Anchorage news

• Morning update: Seward Highway still closed in response to armed ‘distraught male’

  06-04-2017 07:35
  
   
  Last updated at 7:40 a.m. on Thursday, Apr. 6
  Both the inbound and outbound lanes of the Seward Highway are currently closed between McHugh Creek and Beluga Point as Anchorage police and Alaska State Troopers SWAT attempt to disarm a “distraught” male.
  There is no school bus service for Girdwood-area families Thursday due to the closure, Anchorage School District spokesperson Heidi Embley confirms. The Girdwood K-8 school is having class today.
  The Anchorage Po
  
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• SEARHC opens new compounding pharmacy in Mendenhall Valley after years without one

  21-08-2026 15:00 via ktoo.org
  Paige Alexander, Pharmacy Technician II, compounds ingredients at Southeast Alaska Regional Health Consortium’s new Mendenhall Valley Pharmacy near Superbear IGA on Thursday, Aug. 20, 2026. (Photo by Clarise Larson/KTOO)
  More than two years after Juneau’s only compounding pharmacy closed its doors, a new one is taking its place — literally. 
  Earlier this week, Southeast Alaska Regional Health Consortium, or SEARHC, announced the opening of its new Mendenhall Valley Pharmac
  
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• Newscast – Thursday, August 20, 2026

  21-08-2026 02:59 via ktoo.org
  https://media.ktoo.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/20260820-News-Update.mp3
  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 w
  
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• Local weaver Jill Kaasteen awarded national grant | UAS Career Education’s tiny house project and high school mining program | Juneau Commission on Aging

  21-08-2026 02:45 via ktoo.org
  
  
  Juneau Afternoon recorded live on Thursday, August 20, 2026
  Local artist Jill Kaasteen on her recent national Native Arts & Cultures Foundation AwardUAS Outreach Coordinator Ashley Moorehouse on tiny homes and mining pathways for high school students via the Career Education DepartmentDeborah Craig and Linda Kruger from the Juneau Commission on Aging.
  Audio PodcastVideo LivestreamBostin Christopher hosts the conversation. Juneau Afternoon airs at 3:00 p.m. on KTOO and KAUK with a rebroadcas
  
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• School year begins with new playground and administrators in Juneau

  21-08-2026 02:20 via ktoo.org
  Students walk into the Dzantik’i Heeni campus in Juneau on Aug. 20, 2026. (Photo by Jamie Diep/KTOO)
  Listen here:
  https://media.ktoo.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/20FirstDay.wav
  Juneau students went back to school today 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.
  Before the first day of school began at Sítʼ Eetí Shaan&aac
  
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• Elly Carpenter becomes Juneau’s first-ever female Eagle Scout

  20-08-2026 23:27 via ktoo.org
  Ellie Carpenter, 17, smiles during her Eagle Scout Court of Honor ceremony at Resurrection Lutheran Church on Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2026. (Photo by Clarise Larson/KTOO)
  Seventeen-year-old Elly Carpenter made history on Wednesday night when she was sworn in as Juneau’s first-ever female Eagle Scout. 
  Eagle Scout is Scouting America’s highest and most prestigious rank. Since its inception in 1911, only 4% of all scouts have earned the rank. For more than a century, girls weren&rsquo
  
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• Ellie Carpenter becomes Juneau’s first-ever female Eagle Scout

  20-08-2026 23:27 via ktoo.org
  Ellie Carpenter, 17, smiles during her Eagle Scout Court of Honor ceremony at Resurrection Lutheran Church on Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2026. (Photo by Clarise Larson/KTOO)
  Seventeen-year-old Ellie Carpenter made history on Wednesday night when she was sworn in as Juneau’s first-ever female Eagle Scout. 
  Eagle Scout is Scouting America’s highest and most prestigious rank. Since its inception in 1911, only 4% of all scouts have earned the rank. For more than a century, girls weren&rsqu
  
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• Nunapitchuk voters only had about 3 hours to vote in-person on primary election day

  20-08-2026 20:31 via ktoo.org
  Nunapitchuk in 2024. (Photo by Katie Baldwin Basile)
  Nunapitchuk’s polls didn’t open until around 5 p.m. on primary election day, according to an Alaska Native voting group. The Alaska Division of Elections did not immediately provide information about the circumstances behind the delay when reached by email on the evening of Aug. 18.
  Ivalu Blanchett, a volunteer with advocacy group Get Out the Native Vote, had planned to fly to Nunapitchuk to assist Elders and others unable to make
  
