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.”

State ends Wellpath contract to run psychiatric institute, could open up contract for bids

The company will continue to work at the facility through December. The state also has hired a contractor to study whether it makes sense to privatize API.
Distant volcano in morning light

3 erupting Alaska volcanoes spitting lava or ash clouds

Three remote Alaska volcanoes are in various states of eruption, one producing lava and the other two blowing steam and ash. So far, none of...

Ask a Climatologist: Long temperature streak ends

For the first time since February, the statewide temperature index for Alaska dipped below normal earlier this week. Sunday and Monday were both slightly below normal, interrupting a 218 day stretch of above normal temperatures. Listen Now

Rep. Young’s Washington office, key to his brand, still stands. For now.

The bear, the guns, the heads — they aided his reputation for fierceness. Or, as some saw it, bullying.
three women pose for a photo

Y-K Delta women describe the realities of living with climate change for foreign dignitaries

“Every year it seems to get worse,” said Newtok resident Carolyn George.
a fishing vessel

‘Alaska’s secret wild salmon prices hurt everybody,’ fisheries journalist says

Intrafish's John Fiorillo argues that secretive price setting in Alaska salmon fisheries strains relationships between fishermen and processors.

Feds to drop new habitat rules, ending state’s legal challenge

The Trump administration has agreed to rewrite rules that would have made it easier for the government to designate areas as "critical habitat" for endangered species. Listen now
a bear

Chonky and they know it: Voting starts in Fat Bear Week

Votes for the 12 Katmai National Park bears in this year's Fat Bear Week bracket are being taken until Oct. 10.
Sea ice

How climate researchers and Juneau composers are turning data into song

Through the project, music composers will interpret glacier outburst floods, high latitude mirages and arctic sea ice changes.

Alaska’s China trade mission wraps up with no big gasline news

Gov. Walker and the delegation met with Sinopec, the state-owned oil and gas company that could be a partner for the gasline. But the company's president said there was a lot more work to be done on the project than originally imagined. Listen now

Fairbanks council OKs more than doubling city’s tobacco tax to 20%

Tax advocates said the increase, approved Monday, leaves Fairbanks below Alaska's average local tobacco tax rate of 39%.

Early Voting on Pace to Surpass 2006 Numbers

Associated Press Absentee and early voting could play an important role in the outcome of the Alaska Senate race. In the first three days of...

Nomination for Fish and Game Commissioner Closer to Confirmation

Associated Press Alaska lawmakers on Friday moved Cora Campbell’s nomination for commissioner of the Department of Fish and Game one step closer to ...
A girl holds a tape measure to some snow on a table

Fluffy and deep: Storm drops more than a foot of snow in Southcentral Alaska

More than 16 inches were reported in some parts of Anchorage by Thursday morning.

10 candidates file to fill Don Young’s unexpired term as deadline looms

Candidates face a Friday deadline to file with the state Division of Elections to run in the special primary, set for June 11.
woman stands at podium that says "violence against women Act" other women behind her.

Senators offer bill to renew Violence Against Women Act, with a section honoring an Alaska murder victim

Angelina Jolie lent her star power to a bill in the U.S. Senate to renew the Violence Against Women Act.
Two women stand together near a table with handwoven baskets.

Kenaitze Tribe’s craft classes help elders socialize and learn new skills

Helen Dick, a Dena’ina elder, learned to make birch bark baskets from her grandmother. Now, she’s teaching others to make them, too.

Fishing towns object to Alaska’s mandate overruling local COVID-19 restrictions

Fishing towns are asking for more say in regulating who is allowed into their communities during the coronavirus pandemic.
A health care worker holding a syringe

Pfizer vaccine’s protection against COVID wanes quickly in kids ages 5-11, study says

In all cases, the vaccine proved to provide strong protection against becoming seriously ill.