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.”

Photo: Governor Mike Dunleavy standing behind podium at a press conference.

Gov. Dunleavy’s budget includes large PFDs, but no increase to per-student education funding

The $10.5 billion plan is a starting point for negotiations with leaders in the state House and Senate as they hammer out the state’s budget.
skiers

Olympians-turned-volunteers power elite cross-country ski races in Anchorage

The elite-level SuperTour stops in Anchorage this week, with some of the continent’s best cross-country skiers competing.
a moose

Anchorage coffee shop owner fined for feeding moose

A biologist says rich foods can kill moose by producing gas, and cause the animals to become a hazard if they're accustomed to being fed.
A man in a parka stands on an ice field looking toward the sun low in the sky.

‘The time for action is now’: NOAA’s Arctic Report Card paints a dire picture of climate change

The 18th annual Arctic Report centered Indigenous knowledge from Alaska, including the ways climate change is reshaping coastal communities.   

Snowmachiner who struck dog team on Denali Highway works for Polaris, troopers say

Troopers say the Minnesota man was doing testing for the manufacturer Monday when he hit a team of dogs owned by musher Jim Lanier.

Southcentral Alaska mayors form coalition to address looming natural gas shortfall

State officials and utilities have warned that Cook Inlet, which supplies natural gas to Southcentral Alaska, may face a shortage by the end of the decade.
a seafood plant

Trident Seafoods to sell 4 Alaska processing plants

Trident’s processing plants in Kodiak, Ketchikan, Petersburg and False Pass are all now for sale.
a protest

Alaska Native leaders bring light to state-specific challenges in federal MMIP report

“The federal government must act now; not tomorrow; not next week; not next month; and not next year,” the commission said.
a highway

Surprise snow dump closes Anchorage schools Wednesday

A shifting storm blanketed most of Anchorage with six to nine inches of snow Tuesday, exceeding forecasters' expectations.

3 dogs owned by Iditarod musher killed in Denali Highway snowmachine crash

Mike Parker, who was driving the struck team, called the death of longtime Iditarod musher Jim Lanier's dogs "an unspeakable tragedy."

Alaska Native leaders attend COP28 with a focus on local impacts of climate change

ANTHC's Jackie Schaeffer and Iñupiat filmmaker Kelly Moneymaker said they'd like to see more Indigenous representation in climate talks.
a map

Xunaa Borough would be Alaska’s 20th, under Hoonah city proposal

The proposed borough would include 49 people outside of Hoonah, but wouldn’t include other Southeast Alaska cities.
a whale

Rare fin whale found dead near Kodiak

Fin whales can live up to 90 years in the wild, but biologists say the whale found late last month on Kodiak Island was between 10 and 14 years old.
(Creative Commons photo by Matt’ Johnson)

Plane crash near Anchor Point leaves 1 dead, 1 injured

Alaska State Troopers say Homer man Kurt Stjean, 52, was killed in the crash, with a woman taken to a local hospital.
a stethoscope

Negotiations to decide insurance status of Alaska patients of Providence affiliates

Both Premera Blue Cross Blue Shield of Alaska and Providence Alaska Medical Center's affiliates cited rising health care costs as reasons for their positions.
Students in a second grade classroom at Ptarmigan Elementary School in Anchorage receive instruction from student teacher Erisa Koci.

Alaska’s education spending lags behind national average when costs are factored in, economists say

Adjusted for the cost of living in rural and urban areas, Alaska spends about 7% less per student than the nationwide average, according to a recent study.
Michael Oleksa

Remembering Alaska’s great communicator, Father Michael Oleksa

Archpriest Oleksa was laid to rest on Tuesday, after two days of services at St. Innocent’s Cathedral. Alaskans across the state say he touched their lives.
Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson

Military members’ survey responses could protect Alaska cost of living allowances

Alaska-based service members are losing hundreds of dollars to lower allowances. The Living Pattern Survey is a chance to weigh in with the Pentagon.
a landslide

Therapists talk about their role during Haines’ deadly 2020 landslide

All Haines residents were affected in one way or another by the slide that killed two people three years ago.
A police car marked as Anchorage Police.

Anchorage man accused of murdering unborn child in domestic violence assault

Iohani Wilhem Dean, 21, was indicted Wednesday on new charges in the death of his girlfriend's unborn child after an April assault.