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 profile of a man

Dan Kaduce is the only Iditarod musher still racing with a 14-dog team. Here’s how.

Chatanika musher Kaduce says it’s a combination of luck and good dog care habits that have helped him surge to the front of the pack,
Slushy and watery roads near a gas station.

As gas prices soar, Alaskans should ‘get used to volatility,’ says one analyst

In Alaska, the average for a gallon of regular gas was $4.73 Monday, according to AAA. That’s up $1 a gallon from just a month ago.
a person delivers pizza to a musher

In Unalakleet, pizza orders from around the world give exhausted mushers a boost

“Nice to be in Eskimo country!” said Iñupiaq musher Ryan Redington. He said his mother was born and raised in Unalakleet, and it’s been nice to visit with the community.

ConocoPhillips says it’s still working to find source of North Slope gas leak

The company says a subsurface gas leak was first observed at the Alpine site early in the morning on Friday, March 4. By March 7, the company relocated 300 of the site’s roughly 400 workers. The site is currently not producing oil. 
Two men sit at a table in a house

Alaskan, at 20, launches on a one-man mission to help Ukrainians. What’s a dad to do?

Someone has to help war refugees. Ryan White is heading to a Polish border town with bags of medical supplies.
a musher with a microphone under the Iditarod burled arch

The Iditarod has a new champion: Brent Sass arrives first to Nome

The 42-year-old musher took command of this year’s race around the halfway point and never gave it up.
Three men talking in a room at the Alaska State Capitol

Alaska House debates bringing back limits to campaign donations

A House bill would limit individual contributions to candidates to $2,000 over two years. 
A woman walking with a cooler slung over her shoulder

The goal: Vaccinate 70% of the world against COVID. Scientists are proposing a reboot.

As the world enters the pandemic's 3rd year, some ask whether the 70% vaccination goal set by WHO and the Biden administration could in fact be detrimental.
A man with two dogs

Meet Slater and Morello, the sled dogs that led Brent Sass to victory

The two six-year-old Alaskan huskies led for most of the 1,000 miles, through headwinds and over hills.
A photo of a multi-story building.

Coaches, officials and athletes denounce proposed ban on transgender students playing girls’ school sports

A bill from Sen. Shelley Hughes, R-Palmer, would prevent transgender girls from competing against cisgender girls in school sports.
A man wearing a lei waves with his right hand

Anchorage Assembly confirms Uluao ‘Junior’ Aumavae as chief equity officer

Aumavae was hired by Mayor Dave Bronson in October after the mayor fired Clifford Armstrong III without Assembly approval.
Gov. Mike Dunleavy speaking from behind a lectern

Dunleavy calls for big dividends as Alaska’s revenue forecast increases by billions

Gov. Mike Dunleavy urged the Legislature to send some of the money to Alaskans in the form of $3,700 in permanent fund dividends.
Lawmakers and others seated in a Capitol committee room

Lawmakers issue subpoenas in move to make Alaska Permanent Fund Corporation board members talk about Rodell firing

The Legislative Budget and Audit Committee voted 10-0 to issue subpoenas to all six of the corporation’s board members, four employees and a Department of Revenue worker.

Wind almost derailed Brent Sass’s first Iditarod victory. Here’s what happened.

Brent Sass and his team tumbled down a hillside in a raging windstorm on his final run into Nome. "The whole time I was like, ‘Yep, here we go, pulling a Sass again, making it interesting, and the last leg of the frickin race every single time.’"
A man holds two dogs

Dan Kaduce finishes 4th in Iditarod. With 14 dogs, he feels like a champion.

Kaduce said he opted to keep 14 dogs in harness instead of sending the slower ones home.
a musher and a small child arrive to Nome

Pete Kaiser finishes 5th in the 2022 Iditarod, followed by Richie Diehl in 6th

Pete Kaiser and his dog team raced across the Iditarod finish line at 9:45 p.m. Tuesday in fifth place. Family and friends from Anchorage, Aniak,...
A woman receives a nasal swab Covid test outside of the Denali Federal Credit Union Operations Center.

BA.2 subvariant of omicron gradually gaining ground in Alaska

The first Alaska case of BA.2 was detected in early January according to state data. By mid February, more than a third of Alaska cases were the BA.2 subvariant.
Lawmakers seated in a committee room at the Alaska State Capitol

Alaska House committee proposes funding schools a year ahead using money from rising oil prices

If the plan becomes law, that would mean there’s enough money budgeted to cover the state share of school costs through June 2024.
President Biden speaking with flags behind him

Biden reauthorizes Violence Against Women Act empowering tribes to prosecute non-Native perpetrators

The reauthorization includes language that empowers tribes to prosecute non-Native perpetrators of child violence, sexual violence, sex trafficking, stalking and other crimes.