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Mary Peltola, on the Kuskokwim River, in 2022. (Liz Ruskin/Alaska Public Media) Alaska’s subsistence fishing advocates want to change the nation’s primary fishing law to crack down on the accidental catch of salmon by the Bering Sea trawl fleet. Changing the law is looking increasingly unlikely, but there might be another way. Congresswoman Mary Peltola…

New campsites, pictured here on May 19, 2023, have sprung up in a wooded area off of Anchorage’s Chester Creek Trail where a six-month old abatement notice is posted. (Jeremy Hsieh/Alaska Public Media) An Anchorage task force is recommending opening five specific sites across the city to supervised camping for people without homes.  Each site…

The Cook Inlet Natural Gas Storage Alaska facility was built the last time there were warnings about potential shortages. (Sabine Poux/KDLL) 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:…

The clinical building at Wasilla’s new center for substance abuse recovery, Banyan Alaska. (Photo courtesy of Banyan Alaska) A new substance abuse treatment center primarily for veterans and active military service members opened last week in Wasilla. The center, Banyan Alaska, has space for 24 people. Participants will stay on campus and have access to…

Ballot adjudication process at the MOA Election Center during the vote-by-mail regular municipal election on Monday, April 3, 2023. (Bill Roth / ADN) The Anchorage ombudsman is investigating an incident in which a former chief of staff to Mayor Dave Bronson challenged the city’s April 4 election, quoting an internal policy that didn’t exist until…

Water from Eklutna Lake powers the Eklutna Hydroelectric Project, one of Chugach Electric Association’s current sources of renewable energy. (Abbey Collins/Alaska Public Media) Friday is the last day of the Chugach Electric Utility board election. The annual election usually passes under the radar, but this year it’s been a fierce race, with nine candidates vying…

Bags of heroin, some laced with fentanyl, are displayed before a press conference regarding a major 2016 New York drug bust. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images) Two criminal-justice bills remain pending in the Alaska Legislature after Wednesday’s adjournment of the 2023 session, even though each passed one of the bodies. The first bill would reclassify…

Flooding in Buckland, Alaska on May 18, 2023. (National Weather Service photo) Ice jams caused major flooding in Buckland on Thursday, according to the National Weather Service. The weather service said the Buckland River had flooded 80% of the Northwest Arctic Borough community, and residents were using boats to get around. As of the 2020…

An Anchorage Parks and Recreation worker hauls away garbage from an encampment on a vacant lot near Cuddy Family Midtown Park on May 9, 2023. With shelter spaces full, parks officials say they’re working with campers and making regular visits to try to keep public spaces tidy. (Jeremy Hsieh/Alaska Public Media) Anchorage’s legal department is…

A moose calf and cow (From Lisa Hupp/U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Alaska Region) Mother’s Day falls in May, but it’s also when moose cows are giving birth — and experts say we should watch out. Carl Koch is a wildlife biologist with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. He warns that the animals…

Rep. Josiah Patkotak recounts how he harvested a bowhead whale in early May. (Lex Treinen/Alaska Public Media) In early May, as tensions at the state capital were beginning to simmer over the budget, Rep. Josiah Patkotak was facing a different sort of challenge: the explosive in his harpoon wasn’t igniting.  “When I nicked the rope…

First lady Dr. Jill Biden wears a qaspeq gifted to her by Rep. Mary Peltola and Ana Hoffman, president of the Bethel Native Corporation. May 17, 2023 in Bethel, Alaska. (MaryCait Dolan/KYUK) 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…

Solar panels on the rooftop of the Egan Center in Anchorage. (Amy Mostafa/Alaska Public Media) Anchorage and the rest of urban Alaska are facing a natural gas supply shortage, and fears are rising about how the region will secure reliable access to fuel to heat homes and generate electricity. Consumer advocates and environmental groups say…

Winona Fletcher at her sentencing on Dec. 17, 1986, for the murders of Tom and Ann Faccio and Emelia Elliott. (Fran Durner/Anchorage Daily News archive) The youngest female ever convicted of murder as an adult in Alaska could be released after nearly 40 years behind bars following a successful court appeal recently. Winona Fletcher was…

An aerial view of the Yukon River on Tuesday, May 16, 2023, near a bridge on the Dalton Highway. (National Weather Service Alaska-Pacific River Forecast Center) 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.…

A small group of Anchorage Assembly members and the news media gather for a press conference outside Anchorage City Hall on April 19, 2023. (Jeremy Hsieh/Alaska Public Media) Another executive entangled in a lawsuit against the Municipality of Anchorage is resigning from Mayor Dave Bronson’s administration.  Bronson’s office announced Wednesday that Saxton Shearer’s last day…

Riders drive an ATV along a Bethel road. For Alaskans aged 15-34, the most frequent cause of emergency room visits and hospitalizations is motor vehicle crashes. (Dean Swope/KYUK) Alaska’s death rate from traumatic brain injuries – or TBIs – is the highest in the nation. That’s according to a recent report from the Alaska Health…

Anchorage’s shelter at Sullivan Arena housed hundreds of vulnerable residents during the coronavirus pandemic. Nonprofit Bean’s Cafe managed the shelter under a federally reimbursed contract with the city, and reported millions of dollars in profits. (Lex Treinen/Alaska Public Media) Stories are posted on the statewide news page. Send news tips, questions, and comments to news@alaskapublic.org. Follow Alaska…

Senate Rules Chair Bill Wielechowski (D-Anchorage) and Senate Majority Leader Cathy Giessel (R-Anchorage) speak with Senate President Gary Stevens (R-Kodiak) during a floor session on Tuesday, the penultimate day of the regular legislative session. (Lex Treinen/Alaska Public Media) The Senate adjourned Tuesday without passing a budget, leaving a narrow window for a last-minute deal before…