KTOO News Update

In this newscast: Nearly 70 passengers were evacuated from a small cruise ship in Glacier Bay National  Park this morning; The Alaska State Commission for Human Rights has scheduled a public hearing for a human rights complaint regarding the use of tribal IDs at Fred Meyer in Juneau; A four-year voyage across the world starts in Juneau this month, and KTOO spoke with Nainoa Thompson, president of the Polynesian Voyaging Society about its connection to Alaska

In this newscast: Alaska State Troopers recover the bodies of two of the five victims of a charter boat sinking in Sitka New details about the 2017 killing of Ketchikan surgeon Eric Garcia Vera Starbard supports the nationwide writers’ strike by hanging banners from her Douglas home

In this newscast: For retiring teachers, principles, and other school staff in Juneau, the end of this school year is especially bittersweet; A team of researchers have introduced a new environmental sensor that translates weather data from across Southeast Alaska into music, and it will be used to help students and community members in Sitka and Hoonah hear their changing environment; The 750-mile Race to Alaska starts Monday. It goes from Port Townsend, Washington to Ketchikan

In this newscast: The rate of deaths due to drinking alcohol nearly doubled from 2019 to 2021 in Alaska; Governor Mike Dunleavy's new pro-family policy adviser resigned yesterday as reporters prepared to publish an investigation exposing his extreme and disturbing views

In this newscast: For an episode of Curious Juneau, a deep dive into the Coast Guard's presence in Juneau; The U.S. Supreme Court issued a decision last week limiting the Environmental Protection Agency's authority over wetlands; Invasive green crabs are in Alaska, and they threaten native species, but at a workshop last month, citizen scientists in Metlakatla learned from experts how to look out for the invasive crabs in their own communities

In this newscast: The Alaska Legislature's budget includes a one-time school funding boost of $175 million, but district leaders and many legislators were hoping for something a little more permanent; Ketchikan's City Council opted to uphold the city manager's decision to not hold a drag queen story time at the public library this year; Klawock, on Prince of Wales Island, now has a chief of police after five months without a police department

In this newscast: Juneau's greenhouse gas emissions have dropped by nearly 30% in the last decade, but now may be time to set a new goal;  A timber company owned by Yakutat's village corporation has filed for bankruptcy after a bank sued the corporation over $13 million in outstanding debts; The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has requested authorization for non-lethal harassment or disturbance of marine mammals as part of a deep-water port modification in Nome; After almost two months on the lam in Homer, Grubby the opossum is going to a new home at Anchorage's zoo.

In this newscast: The new Alaska ferry, Hubbard, carried its first passengers on Tuesday; It's shaping up to be another devastating year for communities on the Yukon and Kuskokwim rivers, and Congresswoman Mary Peltola is hoping to reshape the Magnuson-Stevens Act to mitigate the risk to salmon; Teachers in the second-largest school district in Alaska have voted to authorize a strike

In this newscast: City officials say Juneau needs a new City Hall; And they're asking Juneau residents to consider alternatives to parking at the airport this summer as renovations make the lots harder to use; The Alaska Legislature passed a bill that would allow Alaska to sell carbon offsets

In this newscast: Residents at the Glory Hall, Juneau's shelter, are working hard to plant vegetables in their community garden; Two Indigenous stories came to life on stage at Ketchikan Charter School; Anchorage's legal department is working on an update of the city's policies for clearing unauthorized encampments