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 man with curly hair and a head lamp

Musher who was disqualified, then reinstated, now withdraws from the Iditarod

Eddie Burke Jr. said he leased dogs to other mushers after he was disqualified and it was too difficult to reassemble his team.
a road camera image

Southcentral, Southwest Alaska to see deep subzero wind chills through the weekend

Subzero Arctic air funneling into the region along with wind gusts could produce wind chills of 50 degrees below zero, meteorologists say.
the Supreme Court

Supreme Court hears challenge to Trump-era ban on bump stocks for guns

Justices are reviewing then-president Donald Trump's 2018 ban on bump stocks, after their use in a Las Vegas mass shooting that left 60 people dead.

Anchorage Assembly rejects resolution calling for ceasefire in Israel-Hamas conflict

The Assembly opted to forgo debate and voted 9-3 to postpone the ordinance indefinitely, effectively killing it.
sign posted on green grass says "sign here" and says ranked choice voting "get rid of it"

Anti-ranked choice voting initiative clears first hurdle on way to November ballot

The state Division of Elections is working to verify signatures for the anti-RCV initiative, as well as one to increase the state's minimum wage.
Man speaking in front of state seal

Dunleavy demands additional concessions before he’ll sign bipartisan education bill

Gov. Mike Dunleavy says he'll veto the bill if lawmakers don't address his priorities.

Trump campaign has an Alaska chair: Kelly Tshibaka

Tshibaka ran for U.S. Senate in 2022 and then founded an organization that advocates against ranked choice voting.
a musher with a microphone under the Iditarod burled arch

Two Alaska reporters explain the sexual assault allegations against Iditarod musher Brent Sass

The Iditarod's decision came nearly four months after the race received a letter accusing Sass of sexual assault.
The view from Point Hope, early winter 2015. (Photo by Ellen Chenoweth/University of Alaska Fairbanks)

Teen suspect charged with murder after Point Hope shooting leaves 2 dead, 2 wounded

According to charging documents, 16-year-old Guy Nashookpuk shot four people Sunday, two of them fatally, before allegedly confessing to police.
Lisa Murkowski

Murkowski calls proposed endangered listing for Alaska king salmon ‘wrongheaded’

Sen. Lisa Murkowski says the Wild Fish Conservancy's proposal, like its lawsuit over Southeast king fishing, is meant "to basically stop our wild fisheries."

Anchorage mayoral candidates address sales tax, muni workforce issues

Most of the questions at the Anchorage Chamber of Commerce event were about economic and business issues.
a building

Feds won’t pay for contested $10M steel purchase in Haines dock project

A U.S. Maritime Administration review determined that the steel was purchased before its approval, barring it from reimbursement.
a sunset

Alaska natural gas promoter floats new plan: Send North Slope gas to Southcentral first

The Alaska Gasline Development Corp. suggests supplying the Cook Inlet region with natural gas as a phased prelude to Asia-bound LNG exports.

Peltola counts FTC action against supermarket merger as a win for bipartisanship

U.S. Rep. Mary Peltola's address to the state Legislature in Juneau was infused with her brand of unity politics.
a volcano

Unalaska positions to walk away from geothermal agreement

A Friday memo from Unalaska's administration advises against renewing a power purchase agreement in the Makushin Volcano geothermal project.
a woman with glasses in a meeting room

Gov. Mike Dunleavy says bipartisan education funding bill ‘falls far short’

The bill would increase the base per-student state funding to school districts by $680, the first substantial increase since 2016. The bill would also provide new support to charter and correspondence schools and offer funding to help young students struggling to read.
a grader

Kuskokwim Ice Road crew fights weather to keep river traffic flowing

The crew has established and marked more than 200 miles of roads along frozen rivers, during warm weather and intermittent snow storms.
Dillingham

Bristol Bay is getting a drug investigator

An Alaska State Trooper will hold the position, vacant since 2012 amid state staff shortages, as fentanyl and other drugs flow across the region.
Tom McKay

Alaska House approves relaxed environmental rules for ‘advanced recycling’

Rep. Tom McKay, R-Anchorage and House Bill 143’s prime sponsor, said the bill now headed to the state Senate would keep plastic out of landfills.
Lisa Murkowski

Murkowski pushing to extend federal landslide risk monitoring program

Sen. Lisa Murkowski is trying to get the National Landslide Preparedness Act she helped push through Congress reauthorized for the next 10 years.