KTOO News Update

In this newscast: The Alaska Department of Education and Early Development has opened the public comment period for a proposed regulation change that redefines what counts as a local contribution for school districts; A cargo ship carrying thousands of vehicles that caught fire off of the Western Aleutians sank Monday amid salvage operations in the North Pacific Ocean; Skagway officials agreed to send a response protesting the plan to build a ferry terminal north of Juneau's current terminal; A Klukwan mother and son travelled to Washington D.C. to protest a federal bill that would likely include cuts to Medicaid; A proposed ordinance to criminalize camping in Anchorage's public spaces brought a huge crowd to the city's Assembly meeting 

In this newscast: The Coalition for Education Equity is preparing to sue the state over what it says is inadequate funding for public schools in Alaska; The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced plans to rescind the Roadless Rule yesterday,; Tongass Voices: Olga Sofia Lijó Seráns on a Juneau bookstore's 50-year legacy; A new federal report says the group overseeing the 800-mile Trans-Alaska Pipeline System needs to update its operations

In this newscast: The North Pacific Fishery Management Council, which oversees federal fisheries off Alaska's coast, is scaling back operations due to federal funding uncertainties; A man died after falling roughly 150 near Salmon Creek Dam in Juneau on Saturday; Record breaking rainfall caused the water supply for the blind Slough Hydroelectric Plant near Petersburg to spill over; Attorneys allege the Alaska Department of Corrections is violating federal standards while holding dozens of immigration detainees; The community of Kwethluk burst with activity as Orthodox pilgrims from across the world honored the first-ever Yup'ik saint.

In this newscast: The Juneau Independent, a new web-based newsroom in Juneau, launched today with a mission to offer a newspaper that is locally owned and operated; A Juneau court declared a woman who has been missing for six years legally dead Tuesday, at the request of her family. The woman's case was never solved. They sought the death declaration in the hopes of getting a chance to ask police about their investigation in front of an official audience, but that didn't happen; Invasive species are everywhere… but the folks who dedicate their lives to battling them believe they can win, especially in Alaska.  Last week was Alaska's invasive species awareness week; More than 900 cyclists are set to participate this weekend in an annual cross-border race that starts in Canada and ends in Haines.

In this newscast: A man was arrested twice in Juneau last month for fraud, theft and attempted escape; The City and Borough of Juneau and the Central Council of the Tlingit & Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska released a draft risk assessment for the capital city on Tuesday; Petersburg's Borough Assembly on Monday approved limiting the town's senior sales tax exemption to just low-income seniors. But before any change can be made official, the townspeople will have the final say; For a few weeks in February, Safety Roadhouse hosts Iditarod mushers making their way to Nome. The roadhouse is closed until May, when it takes on a new life as a summer hangout spot – steeped in Iditarod history; The field of candidates for Alaska governor grew to four last week. That's after Matanuska-Susitna Borough Mayor Edna DeVries filed a letter of intent saying she's considering a run for governor.

In this newscast: The editor of Juneau Empire is leaving the paper. Mark Sabbatini has edited the paper since 2023 and announced his departure in a Facebook post; The Juneau Police Department cleared a homeless encampment on the side of a Mendenhall Valley road this morning; The National Weather Service issued Juneau's first recorded severe thunderstorm warning yesterday afternoon after conditions escalated and a cruise ship partially broke free from its moorings; The special election to determine whether or not to form the Xunaa Borough will be paused until further notice, after a superior court judge granted a stay of a state commission's approval of the proposed borough in Southeast Alaska; Smoke poured over the Canadian border into eastern Alaska this weekend, impacting communities from Southeast to the Interior

In this newscast: The Juneau chapter of St. Vincent de Paul will have a new executive director in July; One of Eaglecrest Ski Area's four chairlifts is permanently closed; Nearly 2,000 Juneauites joined hundreds of thousands of people across the country to protest President Trump and his polices; Juneau will officially have a second electric utility that is poised to expand the capital city's renewable energy capacity, but only if the company can finance and build its proposed hydroelectric project before its federal license expires; A Petersburg senior was targeted in a phone scam and defrauded of over $100,000, but when two men came to town for another money pick-up, they were arrested

