Alaska News Nightly

House deadlock persists after Knopp votes for himself for speaker; State Revenue Commissioner outlines administration's budgeting policy; Big win for Murkowski: Public lands bill passes Senate; Alaska Native issues feature prominently at hearing on Arctic Refuge oil leasing; Brazil dam disaster sparks questions over the safety of Donlin's tailings dam; Ask an Economist: What does the PFD do for jobs, crime and health in Alaska?; Brent Sass recounts winning strategy for his second Yukon Quest victory

Dunleavy outlines approach ahead of big budget rollout; Seismic ANWR exploration may happen in winter after all, says Interior; Drilling foes in House launch bill to close ANWR; Former Quintillion CEO admits to felony fraud; Pebble officials outline future of controversial mine; Of 140,000 comments, most favor keeping the Tongass Forest Roadless Rule; Investors are backing Southeast’s largest oyster farms; Brent Sass wins claims his 2nd Yukon Quest title; Southeast Alaska tribe takes initial steps to create their own tribal court; UAF plans for cuts amid Governor's budget proposal; Alaska Native Arts teacher asks Governor to reconsider proposed budget cuts

State privatizes API management with no-bid contract; Hearing concludes regarding French’s fate at head of state oil and gas commission; Don’t count on oil to bail out Alaska’s budget soon, says unpublished state tax memo; Y-K Delta tribes appeal Donlin state permits; Alaska’s latest climate policy is still offline. So these students made a delivery to the governor.; Quest frontrunners approach Circle; With spring whaling around the corner, sinew thread makers are hard at work; AK: New housing for Skagway tourist season employees may be taking lodging from tourists; AK: Bruce Schindler of Skagway

Anchorage and Mat-Su school districts report millions in post-quake repair costs, with millions more to come; Measles vaccines OK locally; outbreak in Washington state; Former Ketchikan teacher pleads guilty to sexual abuse of minor; gets six years; Police release info on two Anchorage homicides; GVEA to cut carbon emissions by 26 percent by 2030; environmentalists urge more cuts; Ask A Climatologist: Remembering 6.5 ft of snow pelting Richardson Highway decades ago; Measure funding Native language programs supported in Alaska; Quest leaders head out of Dawson in close proximity; Transforming perspectives on trauma through paintings of hope

State of the Union gets warm reception from Alaska delegation; Interior: No 3-D Seismic exploration in Arctic National Wildlife Refuge this winter; As the Bering Sea warms, this skipper is chasing pollock to new places; State House sets record for longest period without a Speaker; US House dems push climate change into spotlight; Education commissioner says it’s time to review school funding formula; House holds meeting on Alaska’s struggling ferry system; Popular Anchorage restaurant in legal trouble over alleged wage theft; Microplastics found in Sitka mollusks; Yukon Quest leaders prepare to depart from Dawson

Interior Dept. kicks off new round of meetings on drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge; Dunleavy’s Fish and Game nominee vows tough stance against federal agencies; Alaska gets mixed grades in tobacco report; Deadline for Anchorage municipal election comes to a close with several new faces in the fold; Amazon refunds local sales taxes to nonprofits; Southeast students explore careers to meet Alaska’s behavioral health needs; Forest Service reschedules meeting on Southeast Alaska timber sales; Metlakatla approves observance of daylight saving time; Ask a Climatologist: 2018 one of warmest years on record; Brent Sass first in Dawson City during 2019 Yukon Quest

Legislature still at reduced capacity as budget deadline looms; Dunleavy's candidate screening process under scrutiny; Trump's pick for Interior secretary has worked for Alaska and energy industry; Teen arrested after trying to take control of a flight from Napakiak to Bethel; Credit agencies paying close attention to state amid budget discussions; Fairbanks City Council holds additional meetings on anti-discrimination ordinance; Shutdown cripples, but doesn't sink ocean science symposium; Gatt, Moore and Sass in early Yukon Quest lead into Dawson City; Aleknagik boys' basketball team hits the court for the first time in 32 years

Calls for 'vigilance' on Russian military buildup in Arctic; Governor's mid-year budget bill cuts VPSO recruitment funds; Coast Guard crew member dies in accident on Homer Spit; Medical community mourns loss of missing Guardian Flight colleagues; Klawock mayor pleads guilty to soliciting prostitution; Survey will monitor cruise ship emissions in downtown Juneau this summer; 12 rookie mushers prepare to tackle Yukon Quest trail; ‘Life is going to spring back to us’: the sun returns to Utqiaġvik; AK: Hunters sleep in Bethel parking lot to get muskox permits; 49 Voices: Peter Atchak of Bethel

Trump Administration approves money for earthquake recovery; Search continues near Kake for missing plane; Nonprofit raises questions over recent Donlin state permits; Murkowski reintroduces bill to prevent violence against Indigenous women and girls; After scathing audit, Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority says fixes are underway; High ocean acidification found where salmon eat; Crafting a story of romance and resiliency with Tongass bowls; WWII-era mortar found at Haines museum; Yukon Quest mushers expect rough trail ahead due to thin snow cover; With cultural advisers and Indigenous writers, Molly of Denali creators work to make the show authentic

Search continues for missing medevac plane near Kake; Death of Coast Guard member sparks investigation in Unalaska; Dunleavy proposes constitutional amendments to enshrine PFDs, require public support for taxes, cap spending; Ferry system would lose millions under proposed Dunleavy budget; Interior delays public comment deadline for ANWR oil leasing; Pebble boosts spending to lobby feds; Rep. Young loses committee chairmanship; Valhalla strip mall closed for biz, even two months after quake; Ask an Economist: Growth and uncertainty for Alaska's cannabis industry; Willow 300 cancelled due to poor trail conditions; Alaska Communications planning to repair, replace slowly toppling telephone poles; Chicago, Midwest deals with Fairbanks-level cold snap

