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The Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center on Feb. 22, 2025. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire file photo)

News

Reinstatement of fired USDA employees ordered; local glacier center worker says no word yet from employer

Federal review board orders 45-day stay affecting nearly 6,000 workers while legal challenge is heard.

Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé’s Kerra Baxter makes a layup during JDHS’ 64-36 victory over Ketchikan on the first day of the Region V 4A Basketball Tournament at the Clarke Cochrane Gymnasium on Thursday. (Christopher Mullen / Ketchikan Daily News)

Sports

Crimson Bears girls defeat Kayhi 64-36 to start region tourney

JDHS’ Kerra Baxter scores 21 points, Gwen Nizich 16 in win

Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé’s Elias Dybdahl catches a rebound during JDHS’ 56-43 loss to Ketchikan on the first day of the Region V 4A Basketball Tournament at the Clarke Cochrane Gymnasium on Thursday. (Christopher Mullen/ Ketchikan Daily News)

Sports

Crimson Bears boys fall 56-43 to Kayhi

Region tourney opening loss puts JDHS in a hole to reach state.

Wrangell’s Hailey Cook dribbles up the court against Petersburg on Feb. 22, 2025. (Sam Pausman / Wrangell Sentinel)

Sports

Petersburg boys, Haines girls and both Wrangell teams win opening games of 2A tournament

JDHS begins 4A play on Thursday against Ketchikan on Kings’ home court.

State Rep. Rebecca Himschoot (I-Sitka) explains changes to House Bill 69 during a House Rules Committee meeting on Wednesday at the Alaska State Capitol. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)

News

House education bill sent to floor with smaller $1,000 BSA hike, new policy changes

HB 69 also now includes additional charter school support, open enrollment within districts.

The front page of the Juneau Empire on March 4, 1985. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)

News

Empire Archives: Juneau’s history for the week ending March 8

Three decades of capital city coverage.

Trucks coming from Mexico at a border crossing in Laredo, Texas, in February. (Gabriel V. Cárdenas for The New York Times)

News

From groceries to cars, here’s how Trump’s tariffs may raise prices for US consumers

New tariffs on goods from Canada, Mexico and China took effect Tuesday.

Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé hockey coach Matt Boline presents JDHS junior Nolan Cruz with the #LiveLikeMatthewC Award during the Crimson Bears hockey banquet Sunday in the JDHS commons. Matthew’s mother Judy Campbell, at left, spoke to the attendees. (Klas Stolpe / Juneau Empire)

Sports

JDHS hockey banquet celebrates Crimson Bears values

Individuals honored for their roles in the team dynamics.

Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire file photo
A 1928 Kimball Theatre Pipe Organ in the atrium of the State Office Building is played by Christopher Nordwall on May 30, 2023, as he and Michael Ruppert work on restoring it to a condition suitable for public performances. The two tuners were only able to work on the organ during hours when the building was officially closed.

News

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

Performance and presentation on historic SOB organ, community exhibit at city museum among events.

Water spills into homes and streets in the Mendenhall Valley following record flooding from the Mendenhall River on the morning of Aug. 6, 2024. (Photo by Rich Ross)

News

Site assessments begin in neighborhoods where flood barriers will be installed

HESCO barriers are on their way to Juneau. Funding to study a long-term solution is not guaranteed.

The Juneau Youth Wrestling Club boys division grapplers pose at the Tanana Middle School Wrestling Invitational at Tanana on Saturday. (Photo courtesy JYWC)

Sports

Juneau youth grapplers on Tanana state mats

JYWC claims two titles, 16 claim high placings

A road north of Juneau would have to negotiate the steep terrain of the east side of Lynn Canal, pictured here in February of 2014. (Michael Penn / Juneau Empire file pohoto)

News

Juneau Access Road is on the map again, as DOT seeks bids for Lynn Canal transportation study

Project declared dead by Gov. Walker in 2017 to get another look, along with ferry options.

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), back right, and Vice President JD Vance clap for President Donald Trump as he delivers an address to a joint session of Congress at the Capitol in Washington, on Tuesday, March 4, 2025. (Haiyun Jiang/The New York Times)

News

Trump asserts term off to ‘swift and unrelenting’ start in speech to Congress

President Donald Trump faced heckling from Democrats on Tuesday as he declared that “America is back,” delivering an…

A sign in Whitehorse shows Juneau as one of three sister cities on March 4, 2025. (Photo courtesy of Ensio Lera)

News

Juneau and Whitehorse seek to continue sibling ties amidst trade war

Mayor hopes to preserve decades of friendship with sister city during ‘time of political uncertainty.’

A building directory in Juneau’s federal building lists departments, such as the U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Forest Service, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. (Jasz Garrett / Juneau Empire file photo)

News

NOAA lease, Goldbelt contract among Juneau cuts at DOGE’s website

Trump administration also lists — then withdraws — Ketchikan Federal Building and other sites for possible sale.

Snow falls on the Alaska State Capitol on Monday, Jan. 30, 2023. (James Brooks/Alaska Beacon)

News

Alaska Legislature votes against inflation-adjusted pay rates for top officials

The Alaska House of Representatives voted 36-0 on Friday to reject a proposal that would peg legislative salaries…

The Tongass National Forest on Prince of Wales Island on Aug. 21, 2014. President Donald Trump wants to circumvent environmental regulations to expand timber production, something sought by homebuilders and the construction industry. (Jim Wilson/The New York Times)

News

Trump moves to increase logging in national forests

President Donald Trump has promised to “drill, baby, drill.” Now, he also wants to log.

The Juneau Courthouse on Monday, March 3, 2025. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)

News

Juneau man with child sexual abuse material conviction arrested again on similar charges

Taylor Funderburk, 25, pleaded guilty Feb. 14 to charges in 2021 case, new arrest came 11 days later.

Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé senior Kerra Baxter (22) scores against North Pole last weekend as sophomore Bergen Erickson (12) looks on. The Crimson Bears open the 2A/4A Region V tournament against Kayhi at 6 p.m. Thursday in Ketchikan's Clarke Cochran Gymnasium. (Klas Stolpe / Juneau Empire)

Sports

Crimson Bears head to Region V basketball tournament

Ketchikan hosts, JDHS hopes to spoil Kings’ home court advantage

Terry Allen rides his jet ski at Auke Lake on Monday, Aug. 19, 2019. (Michael Penn / Juneau Empire file photo)

News

Proposal for commercial Jet Ski tours originating downtown sinks before harbor board

Operator says he will seek different site after officials say he implied support that doesn’t exist.