KMXT News

On today's Midday Report with host Terry Haines:The Alaska Fire Marshal's Office says Whittier's new cruise ship dock damaged by fire Monday is a "total loss.” A cruise ship hit an endangered fin whale Thursday morning while the eleven-hundred-foot vessel was en route from Hoonah to Sitka. And one Ketchikan business owner wants the region to also be known for its oysters.Photo: Alaskan Oyster Shack.

On today's Midday Report with host Terry Haines:The State of Alaska is requesting a judge throw out a lawsuit alleging the Division of Elections violated Alaskans' right to privacy when it shared voter information with the federal government last December. A bill that aims to reduce the pollock fleet's bycatch of salmon, halibut and other species passed the U.S. Senate Commerce Committee yesterday. And two people were killed when their plane crashed while they were leaving a moose camp near Aniak.Photo: State attorney Margaret Paton-Walsh provides oral arguments at Nesbett Courthouse in Anchorage on Sept. 16, 2026. (Wesley Early/Alaska Public Media)

On today's Midday Report with host Terry Haines:The Juneau Assembly voted Monday night to indefinitely table an ordinance that would have required nonprofits in Juneau to charge sales tax for goods and services. The Alaska Supreme Court is set to rule in a civil case that could reshape how state courts evaluate law enforcement officers' use of force. And suicide death rates for older Alaskans have been rising, especially for people age 75 and older. Photo: Residents fill City Hall during a Juneau Assembly meeting on Monday, June 8, 2026. (Clarise Larson/KTOO)

On today's Midday Report with host Terry Haines:Emergency responders battled a fire Monday at Whittier's new cruise ship terminal that damaged at least one boat. Anchorage police on Sunday night shot and wounded a man in Midtown who they say assaulted an elderly man and stole his truck. Dogs from across the state made their way to Sitka over Labor Day Weekend.Photo: Multiple agencies responded Monday, Sept. 14, 2026, to a fire at Whittier's new cruise ship dock. (U.S. Coast Guard)

On this week's episode with host Katherine Irving, Senate and Congressional candidates will participate in the 2026 Alaska Fisheries Debate in Kodiak this weekend, Borough Assembly candidates discussed their positions at a candidate forum, the Sun'aq Tribe's leader was ousted last week, black bears invaded Juneau's dump this summer, scientists research chum salmon bycatch in Dutch Harbor, and a California-based company generated rainfall over the Kenai Peninsula.

On today's Midday Report with host Terry Haines:The price of North Slope crude oil topped $100 per barrel on Wednesday. U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan and his leading challenger, Mary Peltola, vied to outdo each other as champions of Alaska fishermen at the Kodiak Chamber of Commerce fishery debate Saturday. And five seabirds collected near Nome between 2024 and 2025 have tested positive for a highly contagious strain of bird flu known as H5N1.Photo: The Trans Alaska Pipeline. (Luca Galuzzi)

On today's Midday Report with host Terry Haines:Researchers have shed new light on why powerful storms hit some communities harder than others across Western Alaska. More young people in Alaska died of suicide in 2025 than in any other year in the past decade. And Hilcorp employees say an oily sheen appeared in western Cook Inlet on Wednesday [9/9] while they were investigating a separate sheen first reported late last month.Photo: U.S. Coast Guard personnel conduct an aerial survey of the North Trading Bay sheen location and the inactive Spark platform on Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2026 in Cook Inlet, Alaska. (Chief Petty Officer Christopher/U.S. Coast Guard)

On today's Midday Report with host Terry Haines:The Mukluk Fire has burned over 50 homes plus over a hundred outbuildings and more than 7,000 acres. Joel Jackson, longtime Haida and Lingiìt advocate and president of the Organized Village of Kake, died in August. And sharing environmental data through music.Photo: Firefighters burn piles of wood near Tok on Aug. 29. (J. Hale/Alaska Complex Incident Management Team)

On today's Midday Report with host Terry Haines:A group with national Republican ties alleges U.S. Senate challenger Dan J. Sullivan coordinated with the 907 Initiative, resulting in excessive campaign contributions. The Skagway ferry terminal is on track to reopen on Thursday, nearly a month after state ferry service to the popular tourist destination stopped abruptly in mid-August. The Alaska Gasline Development Corp. plans to ask state lawmakers for additional funding.Photo: The Alaska Marine Highway System Skagway dock in June 2025. (Melinda Munson/KHNS)

On today's Midday Report with host Terry Haines:Republican Treg Taylor is back in Alaska's race for governor. Alaska's criminal appeals court has thrown out an indictment of a Whittier woman born in American Samoa who state prosecutors accused of felony voter misconduct. And electric motorcycles under scrutiny in Juneau.Photo: Muddy mountain bikers gather at the grand opening of the Thunder Mountain Bike Park on Aug. 30, 2026. (Photo by Alix Soliman/KTOO)

On today's Midday Report with host Terry Haines:Congressional candidate Bill Hill still believes he has a path to victory. Alaska's chief investigator for the National Transportation Safety Board retired this week. And Juneau residents honored Dolly Parton's with a commemorative march last Friday.Photo: Bill Hill, an independent, will square off against Nick Begich in the General Election. (KCAW/Rose)

On today's Midday Report with host Terry Haines:President Trump says he'll make a campaign swing through Alaska, to help U.S. Sen Dan Sullivan. A Seattle startup is betting nuclear power could change how ships move through the Arctic. And could a catastrophic glacial collapse happen in Alaska?Photo: President Trump lauded one Alaska candidate named Dan Sullivan and disparaged the other while speaking to reporters at the White House on Sept. 2, 2026. (C-Span)

On today's Midday Report with host Terry Haines:A Black Gold Transport ore-hauling truck wrecked Friday night after it hit a bison on the Alaska Highway. A breakdown of the Alaska primary results. And Juneau ponders flood taxes.Photo: A Black Gold Transport ore-hauling truck wrecked Friday night after it hit a bison on the Alaska Highway about 20 miles southeast of Delta Junction. (Delta Junction Fire Department)

On today's Midday Report with host Terry Haines:Alaska Lt. Gov. Nancy Dahlstrom says she won't certify former state Attorney General Treg Taylor's nomination for governor after a watchdog agency found the Republican candidate failed to comply with financial disclosure requirements. The Alaska Defense Forum met in Fairbanks last week. And Golden Valley Electric Association will purchase a 60-megawatt generator for an estimated $80 million.Photo: Alaska Defense Forum participants discuss community needs across Alaska and their connections to military readiness. From left to right: Fairbanks North Star Borough Mayor Grier Hopkins, Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Air Force Robert Moriarty, Eielson Air Force Base Commander Col. Matthew Johnston, and Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson Commander Col. David Werner. (Shelby Herbert/KUAC)

On today's Midday Report with host Terry Haines: Friday's election results have triggered a chain of political maneuvers in the governor's race, starting with Tom Begich's decision to step down. Petersburg's post office has seen very long lines and wait times in recent weeks. And a former Juneau principal pleaded no contest to an assault charge and was sentenced to 60 days in prison.Photo: Democrat Tom Begich and running mate Julia Hnilicka announce suspension of their campaign. Screen shot from Facebook video posted on Aug. 28, 2026. (Photo from Begich's campaign)

On this week's episode with host Katherine Irving, Old Harbor hosts its first commercial cruise ship, and KMXT's Davis Hovey sits down with Alaska Senate District C candidates Carrie Harris, Heath Smith, and Louise Stutes.

In this week's episode with host Davis Hovey, a suspect was arrested in connection to a string of break-ins this week, a woman suffers non-lethal injuries after a bear attack, what to do about bears in the Kodiak Island Borough landfill, nine candidates file for open seats on the Borough Assembly, and Ouzinkie is installing a new solar array.