In this newscast: Alaska's public schools likely won't get all the money lawmakers approved in a bipartisan vote last month after Gov. Mike Dunleavy unilaterally reduced education funding with a line-item veto; Juneau's fire department is piloting a paid internship program this year that equips locals with certifications and skills needed to work in the field; A shipping container full of empty industrial-sized fish food bags fell off a barge heading from Baranof Island to the landfill in Petersburg and dozens of the plastic bags have washed up near Juneau over the past week; Residents are advised against harvesting clams, mussels and other shellfish near beaches across Southeast Alaska due to concerns about paralytic shellfish poisoning; Curious Juneau: Why is the state capital Juneau and not Anchorage

In this newscast: The massive budget reconciliation bill the U.S. House delivered to the Senate would block Medicaid patients from receiving care at Planned Parenthood health centers, and health care providers and advocates in Alaska are afraid that would prevent many Alaskans from getting critical health care; The Juneau School District is cracking down on cell phone use in schools; A group of state lawmakers is set to meet this summer and fall to continue working on ways to improve Alaska's public schools; Researchers say it's clear that wolves in parts of Southeast Alaska are increasingly turning to the sea, instead of the land, for food, but now there's evidence that the behavior can have toxic results; Ketchikan's tribal government will soon be under new leadership 

In this newscast: Juneteenth will now be an observed holiday for most City and Borough of Juneau employees starting next week; Juneau's three Democratic state lawmakers met with constituents downtown to share what happened and what didn't happen during this year's legislative session; In Juneau, a traditional subsistence site owned by the federal government is now one step closer to returning to its original tribal owners; A contractor died while doing maintenance work at a popular cruise tourism facility near Ketchikan last month, and the company that hired him has a history of safety problems

In this newscast: The Juneau Assembly voted to increase both the city's property tax and utility rates for the fiscal year that begins in July; The City and Borough of Juneau plans to evict all residents of the historic downtown Telephone Hill neighborhood by October 1st; After upheaval in the federal funding that supports trail maintenance, KTOO checked up on the state of trail work in Juneau on National Trails Day; A team of about 10 people returned last month from visiting the old shipwreck site of the Star of Bengal near Wrangell

In this newscast:  Dozens of Juneau residents in the glacial outburst flood zone learned how to prepare for flooding expected later this summer; Sealaska Heritage Institute is hoping people can help them identify the subjects of thousands of photos taken by a late Lingit leader; The Skagway Borough Assembly accepted Mayor Sam Bass' resignation on Thursday; The Alaska Department of Corrections has taken in 40 people who were detained outside of the state by U.S. Immigration and Customs enforcement

In this newscast:  Juneau is getting a new public-use cabin, this time built by a local trail maintenance nonprofit; The largest timber companies operating in Southeast Alaska want the Tongass National Forest to sell them more old-growth timber, and they're suing the federal government to get it. The Department of Justice asked the court to throw the case out in May; An appeals court has ruled that the board that regulates subsistence hunting on federal lands within Alaska acted legally when it created an emergency hunt for a Southeast Alaska village during the COVID-19 pandemic emergency; Tongass Voices: Conservator Ellen Carlee on preserving the Alaska State Museum's collection

In this newscast: The National Guard will conduct emergency preparation drills throughout Juneau beginning this Sunday; A polar icebreaker is on its way to Juneau, where it will eventually be homeported; The Alaska Board of Education unanimously approved new reading standards for Alaska Native languages Wednesday; An eagle nest paused a wastewater pump station replacement near downtown Petersburg; KTOO's Yvonne Krumrey speaks with a retiring emergency responder who led a mobile response units in Juneau

In this newscast: The Coast Guard responded to a ship fire near Adak Tuesday; Petersburg's borough assembly passed its budget for the next fiscal year, but funding for a potential cruise ship dock caused friction among assembly members; Nineteen dogs were brought to the Dillingham Animal Control shelter over the weekend after a police investigation into animal cruelty; Local officials say this year's Bering Sea pollack fishery was off to a good start. The City of Hoonah and Huna Heritage Foundation unveiled a brand new totem pole last week.

