• Newscast – Wednesday, May15, 2024

    Newscast – Wednesday, May15, 2024
    https://media.ktoo.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/20240515-News-Update.mp3
    In this newscast:Ketchikan community members are pushing back against the planned construction of a market downtown which would feature two totem poles made by a non-Native Minnesota artist with a checkered past,
    A look at what’s planned for this years Little Norway Festival in Petersburg
  • Newscast – Monday, June 10, 2024

    Newscast – Monday, June 10, 2024
    https://media.ktoo.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/20240610-News-Update.mp3
    In this newscast:A federal lawsuit over fishing rights for the people of Alaska’s only Native reservation is likely heading for trial,
    Every year, one dance group is chosen to lead the procession of dancers that begins and ends Celebration,
    Tongass Voices: Nick Alan Foote on coming home for Celebration
  • Tongass Voices: Nick Alan Foote on coming home for Celebration

    Tongass Voices: Nick Alan Foote on coming home for Celebration
    G̱at X̱wéech Nick Alan Foote, whose art was chosen to represent Sealaska Heritage Institute’s Celebration 2024, wears a sweater with his piece “Sacred Embrace” at Village Street in Juneau on June 6, 2024. (Tasha Elizarde/KTOO)
    This is Tongass Voices, a series from KTOO sharing weekly perspectives from the homelands of the Áak’w Kwáan and beyond. 
    Last week was Nick Alan Foote’s first time at Celebration in almost two decades. In t
  • Eaglecrest is hiring a new general manager. Some skiers aren’t happy about it.

    Eaglecrest is hiring a new general manager. Some skiers aren’t happy about it.
    Former Eaglecrest board member Dave Hanna speaks to the current board during a meeting on Thursday, June 6, 2024. (Clarise Larson/KTOO)
    Eaglecrest Ski Area’s board is hiring a new general manager. The job posting went live on Friday. 
    But, at a meeting the night before, local skiers and residents asked the board to reinstate the previous general manager, Dave Scanlan, whom the board asked to resign last month. 
    Barney Bogart said he was disappointed in the board. 
    “Dav
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  • For Celebration’s lead dance group, the gathering was a chance to reconnect with coastal relatives

    For Celebration’s lead dance group, the gathering was a chance to reconnect with coastal relatives
    The Dakhká Khwáan dance group performs at Centennial Hall. June 6, 2024. (Yvonne Krumrey/KTOO)https://media.ktoo.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/10leaddancers.mp3
    Every year, one dance group is chosen to lead the procession of dancers that begins and ends Celebration — the biennial gathering of Lingít, Haida and Tsimshian people in Juneau. 
    About 1,600 people in regalia paraded up Willoughby Avenue to the entrance of Centennial Hall last week. Some of the 36 groups
  • 18-year-old Mat-Su grad seeks seat on school board that silenced him

    18-year-old Mat-Su grad seeks seat on school board that silenced him
    Matanuska-Susitna Borough School Board candidate Ben Kolendo, stands outside the front doors of the Mat-Su Borough School District office building on Thursday, May 30, 2024. (Matt Faubion/Alaska Public Media)
    Over the last school year, Ben Kolendo’s opportunities to speak during Matanuska-Susitna School Board meetings were severely reduced. But at the first meeting after relinquishing his duties, he stepped up to the podium and said he wants back in. Following six years as a student repres
  • Eielson looking into cause of F-16’s in-flight emergency

    A May 28 problem with an F-16 Fighting Falcon like this alerted the pilot of the jet fighter from Eielson Air Force Base’s 18th Fighter Interceptor Squadron to declare in in-flight emergency and return to base. (Eielson Air Force Base)
    Eielson Air Force Base investigators are looking into the cause of an in-flight emergency that required an F-16 fighter pilot to jettison the plane’s fuel tanks shortly after taking off from the base last month. Meanwhile Eielson officials also are als
  • New Sitka Sound Science Center director: ‘The first thing I want to do is listen’


    Arleigh Reynolds stepped into the role of Executive Director of the Sitka Sound Science Center after former director Lisa Busch retired in April. He says he looks forward to expanding partnerships, especially with Indigenous-run organizations in Sitka. (Meredith Redick/KCAW)
    When Lisa Busch announced she was retiring this April after 14 years as Executive Director of the Sitka Sound Science Center, Fairbanks-based veterinarian Arleigh Reynolds says he was ready to hop on a southbound flight. Rey
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  • Sen. Bert Stedman says he’s confident education funding will survive the governor’s desk