Schools push back on proposed mid-year budget cut; Study finds poor air quality aboard cruise ships; 'Uber for icebreakers' idea gains traction; Federal team investigating cause of Anchorage fire that caused $20M in damage; Fairbanks burn bans leading to better air quality, research says; Juneau residents are noticing an extra charge on their Amazon receipts. Here’s why; Togiak National Wildlife Refuge scrambles to make up for lost time after federal shutdown; Alaska extends deadline for earthquake recovery funds; Infrastructure updates may mean more boil-water notices in Emmonak; King Cove basketball team flies out last minute to play Unalaska after previous opponents cancelled

Alaska bill would cut extra $20M approved for schools; As governor, lawmakers eye full PFDs, budget cuts loom; Murkowski pushes for 47-year-old Equal Rights Amendment to become law; Defense Dept. says climate change is a threat to bases around the country; State sues second opioid manufacturer; With CLIAA lawsuit at an end, Juneau considers proposals for marine passenger fee revenue; After struggling for years to clean up its air, Fairbanks still faces contentious wood smoke problem; UAF to test unmanned delivery drone technology

Critics say shutdown will doom Arctic projects in court; Port project cost estimate doubles to nearly $2B; Rockslides, icy roads lead to Anchorage highway crashes; King Salmon find PFAS contaminants in groundwater; Cannabis advocates wary of Dunleavy’s Marijuana Control Board appointments; Pending inspection, second marijuana cultivation facility to open in Nome; Two Valley sled dog races canceled, another potentially in jeopardy; New school accountability system flags more schools for improvement; AK: New Sitka TV show hopes to promote authenticity in area; 49 Voices: Linda Sampson in Noorvik

Alaska's US senators veer apart on shutdown votes; Shutdown puts strain on some Alaska Native tribes and tribal organizations; Dunleavy appointee accused of lying about his credentials; Dunleavy appoints marijuana critic to pot board; State trooper charged with illegal use of computer; Sitka police chief asks assembly to raise officer salaries in response to turnover; Alaska notifies 87,000 people after computer security breach; Federal court employees to work without pay if shutdown extends to February; Sea lion bites fisherman's leg in Southwest Alaska; Cordova's Ice Worm festival to commence this weekend; Russian Orthodox Christians celebrate Theophany on icy Kuskokwim

Dunleavy rolls out package in first step of ‘war on criminals’; The state’s new budget director is a well-known fiscal hawk, her budget is set to drop in three weeks; Revenue commissioner outlines a new direction for Alaska’s gas pipeline project; Alaska's population is down for the second year in a row -- why?; Fairbanks North Star Borough to vote on natural gas-powered public transit; Two Eagle River schools to remain closed next school year due to Nov. 30 quake damage; Alaska's Danielle Riha is one of 4 finalists for National Teacher of the Year; 'Laundry list' of problems hitting climatologists amid government shutdown; Shutdown affects Yukon Quest

Alaska State of the State speech a go after House agreement; Republican Talerico falls one vote short of becoming House speaker; Mother of slain Alaska teen appointed chair of parole board; Industry rep says he's being replaced on Alaska marijuana board; Popular well at Dillingham Catholic church closed due to PFAS contamination; USPS scraps plan to make northern Alaska deliveries cheaper; Unalaska council looks at potentially taxing online sales; Students remain frustrated while UAA works to resolve education accreditation debacle; Arctic Man to hold first event without skiers, snowboarders pulled by snow machine; Weather forces change in Yukon Quest format; Tons of food headed for Yukon Quest trail; Sitka High design class marries tradition and technology in student paddle carving project; Wasilla woman reunited with cat that was missing for years

A week into the legislative session, the House has yet to organize; Oil and gas jobs rebound in December; State of Alaska issues two key permits for Donlin mine; Questions about federal shutdown’s impact on upcoming halibut season go unanswered; Board of Game approves extended Southeast deer season; Jason Pavila wins Bogus Creek 150 in rookie race; Matthew Failor wins blistering fast Kuskokwim 300; Terrell Andrews Wins 2019 Akiak Dash

Some GOP defied Trump on Russia sanctions, but Alaskans did not; Advocates wonder how policy changes will affect those looking to reenter society after prison; Dillingham well tests positive for PFAS contamination; Native corporations maintaining Alaska forests find a carbon credit buyer: oil company BP; Despite the shutdown, it’s been a dizzying week for a Southeast Alaska timber sale; Volunteer veterinarians at the Kuskokwim 300; AK: Hundreds of Douglas kids band together in music class; 49 Voices: Lawrence Bahovec of Wrangell

Dunleavy seeks PFD back payments over three years; Democrats demand Trump administration stop offshore oil leasing work during shutdown; Communities reliant on Coast Guard services feel the pain of the federal gov. shutdown; Fairbanks man charged with murdering his mother; State says it will temporarily recognize teaching license recommendations from UAA, amid accreditation loss; State Board of Game votes down changes to moose hunting season; Military’s remote Cold War radars face a new threat: climate change; Bethel's children advocacy center takes a big step toward national accreditation; Juneau has no plans to add fluoride to water following study; On Alaska's stately birds, some ponder the beguiling raven