KTOO News Update

In this newscast: AKPM's Eric Stone reports on the dozens of bills passed as lawmakers concluded their work this legislative session; Injured commercial fishermen and boat owners in Alaska will now be able to access higher insurance reimbursements, thanks to a senate bill passed by lawmakers; A bill passed by the legislature addresses the crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous People in the state.

An affordable housing project built specifically for people in recovery from substance misuse received funding support from the Juneau Assembly this week; KTOO reporter Anna Canny sought out where ravens roost in Juneau in this week's Curious Juneau episode; A 91-year-old cruise tourist is suing the Ketchikan Borough for negligence after his mobility scooter tipped over on a public bus.

In this newscast: Ketchikan community members are pushing back against the planned construction of a market downtown which would feature two totem poles made by a non-Native Minnesota artist with a checkered past; A look at what's planned for this years Little Norway Festival in Petersburg

In this newscast: The Juneau Assembly approved the school district's more than $85 million budget for next school year last night; Budget negotiators in the Alaska Legislature have settled on the amount of this year's Permanent Fund dividend and energy relief check; Since statehood, Alaska has not had the death penalty, but the men who were last executed here shouldn't be forgotten

In this newscast: Alaska lawmakers passed a bill last week that adds several Indigenous languages to Alaska’s official list of languages; One People Canoe Society visited Wrangell in early spring to teach residents how to make traditional Lingít paddles. This class was the kickoff for the Journey to Celebration, where a group of paddlers will canoe from Wrangell to Juneau at the end of May and early June; Tongass Voices: Rebecca Hsieh on intertwining community and art with Head in the Clouds Collective

In this newscast: A new study reveals that snow slides are a leading cause of death for mountain goats; Should Southeast Alaska have a hatchery-only king salmon sports fishery? Researchers recently tried to answer that question as a possible solution to a declining number of wild kings; Active aurora is forecast this weekend due to intense solar flares in recent days

In this newscast: Alaskans who sued the state last year over long wait times for food assistance are asking a federal judge to order the state to speed up processing, but the state says the situation has improved dramatically, Transboundary gold mines are controversial because of their environmental impact, but a nonprofit group released a…

In this newscast: The Juneau Assembly wants the city to ask community organizations if they'd be interested in continuing to care for graveyards on Douglas -- with potential funding; An audio postcard from this years MMIP Awareness Day in Bethel

In this newscast: Juneau's annual workshop on How to Run for Local Office is this Saturday, and October's municipal election is already shaping up to be an interesting one; A proposal headed to the Alaska Board of Fisheries next year would change how a popular run of king salmon is managed near Petersburg; Tongass Voices: Haa Tooch Lichéesh Coalition members find inner strength through ocean dipping

In this newscast: Juneau residents had some close encounters with a curious killer whale. Sitka’s “Indian Village” was recognized as one of 11 endangered historic places in the U.S. Organizers are hoping that attention will inspire efforts to conserve and rebuild a cultural hub.

Dozens of child-sized Ravenstail robes were danced for the first time at an event in Juneau on Tuesday. It’s the largest collection of new Ravenstail weaving in decades; KTOO's Katie Anastas investigated Juneau's varying gas prices for this week's Curious Juneau Episode.

In this newscast: Alaska gets an infusion of $125 million to build and expand solar energy. The Juneau Assembly rejected a symbolic resolution for bilateral peace between Israel and Palestine. Malin Babcock, treasurer of the Gastineau Historical Society and a descendent of victims of Juneau’s 1936 landslide, shares her story for Tongass Voices.

In this newscast: A new campus slated for Juneau will be dedicated to immersing children in Alaska Native culture and languages; An Indigenous-led group, the Herring Protectors, received an unexpected contribution -- two parcels of land on an island outside of Sitka; House lawmakers removed an amendment from a bill that would have raised the age of consent from 16 to 18 in some situations

In this newscast: Alaska's Division of Forestry released its plan for selling timber in Southeast Alaska for the next five years and an environmental group in the region is frustrated with the public process; A recent paper in Nature attempts to set a new timeframe of when humans first appeared in Southeast Alaska, but for Southeast Alaska Natives, it's just one piece of a much bigger puzzle

In this newscast: The City and Borough of Juneau is creating a task force to tackle if -- and how -- they should be regulated; Juneau's emergency warming shelter closed last week and the city doesn't have a campground for people to move to this year; Tongass Voices: Holly Huber on what it takes to be Miss Alaska Volunteer

In this newscast – The Tongass National Forest has grown, with the addition of 5 acres of important fish and wildlife habitat Earlier this month, the Denver Post reported that Lingit tribal members have been requesting cultural items back from the Denver Art Museum in Colorado for years – to no avail

In this newscast: Scientists and Alaska Native leaders released a report this week claiming plastic waste in the Arctic is contaminating essential resources of Indigenous communities Khalil English shares his research on silverweed, a seemingly inconspicuous plant with deep roots in Pacific Northwest history

In this newscast: Wrangell’s Nolan Center hosted a screening of Blue Ticket on Monday. It’s a film of a play that KTOO documented back in 2019. The play’s author, Maureen Longworth, documented how gay men in Juneau were exiled from the city in the 1960s. The Alaska Native Birthworkers Community is a collective of Indigenous…

In this newscast: The Juneau planning commission agreed to let an outdoor food court expand into the empty lot that once housed the demolished Elks Hall building; The National Native Boarding School Healing Coalition will conduct interviews to document abuse at boarding schools; Alaska Public Media reporter Eric Stone on the Superior Court ruling that found a key benefit to families who choose certain types of homeschooling unconstitutional, and what it means

In this newscast: Peter Pan Seafood announced Friday that it was ceasing operations; A partisan brawl is about to erupt in Congress over the impeachment of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and Alaska's US senators are seemingly split over it; Tongass Voices: Jeremy Kane on the philosophy of bowl-making