Jeremy Hsieh, KTOO

In this newscast: The Trump administration takes one the last steps needed to let oil companies bid on oil and gas leases in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, the state files criminal charges against oil field services company Baker Hughes alleging workers were ignored and exposed to toxic chemicals, federal officials declare an unusual mortality event for three species of ice seals, police data in Nome show just 8% of calls about sexual assaults against adults resulted in an arrest over a 10 year period, Alaska delegates travel to Washington D.C. to reauthorize and make mandatory federal payments in lieu of property taxes to Tongass communities, Facebook expands its “Today In” service to 6,000 U.S. cities and towns to coax news deserts into bloom, and a vaping-related hospitalization is confirmed in King County, Washington. 

In this newscast: Gov. Mike Dunleavy and Environmental Conservation Commissioner Jason Brune visit a proposed mine site near Haines, Alaska results from spring standardized testing are out and there’s plenty of room for improvement, the Juneau School Board OKs a three-year contract to retain Superintendent Bridget Weiss, residents of Nome and Shishmaref sound off on climate change effects to federal and international officials, and Cordova is in week six of a water shortage. 

In this newscast: A state Superior Court judge says a lawsuit alleging the state unlawfully declared an emergency to cut Medicaid payments raises “serious and substantial questions,” owners of a Ketchikan pulp mill pitch converting their mill into additional cruise ship berths and tourism attraction, the city of Fairbanks reaches out to local businesses to keep funding going for a service that transports intoxicated people on the streets to safety, Alaska State Troopers announce an arrest in a 41-year-old cold case murder, a bus driver who struck and killed Skagway’s mayor and mother in Washington D.C. pleads guilty to negligent homicide, two artists from St. Lawrence Island finish a Juneau residency with a blanket toss, and Galena residents pay for an alleged drug dealer’s plane ticket out of town. 

In this newscast: Federal officials visit Nome to discuss violent crime, missing and murdered Native Americans, and illegal narcotics; Gov. Mike Dunleavy picks Rep. Laddie Shaw to fill Anchorage Sen. Chris Birch’s vacant seat, Orthodox pilgrims make their way to Spruce Island near Kodiak, and the Interior Department OKs motorized electric bicycles in national parks and public lands usually off limits to motorized vehicles. 

In this newscast: Alaska officials hear U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos discusses her national scholarship proposal designed to encourage private investment, the Missile Defense Agency details what a recent Pentagon missile defense contract cancellation means for Fort Greely, a Coast Guard seaman charged with a murder in Unalaska awaits court martial proceedings, and the mayor of the Kenai Peninsula Borough signs a temporary disaster declaration for Seldovia and Nanwalek because they’re running out of water. 

In this newscast: Stakeholders react to news that President Donald Trump wants to open up the Tongass National Forest to roadbuilding, Alaska public employee unions call the state attorney general’s legal opinion on union dues ideologically “extreme,” Haines brewers and distillers react to the latest regulatory proposal from the state Alcoholic Beverage Control Board, and state wildlife troopers allege they caught a longtime fishing lobbyist fishing illegally near Sitka. 

In this newscast: The federal government releases preliminary studies that are a prerequisite to build a 200-mile Ambler road for mining access, the Glory Hall homeless shelter’s relocation plans upset neighbors of the potential new location, state regulators propose rules to limit activities at breweries and distilleries, Washington state officials propose an overhaul of the legal marijuana industry’s rules, Alaska issues a public health alert about cases of lung illnesses associated with vaping, U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan discusses Arctic security during a short visit to Unalaska, and a 16-year-old Swedish climate activist finishes two-week, trans-Atlantic zero-emission sailing trip to the New York. 

In this newscast: BP announces its selling all of its Alaska business to Hilcorp, the top judge for Tlingit and Haida Tribal Court is the new magistrate for Petersburg, Wrangell and Kake, the City and Borough of Juneau hopes to puts in a bid to buy the subport lot with cruise ship passenger fees, Alaska Airlines and passengers report multiple flights were struck by lightning in Sunday’s storm, and a survey shows alerts from new driver assist systems are so annoying that some motorists are turning the features off.

In this newscast: Health insurance company Moda says it will return to Alaska’s individual marketplace next year, U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos visits Alaska, early fall chum salmon returns in Southeast Alaska are unexpectedly poor, fire fighters make progress over the weekend containing the McKinley fire though the Swan Lake fire is still snarling the Sterling Highway, the Alaska Marine Highway System ferry Kennicott rescued five people in Canadian waters, and a rare lightning storm hits much of Southeast Alaska with more lightning possible.