Site Logo
A robin feeds on insects along the shore of Mendenhall Lake. (Photo by Bob Armstrong)

Sports

On the Trails: Robins come, and it’s springtime

Spring comes, quite reliably, but sometimes reluctantly, by fits and starts. Every year we go through a process…

(Michael Penn / Juneau Empire file photo)

News

Police calls for Saturday, March 23, 2024

This report contains public information from law enforcement and public safety agencies.

(Juneau Empire file photo)

News

Aurora forecast for the week of March 25

These forecasts are courtesy of the University of Alaska Fairbanks’ Geophysical Institute and available online, along with more…

Peacocks and peahens wander the grounds at Pederson Hill Farm. (Laurie Craig / For the Juneau Empire)

News

Farming for flowers amongst peacocks, bees and a ‘deer runway’ gives new growth to family tradition

Pederson Hill Farm making the most of manure-rich former horse corral owned by relatives since ‘50s.

(Michael Penn / Juneau Empire file photo)

News

Police calls for Sunday, March 24, 2024

This report contains public information from law enforcement and public safety agencies.

Gus Schumacher, an Anchorage cross-country skier, testifies at a Senate Budget Committee hearing last Wednesday. (Budget committee screenshot)

Opinion

An Alaska Olympian went to D.C. to testify on climate change. Then a senator dredged up old tweets.

Gus Schumacher hit with climate science quiz in exchange that went viral in conservative circles.

Rep. Bryce Edgmon, I-Dillingham, before presenting his bill that would increase internet speeds for rural Alaska schools to the Senate Finance Committee on Monday. (Claire Stremple/Alaska Beacon)

News

Lawmakers approve faster internet speeds for Alaska’s rural school districts

The approval comes just days before a deadline to access federal grants

(Michael Penn / Juneau Empire file photo)

News

Police calls for Thursday, March 21, 2024

This report contains public information from law enforcement and public safety agencies.

(Michael Penn / Juneau Empire file photo)

News

Police calls for Friday, March 22, 2024

This report contains public information from law enforcement and public safety agencies.

Thunder Mountain High School senior Jenna Dobson (5) defends Mountain City senior Morgan Maldonado during the Falcons’ 52-37 loss to the Lions in the 3rd/5th-place game of the 2024 ASAA March Madness Alaska 4A Girls Basketball State Championships on Saturday at Anchorage’s Alaska Airlines Center. (Klas Stolpe / For the Juneau Empire)

Sports

Thunder Mountain High School girls end historic final season at state tournament

Falcons battle, but fall 52-37 in third-place game loss to Mountain City.

House Rules Committee Chair Craig Johnson, R-Anchorage, speaks in favor of House Bill 135 on Tuesday, May 16, 2023, in the Alaska House. (James Brooks/Alaska Beacon)

News

Alaska House votes to give police warrantless emergency access to cellphone location data

Lawmakers pass other bills, on storage rentals, fireworks rules, telemedicine and federal lands.

The Thunder Mountain Falcons boys basketball team poses with their runner-up trophy after falling to East Anchorage 60-34 in the title game of the 2024 ASAA March Madness Alaska 4A Boys Basketball State Championship game on Saturday at Anchorage’s Alaska Airlines Center. (Klas Stolpe / For the Juneau Empire)

Sports

Thunder Mountain boys fall to East 60-34 in state title game

Falcons’ historic final season ends after surprising run at championship, but journey will continue.

Rep. Ashley Carrick, D-Fairbanks, listens to debate in the Alaska House of Representatives on Thursday. (James Brooks/Alaska Beacon)

News

Alaska House votes to remove some obstacles for birth control prescriptions

House Bill 17 allows women to buy up to 12 months’ worth of birth control pills at a…

Rep. Andy Josephson, D-Anchorage, speaks on March 28, 2023. He has sponsored a bill to make vandalism of a church a felony. (James Brooks/Alaska Beacon)

News

Alaska House votes to make church vandalism a felony; bill goes to Senate

Juneau Rep. Sara Hannan among dissenters in 35-5 vote, cites issues about property vs. hate crimes.

Sen. Matt Claman, D-Anchorage, speaks at a Tuesday news conference held by the Senate majority caucus. Claman has proposed a constitutional amendment to lower the threshold needed to override a veto by a governor of a spending bill. (Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon)

News

Alaska senators consider constitutional amendment easing some veto override votes

The Alaska Senate is moving closer to approving a state constitutional amendment that would lower the number of…

A broadband tower on a mountaintop that is part of a network providing service to rural Alaska communities. (Cordova Telecom photo provided by the U.S. Department of Agriculture)

News

House rushes to pass rural schools internet bill after veto of comprehensive education bill

Legislators work past midnight as school districts face Wednesday application deadline for program.

A boreal owl perches in a spruce tree not far from a nest box from which he has been singing each night in March 2024. (Photo by Ned Rozell)

Sports

Alaska Science Forum: Boreal owls perform by daylight

On these March nights, a male boreal owl has been singing from a wooden owl box near our…

Rep. Andrew Gray, D-Anchorage, gestures with his hands as he talks to Rep. Kevin McCabe, R-Big Lake, about an amendment to raise the state’s age of consent on Friday in the Alaska House of Representatives. (Photo by James Brooks/Alaska Beacon)

News

With handwritten amendment, Alaska House votes to raise state’s age of consent

Decision won’t be final until at least Monday, when House is scheduled to vote on underlying bill.

Thunder Mountain High School junior Cailynn Baxter (23) powers a shot against Colony junior Tonya Karpow, freshman Jericho Wuestenberg and junior Alycia Shelley during the Falcons 69-35 semifinal loss to the Knights at the 2024 ASAA March Madness Alaska 4A Girls Basketball State Championships on Friday at Anchorage’s Alaska Airlines Center. (Klas Stolpe / For the Juneau Empire)

Sports

Fourth-ranked Thunder Mountain girls fall to top-ranked Colony in state semifinals

Coach Lee says Falcons “built for competition, have earned the right to play tomorrow.”

Thunder Mountain celebrates their 48-45 overtime win against the Service Cougars in a semifinal at the 2024 ASAA March Madness Alaska 4A Boys Basketball State Championships on Friday at Anchorage’s Alaska Airlines Center. The Falcons will play East Anchorage for the state championship Saturday. (Klas Stolpe / For the Juneau Empire)

Sports

Thunder Mountain boys defeat Service, will play top-ranked East Anchorage for state title Saturday

Sixth-ranked Falcons score second upset of tournament, defeating second-ranked Cougars 48-45 in OT.