KFSK Midday Magazine

The Alaska Senate approved its version of the state budget yesterday; libraries in Alaska are facing cuts to federal funding; and a case from Nome sets an important precedent for rural communities when it comes to providing emergency services outside of city limits.

The long-term future of a mining project near Haines is unclear; Nancy Dahlstrom is running for governor; and last month was the second wettest April on record for Petersburg.

The 2026 race for Alaska governor is officially underway; Alaska's oldest ferry is too expensive to fix; and researchers plan to install SNOTELs to help monitor weather in Southeast Alaska.

Some people haven't left Juneau despite emails from the Department of Homeland Security telling them to; around 60 people in Petersburg gathered downtown for a May Day rally; and a look at coping with political strife in small towns.

Alaska's public schools may get a long-sought increase in state funding this year; a family in Juneau who fled unrest in Haiti has been split apart by the Trump Administration; and a lawsuit Petersburg's police chief filed against the borough had a recent development that resolved some --but not all-- of the claims.

Funding cuts by the Trump Administration ended the AmeriCorps program in Sitka; advocated rallied in Juneau after state Senators cut millions of dollars for child care funding; and a look at recent tourism trends in Haines and Skagway amid tensions with the U.S. and Canada.

A U.S. Army bomb squad dealt with two separate explosives in Ketchikan; proposed cuts to NOAA's budget could mean losing several research institutions in Alaska; and the state Senate passed a bill yesterday that would boost long-term funding for public schools.

The state Division of Insurance launched a tool to help Alaskans better understand the costs of health care procedures; an anti-abortion group in Juneau gathered in front of the State Capitol to spread awareness; and while Petersburg is getting fewer cruise ship stops overall, one company is visiting the harbor a lot more, and bringing with it a new obstacle.

The Native Youth Olympic Games kick off today in Anchorage; The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency arrested at least one person in Sitka last month; and the Skagway Police Department secured funding for a narcotics and tracking K9 unit.

Juneau expanded its swim class offerings for its youngest residents; Alaska lawmakers confirmed Gov. Mike Dunleavy's veto on an education bill yesterday; and the State of Alaska might give ownership of some tidelands on Mitkof Island to the Petersburg Borough.

A major conference about landslides in Southeast Alaska was canceled because federal agencies would be absent; some reinstated federal workers in Juneau were fired again this month; and a draft budget proposed by the Trump Administration would slash NOAA's budget more than 25%.

Southeast Alaska's largest tribal government is reducing the number of representatives from communities outside the region; school district leaders from around the state react to Gov. Mike Dunleavy's veto; and Petersburg assembly members will continue considering a potential new zoning overlay tonight.

Gov. Mike Dunleavy vetoed a closely watched education bill yesterday; Wrangell schools are cutting teaching positions due to a budget deficit; and young dancers in Petersburg are performing as villains for their spring recital this weekend.

The Alaska House of Representatives passed its version of the state operating budget yesterday; the future is grim for a federal program that supports rural Alaska schools; and Alaska organizations that provide weather and environmental information to mariners and subsistence hunters are bracing for reduced funding.

Sen. Lisa Murkowski worries new tariffs will hurt Alaska's biggest industries; Gov. Mike Dunleavy's administration released a long-delayed study on state worker salaries; and a University of Alaska grad is among international students the Trump Administration is forcing out of the country.

Over 4,000 cruise ship passengers arrived in Juneau yesterday; a composer writes an original piece of music for a middle school concert in Anchorage; and the Alaska Legislature passed a stripped-down version of a bill that would boost per-student funding for schools if Gov. Mike Dunleavy doesn't veto it.

The cruise ship season is starting in Juneau today while tariffs and federal firings bring uncertainty to the city's tourism industry; microplastics appear to be ubiquitous in spotted seals harvested in Alaska's most remote waters; and two Anchorage teens are trying to encourage more young people to get involved with philanthropy.

Starting May 7th every air traveler over age 18 will need a REAL ID to board a flight in the US; Tlinget Linguist James Crippen talks about his efforts to document the Tlinget Language;Long-time vet Burgess Bauder in Sitka retired this year after providing years of free vet care.

