News

All news stories, regardless of topic (local, statewide + national news stories, as well as Talk of Alaska, Alaska News Nightly, Alaska Insight, Alaska Economic Report). Some news stories may also have other categories marked, which will also put them on a subpage. Not all news stories will fall into a subpage.

The Armory Show: Art Fair Meets Avant-garde

Running Shoes After my romp through the 2014 Whitney Biennial this past March, I took a crosstown bus from Fifth Avenue to the Armory Show on display on the remodeled Hudson River Piers 92 & 94 . With two hundred and five exhibitors, the Armory Show is the largest art fair in New York and really Disneyland for art lovers. Read more.

Final Vote On Abortion Bill Delayed After Divisive Amendment Process

The Alaska State House opened debate on a bill putting limits on state Medicaid payments for abortions on Thursday, only to shelve it and delay a final vote to Sunday.

Geraghty Testifies On Tribal Law And Order Commission Report Findings

State Attorney General Michael Geraghty testified before a legislative committee this week to respond to a national report that singles out Alaska for its high rates of violence against Alaska Natives, especially Native women. The Indian Law and Order Commission report was deeply critical of Alaska’s law enforcement and judicial system. But the state’s Geraghty says the Indian Law and Order Commission is trying to impose lower 48 solutions that won’t work in Alaska. Download Audio

Army Sets New Protocols During Fire Season

The Army has a new protocol for live ordnance training during times of high wildfire danger. Army artillery practice sparked the Stewart Creek 2 wildfire that burned east of Fairbanks though much of last summer. The 87,000 acre blaze forced evacuations and cost more than $20 million to fight. Download Audio

Exit Exam Bill Could Bring Diplomas To More Students

Graduation time is just around the corner and for most seniors that means walking a stage and accepting a diploma. But a few students a year in Petersburg do not receive a diploma because they don’t pass a test. A bill making its way through the state Legislature would change that. House Bill 220 would repeal the High School Graduation Qualifying Exam. Download Audio

Sitka Assembly Passes Anti-Smoking Law

The Sitka Assembly passed a controversial amendment Tuesday night, tightening the city’s anti-smoking laws. The question before the assembly was whether children should be prohibited from entering any business that allows smoking — even for a non-smoking event. The decision came down to different interpretations of what voters intended nearly a decade ago. Download Audio

Fairbanks Will Help Fund New Mental Health Drop In Center

The City of Fairbanks will help fund a new mental health drop in center. Earlier this week, the city council approved $58,000 for the Northern Door Clubhouse. Download Audio

Retired Detective Discusses ‘Finding Bethany’

Retired Anchorage Detective Glen Klinkhart has written a true crime memoir called Finding Bethany. The story reveals the years of work it took Klinkhart and others within APD to find the killer of Bethany Correira, a young woman from Talkeetna who had moved to Anchorage for college and in 2003 was murdered by Michael Lawson, the man who managed the apartment building where she lived. Klinkhart says he also wanted to tell the stories of the dedicated people who helped solve the case in big and small ways. Download Audio

Alaska News Nightly: April 10, 2014

House Debates Limiting Medicaid Funding For Abortions; Sponsor Wants Vote On Judicial Council Issue; Geraghty Testifies On Tribal Law And Order Commission Report Findings; Army Sets New Protocols During Fire Season; Exit Exam Bill Could Bring Diplomas To More Students; Assembly Passes Anti-Smoking Law; Fairbanks Will Help Fund New Mental Health Drop In Center; Retired Detective Discusses ‘Finding Bethany’ Download Audio

FEMA Head Meets With Mat Su Officials

FEMA administrator Craig Fugate met with Matanuska Susitna Borough officials on Friday, April 4, to discuss changes in federal emergency assistance legislation. Those changes could smooth the flow of reimbursment dollars to the Borough for local emergency response and to homeowners who suffered flood damages in the fall of 2012

Microphones Cut During Senate Hearing On Oil Production

After rejecting a request that oil industry experts be required to testify under oath, the Senate Resources Chair cut off microphones when the Minority Leader attempted to explain why he thought the request was appropriate.

State Senators Prefer To Leave Minimum Wage Question On Ballot

While a minimum wage bill that could pre-empt a ballot initiative is on the fast track in the Alaska State House, Senate leadership says the idea unlikely to get traction in their body.

Troopers Name Two Pilots Killed In Crash Near Bethel

Two pilots are dead after a fiery plane crash Tuesday night just outside Bethel. Alaska State Troopers have identified the pilots who were onboard the Hageland Cessna 208 Caravan as Derrick Cedars, 42, of Bethel and Greggory McGee, 46, of Anchorage. Download Audio

Murkowski Signs Onto ‘Regulatory Fairness Act’

Leaders in the Bristol Bay area say they’re upset U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski has co-sponsored a bill that would undo their biggest regulatory success in fighting the Pebble Mine project. Download Audio

State Suspends Funding For New Anchorage Tennis Complex

The State is looking into the legality of using money earmarked for building repairs to construct a new tennis complex in Anchorage. The multi-million-dollar grant was suspended after Mayor Dan Sullivan’s opponent in the lieutenant governor’s race called the decision into question.

UAF Med Students Inject Wrong Substance

Some University of Alaska Fairbanks students received doses of a substance not approved for humans or animals. The medical course students were practicing giving injections. Download Audio

Statewide Smoking Ban Gains Traction In Senate

A proposal that would ban smoking in most public places in Alaska is making headway in the state Senate. Senate Bill 209 passed out of the Senate State Affairs Committee last week. Download Audio

Howard Weaver Speaks On Anchorage Daily News Sale

There are still a lot of unknowns about how the sale of the Anchorage Daily News to Alaska Dispatch will play out. But former Anchorage Daily News writer and managing editor Howard Weaver is thinking a lot about that question. Weaver wrote the book “Write Hard, Die Free” about the Anchorage newspaper wars in the 1970s and 80s. Weaver says he was saddened to learn about the sale of the Daily News. Download Audio

Where No Shop Class Has Gone Before

This is not your grandfather’s shop class. Late last month a group of high school and college shop teachers and a few of their students gathered for a three-day workshop in Sitka’s state-of-the-art Design and Fabrication Lab. The use of 3D printers and other computer-controlled equipment has revolutionized shop, and turned one of the most remote classrooms in the building into the coolest place in school. Download Audio

Alaska News Nightly: April 9, 2014

Troopers Name Two Pilots Killed In Crash Near Bethel; Murkowski Signs Onto ‘Regulatory Fairness Act’; Legislature Suspends Anchorage’s Tennis Court Grant; UAF Med Students Inject Wrong Substance; Statewide Smoking Ban Gains Traction In Senate; Howard Weaver Speaks On Anchorage Daily News Sale; Where No Shop Class Has Gone Before Download Audio