KTOO News Update

In this newscast: A 26-year-old Juneau motorcyclist died yesterday afternoon after colliding with a U.S. Postal Service vehicle while traveling on Douglas Island; Eaglecrest Ski Area's new general manager Julie Piper talks about her plans for the upcoming season; Bear experts held a mini fair in Petersburg last weekend to educate attendees on the best practices for living with bears.

In this newscast: The State of Alaska is requesting a judge throw out a lawsuit alleging the Division of Elections violated Alaskan's right to privacy when it shared voter information with the federal government last December; The Pentagon wants to build up to a dozen new military data centers near bases across Alaska and leasing government land to private companies to construct them; A new bridge has reopened a long, scenic stretch of Denali National Park, which closed after a landslide in 2021; This summer, researchers announced they'd made a big discovery -- nine new species of deep-sea sponges off the coast of Alaska

In this newscast: The city and Tlingit & Haida are working together to clean up several adjoining properties in downtown Juneau; University of Alaska leadership presented a draft AI policy to the Board of Regents earlier this month; The case against a former Juneau chiropractor accused of sexual assault likely won't be heard again until 2027; Juneau's 2026 municipal election is approaching, and alongside candidates for the Juneau Assembly and school board, three propositions are on the ballot; Emergency responders have extinguished the fire at Whittier's new cruise ship dock after hauling thousands of gallons of water to battle the flames on Monday

In this newscast: 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 National Weather Service office in Juneau issued a special weather statement this morning saying a second glacial outburst flood could be underway in Juneau. Now, meteorologists say it's probably not; The Juneau Assembly approved salary bumps on Monday night for both the city manager and city attorney; A California-based company literally made it rain last month over part of the Kenai Peninsula

In this newscast: Emergency responders battled a fire today at Whittier's new cruise ship terminal that damaged at least one boat. No injured have been reported; The deadline to submit a public comment on a proposed plan to repeal the Roadless Rule has been extended; The Sitka Assembly is moving forward with a plan to tackle the community's childcare shortage, which includes a half percent sales tax increase; Almost the entire village of Kipnuk was displaced by ex-typhoon Halong. Close to a year later, hundreds of its residents remain scattered across the state, but some families returned to visit their home and practice subsistence

In this newscast: The Juneau School District has fewer students enrolled this year than it previously projected; The Juneau Assembly is slated to vote on an ordinance on Monday that would require nonprofits to charge sales tax for goods and services - something they're currently exempt from; Capital City Fire/Rescue's Andrew Pantiskas talks about a new app that aims to cut the department's response time to cardiac events; The Alaska Democratic Party is urging a Superior Court judge to disqualify a Republican state House candidate who submitted a nearly blank financial disclosure form when he filed to run for an Anchorage seat; The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is seeking public comment regarding a cruise ship dock project in Petersburg.

In this newscast: Black bears feasted at Juneau's dump all summer after the company that owns it took down a portion of the wildlife fence for construction; A Lingít opera, nearly a decade in the making, is debuting in Juneau this Friday; More young people in Alaska died of suicide in 2025 than in any other year in the past decade; A University of Alaska Southeast student used music to present data collected from a watershed in Juneau.

In this newscast: The union representing support staff at the Juneau School District is scheduled to go to trial in February; 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 Arctic Report Card has found a new group of supporters; Joel Jackson, longtime Haida and Lingít advocate and president of the Organized Village of Kake, died in August at age 70.

In this newscast: 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 three years ago; Republican Treg Taylor is back in Alaska's race for governor; A new tribally-led housing complex in Ketchikan will begin welcoming tenants this month; Tongass Voices: Ed Littlefield on composing a Lingit opera

In this newscast: The Anchorage Assembly voted Tuesday night to have city auditors study how members have used their individual spending accounts. Each Assembly member has an annual budget of $24,000 to spend on things like travel, supplies and legislative aides. The study will examine spending going back to 2023 by current Assembly members as well as three who ended their terms earlier this yearl; A new mountain bike park opened in Juneau late last month. At the same time, public outcry over electric motorcycles endangering riders and chopping up trails got the attention of city leaders, who are now considering regulations; The municipal election is approaching. Eight candidates are running for three Assembly seats, and three candidates are running for two School Board seats. KTOO's Mike Lane spoke with Deputy Municipal Clerk Andi Hirsh to better understand the local election process, what's going to be on the ballot, and important dates in September and October to keep in mind.

