting in your backyard.
A white man in a suit sits in front of a computer

Anchorage mayor urges calm in mask debate, apologizes for Holocaust statement

Anchorage Mayor Dave Bronson issued a statement Thursday urging calm among attendees at city Assembly meetings and apologizing for his own statement comparing a city mask ordinance to the Holocaust.

Texting While Driving Now Illegal in Alaska

Governor Parnell today (Thursday) put the final touches on a law that legislators thought they had handled four years ago. With his signature, it is now illegal to send or read a text message while you are driving. Period, no question about it.

Sealaska sues Nieman Marcus for allegedly using Native design in $2,500 coat

Sealaska Heritage Institute has filed a federal lawsuit against the high-end fashion retailer Neiman Marcus, alleging the company copied a traditional Ravenstail pattern when it produced a coat that retails for more than $2,500.
A square, beige heater.

Toyostoves are scarce this year. That’s bad news for keeping homes in rural Alaska warm.

Step into any home in rural Alaska and there’s a good chance that a Toyostove is what’s keeping it warm. Toyostoves are heaters that run efficiently on stove oil. But the supply of Toyostoves in Alaska is running low, and it’s yet another symptom of the COVID-19 pandemic.
the Alaska Legislature

Republicans lead in majority of Alaska House seats, with potential for more

Ranked choice voting results may add to the Republican lead, with implications for House leadership.