In this newscast: The Alaska State Board of Education is considering a regulation change that would further limit how much money local governments can give to school districts; The Juneau Assembly is mulling over a plan to implement a ranked choice voting system for local elections beginning next year; They also voted to wait on a second extension of Juneau's Mendenhall River levee until after this flood season; Hoonah's police chief submitted his resignation after less than two years in the role. Then, the city fired him for misconduct. He says it was retaliation; May was a record-breaking month for rain in Southeast Alaska; A nine-year old has won the Sitka Salmon Derby, for the second time in three years

In this newscast:  Local advocates have failed to gather enough signatures before the initial deadline for three ballot petitions that seek to lower the cost of living in Juneau; The University of Alaska Southeast hired two new administrators. One will lead its School of Education and the other will oversee the campus in Sitka; June is Pride month, and Juneau's LGBTQ+ Pride month calendar is packed this year; Curious Juneau: Where do Juneau's bald eagles go?; The U.S. portion of a historic, 33 mile hiking trail between Skagway and British Columbia has been off limits to backcountry explorers since 2020, but that's about to change

In this newscast: Juneau's Joann arts and crafts store is closed; An unvaccinated Anchorage youth tested positive for measles earlier this month; Immigration officials detailed an Anchorage man originally from Peru last week, according to his wife; Sitka voters have overwhelmingly rejected a ballot measure that would have capped the number of cruise visitors beginning next year; Schools in the U.S. are facing a debilitating teacher shortage, and many districts are looking abroad, namely in the Philippines 

In this newscast: Heavy rains and flooding in Southeast Alaska triggered a series of small landslides in Ketchikan yesterday; Cancelled federal funding and grants have stalled the construction of a Juneau affordable housing project for at least a year. The project is aimed specifically at people in recovery from substance misuse and the delay means the dozens of people it could have housed will have to find another option; Many communities along Alaska's southern coast are dependent on state ferries to get around and to fuel their economies. But those ferries move thanks to teams of on-board engineers. And those engine room employees say they are critically understaffed and the only solution is more state funding or fewer sailings; Alaska volcano researchers say seismic activity around Mount Spurr has continued to decline over the last month, but the closest active volcano to the state's population centers could still erupt.

In this newscast: Researchers launched and interactive glacial outburst flood website today to help Juneau's Mendenhall Valley residents plan for annual floods; Many businesses in Southeast Alaska say they're facing uncertainty amid recent actions by the federal government, according to a report released yesterday by the Southeast Alaska Business Climate Survey; The Juneau School District is expanding its support of a local language immersion program; It's been nearly three years since the town of Bar Harbor, Maine voted to limit cruise traffic. KCAW reached out to those involved in the decision to find out how things have been since the town enacted the limit

In this newscast: State officials took another step toward building a new ferry terminal at the end of the road in Juneau; Some Juneau residents are calling for police to crack down on homeless encampments in the Mendenhall Valley, but city officials and police say there isn't an easy fix to growing rates of homelessness and its impacts; The Trump administration is attempting to alter environmental regulations that seek to protect endangered species habitat in order to "unlock" the potential of energy and resource developments. the move is raising alarm among Alaska's environmental researchers; All NOAA Weather Radio sites in Southeast Alaska will be down today through Thursday while broadcast equipment is being upgraded

In this newscast: An Anchorage lawyer has been implicated as a "cartel attorney" working for traffickers who allegedly sent hard drugs from Mexico to Alaska; It was Sen. Lisa Murkowski's 68th birthday yesterday; The Juneau Assembly considers a seasonal sales tax ballot proposition to capitalize on summer tourism; A teacher in Juneau's Mendenhall Valley is bringing current glacial outburst flood science to middle schoolers; The cruise line industry is suing Skagway over a new policy that makes a controversial change to how the borough taxes excursions sold by cruise companies

