Alaska News Nightly

Alaska House tied in knots on session’s first day; In this shutdown, every day is a winding road; Polar bear encounter reported in Arctic Village, many miles south of normal range; Alaska Railroad tank car derails; no spill detected; Fairbanks city, borough take in $1M in pot taxes for 2018; State Board of Game votes against requiring IDs on traps or snares; Upper Lynn Canal leaders discuss implications of Juneau cruise industry lawsuit; Repurposed shelter houses Nome’s homeless 7 days a week; Ask a Climatologist: Fairbanks sees low-temp, but brief, cold snap

Federal furlough drives Alaskans to the unemployment line; Lt. Gov. Meyer prepares to wield gavel amid House uncertainty; Legislature releases audit of state’s gasline corporation; Protesters target SAExploration in Texas over Arctic Refuge; Nic Petit wins back-to-back Copper Basin 300s; UAA loses national accreditation for initial teaching licenses; DEC: Beaver fuel spill not endangering nearby water sources; GVEA studying proposal to buy power from ‘hybrid’ wind-propane-battery system; Longtime Anchorage homicide detective Slawomir Markiewicz retires after over 30 years on force; What’s in a name? After student push, Juneau-Douglas High School adds Tlingit name: Yadaa.at Kalé

Negotiations continue as members of a state House - still in disarray - try to find a majority coalition; A functioning government or border security? Murkowski wants both; State agency orders review following accident at Prudhoe Bay well; DEC says about 3,000 gallons of diesel spilled near village of Beaver; Faith-based shelter fights bar transgender women; Wood stove emissions device test shows promise; Friends went looking for a missing Southeast Alaska artist. Instead, they found a note.; AK: Sitka, one of the best kept secrets for surfers; 49 Voices: Jannelle Trowbridge of Nome

Former state workers sue, saying they were unconstitutionally fired; Alaska gasline project board ousts its $1 million man; In Congress, Alaskans are split over shutdown; 2 drivers die in east Anchorage head-on collision; 2-year-old dies in Fairbanks mobile home fire; Trump administration responds to criticism of continued work on Arctic drilling during shutdown; Ask an Economist: What does the partial government shutdown mean for Alaska's economy?; Dunleavy administration could revive debate over contentious Kachemak Bay State Park hatchery; Elite medics mix combat and wilderness training in Alaska Search and Rescue

Young considers crossing aisle as shutdown grinds on; Furloughed U.S. Forest Service workers feel uncertain about the future; Pebble EIS delayed, but not by federal shutdown, says Army Corps; Fairbanks teen charged in fatal stabbing of older brother; Alaska port official charged with trying to drown daughter; Anchorage School Board member Dave Donley appointed to Dunleavy administration, remains on board; New salmon-counting technique treats Alaska stream like a crime scene; Grant program aims to cultivate specialty crops across Alaska; Fairbanks’ famously severe cold snaps are getting less cold and more rare; Alaska Made: Tonkin cane, silver spoons and the ultimate fly rod

Build a wall with military funds? Murkowski says no; Renegade Alaska House member makes his case: 'This partisan thing has been killing us'; Alaska resumes online applications for PFDs; Anchorage's inspection backlog numbers 1,200 properties; Alaska calls for less federal control of wildlife management; Alaska guide pleads guilty to herding bears toward clients; Anti-discrimination ordinance supporters tell Fairbanks council about harassment during hearing; After years of loss, state economists forecast modest job growth in 2019; Fairbanks organizers work to restore historic SS Nenana; Over 5,000 people have signed a petition, asking for longer lunch and recess in Anchorage elementary schools; Fairbanks elementary schools receive massive donation of musical instruments

Despite shutdown, Trump administration continues work to begin oil drilling in ANWR; Legislation would put 90-day legislative session, PFDs in Alaska Constitution; Bill proposes federal aid to replace wood-burning stoves; Bethel's first cannabis shop is closer to opening - if it gets its paperwork done; Moose wanders into Alaska hospital; Bonuses of nearly $300,000 paid to pipeline corporation head; Navy destroyer to be named after Ted Stevens; Winter salmon trolling starts slow in Southeast Alaska; Alaska Made: A new rule makes this easy-to-build gadget a required kit for the tackle box; Names of Native teens added to plaque marking Denali summit; An elementary school program is growing gardeners in Juneau; Minnesota adventurer Lonnie Dupre sets sights on Mt. Hunter

Alaska Supreme Court rules for LeBon in pivotal election recount case; Overpass damaged in Anchorage due to 'bridge strike'; Alaska cities pay handsomely for ‘ears on the ground’ in Alaska’s capital. They’re called lobbyists.; Why Mount Jumbo won’t be logged anytime soon; 2018 second warmest year on record for Bethel; Finding hope in a graveyard of yellow cedar; AK: Hammer-time in Haines; 49 Voices: Ivan Simonek of Wrangell

Dunleavy requests federal disaster money for earthquake recovery; Judge dismisses Alaska bonding plan lawsuit; U.S. House Dean Don Young swears in Speaker Nancy Pelosi; Alaska Fire Service has furloughed most employees as shutdown continues; Rule seeks to tighten work requirements for food stamps; Japan’s departure from International Whaling Commission may have consequences for Alaska subsistence whaling; Credit union begins pilot program to start banking for Alaska marijuana businesses; Alaska woman finds owner of native artifacts box left in cab; Alaska Made: Sea otter pelts are highly prized, tightly regulated; Envisioning recovery and rebuilding a life in Noatak

