You’ve read about the biggest stories of 2015, now take a look at our most popular. Of all the stories KTOO published in 2015, here are the 10 you clicked on the most.
10. Passengers survive, pilot dies after Wings plane crash near Juneau
Lisa Phu
July 18, 2015
Fariah Peterson, 45, piloted the Wings of Alaska plane that went down near Point Couverden, west of Juneau. The four passengers survived. Unfortunately, Peterson did not.
9. Watch the president yuraqing with Dillingham children
Sep. 2, 2015
While President Barack Obama’s trip to Alaska was focused on climate change, it was video of the president Yup’ik dancing with Dillingham students that won the Internet that day.
8. Improbable archaeology: Stone tool found in Sitka landslide
Robert Woolsey, KCAW
Mar. 2, 2015
A landslide that wiped out years of habitat and stream restoration work also uncovered a prehistoric stone hammer, an uncommon find in Sitka. The “curiously-shaped rock” was found “amid the thousands of tons of rubble.”
7. No budget by July means no ferry service
Ed Schoenfeld, CoastAlaska
Jun. 1, 2015
The Alaska Legislature went deep into overtime hashing out the budget. As they debated, Southeast residents and future tourists worried about the future of the Alaska Marine Highway System.
6. Juneau mayor remembered as a dedicated public servant
Jennifer Canfield and Lisa Phu
Dec. 1, 2015
Neighbors, friends and family all remembered Mayor Greg Fisk as a man who was committed to the capital city. Juneau grieved the loss of the progressive-minded man who had big dreams for this small town.
5. Police: Fight over property led to fatal stabbing
Elizabeth Jenkins and David Purdy
Dec. 3, 2015
Days after the death of Mayor Greg Fisk, a fatal stabbing in West Juneau made headlines. Kevin Scott Nauska, 19, fatally stabbed 37-year-old Jordon J. Sharclane. Nauska was charged with murder, and attempted murder in the first-degree for stabbing Sharclane’s son, 19-year-old Michael Sharclane.
4. Juneau Police confirm Mayor Greg Fisk found dead at home
Jennifer Canfield and Lisa Phu
Nov. 30, 2015
Greg Fisk had been in office for less than two months when this story broke. The mayor was found dead at his home by his son. News of the popular mayor’s death shocked and saddened Juneau residents.
3. 15-year-old plane crash survivor receives U.S. Coast Guard recognition
Lisa Phu
July 31, 2015
The heroic actions of one young man was the silver lining in this sad story about a plane crash near Hoonah. Jose Vasquez, 15, used his Boy Scout survival skills to save himself and three other passengers
2. 4 survive, 1 dead in Juneau to Hoonah plane crash
Lisa Phu, Jennifer Canfield, Mikko Wilson, Elizabeth Jenkins and Lakeidra Chavis
July 17, 2015
News that a Hoonah-bound flight had gone down worried many who have friends and family living in the small town west of Juneau. Two survivors were rescued in serious condition and another in critical condition.
1. Hiker who freed trapped eagle due in court today
Lisa Phu
Jan. 22, 2015
No good deed goes unpunished in this story about a woman who freed an eagle from a trap. After Kathleen Turley, née Adair, freed the bird, she then set off other traps she spotted nearby. More than two weeks later, Alaska Wildlife Troopers cited her for hindrance of lawful trapping.
