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.”

Mackey; Zirkle; Williams, Jr. Reach Nome

Photos by Dianna Haecker, APRN - Nome Iditarod Champion John Baker of Kotzebue celebrates his victory with daugther Tahayla in Nome. Mushers continued to arrive in...
an F-35

Most Alaska military projects spared from border wall fund diversion, DOD says

Funding for Alaska military projects is largely spared from diversion for construction of a southern border wall, under criteria released by the Department of Defense.

ACA repeal bill is dead; Rep. Young likes it that way

President Donald Trump and House Speaker Paul Ryan pulled the plug on their bill to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act. Ryan declared it a disappointing day for Republicans. But Alaska’s Republican congressman says he’s celebrating the bill’s defeat. Listen now
A few buildings seen from above covered with water

Southwest Alaska community on Bering Sea coast experiences severe flooding

Kwigillingok, a community on the Bering Sea coast of the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, is used to some flooding during high tides. But in recent years, that flooding has grown more severe, reaching a new threshold last week.
a woman in an audience holding a sign urging passage of body camera resolution

Anchorage Assembly to APD: Publish recordings of recent police shootings and revise body camera policy

Police Chief Sean Case said he intends to discuss changes at the end of the week and have the new policy in place on July 22.
Koyuk

Koyuk man charged with fatally shooting his father

Troopers say Franklin Adams, 35, is charged with first-degree murder in the Saturday shooting of Dennis Adams, 74.
bears

This Fat Bear Week, take a look at the scientific reasons bears need to bulk up

Fat Bear Week's brown bears can lose one-third of their body weight over the course of hibernation, so they really need all the food they can get.
a flu vaccine shot

Alaska’s flu season continues to worsen, epidemiology reports show

Alaska’s flu season is worsening with no signs of leveling off, the latest surveillance report from the Alaska Department of Health showed on Wednesday.

VIDEO: Tony DeHaven can’t afford to lose his job

Alaska has lost more than 2,000 jobs in the oil and gas industry since last year, as the state faces its first real recession in nearly three decades. This week, Alaska’s Energy Desk is spotlighting those who have been affected by the downturn, as part of the series An Uncertain Future.

Campaign complaint filed against salmon ballot backers

Stand for Alaska claims Stand for Salmon, Yes for Salmon and the Alaska Center are improperly reporting how they are coordinating the campaign, underplaying the Alaska Center's role. Stand for Alaska also alleges they aren't properly disclosing campaign contribution sources. Stand for Alaska denies the allegations. Listen now

House Finance Committee Heading to Anchorage

Casey Kelly, KTOO – Juneau The House Finance Committee is taking the special legislative session to Anchorage. The committee will hold two hearings there...
A man in a buffy blue jacket and a fur hat speaks on a winter street

Fairbanks leaders plead for answers after string of unsolved missing persons cases

Eight individuals, including five Alaska Native people who've gone missing in the Fairbanks area since last May remain unaccounted for.

Alaska’s pro-oil Republican governor is quietly pushing green energy projects too

Even as climate change threatens to impose steep costs in Alaska, Dunleavy is still promoting the state's oil industry. But he says he's excited by the plummeting cost of renewable power sources, and their potential to bring down electricity prices and recruit more business to the state.
underwater grasses in a tundra pond, with a boardwalk

Alaska Gov. Dunleavy says court decision limiting federal regulation of wetlands aids ‘responsible development’

The U.S. Supreme Court trimmed the EPA's authority. Implications for the Pebble Mine are unclear.
sign on a door says 'please wear a face mask'

Anchorage mask ordinance could sidestep mayor’s opposition to public health mandates

A proposed ordinance requiring masks indoors and at large outdoor gatherings in Anchorage was introduced to the Assembly Monday at a special meeting. It comes amid increasing alarm from Anchorage hospitals, which are overwhelmed with COVID-19 patients. 

Infrastructure bill is ‘once in a lifetime investment,’ Murkowski says

It’s impossible to say how much of the trillion dollars in spending would go to Alaska. A lot of it will be awarded as grants. But U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski said some would be allocated by formula, such as $4.3 billion over five years for Alaska’s highways.
A white man in a gray suit

Alaska House backs off sanctions for legislator in far-right Oath Keepers group

House Majority Leader Chris Tuck said it was “questionable” whether the votes were there to remove Republican Rep. David Eastman from committees.

AK: High tunnel greenhouses on the Kenai Peninsula

Alaska, a farming capitol? It seems far-fetched, but it’s fast becoming a reality. In the last six years, a federal cost chare program through the USDA means giant greenhouses are popping up all over the state. Most of them can be spotted on the Kenai Peninsula. Listen now

Without a mask mandate, Anchorage businesses wade into culture clash

Businesses that have required customers and employees to wear masks say that they've run into some brusque opposition from those who say that such requirements are a violation of personal liberty.
A dog team mushes by a snowmachine.

Musher Ryan Redington’s dogs still recovering after hit by snowmachine in Wisconsin

On Saturday night, Redington said he was mushing his team on the trail when he saw a snowmachine barreling toward him at a high speed.