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 mother with four children stands next to a wooden cross over a grave site decorated with flowers.

Bethel family loses young father to COVID-19

Bethel resident Kevin White was only 35 when COVID-19 took his life. He left behind four children, ages 16 months to 14 years old. His wife, Liane White, said no one expected Kevin to have a hard time with the disease.
A path leads through a dense forest.

Investigation blames U.S. Forest Service for giving Alaska grant used for Roadless Rule fight

A federal watchdog agency said the U.S. Forest Service acted illegally when it awarded a $2 million firefighting grant to the state of Alaska in 2018. The state had asked for the grant to gather input on a proposal to exempt the Tongass National Forest from the Clinton-era Roadless Rule.
a person holds a vial of the COVID-19 vaccine

As groups clamor for vaccine, here’s how Alaska will decide who’s next in line

An advisory committee made initial recommendations about who should receive Alaska's first doses of COVID-19 vaccine without much uproar. But now its work is entering a more delicate phase, as letters pour in from state agencies, trade groups and nonprofits asking to to be among the first in line.
ca

In last-minute move, Trump administration shrinks ANWR oil lease sale by almost a third

The Bureau of Land Management announced the decision to shrink the available acres by about 30% on Friday evening, just three days before it began accepting sealed bids for drilling rights.
a person wearing a face shield and mask prepares to administer a shot to someone wearing scrubs and a mask

Second COVID-19 vaccine authorized for emergency use arrives in Alaska

State health officials said some 26,800 doses of a second new COVID-19 vaccine arrived in Alaska on Monday.
A microscopic image of yellow blobs in a purple background

Alaska reports 10 COVID-19 deaths Tuesday

It's one of the highest daily COVID death counts, but it comes amidst a trend of declining cases in the state.
A white man in a gray suit speaks at a podium

Dunleavy splits Alaska Department of Health and Social Services into two new agencies

Dunleavy said the idea is to provide better services for Alaskans as the department has continued to grow.
A white man in a black suit

Online news outlet Alaska Landmine sues Dunleavy administration over access

Alaska Landmine owner and journalist Jeff Landfield is suing Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s administration. He said the administration has violated his constitutional rights by excluding him from Dunleavy’s news conferences.
A brown wooden building in the woods

COVID-19 outbreak reported at Hiland prison

Three prisons in the state currently have over 100 active COVID-19 cases.
A tundra landscape half covered in ice

Alaska’s state development corporation weighs bidding in ANWR lease sale

The Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority is asking its board to allow it to spend up to $20 million on the leases.
An icy, snow expanse of land.

The lease sale is set, but how much oil actually is under ANWR’s coastal plain?

What the federal government knows about the coastal plain’s oil potential is limited and based, in part, on decades-old seismic data.
A white man with a bald head and glasses in a black suit and red tie speaks into a microphone

Alaska Legislature will sue Gov. Mike Dunleavy over lapsed appointments

Lawmakers say that actions by unconfirmed appointees, including Wednesday’s vote on ANWR oil leases, could be illegal.
correctional complex

Number of unsentenced Alaskans behind bars climbs under COVID-19 court, prison constraints

Jury trials remain suspended, and many people have no idea when they will get their day in court. Plus, defense attorneys say their inability to meet with clients put a damper on resolving cases through plea deals.
A river and mountains.

Alaska’s state development corporation approved to spend up to $20M on ANWR oil leases

It’s a controversial move, and a way for the state to secure drilling rights in the coastal plain in case no one else bids on the leases.
A white woman in a blue fleece stands on the beach in front of some mountains

‘It shook us to the core’: Haines author Heather Lende on grief and recovery after deadly landslides

Bestselling author Heather Lende, who lives in and writes about Haines, says it may be a while before her hometown’s shattered sense of safety can heal.
America's Best Value Inn and Suites

Anchorage retracts plan to buy hotel for homeless shelter

The city announced the change on Wednesday involving its plan to purchase the Americas Best Value Inn & Suites property because of the “costly repairs and mandatory upgrades” the refurbishment would entail.
Red coronaviruses float around

Statewide COVID-19 hospitalizations drop

Experts worry of a post-holiday spike in cases, but Alaska's case rates have been declining for several weeks.
A white coast guard boat with an overlay of some details about its construction

Trump’s defense veto could sink Sitka’s Coast Guard dock

President Trump’s veto of the National Defense Authorization Act has put Sitka’s plans for a new Coast Guard fast-response cutter on the rocks.
Blue-green lake surrounded by mountains from the air

One man dead, another missing, in Chignik Lake boating accident

One man died and another is missing after a boat capsized in Chignik Lake Saturday afternoon, according to a dispatch from Alaska State Troopers.

Young joins Democrats to nix Trump’s veto of defense bill

The U.S. Senate is expected to join the House, turning the bill into law. Both Alaska senators say they'll vote to override the veto, too.