In this newscast: Sealaska Heritage Institute's artist residency program expanded to Sitka this year with a New Mexico-based artist; A fungal outbreak is spreading among spruce trees in the Tongass National Forest this summer; A candlelight vigil for the loss of two 16-year-olds who died in Juneau earlier this week brought together more than 150 mourners Tuesday; The Juneau School District and community organizations are offering additional support and resources following the death of two teenagers reported Monday evening.

In this newscast: Two teenagers in Juneau who were reported missing yesterday morning were found dead; The Juneau Assembly voted last night to delay a decision on whether to codify Juneau's voluntary five-large-cruise-ship limit into local law; Juneau city leaders posed some major questions about glacial outburst flood funding - including possible flood taxes - at an Assembly committee meeting on Monday night; The Douglas Indian Association on Saturday celebrated the opening of its newly built learning center.

In this newscast: Juneau Police are asking for help finding two teens in Juneau who went missing this morning and may have access to a firearm; The University of Alaska Southeast has more than doubled the number of states nonresident students are coming from; Tongass Voices: Vera Starbard on writing a Lingit Opera; Petersburg's Borough Assembly has asked the local planning commission to take formal action on a subdivision request made by the regional tribal government

One man's mission to go to every National Park site across the country brought him to Southeast Alaska; Former Juneau school principal sentenced to 60 days in prison after physically assaulting a student; Alaska to receive up to $23 million from Meta in landmark child consumer protection settlement; Petersburg hosts first ever "bio blitz" to identify invasive species 

In this newscast: U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright is touring Alaska this week; Four people died in a plan crash in the Kenai Peninsula community of Seldovia on Wednesday; A group of Juneau volunteers has been restoring cemeteries on Douglas Island for five years; State and federal officials are investigating a large oily sheen on the west side of Cook Inlet

In this newscast:  The University of Alaska Southeast is seeing a boost in enrollment of out-of-state students; A niche subset of scientists has started exploring a new and controversial question: whether its possible to save glaciers by engineering them; Tongass Voices: Holly Huber on competing for Miss USA

In this newscast: A Superior Court judge heard oral arguments this morning over the legality of the city's planned redevelopment of Juneau's Telephone Hill; A former Juneau fire captain has been sentenced to more than a year in prison for assaulting his stepdaughter, and KTOO examines how the city dealt with having a public safety employee charged for child assault; Around 250 U.S. Coast Guard crew members stationed across Alaska and the Pacific Northwest traveled to Juneau for a week-long training. And on Wednesday, they competed in what's called the Buoy Tender Olympics; Sitka teacher Bridgette Reynolds was recognized at Sealaska Heritage Institute's 2026 culturally responsive education conferences earlier this month; A home in Sitka sustained fire damage last week but remains standing thanks to the quick action of a good Samaritan and local emergency responders

In this newscast: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers plans to end Juneau's annual glacial lake outburst flood before the flood of 2030; The state approved the first segment of a new access road for the controversial New Amalga gold mine in Juneau; The Alaska Marine Highway System will finally receive $410 million in federal grant money; Federal investigators say a charter plane crashed into a remote area of Southwest Alaska on Thursday after attempting a second landing; At least nine brown bears have been eating out of Kodiak Island Borough's landfill this summer

In this newscast: Eight people died Thursday after the charter plane they were flying in crashed on a remote cape in Southwest Alaska; Just days after opening to students, the main structure on a new playground at a Juneau School District campus is closed; More than two years after Juneau's only compounding pharmacy closed its doors, a new one is taking its place -- literally; Seventeen-year-old Elly Carpenter made history as Juneau's first female Eagle scout; A Juneau landmark burned down earlier this summer. It was beloved by many in town, and around the world -- thanks to a visitor who took a photo of it nearly 30 years ago; The Alaska State Fair kicks off its 90th anniversary in Palmer today

In this newscast: The U.S. Department of Agriculture filed to rescind the Roadless Rule on Tuesday. A rescission would allow new road construction in undeveloped parts of national forests across the country, including the Tongass National Forest; Today is the first day of school for Juneau students in first through twelfth grade. KTOO's Mike Lane interviewed Shawn Arnold about the start of the year; Juneau students went back to school Thursday. The glacial outburst flood didn't delay the first day of school like it did last year, but the summer brought new leaders to some schools and a new, highly anticipated structure.

