Congresswoman Mary Peltola speaks at a 9/11 memorial on Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage on Sept. 11, 2023. (Matt Faubion/Alaska Public Media) Alaska’s sole representative in the U.S. House, Mary Peltola, is back in Washington, D.C., after a break to mourn the death of her husband. Eugene “Buzzy” Peltola Jr. died in a plane crash…
Alaska News Nightly: Monday, October 16, 2023
Workers are preparing to removing the old bell tower from the c.1870 Old St. Nicholas Russian Orthodox Stories are posted on the statewide news page. Send news tips, questions, and comments to news@alaskapublic.org. Follow Alaska Public Media on Facebook and on Twitter @AKPublicNews. And subscribe to the Alaska News Nightly podcast. Monday on Alaska News Nightly: A resolution calling for…
Remnants of Typhoon Bolaven will bring heavy rain, strong winds to Southeast Alaska
Rain trickles onto the pavement in an intersection in downtown Juneau, Nov. 19, 2019. (Ryan Cunningham/KTOO) The remnants of Typhoon Bolaven will reach the Gulf of Alaska this week, bringing moderate to heavy rain and strong winds to Southeast Alaska. National Weather Service meteorologist Kimberly Vaughan said rain is expected to pick up on Tuesday…
Alaska redistricting board agrees to pay $400K after losing Eagle River Senate lawsuit
Alaska Redistricting Board member Nicole Borromeo, chair John Binkley and member Bethany Marcum meet on May 15, 2023, in the Anchorage Legislative Office Building. Board members Melanie Bahnke and Budd Simpson joined the meeting by phone. (Andrew Kitchenman/Alaska Beacon) The five-person board in charge of drawing Alaska’s legislative districts will pay $400,000 to settle financial…
Alaska Medicaid fraud investigation leads to indictment for Kenai doctor and staff
The exterior of the Nesbett Courthouse in downtown Anchorage on August 31, 2022. (Valerie Kern/ Alaska Public Media) A Kenai doctor and his clinics’ managers face nearly two dozen felony charges in an alleged Medicaid fraud case after a grand jury indicted them Wednesday. Prosecutors say Dr. Ray Lynn Carlson, owner of MediCenter clinics on…
Filming of reality show near Petersburg could interfere with subsistence hunting
Little Duncan Bay and Duncan Canal as seen from Portage Mountain west of Petersburg. (File/KFSK) “Outlast” is a survival show where contestants are dropped into the Alaska wilderness to compete for a $1 million cash prize — it’s kind of a “Hunger Games” for adults. It’s only had one season so far, filmed on Chichagof…
State ferry Tustumena is offline for repairs for up to a week
The Tustumena stops in Kodiak in the channel between Near Island and town. (Brian Venua/KMXT) The state ferry Tustumena, which shuttles passengers between communities like Homer, Kodiak and Unalaska, is laid up in a shipyard in Seward for repairs. “(It’s) not something that we can fix while it’s in the water,” said Sam Dapcevich, a…
Hooper Bay families displaced by Merbok could lose housing this month
Flood waters from Typhoon Merbok ripped the Joe family’s home from its foundation, turned it around, and dropped it on the side of one of Hooper Bay’s main roads. The windows are broken out, the walls and floors are warped and moldy. Even so, the Joes miss having their own space. (Emily Schwing/KYUK) Loretta Smith…
Alaska tribal health groups, Mayo Clinic to partner for study on tobacco cessation
The Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium’s Anchorage headquarters on June 30, 2021. (Lex Treinen/Alaska Public Media) An Alaska-based study will explore the possible role of financial incentives and family support in the process of quitting smoking. The work is a collaboration between the Mayo Clinic and Alaska tribal health groups. “The idea is to develop…
Juneau’s cold weather shelter likely will be in a Thane warehouse this winter
A city-owned warehouse in Thane, part of which is used to process ballots, is the likely location of Juneau’s emergency cold weather shelter this winter. (Katie Anastas/KTOO) City leaders say Juneau’s emergency cold weather shelter will likely be operated by St. Vincent de Paul at a city-owned warehouse in Thane, about a mile from downtown. …
Alaska News Nightly: Friday, October 13, 2023
Martin Joe and his wife Lois (in gray) live in a low-income, three bedroom apartment with eight children ranging in age from one to 18. They were placed here on a temporary emergency basis after Typhoon Merbok destroyed their house in Hooper Bay. Their placement in the apartment expires at the end of the month.…