Security concerns prompt closing of online PFD applications; Fairbanks election lawsuit goes before Supreme Court; Murkowski aims to revive public lands bill, despite objection; DOT proposes fee for Uber and Lyft to operate at Alaska international airports; Kenai Assembly's prayer list broadens after policy change; Single-use plastic bag ban takes effect in Unalaska; Public health data shows 13 percent rise in Alaska suicides; Proposed Prince of Wales old timber logging draws ire from environmentalists; Pebble proponents continue the battle despite years of stagnation; CVRF hopes tiny homes could serve as big solution for region's housing crisis

Government shutdown, if it continues, could cost Alaska’s lucrative Bering Sea fisheries; Study: Coho salmon sense of smell diminishes as CO2 enters North Pacific Ocean; State gasline corporation to miss key deadline with Chinese partners; UA officials react to proposed Trump Title IX changes; University of Alaska sets goal to improve teacher retention; Alaska winter tourism gains popularity; Hecla Greens Creek wants to close mine to hunters; Students learn survival skills over winter break in Haines; 'Bill Sheffield: A Memoir, From the Great Depression to the Governor’s Mansion and Beyond'

Large home explosion scatters debris across Sterling Highway; Second teen convicted in ambush killing of Palmer boy; Cruise industry’s victory over Juneau has implications for other port communities; Anchorage earthquake put new mapping tool to the test; These priests abused in Native villages for years (Part Four); AK: The Aurora; 49 Voices: Hunter McGovern of Anchorage

DC police: Driver handled ringing phone as bus struck Skagway mayor and her mother; How a missed opportunity and unforeseen costs became part of the Alaska Class Ferry story; 33 Jesuit priests named in report on abuse claims in Alaska; These priests abused in Native villages for years. They retired on Gonzaga’s campus (Part Three); Magnitude 4.9 aftershock rattles Southcentral; Price-tag for 7.0 earthquake: $76M. So far.; Ask A Climatologist: Where 2018 stacks up climatologically 

Effects of government shutdown not as severe as in the past; Coastal House lawmakers push for bipartisan coalition; Juneau fluoride study confirms old science, but doesn’t sway opponents; Details released for Delta flight that was temporarily grounded in Shemya; Alaska’s top forester talks timber in Southeast; Report: Arrest rates for most drug crimes down for last three decades; These priests abused in Native villages for years: Part Two; Environmental group worried over effects of heavy traffic on Denali Park road; UAF grad students head to South Pole to study 'winds of space'

New Alaska wildlife managers could revive old fights over federal protections, bear- and wolf-killing; Anchorage Assembly sends alcohol sales tax to April ballot; Delta flight from Beijing to Seattle diverted to Aleutian island; Purchase finalized: PenAir now officially a part of Ravn Air Group; These priests abused in Native villages for years: Part One; The year and a half of reporting behind exposing Jesuit priests for misconduct; When a step back into prison is really a jump forward on the road to recovery; River otter moved to Detroit Zoo after rescue in Alaska

Alaska's senators react to a partial government shutdown; Dunleavy picks Jackson for Alaska House seat; Judge says court should uphold House District 1 recount; Alaska groups sue EPA over air quality; Mechanical issues trigger rural air cargo delays; Family of Cody Eyre hold tribute to son on one-year anniversary of his death by Fairbanks police; Alaska’s top forester talks timber in Southeast; Unalakleet constructing assisted living facility to serve elders of Norton Sound; How Juneau grocers are helping families during winter break; AK: TubaChristmas spreads brassy holiday cheer in Anchorage; 49 Voices: Tribute to Dave Waldron

Trump administration takes next step towards oil lease sales in ANWR; Skagway mayor and her mother die after hit by DC tour bus; Skagway responds to the loss of Mayor Monica Carlson; Alaska regulators approve rules for onsite marijuana use; What does the Dunleavy administration mean for the proposed Pebble Mine?; Judge backs Alaska elections division in disputed recount; Former House members see pitfalls to narrow split, point to lessons; Crowd packs Eagle River school for quake recovery update; Anchorage School District teacher contracts include updates for 'academic freedom.' What does that mean?

Alaska Permanent Fund looks to pay investment managers incentives; Sitka Tribe of Alaska sues state, claiming mismanagement of herring fishery; Alaska governor examines gas line project before weighing in; Farm bill's untold story: What Congress did for fish sticks; Former manager charged with embezzling from village utility; As Alaska warms, the Y-K Delta heats up even faster; Schools’ need for technology outpacing funding for faster internet

Alaska's two senators voted differently on several big issues in the last week; Environmental groups sue Trump administration to halt Arctic drilling project; This winter, a major oil exploration effort is happening in a familiar place: Prudhoe Bay; Energy specialist urges radon tests after Alaska earthquake; Delta Junction man dies in snowmachine accident near Paxton; Adding insulation to the outside of your home? Watch out for mold.; Is testing Juneau’s student athletes for drugs and alcohol effective?; Rare military ceremony at JBER for Service Cross recipient