News

Nathanial Kangas, right, is escorted into Superior Court Judge Paul Lyle's courtroom at the Rabinowitz Courthouse on Monday afternoon, May 16 in Fairbanks. A Fairbanks jury deliberated six hours before convicting Kangas, 22, in the deaths of Sgt. Scott Johnson and Trooper Gabe Rich in May 2014, the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner reported. The officers were shot at Kangas' home in the village of Tanana, about 130 miles west of Fairbanks, as they attempted to arrest Kangas' father.

Legislature considers health insurance bill for families of slain first responders

The Alaska Legislature has begun considering a proposal to grant permanent health insurance to the spouses and children of firefighters and police who are killed… Continue reading

Nathanial Kangas, right, is escorted into Superior Court Judge Paul Lyle's courtroom at the Rabinowitz Courthouse on Monday afternoon, May 16 in Fairbanks. A Fairbanks jury deliberated six hours before convicting Kangas, 22, in the deaths of Sgt. Scott Johnson and Trooper Gabe Rich in May 2014, the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner reported. The officers were shot at Kangas' home in the village of Tanana, about 130 miles west of Fairbanks, as they attempted to arrest Kangas' father.

Hopkins resigns from gas line board for Alaska Senate run

JUNEAU — Luke Hopkins, who was narrowly confirmed to the board of the Alaska Gasline Development Corp. last month, has resigned from that post to… Continue reading

Adoption bill gets hearing in Senate

One of the few non-budget items on Gov. Bill Walker’s special-session agenda received its first hearing in the Alaska Senate on Wednesday afternoon.House Bill 200,… Continue reading

Deadline approaching for annual Denali park road lottery

JUNEAU — The deadline for entering the annual Denali National Park and Preserve road lottery is approaching.People can enter online and by phone through Tuesday… Continue reading

State focuses on pollution rules for Fairbanks, North Pole

FAIRBANKS — Alaska officials are outlining new measures to control pollution in the Fairbanks North Star Borough, as federal regulators plan to upgrade two borough… Continue reading

The May 24 letter suspending Medicaid payments to hospitals and clinics

State briefly suspends Medicaid payments to doctors

The state of Alaska has suspended Medicaid payments to hospitals and clinics amid a continuing budget impasse in the Legislature, but the state’s director of… Continue reading

The May 24 letter suspending Medicaid payments to hospitals and clinics

Public can vote on national park site preservation funds

Twenty historic sites in national parks are vying for $2 million in preservation grants, and the public is invited to vote for their favorite places.The… Continue reading

Rate filings for individual Alaska health plans due in July

JUNEAU — The lone insurance company expected to offer individual health policies to Alaskans next year will have until mid-July to make its requests for… Continue reading

Plans would close Sitka, Anchorage extension service offices

ANCHORAGE — The University of Alaska Fairbanks plans to close its cooperative extension service offices in Sitka and Anchorage by the end of October.Thirteen jobs… Continue reading

A Juneau Police Department officer holds a package of black tar heroin at the JPD station in December 2015.

Corrections officer faces drug charges

ANCHORAGE — An Alaska Department of Corrections officer suspected of a heroin-distribution plot at a state prison has been arrested on federal drug charges.Adam Jason… Continue reading

A Juneau Police Department officer holds a package of black tar heroin at the JPD station in December 2015.

Kenai newspaper names new publisher

The vice president of operations with Morris Publishing Group has been named the new publisher of the Peninsula Clarion, a sister paper to the Juneau… Continue reading

Fairbanks to take over cemetery work after disputed bid

FAIRBANKS — Fairbanks is replacing its longtime groundskeeper of the city’s oldest cemetery with employees from the Public Works Department after a disputed bidding process.Starting… Continue reading

Rep. Gabrielle LeDoux, R-Anchorage, left, Rep. Louise Stutes, R-Kodiak, Rep. Wes Keller, R-Wasilla, and Rep. Les Gara, D-Anchorage, watch the resolution vote to continue work on bills during the special session on Tuesday.

Legislators greet tax bill with skepticism

Members of the Alaska House Finance Committee showed a notable lack of enthusiasm Tuesday as they heard details of Gov. Bill Walker’s omnibus tax bill… Continue reading

Rep. Gabrielle LeDoux, R-Anchorage, left, Rep. Louise Stutes, R-Kodiak, Rep. Wes Keller, R-Wasilla, and Rep. Les Gara, D-Anchorage, watch the resolution vote to continue work on bills during the special session on Tuesday.

Anchorage police identify SUV suspected of impersonating officer

ANCHORAGE — A driver’s complaint of someone impersonating a police officer has led to an investigation by the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.The… Continue reading

Former municipal prosecutor sentenced for trust fund fraud

ANCHORAGE — A former Anchorage municipal prosecutor has been sentenced to more than 13 years in prison for a $52 million wire fraud and money… Continue reading

Lone survivor of Admiralty plane crash continues recovery

KETCHIKAN — The only survivor of a floatplane crash in Southeast Alaska that killed three Wrangell men remains in recovery at a Colorado hospital.Morgan Enright… Continue reading

People, some with their dogs, begin a 3 mile suicide-prevention walk Saturday in Anchorage. More than 700 Alaskans took part in the event to raise awareness about suicide.

Alaskans participate in yearly suicide-prevention walk

ANCHORAGE — Alaskans participated in a yearly community walk in the state’s largest city to raise awareness about suicide and remember loved ones who took… Continue reading

People, some with their dogs, begin a 3 mile suicide-prevention walk Saturday in Anchorage. More than 700 Alaskans took part in the event to raise awareness about suicide.
This photo taken Sunday, April 24, 2016, in Talkeetna, Alaska, shows Denali partially obscured by clouds. The U.S. Army helped the National Park Service by using Chinook helicopters to fly food and materials to set up base camps at the 7,200-foot and 14,000-foot level to assist climbers on North America's tallest mountain. (AP Photo/Mark Thiessen)

Tale of harrowing rescue on Denali unheralded for 35 years

EVERETT, Washington — In the spring of 1980, climbers Mike Helms and Bob Kandiko came upon two other climbers in peril near the summit of Alaska’s… Continue reading

This photo taken Sunday, April 24, 2016, in Talkeetna, Alaska, shows Denali partially obscured by clouds. The U.S. Army helped the National Park Service by using Chinook helicopters to fly food and materials to set up base camps at the 7,200-foot and 14,000-foot level to assist climbers on North America's tallest mountain. (AP Photo/Mark Thiessen)

Alaska inmate escapes, then comes back to try to free others

FAIRBANKS — A minimum-security prisoner who escaped from a halfway house in Fairbanks came back three hours later, but it wasn’t to turn himself in.Alaska… Continue reading

Athletes, coaches and volunteers anxiously watch paramedics attend to Monroe freshman Joseph Balko during the Region VI Track and Field Championships at West Valley on Friday. Balko collapsed upon finishing the Class 3A 3,200-meter run Friday and passed away Saturday at Providence Hospital in Anchorage.

High school runner dies after collapsing at competition

FAIRBANKS — A high school freshman has died after collapsing at his region’s track and field championships.The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner reported Monroe Catholic High School… Continue reading

Athletes, coaches and volunteers anxiously watch paramedics attend to Monroe freshman Joseph Balko during the Region VI Track and Field Championships at West Valley on Friday. Balko collapsed upon finishing the Class 3A 3,200-meter run Friday and passed away Saturday at Providence Hospital in Anchorage.