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Reporter joins Empire staff

Atticus Hempel is a new reporter at the Juneau Empire.

Juneau Huskies players face off against each other during practice Tuesday in preparation for Saturday’s game against Service High School at Adair-Kennedy Memorial Park. (Jasz Garrett / Juneau Empire)

Sports

Juneau Huskies enter first home game of season with key players who are stronger, faster and more confident

After opening loss against East Anchorage, football team sets sights on beating Service High School.

KINY’s “prize patrol” vehicle is parked outside the Local First Media Group Inc.’s building on Wednesday morning. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)

News

Juneau radio station KINY is using AI to generate news stories — how well does it get the scoop?

As trust and economics of news industry continue long decline, use and concerns of AI are growing.

Jennifer Medley (left) practices literacy skills with students at Fireweed Academy on Tuesday, Oct. 17, 2023, in Homer, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

News

From Hope to Homer, how one school district is adjusting to Alaska Reads Act

Implementing the standards outlined by the legislation is not a one-size-fits-all approach

A sign opposing the participation of trans girls in girls sports is propped against a fire hydrant outside of the George A. Navarre Admin Building on Thursday, June 8, 2023, in Soldotna, Alaska. The Alaska Board of Education met in the building to discuss a resolution that would ban trans girls from girls high school sports. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

News

State Board of Education bars trans girls from girls’ high school sports teams

Alaska becomes 24th state to impose such restrictions.

The U.S. Army and Navy base on Adak Island is seen in 1943, during World War II, in this National Park Service photo. Adak is now home to dozens of contaminated sites, and the state of Alaska has filed a lawsuit that seeks to have the federal government take responsibility for cleaning sites on Adak and across Alaska. (Photo provided by the National Park Service)

News

Judge dismisses lawsuit over liability for contaminated Alaska Native corporation lands

A federal judge on Tuesday dismissed a year-old lawsuit by the state of Alaska against the federal government…

A plane sits in brush on Fontaine Avenue at around 5:45 p.m. after a crash on Thursday, May 11, 2023, near Sterling, Alaska. (Courtesy Photo / Alisha Joe)

News

No injuries reported after Sterling plane crash

Alaska State Troopers were notified of the crash at around 5:45 p.m. on Thursday

Sen. Jesse Bjorkman, left, addresses constituents during a town hall event on Saturday, April 15, 2023 in Kenai, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

News

Nikiski senator’s bill ‘lumbers’ toward governor’s desk

Senate Bill 87 aims to make locally milled lumber more widely available for the construction of housing in…

Apayauq Reitan, the first transgender woman to participate in the Iditarod, tells the House Education Committee on March 30, 2023, why she opposes a bill restricting sex and gender content in schools. A second meeting for public testimony is scheduled Thursday. (Mark Sabbatini/Juneau Empire)

News

Peninsula voices among ‘parental rights’ debate in Juneau

People who spoke in opposition outnumbered those who spoke in support by three to one

Former Kenai Peninsula Borough Mayor and current Alaska gubernatorial candidate Charlie Pierce speaks at a “Get Out the Vote” rally hosted by the Kenai Peninsula Republican Women at the Soldotna Regional Sports Complex on Tuesday, Oct. 18, 2022 in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

News

Kenai Borough to pay more than $237K to settle sexual harassment suit

As part of the settlement, the borough is not admitting any wrongdoing

The badge for the Kenai Police Department

News

Police seek information on woman found dead in Kenai

The woman was found Friday near Haller Street and the Kenai Spur Highway in Kenai

Mark Sabbatini/Juneau Empire Rep. Justin Ruffridge works in the Alaska State Capitol building on March 28 in Juneau. Rep. Justin Ruffridge works in the Alaska State Capitol building on Tuesday, March 28, 2023 in Juneau, Alaska. (Mark Sabbatini/Juneau Empire) Rep. Justin Ruffridge works in the Alaska State Capitol building on Tuesday, March 28, 2023, in Juneau, Alaska. (Mark Sabbatini/Juneau Empire)

News

House bill aims to boost Alaska Performance Scholarship use

The scholarship is awarded to support education after high school graduation

Rep. Ben Carpenter, R-Nikiski, speaks during a meeting of the House State Affairs committee on Tuesday, March 28, 2023 in Juneau, Alaska. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)

News

Kenai area lawmakers set sights on financial fixes

KENAI — The central Kenai Peninsula’s representatives in the Alaska House of Representatives have their eyes on state…

Kenai Peninsula Borough Mayor-elect Peter Micciche testifies before the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly during a meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2022 in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O'Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

News

Former Senate president now Kenai Peninsula Borough mayor

Peter Micciche is the Kenai Peninsula Borough’s new mayor.

Signs supporting Kenai Peninsula Borough mayoral candidates Peter Micciche and Linda Farnsworth-Hutchings are staked in the snow at the intersection of the Kenai Spur and Sterling highways on Tuesday, Feb. 14, 2023, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

News

Former state Senate president leads in Kenai Peninsula Borough mayor race

A runoff is still possible with 1,700 ballots uncounted.

Bob Bird (left) and Lisa Parker (right) participate in a Constitutional Convention Forum at the Kenai Chamber of Commerce and Visitor Center on Wednesday, Oct. 12, 2022 in Kenai, Alaska. (Ashlyn O'Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

News

Constitutional convention debate comes to Kenai

Alaskans will be asked on the Nov. 8 general election ballot: “Shall there be a constitutional convention?”

Alaska gubernatorial candidates Bill Walker, left, and Les Gara participate in a candidate forum hosted by the Kenai and Soldotna chambers of commerce at the Kenai Chamber of Commerce and Visitor Center on Wednesday, Sept. 7, 2022, in Kenai, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

News

Gara and Walker face off at forum

The two, who found common ground on some issues, took aim at Dunleavy

Alaska LNG Project Manager Brad Chastain presents information about the project during a luncheon at the Kenai Chamber Commerce and Visitor Center on Wednesday, July 6, 2022, in Kenai, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

News

Murkowski, Sullivan throw support behind Alaska LNG Project

The project would move gas from the North Slope through an 800-mile pipeline to a liquefaction plant in…

Dunleavy

News

Governor’s office contracts ex-aide for ‘statehood defense’

JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s office has entered a contract with a former Dunleavy aide…

Alaska SeaLife Center Animal Care Specialist Savannah Costner releases a 1-year-old female elephant seal back to the ocean on March 24, 2022, after the animal was admitted as a patient to the ASLC Wildlife Response Program. The 320-pound animal was released near Lowell Point in Seward, Alaska. (Kaiti Grant/Alaska SeaLife Center)

News

SeaLife Center rehabs baby elephant seal

The seal is the first mammal admitted to the center’s Wildlife Response Program this year