On today's Midday Report with host Terry Haines: Eight people died Thursday after the charter plane they were flying in crashed on a remote cape in Southwest Alaska. Alaska authors say there's still hope for this year's Arctic Report Card, after the federal government pulls funding. And bumblebee scientists were in Unalaska this summer, addressing the lack of data about the island's bees.Photo: A forest bumblebee, one of two species positively identifies in Unalaska this summer. (National Parks Service)

On today's Midday Report with host Terry Haines:Alaska Public Media politics reporters Liz Ruskin and Eric Stone joined Alaska News Nightly host Casey Grove to break down the election results. Voters in Nunapitchuk had only three hours to cast primary ballots in person on Tuesday. And more than 150 firefighters are slowly making progress on the destructive Mukluk Fire in the eastern Interior community of Tok.Photo: Nunapitchuk in 2024. (Photo by Katie Baldwin Basile)

On today's Midday Report with host Terry Haines:Alaska will have two candidates named Dan Sullivan on the November ballot for U.S. Senate, as well as Democrat Mary Peltola. Two Democrats and two Republicans are leading in early primary election results in the race for governor. And several Alaska Native groups say the constitutional rights of rural voters are in jeopardy.Photo: Gubernatorial candidate Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins hoists a campaign sign on the morning of Aug. 18, 2026, Alaska's primary election day. (Photo by Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon)

On today's Midday Report with host Terry Haines: Residents of the eastern Interior community of Tok are being ordered to evacuate their homes after a wildfire broke out yesterday morning. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will go through a bidding process like the TV show “Shark Tank,” to select a partner to end Juneau's glacial outburst floods. And the Alaska Marine Highway System announced that all state ferry service to Skagway was stopped until “further notice.”Photo: Smoke rises from the Mukluk Fire outside the Tok Forestry & Fire Protection office. August 17th. Photo:E Johnson

On today's Midday Report with host Terry Haines:A landslide on Tuesday evening [8/11] blocked off the only route between Skagway and Whitehorse, Yukon. Alaska Public Media's Eric Stone interviews Republican gubernatorial candidate Bernadette Wilson. And a Sitka bar is a gallery for an award winning artist.Photo: Stephen Lawrie points to his portrait of bartender Rita Ledbetter. (KCAW/Salemo)

On this week's episode with host Katherine Irving, Kodiak College announces its next director, DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin stops in Kodiak, KMXT staff sit down with House District 5 candidate Kathy Simpler and gubernatorial candidate Bill Walker, shellfish around Kodiak test positive for toxins responsible for Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning, the Kodiak Island Borough Assembly fails to pass a new sales tax on cannabis, and beavers cause havoc on Saltery Cove Road.

On today's Midday Report with host Terry Haines:Juneau residents in the glacial outburst flood zone celebrated Thursday afternoon as the Mendenhall River crested at a level well below initial predictions. Pop-up political groups have spent more than $2 million to support fringe candidates and political unknowns in Alaska's U.S Senate race, some who've never lived in the state. Plus Katherine Irving interviews gubernatorial candidate Bill Walker.Photo: The Mendenhall River as it crests on Thursday, Aug. 13, 2026. (Photo by Clarise Larson/KTOO)

On today's Midday Report with host Terry Haines:Construction of the long-awaited and controversial road connecting King Cove to Cold Bay through the Izembek National Wildlife Refuge is almost underway. As the Mendenhall River swells with glacial outburst flood water, hundreds of people spent Tuesday night and Wednesday preparing to evacuate or hunker down. Plus Alaska Public Media's Eric Stone interviews gubernatorial candidate Matt Heilala.Photo: Gubernatorial candidate Matt Heilala smiles for a photo on May 15, 2026. (Taylor Heckart/KFSK)

On today's Midday Report with host Terry Haines: Sen. Click Bishop, R-Fairbanks, speaks on the floor of the Alaska House of Representatives during a joint session of the Alaska Legislature on Wednesday, May 4, 2022 at the Alaska State Capitol in Juneau, Alaska.Photo: Sen. Click Bishop, R-Fairbanks, speaks on the floor of the Alaska House of Representatives during a joint session of the Alaska Legislature on Wednesday, May 4, 2022 at the Alaska State Capitol in Juneau, Alaska. (James Brooks / Alaska Beacon)

