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 woman on a bike

$100K of specialty cycling equipment stolen from Challenge Alaska in Anchorage

The stolen equipment was a mix of standard bicycles and specially-made cycles for people with disabilities.
Two people sit at a table with a laptop and mic in front of them.

Anchorage Thai restaurant becomes haven for gamers

Thai Kitchen is one of the few remaining spaces in the city where people can play video games face-to-face.
a map of fires

Lightning strikes spark new wave of Interior Alaska wildfires

Alaska Fire Service spokeswoman Beth Ipsen says the agency recorded 7,000 lightning strikes around the Interior overnight Monday.
a man

Permafrost expert, military pilot among 4 dead in North Slope helicopter crash

Ronald Daanen, 51; Justin Germann, 27; Tori Moore, 26; and pilot Bernard “Tony” Higdon, 48, all died in last week's crash during a scientific mission.
A picture of Anchorage Alaska's skyline.

Haze from Canada wildfires coming to Southcentral Alaska this week

The smoke is from numerous wildfires burning in Canada’s Yukon Territory.
a man in a suit with a red tie speaks at a podium

Anchorage Mayor Bronson floats plan to buy one-way plane tickets for homeless residents

Anchorage Mayor Dave Bronson says he doesn’t foresee the Sullivan Arena becoming a mass homeless shelter this winter.
woven booties next to two bags

Alaska accuses souvenir store of selling fake Native art and products from ‘Yakutat alpacas’

As the state’s tourism industry rebounds after the COVID-19 pandemic emergency, state and federal officials have been cracking down on fake Alaska Native art.
a man and a woman

No new nuclear facilities along vulnerable coasts, Alaska regulators say

Last year, Gov. Mike Dunleavy signed into law a bill that makes it easier for companies to place small, modular nuclear reactors in the state.
a grocery store

Alaska’s food stamps backlog continues, with delayed appeals and Medicaid issues on the horizon

The Alaska Legal Services Corp. says the state is still taking an unlawfully long time to approve applications.
a rocky beach

As frustration grows, Quintillion extends timeline for restoring Western Alaska internet service

Repairs to the broken fiberoptic cable can’t happen until sea ice opens up enough for a repair vessel to get through.
a fishing vessel

Why sockeye flourish and chinook fail in Alaska’s changing climate

Scientists say they have clues to help explain this tale of two salmon.
construction workers and machinery at a coastal construction site

Trident’s new processing plant in Unalaska will be the largest in North America

The plant will focus on automation, renewable energy and on 100% protein capture — being so efficient that not a scrap of fish is wasted.
cars

Bethel’s first car show is a blast from Alaska’s past

It takes a lot of work to maintain a vehicle in Bethel, and that’s a big part of why Zack Huckstep organized the city’s first car show.
three people in hard hats shovel gravel into a wheelbarrow

From planting trees to fixing trails, Anchorage teens spend summer improving city parks

The 10-week YEP program hires highschoolers to work on park and trail improvements around the city, while also teaching them leadership and job skills.
tents along the sidewalk

Anchorage outdoor deaths surge to a record since closure of Sullivan Arena shelter

Twenty-nine people believed to be homeless have died in the city so far in 2023, including six in a four-day period in July.
a sexual assault kit

Alaska sexual assault survivors can now track their evidence kits

State officials say 48 kits have been logged into the system so far since its June launch, and 33 survivors have used the system to track their status.
a landscape with mountains and a tree killed by beetles

Spruce beetles’ expansion into Denali poses questions about future changes in the forest

The aggressive infestation that took hold in the Matanuska-Susitna Borough in 2016 has now spread north.
A white van parked outside.

Anchorage Health Department announces firing, then un-firing, of contractor that runs 24-hour sleep-off service

The contractor’s service has been inconsistent for months due to staffing shortages. A fire department official says that’s better than going months without the service at all.

Anchorage’s Sullivan Arena will soon reopen as entertainment venue

The Sullivan Arena has served as a mass homeless shelter off and on since 2020.