Alaska reports its first case of omicron variant
The city health department says an Anchorage resident recently tested positive for the omicron variant following international travel.
St. Paul gets new police chief after its entire department quit over COVID vaccine mandate
The new police chief, Michael Castro, is moving to the remote Alaska island from Utah with his two sons this week.
Four lawsuits challenge Alaska Redistricting Board’s new legislative map
Four lawsuits have been filed against the Alaska Redistricting Board, seeking to change parts of the legislative map it adopted last month. Each lawsuit argues that communities were wrongly placed in the same district with other communities they have little in common with.
Proposed Ambler project underscores promise and peril of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act
Ambivalence about the Ambler road and mine projects extends across the Upper Kobuk River region, where jobs could support subsistence but development could jeopardize it.
The U.N. says it has verified a new record high temperature for the Arctic
The United Nations has officially recognized a new record high temperature for the Arctic, confirming a reading of 100.4 Fahrenheit taken in June of last year.
Meet Sean Peters, an Unalaska resident who climbed Bunker Hill more than 300 times this year
Unalaska resident Sean Peters broke his personal record this year by making the one-mile hike up Bunker Hill 321 times. That averages out to more than once a day for every day he’s been on island in 2021.
Anchorage mayor turned off fluoride in city water for about 5 hours
Mayor Dave Bronson decided to stop the fluoridation while visiting the Eklutna Water Treatment Plant on Oct. 1, according to the mayor’s spokesperson Corey Allen Young.
A Soldotna man has created a new fantasy dice game
Aaron Gordon works at Kalifornsky Beach Elementary School and also really likes games. He just created his own called Battle Dice.
Dunleavy’s latest budget proposal would fund $2,500 PFDs, public safety initiatives and big infrastructure projects
Gov. Mike Dunleavy has proposed a budget for the next fiscal year that would keep state spending similar to the current budget, while increasing the size of Permanent Fund dividends.
Alaskans we’ve lost to COVID: Elizabeth Ketah, family matriarch
Elizabeth Ketah was the glue that held her family together, says her daughter. She was kind, forgiving and taught unconditional love.
Omicron evades Moderna vaccine too, study suggests, but boosters help
The Moderna vaccine's ability to shield against infection drops sharply when tested on the omicron variant. But getting a booster pumps the protection back up again, new research suggests.
ANCSA made only Natives born before December 1971 corporate shareholders. Those born after want change.
Shares mean dividends, identity and a say in what corporations do. Many Alaska Natives under 50 are waiting to be included.
Rep. Young votes against contempt charge and lifting debt limit
"The government must pay its debts," said Young, but he doesn't like Democratic spending plan.
The lack of law enforcement in rural Alaska prompted promises of more police. Two years later, they haven’t been kept.
Gov. Dunleavy promised to put Alaska State Troopers and police in specific communities off the road system. But two years later, reporting by the Anchorage Daily News and ProPublica has found the state has mostly failed to follow through on those promises.
Judge allows evidence about alternative suspects in 28-year-old Fairbanks murder trial
A Maine man charged in a young woman’s killing 28 years ago at the University of Alaska at Fairbanks will be allowed to present evidence about three alternative suspects at his trial next month.
After thousands of years, dormant Davidof Volcano in the Aleutians might be waking up
The three Aleutian volcanoes that have been erupting simultaneously in recent months could be joined by a fourth. Davidof Volcano in the Western Aleutians has remained inactive for thousands of years. But a series of earthquakes measured around the dormant volcano has some researchers wondering if Davidof is waking up.
A tantalizing clue to why omicron is spreading so quickly
A new study from the University of Hong Kong offers preliminary information that could explain why this new coronavirus variant may be more transmissible.
In Petersburg, home health care nurses are crucial to keep people out of hospitals
A team of 8 home health nurses has been visiting households around the Southeast Alaska community, delivering supplies and caring for COVID patients. Their work has helped keep the town's hospitals from overcrowding during the worst surge of the pandemic.
Profits eluded Sealaska for decades. Now it’s ditching timber and plastics, and investing in kelp.
An investment in Barnacle Foods, while small, is a potent symbol of the corporation’s new vision. Other corporations are taking similar steps.
Proposal would cut Alaska legislators’ daily allowance during sessions
A member of a state commission that can change legislators’ pay proposed on Thursday that their expenses be limited to $12,000 per year. Legislators have averaged $29,481 in session expenses — known as “per diems” — over the last 12 years.