Wire Service

Deena Bishop, commissioner of the Alaska Department of Education and Early Development, speaks at a news conference Friday, March 15, 2024, with Gov. Mike Dunleavy. (James Brooks/Alaska Beacon)

Alaska state school board may vote Wednesday morning to limit local funding for public schools

Change to city-provided funds, originally targeted for 2026, could cost Juneau School District more than $2M.

Deena Bishop, commissioner of the Alaska Department of Education and Early Development, speaks at a news conference Friday, March 15, 2024, with Gov. Mike Dunleavy. (James Brooks/Alaska Beacon)
Along the trans-Alaska oil pipeline, pictured here, runs a smaller-diameter natural gas line used to fuel the oil pipeline’s pumps. That small-diameter line could be a source of fuel for a new Bitcoin mining operation on the North Slope. (Arthur T. LaBar/Flickr under Creative Commons License)

New Alaska Bitcoin mine would use as much power as the state’s largest coal plant produces

Startup planning operation near North Slope oil fields would power computers with natural gas.

Along the trans-Alaska oil pipeline, pictured here, runs a smaller-diameter natural gas line used to fuel the oil pipeline’s pumps. That small-diameter line could be a source of fuel for a new Bitcoin mining operation on the North Slope. (Arthur T. LaBar/Flickr under Creative Commons License)
The Marie Drake Planetarium is hosting an open house as part of First Friday in June. (Juneau Arts and Humanities Council image)

Here’s what’s happening for First Friday in June

The launch of a publication featuring contributors from Juneau and Palestine, a group chant to singing bowls, and an event featuring both belly dancing and… Continue reading

The Marie Drake Planetarium is hosting an open house as part of First Friday in June. (Juneau Arts and Humanities Council image)
The shoreline of Kake, a Tlingit village of about 500 people, is seen in 2012. (Alaska Division of Community Affairs photo)

Federal appeals court upholds emergency subsistence hunt in village of Kake

A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that the board which regulates subsistence hunting on federal lands within Alaska… Continue reading

The shoreline of Kake, a Tlingit village of about 500 people, is seen in 2012. (Alaska Division of Community Affairs photo)
(Michael Penn / Juneau Empire file photo)

Police calls for Sunday, June 1, 2025

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

(Michael Penn / Juneau Empire file photo)
(Michael Penn / Juneau Empire file photo)

Police calls for Saturday, May 31, 2025

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

(Michael Penn / Juneau Empire file photo)
A few snow drifts remain on June 18, 2004, on the Arctic coastal plain of the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska. (Craig McCaa/U.S. Bureau of Land Management)

As Trump officials visit Alaska, feds announce plans to remove some restrictions on Arctic drilling

The Trump administration plans to lift environmental protections on roughly half of the National Petroleum Reserve on Alaska’s North Slope, reopening the area to possible… Continue reading

A few snow drifts remain on June 18, 2004, on the Arctic coastal plain of the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska. (Craig McCaa/U.S. Bureau of Land Management)
Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) at an infrastructure and development symposium in Anchorage on April 22, 2025. (Ash Adams/The New York Times)

Lisa Murkowski isn’t using ‘nice words’ about life under Trump

Alaska Republican senator could play make-or-break role in pushing back on president’s agenda.

Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) at an infrastructure and development symposium in Anchorage on April 22, 2025. (Ash Adams/The New York Times)
A yellow-rumped warbler. (Photo by Helen Unruh)

On the Trails: Yellow-rumped warblers and other observations

My peanut butter feeder draws a nice assortment of visitors, including chickadees, nuthatches, siskins, juncos, a hairy woodpecker, and a squirrel. Most of these also… Continue reading

A yellow-rumped warbler. (Photo by Helen Unruh)
(Juneau Empire file photo)

Letter: Trump’s June 14 military parade

I enjoy Juneau’s Celebration parade with its many clans dancing in regalia. I love Juneau’s Fourth of July parade, with the Juneau Marching Band, the… Continue reading

(Juneau Empire file photo)
Telephone Hill on May 5, 2025. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire file photo)

My Turn: Pay attention to which way the Juneau Assembly votes on Telephone Hill

In the last two years, housing prices and rents have risen dramatically, even for Juneau. The management of the Ridgeview Apartments project has become a… Continue reading

Telephone Hill on May 5, 2025. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire file photo)
U.S. Rep. Nick Begich III, R-Alaska, address a joint session of the Alaska Legislature on Thursday, Feb. 20, 2025. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire file photo)

My Turn: A noncongressman for Alaska?

