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.”

Lone Methadone Clinic in Anchorage Halts New Admissions

The only methadone clinic in Anchorage is so overcrowded its turning away pregnant women. The Narcotic Drug Treatment center downtown has 87 patients...

Sitka asked to cut back even further on electric usage

The Sitka electric department is urging residents to turn off their electric heaters and fire up the diesel or wood stoves. The city has...

Senator demands 'Coconut Road' investigation

U.S. Senator Tom Coburn of Oklahoma is calling for an investigation into $10 million that was earmarked by Congressman Don Young while he was...

Alaska’s new eviction diversion program would resolve disputes before court and, maybe, keep people in their homes

The goal is to help reach an agreement both sides are satisfied with, and for people to avoid spending time and money going to court to plead their case in front of a judge.

Derelict Vessel Adrift in Southeast Waters

The Coast Guard is monitoring a derelict vessel in U.S. waters off Alaska's coast that washed out to sea during the tsunami that struck...

Staffing shortages at Alaska pharmacies continue after pandemic-related shakeup

The shortage has led to reduced hours at retail pharmacies and longer wait times to get prescriptions filled.

Kott trial finishes first week with VECO's Rick Smith on the stand

The government's case against former legislator Pete Kott is headed in to its second week on Monday. Today's courtroom events began with more cross-examination...

Alaska gasline project board ousts its $1 million man

The state’s highest paid employee was fired from $45 billion gas line project today.
A student in a mask at a desk.

‘River is getting close’: Erosion is threatening Napakiak’s school and some students are already leaving

The Kuskokwim River has been eating away at Napakiak for decades; the community is accustomed to moving homes back when the water gets too close. But the school is too big to move, and the river is approaching too fast, accelerated by climate change.

Dunleavy tells feds Alaska is taking over management of 800,000 miles of river

Gov. Dunleavy says he's exerting the state's right to control submerged lands under navigable lakes and rivers.
a remote court hearing

Former top-level employee at Juneau hospital charged with making fraudulent travel claims and online purchases

Court documents detail two felonies: the first involving more than $25,000 in travel-related reimbursements, the second for more than $25,000 in Amazon purchases. 

In Utqiaġvik, temperatures are warmer, and the ice is changing. What does that mean for whalers?

“I think it was a little more stable, and there was a little bit more assurance that the ice you were on was not going to disintegrate on you that easy,” said whaling captain Gordon Brower.

Murkowski speaks with constituents about health care during Senate recess

Senator Lisa Murkowski was one of just four of the Senate's 52 Republicans to make a public appearance over the fourth of July. She spoke with constituents about healthcare. Listen now

Meet Sean Underwood, the musher who found out last week he’d be racing the 2020 Iditarod

Four-time Iditarod champion Jeff King tapped Underwood, a 28-year-old from Atlanta, to take over his sled dog team after he had emergency surgery.

Alaska love shines through in champion skier Kikkan Randall’s Olympic commentary

One of Alaska's most beloved athletes, Olympic champion cross-country skier Kikkan Randall, is participating in this year's Winter Olympics, not as a competitor, but as a commentator for NBC, covering the Beijing games from NBC's studios in Connecticut.

Rural lawmakers wield power without recent precedent

Dillingham Democrat Bryce Edgmon will be the first speaker of the Alaska House of Representatives from off the road system or outside of Southeast Alaska since Nome’s Howard Lyng in the Territorial Legislature of 1941. Listen Now

Federal judge rules in favor of language assistance for Yup’ik voters

A federal judge has ruled that the State of Alaska must provide comprehensive language assistance to Yup’ik voters. The ruling is part of...

Some GOP defied Trump on Russia sanctions, but Alaskans did not

Congress almost passed a measure to keep sanctions on companies affiliated with Russian billionaire Oleg Deripaska. Alaska's Congressional delegation voted to let the Trump administration lift them.

Biologists Concluding Field Research on Polar Bears, Global Warming

Photo by Fish and Wildlife Service Biologists just wrapped up more than a month of field work on polar bears in the Chukchi Sea. The...

Correctional officers union vote to censure commissioner Schmidt

The Alaska Correctional Officers Association gave the state corrections commissioner Joe Schmidt a "no confidence" censure vote today. ACOA union members voted 514 to...