On today's Midday Report with host Terry Haines:Immigration attorneys put out a warning about the Arctic Thunder air show at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage this past weekend, where there was a separate check-in line for non-citizens. Independent U.S. House Candidate Bill Hill sat down with KFSK's Taylor Heckart to talk about his policies and priorities. And an inflated sports facility in Anchorage known as The Dome recently launched a campaign to help fund the replacement of its iconic fabric shell.Photo: An average of 1,000 people use the 180,000-square-foot facility daily, according to the Dome. Photo taken outside the Dome facility Aug. 7, 2026. (James Daggett/Alaska Public Media)

On today's Midday Report with host Terry Haines:U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski has introduced a bill that would allow federal fishery managers to start analyzing the DNA collected in ocean waters to help inform their decisions. And an answer to Juneau's plea for a solution to glacial outburst flooding is on the horizon. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said Thursday. Photo: Suicide Basin, pictured in 2023, is the birthplace of Juneau's annual glacial outburst flood. It sits about two miles above the terminus of Mendenhall Glacier. (Anna Canny/KTOO)

On this week's episode with host Davis Hovey, an interview with House District 5 candidate Sheldon Prout, a new model could predict ocean acidity for crab fishery management, the former North Star building is home to the Sun'aq Tribe's Alutiingcut Child Care Center and the Kodiak Island Borough Assembly votes down a proposed cannabis sales tax.

On today's Midday Report with host Terry Haines:If you ask ten Filipino families how to make adobo, chances are you'll hear ten different recipes. The Alaska Division of Elections is sending follow-up letters to most of the 3,000 voters it struck from the active-voter list this summer. And an interview with Jonathon Kreiss-Tomkins, candidate for Governor.Photo: KTOO's Tasha Elizarde interviews Rachel Carrillo Barril, Head Chef at In Bocca Al Lupo, Aims Villanueva, Owner of Black Moon Koven, and Abby LaForce Barnett, Co-Owner at Zerelda's Bistro. (Bostin Christopher/KTOO)

On today's Midday Report with host Terry Haines:Sen. Lisa Murkowski deflects when asked how she'll vote on President Trump's pick for attorney general. The Trump Administration is again threatening cuts to the federal Essential Air Service program, which provides funding for flights to and from rural Alaska. And firefighters are battling a wildland fire that broke out north of Haines over the weekend.Photo: The Boulder Fire on Aug. 3, two days after it was reported. (Dawn Drotos)

On today's Midday Report with host Terry Haines:A two-year-old humpback whale was found entangled in a gillnet near Petersburg last week. The City of Kotzebue secured a $12.5 million grant to repair and upgrade its sewer system. And as of Friday [7/31], nearly 10,000 Alaskans had requested absentee ballots from the state Division of Elections for the Aug. 18 statewide primary.Photo: Entangled whale near Petersburg. (NOAA Fisheries)

On today's Midday Report with host Terry Haines:The Northwest Arctic community of Ambler has been without drinking water or sewer for over five months. The Anchorage library branch in the Mountain View neighborhood is temporarily closed after a tractor-trailer crashed into it over the weekend. And Anchorage police say gunfire and a call for help early Saturday morning led to a deadly crash between a police patrol car and a taxicab.Photo: he Mountain View branch of the Anchorage Public Library was closed after two vehicles collided with a library wall on Aug. 1, 2026. (Wesley Early/Alaska Public Media)

On today's Midday Report with host Terry Haines:Residents of the Seward Peninsula village of Brevig Mission spoke out in overwhelming opposition Tuesday to the proposed Graphite One mine. The University of Alaska and its newest staff union have begun negotiations on its first contract. And A controversial gold mine proposed within the Tongass National Forest in Juneau was authorized to go through a faster federal permitting process.Photo: Graphite One's camp near the Imuruk Basin. (Ben Townsend/KNOM)

On this weeks' episode with host Katherine Irving, Pacific Spaceport Complex-Alaska will see more government launches, Alaska Public Media reports on Alaskans who had their voter status deactivated, Saltery Creek sees restrictions on its sockeye run, Kodiak College receives funding for the third year of its CAMP program, KFSK reports that the summer Southeast commercial Dungeness crab season ended three weeks early, and Kodiak's stock car racing scene picks up speed.

