Larry Muehlhausen removes snow from his Anchorage driveway in mid-December, after one of three major snowstorms hit the city. (Valerie Kern/Alaska Public Media). One of our first most-read stories of the year: “Alaskans are stuck on vacations that won’t end.” And, one of our last: “Flight cancellations lead to hectic holiday travel for Alaskans.” The…
A crowd watches Anchorage’s 2020 New Year’s Eve fireworks over Ship Creek. (Courtesy Anchorage Downtown Partnership) After what some may consider a too-white Christmas, Anchorage is set to ring in 2023 with an annual New Year’s Eve fireworks show and a downtown carnival of events for kids and adults alike. The event on Saturday is…
Marines prepare for Artic Edge exercise at Fort Greely in 2018. (Cpl. Bethanie Ryan/U.S. Marine Corps) 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: Alaska’s military service members are…
Marines training at Fort Greely in 2018. (Virginia Lang/U.S. Air Force) Members of the military stationed in Alaska are in line for some extra financial benefits in 2023. Bills Congress passed this month include special “Arctic pay” for troops who are based in Alaska and perform critical work in cold weather. The change could add…
Police patrol cars sit in a row at the station in downtown Anchorage. (Valerie Kern/Alaska Public Media) The Municipality of Anchorage is changing how it sends alerts to the public about weather, traffic and other emergencies. City officials announced Thursday that they will begin using Rave Mobile Safety next week to send text message and…
Supporters of former President Donald Trump, some shouting “Hang Mike Pence,” stormed the Capitol Jan. 6, 2021, interrupting the certification of the election Trump lost. (Liz Ruskin/Alaska Public Media) Tucked into the last bill Congress passed for the year — the bill to fund government — was an unrelated provision aimed at saving democracy. The…
Newly confirmed Anchorage Library Director Virginia McClure poses for a photo at the Loussac Library on Thursday, Dec. 22, 2022. The public library system hadn’t had a confirmed library director for about 18 months. (Jeremy Hsieh/Alaska Public Media) Stories are posted on the statewide news page. Send news tips, questions, and comments to news@alaskapublic.org. Follow Alaska Public…
Kiley Clouse wrestles at the ASAA State Wrestling Tournament in Anchorage on Dec. 16-17, 2022. (Courtesy Dillingham Wolverine Wrestling Camp) Girls weren’t always able to wrestle in Dillingham. In the early 2000s, they had to petition the school board to let them join the team. Then, they were wrestling against boys. But girls’ wrestling kept…
Alaska Airlines planes are parked at several Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport gates on Jan. 5, 2022. (Jeff Chen/Alaska Public Media) 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 News Nightly:…
Alaska Airlines planes are parked at several Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport gates on Jan. 5, 2022. (Jeff Chen/Alaska Public Media) ‘Twas the night before Christmas Eve, and Michael Mahmood was planning to visit his girlfriend’s family in Denver for the holidays. He drove up from Seward to Anchorage. Then he got an alert: His…
A 2019 photo of Rep. Don Young in his Capitol Hill office. He died in March, after 49 years in Congress. (Liz Ruskin/Alaska Public Media) Any day now, President Joe Biden is expected to sign into law a bill that renames a volcano on a small Aleutian Island after the late Congressman Don Young. U.S.…
Debris from the F/V Scandies Rose, which sunk on Dec. 31, 2019, recently was found by a fisherman from Chignik. (Photo courtesy Gerry Cobban Knagin via Facebook) 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…
Miss America 2022 Emma Broyles at the Miss America 2023 pageant on Dec. 15, 2022. (Courtesy of Emma Broyles) Last Thursday, Miss America 2022 Emma Broyles of Anchorage passed the crown to Grace Stanke of Wisconsin. Broyles became a statewide sensation after she became the first Alaskan and the first Korean American named Miss America…
A lone male polar bear cub spotted Nov. 24, 2022 near Prudhoe Bay oil drilling facilities by Hilcorp staff has been taken to the Alaska Zoo in Anchorage for care. (Alaska Zoo via USFWS) An underweight polar bear cub roaming alone near oil drilling facilities at Prudhoe Bay last month has been taken to the…
Cook Inlet oil platforms are visible from shore near Kenai, Alaska. (Rashah McChesney/Alaska’s Energy Desk) Environmental groups are suing the federal government over next week’s federal lease sale in Cook Inlet, alleging the environmental analysis on the sale was incomplete and did not consider less harmful alternatives. The long-anticipated federal sale will put up for…
Debris from the F/V Scandies Rose, which sunk on Dec. 31, 2019, recently was found by a fisherman from Chignik. (Photo courtesy Gerry Cobban Knagin) Seven men were on board the F/V Scandies Rose when she went down during stormy weather in the waters off Sutwik Island – near Chignik – on New Year’s Eve, 2019. …
In 2021, the three leading causes of death were heart disease, cancer and COVID-19. (Andy Ryan/Getty Images) The average life expectancy for Americans shortened by over seven months last year, according to new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That decrease follows an already big decline of 1.8 years in 2020. As…
IGA Foodland Grocery Store in Juneau in December. (Paige Sparks/KTOO) The temperature in Soldotna has been dipping below zero at night, but Jo Lunstedt says she has had to skip paying her electricity bill to feed her family. “I applied for benefits back on Oct. 27 of 2022. And as of today’s date, I still…
Newly confirmed Anchorage Library Director Virginia McClure poses for a photo at the Loussac Library on Thursday, Dec. 22, 2022. The public library system hadn’t had a confirmed library director for about 18 months. (Jeremy Hsieh/Alaska Public Media) For the first time since May of 2021, the Anchorage Public Library has a confirmed director. “We’ve…
The Alaska Department of Fish and Game surveys the Ninilchik beach for clams last April. (Sabine Poux/KDLL) Beaches in Clam Gulch and Ninilchik, once known for their abundance of clams, will be closed to clammers for the ninth year in a row next summer. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game announced the closure this…
Two weeks after Anchorage was inundated with heavy snowfall, several bus stops have been blocked in by snow berms. (Courtesy of Marie Francis) 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. Friday on Alaska…
Rep. David Eastman, R-Wasilla, speaks on the floor of the Alaska House of Representatives on Monday, May 2, 2022 at the Alaska State Capitol in Juneau. (James Brooks / Alaska Beacon) An Anchorage Superior Court Judge has ruled that Wasilla Republican Rep. David Eastman’s membership in the Oath Keepers does not violate the Alaska Constitution’s disloyalty…