In this newscast: A Juneau construction company could have to pay $350,000  for allegedly violating the Clean Water Act by dredging and dumping in several wetlands without permits; There are over a thousand manmade stream crossings in the Tongass National Forest that aren't up to standard. But on Prince of Wales Island, in southern Southeast, an environmental nonprofit is replacing a handful of these structures with fish-friendly culverts; In a small fishing town in the Eastern Aleutians, a local family has been serving up scoops of ice cream to locals for decades. The far flung ice-cream shop has changed names and moved locations, but has remained a staple gathering place for King Cove residents.

In this newscast:  The University of Alaska is eliminating an out-of-state tuition rate; The building and land that house the Juneau Makerspace on Douglas Island are for sale, but the community workspace isn't closing its doors; A Gustavus family's sailboat suddenly sank in Glacier Bay National Park last week. The family swam to shore, and later learned a humpback whale could be the culprit; The U.S. Forest Service has released the final Record of Decision for a logging project just east of Ketchikan 

In this newscast: It's been almost six months since Junior Siufanua was last seen in Juneau. He had been staying at a local shelter for unhoused people before he was reported missing by staff on Feb. 25; Seventeen candidates are running to be Alaska's next governor. Alaskans are already heading to the polls for early voting in the Aug. 18 nonpartisan, pick-one primary, which will narrow the field to four. It can be tough to pick a favorite in a crowded field, so we're bringing you interviews with some of the top candidates in the race; Running around or playing pretend are integral parts of summer as a kid. But some children need a more supportive environment to play their own way.

In this newscast: After two years of sitting empty, Juneau's Marie Drake building will soon see new life; the New Amalga gold mine in Juneau secures a fast federal permitting process; Contract negotiations between University of Alaska and its staff union begins; The summer Southeast commercial Dungeness crab season ended three weeks early

In this newscast: Another man was taken into custody in Juneau for immigration enforcement purposes and held in Lemon Creek Correctional Center this week; In addition to races for governor, the U.S. House and Senate and the state Legislature, Alaskans will face a ballot initiative when they vote in the primary this August; After a legal battle that went all the way to the Alaska Supreme Court, Dan J. Sullivan of Petersburg will be on the ballot for U.S. Senate. With only a few weeks to go before the primary, the candidate has now turned his focus to running his campaign; Evidence of the measles virus was found in Anchorage wastewater in July, according to state epidemiologists. The data is from a national pilot program analyzing wastewater for certain pathogens; One day after President Donald Trump attended the dignified transfer of the remains of four U.S. service members killed as a result of the Iran conflict, the two chambers of Congress were at odds over whether to rein in the president's military powers in the monthslong war.

In this newscast: Juneau police have confirmed the identity of a man whose remains were discovered in a chest freezer last week at a home in Lemon Creek; Three people are dead after a fiery plane crash Tuesday night near McCarthy; A volunteer group freed a humpback whale that was entangled in a gillnet near Petersburg last night; Juneau veteran says he was denied First Amendment rights during July 4 parade; Members of the Alaska Legislature are asking the state Division of Elections to immediately retore the voter status of thousands of Alaskans the division deactivated based on outdated information; Hundreds of people gathered in Haines this weekend for the annual Southeast Alaska State Fair

In this newscast:  For the second year in a row, the Juneau Assembly has rejected putting two bond debt proposals on the local election ballot; It's been one year since a Juneau officer was caught on camera violently slamming a man to the ground during an arrest; A new class developed by whale biologists and marine pilots in Southeast Alaska will soon teach mariners how to avoid hitting humpback whales while sailing large ships; A widespread weather reporting outage affected Alaska Monday

