KTOO News Department

Gov. Mike Dunleavy is set to deliver the annual State of the State address to the Alaska Legislature in Juneau Thursday at 7 p.m.

Starting at 6:30 p.m., KTOO Managing Editor Lisa Phu will host a discussion with Alaska Legislative Digest Publisher Tim Bradner, KNBA News Producer Rhonda McBride, and Alaska Public Media State Government Reporter Eric Stone to provide some context for the speech.

Watch live Gavel Alaska coverage of the discussion and Dunleavy’s speech on KTOO 360TV or listen to your local public radio station.

In this newscast:

• 19-year-old Kake resident Jade Williams was killed at a party in 2017. On Wednesday, more than eight years later, the main suspect in the case was sentenced for causing her death,
• The City and Borough of Juneau is seeking feedback about how the community wants the Assembly to prioritize city funds as it faces a recurring multi-million-dollar budget deficit beginning July 1st,
• Young commercial fishermen from all over the state gathered in Juneau this week to absorb industry knowledge of previous generations,
• The federal government is reviewing the business program that benefits Alaska Native corporations and tribes

In this newscast:

• An Alaska foster youth advocacy organization is suing the state Office of Children’s Services for allegedly failing to provide food and necessities for older youth in their care.
• Governor Mike Dunleavy says he’ll soon propose a statewide sales tax as part of his larger plan to stabilize the state’s finances.
• KTOO’s Alix Soliman speaks with Alaska’s acting regional forester Jerry Ingersoll about changes the United States Forest Service staff in Alaska are going through.
• Alaska is launching pilot programs in Anchorage and Juneau to offer addiction treatment in mobile care units.

In this newscast:

• After more than a year of negotiations, the Anchorage School District and the local teachers’ union have come to a tentative contract agreement.
• The Alaska Legislature is back in session.
• With the second regular session of the 34th Alaska Legislature underway, KTOO is checking in with members of Juneau’s delegation to talk priorities and plans for the session.

In this newscast:

• The Juneau School Board held off returning about $1 million in funding earmarked for childcare to the City and Borough of Juneau amid questions about the current privately-run program,
• Alaska’s capital city will soon have a new fire chief,
• A local master Chilkat and Ravenstail weaver has been awarded a national fellowship that bolsters culture and tradition across the United States,
• Martin Luther King Jr. Day is coming up on Monday, and there are two events honoring the day in Juneau,
• Hundreds of health care workers and government officials descended on Anchorage this week for the kickoff of a five-year, $1.3 billion program aimed at reimagining medical care across Alaska

In this newscast:

• The Juneau School District Board of Education agreed to approve the $180,000 in funding to help pay for a new playground at the Dzantik’i Heeni campus in Lemon Creek,
• Southeast Alaska’s largest tribe has earned nearly $40 million from U.S. Navy contracts in Guantanamo Bay,
• KTOO is checking in with members of Juneau’s legislative delegation to talk priorities, predictions, and plans for the session. Up first, Sen. Jesse Kiehl