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.”

Blue and red police lights.

Anchorage police fire on suspect who then jumped from Midtown hotel window

Police say an officer fired on Ryan A. Hunt, who was wanted on a felony warrant, before he jumped from a second-story window Wednesday.
a landslide

Wrangell search suspended for 12-year-old boy still missing in deadly landslide

Derek Heller was never found after the Nov. 20 slide that killed four other members of his family and 65-year-old Otto Florschutz.
A person holds an iphone

Growing up in a highly-public world | Line One

On this Line One, host Prentiss Pemberton explores the way living in a highly publicized world can impact mental health and development.
A mirrored building.

Anchorage Assembly overrides all Bronson budget vetoes

Some Assembly members took issue with Bronson’s stated rationale for the cuts. They debated the veto overrides for about a half-hour.
Class desks in front of clear windows with alternated yellow and blue tints

Mat-Su School District sued over restraint and seclusion practices

Alaska's second-largest school district has been hit with a third lawsuit in as many weeks, this time for restraint and seclusion practices.
a grocery store

A new SNAP backlog leaves 12,000 Alaskans waiting for food stamps

The backlog affects more than 10% of the state's roughly 92,000 SNAP recipients. State officials say they're pausing applicant interviews to catch up.

Biden to sign order promoting tribal self-determination

The White House is hosting the 11th tribal summit this week. Interior Secretary Haaland says the administration has focused on co-management.
a person speaks into a microphone

400 military officers were just promoted. Sen. Sullivan says the confirmation blockade shouldn’t have lasted so long.

Sen. Tuberville has blocked every military confirmation vote since February to protest an abortion policy. He finally relented.
a woman

Juneau leaders consider whether – and how – to limit cruise ship visitors

Tourism Manager Alexandra Pierce says the cruise industry may be willing to discuss ship-free days, ship size limits or a daily visitor cap.
A police car marked as Anchorage Police.

Anchorage police roll out body cameras, with about a quarter of officers outfitted so far

Anchorage voters approved a $1.6 million tax levy more than two years ago to buy and equip city police officers with body cameras.

Resources for startup businesses | Talk of Alaska

We discuss what it takes to launch a successful startup, and how to keep it growing, on this Talk of Alaska.
a lecture

Persily perforates Alaska natural gas line’s prospects in ‘Gasonomics’ talk

Longtime energy observer Larry Persily thinks Alaska will import natural gas to meet its needs, rather than building an in-state gas pipeline.
a state ferry

Alaska ferry system awarded $132M in federal grants

U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski said the funds, largely intended to replace the ferry Tustumena, represent “a big, fat deal” for Alaskan ferry riders.
sign posted on green grass says "sign here" and says ranked choice voting "get rid of it"

Anti-ranked choice voting campaign is operating out of a South Anchorage church, new APOC complaint alleges

An attorney for ranked choice foes says the complaint is overblown and that the religious organization receives rent.
several colorful posters with dollar figures hang on a large bulletin board

Ripping open the world of pull-tabs, Alaska’s most popular form of charitable gaming

All legal gaming in Alaska benefits nonprofits, and the most popular form, pull-tabs, is played at more than 1,000 locations statewide.
planes

Alaska-Hawaiian merger tests Biden administration’s resolve to preserve competition

The deal is smaller than mergers a decade ago. But regulators are already fighting another small merger — JetBlue’s proposal to buy Spirit Airlines.
a Cook Inlet oil platform

Cook Inlet natural gas producer says it’s sitting on large deposit, but nobody wants in

Natural gas extraction in the Cook Inlet region has become more difficult, and utilities are considering importing it from outside Alaska.
Goose Creek Prison. Photo by Ellen Lockyer, KSKA - Anchorage.

Grunwald murderer, 12 others charged with smuggling drugs into Alaska prisons

Dominic Johnson, serving 99 years for David Grunwald's death, is among 11 inmates and two visitors indicted on charges of promoting contraband.
a landslide

‘We could still hear the hillside cracking’: How Wrangellites helped each other after the landslide

People stuck on the far side of the fatal Nov. 20 slide described a night of confusion and an improvised evacuation.

Alaska tribe’s members say corruption, self-serving deals brought Manh Choh gold mine to their land

A former tribal chief for the Native Village of Tetlin greenlit the mine and leased mineral exploration rights to a mining venture, now led by Kinross Alaska.