KFSK Midday Magazine

Two small Southeast Alaska communities will soon be able to lease halibut quota through a new regional program; the countdown has begun for Juneau's annual Glacial Lake Outburst Flood; and hundreds of people gathered in Wrangell last month to help raise new totem poles.

Experts say changes to Medicaid coverage in Alaska will look different from other states; an unlikely discovery in a cave on Prince of Wales Island could inform us about the last Ice Age; and two Canadian kayakers stopped by Petersburg along their thousand-mile expedition.

State lawmakers overrode two of the governor's vetos on Saturday in a pair of dramatic votes; a new law gives commercial fishermen a way to lower insurance costs; and the hydroelectric plant and neighboring salmon hatchery near Petersburg are working on ways to keep their shared water safe for fish.

Federal engineers say it could be a decade before a permanent solution is in place to protect a residential area in a Juneau flood zone; Haines and Skagway residents are joining together for a locally-sourced food challenge; and Petersburg's school district won't have to spend down as much of its reserves thanks to lawmakers' education funding veto override.

Alaska lawmakers refused an executive order from Gov. Mike Dunleavy seeking to create a state agriculture department; the state is kickstarting a plan to build a new ferry terminal between Juneau and Haines, but communities in the area are concerned; and Petersburg middle schoolers mapped a creek on Kupreanof Island last week.

Lawmakers coming to Juneau for the special session are divided on if it'll be worth the travel costs; Petersburg has a new youth fast-pitch softball club; and nonresidents will be allowed to sport fish for wild king salmon in Southeast Alaska again, starting Monday.

New trade deals don't seem to provide relief for timber companies in Alaska impacted by tensions between China and the U.S.; a jury in Juneau found a Petersburg man guilty of sexual assault; and an otter and beaver skin sewing class came to Petersburg last weekend.

Alaska Congressman Nick Begich III wants to roll back parts of the Marine Mammal Protection Act; not all Juneau residents believe the city should adopt a new seasonal sales tax system; and hospitals in Petersburg, Cordova, and Homer are teaming up to create a rural health network through a federal grant.

Southeast Alaska's king salmon troll fishery will get a noncompetitive second opening; a group of scientists wrapped up a deep-sea expedition in the western Aleutians this summer; and the candidacy filing period for Petersburg's local election opens today.

State Sen. Shelley Hughes of Palmer is planning on running for governor; the Trump administration wants to eliminate the Denali Commission; and after freezing the funds last month, the federal government will give funding for migrant education, which a quarter of students in Petersburg qualify for.