Associated Press

Strong overnight winds hampered firefighters containing a wildfire north of Palmer.

The Fairbanks Police Department has identified the officer who was shot early Sunday as Sgt. Allen Brandt, an 11-year veteran of the force. The department says in a statement that shortly after midnight, police went to investigate a report of shots fired. Moments later, Brandt radioed police dispatch to report that he had been shot.…

State forestry officials want residents to avoid burning in the Southcentral and Interior regions amid dry conditions. The Peninsula Clarion reports the Alaska Division of Forestry asked residents to keep from starting burn barrel or open debris fires until Tuesday. A division news release says high winds, no snow cover and dry weather have increased…

Alaska led the nation with the highest per capita rate of accidental shootings of children over a recent 2 1/2 -year period. That’s according to a joint investigation by The Associated Press and the USA Today Network that counted 14 unintentional shootings that killed five children and injured nine others in the gun-friendly state. The…

An Alaska educational commission is proposing adding transgender students to a list of protected categories in its code of ethics. KTVA-TV reports the Professional Teaching Practices Commission is looking to include a clause adding gender identification to the code. Commission director Jim Seitz says to some extent the proposal is an attempt to update the…

The Alaska Libertarian party has a new chairman, weeks before the general election. Jon Watts takes over the role after the party’s board voted to remove Terrence Shanigan from the position. Watts, who previously served as vice chair, says the ouster had to do with internal party responsibilities that weren’t being fulfilled. Shanigan says he…