Jeremy Hsieh, KTOO

In this newscast: An organization funded by the Murdoch family has donated more than $500,000 to the campaign to overhaul Alaska’s election laws, some Alaskans call for more financial transparency from Hilcorp as it seeks to buy BP’s North Slope assets, education advocates are hopeful Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s will change his approach in his next budget, UAS Chancellor Rick Caulfield announces his retirement, state alcohol regulators reject a rule that would have prohibited organized events at breweries and distillers, the National Marine Fisheries Service proposes creating critical habitat sites to protect humpback whales around Juneau, and former Gov. Sarah Palin reveals she learned her husband wanted a divorce — in an email from his attorney. 

In this newscast: A Superior Court judge sides against the Dunleavy administration in an education funding lawsuit, Attorney General Kevin Clarkson’s high-profile cases raise eyebrows, the Coast Guard says its problems with VHF radio communication has no end in sight, and rocker Johnny Solinger decides he wants to auction off a star-studded guitar to help Alaska veterans. 

In this newscast:

Political ads try to push U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski to vote against a judicial nominee who may be connected to the phone call at the heart of the impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump, Juneau’s seasonal cold weather shelter reopens this weekend, University of Alaska Southeast Chancellor Rick Caulfield announces his retirement next year, the Port of Alaska receives $25 million in federal grant money, a prominent Native American rights attorney discusses a major U.S. Supreme Court land rights case between a Tlingit group  and the Forest Service, and what to do on Veterans Day in Juneau. 

In this newscast: A bipartisan group forms to fight an initiative to increase taxes on some North Slope oil fields, the Dunleavy administration is soliciting outside law firms with U.S. Supreme Court experience to fight to end automatic deduction of union dues, the National Transportation Safety Board releases a narrative of what led to a 2018 plane crash on Prince of Wales Island, federal regulators fine a Sitka seafood processor for letting its waste pile up on the seafloor, mineral explorers spent almost three times as much in 2018 in Alaska as three years earlier, a small scale woodworker in Sitka laments the irony of how difficult it is to locally source wood, protesters chain themselves to a dock at the Port of Vancouver in Washington state to block a pipeline shipment for expanding Alberta tar sands export capacity, and a flight cancellation forces the U.S. Forest Service to cancel a Roadless Rule meeting in Gustavus. 

In this newscast: A national expert on recalls of elected officials says the effort aimed at Gov. Mike Dunleavy highlights how unusual Alaska’s recall law is, a judge is considering whether to dismiss an ACLU lawsuit against the governor for vetoing some of the court system budget for a decision on abortions, consultants to the city of Skagway explore what it would take to establish a locally controlled ferry authority, members of the Alaska Chamber of Commerce formally take a position to support the Alaska Marine Highway System, the National Transportation Safety Board recommends all 50 states enact bicycle helmet laws to stem an increase in cyclist deaths on roadways, the last Alaska State Trooper drug dog trained to detect marijuana is set to retire soon, Petro Marine does a drill in Gastineau Channel to practice its spill response, the University of Alaska Board of Regents is set for two days of meetings about the system’s future, and the University of Alaska Anchorage says it will take peanut butter and jelly as payment outstanding parking tickets as part of a food drive. 

In this newscast: The group Recall Dunleavy sues over the rejection of its recall application, three Alaska Pioneer Homes residents sue Gov. Mike Dunleavy over sudden rate increases, a state Superior Court judge issues a ruling that would end unlimited donations to independent political action committees, Juneau residents say they feel ignored by the U.S. Forest Service’s push to open the Tongass National Forest to road building, nearly 1,000 passengers are affected by the Alaska Marine Highway System’s abrupt service cancellations across much of Southeast, traffic engineers recommend rebuilding the intersection near Fred Meyer as a highway interchange, the state Department of Transportation plans to begin a project to reroute the Sterling Highway and build the state’s largest bridge, Royal Caribbean opts not to use it’s shoulder season permits to visit Glacier Bay National Park, and an astronaut and Pennsylvania county figure out how to vote absentee — from space.