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 cloudy seascape

Search continues for 7 boaters missing near Quinhagak

Searchers continue looking for the seven people who went missing while boating to Quinhagak last week.

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 ...

Plane Crashes Near Merrill Field Claims Life

Steve Heimel, APRN – Anchorage A single-engine plane crashed on takeoff from Merrill Field in Anchorage yesterday and at least one died in the resulting...
two buildings

Judicial Council recommends Alaskans keep all judges, including jurist behind correspondence ruling

Adolf Zeman is only one of 19 judges that will be on the November general election ballot, but he’s received the lion’s share of attention.
Trees eroding from a bluff

Large crack in Haines hillside has geologists worried about more slides

Geologists studying the landslide that swept Beach Road are concerned that more material could break loose. During helicopter flights, they identified a deep crack in the hillside extending south from the crown of the existing slide area.
Two women hold two small children

Parents and caregivers of young children say they’ve hit pandemic rock bottom

The people who take care of and educate children under 5 years old, who are too young to be vaccinated, say they're in a special kind of hell right now.
A female teacher points to a word projected on a white board in a classroom with three students sitting a tables facing the front of the classroom

Here’s ASD’s latest plan to bring Anchorage students back to classrooms

Under the plan, small groups of students will return to in-person learning in January, with more joining in phases. But the biggest obstacle will be staffing classrooms.
A harbor with a bunch of small fishing boats

Skipper rescued by girlfriend on air mattress after falling overboard off Sitka

A near tragedy was averted in Sitka on Monday morning after a fishing boat skipper who had fallen overboard was rescued by his girlfriend on an inflatable mattress.

Legislators File 104 Bills for Consideration So Far This Year

Dave Donaldson, APRN - Juneau Legislators have already filed 104 bills for consideration in this year’s session that begins on Jan. 18.   On top of...
A white man in a gray suit gestures in front of a microphone

Gov. Dunleavy says he’s open to working with President Biden but will oppose blocking development

“Alaska’s viewed very differently by the rest of this country,” Dunleavy said in an interview. “And they don’t necessarily see this as a sovereign state. But they see it as a vision of a larger park. In 1959, that was not the vision.”
an officer

Latest Alaska crime report shows a 67% increase in murders and a slight overall decrease in crime

The overall violent crime rate in the state is up slightly, with the murder rate rising 67% and the arson rate up more than 40% from 2021 to 2022.

Fewer fish, fewer kids: St. Paul struggles to keep students

School enrollment in the Pribilof Islands has been shrinking in recent years, along with the islands’ fishing economy. Download Audio

Anchorage declares a civil emergency over looming cuts

The city is anticipating hundreds more homeless in the days and weeks ahead, taxing local emergency response resources and organizations.

The lack of law enforcement in rural Alaska prompted promises of more police. Two years later, they haven’t been kept.

Gov. Dunleavy promised to put Alaska State Troopers and police in specific communities off the road system. But two years later, reporting by the Anchorage Daily News and ProPublica has found the state has mostly failed to follow through on those promises.

Lawmakers Consider Extending Legislative Session

Casey Kelly, KTOO – Juneau Some Alaska lawmakers want to go back to a 120 day legislative session. Voters in 2006 narrowly passed an initiative limiting...

One man’s quest to find Glacier Bay’s ecological Holy Grail

William S. Cooper left directions from over 100 years ago. But rediscovering the lost research plots in Glacier Bay required an epic adventure. Listen now

Judge rejects state’s effort to block Alaska Gov. Dunleavy recall campaign

Anchorage Superior Court Judge Eric Aarseth ruled from the bench that the campaign can move forward, but his decision is certain to be appealed by Dunleavy's administration to the Alaska Supreme Court.

Thin Ice Expanding in Arctic This Year, Not Expected to Last

Steve Heimel, APRN – Anchorage The sea ice in the Arctic Ocean has begun to expand again.  It melted back to its minimum a...

Rep. Young votes for health care bill, says he won pledges for more

A bill to replace the Affordable Care Act squeaked through the U.S. House today, with help from Alaska Rep. Don Young. He denounced a prior version as bad for Alaska. Now he says he's won assurances there'll be more for the state. Listen now

Alaska Natives not sharing in national cancer death rate reductions

A report out today says cancer death rates are dropping significantly in the U.S. but not for Alaska Natives and American Indians in the...