KTOO News Department

In this newscast: The Juneau Assembly discussed a list of more than 40 city services and facilities that could face reductions or closures for the first time at a finance committee meeting Wednesday night; A week after a Ward Air plane crashed and sank into Favorite Channel near Juneau, officials are still piecing together what happened; The U.S. Forest Service is rethinking how it defines areas of the Tongass National Forest. One of its ideas is to designate recreation areas according to commercial use, which could guide where the Forest Service concentrates permits for tour operators; The state Senate Finance Committee released its first revision of the state’s operating budget Wednesday, including a $1,000 Permanent Fund dividend and a $150 energy relief check; Civil rights advocates are suing over Alaska’s decision last year to share confidential voter data, including home addresses, dates of birth and partial Social Security numbers, with the federal government.

In this newscast: The Juneau Assembly will discuss potential city service reductions at a finance committee meeting on Wednesday night; The kickoff of the 2026 cruise ship tourism season is just around the corner in Juneau. The first ship, the MS Eurodam, arrives Monday afternoon; A proposal to raise Alaska’s age of consent from 16 to 18 took a step forward on Friday as a key part of an omnibus package of crime legislation proposed by Anchorage Democratic Sen. Matt Claman; An Alaska inmate died last week under the care of the state department of corrections; A key Alaska Senate committee is out with a new take on the governor’s proposal to cut taxes for the Alaska LNG project — with a much smaller tax cut.

In this newscast: Leadership of the Juneau School District will undergo a major changeover this summer; Juneau’s cold-weather warming shelter was supposed to close for the season last week, but, instead, the shelter will be open year-round, thanks to a decision by the Juneau Assembly earlier this month; April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month and Aware is planning a fashion show to celebrate survivors of sexual assault; The U.S. Coast Guard announced last week that the first of its two medium-weight icebreakers will be homeported in Alaska

In this newscast: A year-long investigation into Anchorage and Mat-Su massage parlors has led to seven arrests involving sex trafficking; As part of a crime bill passed by the Legislature two years ago, the Department of Corrections contracted with the Alaska Federation of Natives to conduct a study looking at ways to reduce the overrepresentation of Alaska Native People in the state’s prison population. The study was released recently; Normally Alaska has three people at the U.S. Capitol arguing for federal land and natural resources policies that boost the state’s economy. Last week, 150 Alaskans fanned out across the Capitol to make the case for their industries, ranging from drilling and mining to tourism and fishing; The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced Wednesday that it has opened an Office of Seafood within the department. This first of its kind office comes after years of advocacy from Alaska’s Congressional delegation and fishermen

In this newscast: The U.S. Forest Service will hold an in-person public meeting in Juneau tomorrow to gather feedback for the Tongass National Forest management plan revision; The Juneau Assembly will delay the planned summer demolition of the downtown Telephone Hill neighborhood until the city receives more information from prospective developers; A new muni-owned treatment center in Anchorage is housing people in micro-units; The Alaska House approved its version of the state budget Monday afternoon 

In this newscast: Bartlett Regional Hospital has temporarily moved its emergency room entrance as the department undergoes a major multimillion-dollar renovation in the coming weeks; The Juneau School Board will decide on ratifying a contract with the district’s teachers union at its meeting Tuesday; At least three cruise lines have changed their itineraries this year to avoid the Tracy Arm Fjord south of Juneau, citing safety concerns brought on by a landslide there last August that triggered one of the largest tsunamis on record; Sealaska Heritage Institute has published a new book that presents Lingit Raven stories for the first time in the language with English translations