Anchorage news

• Push for ride-share companies in Alaska hits speed bumps

  19-02-2017 22:09
  
  The drive to allow ride-share companies like Uber and Lyft to operate in Alaska has hit speed bumps.
  The bill, from Anchorage Republican Sen. Mia Costello, faces opposition from taxi operators worried the entrance of ride-share groups will drive down wages for their drivers and from municipalities that don’t want to cede regulation to the state.
  Costello says she sees the bill as a way to create jobs amid the state’s recession and provide transportation options for Alaskans.
  She has
  
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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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• Alaska gubernatorial candidates weigh in on working with the press, public engagement, AI use

  17-08-2026 22:49 via ktoo.org
  The Alaska governor’s mansion in Juneau is seen on Aug 14, 2026. (Corinne Smith/Alaska Beacon)
  Nine of 17 candidates for Alaska governor weighed in on plans for communicating with the media and the public. They touched on a variety of topics, including town halls, news conferences, public records, use of artificial intelligence and the role of their communications teams.
  The candidates are vying for the top four spots to advance to the ranked choice general election in November. The prima
  
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• Amid widespread opposition, Alaska governor’s gasline compromise bill appears dead on arrival

  17-08-2026 15:01 via ktoo.org
  The chambers of the Alaska House of Representatives stand empty on Thursday, Aug. 13, 2026. (Photo by James Brooks/Alaska Beacon)
  Leading members of the Alaska House and Senate said this week that they will not meet to discuss Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s latest attempt to provide a tax break for the proposed trans-Alaska natural gas pipeline.
  The bill, said Speaker of the House Bryce Edgmon and Senate President Gary Stevens, lacks the support to advance in either body.
  “The caucus is reall
  
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• Alaska judge confirms legislative candidate for primary despite blank financial disclosure form

  17-08-2026 15:00 via ktoo.org
  “I voted” stickers are seen on display in the headquarters offices of the Alaska Division of Elections in Juneau on Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024. (Photo by James Brooks/Alaska Beacon)
  An Anchorage Superior Court judge ruled Thursday that the Alaska Division of Elections was correct to keep Anchorage Republican Jose Tagle on the primary election ballot for state House even though he filed a blank form when asked to disclose his personal finances.
  State law requires candidates for public of
  
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• State ferry service to Skagway suspended

  16-08-2026 10:57 via ktoo.org
  The Alaska Marine Highway System Skagway dock in June 2025 (Photo by Melinda Munson/KHNS)
  When the town of Skagway went to sleep on Friday, they had daily ferry service. By mid-morning the next day, that service was gone.
  The Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities issued a notice on Saturday that there would be no ferry service to Skagway for the “foreseeable future.”
  The department cited major structural damage to the state-owned ferry docking facility.
  Skagway&rs
  
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• Newscast – Friday, Aug. 14, 2026

  15-08-2026 03:00 via ktoo.org
  https://media.ktoo.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/20260814-News-Update.mp3
  In this newscast:The Juneau Assembly will decide the fate of Juneau’s current City Hall building at its meeting on Monday night.
  The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced Friday that it will go through a fast bidding process, like the TV show “Shark Tank,” to select an industry partner that will help end Juneau’s glacial outburst floods. This comes just one day after Juneau avoided catastrophe dur
  
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• Alaska’s giant cabbage OK, university fee disclosures vetoed as Alaska governor acts on four bills

  15-08-2026 02:14 via ktoo.org
  The Alaska State Capitol is seen on the last day of the legislative session on May 20, 2026.(Claire Stremple | Alaska Beacon)
  Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy allowed two bills to become law without his signature and vetoed two more on Monday, extending the record for the most vetoes in a two-year session of the Alaska Legislature.
  The governor vetoed a bill that would have required the University of Alaska to provide fee notices to students, and his second veto canceled a bill that would have set Perm
  
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• Here’s where Juneau voters can go for this year’s Primary Election

  15-08-2026 02:04 via ktoo.org
  People fill out ballots in voting booths at the State Office Building in Juneau on Aug. 14, 2026. (Photo by Jamie Diep/KTOO)
  Primary Election Day is this Tuesday, Aug. 18. Voters can choose which candidates for governor, U.S House and Senate, and their local state legislators will move on to the General Election.
  Voters can select one candidate for each race. The top four vote-getters in the primary will advance to the general election on Nov. 6.
  The primary ballot will list 17 candidates for go
  
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• Super PACs try to game Alaska’s open primary for U.S. Senate by elevating political unknowns

  15-08-2026 01:46 via ktoo.org
  Grayson is a perennial candidate who joins races in odd years, too. Arizona station KOLD interviewed him in 2025 when he ran in a special primary there for U.S. House. (Screenshot of KOLD video)
  Green Party Senate candidate Richard Grayson knows flyers with his name and face are clogging mailboxes around Alaska. But he doesn’t get them. He lives in Arizona.
  A retired law school administrator, Grayson has run for office a lot, all over the country, with no expectation of winning.
  “Eg
  
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• Juneau Assembly to decide future of City Hall on Monday

  14-08-2026 23:26 via ktoo.org
  City Hall in downtown Juneau on Friday, Aug. 14, 2026. (Photo by Clarise Larson/KTOO)
  The Juneau Assembly will decide the fate of its current City Hall building at its meeting on Monday night. 
  There are two ordinances related to City Hall on the agenda: one would put the building up for sale at a minimum $2.5 million bid, and another would instead allow the city to sell it directly to its neighbor, Sealaska Heritage Institute. The Assembly will take public testimony and decide which one to
  
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• Army Corps announces “Shark Tank” process for industry bids to drain Suicide Basin, end Juneau’s glacial outburst floods

  14-08-2026 22:07 via ktoo.org
  Brig. Gen. Clete Goetz announces Army Corps’ new solution approach at the Tlingit & Haida council chambers in Juneau on Aug. 14, 2026. (Photo by Alix Soliman/KTOO)
  A permanent solution to Juneau’s annual glacial outburst flood will be chosen by the end of the year. That’s according to U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Brig. Gen. Clete Goetz, who said at a press conference in Juneau today that the Corps will post a request for qualifications today for a solution to drain Suicide
  
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• Flood officials call 2026 glacial outburst ‘anticlimactic’

  14-08-2026 06:30 via ktoo.org
  Tlingit and Haida President Chalyee Éesh Richard Peterson shares information about the recent flood at a press briefing on Thursday, Aug. 13, 2026. (Photo by Clarise Larson/KTOO)
  At a press conference Thursday evening, Chalyee Éesh Richard Peterson, president of the Central Council of the Tlingit & Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska, called the glacial outburst flood event “anticlimactic.” 
  “I think we’re experiencing a collective sigh of relief in Junea
  
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• Reporter Alix Soliman was in the Mendenhall Valley during the glacial outburst flood. Here’s what she saw.

  14-08-2026 04:42 via ktoo.org
  An industrial-sized pump pipes water over the flood wall on Meander Way as the flood crests on Thursday, Aug. 13, 2026. (Photo by Clarise Larson/KTOO)
  KTOO Climate and Environment reporter Alix Soliman has been in the Mendenhall Valley covering the glacial outburst flood this week. She talked with KTOO’s education reporter, Jamie Diep, about what Mendenhall Valley residents said after the flood crested. 
  Jamie Diep: To start, Alix, what have you seen around the Mendenhall Valley durin
  
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