KTOO News Update
The day’s local and state news in about 10 minutes.
Newscast – Friday, April 25, 2025
In this newscast: There have been more than a dozen political protests at the Alaska State Capitol since President Donald Trump took office in January. But members of an anti-abortion group called Alaskans for Life who gathered on Thursday said they didn’t have specific demands for legislators; Alaska could lose several research institutions and a pipeline into science for budding researchers in the state – that’s if the Trump administration’s proposed cuts to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s budget become a reality; The Trump administration is planning an Alaska summit with leaders from Japan and South Korea in early June; A state legislator from Palmer is proposing to enshrine Alaska’s giant cabbages in state law as the official state vegetable.
Read More »Newscast – Thursday, April 24, 2025
In this newscast: A cruise line representative dodged questions form the Juneau Assembly this afternoon about the company's plans to develop a new cruise ship port on the backside of Douglas Island; The Alaska Senate is planning to vote soon on a new education funding bill, even as Gov. Mike Dunleavy says he opposes it; A $38 million federal grant meant to help Alaskans lower their energy bills and planet-warming emissions has been in limbo for months; New cases of HIV in Alaska over the past five years were highly preventable, according to a recent bulletin from the state's section of epidemiology; Small businesses in Alaska are already feeling the impacts of President Trump's sweeping tariff polices
Read More »Newscast – Wednesday, April 23, 2025
In this newscast: The Juneau Assembly and cruise line agencies will hold a joint meeting Thursday afternoon to discuss the cruise ship tourism season ahead; Alaska lawmakers failed to override Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s veto of a bill that would have provided a $1,000 boost to basic per-student funding for public schools; A lot has changed at the University of Alaska since President Trump’s inauguration. After executive orders, the University of Alaska Board of Regents directed its university leadership to remove mentions of diversity, equity and inclusion to protect its federal funding. But the Trump administration still froze or canceled millions of dollars in federal funding; The ocean off Utqiagvik is covered with ragged sea ice ridges in early April. Iñupiat whalers build trails across the blue and white terrain to access hunting sites along the lead edge. It’s hard to imagine a better spot for studying sea ice. And that’s why a group of Indigenous knowledge holders and Western scientists gathered there earlier this month; Former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin was in a second trial this week for her libel case against the New York Times. And for the second time, a jury found that she was not libeled by the publication.
Read More »Newscast – Tuesday, April 22, 2025
In this newscast: Juneau's public transportation system is ramping up its services for the summer tourism season this week; Juneau School District Board of Education member Will Muldoon stepped down from his position on Monday; The City and Borough of Juneau is starting the three-year-long process of updating its comprehensive plan; Alaska has the longest coastline and the highest rates of drowning in the country. One way to reduce that risk is through swim lessons, and in Juneau, babies can start learning as young as six months; Tongass Voices: Author Tessa Hulls on feeding her family’s ghosts
Read More »Newscast – Monday, April 21, 2025
In this newscast: The City and Borough of Juneau clerk's office has certified a ballot petition that would put harder limits on cruise ship tourism in Juneau; A change o Alaska's corporate income tax structure is expected to add as much as $65 million per year by diverting money from other states, the Alaska Beacon reports; The trial for a former Juneau chiropractor accused of assaulting more than a dozen patients has once again been delayed; Some federal workers in Juneau were fired again this month after the Supreme Court declined to reverse the Trump administration's efforts to shrink the federal workforce
Read More »Newscast – Friday, April 18, 2025
In this newscast: Gov. Mike Dunleavy vetoed a closely-watched education bill yesterday that would have boosted basic per-student funding by $1,000; Southeast Alaska's largest tribal government approved a rule change that greatly reduces the number of representatives from communities outside the region; High school students in Juneau wrote four plays earlier this year centered on deeply personal topics, and a performance of them this week included a forum with teachers, mental health professionals, and policy-makers; International students in Alaska on education visas are among those nationwide facing removal as the Trump administration's immigration crackdown continues
Read More »Newscast – Wednesday, April 16, 2025
In this newscast: Alaska organizations that provide weather and environmental information to mariners and subsistence hunters are bracing for reduced funding. The University of Alaska Southeast is retaining services and federal funding for now as the Trump administration continues to threated and investigate universities. Juneau's city-run emergency warming center closed for the season this morning and some clients say they have nowhere else to go. Arctic research has not been spared as President Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk seek to slash what they see as unnecessary government spending.
Read More »Newscast – Tuesday, April 15, 2025
In this newscast: The Alaska Legislature passed a bill Friday that would boost per-student education funding by $1,000. Gov. Mike Dunleavy said he plans to veto it; Juneau residents who haven't filed have some extra time; A new Juneau advocacy group called the the Affordable Juneau Coalition filed three ballot petitions with the city last week, to lower the property tax rate, to remove sales tax on food and utilities, and to make in-person voting the default again; The Norwegian Bliss and its more than 4,0000 passengers arrived in Juneau yesterday to kick of the 2025 cruise ship season; Tensions over a levee that's taking shape in backyards along Juneau's Mendenhall River have come to a head as one homeowner filed a suit against the city, seeking to exempt his property or be paid for it; A Ketchikan woman now officially holds the Guinness World Record for "largest female mouth gape"
Read More »Newscast – Monday, April 14, 2025
In this newscast: Cruise ship tourism will pay for a number of upgrades to infrastructure in Juneau this year. Gov. Mike Dunleavy's administration released a long-delayed study on state worker salaries last week. Federal investigators released a final report on their investigation into the crash of a commercial cargo plane near Fairbanks last year that killed two people. An Anchorage judge declared a mistrial Friday in the case against a young man involved in a 2019 Unalaska car crash that killed two teenage girls. The Kenai Peninsula's largest energy cooperative wants to try an save a Nikiski solar farm that stalled earlier this year.
Read More »Newscast – Friday, April 11, 2025
In this newscast: People packed WKFL Park on Saturday to protest recent actions by the Trump administration; the JoAnn fabric store chain is closing their stores, including on with a large footprint in Fairbanks; two Anchorage teens are trying to encourage more young people to get involved with philanthropy-giving their time and money to benefit society as a whole; the 50th Annual Alaska Folk Fest celebrated its fourth night by welcoming guest artists Rhiannon Giddens and Dirk Powell for a 45-minute set.
Read More »