KTOO News Update

By KTOO Public Media

KTOO News Update episodes

June 01Newscast – Friday, May 29, 2026
https://media.ktoo.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/20260529-News-Update.mp3
In this newscast:
Thousands of people will converge in Juneau next week to dance, sing and showcase their Indigenous culture.
More than 100 Sitkans gathered at the Starrigavan boat launch Thursday morning for a blessing and send-off of the “Ancestral Echoes” canoe heading to Celebration in Juneau. Lingít elders Ed Peele and Harvey Kitka offered a blessing accompanied by drumming and singing before the 12 paddlers got into the red, blue, and black canoe to leave on their five-day journey to the capital city.
The state’s first Justice Summit for Alaska’s missing and murdered Indigenous people got underway in Anchorage on Wednesday with a call to push harder for healing, learning, and action.
Oil prices are going up because of the war in Iran, and in turn, the price of plane tickets has increased. Some of the hardest hit passengers are those in Unalaska, an 800-mile plane ride from Anchorage.
May in Utqiagvik means whaling. But the community just landed its first spring whale last weekend, very late in the season.
13 min
May 29Newscast – Thursday, May 28, 2026
https://media.ktoo.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260528-News-Update.mp3
In this newscast:
The estate of a man who died after he was struck by a City and Borough of Juneau-owned truck has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the city and the employee driving the vehicle.
Former Gov. Bill Walker is considering another run for the state’s top elected office. Walker filed a letter of intent with Alaska campaign regulators this morning.
A Juneau lawmaker’s bill that seeks to increase state funding for free legal aid to vulnerable Alaskans passed into law without the governor’s signature last week.
A federally funded program aims to install thousands of heat pumps across southern Alaska by late 2029. But the program’s first year has been slow. As Avery Ellfeldt reports for the Alaska Desk, the groups managing the effort are ramping up advertising in hopes of boosting interest, and reducing energy bills.
As the Arctic takes on greater geopolitical significance, Alaska has assets of interest to the U.S. military.
13 min
May 28Newscast – Wednesday, May 27, 2026
https://media.ktoo.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260527-News-Update.mp3
In this newscast:
Juneau Representative Andi Story says she will seek reelection for a fifth term in the Alaska Legislature this fall.
An 82-year-old Juneau man has been charged with attempted murder for allegedly stabbing his brother.
State lawmakers voted to increase state unemployment benefits for the first time since 2009 during the state Legislature’s race to the finish last week.
Several proposed mines in British Columbia are located along transboundary rivers that wind through Southeast Alaska. Residents on the Alaska side of the border say there’s a lack of tribal consultation and some worry about pollution in salmon-bearing streams vital to the region’s fisheries.
State lawmakers passed two bills on the last day of the legislative session aimed at fulfilling requirements of a federal health care expansion effort.
13 min
May 27Newscast – Tuesday, May 26, 2026
https://media.ktoo.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260526-News-Update.mp3
In this newscast:
University of Alaska officials are calling for a systemwide strategy to address challenges and opportunities ushered in by generative AI,
A beloved Lingít leader and fishing rights advocate in Juneau died last month at the age of 77,
With years of collective experience, Juneau Mountain Rescue volunteers sometimes deal with worst-case scenarios,
A tribal college on the North Slope bought a piece of land last month to build a new campus
13 min
May 23Newscast – Friday, May 22, 2026
https://media.ktoo.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260522-News-Update.mp3
In this newscast:
The popular Goldbelt Tram in downtown Juneau will remain closed as it undergoes repairs and inspections,
More than 300 high school seniors are expected to graduate in Juneau this Sunday,
Alaska Airlines might add a flight from Juneau to Portland, without stopping in Seattle,
Douglas Island Pink and Chum celebrates its 50th anniversary this year,
Hundreds of people gathered in Hoonah last weekend to unveil a new totem pole arch and honor wall dedicated to Hoonah veterans and their families
13 min
May 22Newscast – Thursday, May 21, 2026
https://media.ktoo.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260521-News-Update.mp3
In this newscast:
The Juneau Assembly may have found a path out of the red for its budget last night, but it wasn’t easy,
A U.S. Forest Service plan to revamp the Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center to accommodate more tourists will remain in place, with some additional paperwork,
A bill that would change the scope of an Alaska sexual assault law passed the Alaska Legislature Wednesday as part of a 10-bill package. It alters a law that criminalizes sexual assault by a medical provider,
The Alaska Legislature kicked off a special session Thursday to continue working on a key priority of Gov. Mike Dunleavy that didn’t pass in the 121-day regular session: tax cuts for the Alaska LNG project
0 min
May 21Newscast – Wednesday, May 20, 2026
https://media.ktoo.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260520-News-Update.mp3
In this newscast:
Juneau residents say the city’s sole electric provider’s proposal to raise bills by 20% is not affordable,
It’s National Safe Boating Week and the U.S. Coast Guard search and rescue teams in Juneau are asking residents to help prevent false alerts,
Alaska Native Vietnam War veteran, George Lindoff from Hoonah, got a proper homecoming decades after his service,
The Alaska Legislature is likely headed for a special session focused on tax cuts for the Alaska LNG project immediately after lawmakers adjourn today
12 min
May 20Newscast – Tuesday, May 19, 2026
https://media.ktoo.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260519-News-Update.mp3
In this newscast:
The Juneau Assembly voted last night to divest from Eaglecrest Ski Area’s gondola project and pay back a $10 million investment from Goldbelt Incorporated.
Gov. Mike Dunleavy vetoed a bill that would reinstate pensions for public employees late last night as the Alaska House failed to advance a tax cut for the Alaska LNG project. Lawmakers had hoped to make a deal: they’d pass a gas pipeline tax relief bill in exchange for the governor allowing the pension bill to pass into law.
About halfway between Juneau and Haines, there’s a small rock … with a big history. On it, sits the Eldred Rock Lighthouse. The facility has been there for over a century – and today is the oldest original lighthouse in Alaska. It’s been in disrepair for decades. But after years of restoration work by volunteers, the lighthouse will open to the public for the first time later this month.
A man accused of breaking into two homes in the Mendenhall Valley and assaulting three people earlier this month has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
11 min
May 19Newscast – Monday, May 18, 2026
https://media.ktoo.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260518-News-Update.mp3
In this newscast:
The Juneau Assembly will vote tonight on whether to finalize its plan to divest from Eaglecrest Ski Area’s controversial gondola project,
As leadership of the Juneau School District undergoes a major changeover this summer, many of those positions are being filled with current employees,
A Canadian mining company wants to reopen a gold mine in British Columbia, upstream from the Taku River, Southeast Alaska’s most productive salmon stream,
Sixth graders in Juneau’s Montessori Borealis program recently showcased their family histories with presentations they spent months working on.
13 min
May 16Newscast – Friday, May 15, 2026
https://media.ktoo.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260515-News-Update.mp3
In this newscast:
Divers are searching the murky waters of Gastineau Channel this week in hopes of locating the body of a Juneau man who has been missing for nearly a year,
The case against a former Juneau chiropractor accused of assaulting more than a dozen women under the guise of medical care may continue into another year. At a hearing Wednesday, the defense attorney said he would likely not be ready to go to trial until 2027,
The Alaska Legislature rejected Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s pick for attorney general, Stephen Cox, on a 29-31 vote Thursday morning,
A health clinic in Sitka closed mid-day yesterday after a possible measles exposure,
A Superior Court judge is allowing the Anchorage School District to resume the process of closing Campbell STEM Elementary School,
Spending in Alaska’s U.S. Senate race is ramping up
13 min