KTOO News Update

In this newscast: Eaglecrest Ski Area opened for the winter Wednesday after getting some much needed snow the night before; In the remote village of Ambler -- a community of 300, north of the Arctic Circle -- Christmas festivities involve everyone; A listen to this year's Tuba Christmas at the Anchorage Performing Arts Center

In this newscast: At the Anchorage Waldorf School, children are encouraged to embrace the heart of winter on the solstice; A Yup'ik from the village of Kwethluk who died in 1979 will soon become the first North American saint in the Orthodox Church

In this newscast: The Southeast Alaska Regional Health Consortium opens a new urgent care in Juneau; The Alaska Supreme Court orders the Office of Public Advocacy to resume assigning public guardians for patients; A defense bill approved by Congress includes $200 million in funding for construction at Alaska military installations; The U.S. State Department expands the country's territory based on undersea geography

In this newscast: The Juneau Assembly asked city administration to look for places the city could rent office space, Gov. Mike Dunleavy shared ideas for Alaska’s energy needs in his budget, Ketchikan was offered $4.5 million to build affordable housing units, “Landless” legislation passed a new milestone last week after winning approval of the Senate…

In this newscast: The U.S. Forest Service finalized its plans for an overhaul of the Mendenhall Glacier Recreation Area, Scientist in Southeast Alaska are seeking more data to predict landslides with weather stations and a new survey of the island elevation in Wrangell, Anchorage homelessness experts and political leaders are pushing a new approach to…

In this newscast: Gov. Mike Dunleavy's budget includes large Permanent Fund Dividends and no increase to education funding; Southeast Alaska Regional Health Consortium closes its Sitka hospital's home health department; Crowds attend the annual open house at the governor's mansion

In this newscast: Juneau's Eaglecrest Ski Area is again delaying its opening after this week's heavy rain and warm temperatures; A new food truck park just opened in Juneau in December; Gov. Mike Dunleavy said Tuesday that he plans to include funding to replace an aging state ferry in his budget request for next year; And, some good reasons not to feed the moose

In this newscast:  A project intended to bring dozens of furnished studio apartments to downtown Juneau passed a major hurdle , despite safety concerns from some top city officials; A nonprofit running ads targeting Mayor Dave Bronson in Anchorage is carefully avoiding the line that triggers campaign finance disclosure laws; Trident Seafoods announced that it's selling a third of its Alaskan plants

In this newscast: The Juneau Assembly has voted to get rid of land use regulations for landslide zones in the city’s downtown neighborhoods. The city’s new policy maintains restrictions for avalanche zones, while rolling back restrictions in landslide zones; Millions of people in Mexico honor the Feast Day of Our Lady of Guadalupe, the patron saint of Mexico, each year on Dec. 12. In Juneau, the growing Hispanic community also gathers to pay homage from thousands of miles away; Five environmental and tribal organizations have signed their support onto a lawsuit against federal fisheries managers

In this newscast: State education officials say the Juneau School District can keep more than $2 million in supplemental funding it got from the city. But a potential amendment to state code could restrict how Juneau covers costs outside the classroom; Alaska spends a lot of money on education – roughly 40% more than the national average per student. But research presented by the University of Alaska Anchorage’s Institute of Social and Economic Research suggests that number doesn’t tell the whole story; A team of researchers have been given almost $2 million to see if seaweed in Southeast Alaska is absorbing rare earth elements