In this newscast: Tomorrow is the last day of school at the Juneau School District, and high school seniors are graduating on Sunday; A storm is set to hit Southeast Alaska this weekend with strong winds and heavy rain; Property taxes could go up for most Juneau residents if the Juneau Assembly moves forward with a plan to increase the rate it uses to calculate them in the next fiscal year; The Juneau School District is restructuring one of its specialized education programs. While staff and administrators say the change is desperately needed, some parents are concerned about how it will affect some of the district's most vulnerable students; The Chilkoot Indian Association in Haines is launching a new tourism effort

In this newscast: The Juneau Assembly unanimously passed a resolution on Monday in support of keeping the Mendenhall Glacier Recreation Area federally owned; The City and Borough of Juneau may step in to fund positions at the Mendenhall Glacier Recreation Area formerly held by federal workers; The Juneau Assembly also unanimously approved a change for how much the city charges large cruise ships to dock at city owned facilities; Alaska lawmakers overrode Gov. Mike Dunleavy's veto of a high profile education bill yesterday

In this newscast: The local advocates who filed a petition with the City and Borough of Juneau last month to put harder limits on cruise ship tourism have withdrawn it; The Juneau Assembly passed an ordinance mandating the Juneau Police Department release body-word camera footage no more than 30 days after a city police officer shoots someone; Another Ketchikan school board member stepped down, following the district's board president, superintendent and another board member; It's still not clear why the Alaska Department of Education and Early Development failed a federal test that saves the state millions of dollars; Juneau residents held a tree-planting ceremony in honor of Arbor Day yesterday.

In this newscast: The Juneau School District Board of Education appointed Steve Whitney to the board on Saturday; Senator Lisa Murkowski has introduced a bill that would reauthorize funds for landslide monitoring projects across Southeast Alaska; The Alaska Department of Education and Early Development failed a test that allows it to include millions of federal dollars towards its contributions to education funding; Tribal leaders from across the country spoke out last week at a U.S. Senate hearing against changes within the Department of Health and Human Services; Curious Juneau: What's the story behind the Fiddlehead Cookbook's North Douglas chocolate cake?

In this newscast: Five candidates have applied to fill an empty seat on the Juneau School District Board of Education after Will Muldoon resigned; Alaska regulators have assessed a $49,000 fine against Hilcorp for lapses in Cook Inlet offshore well management, the Alaska Beacon reports; Some Southeast Alaska communities had their earliest harmful algal bloom on record this year, and there is currently a paralytic shellfish toxin advisory across region for recreational and subsistence harvest; Local and state transportation officials are wrapping up a study that hones in on five locations for a potential second bridge; Thousands of new books are landing in the hands of kids across Southeast Alaska this month as the result of a partnership between the region's largest tribal government and a Native-led nonprofit with roots in the Navajo and Hopi nations

In this newscast: A German Shepherd who was on the lam for nearly three months has been captured to returned to her family; The Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation says 400,000 gallons of process water spilled at a large lead and zinc mine in Northern Alaska yesterday; The Alaska Department of Education and Early Development is considering whether to reduce the amount of money local governments can give to school district, but a new bill would allow local governments to continue to fund school districts as they have been; Juneau's city-owned ski area expects to run a deficit for the foreseeable future, and their plan to dig out of the deficit relies heavily on revenue from a gondola that has yet to be built; Lawmakers rejected two of Gov. Mike Dunleavy's nominees for state boards and commissions in a joint session of the state House and Senate yesterday

In this newscast: Lawmakers are setting aside until next year a bill that would kick off a pilot program for tribally-run public schools; The Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska can now receive reimbursements for providing child welfare services directly from the federal government; Alaska officials who help resettle immigrants say they're facing a lot of uncertainty amid the Trump administration's crackdown on legal and illegal immigration; Alaska would be in the same time zone as Seattle for four months of the year, if a bill passed Monday by the Alaska Senate becomes law, the Alaska Beacon reports; The Trump administration has started cancelling grants to tribal libraries in communities across the state, which could be debilitating for Klukwan's library

In this newscast: Juneau was one of nine communities selected for an annual grant by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, a health philanthropy group; Flood inundation maps that model how Juneau's Mendenhall River levee should perform have finally arrived; Initial results from a study of humpback whale health in Juneau found that the area is particularly important for females and their calves, and the findings could drive the city to consider restricting the growth of the whale watching industry; A Washington state-based conservation group is suing the National Marine Fisheries Service over king salmon, again 

