Programs

Alaskans seeking food stamps run into a huge backlog. No House Speaker means no swearing in yet for Mary Peltola. Plus an update on the efforts to dig Anchorage out of last month's snowstorms.

Alaskans wonder if high grocery prices will continue in the new year. Also, a new air traffic control tower planned for Anchorage will be Alaska's tallest building. And a Fairbanks hotel's aurora globe offers a new northern lights experience.

Ketchikan's police chief faces assault charges after a September incident. Also, Juneau wrestles with the potential for landslides or avalanches to impact downtown buildings. And managers of so-far healthy bison populations look forward to years of harvests.

Alaska's military service members are set to get higher pay in 2023. The Ketchikan School District could be on the hook for huge health insurance payments. And a former Olympian turned Homer high school coach talks about her work in advocacy.

After more than a year without an official director, the Anchorage Public Library is under new leadership. How the airline meltdown is canceling plans months and even years in the making. Plus the land rising and falling makes for some unique engineering around an Alaska river.

Alaskans are still stranded across the country as nasty weather keeps planes grounded. And a new federal committee is working to change derogatory names on American landmarks. Plus researchers are bouncing a radio signal from Alaska off a far-out space object.

A new nursing program in Alaska pays students as they learn a profession. Also, combining solar farms with agriculture for better crops.

State officials say it could take months to clear a backlog of food stamps applications. Also, concerns over the high number of Alaska Natives who have died in Department of Corrections custody this year.

State officials say it could take months to clear a backlog of food stamps applications. Also, concerns over the high number of Alaska Natives who have died in Department of Corrections custody this year.

The Anchorage Assembly expands the capacity of its largest shelter amid a leadership shakeup in the Bronson administration. Plus the bright light Southcentral residents saw in the sky this morning wasn't a bird or a plane, but something more exciting. And a new book examines the history of Black Alaskans.

The Anchorage School Board approves cut recommendations, but there's likely still more to come. Plus Alaskans are losing their food benefits with no explanation from the state. And Kodiak High School students are working to tackle food insecurity among their peers.

Talk of Alaska’s “Holiday Greetings from Across the State” returns again to connect Alaskans from Utqiagvik to Juneau, hear festive greetings, well wishes, and sentiments from those who call Alaska home.. Join host Steve Heimel for this annual two-hour tradition of season's greetings statewide.

The FIG program’s Global Spice Blends has grown in popularity, providing job opportunities and community building for recently resettled refugees.

Oath Keeper founder Stewart Rhodes testifies at Representative David Eastman's trial. Plus, Anchorage city manager Amy Demboski resigns suddenly with no explanation.

Anchorage teachers worry about budget cuts that could mean larger class sizes. Plus, we dig deep into your questions about the Winter storms in Southcentral Alaska. And, a logging operation in Yakutat faces pushback over concerns about the historical importance of the site.

On the next Outdoor Explorer, the second part of a two-part series on the Stewart Trail, a contested public access point to Chugach State Park. Our guests are Chris Reynolds, the treasurer of Friends of the Stewart Public Trail, and Kelly Becker, a long-time trail adjacent homeowner.

Tom Choate came to Alaska in the in the late 1950's exploring and climbing,  and is still at it.  He was a ski infantryman for the Air National guard, the first ranger naturalist in Mt Mckinley National Park, now Denali National Park, climbed or tried to climb Denali in 1963, 1983, 1993, 2003, and in 2013 became the oldest person to summit Denali at the age of 78.  His other significant climbs include the South Face of Sunlight Peak in the Chugach Mountains in 1967, Bellicose Peak in 1990, Mount Torbert in 1988 and has many first ascents around the world.  He has hours of stories and shares some of them and his ideas for a successful long life of adventure on this episode of Outdoor Explorer. 

Planning for the outdoors comes at all levels, both personal and for State Park staff. On the first half of this Outdoor Explorer we'll talk to Ricky Geese, Director of Alaska's Division of Parks and Outdoor Recreation, and Zach Babb with the National Park Service's Rivers, Trails, and Conservation Assistance program about the Statewide Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan, or "SCORP." This document is in draft form and the state is looking for input from the public. It help sets the state's priorities when it comes to managing state parks for the next five years. It is also full of interesting data about outdoor recreation and tourism. On the second half of the show Rick Roth of Alaska Mountaineering and Hiking discusses the newest outdoor gear in time for the holiday shopping season.

Governor Dunleavy releases his draft of the next state budget. Plus, the struggle to plow Anchorage streets continues after a third snowstorm hit the municipality. And a film festival on the Kenai peninsula shines a light on native languages.

Meet Angelique Echols. After a tragic loss, she's now living in remote Chitina, Alaska knocking items off her bucket list.