In this newscast: Forecasters predict the glacial lake responsible for producing Juneau's annual glacial outburst flood will fill a bit later than initially forecast; Eight candidates are vying for three open seats on the Juneau Assembly during this fall's local election; The upcoming school year is less than one month away and district leadership says operations will remain largely the same; A handful of state legislators returned to Juneau on Monday to begin a third special session on tax breaks for the Alaska LNG project; A new Anchorage Police program aims to improve public safety by getting people into substance use treatment

Southcentral Alaska's largest natural gas utility is asking state regulators to consider allowing it to develop more natural gas storage; A Juneau mom's sourdough microbakery in Mendenhall Valley has quickly risen in popularity; Recently discovered fossils in northern Alaska show rodent-like mammals roamed the land 70 million years ago, and they've been given Inupiaq names

A Juneau public transportation survey closes Sunday; The University of Alaska Southeast is partnering with Minnesota-based Mitchell Hamline School of Law to allow Alaska students to get a law degree locally; The Juneau Assembly plans to tackle major local election topics on Monday; Investors that want to ship bulk water out of Sitka are asking for an extension to gather funding for a plan; The CDC reports a fourth gastrointestinal illness outbreak aboard the National Geographic Seabird since late May; Fewer sockeye salmon are returning to the Kenai River than did this time last year

In this newscast: The Alaska Division of Elections has moed thousands of registered voters to its "inactive" list due to suspicion that they are not citizens; As the candidate filing deadline approaches, the race for Juneau's two open school board seats appears to be uncontested so far; One of Dutch Harbor's major seafood processors plans to pay about $5,900 to federal regulators to settle violations of the Clean Water Act; Geoff and Marcy Larson talk about running the Alaskan Brewing Company, which is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year.

In this newscast: Human remains were discovered inside a chest freezer at a Lemon Creek residence on Sunday; Juneau residents in the glacial outburst flood zone are preparing for the annual flood expected soon. At a sandbag event in Mendenhall Valley on Saturday, some of that prep work is easier and faster than it was last year; Alaska U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski announced last week that her bill allowing five Alaska Native communities in Southeast Alaska to receive land entitlements passed out of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee; In less than a month, Alaskans will cast their votes for governor in the primary election. But with 17 candidates, how do you choose? At a speed dating-style event in Anchorage Monday, members of the public got to talk with the gubernatorial hopefuls.

In this newscast: Juneau now has a free vending machine to distribute community health and healing supplies; As the threat of the next glacial outburst flood looms over Juneau, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers says it will pay for repairs to the flood wall in the aftermath; A woman is safe after she lost strength while swimming in the water near Mill Street in downtown Ketchikan; Rockskippers recently competed on a beach a stone's throw from Ketchikan to see whose rock could bounce the most

In this newscast: A driver struck a Juneau man on a skateboard near the Juneau-Douglas Bridge late last night, causing life-threatening injuries; Setting a trial date for a former Juneau school principal is delayed again; The city of Wrangell is moving forward with plans to build a massive shipyard; The lead Democrat in the race for Alaska's U.S. House seat is suspending his campaign; Making biochar adds another way to improve local Sitkans' gardens.

In this newscast: The retrial against a former Juneau chiropractor accused of assaulting more than a dozen women still has no set trial date, nearly a year after the first trial; The filing period to run for a seat on Juneau's Assembly or school baord opened friday, and some residents were itching to enter the races; A brown bear attacked at the Alaska Zoo in Anchorage by another bear last month has been transferred to a new facility, according to zoo staff and the Alaska Department of Fish and Game; Preparations for the Southeast Alaska State Fair are in full swing before its big opening next week.

In this newscast: A popular downtown Juneau restaurant is now up for sale — but it's not closing any time soon; About a dozen people gathered on the Alaska State Capitol building steps in Juneau this morning to oppose a proposed liquefied natural gas pipeline, while lawmakers inside debated a multibillion-dollar tax break for the project; Juneau's downtown City Hall building will be up for sale soon. One interested buyer is its neighbor, Sealaska Heritage Institute; The latest campaign finance data in Alaska's U.S. Senate race show Democrat Mary Peltola has vastly outraised incumbent Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan; U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has detained a state of Alaska lawyer who is originally from China, according to ICE officials; An Anchorage man died in the custody of the state Department of Corrections on June 21st, according to the DOC.

