Matthew Smith

Small businesses across the Norton Sound—from existing shop owners to aspiring entrepreneurs—are sharing more than $127,000 thanks to the latest round of Small Business Initiative Grants from the Norton Sound Economic Development Corporation.

A highly anticipated study looking into a deep-draft Arctic port for Alaska is being shelved for at least a year by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers—due to what the Corps calls the changing economic picture of the Arctic.Download Audio

A proposed mining road through Interior Alaska that was shelved amid the state’s multi-billion dollar budget crisis has been authorized by the administration of Gov. Bill Walker to spend more than $3 million to start an environmental assessment.

It’s not too late to register for classes at Northwest Campus, and this semester, many one-credit courses will come a little cheaper, thanks to a $14,000 grant from the Norton Sound Economic Development Corporation.

Twenty-five walrus—including up to a dozen calves—have been found dead on a beach about 40 miles north of Point Hope. Now federal wildlife officials are investigating a possible criminal slaughter of the protected marine mammals. Download Audio

President Obama ended his three-day tour of Alaska on Wednesday along the western coast—first in Dillingham and then Kotzebue—where he officially unveiled new initiatives aimed at helping Alaska’s rural villages cope with climate change in the fast-thawing Arctic.Download Audio

A celebration took place in Kotzebue as final preparations are made for President Obama’s visit today. And with the spotlight on the Northwest Arctic hub — for the first visit by an American president above the Arctic Circle — local leaders have drafted a letter outlining their vision for the Arctic’s future.

As president Barack Obama plans to shift his focus to western Alaska by midweek, residents of Kotzebue — the northwest Arctic hub of about 4,000 people — are making final preparations for the president’s historic visit above the Arctic Circle.Download Audio

As President Barack Obama plans to shift his focus to western Alaska by midweek, residents of Kotzebue — the northwest Arctic hub of about 4,000 people — are making final preparations for the president’s historic visit above the Arctic Circle.

President Barack Obama touches down in Alaska Monday for a three-day tour to the state, and beyond focusing on climate change in visits to Anchorage, Dillingham, and Kotzebue, the president is beginning his trip by restoring the Alaska Native name to North America’s highest mountain.