KTOO News Update

In this newscast: As lawmakers spar over a wide range of issues in the final days of the Alaska Legislature’s regular session, one idea is bringing them together. The state House of Representatives voted unanimously on Wednesday to make the giant green cabbage Alaska’s official state vegetable; A Canadian company proposing to reopen a gold mine in British Columbia plans to drive a large boat up Alaska’s Taku River – south of Juneau – to get to the site this summer. Some locals worry it could run aground; The Alaska Legislature’s regular session ends in just over a week, and lawmakers are racing to pass a wide range of bills and resolutions before the deadline. Alaska Public Media’s Eric Stone has been at the Capitol tracking what lawmakers are up to, and he spoke with Alaska News Nightly host Casey Grove; With a week left in the session, the Alaska House yesterday passed a bill focused on how students are counted.

In this newscast: The Juneau School Board will consider what to add back to its budget for this fiscal year during a regular meeting Tuesday night. The district has more unspent funds than what it’s allowed under state law to carry over into the next fiscal year that begins in July; Juneau residents will see higher electricity bills starting next month; More than 100 middle school students in Juneau are getting hands-on experience to learn about traditional Lingít carving by crafting their own canoe paddles in the classroom; The City and Borough of Juneau clerk’s office has certified two proposed citizen ballot propositions for the 2026 local election. That means the groups behind them are approved to start collecting signatures of support to put the questions on the ballot this fall; Gov. Mike Dunleavy issued a disaster declaration yesterday for two Interior Alaska communities, after they were inundated with severe ice jam flooding. The declaration covers the areas near Chalkyitsik on the Black River and Hughes on the Koyukuk River

In this newscast: Young Juneau musicians got a chance to bring down the house over the weekend at a dual fundraiser for the Juneau Soccer Club and a music program that groups kids who want to play in rock bands,; Researchers have spent months studying the Tracy Arm tsunami landslide, and they conclude it was the second largest on record; The Alaska Legislature is asking the federal government for some flexibility when it comes to implementing a massive program intended to "transform" rural healthcare across the state; New survey results show Alaskans' confidence in the economy is at nearly the lowest point since the survey began 16 years ago; A bill that seeks to make it easier for Alaskans to repair consumer electronics cleared the state Senate today

In this newscast: Huna Totem Corporation officials say they are full steam ahead with the plan to open downtown Juneau’s fifth cruise ship dock by 2028. That’s despite unexpected timeline delays and price hikes that may scale down the project; In early April, two people allegedly severely beat a man in the Marine Parking Garage in downtown Juneau. He was medevaced out of town. Nearly a month later, Alfred Torres Sr. was pronounced brain dead and taken off of life support on Monday; KTOO’s Mike Lane recently sat down with Area Management Biologist Carl Koch with Fish and Game Wildlife Conservation to talk about how best to keep safe in bear country,; Juneau woman Tracy Day has been missing for more than seven years. And while her disappearance has become a rallying cry for the families of missing and murdered Indigenous people in Juneau, her daughter, Kaelyn Schneider, also wants people to know who she was before she went missing

In this newscast: The Juneau Police Department has arrested a man suspected of assaulting three people over the weekend in the Mendenhall Valley; Kaelyn Schneider has a lot of questions about the police investigation into her mother’s disappearance. Tracy Day, a Lingít woman from Juneau, went missing in 2019 and police say they have no suspects; A bill aimed at stabilizing school district budgeting process made its way out of the House Finance Committee Tuesday; A Juneau lawmaker’s bill to increase state funding for free legal aid to vulnerable Alaskans is headed to the governor

In this newscast: Tuesday was a day of remembrance, awareness and calls to action to address the crises of Alaska Native and other Indigenous people facing extreme rates of violence; City and federal contractors originally planned to build the flood wall along the Mendenhall River much higher this summer, after it just barely protected hundreds of homes from Juneau’s largest glacial outburst flood last August. But after the project cost ballooned, leaders decided to scale it back; Gov. Mike Dunleavy is pressing lawmakers to act quickly on his proposal to cut taxes for the Alaska LNG project; Lawmakers in the Alaska House unveiled their first draft of the state's capital budget on Monday. It adds about $100 million in spending to the roughly $250 million capital budget that passed the Senate last month

