KTOO News Update

By KTOO Public Media

KTOO News Update episodes

June 30Newscast – Monday, June 29, 2026
https://media.ktoo.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/20260629-News-Update.mp3
In this newscast:
A group of state lawmakers tasked with drafting a final version of an Alaska LNG tax relief bill kicked off work this weekend,
Governor Mike Dunleavy vetoed nearly half a million dollars from the state budget Wednesday that would have gone toward efforts to retain and recruit teachers in Alaska,
A new nonprofit Jiu Jitsu studio opened this month,
One Alaska couple shares their experience over a 50 year relationship for pride month
13 min
June 27Newscast – Friday, June 26, 2026
https://media.ktoo.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/20260626-News-Update.mp3
In this newscast:
The Juneau Assembly made a number of appointments and reappointments to city boards during a special meeting Wednesday,
Former Alaska state senator Natasha Von Imhof has thrown her hat in the ring in the race for Anchorage’s next mayor,
Gov. Mike Dunleavy told lawmakers he’d vetoed six bills, and dozens more have passed into law,
KTOO’s Mike Lane speaks with Walk Southeast organizers
13 min
June 26Newscast – Thursday, June 25, 2026
https://media.ktoo.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/20260625-News-Update-1.mp3
In this newscast:
Gov. Mike Dunleavy trimmed nearly $90 million from the state budget with line-item vetoes before signing a series of appropriations bills Wednesday afternoon,
Bookings opened Thursday morning for Juneau’s new public use cabin at the Mendenhall Campground,
There is a new social media trend of people dancing around Alaska Native totem poles. Tribal organizations across Southeast Alaska are speaking out,
Harmful toxins that cause paralytic shellfish poisonings are again present in the waters around Southeast Alaska,
Gov. Mike Dunleavy vetoed a bill on Wednesday naming a longtime University of Alaska Anchorage economic research center after its first director, Vic Fischer
13 min
June 25Newscast – Wednesday, June 24, 2026
https://media.ktoo.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/20260624-News-Update.mp3
In this newscast:
A Juneau man was arrested last week after he allegedly chased two girls in the Mendenhall Valley,
The former Juneau Police officer who slammed a man to the ground during an arrest last summer is asking a court judge to dismiss a lawsuit brought against him,
A new state law enacted Monday allows charitable organizations to gamble on snowfall,
A U.S. Department of Defense agency is preparing to exhume the remains of an unidentified WWII soldier buried in Sitka National Cemetery this week
12 min
June 24Newscast – Tuesday, June 23, 2026
https://media.ktoo.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/20260623-News-Update.mp3
In this newscast:
The Juneau Community Foundation is giving the Alaska Legislature 16 two-bedroom apartments as part of a long-term effort to keep the state’s capital in Juneau.
Four U.S. Coast Guard crew members involved in a helicopter crash in Sitka Monday morning have been reported safe with “non-serious injuries.”
Juneau residents say they want to see the city’s tourism task force address issues like helicopter noise, downtown bus traffic and whale watching congestion.
Alaska State Troopers recovered the body of an Anchorage paddleboarder who went missing in Turnagain Arm after a weekend-long search.
A man seeking to challenge U.S. Senator Dan Sullivan has filed suit after the Alaska Division of Elections removed him from this year’s ballot.
The winning team in a race from Washington state to Ketchikan crossed the finish line Monday night.
12 min
June 23Newscast – Monday, June 22, 2026
https://media.ktoo.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/20260622-News-Update.mp3
In this newscast:
A Juneau man who was reported missing earlier this month has been found dead,
The Juneau Assembly passed a resolution declaring a local emergency in anticipation of the annual glacial outburst flood later this summer,
The Juneau Assembly also passed a resolution to support the homeporting of a second Coast Guard icebreaker in Juneau,
KTOO’s Community News Intern Elan Chappell recently chatted with people outside the Juneau-Douglas City Museum to learn more about what having access to local history means to them,
One couple in Juneau, Maureen Longworth and Lin Davis, have dedicated their lives to advocating for LGBTQ+ rights,
Alaska’s acting attorney general announced a $20,000 settlement with a jewelry company that operates in Ketchikan, Juneau and Skagway
12 min
June 19Newscast – Thursday, June 18, 2026
https://media.ktoo.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/20260618-News-Update.mp3
In this newscast:
Capital City Fire/Rescue responded to a structure fire at the site of two historic, abandoned cabins in the Mendenhall Valley Thursday afternoon. Smoke could be seen from the surrounding area. No injuries were reported.
Juneau residents will have their first chance to testify in front of Juneau’s Visitor Industry Task Force Thursday at City Hall or online at 5:30 p.m.
A critical deep ocean observation network that includes a long-standing station off the coast of Alaska has been saved from getting dismantled. As first reported by the New York Times, the Trump administration dropped its plan to get rid of the ocean and climate tracking system after the U.S. Senate unanimously blocked the move this week.
An attorney advising the state Legislature says the Division of Elections likely lacked legal justification for disqualifying Dan. J. Sullivan of Petersburg from running in Alaska’s U.S. Senate race.
Salmon is a staple traditional food in Alaska. But a growing number of Alaskans are discovering they have a unique intolerance to the fish. It’s an allergy not to the seafood itself but to the parasites that live in it.
13 min
June 18Newscast – Wednesday, June 17, 2026
https://media.ktoo.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/20260617-News-Update-1.mp3
In this newscast:
The local firefighter union and the City and Borough of Juneau reached an agreement on a labor contract last week,
Gov. Mike Dunleavy has until tomorrow to veto or sign two dozen bills into law,
Denali National Park’s sled dog puppies will begin sowing off their training to visitors this month,
Residents of Anuktuvuk Pass can now use four wheelers to subsistence hunt in the Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve
13 min
June 17Newscast – Tuesday, June 16, 2026
https://media.ktoo.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/20260616-News-Update.mp3
In this newscast:
The City and Borough of Juneau is repairing two school roofs this summer that were damaged during this winter’s record-breaking snowstorm,
Oil rose to the surface at Juneau’s historic Treadwell Gold Mine, and the state plans to assess how wide the pollution has spread this summer,
A new report shows that the population regrowth of humpback whales after a heatwave a decade ago has been slow,
The US Small Business Administration proposed drastic changes to its federal contracting program, but it said the change won’t affect tribes and Alaska Native Corporations,
The Division of Elections issued the state’s final determination that Dan Sullivan of Petersburg can’t be on the ballot to challenge Republican US Sen. Dan Sullivan
12 min
June 16Newscast – Monday, June 15, 2026
https://media.ktoo.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/20260615-News-Update.mp3
In this newscast:
A citizen ballot proposition that would add a new seasonal sales tax will appear on the local ballot this fall election,
Six new firefighters officially joined Capital City Fire/Rescue after completing a year-long apprenticeship,
Alaska allows at least some late-arriving ballots to be counted as long as they are postmarked by election day, but a U.S. Supreme Court ruling could complicate that,
Planned Parenthood of Alaska is suing the state to expand access to abortion medication via telehealth
12 min