Alaska Public Media

An infusion of federal transportation dollars into the state ferry system is helping Southeast Alaska regional administrators see better times ahead.

City of Palmer voters will decide Tuesday whether to approve a $10 million general obligation bond to fund a replacement for the Palmer Public Library.

Gail Smithhisler's Facebook page, Iñupiaq Word of the Day, features daily videos describing and pronouncing words and phrases from the language.

Investigators say the whale, a female sub-adult found Sept. 25, had been attacked by predators and may have been struck by a boat.

For lots of families in Alaska, MapHabit could become indispensable. The state has a shortage of care workers and many families are stretched thin.

The Senate voted 88-9 to approve a short-term spending bill to fund the government through Nov. 17. President Biden signed the bill into law shortly afterward.

A breast cancer patient who received similar treatments in Seattle and Juneau saw significant differences in cost.

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy rejected a bipartisan Senate proposal to keep agencies funded through Nov. 17 and instead moved a GOP bill that linked another month of spending with border security.

The disruption of the pandemic focused even more attention on a perennial concern for Alaska, our distance from major food suppliers. The future economic health of our state depends in part on having a more robust, local supply of food to reduce reliance on outside producers. In this episode of Alaska Insight, host Lori Townsend is joined by Glenna Gannon, an assistant professor of sustainable food systems with the University of Alaska Fairbanks, and Tikaan Galbreath, technical assistance network director with the Intertribal Agriculture Council, to discuss creating sustainable food systems in Alaska.

Nearly 60 years ago, Anchorage became the main point of entry for building materials, consumer goods and military support after Seward’s port was destroyed by the tsunami triggered by the 1964 earthquake. There are many advantages to having the main port in the state’s largest city, but there are also challenges. In this episode of Alaska Insight, host Lori Townsend speaks with Port Director Steve Ribuffo about the plans to keep the port viable for years to come.

Across Alaska, it’s a challenge to find affordable housing. Home building and vacancy rates are down, while rent, mortgage rates and home prices are up. The lack of affordable housing drives people into overcrowded homes and homelessness, or out of state. Some officials have begun referring to it as a housing crisis. On this episode of Alaska Insight, host Lori Townsend is joined by Anchorage Assembly Member Dr. Daniel Volland, and Nolan Klouda, Executive Director of the University of Alaska Center for Economic Development, to discuss the causes, and possible solutions, of Alaska's housing crunch.