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.”

Lisa Murkowski

Advocates, Murkowski seek next steps after Native boarding school report

Alaska boarding-school survivors and Sen. Lisa Murkowski applaud the federal report, but say it tells only part of the story.
Hoonah

Boundary commission report recommends denial of Hoonah borough petition

Staff with Alaska’s Local Boundary Commission cited “substantive concerns” with the plan, before members meet Sept. 5 in Hoonah.
a rally

Alaska school districts got a one-time funding boost. It came too late for many teachers.

Many school boards opted for conservative budgets that included layoffs of teachers before the governor signed the budget this year.
an icebreaker

Coast Guard icebreaker Healy cancels Arctic mission after electrical fire

The Healy, one of only two operational U.S. icebreakers, had just begun its summer patrol northwest of Alaska in the Chukchi Sea.
a meeting

Inside the ‘titanic’ legal case that will help determine Alaska’s energy future: an analysis

Written testimony and public hearings help explain how an Anchorage electric utility’s proposed rate hike could affect consumers.
a state ferry

Kodiak celebrates state ferry Tustumena’s 60 years of service

Kodiak held a block party to mark the "Trusty Tusty's" diamond anniversary, with officials sharing updates about her replacement.
a man poses for a photo outside

Working from home allowed him to be a more engaged dad. Now it’s over.

Return-to-office policies are getting stricter, upending the lives of those who had gotten used to working from home.
a sign

Alaska invested millions to fix food stamp backlogs. Some users still can’t get through.

The state has not finished its tech rollout and officials say they are still working to reopen offices and get benefits to Alaskans.
Four kids, two sitting in a chair look at something across the room as a lady in a grey shirt reads a story to them.

Anchorage’s Hmoob Cultural Center struggles to stay open as child care crisis continues

The child care provider is struggling with high operating costs and low state subsidies. It's a familiar trend in a state strapped for child care.
Two stores side by side.

The parent companies of 2 of Alaska’s grocers want to merge. Here’s what we know.

The companies have made sweeping statements about the benefits of merging, but there isn’t anything in place to hold them to those promises.
Pilot Station

Pilot Station city officials charged with felony election interference

Pilot Station acting mayor Arthur Heckman Sr. and city clerk Ruthie Borromeo each face eight counts of violating state election laws.
Cook Inlet

Texas company seeks LNG import facility in Cook Inlet

The news is the latest development in the region’s race to stave off a looming shortfall of Cook Inlet natural gas.
a woman in glasses at a meeting desk

In Eagle River, a five-way race could be a factor in control of the state Senate

The contest is one of only three that will see a candidate eliminated in the Aug. 20 primary election.
Woman reaches for canned food on shelf

These local meal delivery services are trying to help Alaskans save time 

Americans have embraced meal kit services — where all of the ingredients for a tasty dinner are delivered to your doorstep. But most national options aren’t widely or easily available in Alaska.
a woman in a red rain jacket and white helmet smiles big. there is another person behind her on a bike

Anchorage cyclists cheer on Lael Wilcox as she bikes across the world

Wilcox passed through her hometown this week as she attempts to become the fastest female cyclist to circumnavigate the globe.

Alaska’s North Slope sees record-breaking heat, among state’s other climate oddities

The heat, due to a Chinook wind and higher temperatures from climate change, caused Deadhorse to soar to an all-time record 89 degrees.
a child

Researchers decipher MIS-C, the scary illness that followed COVID in some kids

Some children who had COVID developed a severe inflammatory response that could put them in the ICU. Scientists have learned why.
an early voting station

Mail delays postpone the start of pre-Election Day voting in parts of rural Alaska

Democrats expressed worries about the effect of a delay in early voting in some rural areas on Mary Peltola's campaign for U.S. House.
an SUV

Record-breaking rain drenches Anchorage, triggering road closures and a flood advisory

Anchorage police reported closures along Spenard Road and 36th Avenue, after the city received more than an inch of rain Wednesday.
officials

Alaska leaders work together following ‘devastating’ glacial flooding in Juneau

Gov. Mike Dunleavy and U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski toured neighborhoods that experienced record-breaking flooding.