‘We are ready’: Bronson unveils revamped Anchorage snow removal plan
Anchorage Mayor Dave Bronson discusses his administration’s revamped snow removal plan for the 2023-2024 winter with reporters at an equipment storage and snow dump facility in West Anchorage on Oct. 13, 2023. “We are ready,” he said. (Jeremy Hsieh/Alaska Public Media) Anchorage Mayor Dave Bronson on Friday announced a revamped snow removal plan for the…
The future of Yukon River salmon | Alaska Insight
The Yukon River has been a majestic icon of power, beauty, and for generations, a sustainable source of food. Salmon reliably returned to the Yukon to provide a stable source of healthy, wild food for communities along its length. But in recent years, those reliable runs have been beleaguered by warming waters, food scarcity and…
Alaska News Nightly: Thursday, October 12, 2023
Chevak’s Mark Ulroan has been adding mouse food to his seal soup all his life. His father taught him how to find winter caches built by mice on the tundra when he was a kid. This year, he says he hasn’t been able to gather any mouse food at all. (Emily Schwing/KYUK) Stories are posted…
Rabbis and Alaska politicians condemn attack on Israel, pledge support
Rabbi Yosef Greenberg listens to U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan speak through a video conference at the Dena’ina Center in Anchorage on Oct. 11, 2023. Sullivan condemned Hamas’ attack on Israel and pledged support for Israel. (Jeremy Hsieh/Alaska Public Media) Anchorage rabbis and Alaska politicians led an event attended by about 200 people Wednesday night to…
A year after Typhoon Merbok, some coastal Alaskans struggle to find subsistence foods
Kavlakuaraq, also known as black berries or crowberries, are noticeably absent from the tundra that surrounds Chevak and Hooper Bay. Many residents believe salty flood waters from Typhoon Merbok’s storm surge and a cold, rainy summer have kept the plants from producing the berries, which are normally plentiful. (Emily Schwing/KYUK) In Hooper Bay and Chevak,…
Alaska News Nightly: Wednesday, October 11, 2023
Stories are posted on the statewide news page. Send news tips, questions, and comments to news@alaskapublic.org. Follow Alaska Public Media on Facebook and on Twitter @AKPublicNews. And subscribe to the Alaska News Nightly podcast. Wednesday on Alaska News Nightly: Anchorage loosens its drug testing policy for city workers’ off-the-clock marijuana use. Plus, Longtime Senator Donny Olson weighs in on the…
Anchorage Assembly relaxes rules on marijuana testing
Anchorage City Hall. (Hannah Lies/Alaska Public Media) The Anchorage Assembly has loosened the city’s drug testing policies regarding marijuana use. Now, most city workers will no longer be fired if they use marijuana off the clock. The changes take effect in 30 days, and come close to nine years after Alaska voters legalized recreational marijuana.…
An empty-nest mama bear just won Fat Bear Week
July 8: 128 Grazer is photographed before putting on hundreds of pounds of weight. (Naomi Boak/NPS) She didn’t need to win to prove anything. She just needed to eat hundreds of pounds of salmon so she could survive hibernation. But the bear known as 128 Grazer chomped and she romped, and now she is a…
Anchorage Assembly to vote on spending $2.5M to convert Solid Waste Services building into homeless shelter
The Municipality of Anchorage’s Solid Waste Services former administration building is located on 56th Avenue, pictured here on Sept. 20, 2023. The Anchorage Assembly will decide Thursday whether to put more than $2.5 million toward turning an old Solid Waste Services building into a homeless shelter. Officials say the building could house up to 150…
Alaska News Nightly: Tuesday, October 10, 2023
UAF associate professor Peter Westley holding spawning male chum salmon from the Anaktuvuk River in September 2023. (Joe Spencer/Alaska Department of Fish & Game) Stories are posted on the statewide news page. Send news tips, questions, and comments to news@alaskapublic.org. Follow Alaska Public Media on Facebook and on Twitter @AKPublicNews. And subscribe to the Alaska News Nightly podcast. Tuesday on…
Alaska school sports association bans trans girls from girls sports
At the Dimond Park Field House, stairs connect the field to a mezzanine and the mezzanine to the track. (City and Borough of Juneau) The board governing Alaska high school sports has voted to ban trans girls from competing on high school sports teams that match their gender identity. At a meeting in Anchorage on…
