Rachel Cassandra
Health and Wellness ReporterRachel Cassandra is the health and wellness reporter and producer. As a reporter, she covers statewide health and mental health news. A few of her areas of focus include addiction and the opioid epidemic, food and health care insecurity, rural health care, mental health care and stories of how communities thrive. She also occasionally produces shows for LineOne: Your Health Connection. She’s worked in Alaska Public Media’s newsroom since May 2023.
Before working for AKPM, Rachel was a reporter in Petersburg for KFSK. She also interned for Sitka’s radio station, KCAW. She worked for many years as a freelance journalist, reporting for a range of publications including KQED, Mindsite News, The Atlantic, Atmos and VICE. She graduated from UC Berkeley’s Graduate School of Journalism.
When Rachel is not reporting, she might be running, hiking, crafting, illustrating, reading, playing board games or playing with her two cats — Indigo and Persephone.
You can reach Rachel at rcassandra@alaskapublic.org.
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The state released data from emergency department visits from 2019 to 2024 and urges Alaskans to wear protective gear when riding. -
The class-action lawsuit alleged children in state custody are at risk due to systemic foster care problems. Judge Sharon Gleason dismissed the lawsuit in March. -
A coalition of providers in Alaska is prioritizing preventative and whole-person care while federal funding for the state incentivizes more programs like it. -
Identity Alaska’s Anchorage clinic will end patient care this month. They’re closing their doors because of financial and logistical pressures. -
Johnny Allen Nashookpuk and Jeffery Mulifai were both housed at Goose Creek Correctional Center in Wasilla and died in late March. They are the first two inmates to die in 2026. -
The lawsuit was brought by a national nonprofit that argued children in state custody are at risk of harm because of systemic inadequacies.
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Sad, angry and fed up people packed Town Square Park to condemn the Trump administration. There was also hope. -
Around 25,000 Alaskans are facing skyrocketing insurance costs in 2026. So we found some other options for accessing affordable care. -
If passed, Alaska would join more than 40 other states in a shared licensing process. The aim is to address the state’s nursing shortage, but nurse unions are pushing back. -
The ACLU Alaska is suing the Alaska Department of Corrections on behalf of a man who said he was forcibly medicated with powerful psychotropic medication for most of the past seven years.
