TopFeatured.com

Donna Baker (middle) delivers an appreciation basket to the crew at Fire Station 5. “It’s dessert for after your lunch,” Donna told them. (Mayowa Aina/Alaska Public Media) Listen to this story: The smell of chocolate, peanut butter and blueberries fills Donna Baker’s home in Northeast Anchorage. She’s baked hundreds of different kinds of brownies, cookies,…

Photo of the Astra rocket launch in Kodiak Alaska on Sept. 11 2020. (Astra / John Kraus) Friday evening was clear and crisp in Kodiak, when Astra’s 3.1 rocket lifted off just after 7:00 p.m. from the Pacific Spaceport Complex. Mark Van Dongen and son, Eric, had been out deer hunting nearby and decided to…

(Alaska Department of Labor) The COVID-19 pandemic has wreaked havoc on the economy, and caused widespread unemployment.  While all racial and ethnic groups have been impacted by this trend, nationally, Black and Asian Americans are facing a much greater increase in the unemployment rate, compared to white Americans. The same is true for the Hispanic…

Sen. Lisa Murkowski takes questions from reporters in the basement of the Capitol in 2017. Liz Ruskin/Alaska Public Media Sen. Lisa Murkowski says she’s concerned by reports of what President Trump told journalist Bob Woodward months ago, when Trump said he was intentionally underplaying the threat of the coronavirus. “I wanted to always play it…

Donna Baker (right) drops off one of her ‘baskets of love’ to firefighter Troy Anthis (left) who’s been enjoying Donna’s gifts for the past 15 years. Anthis says the fudge and banana bread treats are his favorite. (Mayowa Aina/Alaska Public Media) Stories are posted on the statewide news page. You can subscribe to Alaska Public Media’s newsfeeds…

(Kiplinger) Since 1990 there has been a 250% increase in divorce rates for people older than 50. What are the reasons behind this rising trend? What are the mental health implications on both divorcees and their adult children? On the next Line One, host Prentiss Pemberton and guests take a look at the causes and…

Former Lt. Gov. Byron Mallott in Sitka. (Katherine Rose/KCAW) A woman that former Lt. Gov. Byron Mallott propositioned in an Anchorage hotel room in 2018, leading to his resignation has now come forward to tell her story. The woman, Jody Potts, is Alaska Native and a former village public safety officer sergeant. Related: Lt. Gov.…

Anchorage teacher Kelly Shrein asks students to use a thumbs up signal to show that they can hear her and understand what she’s saying. Students started classes online this school year August 20, 2020 due to the coronavirus. (Mayowa Aina/Alaska Public Media) Stories are posted on the statewide news page. You can subscribe to Alaska Public Media’s…

Former Alaska Attorney General Kevin Clarkson (Skip Gray/360 North) Three months ago, the Anchorage Daily News asked the Alaska Department of Law for copies of text messages that then-Attorney General Kevin Clarkson exchanged with another state employee. The public information request was passed directly to Clarkson, who was asked whether he had any relevant public…

Pipelines stretch toward the horizon in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska. (Photo by Elizabeth Harball/Alaska’s Energy Desk) Stories are posted on the statewide news page. You can subscribe to Alaska Public Media’s newsfeeds via email, podcast and RSS. Follow us on Facebook at alaskapublic.org and on Twitter @AKPublicNews Wednesday on Alaska News Nightly: A federal judge blocks a request to require an absentee ballot application…

Libertarian presidential candidate Jo Jorgensen met with alcohol and marijuana industry figures at the Stoney Moose, a downtown Ketchikan dispensary, on Monday, September 7, 2020. (Eric Stone/KRBD) The Libertarian Party’s candidate for U.S. President wrapped up a four-city tour of Alaska Tuesday in Juneau. Along the way, Clemson University psychology lecturer Jo Jorgensen stopped by…

The Nome Volunteer Fire Department is headquarters for the search and rescue effort for Florence Okpealuk. (Emily Russell/KNOM 2016). Local community members turned out in large numbers on Saturday to search for a missing Nome woman, but despite their efforts, Florence Okpealuk has not been found. Nome Volunteer Fire and Ambulance Department Chief Jim West…

Voters mark their ballots in the 2018 general election at a Ketchikan precinct. (Leila Kheiry/KRBD) Civil rights groups are challenging the Alaska state law that absentee ballots be signed by a witness, saying it’s an unconstitutional burden on voting rights during the COVID-19 pandemic. The lawsuit was filed Tuesday in state court against Lieutenant Governor…

East High School students (from left to right) Tom Cabanilla, Dragon Lee, and Lorry Lee play the video game League of Legends online against Petersburg High School during the first sanctioned eSports state championship playoff games. (Mayowa Aina/Alaska Public Media) Stories are posted on the statewide news page. You can subscribe to Alaska Public Media’s newsfeeds via email, podcast and RSS.…

Anchorage Police Department calls for service on property crimes from 2017-2020. (Graph courtesy Anchorage Police Department) The Anchorage Police Department reported this week that calls for police assistance appear to have decreased in the city this year, compared to the last three years. Reports of assault, thefts and property crimes are all trending somewhat down,…

COVID-19 diagnostic panel (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) The Alaska Department of Health and Social Services is prepared to receive a COVID-19 vaccination as early as November, according to Alaska’s Immunization Program Manager, Matthew Bobo. Last week [9/3], the federal government asked states to be ready to distribute a vaccine by November, but advisors…

Hundreds of people gathered in Anchorage Towne Square Park on September 7, 2020 to commemorate the 57th anniversary of the March on Washington (Mayowa Aina/Alaska Public Media) The event was organized by the Alaska Black Caucus to commemorate the 57th anniversary of the March on Washington, said President and CEO Celeste Hodge Growden. “The struggle…

Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy speaks to reporters at a fundraiser earlier this year. (Nat Herz/Alaska Public Media) Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy has agreed to reimburse the state $2,800 his office spent on mailers that may have violated Alaska ethics laws barring partisan political activity, according to a newly-published settlement with an independent investigator. The state…

The Sullivan Arena has been running at capacity for several weeks. Aug. 28, 2020 (Lex Treinen/Alaska Public Media) Anchorage’s large temporary homeless shelter at the Sullivan Arena reported 12 new cases of COVID-19 during its last round of testing. That’s the most cases reported during the shelter’s weekly tests, which have been happening for the…

Wild blueberries grow in many areas of Alaska. Berry picking is a popular activity during the summer (Photo courtesy of Kirsten Swann) Many Alaskans are wrapping up blueberry picking season and working on preserving their annual harvest. But what’s in those little blue bundles? Answer: More than just a delicious, sweet and tart treat. And,…

Toksook Bay selected their oldest resident Lizzy Nenguryar Chimiugak, age 89, to be the first person in the 2020 U.S. Census counted in the nation. Her daughter Veronica Simons sits to her left. Pictured December 11, 2019 at Chimiugak’s home. (Anna Rose MacArthur / KYUK) Census officials are sounding the alarm about a low rate…