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• New school year, new superintendent: getting to know Juneau schools head Shawn Arnold

  20-08-2026 15:00 via ktoo.org
  Juneau’s new superintendent, Shawn Arnold, smiles for a photo at KTOO on Friday, Aug. 6, 2026. (Photo by Clarise Larson/KTOO)
  Thursday is the first day of school for Juneau students in first through twelfth grade. It’s also Shawn Arnold’s first day as superintendent while school is in session. He officially started the job on July 1.
  Arnold is not new to the district though; he joined in 2021. KTOO’s Mike Lane recently spoke with Arnold, who’s also been superintende
  
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• Federal government officially files to rescind the Roadless Rule

  20-08-2026 03:30 via ktoo.org
  A roadless area of the Tongass National Forest in Juneau, near Herbert Glacier in fall of 2025. (Photo courtesy of Logan Berner).
  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. 
  Nearly half of the Tongass is inventoried as roadless.
  The rule has flip-flopped multiple times since it was established to protect for
  
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• Newscast – Wednesday, August 19, 2026

  20-08-2026 02:59 via ktoo.org
  https://media.ktoo.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/20260819-News-Update.mp3
  In this newscast:The City and Borough of Juneau did a preliminary assessment of residential damage form the glacial outburst flood that crested Thursday,
  Two Democrats and two Republicans are leading in early primary election results in the race for governor,
  Early results show Alaskans approving a ballot measure seeking to reinstate limits on individual campaign contributions by a roughly 3-to-1 margin,
  It looks like Ala
  
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• Matt the Electrician & Taylor Dallas Vidic play Amalga, new Master of Public Administration faculty member Meghan Holtan, and Garden Talk

  20-08-2026 02:23 via ktoo.org
  Juneau Afternoon recorded live on Wednesday, August 19, 2026
  Musicians Taylor Dallas Vidic and Matt the Electrician, UAS Public Administration new faculty member Meghan Holtan, and Garden Talk.
  Audio PodcastVideo LivestreamBostin Christopher hosts the conversation. Juneau Afternoon airs at 3:00 p.m. on KTOO and KAUK with a rebroadcast at 7:00 p.m. Listen online or subscribe to the podcast at ktoo.org/juneauafternoon.Subscribe to the podcast:Apple PodcastsNPR OneSpotifyStitcherRSS
  Juneau Af
  
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• Juneau homes assessed for “minor” damage from glacial outburst flood

  20-08-2026 00:50 via ktoo.org
  An industrial-sized pump pipes water over the flood wall on Riverside Drive as the flood crested on Thursday, Aug. 13, 2026. (Photo by Clarise Larson/KTOO)
  The City and Borough of Juneau completed a preliminary assessment of residential damage from the glacial outburst flood that crested on Thursday. Compared to previous years, it was minor.
  Ryan O’Shaughnessy, the city’s emergency manager, said that out of about 185 homes assessed along the Mendenhall River, 10 were “affected&
  
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• Owner of Haines wildlife center arrested more than a year after the state seized his animals

  19-08-2026 23:32 via ktoo.org
  The entrance to the Kroschel Films Wildlife Center, pictured above on June 27, 2025. (Photo by Avery Ellfeldt, KHNS).
  Alaska Wildlife Troopers arrested long-time Chilkat Valley resident Steve Kroschel on Monday nearly a year after the state first filed charges against him related to alleged animal cruelty.
  Kroschel was arrested at the Juneau airport after contacting local authorities and turning himself in, said Kroschel’s attorney Benjamin Dresner. He was returning from Russia, where he h
  
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• All incumbents appear likely to advance in Alaska House and Senate primaries

  19-08-2026 23:32 via ktoo.org
  Poll workers pose for a photo at the polling site at the Mat Su Fire Station 5-1 in Palmer on primary Election Day on Aug. 18, 2026. (Photo by Corinne Smith/Alaska Beacon)
  Primary voters have not removed any of the Alaska Legislature’s incumbent lawmakers, according to preliminary, incomplete vote tallies published late Tuesday by the Alaska Division of Elections.
  Of the 40 state House and 10 state Senate races on ballots across the state, only five had more than four candidates.
  That mat
  
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• Alaska Supreme Court hears arguments on Mat-Su school district’s bathroom policy