In this newscast: The filing period to run for an elected position in Southeast Alaska's proposed Xunaa Borough closes this Friday. But, a pending appeal of a state commission's approval of the new borough could halt the special election scheduled this July, when residents will be asked whether to create Alaska's 20th borough; Gov. Mike Dunleavy says he's ordering a freeze on most state hiring, out-of-state travel and new regulations as oil prices tumble. Dunleavy outlined the freeze in an administrative order released Friday afternoon; Learning a language is hard. Learning a language without a teacher regularly checking in is even harder. But this year, Kake City Schools students got the chance to learn Lingít while creating multilingual poems that give people a glimpse of where they come from.

In this newscast: The federal government may soon return a traditional subsistence site connected to Douglas Island to its original tribal owners; The next season of the PBS KIDS show “Molly of Denali” will be the last for the foreseeable future. The team behind the award-winning children's TV show will stop working on new content. Molly of Denali is widely celebrated in Alaska because it features an Alaska Native lead character and showcases Alaska Native culture; The Alaska Department of Education and Early Development is considering whether to reduce the amount of money local governments can give to school districts. A new bill in front of state lawmakers would allow local governments to continue to fund school districts as they have been; State prosecutors say two Anchorage police officers were legally justified in the fatal shooting of a man in February who police say had barricaded himself in a Midtown hotel and threatened a woman and her four children.

In this newscast: The Alaska Senate approved its version of the state budget on Wednesday. It includes a $1,000 Permanent Fund dividend. And, for now, a slight surplus. But senators say they expect that surplus to evaporate. And they're warning of tough times in the years ahead; Reporters on the Alaska Desk recently asked people all over the state some open-ended questions about how they're feeling after President Donald Trump's first 100 days. From the Aleutians to Southeast and the Interior, there are never-Trumpers and MAGA diehards – and some Alaskans having changes of heart. Here's what some of them had to say; Anchorage officials are preparing to roll out funding dedicated to improving the city's child care sector. The move comes two years after Anchorage residents voted to dedicate the roughly 5 to 6 million dollars the city receives annually in marijuana taxes to funding child care initiatives.

In this newscast: The Juneau Assembly is considering a resolution in support of keeping the Mendenhall Glacier Recreation Area federally owned; The executive director of the Juneau Arts and Humanities Council will resign following the board's decision to cut diversity, equity and inclusion language from its website; An ordinance mandating that the Juneau Police Department release body-worn camera footage no more than 30 days after a city police officer shoots someone will be open for public testimony later this month; Libraries in Alaska may no longer be able to request books from out of state, or mail books and other media to Alaskans who don't live near a library; A program that monitors toxic poisoning in subsistence marine harvests in the Aleutians has halted, pending a federal review

In this newscast: Lieutenant governor and former U.S. House candidate Nancy Dahlstrom is running for governor; The Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska announced today that it is rejoining the Alaska Federation of Natives; The Juneau Assembly chose a preliminary redevelopment plan for the downtown Telephone Hill neighborhood that, if approved, would evict residents by October; A Juneau-based author's graphic memoir won the Pulitzer Prize yesterday for autobiography and memoir; The Trump administration has started canceling federal grants that fund arts and culture programs across the country, including here in Juneau; Yesterday was Missing and Murdered Indigenous Peoples' Day, and in Juneau, at MMIP events like last night's, one name comes up consistently: Tracy Day

In this newscast: Alaska's oldest ferry is too expensive to fix; Tlingit and Haida announced that its annual food distributions of herring eggs have been canceled because the federal funding they planned to use for it was canceled; A lawsuit over Juneau's Mendenhall River levee will now focus on how the cost of the flood protection project will be divided; A controversial mining exploration project near Haines has been in limbo since its biggest investor backed out late last year, and now the project's parent company wants to step back, too

