KTOO News Department

In this newscast:

• Sen. Lisa Murkowski introduced a bill that would keep the name Denali for North America’s highest peak;
• Lawmakers are looking at Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s proposal to create a state Department of Agriculture;
• Preschool students presented lawmakers with Valentines — and plea for policy-level support for childcare — at the state Capitol;
• A Lingít language learning couple shares their love story and love language for Valentine’s Day;
• Alaska’s Emergency Operations center cancels its annual test for the tsunami warning system.

In this newscast:

• Alaska Supreme Court Chief Justice Susan Carney defended the court system’s work and laid out plans for the future in a speech to state lawmakers,
• Juneau’s Visitor Industry Director Alix Pierce shared data from an annual tourism survey that shows the conversation about the future of tourism’s growth is far from over,
• An education compact is an agreement between tribal and state governments that allows tribes to run their own public schools, and Alaska’s Department of Education and Early Development is working with tribes to kick start a compacting program and give tribes sovereignty over education,
• Alaska State Troopers arrested a Metlakatla man last week on six felony charges of sexual abuse of a minor, and they believe he may have had other victims

Since taking office in January, President Donald Trump’s administration has actively pursued its goal to reduce the federal workforce.

That includes offering millions of government workers seven months pay in return for voluntary resignations and firing thousands of probationary employees across the country in recent weeks.

According to the Juneau Economic Development Council, roughly 700 people in Juneau are federally employed. That includes people who work for the Coast Guard, NOAA, the Forest Service, the Postal Service and more.

Meanwhile, the Trump Administration has also issued executive orders directing federal departments to remove language and programs related to diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives and other topics the administration opposes.

We want to learn more about how these changes are affecting people in Juneau. If you’re interested in sharing your perspective, you can use this form. Any information you share will help inform our reporting about the ongoing impacts to Juneau residents.

This post has been updated. 

In this newscast:

• The Alaska Senate unanimously joined the state House this morning in urging President Donald Trump to reverse his decision to rename North America’s tallest peak as Mount McKinley,
• Searchers found the missing Bering Air plane on the sea ice southeast of Nome, but they did not find any survivors,
• A lawsuit that clouded the future of homeschooling in Alaska for months last spring took on new life yesterday after the plaintiffs asked a judge to join four school districts as defendants in the long-running case,
• Ketchikan is now officially classified as rural in the eyes of federal subsistence regulations, after a historic, landmark decision by the Federal Subsistence Board overruled a recent vote by the Regional Advisory Council to keep Ketchikan’s status as nonrural,
• One of Alaska’s most famous contemporary bands Portugal. The Man, along with Samantha Crain and Ya Tseen sold out two shows this weekend to raise money for an effort to rebuild a Kiks.adi clan house in Sitka

In this newscast:

• Juneau city officials have proposed a multi-million dollar wastewater bond package to offset utility rate hikes,
• Ketchikan’s local governments are pursuing a new sales tax on cruise ship passengers,
• The U.S. Forest Service has completed assessment reports on over 20 topics that will inform how the Tongass National Forest will be managed in decades to come. The last time the Forest Service studied the Tongass this deeply, the movie Titanic was hitting the screens,
• Delta Junction residents will soon have to make a decision about whether, and how, they’ll restore emergency medical services to their community, after the city’s only ambulance service, Delta Medical Transport, announced that it will stop providing services to the city

In this newscast:

• Lawmakers are working to hammer out a compromise on an education bill that could avoid the governor’s veto,
• FBI agents in Anchorage participated in a nationwide immigration crackdown under President Trump last weekend, but local groups, including the Anchorage School District, are pushing back,
•  More than 100 Juneau residents took to the sidewalk across the street from the Alaska State Capitol this afternoon to join a nationwide protest against President Donald Trump’s administration and its recent executive orders,
• Tongass Voices: Tamara Wilson on her museum installation and the slinkies that live there