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.”

Rare ‘Red Lightning’ Garners National Attention

A graduate student from the University of Alaska, Fairbanks has garnered national media attention after he posted photos of a rare lightning-related phenomenon to his blog. Download Audio

Bethel Votes to Reverses Damp Status

Alcohol will become unrestricted in Bethel. Bethel has been damp for 32 year but that's sure to change now. Proposition One ...

GCI customers can keep email accounts set to be shut down – for a fee

A once-temporary $4.99 monthly fee for email accounts will now be permanent, company officials said in a statement.
Gabrielle LeDoux

Former Alaska legislator’s voter misconduct trial postponed, again

The trial has been rescheduled at least four times since Gabrielle LeDoux and two associates were accused of voter misconduct in 2020.
A row of cares lines up and a medical worker in a blue suit stands by at a window

Anchorage opens pop-up COVID-19 testing sites, encourages everyone to get tested

The city is setting up pop up testing sites over the next several weeks.

Alaska Will Collect Millions from Federal Grant Program

Twenty-seven million dollars will be going to rural Alaska communities this year for schools and government services provided to areas where the federal government...
A man in a mask and a baseball hat stands in front of a plastic shield. On the other side, a man in a mask sits at a table

Election review shrinks Anchorage house race margin to 13 votes

The official results showed some margins shrink, but there were no changes in the outcomes.

Voices of Glacier Bay: An Adventure in Sound

Alaska writers and naturalists Richard Nelson and Hank Lentfer are nearing the end of a two-year project recording the "Voices of Glacier Bay." The project is a collaboration between Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve, University of Alaska Southeast and Cornell University, which houses the world’s largest collection of natural sounds. Nelson and Lentfer hope to change how others experience the world through a dimension beyond what we can see. They want us to listen and listen closely. Download Audio:
The bow of a white cruise ship

Alaska joins Florida in federal lawsuit over pandemic cruise ship rules

The lawsuit says the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is overstepping its authority with the Conditional Sailing Order, which imposes strict COVID-19 safety precautions on the cruise industry.

In this Alaska House race in East Anchorage, education funding issues hit close to home

The race between Democrat Donna Mears and Republican Forrest Wolfe is one of several close races that could impact the future of education funding in the state.

‘Out of the Wilderness’ chronicles Papa Pilgrim’s abuse, his daughter’s escape and her journey to forgiveness

The oldest of 15 Pilgrim family siblings, Elishaba Doerksen, has written a book, "Out of the Wilderness," in which she details her father's abuse and explains how she escaped from him despite being shuttered away in the wilderness near McCarthy.
An oil platform in ocean

Hilcorp will assess Cook Inlet gas line after “permanent” fix

Hilcorp operation managers were in Kenai Friday to speak at an Alliance luncheon. Cook Inlet Offshore Operations Manager Stan Golis updated the pro-oil industry group on recent oil and gas leaks. Listen now
Keir Starmer

Britain swings to the center-left in historic U.K. election landslide

After 14 years of Conservative rule, Britons elected a new government dominated by the Labour Party, in its first national victory in nearly 20 years.

The real Sitka journey of Steinbeck’s ‘Doc Ricketts’

A new collection of essays about one of the most iconic figures in American literature has been published, shedding new light on his connections to Alaska. "Ed Ricketts, from Cannery Row to Sitka, Alaska" explores the relationship between the noted biologist of the title, and John Steinbeck, the Nobel-prize winning author who immortalized him. Download Audio
several red lights at a snowy intersection

Anchorage Assembly rejects a right-on-red ban in downtown

The measure would’ve banned vehicles from turning right at red lights in the area between 3rd and 9th avenues and Gambell and L streets.

Is 'threatened' status of polar bears being held up for Chukchi oil & gas leases?

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service director Dale Hall was back before another congressional panel today answering questions about why a decision on whether to...

Alaska permafrost thaw is clue in mystery of Arctic methane explosions

Arctic methane explosions and the scientists who love to study them are the focus of the newest episode of the public television program Nova.

Oil Companies Protest Possibly Losing Tax Breaks

Photo and Story by Libby Casey, APRN – Washington DC The heads of the nation’s biggest oil companies say they can’t handle losing...
a man poses for a portrait outside in a kuspuk with glasses

Remembering Joe Senungetuk, a practitioner in the art of resistance

The Inupiaq artist, who died on May 31, leaves behind many contemporary art fans who loved his carvings, sculptures, and paintings.

Alaska crime up 6 percent, officials say

Across Alaska, crime is up. That's according to data released today by the Department of Public Safety comparing 2017 to 2016. In its Uniform Crime Report, the department said that statewide, crime rose by 6 percent last year. Listen now