Juneau Assembly passes a resolution urging Alaska Delegation to oppose cuts to federal agencies; Bills moving through the Alaska Legislature are intended to streamline prior authorizations for medical services and exempt small businesses from providing sick leave to employees; A report last week says the Red Chris Mine in the Stikine Watershed in British Columbia is leaching heavy metals; The lone produce stocker at Skagway's grocery store is moving on after eight years

Good Samaritans rescue a man from the chilly waters of Wrangell Narrows Monday Night; A 5th Cruise ship dock approved for Juneau by the Assembly; Cuts to the Department and Health and Hum,an Services threaten services provided to the elderly and the disabled population in Alaska; rents in Alaska have stabilized

Local rally of about 100 people to protest Trump Administration policies on Saturday; Alaska Humanities Forum faces major cuts when National Endowment for Humanities Budget is slashed; Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center will have some help with visitors from Cultural Ambassadors which is a new program started by Central Council of Tlinget and Haida; The 8th Annual Traditional Games were held in Juneau last weekend

A high-priority bill that would increase education funding took another step forward in the state legislature this week; Juneau officials may put city money towards hiring staff at the Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center, following federal job cuts; and this year, sport fishermen in Southeast Alaska are getting a bag limit of one wild king salmon.

Ketchikan's high school principal joined other school district officials from across Alaska to testify before state lawmakers; education leaders from tribal organizations spoke against the dissolution of the federal Department of Education; and as Southcentral Alaska prepares for Mt. Spurr's likely eruption, officials say the impacts could reach as far as Southeast.

Alaska's U.S. Senators want to keep the U.S. Postal Service an independent agency and not privatize it; a Canadian company is starting studies to explore a possible new gold mine in Juneau; and 130 thousand treaty Chinook salmon will be available this year for all Southeast fisheries.

A Kodiak-based company may run Sitka's publicly-owned marine haul out; a Wrangell man is being charged with two felonies; and an executive order from President Trump is causing concern for voters in rural Alaska Native communities.

Plans for Chilkat Valley's first major timber harvest in decades have temporarily halted; HIV prevention organizations in Alaska worry about deadly consequences from losing federal funding; and the Alaska Legislature passed a bill designating March as Women's History Month in state law.

The state will share harvest data from the Sitka Sound Sac Roe herring fishery after all; the CDC is pulling millions of federal dollars that support public health programs in Alaska; and a look at a traveling art exhibit featuring Southeast Alaska artists.

The Alaska seafood industry says it's getting crushed by unfair trade; crews in Ketchikan are still dealing with a rockslide that cut off access to north of the island; and Petersburg Indian Association is hosting a job fair on March 28.

A look behind-the-scenes for Petersburg High School's upcoming spring play; Borough leaders in Ketchikan are leveraging the trade war with Canada to restore ferry service to British Columbia; and a conversation between Eric Stone and Casey Grove about cuts to the National Weather Service.

The state House passed a resolution recognizing Canada's sovereignty; a Fairbanks lawmaker wants to put the governor's mansion on Airbnb; and a look at a new kelp farming company in Ketchikan.

Sitka's commercial herring fishery is smaller this year; a draft plan for the state ferry system is open for public comment; and millions of federal dollars are at stake in Alaska if President Trump's order abolishing the U.S. Department of Education disrupts funding.

Wrangell's borough manager shut down the deteriorating barge ramp last week; over a hundred people marched to the state capitol to advocate for improving disability rights on Wednesday; and a rockslide near Ketchikan yesterday has blocked the island's main road.

Investigators looking into the plane crash near Nome say the icy flight was overweight; lawmakers rejected Gov. Dunleavy's proposal to create a cabinet-level state agriculture department; and Silver Bay Seafoods is buying the seafood processing giant, OBI.

Ketchikan's school district superintendent is resigning; researchers say limits on Alaska's commercial fisheries backfired in rural Native villages; and the Alaska House Resources Committee heard testimony regarding the partnership between the U.S. and Canada.

Japanese performers from Oregon are touring Alaska, starting in Southeast; employees fired from the agency that oversees federal fisheries in Alaska were reinstated yesterday; and for the first time, fire season is starting early in Southeast Alaska.

A cruise limit ballot may go before voters in Sitka this spring; the Haines Assembly approved a resolution recognizing Canada's sovereignty; and Veterans in Juneau say they worry their benefits may be at risk.

Job cuts to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration could affect the fishing industry; six fathers of young dancers competed in a first-of-its-kind pageant fundraiser; and a commentary from Petersburg's Abby Knight for a series celebrating Women's History Month.

The Alaska House approved a bill to boost funding for public schools, which now heads to the Senate; Alaska health care experts say Medicaid cuts would have an enormous impact in the state; and orders from President Trump could increase timber harvest in Tongass National Forest.

A decades-old proposal to build a controversial road in Southeast is being resurrected; Alaska House lawmakers made some amendments to a high-priority education bill; and all recently fired USDA employees will be temporarily rehired, with back pay.

Department heads in Sitka's municipal government look for ways to trim spending; a woman in Ketchikan is going for a Guinness World record; and Petersburg's high school basketball teams finished up the season in Ketchikan last week.