On today's Midday Report with host Terry Haines:The National Transportation Safety Board says a Bering Air plane was overweight and experienced “severe icing conditions” before it crashed onto sea ice last year, killing everyone on board. Alaskans will consider a a ballot initiative to limit the influence of big-money donors on Alaska's state and local elections. And Senatorial candidate Dan J Sullivan.Photo: Dan Sullivan, a candidate in Alaska's U.S. Senate race who shares a name with the incumbent seeking reelection, talks with a reporter Friday, July 3, 2026, in Petersburg, Alaska. (Becky Bohrer/AP)

On today's Midday Report with host Terry Haines:Members of the Alaska Legislature are asking the state Division of Elections to immediately restore the voter status of thousands of Alaskans. A new class developed by whale biologists and marine pilots in Southeast Alaska will soon teach mariners how to avoid hitting humpback whales. And drive-through coffee in Nome!Photo: A cruise ship travels through Glacier Bay on July 24, 2023. ( Clarise Larson/KTOO)

On today's Midday Report with host Terry Haines:A widespread weather reporting outage affected Alaska Monday causing dozens of stations that pilots and forecasters use to go offline. Southcentral Alaska residents will likely see costlier home heating bills for the next few winters. And various environmental groups are trying to stop construction on a controversial road that would pass through the Izembek National Wildlife Refuge on the Alaska Peninsula.Photo: Joshua Green River Valley in Izembek Wilderness. By USFWS - US Fish & Wildlife Service

On this week's episode with host Davis Hovey, we hear about the growing wildlife tourism interest in Kodiak, the road to Pillar Mountain reopens, a Coast Guard Base Kodiak change of command ceremony for the Frederick Mann, KUCB reports on the Coast Guard monitoring two Chinese research vessels in the U.S. EEZ, and the state Board of Fisheries' decision making process is the focus of a legislative audit.

On today's Midday Report with host Terry Haines:A handful of state legislators returned to Juneau yesterday to begin a third special session on tax breaks for the Alaska LNG project. An emergency dig in Quinhagak seeks to save the past before it washes away. And safety protocols will be in place prior to an air show in Fairbanks expected to draw ten thousand spectators.Photo: In 2024 the Nunalleq site was several meters from the Bering Sea coast. (Gabby Salgado/KYUK)

On today's Midday Report with host Terry Haines:Southcentral Alaska's largest natural gas utility is asking state regulators to reconsider their decision on a project to expand natural gas storage. Peer support is key in an Anchorage substance abuse program. And a Southeast food truck is serving up gourmet waffles.Photo: Prussack inside the Wander Waffle truck on Sing Lee Alley on Jul 12, 2026. (Baiz Hoen/KFSK)

On this week's episode with host Katherine Irving, the deadline is coming up to register to vote in the Alaska state primaries, ADF&G launches a new bycatch portal, new KIBSD superintendent Daniel Brigman attends his first regular Board of Education meeting, four whales wash up dead on the Kodiak archipelago, Alaska Public Media reports on ways to avoid getting cyclosporiasis, and the Borough Assembly swears in a new member.

On today's Midday Report with host Terry Haines:Alaska State Troopers shot and killed a Wasilla man last Thursday who officials say was evading arrest on a boat near Whittier after he was convicted of sexually abusing a minor. The Alaska Democratic Party is suing the state Division of Elections over a lack of financial disclosure made by a candidate running for a legislative seat in Anchorage. And an Alaska fire incident management team is in the Lower 48 to oversee one of the nation's highest-priority wildfires as fire activity intensifies in the West.Photo: Alaska Wildland Firefighters deployed in lower 48. (Alaska Public Media)

On this week's episode with host Davis Hovey, we hear about this year's Alaska weathervane scallop fishery opening with two boats from Kodiak fishing, KTOO reports on high numbers of dead gray whales around the Pacific including Alaska, a new study suggests having a dog doubles your chance of having a bear encounter, property tax rates are slightly down in the Kodiak Island Borough this year, and city voters will again decide if the city manager will be required to live within city limits or five miles outside.

