KTOO News Update
The day’s local and state news in about 10 minutes.
Newscast – Friday, March 20, 2026
In this newscast: The Juneau Police Department is seeking assistance in locating a 17-year-old boy who has been reportedly missing for two days; Juneau's legendary Gold Medal Basketball Tournament kicks off this weekend for the 77th time; Juneau Police commander Matt DuBois speaks with KTOO's Mike Lane about a regional task force that investigates illegal drugs being distributed in Southeast Alaska; The Kodiak Island Borough School District is not recruiting international teachers for next fall due to an increase in the fee for H1-B visas. Nine seismic stations in Alaska are fully funded again after a new agreement with federal and state agencies.
Read More »Newscast – Thursday, March 19, 2026
In this newscast: The state of Alaska is delaying construction on the first phase of a controversial ferry terminal proposed to connect Juneau and Haines, due to a permitting issue; Alaska youth and advocates are calling on lawmakers to create a statewide fund for suicide prevention by charging a small fee on Alaskans' monthly phone bills; The Juneau School District's teachers union voted to authorize a strike earlier this week amid ongoing contract negotiations; The Juneau Arts and Humanities Council has had new leadership for a few months now, and that has come with some changes; The state ferry Lituya will soon begin daily ferry service between Ketchikan and Annette Bay.
Read More »Newscast – Wednesday, March 18, 2026
In this newscast: Alaska Seaplanes announced this week that it would be implementing a 6% temporary fuel surcharge on fares beginning Friday. The company cites a nearly 40% increase in fuel costs due to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East; The City and Borough of Juneau plans to move into a new City Hall by the end of this year. That means the current building could be up for sale in the coming months; Voting begins Wednesday for University of Alaska staff across the state to decide on forming a union. The group is called the Coalition of Alaska University Employees for Equity; Climate change has caused winter in Alaska’s largest cities to warm more dramatically than other major cities across the U.S. But as KTOO’s Alix Soliman reports, this winter in Juneau doesn’t match the overall trend; The filing deadline for this year’s Alaska Permanent Fund dividend is March 31, and if Rep. Nick Begich III has his way, this year’s dividend will be tax free.
Read More »Newscast – Tuesday, March 17, 2026
In this newscast: The Alaska Board of Fisheries is meeting today through Saturday in Anchorage to consider changes to statewide finfish fisheries; Juneau's city-owned cold weather emergency shelter may soon start accepting patrons year-round instead of closing its doors in mid-April; The Juneau School District's student services director is resigning at the end of June; For Tongass Voices, Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé senior Cassie Lumba talks about winning Alaska's Poetry Out Loud competition and the power of words.
Read More »Newscast – Monday, March 16, 2026
In this newscast: Juneau residents will have multiple opportunities this week to provide feedback about how and where they'd like to see changes to better the capital city's roadways for all users; After months of on-an-off closures and limited services, the city's recycling center will be back to operating at full capacity and regular hours starting tomorrow; A bill meant to protect Alaskans from drinking water contaminated with PFAS had its first committee hearing last week; The fate of a closely watched budget bill in the Alaska Legislature is back up in the air, after House Republicans declined to back a supermajority vote that would have funded the bill from savings
Read More »Newscast – Friday, March 13, 2026
In this newscast: This upcoming cruise ship tourism season will be the first time Juneau has a daily passenger cap -- numbers that came through negotiations between the city and the cruise lines; It has now been more than a month since a Juneau man who had been staying at a local shelter for unhoused people was last seen by staff; Negotiations between the City and Borough of Juneau and the local chapter of the International Association of Fire Fighters have stalled out after more than a year; In Juneau this week, youth from across the state presented films they made highlighting the impacts of climate change and other environmental issues where they live; After weeks of voting, Sitkans have finally chosen a name for the Sitka Sound Science Center's newest Giant Pacific Octopus.
Read More »Newscast – Thursday, March12, 202
In this newscast: The Juneau School Board approved its budget for next year on Tuesday. The district will be able to maintain services but there are still funding uncertainties; A former Juneau school board member submitted what current board members called "disparaging comments" to be engraved on fundraising bricks for a new school playground in Lemon Creek; Alaska Congressman Nick Begich urged the state Legislature to be bold with policies to encourage resource development on Tuesday; A high-profile budget bill that would unlock hundreds of millions in government construction projects across Alaska took a step forward in the state Legislature yesterday
Read More »Newscast – Wednesday, March 11, 2026
In this newscast: The Juneau School Board selected Shawn Arnold to be the district’s next superintendent. He was one of three finalists for the position and the only current district employee; The Juneau Assembly has decided to postpone a vote on whether to disempower Eaglecrest Ski Area’s board of directors for at least six months; A bill that would change the scope of an Alaska sexual assault law had its first committee hearing yesterday. Democratic Juneau Rep. Sara Hannan’s bill, introduced this year, would alter a law that specifically criminalizes sexual assault by a medical provider; Animal Care and Control in Anchorage is designed to hold about 150 animals. But right now, there are nearly 250
Read More »Newscast – Tuesday, March 10, 2026
In this newscast: Social service providers in Juneau say they’re worried about fallout if the Juneau Assembly decides to cut city funding to some of Juneau's most critical social services; The Juneau Assembly decided Monday to sign an agreement with the federal government for a buyout of View Drive, the street hit hardest by annual glacial outburst funding; A trial date for a lawsuit between the Juneau School District and its support staff union won’t be decided on for another six months; Alaska students could have a new graduation requirement in the not-too-distant-future. The Alaska Senate unanimously passed a bill Monday that would mandate a new civics course or exam for high-schoolers starting in 2027; About three dozen sled dog teams are on the thousand-mile Iditarod Trail to Nome as part of this year’s race, and thousands of people around the world are following along. Some of the spectators are kids participating in the IditaRead Challenge, and as Alaska Public Media’s Ava White reports, that includes Anchorage students counting each minute spent with a book as a mile on the trail.
Read More »Newscast – Monday, March 9, 2026
In this newscast: The Juneau Assembly will vote tonight on whether to appropriate nearly $500,000 to Dzantik'i Heeni Playground Capital Improvement Project; A team of specialists from the Alaska Volcano Observatory stopped by Sitka to do some station maintenance work on Mt. Edgecumbe, a volcano on nearby Kruzof Island; British Columbia is proposing to limit U.S.-based Tribes from government consultations related to environmental projects; Juneau singer-songwriter Taylor Dallas Vidic’s first album delves into relationships through jazz-folk mashup
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