Newscasts

In this newscast: Gov. Mike Dunleavy appoints an acting commissioner of the Department of Revenue, Alaska is now the 50th state to confirm its first case of the vaping related illness, The Wilderness Society produces and sells out a show designed to compel young people to care about the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game’s king salmon forecasts for Stikine and Taku rivers probably won’t allow for harvesting next year, a commercial fisherman from Naukati Bay pleads guilty to fishing in closed waters and falsifying a harvest report, the National Weather Service issues a winter weather advisory for Juneau, and the creators of the “Baby Shark” video announce they’re developing a version in Navajo. 

In this newscast: All 60 seats of the Alaska Legislature are filled for the first time since August after an Anchorage Republican is sworn into the House, U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski dedicates funding to a bill in Congress intended to help law enforcement investigate cold cases of missing and murdered indigenous women, President Donald Trump’s pick to be Alaska’s next Federal District Court judge scores poorly in an Alaska Bar Association poll, the Alaska Bar Association flags a coming legal brain drain in the state as older lawyers retire, a new study identifies environmental hazards threatening rural Alaska Native communities, officials say more buildings were damaged by last year’s earthquake in Chugiak-Eagle River where regulations are more lax than in an Anchorage zone, the Fairbanks City Council considers raising the tax on vaping products to be the same as tobacco products, and a Delta Junction High School sprinter becomes the first athlete from that community to be offered a chance to compete at a Division 1 school. 

In this newscast: A newly formed committee charged with planning for Alaska’s redistricting process will hold its first meeting next week, a boat adrift in Gastineau Channel prompts a little mystery, Alaska Native cultural interpreters discuss the work of explaining their existence to cruise ship visitors, the Anchorage Assembly approves studying a waste-to-energy incineration plant, Skagway Brewing Company’s has harnessed carbon dioxide from making beer to fuel an aeroponic garden, authorities arrest a Fairbanks man for allegedly using a backhoe to steal a truck, and a bear is blamed for a pair of vehicle break-ins in Akhiok. 

In this newscast: Proponents of a ballot initiative push Alaska election reforms while Republicans say its unconstitutional, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game forecast another underwhelming year for pink salmon in Southeast Alaska, a new federal report flags more problems with the F-35 fighter jets scheduled to come to Alaska, and Oregon State University haul in the remains of a massive blue whale to reassemble its skeleton. 

In this newscast: Recall Dunleavy lays out its legal arguments for its application to recall the governor, retired ferry workers are concerned that tying up the ferry Malaspina indefinitely with minimal maintenance will lead to costly damage, the Haines Economic Development Corp. estimates the borough will lose $3 million in visitor spending with Holland America canceling most of its summer cruise ship visits, an Alaska pilot involved in a 2014 crash is convicted of obstruction for lying to federal transportation agencies, Anchorage reflects and tallies expenses a year after a 7.1 magnitude earthquake struck, and the Salvation Army begins its red kettle fundraising campaign with a new way to donate. 

In this newscast: President Donald Trump signs an executive order creating a White House task force on missing and killed American Indians and Alaska Natives, the administration of Gov. Mike Dunleavy settles a lawsuit that sought to declare the Alaska Hire law unconstitutional, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers says it may revise its timeline for a releasing its final environmental review on the proposed Pebble Mine, oil company Hilcorp and one of its drilling contractors each paid more than $25,000 in penalties after a fatal North Slope work accident, Ketchikan has gone from extreme drought conditions to abrupt dumps of rain triggering flood emergency responses, Bethel’s Public Works Department building suffers millions of dollars in water damage, Sealaska Heritage Institute announces three new children’s books including its first trilingual one, and the Seattle City Council approves a 57-cent tax on Uber and Lyft rides. 

In this newscast: The U.S. Supreme Court weighs in on Alaska’s campaign contribution limit laws, a lawyer suing over Alaska Permanent Fund dividend benefits for same-sex couples says about seven other denial cases had been identified, Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy defends how his administration spent federal grant money as members of Congress inquire about potential misuse, far-north communities have found their ice cellars are no longer reliable due to climate change, 
seven months of weekends in the new cabin at the Eaglecrest Ski Area get booked within hours of the reservation system opening, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos’ nonprofit awards $5 million to an Anchorage nonprofit to house at least 300 homeless families, and enrollment in ukelele classes surpasses guitar classes at an Anchorage high school. 

In this newscast: Washington partisanship gums up the Violence Against Women Act, U.S. Attorney General William Barr announces a national plan to address missing and murdered indigenous people, a lawsuit challenging the governor’s authority to name the location of the Legislature’s special session survives a request for dismissal, Alaska Attorney General Kevin Clarkson tweets and deletes about a case involving a same-sex military spouse’s right to a Permanent Fund dividend, the parents of two victims in Thursday’s fatal car crash suspect alcohol was a factor, the Eldred Rock lighthouse is a step closer to opening to the public, lack of ice forces the first-ever cancellation of a Christmas-themed ice sculpture park in North Pole, and authorities bust a septuagenarian from Kodiak in the airport for being found with $400,000 in illegal drugs hidden in spoiled goat intestines. 

In this newscast: Two teens are dead after a single-car crash near Cohen Drive, the Alaska Municipal League puts the finishing touches on a plan to standardize sales tax collection for online retailers selling in Alaska, the Bureau of Land Management announces it is taking public comment on potentially expanded drilling in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska, and the Alaska Marine Highway System says the ferry LeConte will be out of service until mid-May. 

In this newscast: More than 100 people turn out for a transportation open house about accident-prone intersection near Juneau’s Fred Meyer, Angoon copes as it continues to go without ferry service until mid-December, ConocoPhillips announces plans to sell of a 25% stake in some of its North Slope assets, an Alaska company opens the state’s largest solar farm, whalers in Utqiagvik finally land their first bowhead whale of the season, the publisher of the Skagway News says he wants to give the paper away to the right person, a woman on trial for waving a gun in a bar gets charged with stealing the same gun from evidence, and the National Weather Service puts out a special weather statement about heavy rain across Southeast Alaska.