Top Stories

The Anchorage School Board amended their budget to account for proposed legislative funding cuts.

Over the past four days, we have brought you stories that go out into the field for an in-depth look at Alaska's rural sanitation situation - a series we call "Kick the Bucket." We have seen how the lack of modern sanitation is linked to disease as people strain the limits of their clean water supply. And we have looked at the implications of decreasing funding and looming maintenance expenses in villages with a limited cash economy. Today we’ll wrap up the series by trying to look into the future.

In an email Monday, the Department of Law told staff it is cutting 15 positions across the state to close a 6% budget gap.

Research shows that kids who age out of the foster care system are less likely to finish high school, find jobs, or go to college. But one organization in Anchorage is trying to change the outcome for former foster kids and other young adults who need to learn the skills to live independently. Download Audio

A disagreement between neighbors living several miles outside Nome city limits is set to go to trial over a dispute that centers on what’s acceptable when it comes to noise—and smell—from a dog kennel. Download Audio:

Juneau schools have received five phone calls threatening school shootings in the past two weeks. In each instance, nothing was found, but the threats had to be addressed. Here’s how schools and police responded to the incidents.

If you didn't hear the rendition of the Alaska Flag Song by a Japanese choral ensemble last week at Anchorage's Alaska Performing Arts Center, you missed something special. The finale of the musical play, "Samurai Musher" brought the audience to its feet to sing along with the cast.  The play told the story of Japanese musher Jujiro Wada, and although the curtain has come down on the play, Wada's story is still unfolding. Download Audio

This week, Dillingham landfill employees began burning municipal trash. Download Audio:

The deactivation of an engineering unit at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson this month is a small piece amid larger changes for the Army in Alaska. Download Audio:

Hooligan fishing is a tradition for many people in the Upper Lynn Canal. But this spring, those who fish in the Chilkoot had disappointing results. Researchers say the mysterious fish seem to have turned right instead of left into the Taiya, near Skagway, instead of the Chilkoot. And there’s no way to know exactly why. Download Audio:

Skagway’s modern gold rush – the cruise ship season – has begun. The town of around 1,000 people expects almost 800,000 cruise ship passengers this summer. And the first 2,000 of those passengers had a chance to explore town Tuesday. The Celebrity Solstice sailed north from Vancouver, with stops in Ketchikan, Juneau, and Skagway. Listen now:

Two big hospitals in Anchorage have competing visions for how to expand access to emergency care. Alaska Regional wants to build two freestanding emergency departments on opposite ends of the city while Providence is hoping to add beds to specialize in pediatric emergencies on its campus. Listen now:

In 2004, an awning patch-job went bad and led to a fire that razed a historic commercial building in the heart of downtown Juneau, where the grand opening of Sealaska Heritage Institute's Walter Soboleff Building will happen Friday. Listen now:

A Fairbanks high school team took the top honor at the recently competed First Tech Challenge World Robotics Championships in St. Louis, Missouri. The kids, who have been competing together for the last four years, demonstrated the best mix of technical engineering, performance and sportsmanship.

Have you ever thought about biking one hundred miles in one go? KSKA's Anne Hillman did, so she signed up for the Clean Air Challenge. It's a bike ride the American Lung Association hosts every year to raise money for education and research on lung disease. At first Anne was in it more for the challenge of the ride than for the cause. But then something happened along the way. Download Audio:

Explorers Børge Ousland and Vincent Colliard are in the midst of skiing the Stikine Icefield in Southeast Alaska and British Columbia. The journey is part of a decade-long project to traverse the world's 20 largest ice fields. Download Audio:

Alaska residents and a wide variety of local and national retailers gathered at the Dena'ina Convention Center in downtown Anchorage this weekend for the NW Cannabis Classic. While smoking was prohibited, the trade show featured marijuana-oriented retail products as well as information sessions for hobbyists and business owners hoping to navigate the nascent cannabis market in Alaska.

A local scientist and entrepreneur is leadinga mapping project to find out where potential oil spills could have the worst effects on seabirds.

People traveling on the Chester Creek Trail in midtown Anchorage this week might notice a group wandering about in Kelly green vests and sashes adorned with a distinctive merit badge. They aren’t overgrown Girl Scouts; they’re artists who are “Seeking the Source” of the trail and it’s role in the community. Download Audio: