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 man in a ide vest and flannel on a computer screen

Pandemic dominates discussions as AFN convention goes virtual

With no booths to browse hand-crafted art pieces and attendees having to settle for virtual hugs, the 2020 Alaska Federation of Natives Convention was a drier affair than usual.
A woman in a green jacket and a blue and white shoulder bag knocks at a door

Alaska Census counting comes to an early end, with a stark divide in rural and urban response rates

The state has a 99.9% enumeration rate, according to the Census Bureau.
Seen frm behind, three travelers fill out forms in front of a white fold out table manned by two workers

Alaska eases restrictions on travel into and out of the state during pandemic

The quarantine requirement for people flying into Alaska without a negative test will be five days.
A woman with a respirator mask seen on an airplane

‘It was beyond belief’: Alaska Airlines removes passenger over mask dispute

The 75-year-old woman says she switched from an N95 to a respirator helmet once she was on board the plane. Alaska Airlines officials say they are investigating the incident.
Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy

After 3 aides test positive, Alaska Gov. Dunleavy says he’s negative and will test again

"I'm going in probably tomorrow for another test — I anticipate it's a negative," the governor said in a brief phone interview Thursday morning.
A hand with a blue glove drops a test tube in a ziploc bag held by two green hands.

Yukon-Kuskokwim COVID-19 spike shows pandemic could be ‘out of control’

Health officials are urging residents of the Y-K Delta to avoid all gatherings after 126 new cases were reported in the past two weeks.

Alaska GOP Gov. Dunleavy says he’ll vote no on oil-tax increase, election overhaul initiatives

Dunleavy said he thinks issues of taxation are better handled by state lawmakers than through the initiative process. And he says the proposed election overhaul is too complicated.
two assembly members at the Anchorage assembly meeting

With Anchorage’s mayor set to step down, a successor will be chosen Friday

The chair of the assembly assumes the mayorship in the case of a vacancy, but Felix Rivera could lose his chairmanship at a special assembly meeting Friday.
A worker leaves some class doors

3 staff at Gov. Dunleavy’s Anchorage office test positive for COVID-19

Three staffers from Gov. Mike Dunleavy's Anchorage office have tested positive for COVID-19, according to a statement Wednesday from the governor's office.

State reports 4 deaths on another day of triple-digit COVID-19 cases in Alaska

Three of those who died are from Anchorage and one is from Juneau, say state health officials.
Two roads intersect, covered by a light snowfall, surrounded by spruce trees.

Ask a climatologist: Look for snowflakes soon

Climate researcher Brian Brettschneider with the National Weather Service is back for our Ask A Climatologist segment, and he says Fairbanks is getting a little behind schedule, while Anchorage is just approaching the average date for its first measurable snowfall.
Mayor Ethan Berkowitz at a COVID-19 press conference in Anchorage in March.

With ‘moral authority’ compromised in a pandemic, Anchorage mayor steps away

Anchorage Mayor Ethan Berkowitz resigned Tuesday, a day after the married mayor acknowledged what he described as a consensual, inappropriate messaging relationship with a television anchor.
People line up to provide public testimony at the Anchorage Assembly meeting.

Anchorage Assembly extends emergency declaration through Nov. 30

The vote came after a contentious start to the meeting, during which Anchorage Mayor Ethan Berkowitz’s resignation was announced by his Chief of Staff, Jason Bockenstedt.
cots laid out in the bare floor

COVID-19 cases grow among Juneau’s homeless population

A cluster of positive COVID-19 cases among Juneau’s homeless population has risen to 31 people.
Two side-by-side imiages, one of an Alaska Native girl sitting on a porch, the other of two elders sitting outside

‘We need you for the future’: Elders and Youth conducts virtual conference

This year’s meeting was a little different, conducted mostly through pre-recorded messages and live Zoom calls. However, both keynote addresses highlighted the desire to keep thousands of years of Native culture moving forward, pandemic or not.
A faint image of a woman's face ringed by the fur ruff on her parka next to lettering of the film's title, "Ada Blackjack Rising," with the space inside the D made to look like the oblong Gambel Island

LISTEN: Iñupiat Ada Blackjack’s story of survival 100 years ago captured in short film

An Alaska filmmaker celebrated Indigenous Peoples' Day on Monday by releasing a short film that tells the story of Ada Blackjack, an Iñupiat woman who survived two years on an uninhabited island, alone in the Arctic, about a hundred years ago.
A man stands in front of a chain link fence, body of water and a city in the background.

Anchorage mayor apologizes for years-old “inappropriate messaging relationship”

Anchorage Mayor Berkowitz's statement on Monday said that Anchorage police and the FBI jointly investigated Athens' allegations against him and found "no evidence of criminal conduct."

JCPenney, Nordstrom property purchases promise to reshape downtown Anchorage

ACDA will pay $1.7 million for the parking garage and $1.5 million for a majority stake in the Nordstrom building.

Galvin campaign raises $1.8M for quarter

U.S. House candidate Alyse Galvin has raised $1.8 million since July - more than double what she raised during the prior quarter.