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.”

ravens

Cruise ship season begins in Juneau

The first ship of the year — the Norwegian Bliss — arrived early Tuesday morning.

Alaska Native remains repatriated from Oregon asylum but many Lost Alaskans still buried

Patients who died at places like Morningside Hospital in Portland, were often buried there and never returned home.
a woman talks into a mic

Bianca Cross to be first woman to lead Anchorage Police Department

Mayor Dave Bronson promoted Cross as he prepares for a runoff election in May, though he insists the move isn’t political.
Solar panels stretching off into the distance connected by electrical wire.

Railbelt electric utilities are facing a major energy crunch. Renewables may be the answer.

The region’s electric grid needs to find a replacement for Cook Inlet natural gas. One study suggests over the long term, the cheapest option is to ramp up renewable energy. 
boats

Wrangell installs anodes to protect corroded harbor pilings

Divers will install 830 pieces of "sacrificial metal" to divert electric currents at three harbor locations in the Southeast Alaska community.
a woman

Many 911 call centers are understaffed, and the job has gotten harder

The question of whether to send police or mental health clinicians usually rests with 911 workers, who are often overworked and overstressed.
caribou

Lawmaker proposes Alaska Constitution amendment to resolve subsistence disputes with feds

Alaska Native leaders have blasted the proposal from Rep. Thomas Baker, R-Kotzebue, with one calling it “another attempt at a power grab by the state.”
a building

Fairbanks hosts final gathering to remember Polaris Building

The 72-year-old structure will be fully demolished this spring, after it suffered flood damage from frozen pipes in 2001.
fishing boats

Shuttered Dillingham and Port Moller salmon facilities to reopen this season

Seattle-based Silver Bay Seafoods will operate the facilities closed by Peter Pan Seafoods. It is also buying Peter Pan's Valdez plant.
a cyclist

Belgian man to brave Denali climb in human-powered quest

Jelle Veyt has climbed four of Earth's Seven Summits — reaching them, and now Denali, with only human and wind-powered transportation.
A police car marked as Anchorage Police.

Anchorage police seek suspect who struck cyclist in hit-and-run

Police say the suspect's vehicle struck a cyclist heading north on Arctic Boulevard from behind Monday night, severely injuring him.
a fogbow

Russian objection to U.S. territorial claims off Alaska complicates maritime relationship

The response shows how failure to ratify the Convention on the Law of the Sea puts the U.S. at a disadvantage, says Sen. Lisa Murkowski.
two people look up at hte sky

A rare solar eclipse darkened skies and dazzled viewers across the U.S.

Crowds and clouds didn't stop people from gathering across the path of totality. Viewers craned their necks and clapped as skies briefly darkened, a sight the U.S. won't see again until 2044.
A man in a reflective vest picks uses a trash picker around tarps, tents and needles.

Anchorage officials aim to keep camping in check as winter shelters wind down

The Anchorage Assembly is taking up an ordinance to limit the size of encampments and create safe parking for people living in their cars.
a building

Delta Junction council meeting disrupted by porn, trolls

The hackers interrupted Tuesday's virtual meeting with an explicit video, bickering and demands to speak before city officials pulled the plug.
a cruise ship

Juneau had a record-breaking cruise season last year. This year should be about the same.

With the capital's first cruise ship arriving Tuesday, Juneau’s tourism manager says things should “run a lot more smoothly” this year.
a whale

A humpback whale is free after days-long entanglement in Unalaska’s Iliuliuk Bay

A team of state and federal officials were able to free the whale Friday morning.
a council

Western Alaska tribes, outraged by bycatch, turn up the heat on fishery managers and trawlers

The debate is increasingly urgent, as subsistence harvesting bans continue and proposed fixes threaten to impose steep costs on industry.
an airliner

Boeing pays Alaska Airlines $160M after 737 Max door-plug blowout over Oregon

Alaska Airlines says Boeing has paid $160 million in initial compensation for losses that the airline suffered after the January blowout over Portland, Ore.
A group of students walking of their school wearing red and holding a sign that reads, "Prioritize my Education."

Alaska schools making drastic cuts in wake of governor’s veto, school administrators council says

Lisa Parady is the Executive Director of the Alaska Council of School Administrators and says the council's members are doing everything they can to avoid negative impacts to classrooms and students.