Anchorage news

• Mendenhall River levee plaintiffs say they want compensation after judge blocks stop work order

  03-05-2025 23:49 via ktoo.org
  
  Samuel Hatch, a new plaintiff in the case, stands on the porch of his home on Meander Way. (Photo by Alix Soliman/KTOO)
  A lawsuit originally aimed at stopping the construction of flood barriers along Mendenhall River has shifted its goals. The plaintiffs now say they want the city to pay them for building the levee on their land.  
  The shift comes after a judge denied a motion to halt construction of the levee meant to protect hundreds of homes in Mendenhall Valley from annual glacial
  
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• Former state medical board member dies in house fire after arrest for child sexual abuse images

  18-12-2025 22:35 via ktoo.org
  Flashing lights atop a law enforcement vehicle. (Valerie Lake/Alaska Public Media)
  Alaska State Troopers said in a bulletin Monday that Dr. Ryan McDonough died in a weekend fire at his home in Wasilla.
  At the time of the fire, McDonough — a cardiologist formerly with Mat-Su Regional Medical Center — was on $50,000 bail after being arrested on Dec. 11 and accused of owning child sexual abuse images.
  The alleged crimes, and the bail posted by McDonough’s wife,
  
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• Bitter cold and Taku winds are in the forecast for Juneau. Here’s how to stay safe.

  18-12-2025 21:16 via ktoo.org
  Harris Monsef plays hockey on a frozen Twin Lakes in the late afternoon on Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2025. (Photo by Clarise Larson/KTOO)
  Officials say to be prepared as Juneau is expected to see frigid temperatures starting this weekend and stretching into the next couple of weeks.
  The National Weather Service issued a cold weather advisory and a high wind warning starting Thursday evening.  
  The forecast shows that a Taku wind event could start as early as Thursday evening. The strongest g
  
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• Feds charge Soldotna troopers with civil rights violations over violent Kenai arrest

  18-12-2025 20:51 via ktoo.org
  From left, Jason Woodruff, Clint Campion, Joseph Miller and Matthew Widmer participate in an arraignment hearing on Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024 in Kenai, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/KDLL)
  A federal grand jury has indicted two Alaska State Troopers shown on body-camera video beating, tasing and pepper-spraying a Kenai man in a case of mistaken identity.
  Former Trooper Sgt. Joseph Miller and Jason Woodruff are each charged with violating the man’s civil rights. Neither were arrested following t
  
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• Newscast – Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2025

  18-12-2025 02:59 via ktoo.org
  https://media.ktoo.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/20251217-News-Updates.mp3
  In this newscast:Juneau’s homeless shelter is once again offering daytime meals and other services after stopping them in August due to safety concerns,
  Officials say to be prepared as Juneau is expected to see frigid temperatures starting this weekend and stretching into the next couple of weeks,
  A U.S. Forest Service plan to revamp the Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center to accommodate more tourists could be upende
  
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• Juneau’s homeless shelter resumes day services after months-long pause

  18-12-2025 01:57 via ktoo.org
  Mindy Birk, a longtime Glory Hall homeless shelter volunteer, smiles for a photo on Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2025. (Photo by Clarise Larson/KTOO)
  Juneau’s homeless shelter is once again offering daytime meals and other services after stopping them in August due to safety concerns. 
  The Glory Hall’s Executive Director Kaia Quinto said there were multiple instances of violence and threats this summer that put the safety of shelter staff and clients at risk. She said it was getting hard
  
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• Juneau organist wraps up 16 years of performances with holiday-themed concert Friday

  18-12-2025 01:12 via ktoo.org
  The Kimball organ with its bottom panel removed for tuning in the State Office Building in Juneau on March 6, 2025. (Photo by Jamie Diep/KTOO)
  A Juneau musician is giving his final organ performance in the State Office Building this Friday. T.J. Duffy is retiring after 16 years of live concerts on the nearly century-old instrument.
  The theater organ concert will mostly feature holiday music, according to a press release. He will also perform Christmas carols that audience members can sing along
  
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• Finalists for new Juneau fire chief present their plans for the department

