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.”

Four kids, two sitting in a chair look at something across the room as a lady in a grey shirt reads a story to them.

Anchorage’s Hmoob Cultural Center struggles to stay open as child care crisis continues

The child care provider is struggling with high operating costs and low state subsidies. It's a familiar trend in a state strapped for child care.
Two stores side by side.

The parent companies of 2 of Alaska’s grocers want to merge. Here’s what we know.

The companies have made sweeping statements about the benefits of merging, but there isn’t anything in place to hold them to those promises.
Pilot Station

Pilot Station city officials charged with felony election interference

Pilot Station acting mayor Arthur Heckman Sr. and city clerk Ruthie Borromeo each face eight counts of violating state election laws.
Cook Inlet

Texas company seeks LNG import facility in Cook Inlet

The news is the latest development in the region’s race to stave off a looming shortfall of Cook Inlet natural gas.
a woman in glasses at a meeting desk

In Eagle River, a five-way race could be a factor in control of the state Senate

The contest is one of only three that will see a candidate eliminated in the Aug. 20 primary election.
Woman reaches for canned food on shelf

These local meal delivery services are trying to help Alaskans save time 

Americans have embraced meal kit services — where all of the ingredients for a tasty dinner are delivered to your doorstep. But most national options aren’t widely or easily available in Alaska.
a woman in a red rain jacket and white helmet smiles big. there is another person behind her on a bike

Anchorage cyclists cheer on Lael Wilcox as she bikes across the world

Wilcox passed through her hometown this week as she attempts to become the fastest female cyclist to circumnavigate the globe.

Alaska’s North Slope sees record-breaking heat, among state’s other climate oddities

The heat, due to a Chinook wind and higher temperatures from climate change, caused Deadhorse to soar to an all-time record 89 degrees.
a child

Researchers decipher MIS-C, the scary illness that followed COVID in some kids

Some children who had COVID developed a severe inflammatory response that could put them in the ICU. Scientists have learned why.
an early voting station

Mail delays postpone the start of pre-Election Day voting in parts of rural Alaska

Democrats expressed worries about the effect of a delay in early voting in some rural areas on Mary Peltola's campaign for U.S. House.
an SUV

Record-breaking rain drenches Anchorage, triggering road closures and a flood advisory

Anchorage police reported closures along Spenard Road and 36th Avenue, after the city received more than an inch of rain Wednesday.
officials

Alaska leaders work together following ‘devastating’ glacial flooding in Juneau

Gov. Mike Dunleavy and U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski toured neighborhoods that experienced record-breaking flooding.

How Alaska wound up with no limits on campaign donations — and how some hope to restore them

A court slashed Alaska's campaign finance laws in 2021. Now, as money pours into candidates' coffers, a campaign seeks to reimpose them.
an early voting station

Early voting opens for Aug. 20 primary; mailed absentee application window closes this week

Under Alaska’s primary election system, all candidates for a particular office run together. The top four vote-getters advance to November.
aircraft

Chinese and Russian aircraft joined for ‘first time’ in sortie near Alaska

U.S. experts say four Russian and Chinese bombers intercepted near Alaska signal China’s growing interest in the Arctic.
A car parked near trees.

Eek man charged with murdering woman after standoff with troopers

Troopers arrested Nick Beebe, 41, in the death of 38-year-old Lorna White after a Tuesday standoff in which a trooper fired on him.
traffic

Sitka at a ‘tipping point’ as residents grapple with impact of tourism

Amid a summer that sometimes sees more tourists than locals in Sitka, residents are reflecting on how visitors affect their lives.
an airplane

Ravn Alaska suspends service to the Aleutian Islands

The regional airline is suspending air service to Unalaska/Dutch Harbor, Cold Bay and Sand Point in the Aleutians, effective Aug. 16.
Two people walk through a prison.

Goose Creek inmate’s death pushes Alaska past 2023 inmate toll

Goose Creek Correctional Center inmate Freddie Lee Fox, 70, died Sunday. He is the state prison system's eleventh death this year.
flooding

Mendenhall River neighbors recount narrow escapes after record-breaking flood hits Juneau

The City and Borough of Juneau and Gov. Mike Dunleavy have issued disaster emergency declarations.