After years of poor conditions, welcome news for hunters: Bering Sea ice looks normal
Rick Thoman, a climatologist, called it "a big change from the last couple of years and good news for the region.”
Murkowski pushes Legislature for more REAL ID support in rural Alaska
In her annual address to a joint session of the Legislature Tuesday, U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski told lawmakers that the state should do more to help Alaskans get REAL IDs.
Anchorage School Board fully funds gifted program, passing amended budget
Dozens of community members and students testified for over two and half hours, most of them in support of the IGNITE program.
The longest ever ice road has been plowed on the Kuskokwim River, from Tuntutuliak to Sleetmute
For the first time ever, the ice road on the frozen Kuskokwim River has been plowed to Sleetmute, a village north of Bethel.
Dunleavy wants to pay back cuts to PFDs, but lawmakers are skeptical
A bill introduced at Dunleavy’s request on Wednesday would pay $1,304 to every eligible Alaskan.
Alaska oil, mining education group alleges former director stole at least $187,000
Alaska Resource Education, which promotes the oil and gas, mining and forestry industries in Alaska's schools, is suing former executive director Michelle Brunner, alleging she embezzled nearly $200,000.
In letter to lawyers, Alaska Supreme Court clerk pushes back against Dunleavy bias complaints
The clerk for the Alaska Supreme Court responded on Wednesday to questions about Chief Justice Joel Bolger’s ability to be impartial over the proposed recall of Gov. Mike Dunleavy.
The ACLU is suing Nome, alleging a pattern of civil rights violations against Native women
The lawsuit alleges violation of state and federal civil rights protections stemming from mishandled police investigations of sexual assaults.
‘Much of Alaska’s history is not here anymore’: The National Archives are moving again, this time even farther away
In 2014, despite public outcry, the U.S. Office of Management and Budget decided to move Alaska's federal archives to Seattle. Now those archives could be moving again, to California and Missouri.
In the YK Delta, a murder acquittal gives one young man his life back, while miles away, a mother grieves her son
Adam Williams, the young man who shot and Eliza Wassillie’s son in 2017, was acquitted on murder charges. She is still looking for justice.
After last year’s loss, Anchorage alcohol tax boosters bring in Mark Begich’s firm for this year’s campaign
After losing at the polls last year, supporters of a 5 percent alcohol tax in Anchorage say a better public opinion campaign could make the difference when the measure goes before voters again in April. So they've hired Mark Begich's company to help.
Anxiety creeps into oil-dependent Alaska as banks step back from Arctic investment
An aggressive advocacy campaign against banks' involvement in Arctic oil means that Alaska companies are facing more obstacles to raise the cash they need. They've responded by tailoring their pitches to financial institutions, as Alaska lawmakers fight back.
‘None of us wants to do this’: UAA leaders recommend eliminating degree programs to shrink budget gap
UAA is proposing to cut degree programs to save money and shrink budget gaps.
A second ‘blob’ marine heat wave disappeared but warming trend will continue, scientists say
The first blob decimated fisheries, caused a mass seabird die-off, and spurred toxic algal blooms up and down the coast. As Alaska braced for the second heat wave, it disappeared — at least for now.
21-year-old Unalaska snowmachiner dies in avalanche
Trey Henning was buried in the avalanche and later recovered from the site near the quarry on Overland Drive. In a statement, the Department of Public Safety said life-saving measures were unsuccessful.
Citing ‘escalation of violence,’ Noorvik pleads with local, state officials for law enforcement
Residents of the Northwest Arctic village of Noorvik, where there is no village public safety officer, say their town is feeling increasingly unsafe. Describing a “dangerous escalation of violence,” villagers have drafted a letter to local, state and federal officials asking for permanent law enforcement.
Cruise ships dumped more than 3 million pounds of trash in Juneau last year
During the 2019 summer tourism season, cruise ship companies dumped more than 3 million pounds of trash at Juneau’s private landfill.
Illegal for decades, many Anchorage homes still have covenants that prohibit sale to blacks and Alaska Natives
A nascent effort by local officials is grappling with thousands of discriminatory contracts still written into deeds all over town, part of Anchorage's legacy on race as it grew.
Coronavirus hasn’t hit Alaskans, but economists here are bracing for impact
Alaska has no known cases of the coronavirus, but the outbreak has set off economic shockwaves that are already jolting Alaskans. But foreseeable outcomes are not universally terrible.
Kaktovik is crawling with polar bears. Now a man is going to prison for wasting one.
The case shows how it’s become common for polar bears to disrupt village life in Kaktovik, which sits on an island at the edge of the Beaufort Sea. As climate change melts sea ice and drives the bears ashore, residents say they’ve been under increasing stress.