  19-08-2026 23:32 via ktoo.org
  The Boney Courthouse in Anchorage on June 27, 2024. (Photo by Matt Faubion/Alaska Public Media)
  Listen here:
  https://media.ktoo.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/19Mat-Suit.wav
  Alaska’s highest court heard oral arguments on Aug. 6 over the constitutionality of a school district’s bathroom policy. The case involves an elementary transgender student who sued the Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District, arguing the policy violates his privacy rights. 
  In the Mat-Su Borough School Di
  
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• Enstar triggers 3-week natural gas outage to Whittier as officials repair pipeline

  19-08-2026 15:00 via ktoo.org
  The resident apartment building in Whittier, Alaska towers over a boat parking lot on a summer day of 2021. (Valerie Lake/Alaska Public Media)
  Residents of Whittier may be without natural gas for almost three weeks.
  That’s after Enstar Natural Gas officials shut off the flow of gas to the community of roughly 250 people Sunday night to address a pipeline leak.
  The leak was first reported on Aug. 9, when a break was found in a subsurface section of the pipeline near the Twentymile River. E
  
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• Alaska Rep. Nick Begich leads 3 challengers in U.S. House primary

  19-08-2026 08:20 via ktoo.org
  Nick Begich speaks at the Alaska Oil & Gas Association candidate forum on Wednesday, Aug. 31, 2022. (Matt Faubion | Alaska Public Media)
  Republican Congressman Nick Begich finished in first place in Tuesday’s primary election, according to preliminary results.
  With about half of Alaska’s precincts reporting, Begich had about 48% of the vote.
  The incumbent congressman was not available for an interview Tuesday. A campaign spokesman did not respond to queries.
  Begich is a Republic
  
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• U.S. Senate race will have two Dan Sullivans and a Mary Peltola

  19-08-2026 07:54 via ktoo.org
  U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan arrived at his election watch party at the Alaska Aviation Museum in Anchorage the evening of Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2026. (James Daggett | Alaska Public Media)
  It looks like Alaska will have two candidates named Dan Sullivan on the November ballot for U.S. Senate, as well as Democrat Mary Peltola.
  Rounding out the top four in the early results was Republican Gerald Heikes, leading Democrat David Leslie by just 58 votes.
  That’s according to preliminary results the state
  
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• Campaign finance ballot measure passing by wide margin

  19-08-2026 07:38 via ktoo.org
  A poll worker helps a Petersburg voter submit their ballot during the Aug. 18 primary. (Taylor Heckart | KFSK)
  Early results show Alaskans approving a ballot measure seeking to reinstate limits on individual campaign contributions by a roughly 3-to-1 margin, according to the Alaska Division of Elections.
  Currently, Alaska has no limit on individual campaign contributions thanks to a federal appeals court ruling in 2021 that declared the state’s voter-approved $500-per-year limit unconstit
  
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• Kreiss-Tomkins, Begich, Wilson and Bronson lead in governor primary results

  19-08-2026 07:28 via ktoo.org
  Voters fill out their ballots at the Yupiit Picaryarait Cultural Center in Bethel on Aug. 18, 2026. (Evan Erickson | KYUK)
  Two Democrats and two Republicans are leading in early primary election results in the race for governor.
  The top four candidates in the nonpartisan blanket primary will advance to the general election in November. For now, those are:
  • Democrat Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins with 21.6%• Democrat Tom Begich with 19.5%• Republican Bernadette Wilson with 10.9%• R
  
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• Kreiss-Tomkins, Begich, Wilson and Bronson lead in early governor primary results

  19-08-2026 07:28 via ktoo.org
  Voters fill out their ballots at the Yupiit Picaryarait Cultural Center in Bethel on Aug. 18, 2026. (Evan Erickson | KYUK)
  Two Democrats and two Republicans are leading in early primary election results in the race for governor.
  The top four candidates in the nonpartisan blanket primary will advance to the general election in November. For now, those are:
  • Democrat Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins with 21.2%• Democrat Tom Begich with 19.0%• Republican Bernadette Wilson with 11.1%• R
  
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• Newscast – Tuesday, August 18, 2026

