KTOO News Update
The day’s local and state news in about 10 minutes.
Newscast – Monday, June 15, 2026
In this newscast: A citizen ballot proposition that would add a new seasonal sales tax will appear on the local ballot this fall election; Six new firefighters officially joined Capital City Fire/Rescue after completing a year-long apprenticeship; Alaska allows at least some late-arriving ballots to be counted as long as they are postmarked by election day, but a U.S. Supreme Court ruling could complicate that; Planned Parenthood of Alaska is suing the state to expand access to abortion medication via telehealth
Read More »Newscast – Friday, June 12, 2026
In this newscast: A plan to build a $500 million cruise ship port on the backside of Douglas Island is taking shape, and tourism leaders and North Douglas residents have a lot of questions; The Alaska House passed a bill this afternoon tat would reduce taxes on the planned Alaska LNG project; A Juneau artist created a magazine where Indigenous artists and writers to share their perspectives without having to reduce or simplify them; Sport fishermen will be able to catch and keep king salmon in Haines for the first time in over a decade starting Monday
Read More »Newscast – Thursday, June 11, 2026
In this newscast: A Safe Place initiative for youth in crisis arrives in Juneau; An 89-year-old woman died in Juneau today from injuries suffered during a crash yesterday; Republican lawmakers are working to repeal the Roadless Rule through Congress; The University of Alaska's largest union filed an unfair labor practice complaint last week; Alaska is one of only two states that saw increased participation in SNAP last year; The minimum wage in Alaska will jump to $14 on July 1; A federal judge ruled against a group of Alaskans seeking to force the state to process SNAP applications on time
Read More »Newscast – Wednesday, June 10, 2026
In this newscast: Assembly members Christine Woll, Alicia Hughes-Skandijs not running for reelection this fall; Juneau Assembly addresses a fairness issue regarding glacial outburst flood wall funding; Back Loop Bridge trailhead closed for glacial outburst flood wall construction; What earrings mean at Celebration, to buyers and sellers
Read More »Newscast – Tuesday, June 9, 2026
In this newscast: The City and Borough of Juneau has a finalized budget for the next fiscal year, but it didn't come easy; This Celebration counted some political candidates among its attendees; Former Gov. Bill Walker wants to end the Permanent Fund dividend with a one-time $10,000 payment to each eligible Alaskan; The State of Alaska has opened an investigation into whether Dan Sullivan of Petersburg is intentionally running for U.S. Senate to confuse voters
Read More »Newscast – Monday, June 8, 2026
In this newscast: A Juneau family reported a 29-year old man missing on Friday. He was last seen on May 26 near Safeway; The Juneau School Board will decide on whether to adopt the school district’s new strategic plan Tuesday night at its last regular meeting of the fiscal year; Tickets at Eaglecrest Ski Area are about to get more expensive; The U.S. Forest Service is now saying mining interests played an important role in its decision to cancel a recreational cabin project near Juneau’s Herbert Glacier, after denying it months ago; The Tlingit Culture, Language and Literacy program unveiled a Lingit comic book during Celebration last week; A sale on oil and gas drilling rights in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge garnered more than $3.7 million in winning bids
Read More »Newscast – Friday, June 5, 2026
In this newscast: The Alaska State Board of Education unanimously approved a new master's in teaching program for Indigenous languages at the University of Alaska Southeast Thursday; Residents will have a chance to testify on some major budget topics and glacial outburst funding decisions at the Juneau Assembly's upcoming meeting on Monday; An unusual partnership is sailing Alaska's waters this summer; Leqpquinm Gumilgit Gagoadim Tsmsyen Dancers leader Se'iga Liimii Marcella Asicksik talks about a song her dance group wrote for Celebration.
Read More »Newscast – Thursday, June 4, 2026
In this newscast: Democratic incumbent Rep. Andi Story now has an opponent in the race for her current seat in the state House: Annette Kreitzer, Haines’ former borough manager; After years of planning, the Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska soft-opened a casino on Douglas Island this week. It’s Juneau’s first casino; The National Science Foundation plans to yank a long-standing ocean observation station from the sea floor far off the coast of Alaska next year. It’s one in an entire ocean monitoring system slated to be dismantled as part of the Trump Administration’s rollback on federal science programs that help researchers study the changing climate; The developer of the Alaska LNG project released its first specific public cost estimates Wednesday for the proposed 800-mile gas pipeline and associated infrastructure.
Read More »Newscast – Wednesday, June 3, 2026
In this newscast: Celebration officially starts with a Grand Entrance tonight; Carvers have developed a new method to build traditional canoes without relying on old growth trees; Some cruise ship companies in Southeast Alaska say customers are concerned about Hantavirus, but state health officials are more worried about other diseases; Dozens and dozens of candidates officially kicked off their campaigns for governor, Congress and the state Legislature on Monday
Read More »Newscast – Tuesday, June 2, 2026
In this newscast: Twelve people were infected by an outbreak of a gastrointestinal illness while aboard a cruise ship traveling through Southeast Alaska last week; A new public use cabin opened near Ward Lake this week; Thirteen canoes bringing Alaska Native paddlers from across Southeast Alaska and Canada arrived in Juneau Tuesday afternoon; A soon-to-be change in shipping services for Juneau's Costco is expected to make it more difficult for small businesses in outlying communities to get products to their towns; Petersburg residents give items at the dump a second life through the borough's salvaging program.
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