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2015 was a record year for fines in Alaska’s oil and gas fields. State regulators proposed some $1.7 million dollars in penalties against five companies -- and the University of Alaska Fairbanks -- for violating safety and environmental regulations at oil and gas wells. Download Audio

Gov. Bill Walker called the Legislature back to work after it failed to pass a budget by the constitutional deadline last week. Lawmakers now have 30 days to try to accomplish what they couldn't do in the last four months: pass a budget and make some progress on closing the state's $4 billion deficit. Download Audio

BP announced Monday that it’s selling its midtown Anchorage building. In a statement, the company says the sale will “reduce costs and free up capital, allowing BP to focus on its core business.” BP will become a tenant in the building rather than the owner, in what the statement describes as a “real estate transaction.” Download Audio

Alaska lawmakers are back at work Monday after failing to pass a budget by the constitutional deadline last week. It’s the first day of a special session called by Governor Bill Walker.

Aviators in Southcentral Alaska are being asked to observe a temporary flight restriction Saturday evening during a brief presidential visit. Download Audio

State lawmakers cut education funding in the proposed budgets by nearly $13 million Tuesday night. They moved the money into the oil and gas tax credit fund. Download Audio

Alaska Democrats spent the weekend in Anchorage picking delegates for the party’s national convention in Philadelphia this July, and setting priorities for the year ahead. Download Audio

The Senate Finance Committee voted on Thursday against adding $7 million in funding to replace the school in Kivalina. The additional funds were requested by Governor Bill Walker’s administration. Download Audio

A celebrated storyteller is facing felony charges for allegedly having sex with an underage boy. Forty-three year old Jack Dalton is charged with sexual abuse of a minor in the second degree and attempted sexual abuse. KTUU originally reported the case. Download Audio

Lawmakers say cutting tax credits to oil and gas companies may be a necessary step to close the state government’s budget deficit. Download Audio

In a Tuesday letter, lawyers for the bank holding debt for renovations threaten to sue the state over breach of contract. Download Audio

A worker with a hand-wrench sparked the fire that shut down the trans-Alaska pipeline for nine hours in April. The fire forced the evacuation of more than 50 people at a remote pump station near Coldfoot. Download Audio

A Fairbanks jury has begun hearing the case of a Tanana man charged with killing 2 Alaska State Troopers in the interior village. Twenty 2 year old Nathaniel Kangas shot Trooper Gabe Rich and Sargent Scott Johnson while they were trying to arrest his father at the Kangas home May first 2014. During his opening statement on Monday District attorney Greg Olson began making the case for first degree murder convictions. Download Audio

When law enforcement officers and firefighters die in the line of duty, their survivors may be left without health insurance. Three families of state troopers who died in the past three years have been covered under orders issued by Governors Sean Parnell and Bill Walker. But a future administration could change this. The families are looking for a permanent solution that will cover themselves and other survivors in the future. But there's a debate over how that should happen. Download Audio

Hilcorp Alaska is facing a $20,000 penalty from the state for unsafe use of equipment on the North Slope. It's the latest in a string of violations for Hilcorp, which a state agency says has developed a pattern of regulatory noncompliance.

The Alaska House plans to continue pursuing a legal challenge to Gov. Bill Walker's authority to expand Medicaid on his own.

Era Helicopters has identified its pilot who was critically injured in Thursday’s crash at Norris Glacier near Juneau as Jiri Hanis.

Bristol Bay artist Apayo Moore has painted murals in Anchorage and Juneau. Moore recently received a grant from the state’s “Percent for Arts” program to paint two 60-foot murals that will be shipped up to Bethel in the fall to be installed in the youth detention center there.

State officials announced this week that, for the first time ever, they received no bids for the annual oil and gas lease sale in Cook Inlet. The state Division of Oil and Gas blamed low oil prices. But industry representatives said lawmakers aren't helping. Download Audio

The Coast Guard is reporting that a helicopter has crashed near the Norris Glacier and the pilot, who was the only person on board, is injured.