It’s right to ask whether Nick Begich is a noncongressman for Alaska. The latest evidence of it is his vote for the House tax bill,… Continue reading

U.S. Rep. Nick Begich III, R-Alaska, address a joint session of the Alaska Legislature on Thursday, Feb. 20, 2025. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire file photo)
(Michael Penn / Juneau Empire file photo)

Police calls for Friday, May 30, 2025

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

(Michael Penn / Juneau Empire file photo)
(Michael Penn / Juneau Empire file photo)

Police calls for Thursday, May 29, 2025

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

(Michael Penn / Juneau Empire file photo)
The Alaska and American flags fly in front of the Alaska State Capitol on Tuesday, April 22, 2025. (James Brooks/Alaska Beacon)

Gov. Mike Dunleavy announced a freeze on new state regulations. What does that mean?

Administrative order could affect a ballot measure Alaskans supported in 2024.

The Alaska and American flags fly in front of the Alaska State Capitol on Tuesday, April 22, 2025. (James Brooks/Alaska Beacon)
Participants carefully walk through a particularly sticky patch of Gastineau Channel mud at the 2025 Spring Tide Scramble on Saturday, May 31, 2025. (Ellie Ruel / Juneau Empire)

Runners brave rain and mud at Juneau’s Spring Tide Scramble

Annual “mud run” draws a sizable crowd to start Juneau Trail and Road Runners’ race season.

Participants carefully walk through a particularly sticky patch of Gastineau Channel mud at the 2025 Spring Tide Scramble on Saturday, May 31, 2025. (Ellie Ruel / Juneau Empire)
Kell Morris, left wearing a brown hat, was trapped under a 700-pound boulder near Seward on Saturday, May 24, 2025. (Jason Harrington/Seward Fire Department)

Seward man survives 3 hours pinned face down under a 700-pound boulder

Rescuers found Kell Morris with hypothermia and face first in a creek as his wife held his head out of the water.

Kell Morris, left wearing a brown hat, was trapped under a 700-pound boulder near Seward on Saturday, May 24, 2025. (Jason Harrington/Seward Fire Department)
Serjoe Gutierrez plays violin with the Kodiak High School Orchestra during warm ups (Brian Venua/KMXT)

Alaska schools need teachers. They’re hiring them from the Philippines.

Alaska schools are hiring teachers from the Philippines amid a massive national shortage. It’s the latest wave of immigrants from Southeast Asia to come to… Continue reading

Serjoe Gutierrez plays violin with the Kodiak High School Orchestra during warm ups (Brian Venua/KMXT)
A vaccine dose is prepared at a mass vaccination site in St. Mary’s County, Maryland, in 2021. Vaccination rates for Alaska children have declined in recent years, the state reports. (Maryland Executive Office of the Governor photo)

Amid national measles outbreaks, vaccination rates for Alaska children have fallen, report says

Measles, once thought eliminated in the U.S., has spread among unvaccinated people.

A vaccine dose is prepared at a mass vaccination site in St. Mary’s County, Maryland, in 2021. Vaccination rates for Alaska children have declined in recent years, the state reports. (Maryland Executive Office of the Governor photo)
Klas Stolpe, a sports reporter for the Juneau Empire and multiple other publications since the mid-1990s, receives the Alaska School Activities Association’s Gold Lifetime Pass for Region V this year during a ceremony at Thunder Mountain Middle School on Saturday. (Melissa Bastable Ganey / Mel G Photography)

Longtime Southeast Alaska sports reporter Klas Stolpe wins ASAA’s annual Gold Lifetime Pass award

Honor recognizes “significant service to high school students of Alaska” for at least 20 years.

Klas Stolpe, a sports reporter for the Juneau Empire and multiple other publications since the mid-1990s, receives the Alaska School Activities Association’s Gold Lifetime Pass for Region V this year during a ceremony at Thunder Mountain Middle School on Saturday. (Melissa Bastable Ganey / Mel G Photography)