In this newscast: A Juneau non-profit is looking for local childcare providers to offer after-school care at two elementary schools that lost the service in recent years; The Juneau Police Department is seeking the public's help in locating the person who submerged a truck in Gastineau Channel near Douglas Harbor early this morning; Processors are paying more for commercial salmon this season than in recent years, and it has to do with international markets; For Tongass Voices, Xeetli.éesh Lyle James talks about learning and teaching Lingít for more than two decades.

In this newscast: A Juneau artist's design will be printed on bear garbage cans downtown. Crystal Jackson's painting of bears frolicking on a rainbow background is the winning artwork in a contest to decorate 44 new bear cans; A cruise ship dock and development project planned for downtown Juneau will be scaled down by more than half its original size but will cost an additional $100 million dollars; Juneau's off-road vehicle park, years in the making, could open its first trail as soon as this September; An AI-generated story of a beluga whale escaping the Alaska SeaLife Center in Seward received millions of views across social media last month. The center quickly issued a statement confirming the story was false. But the incident highlights how AI-generated content is becoming harder to identify. And for organizations like the SeaLife Center, how false information can harm their reputation and credibility; What does it mean for Alaska to get the maximum benefit from its resources?

In this newscast: Juneau's new off-road vehicle park could partially open as soon as this September; One of Juneau's most dangerous intersections, near Fred Meyer, will get a traffic light thanks to a federal grant; Sorely needed renovations at two affordable housing complexes in Juneau come with challenges for tenants; A new study suggests having a dog could more than double the chance of a bear conflict

In this newscast: Defenders of ranked choice voting and the open primary filed complaints to the Alaska Public Offices Commissions against a campaign supporting a measure to repeal both things; A Juneau resident shot and wounded a yearling black bear that was rummaging through trash downtown on Thursday morning; Alaska's three major cities continue to have higher living costs than most of the nation's urban areas; KTOO's Mike Lane speaks with Southeast Alaska Food Bank executive director Dan Parks about the organization's work to combat food insecurity.

In this newscast: Gov. Mike Dunleavy vetoed a bill today that would have reimposed limits on campaign contributions in state elections; The City and Borough of Juneau released a new evacuation zone map in preparation for the glacial outburst flood expected later this summer; The Alaska Beacon reports Alaskans who have been wrongfully convicted can now apply to claim Alaska Permanent Fund dividends that were withheld while they were incarcerated, under a new law; The future of Juneau's city museum is uncertain as the effects of the Assembly's budget cuts begin to take hold.

In this newscast: The Juneau School District's chief financial officer is resigning; Some whale advocates want to relist Pacific gray whales under the Endangered Species Act; A team of experts is working to salvage a Coast Guard helicopter that crashed on Sitka's Harbor Mountain last month; A Soldotna swimmer brought home silver in the 50-yard freestyle at the Special Olympics USA games last month in Minnesota; Petersburg celebrated its second annual Amy Hallingstad Day on June 28.

In this newscast: Juneau's city-owned Eaglecrest Ski Area will soon have a new general manager; State lawmakers are debating whether to controversial tax change in a bill aimed at easing the financial case for the Alaska LNG project; A red-tailed hawk named Warrior escaped from the American Bald Eagle Foundation in Haines on Friday; Fairbanks scientists are tracking a tiny parasite that lives in local swimming holes and triggers a rash that rivals the worst bug bites.

In this newscast: The Juneau Community Foundation is giving the Alaska Legislature 16 two-bedroom apartments as part of a long-term effort to keep the state's capital in Juneau; Four U.S. Coast Guard crew members involved in a helicopter crash in Sitka Monday morning have been reported safe with "non-serious injuries;" Juneau residents say they want to see the city's tourism task force address issues like helicopter noise, downtown bus traffic and whale watching congestion; Alaska State Troopers recovered the body of an Anchorage paddleboarder who went missing in Turnagain Arm after a weekend-long search; A man seeking to challenge U.S. Senator Dan Sullivan has filed suit after the Alaska Division of Elections removed him from this year's ballot; The winning team in a race from Washington state to Ketchikan crossed the finish line Monday night.