    Sen. Bert Stedman says he’s confident education funding will survive the governor’s desk
    Senate Finance Committee Co-Chair Sen. Bert Stedman, R-Sitka, listens to testimony from Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities Commissioner Ryan Anderson on Feb. 28, 2024. (Eric Stone/Alaska Public Media)
    Alaska legislators concluded their session last month and passed a budget that included a one-time increase in education funding of about $680 per student. That budget has yet to be signed by Gov. Mike Dunleavy, who could decrease the amount like he did last year.
    That uncert
  • 8 young Alaskans reignite a court fight over climate change and fossil fuel development

    8 young Alaskans reignite a court fight over climate change and fossil fuel development
    Linnea Lentfer is one of eight plaintiffs represented by Our Children’s Trust in a lawsuit against the state over climate change and fossil fuel development. (Photo courtesy Our Children’s Trust)
    Linnea Lentfer grew up in Gustavus, a town of 600 people tucked into the vast, scenic wilderness of Glacier Bay National Park in Southeast Alaska.
    Her father first set eyes on Gustavus on a high school biology trip, visiting from nearby Juneau.
    “[He] fell in love with the place and the
  • A new lawsuit over Alaska’s Medicaid backlog asks a judge to order faster processing

    A new lawsuit over Alaska’s Medicaid backlog asks a judge to order faster processing
    A hospital hallway is seen on April 7, 2020, in Juneau, Alaska. (Rashah McChesney/KTOO)
    Just days into his life, Sierra Ott’s infant son Liam took a turn for the worse. His doctors thought he might need surgery. He took an emergency flight from Fairbanks.
    “While he was there, they determined that he had hemophilia based on a heel prick that never stopped bleeding,” Ott said in a phone interview Friday. “He was diagnosed with severe hemophilia A, and from there, the hospit
  • Newscast – Friday, June 7, 2024

    Newscast – Friday, June 7, 2024
    https://media.ktoo.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/20240607-News-UPdate.mp3
    In this newscast:Southeast Alaska’s cutest models hit the stage at Centennial Hall on Thursday for Celebration’s Toddler Regalia Review,
    The state of Alaska is facing a new class action lawsuit over its failure to process Medicaid applications on time. That’s after state officials told Alaska Public Media last month that more than 15,000 Alaskans are waiting for their applications to be approved,
    Resear
  • Toddlers strut their Southeast Alaska regalia at Celebration

    Toddlers strut their Southeast Alaska regalia at Celebration
    Tayana Copper-Jane Cavan Adamek walks across the stage at Centennial Hall during Celebration’s Toddler Regalia Review on Thursday, June 6, 2024. (Clarise Larson/KTOO)
    Southeast Alaska’s cutest models hit the stage at Centennial Hall on Thursday for Celebration’s Toddler Regalia Review. Celebration is the biennial festival of Lingít, Haida and Tsimshian culture in Juneau. 
    For many, it takes a lot of courage to get in front of hundreds of people and strut your stuff.
  • Garden Talk: More from Naomi Michalsen on respectful harvesting


    A child harvesting salmonberries. (Photo by Jeff Bringhurst)https://media.ktoo.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/07GT_RespecHarvest2.mp3
    As part of a group called the Kayaani Sisters Council, Naomi Michalsen helped develop a free guide for people who want to learn to sustainably and respectfully gather local plants. In May, Michalsen spoke with KTOO’s Chloe Pleznac about respectful harvesting. 
    In last week’s Garden Talk, Michalsen talked about some of the basic principles of respe
  • How much fish do Alaskans eat? Enough to require new water pollution rules, EPA says

    How much fish do Alaskans eat? Enough to require new water pollution rules, EPA says
    Water washes over fish in a subsistence net on Kanakanak Beach in Bristol Bay. (Brian Venua/KDLG)
    Alaskans eat a lot of fish. So many, in fact, that the federal government announced Thursday that the state needs to update its water quality standards.
    The Environmental Protection Agency is giving the state Department of Environmental Conservation six to 12 months to come up with new or revised standards for more than 100 pollutants in state waters. That’s based on data showing that Alaskans
  • Mother and daughter’s spruce root hat wins Celebration’s juried arts show