In this newscast: A proposal that would create and fund tribally run public schools in Alaska inched closer to reality on Thursday; Hundreds in Juneau joined thousands nationwide yesterday as protests surged for International Workers Day, also known as May Day; Child advocacy centers in Alaska were funded with federal money for the past decade, but now the state has to foot the bill, and lawmakers are still deciding; The City and Borough of Juneau will hold its annual How to Run for Local Office workshop Saturday at City Hall, as there are six local seats up for grabs in October's municipal election; A new Alaska law requires all businesses that sell alcohol to post a warning that drinking alcohol can cause breast and colon cancers

In this newscast: The Juneau Assembly moved forward with a plan Wednesday that — if approved by voters — could add up to $10 million to the city's debt. It would fund critical repairs and upgrades to Juneau's schools after years of deferred maintenance. The Assembly decided to prioritize funding repairs to schools over the city's water and sewer systems, which are also in need of some TLC. That means utility rate hikes are likely on the way; Some immigrants living in Juneau have left the United States after an email from the Department of Homeland Security told them they had to leave. But some people who got the email haven't left; Alaska's public schools may get a long-sought increase in state funding this year. A bill that would boost funding and make changes to education policy passed the state House and Senate Wednesday and will soon head to Gov. Mike Dunleavy's desk.

In this newscast: Today marks Juneau International Airport Manager Patty Wahto's final day on the job after a nearly three-decade-long career; Immigrants and refugees across the country are getting emails from the Trump administration that say they have to leave the United States or face prosecution. In Juneau, that's already split one family apart; Skagway held its international folk festival earlier this month, but there was a lack of Canadian participants

In this newscast: One of Alaska's most prolific climate communicators could lose his job if the Trump administration's proposed cuts to NOAA go through; Yesterday, the City and Borough of Juneau's clerk's office certified three ballot petitions aimed at lowering local taxes; Millions of dollars slated for child care funding were among the many budget cuts Alaska state Senators made last week, but advocates on the Capitol steps said those funds are vital to support families across the state; While the loss of hundreds of federal jobs in Alaska is hitting home for some Alaskans now, it'll be months before we can quantify that impact

In this newscast: Black bears are emerging from hibernation and roaming around Juneau in search of food; The Alaska Senate passed a bill today that would substantially boost long-term funding for public schools; Juneau's firefighter union sent out a statement Thursday warning residents that emergency response times may be delayed due to major staffing concerns; The Juneau School District and its largest union are more than two months into contract negotiations; The U.S. Interior Department says it's going to fast-track permits for oil, gas and mining, cutting a process that normally takes years down to no more than 28 days; Alaska residents have less than a week to apply to get on a rental assistance program waitlist with the Alaska Housing Finance Corporation

In this newscast: There have been more than a dozen political protests at the Alaska State Capitol since President Donald Trump took office in January. But members of an anti-abortion group called Alaskans for Life who gathered on Thursday said they didn't have specific demands for legislators; Alaska could lose several research institutions and a pipeline into science for budding researchers in the state – that's if the Trump administration's proposed cuts to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's budget become a reality; The Trump administration is planning an Alaska summit with leaders from Japan and South Korea in early June; A state legislator from Palmer is proposing to enshrine Alaska's giant cabbages in state law as the official state vegetable.

In this newscast: A cruise line representative dodged questions form the Juneau Assembly this afternoon about the company's plans to develop a new cruise ship port on the backside of Douglas Island; The Alaska Senate is planning to vote soon on a new education funding bill, even as Gov. Mike Dunleavy says he opposes it; A $38 million federal grant meant to help Alaskans lower their energy bills and planet-warming emissions has been in limbo for months; New cases of HIV in Alaska over the past five years were highly preventable, according to a recent bulletin from the state's section of epidemiology; Small businesses in Alaska are already feeling the impacts of President Trump's sweeping tariff polices

In this newscast: The Juneau Assembly and cruise line agencies will hold a joint meeting Thursday afternoon to discuss the cruise ship tourism season ahead; Alaska lawmakers failed to override Gov. Mike Dunleavy's veto of a bill that would have provided a $1,000 boost to basic per-student funding for public schools; A lot has changed at the University of Alaska since President Trump's inauguration. After executive orders, the University of Alaska Board of Regents directed its university leadership to remove mentions of diversity, equity and inclusion to protect its federal funding. But the Trump administration still froze or canceled millions of dollars in federal funding; The ocean off Utqiagvik is covered with ragged sea ice ridges in early April. Iñupiat whalers build trails across the blue and white terrain to access hunting sites along the lead edge. It's hard to imagine a better spot for studying sea ice. And that's why a group of  Indigenous knowledge holders and Western scientists gathered there earlier this month; Former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin was in a second trial this week for her libel case against the New York Times. And for the second time, a jury found that she was not libeled by the publication. 

