Alaska lawmakers continue to feud over PFD amount, delaying this year’s dividends
The state’s Permanent Fund Dividend Division said if dividends were to be paid as normal in the first week of October, lawmakers would have until Tuesday to decide on the amount. It is not possible for both chambers to pass the funding in time.
Western Alaska residents fill buckets of late-budding salmonberries
Some possible causes for late budding in berries include more precipitation when flowers bloom, which reduces pollination, an overall lack of pollinators, or sometimes animals and birds eat the berries during the winter.
Breakthrough COVID cases are rising in Alaska. Here’s why, and why vaccines are still ‘amazing.’
One in five of Alaska's COVID hospitalizations in July was vaccinated. So were four of the 17 COVID deaths.
As school board meetings across the U.S. get hostile, some members are calling it quits
A growing number of school board members are resigning or questioning their willingness to serve as meetings have devolved into shouting contests between deeply political constituencies over how racial issues are taught, masks in schools, and COVID-19 vaccines and testing requirements.
Subsistence users, scientists seek answers for chum salmon declines
Why are the chum numbers so low? The short answer is that no one really knows for sure. But there are a lot of theories.
Alaskans wait for vital records as state health department gets back online after cyberattack
It’s been three months since a cyberattack crippled the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services’ online systems. And for Alaskans who need vital records — things like birth, death and marriage certificates — that has put things on hold.
Anchorage School District suspends multiple bus routes due to COVID-related driver shortage
Anchorage students have been going to class in-person for almost two weeks. And, until now, there haven’t been any major disruptions. But as more people are getting coronavirus in the community, the impacts are growing for school staffing.
Anchorage mayor’s second pick for library director, an educator and GOP activist, likely to fuel more controversy
Judy Eledge drew attention for posts from a Facebook account under her name that linked gay and transgender people to pedophilia, advertised Eledge and her husband aboard an airplane during the pandemic without masks and complained about Alaska bush communities "getting everything and having no tax and almost everything paid for them."
After a missed year, Alaska State Fair vendors say things feel almost normal, despite pandemic risk
The 2020 Alaska State Fair was canceled due to COVID-19 risk. This year, you’d hardly know there’s a pandemic, said some vendors.
Scientists discover fossil of a 4-legged whale with a raptor-like eating style
Are you terrified yet? Because we certainly are. Scientists even named their discovery of a 43 million-year-old fossil after Anubis, an Egyptian god associated with death.
17-year-old charged in Two Rivers, Pleasant Valley arsons
The boy -- named only as “J.G.” in a statement from Alaska State Troopers -- will be tried as an adult on multiple charges of arson, burglary and criminal mischief, troopers said.
As local streams warm on the Kenai Peninsula, cold water inputs could be crucial for salmon
A pocket of Beaver Creek, just a short and muddy tromp away from a gravel parking lot between Kenai and Soldotna, is home to several cold water inputs that could be crucially important for young salmon as they swim from the Kenai River to Cook Inlet.
As state health officials outline plan to help overloaded hospitals, Dunleavy asks Alaskans to consider the vaccine
The steps include speeding up the process for allowing licensed health care providers to work in hospitals. The state is also looking to use state-contracted workers to temporarily staff hospitals.
Declining sea ice in Kotzebue Sound is shortening subsistence hunt for seals, study finds
The study found that the ugruk hunting season is ending an average of 26 days earlier than normal.
Supply shortages, shipping delays hit Southeast Alaska businesses
A COVID-19 outbreak at a warehouse in Centralia, Wash., has led to shipping delays at grocery stores throughout Southeast Alaska, including in Petersburg. Some shelves are nearly empty. And they’re not likely to be filled anytime soon.
Alaska reports highest daily COVID-19 count since December as Dunleavy warns about hospital capacity
A total of 701 Alaskans tested positive for COVID-19 on Wednesday, and 127 patients were hospitalized with the coronavirus.
Dunleavy announces that Alaska college scholarships, medical students will receive funding
Gov. Mike Dunleavy said he ordered his Office of Management and Budget to release funding for the WWAMI medical education program plus 17 other programs.
Ask a Climatologist: What is termination dust, anyway?
How do we know what fits the definition of "termination dust?" The answer is: We don't. National Weather Service climate researcher Brian Brettschneider wants to change that.
In feud over PFD, Alaska Legislature grinds to a halt when Republican lawmakers refuse to show up
The Alaska House of Representatives couldn’t conduct any business Wednesday when minority-caucus Republicans refused to attend a floor session. The mostly Democratic House majority didn’t have enough members present to reach a quorum.
NTSB: Searchers described poor visibility around Misty Fjords fatal crash site
Responders described low cloud ceilings in Misty Fjords National Monument Wilderness in the hours after a fatal plane crash that killed six people. That’s according to a new report from federal investigators looking into the August 5 crash. But officials say they have yet to determine the cause of the crash.