    Mother and daughter’s spruce root hat wins Celebration’s juried arts show
    Goosh-shu Haa Jennie Wheeler and Káakaxaawulga Jennifer Younger at the Native artists’ market at Celebration. June 6, 2024. (Yvonne Krumrey/KTOO)
    A mother-daughter duo — a weaver and an engraver — won Best of Show at this Celebration’s juried arts show. Their winning entry was a spruce root hat called Dancing in the Summer Rain. 
    At her table at the Celebration Native artists’ market, Goosh-shu Haa Jennie Wheeler said she was surprised to win. 
    &ldqu
  • Newscast – Thursday, June 6, 2024

    Newscast – Thursday, June 6, 2024
    https://media.ktoo.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/20240606-News-Update.mp3
    In this newscast:Earlier this week, a swath of gray storm clouds interrupted an afternoon of clear blue skies in Juneau. A few people caught the sound of thunder and saw flashes of lightning. Juneau is no stranger to rainy days, but thunderstorms only happen once every two years or so here. KTOO’s Anna Canny explains why they’re so rare;
    A mother-daughter duo — a weaver and an engraver — won Best
  • In Juneau, years can pass without a thunderstorm. Why are they so rare?

    In Juneau, years can pass without a thunderstorm. Why are they so rare?
    Lightning strikes over Juneau, June 17, 2013. (Photo by Mikko Wilson)
    On Tuesday afternoon, Juneau climatologist Rick Fritsch was getting ready for his afternoon shift when the sky darkened suddenly, and the wind picked up. 
    “It was rocking the trees, something furious. And my birdhouses were flying, you know, seven ways till Sunday,” Fritsch said. “So I kind of knew that something was up.”
    A few minutes later, when he got to the National Weather Service office, a th
  • Photos: Dancers make a Grand Entrance to Celebration 2024

    Photos: Dancers make a Grand Entrance to Celebration 2024
    Amiah Johnson sings during a processional and grand entrance for Celebration in Juneau on Wednesday, June 6, 2024. (Clarise Larson/KTOO)
    More than 1,500 Indigenous dancers from across Southeast Alaska filled Willoughby Avenue and Centennial Hall for the Grand Entrance Procession of Celebration 2024 on Wednesday. 
    The procession marks the kick-off of the four-day Celebration festival in Juneau — a biennial gathering that honors and uplifts the culture of Lingít, Haida and Tsimshi
  • They were there on D-Day, on the beaches and in the skies. This is what they saw

    They were there on D-Day, on the beaches and in the skies. This is what they saw
    American soldiers huddle inside a landing craft approaching Utah Beach during the Allied invasion of Normandy, France, on D-Day. (U.S. Army Photo/AFP via Getty Images)
    This is part of a special series where NPR looks back at our coverage of major news stories in the past.
    Frank Walk was in a hurry.
    The U.S. Army captain had been ordered to bring top-secret planning documents to Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower’s headquarters, which at the time was a 19th-century manor near Portsmouth, England. It
  • Newscast – Wednesday, June 5, 2024

    Newscast – Wednesday, June 5, 2024
    https://media.ktoo.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/20240605-News-Update.mp3
    In this newscast:Traditional canoes — or yaakw — landed in Juneau Tuesday to mark the start of the bi-annual Celebration festival,
    A team of local scientists and emergency managers are trying to improve flood forecasts,
    Tongass Voices: Dave Hanson on the cosmos of Marie Drake Planetarium
  • UPDATE: Alaska State Troopers identify boater killed in collision near Petersburg

    UPDATE:  Alaska State Troopers identify boater killed in collision near Petersburg
    Search boats dot the waters of the Wrangell Narrows near Petersburg on Wednesday, June 5, 2024 after a vessel struck a skiff, leaving one boater missing and a second injured. (Courtesy Bill Flor)
    Alaska State Troopers have identified the person who died in a boating accident near Petersburg last week as Susan Paul, age 73 of California. She was in a 20-foot Hewescraft skiff that sank after a collision with a larger seine boat.
    A spokesperson with the U.S. Coast Guard, which is leading the invest
  • 1 dead, 1 injured after seiner and skiff collide near Petersburg

    1 dead, 1 injured after seiner and skiff collide near Petersburg
    Search boats dot the waters of the Wrangell Narrows near Petersburg on Wednesday, June 5, 2024 after a vessel struck a skiff, leaving one boater missing and a second injured. (Courtesy Bill Flor)
    Update — 8:00 a.m., June 6
    One person has died and another is at a local hospital after two boats collided south of Petersburg on June 6.
    The accident happened in the Wrangell Narrows between Green Rocks and Blind Slough before 9 a.m.
    Petersburg Emergency Services Director Aaron Hankins said a lar
  • 1 boater missing, 1 injured after larger vessel strikes skiff near Petersburg

