Top Stories

News stories, radio and TV episodes that warrant one of six spots on our homepage. The homepage is in chronological order of publication date, so stories are moved off the homepage as more are categorized “top stories.”

Will a new policing strategy make a dent in Anchorage’s crime?

After years of expanding its ranks, the city's police department is implementing a patrol strategy based on putting officers in the same neighborhoods every day. Is it working?
a person speaks in a meeting room

Alaska House passes bill aimed at expanding access to child care

Rep. Julie Coulombe says the bill is an effort to ease the strain on Alaska families who are facing rising child care costs and limited availability.

Senator Stevens tells legislature the time to act on a gasline is now

Stevens says the US Congress took the first steps in developing a line from the North Slope in 2004 when it passed the Alaska...
a woman with a dog team

COVID-19 pushed Alaska’s death rate higher and life expectancy lower in 2021

The report documented noticeable increases in alcohol-related and drug-related fatalities in 2021.

Western Alaska residents fill buckets of late-budding salmonberries

Some possible causes for late budding in berries include more precipitation when flowers bloom, which reduces pollination, an overall lack of pollinators, or sometimes animals and birds eat the berries during the winter.

NTSB finds small cruise ship safety problems; recommends inspections

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) issued urgent recommendations today in the wake of the wreck of the Empress of the North. The agency...
a dollar bill near coins

The dollar is surging. This is who gets helped – and hurt – by its newfound strength.

The U.S. dollar is the strongest it has been in 20 years. As it strengthens, other currencies — like the pound — weaken. That's good news for U.S. consumers and importers but bad news for others.

Endangered Species Act overhaul could put Alaska’s polar bears in crosshairs

The Trump administration announced revisions to the Endangered Species Act to make it easier for developers to navigate the law. Environmental groups criticized the proposal. Listen now

Supreme Court Panel Hears Predator Case

A panel of three state Supreme Court justices heard a case that threatens to overturn the law that underlies predator control programs.  Ronald...
children playing on a playground

Census figures show Mat-Su gained most new residents

The Matanuska-Susitna Borough north of Anchorage gained the most people in the last decade, according to U.S. Census data released Thursday.
A black and red tender with a white cabin with a hilly spruce tree forest in the background

When the Scandies Rose sunk west of Kodiak, he survived. Now he’s grappling with losing his crewmates.

Dean Gribble describes it as a "whirlwind" — everything that happened between 10 p.m. on Dec. 31, when the crew hit the mayday button, and 2 a.m. on New Year's Day, when he and Lawler were rescued by a U.S. Coast Guard swimmer.
A roll of "I voted" stickers with the blue alaska flag nexxt to secrecy folders

Lawsuit: Alaska absentee application mailings discriminatory

A lawsuit filed Friday says state elections officials are discriminating by mailing unprompted absentee ballot applications to older Alaskans but not to all qualified voters.

As Miss Navajo Nation, she helped her community through the pandemic

When Shaandiin Parrish was crowned Miss Navajo Nation in 2019, she didn't expect to win. She also didn't expect to be carrying the honor two years later and through the health crisis.
people carry a large gold dome

A small community of Spruce Island monks is getting a new chapel

The chapel is nearing completion and should be finished sometime in the fall of this year.
man standing at a microphone

Murkowski, Sullivan support same-sex marriage bill, for different reasons

U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan says the bill is more about protecting religious liberty than gay marriage.
map of Lake Diana near Sitka

Coast Guard recovers body of missing hunter near Sitka

A Coast Guard helicopter crew Tuesday found the body of 46-year-old Ryan Ruesch at the foot of a 300-foot cliff Tuesday.
a very large brown bear in the water

Fat Bear Week has a champion: Meet 480 Otis

Who is the fattest bear of all? For the fourth time, the answer is 480 Otis, a brown bear who didn't let his lack of two canine teeth stop him from packing on the pounds.

Bill Allen takes the stand in Ted Stevens trial

The government’s star witness took the stand today in the trial of Senator Ted Stevens.  Bill Allen was once a respected businessman in Alaska,...

Statewide climate-change group meets in Anchorage

The Governor's Sub-Cabinet on Climate Change began its meetings today in Anchorage.  The group plans to pull together a strategy for dealing with Alaska's...
A person wearing blue gloves draws liquid from a vial into a syringe

Delta variant accounts for 96% of Alaska’s new COVID cases

On Tuesday, a total of 323 Alaskans tested positive for COVID-19 the second-highest daily tally since January.