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.”

Fifth nonresident seafood worker tests positive for coronavirus in Alaska

The state also announced that an 11th staff member of Juneau's Lemon Creek Correctional Center has tested positive for the virus.

Marine heatwaves will cripple salmon, cod and pollock at twice the rate previously predicted, study says

Slight rises in sea temperatures can cause dramatic collapses in the reproduction of some fish and patches of warm water in the Gulf of Alaska can have particularly severe affects for important fish stocks.

Environmental watchdogs are raising alarms over Pebble and other projects. But is anyone listening?

A Pebble Mine foe found a video she thought would make headlines. It didn't.

Trans-Alaska pipeline operator increases oil flow, demand creeps back

Demand for oil is starting to creep back as the economy reopens, and oil producers globally have made major cutbacks to production.
A white man with glasses and a mask sits at a desk

Alaska House passes COVID-19 relief bill; Senate has one more day to approve

The Senate had already passed its own bill, but it now has to pass the House bill after the chamber adjourned.

‘We’re open’: Alaska businesses can operate at full capacity on Friday, Dunleavy says

It’s the governor’s latest major lift of coronavirus-related restrictions. Previously, certain businesses could only operate at 25% to 50% capacity.

In downtown Anchorage, the streets are quiet and parking is ample. Can locals keep the businesses afloat?

While the absence of tourism is noticeable in the heart of the city, some business owners see a silver lining.
Entrance to Anchorage's Providence Hospital emergency room. (Photo by Josh Edge, APRN - Anchorage)

Anchorage doctors say patients are waiting to seek care over virus fears. Some have died.

Patient visits dropped by as much as 50% in emergency rooms during the height of the coronavirus fears, which doctors fear has caused unnecessary deaths in patients who aren't seeking the care they need in emergencies.

Mat-Su school board rescinds vote to remove ‘Catch-22’ and 4 other books from English classes

The school board won't decide until next year which books will appear on the reading list for high school English electives.
A white man in a red and black fleece jacket speaks at a podium in front of an American flag.

How do Alaska leaders know it’s safe to reopen the economy? It’s all about data – but it’s complicated.

Officials and experts say that decision-making around the reopening can be complicated and hard for the public to follow. There’s no single measurement that reflects the state’s overall progress in fighting the coronavirus, nor is there specific, centralized guidance from the federal government.

Low sockeye returns prompt commercial fishing closure on the Copper River

Fish and Game is planning to make an announcement Friday about whether the fishery will reopen as scheduled on Monday.

Nome hospital closed to the public after employee tests positive for COVID-19

The positive case was discovered during routine testing.

As Maniilaq details Kotzebue’s first COVID-19 case, city officials worry over enforcing testing

Officials are worried that without the power to force people coming into the community from outside, they may be missing cases of the coronavirus.

Alaska plans to more than triple its workforce of COVID-19 contact detectives

The state of Alaska is boosting its workforce of COVID-19 detectives, known as "contact tracers," to 500 from 150, and it's purchased new software to better share data and keep it secure.

6 tips from Alaska medical experts about minimizing your risk as the state reopens

The coronavirus is like a bear in the woods. Seriously, says a doctor at UAA, you’ve got to be prepared.

A seafood worker in Valdez has COVID-19, but state health officials don’t know how he got it

A seafood worker in Valdez has tested positive for COVID-19. But state health officials say they aren’t sure how the man, who works for Peter Pan Seafoods, contracted the virus because he has been in the state for a month, went through quarantine and has not left the city.

First coronavirus case reported in North Slope Borough

A resident from the North Slope Borough has tested positive for COVID-19. This is the first positive case in the region.

BP Alaska is donating the code for a new online program to track workers’ health

The oil and gas company says it wanted to create a new way to keep tabs on employees’ temperatures and any symptoms that could be consistent with the coronavirus, so it partnered with Resource Data to create a digital hub.

LISTEN: This Alaska bush pilot died in a plane crash. Now his friend who survived wants to honor him.

Researcher Ben Jones says he's compiled a list of more than 100 scientific publications that his pilot friend, Jim Webster, contributed to, and he's seeking an honorary, posthumous degree for Webster from UAF.

As the state reopens, health care and labor leaders express concern about worker safety

Lawmakers met on Wednesday to hear from health care providers and labor leaders about their concerns as workplaces in Alaska reopen.