    1 boater missing, 1 injured after larger vessel strikes skiff near Petersburg
    Search boats dot the waters of the Wrangell Narrows near Petersburg on Wednesday, June 5, 2024 after a vessel struck a skiff, leaving one boater missing and a second injured. (Courtesy Bill Flor)
    A search is under way Wednesday for a missing boater near Petersburg, with another at a local hospital after a boating accident south of town.
    Petersburg Emergency Services Director Aaron Hankins said a larger vessel reportedly T-boned a Hewescraft skiff at around 9:45 a.m. Wednesday. The accident repor
  • Juneau’s hospital hears from the community as budget crisis threatens service cuts

    Juneau’s hospital hears from the community as budget crisis threatens service cuts
    Aaron Surma, the executive director of the National Alliance on Mental Illness Juneau, gives testimony at a Bartlett Regional Hospital meeting on Tuesday, June 4, 2024. (Clarise Larson/KTOO)
    As the board for Juneau’s city-owned hospital begins hearing public testimony on services it might cut or reduce, residents say there could be damaging consequences for the community if they’re gone. 
    At a public meeting Tuesday night, Leslie Chandler Holzman spoke in support of the Home Hea
  • Fort Wainwright opens the Army’s biggest child care center

    Fort Wainwright opens the Army’s biggest child care center
    Fort Wainwright Child and Youth Services Coordinator Jessica Spittle explains the age-appropriate and child-safe design of one of the new CDC’s classrooms. (Tim Ellis/KUAC)
    Fort Wainwright celebrated the opening of its new Child Development Center Tuesday with a ribbon-cutting ceremony. The $3.5 million facility is the Army’s newest and largest child-care center.
    Active-duty military personnel and qualifying federal employees who work at Fort Wainwright now have access to a new 
  • Last year’s record outburst flood took Juneau by surprise. As Suicide Basin refills, scientists are working to improve their forecasts.

    Last year’s record outburst flood took Juneau by surprise. As Suicide Basin refills, scientists are working to improve their forecasts.
     
    Researcher Eran Hood stands on the lip of an empty Suicide Basin just a few days after it drained to create a record-breaking glacial outburst flood in August 2023 (Photo by Anna Canny/KTOO)
    Last summer’s record-breaking glacial outburst flood took everyone in Juneau by surprise. 
    So this year, a team of local scientists and emergency managers are trying to improve flood forecasts. They talked about it during a Monday-night presentation at the University of Alaska Southeast.
    Re
  • Last year’s record flood took Juneau by surprise. As Suicide Basin refills, scientists are working to improve their forecasts.

    Last year’s record flood took Juneau by surprise. As Suicide Basin refills, scientists are working to improve their forecasts.
     
    Researcher Eran Hood stands on the lip of an empty Suicide Basin just a few days after it drained to create a record-breaking glacial outburst flood in August 2023 (Photo by Anna Canny/KTOO)
    Last summer’s record-breaking glacial outburst flood took everyone in Juneau by surprise. 
    So this year, a team of local scientists and emergency managers are trying to improve flood forecasts. They talked about it during a Monday-night presentation at the University of Alaska Southeast.
    Re
  • Ketchikan man agrees not to raise fake totem poles carved by convicted murderer

    Construction of Joseph Machini’s Ketchikan shops at 420 Water St. appeared nearly complete by Monday, June 4, 2024. (Michael Fanelli/KRBD)
    The owner of a prominent downtown Ketchikan property has agreed not to raise inauthentic totem poles carved by a convicted murderer next to his new shops. After meeting with leaders of the region’s Indigenous communities, Joseph Machini also agreed not to use the name “potlatch” for his marketplace.
    The 420 Water St. property
  • An Alaska wildlife refuge is changing its wildfire strategy to limit carbon emissions

    An Alaska wildlife refuge is changing its wildfire strategy to limit carbon emissions
    The Goose Fire (#395) is burning in the Yukon Flats in northeast Alaska about 41 miles east of Fort Yukon on Aug. 4, 2022. Smokejumpers are protecting two Native allotments from this and the Belle Fire. The two fires merged on Aug. 4, 2022. (Photo by John Lyons, BLM Alaska Fire Service air attack)
    Baked with the around-the-clock summer sunlight and regularly peppered with lightning strikes, the Yukon Flats region in eastern Interior Alaska is regularly set ablaze with fires that are considered p

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