KTOO News Update

In this newscast: City leaders extended Juneau's emergency COVID-19 rules; The Missile Defense Complex at Fort Greely was evacuated last week but it's not clear why; A magnitude 6.8 earthquake was part of a cluster in the Aleutian Islands that may be followed by a larger one; Anchorage's outgoing police chief will lead Providence Hospital's diversity, equity and inclusion efforts; Authorities are searching for a snowmobile driver who veered into a highly touted sled dog team and injured two dogs

In this newscast: Juneau officials say the roofs of at least two building in Juneau have failed; no one has been injured; One Juneau artist fought through the isolation of COVID-19 to create something beautiful; Riverbend Elementary school is extensively flooded after a pipe burst; It has been a frustrating winter for ferry service in Southeast Alaska; A Ft. Wainwright-based soldier was recently found dead at his home

In this newscast: Icy, hazardous conditions disrupt life all over Juneau; Another top-level Bartlett Reginal Hospital employee resigns; Juneau's omicron wave of COVID-19 continues; The new COVID-19 variant is changing how the state gauges risk; Pre-filed bills aim to limit political campaign donations, limit legislators' pay and change who runs the Alaska Permanent Fund Corp.; Alaska's longest serving magistrate loses his job over writing partisan letters to the editor; Marine mammal biologists share lessons from their experience trying to nurse sick beluga whales back to health

In this newscast: 

State health officials reported another 202 residents and visitors to Juneau tested positive for COVID-19 between Wednesday and Thursday; The vast majority of new cases of COVID-19 this week are from the rapidly spreading Omicron strain; What does it take to keep the Juneau School District open during a surge of new COVID-19 cases?

In this newscast: More than 700 ballots were rejected in Juneau's October municipal election; Napakiak is at the top of the state's list to get a new school building; People are reporting long wait times for COVID-19 tests in Anchorage, assembly members want answers

In this newscast: 

Unusually high snow accumulation is testing Southeast; 

Four University of Alaska students are suing the state government in attempt to maintain a fund that pays for scholarship; 

Many travelers who had been stuck in Bethel for weeks over the holidays have made it home to their villages, now a new batch is stranded; 

 Alaska State Troopers say they've found the mother of a baby found abandoned in frigid temperatures in Fairbanks, she is a minor.

In this newscast: 

Alaska lawmakers are concerned about a plan that would see them get higher salaries but lower overall compensation under a new plan;

 Soldotna's Indy Walton has stepped down from the state's Board of Fisheries;

Air travel delays continue for many Alaskans who went out of the state for the holidays and intended to be back by now; 

Alaska's Interior spent the weekend digging out from three distinct storms

In this newscast: 

High winds brought down trees in Thane, causing an overnight power outage Sunday night;

Gov. Mike Dunleavy declared a disaster emergency on Monday for some areas in Alaska affected by severe winter storms; 

The Centers for Disease control and Prevention is once again asking Americans to avoid cruise ship travel;

A newborn baby was found a cardboard box Friday afternoon on the west side of Fairbanks;

The state of Alaska is preparing to sue the federal government over hundreds of contaminated sites that the feds conveyed to Alaska Native corporations; 

The final research cruise of 2021 in the Bering and Chukchi Seas sailed through the region in November; 

People in Juneau must mask up in indoor public spaces again as COVID-19 cases spike locally, likely due to the omicron variant

In this newscast: 

Staff shortages due to coronavirus and bad weather have combined to snarl air travel this week and its left a lot of Alaskans stranded; 

A mining company is working with NANA, to explore a big copper deposit in Alaska -- but it would profoundly change one of the most remote regions in the state;

Juneau could see its most significant snowfall so far this season between New Years Eve and New Years Day

In this newscast: 

As the omicron variant of COVID-19 continues to spread, state health officials say their systems for tracking the pandemic are in transition;

Lt. Gov. Kevin Meyer says he's not be running again;

Unalaska has broken the record for the warmest Christmas Day in the State of Alaska