  18-12-2025 00:26 via ktoo.org
  Capital City Fire/Rescue fire chief finalists Tom Hatley (left) and Sean Wisner (right) during presentations at City Hall in Juneau in December 2025. (Photos by Clarise Larson/KTOO)
  https://media.ktoo.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/17firefinalists.wav
  Two finalists in the running for fire chief at Capital City Fire/Rescue got a chance to share their vision for the department during public presentations this week. Juneau’s city manager is expected to make a decision next week.
  Finalist Sean
  
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• Federal lawsuit could scrap Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center improvement plan

  17-12-2025 20:48 via ktoo.org
  The Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center on Friday, Feb. 21, 2025. (Photo by Clarise Larson/KTOO)
  A U.S. Forest Service plan to revamp the Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center to accommodate more tourists could be upended by a lawsuit brought by a nearby homeowner. 
  Katharine Miller has lived in the Dredge Lake area near the visitor center for about 22 years. 
  “It’s my backyard,” she said. “I do spend quite a bit of time there.”
  Last July, she sued the Forest Se
  
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• Report details threats from a warming Arctic: ‘These changes cascade directly into people’s lives’

  17-12-2025 20:21 via ktoo.org
  A tributary of the Kugororuk River in northwest Alaska runs orange. (Josh Koch/U.S. Geological Survey)
  The Arctic continues to warm faster than other parts of the planet and is seeing record high temperatures and record low sea ice levels. That’s according to the 2025 Arctic Report Card, which the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration released today.
  For the past 20 years, the report has documented changes in snow and sea ice cover as well as air and ocean temperatures in the nor
  
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• Alaska studies building a ferry terminal at Hyder to connect to the road system

  17-12-2025 20:05 via ktoo.org
  Hyder is marked in red, located about 70 miles up the Portland Canal.
  The state of Alaska is considering opening up a new ferry terminal in Southeast Alaska, connecting Alaska’s ferries to the Lower 48 road system without going through Canada.
  The idea comes as Alaska continues to struggle with the closure of the ferry terminal at Prince Rupert, British Columbia. Now, the state is conducting a $250,000 study to see if a terminal on Alaska’s side of the border would be a good replacem
  
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• Alaska Senate Republicans pick Tok Sen. Mike Cronk as new minority leader

  17-12-2025 03:01 via ktoo.org
  Tok Republican Sen. Mike Cronk speaks during a news conference on January 21, 2025. (Eric Stone/Alaska Public Media)
  Tok Republican Sen. Mike Cronk is the state Senate’s new minority leader. The six-member minority caucus in the state Legislature’s upper chamber announced Tuesday its members had elected Cronk to replace former Wasilla Republican Sen. Mike Shower, who resigned to run for lieutenant governor earlier this year.
  Cronk is a former schoolteacher and construction worker who
  
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• Newscast – Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2025

  17-12-2025 03:00 via ktoo.org
  
  
  https://media.ktoo.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/20251216-News-Update.mp3
  In this newscast:Juneau Animal Rescue has finally secured a location for its proposed new animal shelter,
  The state of Alaska is considering opening up a new ferry terminal in Southeast Alaska that would connect Alaska’s ferries to the Lower 48 road system without going through Canada,
  What could be Alaska’s first official hybrid electric fishing boat is one step closer to hitting the water
  
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• Juneau Animal Rescue’s long-sought new shelter secures location from Assembly

  17-12-2025 01:12 via ktoo.org
  Rick Driscoll, Juneau Animal Rescue’s executive director, holds a puppy at the shelter on Thursday, Jan. 18, 2024. (Photo by Clarise Larson/KTOO)
  Juneau Animal Rescue has finally secured a location for its proposed new animal shelter.
  On Monday night, the Juneau Assembly unanimously approved leasing a parcel of city property in the Mendenhall Valley to Juneau Animal Rescue to serve as the site of a larger facility for rescued animals. 
  Rick Driscoll, the shelter’s executive dire
  
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• Advocates push for drastic measures, as the Western Arctic Caribou Herd drops to a new low

  17-12-2025 00:08 via ktoo.org
  Caribou crossing the Kobuk River as it freezes up during the fall migration. (Used with permission from Jim Dau)
  The latest estimate for the Western Arctic Caribou Herd is 121,000, a steep drop from 2023. The last time the herd’s numbers were this low, Jimmy Carter was president — almost 50 years ago.
  Once one of the world’s largest herds, its range is the size of California, stretching across a large swath of Northern and western Alaska. For the remote communities of the regio
  
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• Disaster aid deadlines extended into 2026 for those affected by Western Alaska storms

  16-12-2025 19:37 via ktoo.org
  Alaska Organized Militia members, assigned to Task Force Bethel, survey Nightmute, Alaska, while conduct post-storm recovery efforts for Operation Halong Response at Oct. 27, 2025. (Courtesy photo by the Alaska National Guard)
  The State of Alaska and the Federal Emergency Management Agency have extended their deadlines to apply for individual disaster assistance for those impacted by storms in Western Alaska, including Typhoon Halong.
  How to apply for State of Alaska or FEMA individual assistanc
  
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• Juneau school board contracts with national search firm to find new superintendent

  16-12-2025 03:31 via ktoo.org
  From left, Juneau School Board member Jenny Thomas, Juneau School District Superintendent Frank Hauser and Administrative Assistant Jessica Richmond listen to public testimony during a school board meeting at Thunder Mountain Middle School on Nov. 18, 2025. (Photo by Jamie Diep/KTOO)
  The Juneau School District Board of Education took another step toward finding a new superintendent. 
  At a special board meeting Monday, the board approved a contract with a national search firm to find its nex
  
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• After veto overrides, Alaska Gov. Dunleavy drops push for major education reform

  16-12-2025 03:15 via ktoo.org
  Gov. Mike Dunleavy speaks to reporters ahead of his annual holiday open house on Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024 in Juneau. (Eric Stone/Alaska Public Media)
  Gov. Mike Dunleavy is dropping a longtime priority ahead of next year’s legislative session.
  At his annual holiday open house on Dec. 9, the Republican governor told reporters he isn’t planning to revive his push to reform the state’s schools.
  “I’ve always said this, for year after year after year, that once the issue of
  
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• Newscast: Monday, Dec. 15, 2025

  16-12-2025 03:13 via ktoo.org
  
  
  https://media.ktoo.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/20251215-News-Update.mp3
  In this newscast:The Juneau School Board took another step toward finding a new superintendent.
  Eaglecrest Ski Area’s gondola cabins are headed to Colorado next month for repair and paint job.
  An Alaska Airlines flight headed from Juneau to Sika this morning was struck by lightning just before landing.
  Congress approved critical funding for rural schools last week with the Secure Rural Schools Reauthorization Act.
  G
  
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• Lightning strikes milk run flying from Juneau to Sitka Monday morning

  16-12-2025 03:08 via ktoo.org
  An Alaska Airlines plane prepares for take off at the Juneau International Airport on Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2024. (Photo by Clarise Larson/KTOO)
  An Alaska Airlines flight headed from Juneau to Sitka on Monday morning was struck by lightning just before landing. 
  Passenger Kathy Fitzgerald was on board the 27-minute flight. She said the plane was briefly engulfed in a bright orange and gold flash.
  “It was like a giant flashbulb going off throughout the whole plane, coming from outside,&r
  
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• Lighting strikes milk run flying from Juneau to Sitka Monday morning

  16-12-2025 03:08 via ktoo.org
  An Alaska Airlines plane prepares for take off at the Juneau International Airport on Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2024. (Photo by Clarise Larson/KTOO)
  An Alaska Airlines flight headed from Juneau to Sitka on Monday morning was struck by lightning just before landing. 
  Passenger Kathy Fitzgerald was on board the 27-minute flight. She said the plane was briefly engulfed in a bright orange and gold flash.
  “It was like a giant flashbulb going off throughout the whole plane, coming from outside,&r
  
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• Eaglecrest Ski Area’s gondola cabins are headed to Colorado for refurbishment

  16-12-2025 01:59 via ktoo.org
  Eaglecrest Ski Area’s gondola in its parking lot on Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2025. (Photo by Clarise Larson/KTOO)
  Eaglecrest Ski Area’s gondola cabins are headed to Colorado next month for repairs and a paint job. Cost for the work and shipping is expected to be around $450,000. The cost to bring other gondola parts to Juneau is expected to be even higher with tariffs. 
  It’s been more than three years since the city bought the used gondola system from Austria. The plan is to have
  
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• Report documents racial disparities in pandemic death rates in Alaska