In this newscast: A Juneau man who was reported missing earlier this month has been found dead; The Juneau Assembly passed a resolution declaring a local emergency in anticipation of the annual glacial outburst flood later this summer; The Juneau Assembly also passed a resolution to support the homeporting of a second Coast Guard icebreaker in Juneau; KTOO's Community News Intern Elan Chappell recently chatted with people outside the Juneau-Douglas City Museum to learn more about what having access to local history means to them; One couple in Juneau, Maureen Longworth and Lin Davis, have dedicated their lives to advocating for LGBTQ+ rights; Alaska's acting attorney general announced a $20,000 settlement with a jewelry company that operates in Ketchikan, Juneau and Skagway

In this newscast: Capital City Fire/Rescue responded to a structure fire at the site of two historic, abandoned cabins in the Mendenhall Valley Thursday afternoon. Smoke could be seen from the surrounding area. No injuries were reported; Juneau residents will have their first chance to testify in front of Juneau's Visitor Industry Task Force Thursday at City Hall or online at 5:30 p.m; A critical deep ocean observation network that includes a long-standing station off the coast of Alaska has been saved from getting dismantled. As first reported by the New York Times, the Trump administration dropped its plan to get rid of the ocean and climate tracking system after the U.S. Senate unanimously blocked the move this week; An attorney advising the state Legislature says the Division of Elections likely lacked legal justification for disqualifying Dan. J. Sullivan of Petersburg from running in Alaska's U.S. Senate race; Salmon is a staple traditional food in Alaska. But a growing number of Alaskans are discovering they have a unique intolerance to the fish. It's an allergy not to the seafood itself but to the parasites that live in it.

In this newscast: The local firefighter union and the City and Borough of Juneau reached an agreement on a labor contract last week; Gov. Mike Dunleavy has until tomorrow to veto or sign two dozen bills into law; Denali National Park's sled dog puppies will begin sowing off their training to visitors this month; Residents of Anuktuvuk Pass can now use four wheelers to subsistence hunt in the Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve

In this newscast: The City and Borough of Juneau is repairing two school roofs this summer that were damaged during this winter's record-breaking snowstorm; Oil rose to the surface at Juneau's historic Treadwell Gold Mine, and the state plans to assess how wide the pollution has spread this summer; A new report shows that the population regrowth of humpback whales after a heatwave a decade ago has been slow; The US Small Business Administration proposed drastic changes to its federal contracting program, but it said the change won't affect tribes and Alaska Native Corporations; The Division of Elections issued the state's final determination that Dan Sullivan of Petersburg can't be on the ballot to challenge Republican US Sen. Dan Sullivan

In this newscast: A citizen ballot proposition that would add a new seasonal sales tax will appear on the local ballot this fall election; Six new firefighters officially joined Capital City Fire/Rescue after completing a year-long apprenticeship; Alaska allows at least some late-arriving ballots to be counted as long as they are postmarked by election day, but a U.S. Supreme Court ruling could complicate that; Planned Parenthood of Alaska is suing the state to expand access to abortion medication via telehealth

In this newscast: A plan to build a $500 million cruise ship port on the backside of Douglas Island is taking shape, and tourism leaders and North Douglas residents have a lot of questions; The Alaska House passed a bill this afternoon tat would reduce taxes on the planned Alaska LNG project; A Juneau artist created a magazine where Indigenous artists and writers to share their perspectives without having to reduce or simplify them; Sport fishermen will be able to catch and keep king salmon in Haines for the first time in over a decade starting Monday

In this newscast: A Safe Place initiative for youth in crisis arrives in Juneau; An 89-year-old woman died in Juneau today from injuries suffered during a crash yesterday; Republican lawmakers are working to repeal the Roadless Rule through Congress; The University of Alaska's largest union filed an unfair labor practice complaint last week; Alaska is one of only two states that saw increased participation in SNAP last year; The minimum wage in Alaska will jump to $14 on July 1; A federal judge ruled against a group of Alaskans seeking to force the state to process SNAP applications on time