In this newscast: As the Juneau Assembly moves forward with ending the city’s involvement in Eaglecrest Ski Area’s controversial gondola project, they’re now trying to figure out what to do with the parts; Last year, missing woman Tracy Day’s family requested a death declaration hearing as a way to ask police officers questions about their investigation. But the judge said their questioning wasn’t allowed – even though it was allowed for the family of another Alaska Native woman who went missing elsewhere in the state; The Norton Sound community of Shaktoolik said their goodbyes to Kelly Hunt at a memorial service this weekend; The Alaska Legislature failed to override Gov. Mike Dunleavy's veto of a closely watched election reform bill yesterday

In this newscast: The Goldbelt Tram in downtown Juneau will remain closed for at least the next three weeks, after a tram car came to an abrupt halt at its bottom terminal last week; Public service is nothing out of the ordinary for Scott Ciambor, a longtime employee of the City and Borough of Juneau. He’s worn different hats within CBJ, from chief housing officer to planning manager to his newest role as director of the Community Development Department; A new exhibit by an Alaska nonprofit dedicated to archiving Filipino American history in Alaska features the stories, photos, and belongings of Filipino elders in Juneau; A confidential informant is suing the state public safety department, two Alaska State Troopers and the A&E Television Network

In this newscast: Two people were sent to Bartlett Regional Hospital for minor injuries after a Goldbelt Tram car came to an abrupt halt at its bottom terminal while making its way down Mount Roberts last night. That’s according to Capital City Fire and Rescue; The University of Alaska system will have a new president this summer. The Board of Regents appointed Fairbanks attorney Matt Cooper to the role this morning. He formerly served as general counsel for the university; It’s that time of year again when we’re all told to be “bear aware.” Bear encounters can happen when we’re hiking, camping or even just walking through town. KTOO’s Mike Lane recently sat down with Area Management Biologist Carl Koch with Fish and Game Wildlife Conservation to learn what attracts the bears and how we can limit encounters; Decisions about Alaskan schools are almost always made by administrators, school board members and lawmakers. But students also play a role. Twice a year, student leaders from across the state gather at the Alaska Association of Student Government conference to decide on goals to improve their schools. 

In this newscast: State House lawmakers rolled a new draft of Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s proposal cutting taxes for the Alaska LNG project on Monday; A lot of people – from toddlers to teens to retirees – had a lot to say to the Juneau Assembly at a special meeting Wednesday. It was the first chance for residents to testify about a list of possible city service cuts and facility closures the Assembly is considering as the city grapples with a multimillion-dollar budget shortfall; The temporary flood wall along the Mendenhall River just barely protected hundreds of homes from Juneau’s largest glacial outburst flood last summer. Now, city and federal contractors are racing to repair the damage and bolster it for the flood expected this summer.

In this newscast: Community members can provide feedback on the City and Borough of Juneau's budget Wednesday during a special meeting; Juneau student Cassie Lumba advanced to the national finals of Poetry Out Loud after competing in the semifinals in Washington D.C; Two groups of Juneau residents filed proposed citizen propositions this week in hopes of putting questions on the 2026 local election ballot; The U.S. Forest Service has released a draft environmental impact statement for a timber sale on Prince of Wales Island; Mt. Edgecumbe High School is cutting staff for the second year in a row amid ongoing budget and enrollment issues.

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: Bartlett Regional Hospital in Juneau was evacuated Thursday after a fire broke out in a utility closet: Officials say a plane made a crash landing in Favorite Channel near Juneau Thursday morning: Tlingit and Haida’s Generations Southeast Juneau Campus is offering free community emergency response team training beginning April 25th.