News

A small fire erupted Wednesday morning at the Lewis Angapak Memorial School in Tuntutuliak. According to Lower Kuskokwim School District Superintendent Daniel Walker, a nearby transformer blew, cutting power to the town and sending sparks and flames shooting from the wires connected to the elementary wing.

A company looking to export water in bulk from Alaska to dryer climates is looking to extend its contract with Sitka for the borough's water rights.

The recreational marijuana industry in Juneau won't be growing when it was originally scheduled as the city won't be accepting conditional use permits for marijuana businesses until next year.

Pope Francis' address to Congress is tomorrow, and if his speeches in Washington Wednesday are an indication, Alaska’s congressional delegation is likely to hear the pontiff say things they disagree with. This is especially true for U.S. Senator Dan Sullivan, who says he’s not convinced human activity is a major cause of climate change. Sullivan describes himself as a life-long Catholic, and he is getting a double dose of pope this week.

As Alaska continues to grapple with a major budget shortfall, one line item promises to be particularly controversial: tax credits for oil and gas producers.

Aurora Energy Services, a subsidiary of Usibelli Coal, announced Tuesday that it's coal loading facility in Seward will be idle through the rest of the year. A drop in coal prices has hit Alaska coal exports, according to Aurora's general manager Rob Brown.

Contract negotiations are still in overtime in the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District, and the clock just got extended- again.

One of Alaska’s most well-known writers is finally quitting his day job. John Straley has published nine novels, a book of poetry, numerous essays, and served as the state’s Writer Laureate. But Straley built his reputation in Alaskan letters as a moonlighter. For the last 31 years he’s been drawing a paycheck as a full-time criminal defense investigator. He retired in August.

The Haines Brewing Company has started pouring its Dalton Trail Pale Ale and Lookout Stout at a new, much bigger location. The brewery opened the doors last week at its new Main Street facility.

xxxx; Felony charges filed against ANC pot businesses; Oil tax credits scrutinized; Seward coal facility idled; Kenai Borough still negotiating with teachers; Writer Laureate gives up moonlighting; Haines Brewing moves to new spot.

Sitka has spent almost a half-million dollars since August on emergency cleanup, and is counting on having most of that reimbursed by the state.

Alaska's only working coal mine plans to halt exports for the rest of the year as the slow coal market has forced a temporary closure of its coal loading facility.

Mexicans living in Alaska will soon have to travel out of state to receive services from the Consulate of Mexico, but a group is petitioning to keep the Anchorage office open.

Mukowski skips abortion vote; New dinosaur species discovered in Alaska; Ice Age humans dined on salmon; Walker to call special session; Dog team nearly killed; Scientists exploring Sitka landslide; Kodiak police defend actions; Mat-Su tobacco tax under scrutiny

Sen. Lisa Murkowski was absent today for a procedural vote on banning abortion after the 20th week. As her spokeswoman explains it, Murkowski did not intentionally duck the abortion vote, but missed it due to "prior travel commitments."

Researchers in Alaska have found the earliest known evidence that Ice Age humans in North America used salmon as a food source. A new paper published on Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences asserts that chum salmon have been harvested in Alaska for 11 thousand years.