KTOO News Department

In this newscast: Researchers at the University of Alaska Anchorage are looking for community problems to solve using artificial intelligence; The Juneau Assembly approved funding to get started on a new playground at the Dzantik’i Heeni campus in Lemon Creek, but the decision brought up budget concerns as voters consider reducing taxes in the municipal election; Unless Congress steps in with a solution, thousands of Alaskans will lose health insurance subsidies at the end of December and see the cost of their premiums shoot up; Alaska viewers of this year’s Super Bowl may recognize the Crimson Bears, Juneau’s high school football team, in the coverage leading up to the big game. An NBC camera crew flew in to catch a very rainy game Saturday

In this newscast: Ballots are on their way from Washington state to registered voters in Juneau for this year’s local election; This year’s Permanent Fund Dividend will be exactly $1000; A jury has declared a Juneau artist not guilty of terroristic threatening, Mitchell Watley was accused of threatening the public in 2023, when he distributed printed notes around town that referenced school shootings; Juneau’s 2025 municipal election is just around the corner. There are three propositions. KTOO’s Clarise Larson breaks down what they are and why they matter for voters this election

In this newscast: One of the sessions at Southeast Alaska’s annual economic conference in Sitka looked at economic variables, and their future impact on the region; A landslide triggered by heavy rain and wind took down trees next to an apartment building in downtown Juneau late last night; A Lingit master weaver is using viral monster dolls called Labubus to bring attention to Chilkat and Ravenstail weaving; Former Alaska attorney general Treg Taylor filed to join the 2026 race for governor; Alaskans can expect a La Nina climate pattern this winter

In this newscast: A storm moving through Southeast Alaska is causing high winds that will continue into this evening in Juneau, resulting in power outages and fallen trees; A cruise ship passenger died in Juneau Tuesday after falling off a steep mountainside on Mount Roberts near downtown; Juneau might lose its ability to say that its electricity is created entirely by renewable hydropower, if the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority prevails in a lawsuit; An elementary school on Douglas started a school garden in 2022 as a part of a federal watershed and ocean conservation program

In this newscast: Juneau’s longtime fire chief announced he plans to retire later this fall; The National Weather Service has canceled a flood warning for Mendenhall Lake and River this morning after a second, minor glacial lake outburst flood last night; The U.S. Department of Education announced last week that it will cut millions in federal grants for its Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian-serving institutions program; Scientists studying killer whales in Alaska are uncovering long-term impacts of the 2014 marine heatwave; Tongass Voices: Student debaters explore what the U.S. Constitution means to them on stage