KTOO News Update

In this newscast: Students were evacuated from a Juneau elementary school after it received a bomb threat; A Juneau woman and two children are in stable condition after being hit by a truck while crossing the street; One of Juneau's last independent pharmacies closes its doors; Ketchikan residents will lose access to cable television next fall

In this newscast: Wrangell schools quickly adapted to a new norm after the Nov. 20 deadly landslide; Alaska's campaign finance watchdog has denied a request to fast-track a complaint against a group collecting signatures on a petition to repeal Alaska's ranked choice voting system; A state House subcommittee dismissed ethics complaints against one current and one former Republican lawmaker last week

In this newscast: The City and Borough of Wrangell has suspended the search for 12-year-old Derek Heller, who is the only person left missing from the Nov. 20 disastrous landslide; Juneau residents have until Christmas day to provide input on the potential environmental impacts of the city's proposed compost facility; Using old recordings, Lingít language experts are documenting and compiling hand gestures used by birth speakers that have meaning in the context of the language̱; In a recent presentation to the Sitka Chamber of Commerce the director of the UAA Center for Economic Development, explained that Alaska ranks 45th out of all states in per capita new housing construction, building about 2 new units per thousand people on average

In this newscast: A record number of cruise ship passengers visited Juneau this year and now city leaders are considering whether and how to set a future limit; For people who were stranded in their homes beyond the Wrangell landslide, it was a night of confusion and fear -- and then improvised evacuation where neighbors helped each other

In this newscast: Juneau residents can now submit proposals for how the city should spend marine passengers fees next year; Alaska Airlines is buying Hawaiian Airlines; A bill in Congress aims to undo Arctic conservation effects of the Biden administration

In this newscast: The Klukwan Presbyterian Church has been returned to the Chilkat Indian Village; Alaska Department of Public Safety visited Dillingham to address overdose deaths; Bethel Search and Rescue says it found the body of a man under the ice, suspected to be a 20-year-old who's been missing since Nov. 2

In this newscast: The Federal Transit Administration announced today that rural ferries in Alaska will receive about $132 million. The federal money comes from a ferry grant program funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law; Juneau skiers will have to wait one more week to ski at Eaglecrest. The city-owned ski area has a tentative opening date of Dec. 9; Power was restored to Wrangell Island’s southside residents on Tuesday. Meanwhile, maintenance crews are still removing the debris from the fatal landslide that killed four people on November 20. Two others remain missing; Alaska may have ballots in fewer Native languages next year. A report required by the Voting Rights Act shows there are not enough speakers to justify printing ballots in Gwich’in; The school on Little Diomede Island is closed indefinitely after the city building partially collapsed into the school Sunday

In this newscast: Internet and phones are back online for residents in Wrangell cut off after last week’s landslide; An invasive species has found a home along Southeast’s highways, pushing out native blueberry and salmonberry bushes̱; The Environmental Protection Agency announced plans to disperse $150 Million to Alaska Tribes for clean energy, and climate change resilience projects

In this newscast: A landslide came down across Zimovia Highway in Wrangell one week ago, leaving four dead and two missing. The debris effectively cut Wrangell in two. North of the slide, there's town. And south of the slide, at least 70 residents got cut off from power, internet and their only road. In the week since, one man’s retirement project became a lifeline for those families; Drag queens from across the state vied for the title of Miss Gay Alaska America recently.  Taking the prize was Lamia Insomnia Lexicon Doom Monroe, the drag persona of Anchorage-based Robin O’Donoghue. Monroe spoke with KTOO’s Adelyn Baxter about the pageant, her connection to Juneau and preparing to compete in the national Miss Gay America competition

In this newscast: A Juneau man missing from Riverview Senior Living was found alive in the building's attic; The Alaska Department of Transportation begins to clear the Wrangell road blocked by landslide debris; A survivor of the Wrangell landslide shares what happened to her that night