On today's Midday Report with host Terry Haines:Gov. Mike Dunleavy vetoed a bill yesterday that would have reimposed limits on campaign contributions in state elections. The former chief of the volunteer fire department that serves the greater Delta Junction area received a two-year prison sentence Thursday for stealing money from the organization. And a measure to repeal Alaska's ranked choice voting will be on the ballot again this November, despite complaints about its backers.Photo: Rural Deltana Volunteer Fire Department is back in business after it shut down temporarily to deal with the theft of $441,409 by former Fire Chief Michael Paschall. (KUAC News file photo/RDVFD)

On today's Midday Report with host Terry Haines:Many -- if not most -- jobs stemming from construction of the proposed trans-Alaska natural gas pipeline would go to out of state workers, according to a study. Fairbanks officials read the Declaration of Independence aloud Wednesday at City Hall. A state predator control program has culled more than 250 bears in Southwest Alaska over the past four springs in an attempt to boost the Mulchatna caribou herd.Photo: Salcha site for the Interior of Alaska Veterans Cemetery (IAVC). (Alaska Department of Military and Veteran's Affairs.)

On today's Midday Report with host Terry Haines:State lawmakers are debating whether to include a controversial tax change in a bill aimed at easing the financial case for the Alaska LNG project. An Alaska State Trooper fatally shot a man allegedly driving at him in Fairbanks early Tuesday following a brief car chase. And several new food stands have popped up around Ketchikan over the last few weeks.Photo: Drewber's Donuts, Kechikan. (Kymberlin Frazier)

On today's Midday Report with host Terry Haines:The Alaska state House's ethics committee says Homer Republican Representative Sarah Vance likely violated state law by using publicly funded resources to criticize a local newspaper. President Trump has pardoned a diesel mechanic from Wasilla who was convicted of removing pollution-control equipment from diesel vehicles. And 7,000 cruise ship passengers landed in Skagway on July 4th to celebrate the nation's 250th birthday. Photo: Ranger Meredith, in period costume, prepares to hike over Chilkoot Pass as she travels through the generations on the Klondike Gold Rush NHP Packing Over The Pass float. (Photo courtesy of Brian Mayhew)

On today's Midday Report with host Terry Haines:Two men in Bethel face a range of felony charges for allegedly running an operation that marketed and sold large amounts of alcohol without a license in the “damp” community. Alaska is celebrating “The Week of Dreams,” a tribute to the state's rich but little-known history of baseball. And the Great American State Fair is underway, but Alaska s booth is underwhelming.Photo: A compilation of images celebrating Alaska's history of baseball and other summer celebrations on the America250-Alaska homepage. (America250-Alaska)

On today's Midday Report with host Terry Haines:A man who pleaded guilty earlier this year to murdering a Homer woman who went missing in 2019 was sentenced to 87 years in prison Wednesday. A federal judge in Anchorage heard arguments last week over the future of the proposed Pebble Mine in the headwaters of Bristol Bay. And Alaska lawmakers failed to meet an informal deadline today to vote on a bill reducing taxes for the Alaska LNG project.Photo: Kaskanak Creek in the Bristol Bay's Kvichak watershed is seen from the air on Sept. 27, 2011. The Kvichak watershed would be damaged by the Pebble mine project, the Environmental Protection Agency has determined. (Photo provided by Environmental Protection Agency)

On today's Midday Report with host Terry Haines:A high-stakes feud between Alaska's major oil companies and three municipalities that collect taxes from those companies is now headed to court. School districts across Alaska are set to receive up to $115 million in one-time funding this year. And A deep-sea whale rarely seen in Southeast Alaska washed up onshore near Sitka. Photo: A team carries the goose-beaked whale fetus to their boat. (Ellie Schmidt/Taken under NOAA Stranding Agreement number SA-AKR-2025-01 issued to UAS Sitka Campus)