In this newscast: Juneau's public transportation system is ramping up its services for the summer tourism season this week; Juneau School District Board of Education member Will Muldoon stepped down from his position on Monday; The City and Borough of Juneau is starting the three-year-long process of updating its comprehensive plan; Alaska has the longest coastline and the highest rates of drowning in the country. One way to reduce that risk is through swim lessons, and in Juneau, babies can start learning as young as six months; Tongass Voices: Author Tessa Hulls on feeding her family's ghosts

In this newscast: The City and Borough of Juneau clerk's office has certified a ballot petition that would put harder limits on cruise ship tourism in Juneau; A change o Alaska's corporate income tax structure is expected to add as much as $65 million per year by diverting money from other states, the Alaska Beacon reports; The trial for a former Juneau chiropractor accused of assaulting more than a dozen patients has once again been delayed; Some federal workers in Juneau were fired again this month after the Supreme Court declined to reverse the Trump administration's efforts to shrink the federal workforce

In this newscast: Gov. Mike Dunleavy vetoed a closely-watched education bill yesterday that would have boosted basic per-student funding by $1,000; Southeast Alaska's largest tribal government approved a rule change that greatly reduces the number of representatives from communities outside the region; High school students in Juneau wrote four plays earlier this year centered on deeply personal topics, and a performance of them this week included a forum with teachers, mental health professionals, and policy-makers; International students in Alaska on education visas are among those nationwide facing removal as the Trump administration's immigration crackdown continues

In this newscast: Alaska organizations that provide weather and environmental information to mariners and subsistence hunters are bracing for reduced funding. The University of Alaska Southeast is retaining services and federal funding for now as the Trump administration continues to threated and investigate universities. Juneau's city-run emergency warming center closed for the season this morning and some clients say they have nowhere else to go. Arctic research has not been spared as President Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk seek to slash what they see as unnecessary government spending.

In this newscast: The Alaska Legislature passed a bill Friday that would boost per-student education funding by $1,000. Gov. Mike Dunleavy said he plans to veto it; Juneau residents who haven't filed have some extra time; A new Juneau advocacy group called the the Affordable Juneau Coalition filed three ballot petitions with the city last week, to lower the property tax rate, to remove sales tax on food and utilities, and to make in-person voting the default again; The Norwegian Bliss and its more than 4,0000 passengers arrived in Juneau yesterday to kick of the 2025 cruise ship season; Tensions over a levee that's taking shape in backyards along Juneau's Mendenhall River have come to a head as one homeowner filed a suit against the city, seeking to exempt his property or be paid for it; A Ketchikan woman now officially holds the Guinness World Record for "largest female mouth gape"

In this newscast: Cruise ship tourism will pay for a number of upgrades to infrastructure in Juneau this year. Gov. Mike Dunleavy's administration released a long-delayed study on state worker salaries last week. Federal investigators released a final report on their investigation into the crash of a commercial cargo plane near Fairbanks last year that killed two people. An Anchorage judge declared a mistrial Friday in the case against a young man involved in a 2019 Unalaska car crash that killed two teenage girls. The Kenai Peninsula's largest energy cooperative wants to try an save a Nikiski solar farm that stalled earlier this year.

In this newscast: People packed WKFL Park on Saturday to protest recent actions by the Trump administration; the JoAnn fabric store chain is closing their stores, including on with a large footprint in Fairbanks; two Anchorage teens are trying to encourage more young people to get involved with philanthropy-giving their time and money to benefit society as a whole; the 50th Annual Alaska Folk Fest celebrated its fourth night by welcoming guest artists Rhiannon Giddens and Dirk Powell for a 45-minute set.