  15-12-2025 23:50 via ktoo.org
  A patient receives the COVID-19 vaccine. (Steven Cornfield/Unsplash)
  About one in 500 Alaskans died of COVID-19 between 2020 and 2023. That’s according to an epidemiology bulletin the Alaska Department of Health released Dec. 9, which says there were substantial racial disparities in rates of COVID-19 hospitalization and mortality in the state.
  Early in the pandemic, for instance, age-adjusted mortality rates in the state were about 3.6 times higher for Asian and Pacific Islander people co
  
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• Judge restores federal funding for museums and libraries, including in Alaska

  15-12-2025 21:38 via ktoo.org
  The Klukwan Library. (Jamie Katzeek)
  Federal funding for libraries and museums has been reinstated nine months after the Trump administration first sought to eliminate the agency that provides that money.
  The initial move sparked concern around Alaska, where dozens of tribes and villages rely on federal dollars to pay staff and offer programming at libraries. At the time, a handful of libraries reported grant cancellations.
  But in early December, the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Ser
  
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• Alaska Native veterans and heirs race to apply for Native allotments

  15-12-2025 21:02 via ktoo.org
  Photo of Anthony “Bone” Lekanof (Courtesy of Michael Livingston)
  For those who haven’t filed for their Native allotments, Alaska Native veterans don’t have much time to claim 160 acres of federal land. The window for applications closes permanently on Dec. 29.
  ANCSA ended 1906 Native allotment program
  The land grants were part of a government program created over a hundred years ago, to promote homesteads and private property ownership. But the 1906 Native allotment progr
  
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• Juneau schools are closed Monday due to ongoing snow storm

  15-12-2025 17:13 via ktoo.org
  In this file photo, a bobcat removes snow from a parking lot downtown on Monday, Jan. 15, 2024. (Clarise Larson/KTOO)
  Juneau schools will be closed Monday due to weather conditions in the Juneau area.
  A winter storm warning is currently in effect for the Juneau area. An additional 4 to 7 inches of snow accumulation is forecasted.
  After-school activities and events are also canceled. The special school board meeting will take place as scheduled at noon on Zoom.
  City and Borough of Juneau faciliti
  
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• Congress approves reauthorization of Secure Rural Schools funding

  14-12-2025 15:03 via ktoo.org
  Secure Rural Schools payments go to municipalities with large amounts of untaxed federal land — including those near the Tongass National Forest and the Chugach National Forest. (Sydney Dauphinais/KRBD)
  Congress approved critical funding for rural schools Tuesday night with the Secure Rural Schools Reauthorization Act.
  More than $12 million is set aside for Alaskan communities affected by the decline of the timber industry. That money goes to districts with large amounts of untaxed federal
  
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• Rare birds in Sitka spark excitement ahead of annual count

  14-12-2025 14:56 via ktoo.org
  
  
  A Dickcissel spotted in Sitka in mid-November (Marc Kramer/Birding By Bus)
  Two different birds rarely seen in Sitka and much of Alaska showed up in Southeast last month. As KCAW’s Katherine Rose reports, it was exciting news for birders leading into a big month for our feathered friends–the Audubon Society’s annual Christmas Bird Count.
  https://media.ktoo.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/09RAREBIRD.mp3
  In mid-November, the arrival of two rare birds in Sitka caught the attention o
  
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• Federal agency restores funding for museums and libraries, including in Klukwan

  13-12-2025 20:31 via ktoo.org
  The Klukwan Library. (Photo courtesy of Jamie Katzeek)
  Federal funding for libraries and museums has been reinstated nine months after the Trump administration first sought to eliminate the agency that provides that money.
  The initial move sparked concern around Alaska, where dozens of tribes and villages rely on federal dollars to pay staff and offer programming at libraries. At the time, a handful of libraries reported grant cancellations.
  But in early December, the U.S. Institu
  
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• Lawsuit challenges Trump administration approval for Arctic Alaska oil exploration plan

  13-12-2025 15:00 via ktoo.org
  A caribou in the Teshekpuk herd is seen on June 27, 2014, in the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska. A lawsuit filed Thursday claims the U.S. Bureau of Land Management approved ConocoPhillips’ winter oil exploration plan without adequately considering damages to habitat used by caribou and other wildlife. (Bob Wick/U.S. Bureau of Land Management)
  Environmental and Native organizations on Thursday sued the Trump administration to try to overturn last month’s approval of an expansiv
  
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