  19-08-2026 03:00 via ktoo.org
  https://media.ktoo.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/20260818-News-Update.mp3
  In this newscast:Alaska Wildlife Troopers arrested long-time Chilkat Valley resident Steve Kroschel on Monday, nearly a year after the state first filed charges against him related to alleged animal cruelty,
  A former Juneau fire captain has been sentenced to more than a year in prison for physically assaulting his stepdaughter,
  The Juneau Assembly voted last to sell City Hall to its neighbor, Sealaska Heritage Institute,
  
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• Judge sentences former Juneau fire captain to more than a year in prison

  19-08-2026 01:40 via ktoo.org
  Judge Larry Woolford in the Dimond Courthouse in Juneau on August 14, 2025. (Photo by Yvonne Krumrey/KTOO)
  A former Juneau fire captain has been sentenced to more than a year in prison for physically assaulting his stepdaughter.
  A jury found Brent Clancy guilty of assault in April, and at a sentencing hearing last week, the presiding judge said he had little faith in Clancy’s ability to change.
  This story contains descriptions of violence against children. 
  Listen:
  https://media.ktoo.
  
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• Juneau Assembly OK’s City Hall sale to Sealaska Heritage Institute — to demolish it

  18-08-2026 22:31 via ktoo.org
  City Hall in downtown Juneau on Friday, Aug. 14, 2026. (Photo by Clarise Larson/KTOO)
  Juneau’s City Hall building is getting a new owner — Sealaska Heritage Institute. The nonprofit plans to demolish it. 
  On Monday, the Juneau Assembly voted to approve the $1.5 million sale to its neighbor SHI,  whose mission is to uplift Lingít, Haida and Ts’msyen cultures of Southeast Alaska. The Assembly’s other option would have put the building up for sale at a minim
  
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• It’s Alaska’s statewide primary election day. Here’s what you need to know.

  18-08-2026 19:49 via ktoo.org
  Voters line up on Aug. 17, 2026, at the early voting station set up in Anchorage’s Midtown Mall. Voters reported waiting about an hour to cast their primary election ballots. (Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon)
  Over a month ago, Shelley Cotton cast the first vote in Alaska’s statewide primary election, downloading a blank ballot and sending it quickly by mail from Texas to Alaska.
  Since then, more than 31,000 other Alaskans have cast their ballots, and tens of thousands more residents will
  
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• Juneau Assembly highlights: selling City Hall, flood damage and electric motorcycles on trails

  18-08-2026 07:26 via ktoo.org
  Juneau Assembly member Paul Kelly, center, asks a question during a meeting on Monday, Aug. 17, 2026. (Photo by Clarise Larson/KTOO)
  The Juneau Assembly met on Monday for a regular meeting to decide the fate of City Hall, update residents following the recent glacial outburst flood and hear community concerns over electric motorcycles on local trails. 
  Here are some highlights from the meeting:
  • The Assembly voted to sell Juneau’s City Hall building to its neighbor, Sealaska Her
  
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• Newscast – Monday, Aug. 17, 2026

  18-08-2026 03:00 via ktoo.org
  https://media.ktoo.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/20260817-News-Update.mp3
  In this newscast:Juneau’s Egan and Vanderbilt intersection is back open after months of construction.
  The Juneau School Board approved a new lease for after-school childcare at Sayéik: Gastineau Community School last Thursday.
  With Alaska’s primary election on Tuesday, money is pouring into Alaska’s U.S. Senate race, and not just for the two candidates running multi-million-dollar campaigns. Pop-u
  
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• After-school childcare slated to return to elementary school in Douglas

  18-08-2026 01:16 via ktoo.org
  Sayéik: Gastineau Community School as pictured in Douglas on May 6, 2026 (Photo by Clarise Larson/KTOO)
  The Juneau School Board approved a new lease for after-school childcare at Sayéik: Gastineau Community School last Thursday. The elementary school has not offered childcare since 2025, when the school district ended its program due to staffing issues.
  Juneau business The Spark – which runs Little Stars Daycare in the Mendenhall Valley – came forward, looking to expand
  
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• Juneau’s Egan and Vanderbilt intersection reopens after months-long closure

  18-08-2026 00:38 via ktoo.org
  A video depiction of the new Egan Drive and Vanderbilt Hill Road intersection. (Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities)
  Juneau’s Egan and Vanderbilt intersection is back open after months of construction.  
  The Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities announced it reopened Saturday afternoon. Sonny Mauricio, a spokesperson for the department, said the changes were made due to safety concerns at the intersection. 
  “With any safety pro
  
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