On today's Midday Report with host Terry Haines: A new study has identified high levels of mercury stored in permafrost along the Yukon River. Alaska librarians are cautiously optimistic that a state agency will restore a big cut in funding. And there could me a mental health upside to Sitka's extended internet outage.

Photo: A 2022 drone image of the Yukon River and its floodplain downstream from Beaver, Alaska, shows accumulations of sediments harboring mercury. Michael P. Lamb / USC Dornsife

On today's Midday Report with host Terry Haines: The Alaska Democratic Party wants the Division of Elections to bar Eric Hafner from the ballot. Relatives of Cassandra Boskofsky want answers about how her disappearance was handled. And a bill addressing missing and murdered indigenous persons has been signed into law.

Photo: Eric Hafner’s campaign announcement. (Jack Darrell/KRBD)

On today's Midday Report with host Terry Haines: Gov. Mike Dunleavy has vetoed a bill that would have required car rental apps to collect state taxes. Anchorage’s hydropower czar says there are solutions that could satisfy all parties competing for the water that collects in Eklutna Lake. And libraries around the state are scrambling after learning a key state grant was being slashed.

Photo: Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy speaks to reporters during a news conference on Feb. 7, 2024. (Photo by James Brooks/Alaska Beacon)

On today's Midday Report with host Terry Haines: Advocates for a proposition set to appear on Juneau’s local ballot want one day a week during the summer cruise season when there are no ships in port. A truck drove into the Turnagain Arm. And researchers are working on an algorithm to predict earthquakes.

Photo: A semi truck in the waters of Turnagain Arm, after Anchorage police say it left the Seward Highway near Mile 82.5 on Tuesday, Sept. 3, 2024. (Matt Faubion/Alaska Public Media)

On today's Midday Report with host Terry Haines: A landslide in Kenai Fiords Park caused a 55 foot tsunami last month. Search and rescue personnel had a long holiday weekend that included three plane crashes in Alaska. And Alaska’s Department of Education and Early Development released statewide assessment data on Friday that shows most students are not proficient in core subjects.

Photo: agle River High School students protest Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s education funding veto on Thursday, April 4, 2024. A new study shows most Alaska students are not proficient in core subjects. (James Oh / Alaska Public Media)

On today's Midday Report with host Terry Haines: An updated version of the Bunny Boot is about to hit the market. A recent report documents extensive community health risks from plastics in the Arctic region. And Fairbanks North Star Borough residents are highly energy burdened, according to a recent study.

Photo: Bunny Boots. (Alaska Gear Company)

On today's Midday Report with host Terry Haines: A working group in Petersburg hopes information from newly-installed weather stations can eventually be used to build a landslide warning system. A project to map permafrost thaw and erosion could help communities adapt. And the Qawalangin Tribe of Unalaska held its 27th annual culture camp for a week at the end of July.

Photo: The Qawalangin Tribe of Unalaska held their 26th annual Camp Qungaayux̂ earlier this month.

On today's Midday Report with host Terry Haines: A scientist explains why landslides are so unpredictable. Starlink has revolutionized communication in rural Alaska. And the Tribal Association in Bethel has sued to stop the Donlin Mine.

Photo: Justin Andrew and Gregory Larson work examining and classifying core samples at the Donlin Mine on Aug. 11, 2022. The hill outside the building holds the gold deposit that would be mined if Donlin goes into production. The mine is controversial, and opponents have filed legal challenges to key state permits and authorizations for the project. (Photo by Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon)

On today's Midday Report with host Terry Haines: Teams of scientists, engineers and meteorologists continue their work assessing the steep hillside in Ketchikan following Sunday's fatal landslide. United States Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland has finalized a decision to maintain protections for “D-1” lands. And Petersburg’s Little Norway Festival was marshaled in by a horde of vikings and valkyries.

Photo: Brandi Thynes leads the youngest Norwegian dancers during their last practice at Petersburg’s Fishermen’s Memorial, outside of the Son’s of Norway Hall on May 10, 2024. (Photo: Hannah Flor/KFSK)

On today's Midday Report with host Terry Haines: Ketchikan residents describe a chaotic scene after a landslide ripped through a residential neighborhood. Weather observations at Denali have been taken for one hundred years. And Unalaska is now officially Tsunami ready.

Photo: The scene of the landslide in Ketchikan, Alaska. Credit...Travis Watkins/Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities.