KTOO News Department

In this newscast: Members of the Juneau community have an opportunity to watch recorded interviews with finalists for Juneau schools superintendent and give feedback to the school board by Thursday; Since the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers pulled back its decision to design a lake tap that would put a stop to annual glacial outburst flooding in Juneau’s Mendenhall Valley, local and congressional leaders have pressed the agency to explain why; Crews are about half way done removing a colossal drilling rig that toppled over on the North Slope; Folk singer-songwriter Willi Carlisle is the guest artist for the 51st annual Alaska Folk Festival in April. KTOO’s Yvonne Krumrey spoke with Carlisle about what makes Folk Fest special

In this newscast: Downtown Juneau’s popular Marine Park will become a construction site for more than a year, starting next week; Two state lawmakers introduced legislation this month that aims to crack down on water pollution from major ships, including cruises; The Alaska Permanent Fund beat its performance benchmark last year and is approaching $90 billion. That’s according to the investment consulting firm Callan, which has advised the state on the Permanent Fund’s performance for decades; How can you convince yourself to bike to work, even in the winter? The Alaska Survival Kit series tries to answer that question

In this newscast: The City and Borough of Juneau has reached a collective bargaining agreement with the union that represents Juneau police; Most of the residents of the Juneau neighborhood hit hardest by annual glacial outburst flooding don’t want to pay for a portion of a buyout program that would allow them to leave the flood zone; Juneau’s city-owned airport was briefly at risk of an emergency closure as its fleet of Aircraft Rescue and Firefighting trucks faced maintenance issues that could have shut down air traffic if all vehicles broke down; Staffing shortages, heavy workloads and burnout have stretched Juneau’s fire department thin. Now, a new chief is at the helm, and he wants to rebuild morale and reshape the culture inside Capital City Fire Rescue

In this newscast: A Juneau man who had been staying at a local shelter for unhoused people has not been seen by staff in more than two weeks and has been reported missing; Winter maintenance of streets, supporting schools and public safety are the top budget priorities of more than 4,000 Juneau residents who took a city budget survey earlier this year; The Juneau planning commission unanimously approved a conditional use permit on Tuesday for a two-story retail and entertainment building called “Alaska Fly & Dive” in the heart of downtown Juneau’s tourism corridor; Language educators in Juneau are working to create a Master’s in teaching program for Indigenous languages at the University of Alaska Southeast. It would be the first of its kind in Alaska; At least 10 high school students from around the globe are in Alaska right now as exchange students. Several gathered in Juneau earlier this month for a student orientation; Alaska senators moved forward a new version of Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s tax bill last week. The newest draft of the bill bears little resemblance to the bill the governor proposed earlier this year as part of his broader fiscal plan

In this newscast: The Juneau School Board has selected three finalists to be the district’s next superintendent; The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has backed out of studying a lake tap solution to glacial outburst floods that have ravaged Juneau’s Mendenhall Valley neighborhoods in recent years; The Haines Assembly voted in January to change how it collects sales tax. Now, cruise ships docked in Haines will be required to charge local sales tax on onboard purchases; A measure to repeal Alaska’s nonpartisan primaries and ranked choice general elections will be on the ballot this year, but exactly how its worded remains a hot dispute

In this newscast: The Alaska House approved a fast-tracked spending bill totaling nearly half a billion dollars this afternoon. It’s intended to cover higher-than-expected costs in the ongoing fiscal year, and it’s a combination of several requests from Gov. Mike Dunleavy; Several Juneau boats sank in city harbors during the intense winter storms that started in late December. The city is still dealing with the aftermath; The Alaska Federation of Natives urged state lawmakers to fix Alaska’s dual fish and wildlife management system; A state legislator’s former chief of staff faces charges of child sexual exploitation and child sex trafficking