Alaska Public Media
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News from Alaska Public Media and our partner stations across the state. Alaska Public Media is a NPR and PBS station.
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Sign up for our daily newsletter: alaskapublic.org/newsletters.
Immigrants make up about a quarter of all the country's doctors, and the U.S. health care system depends heavily on them.
'Nobody wants to come': What if the U.S. can no longer attract immigrant physicians?
Immigrants make up a significant proportion of all the country's doctors. New policies are making it harder and less appealing for foreign-born physicians to come to the U.S.
akpub.io
November 25, 2025 at 1:30 AM
Immigrants make up about a quarter of all the country's doctors, and the U.S. health care system depends heavily on them.
Roughly 150 miles inland, where the Portage Mountains rise up from the tundra, Alaska's two longest rivers come within a few dozen miles of each other. This is where the state is looking to potentially establish a corridor for travel, trade and commerce.
State revisits long-discussed proposal to build road linking Yukon and Kuskokwim rivers
The idea of building a road to connect the Yukon and Kuskokwim rivers has been studied for decades, but a new program spearheaded by the state transportation department could finally make the link between Alaska's two longest waterways a reality.
akpub.io
November 25, 2025 at 12:45 AM
Roughly 150 miles inland, where the Portage Mountains rise up from the tundra, Alaska's two longest rivers come within a few dozen miles of each other. This is where the state is looking to potentially establish a corridor for travel, trade and commerce.
What if hatcheries—once thought of as the solution to dwindling salmon runs—are actually an ocean-wide ecological problem?
Explore the ripple effects in Trouble at Sea (thefern.org & alaskapublic.org).
📺 Nov. 25, 7 p.m. on Alaska Public Media TV
📲 Nov. 26 PBS app | alaskapublic.org | YouTube
Explore the ripple effects in Trouble at Sea (thefern.org & alaskapublic.org).
📺 Nov. 25, 7 p.m. on Alaska Public Media TV
📲 Nov. 26 PBS app | alaskapublic.org | YouTube
November 25, 2025 at 12:30 AM
What if hatcheries—once thought of as the solution to dwindling salmon runs—are actually an ocean-wide ecological problem?
Explore the ripple effects in Trouble at Sea (thefern.org & alaskapublic.org).
📺 Nov. 25, 7 p.m. on Alaska Public Media TV
📲 Nov. 26 PBS app | alaskapublic.org | YouTube
Explore the ripple effects in Trouble at Sea (thefern.org & alaskapublic.org).
📺 Nov. 25, 7 p.m. on Alaska Public Media TV
📲 Nov. 26 PBS app | alaskapublic.org | YouTube
Thousands of Alaskans who rely on the federal marketplace for health insurance are experiencing sticker shock as they apply for coverage for the coming year.
Possible end of federal health care subsidies could hit Alaskans especially hard
Thousands of Alaskans who rely on the federal marketplace for health insurance are experiencing sticker shock as they apply for coverage for the coming year.
akpub.io
November 24, 2025 at 11:30 PM
Thousands of Alaskans who rely on the federal marketplace for health insurance are experiencing sticker shock as they apply for coverage for the coming year.
Debbie Sis is a volunteer for the Listening Post, a group that provides a space for people to share their stories with a non-judgmental partner.
Check out Debbie's story here, and meet more people who go above and beyond to strengthen our community at alaskapublic.org/littlebit.
Check out Debbie's story here, and meet more people who go above and beyond to strengthen our community at alaskapublic.org/littlebit.
November 24, 2025 at 11:08 PM
Debbie Sis is a volunteer for the Listening Post, a group that provides a space for people to share their stories with a non-judgmental partner.
Check out Debbie's story here, and meet more people who go above and beyond to strengthen our community at alaskapublic.org/littlebit.
Check out Debbie's story here, and meet more people who go above and beyond to strengthen our community at alaskapublic.org/littlebit.
The Coast Guard’s icebreaker fleet is undergoing a massive expansion, with almost $9 billion for new ships. (via Alaska Beacon)
As the Arctic heats up, the U.S. Coast Guard’s icebreaker fleet is preparing for boom times
The Trump administration and Congress, seeking to improve security, have approved funding for eight icebreakers and are planning even more.
akpub.io
November 24, 2025 at 10:30 PM
The Coast Guard’s icebreaker fleet is undergoing a massive expansion, with almost $9 billion for new ships. (via Alaska Beacon)
The Alaska Bureau of Investigation has launched what it’s calling an attempted murder investigation into the shootings, which occurred late Thursday night and early Friday morning.
Investigation underway over shots fired at ore-hauling trucks near Fairbanks
Officials with Black Gold and Kinross Alaska expressed relief in social media posts that no one was injured in the shootings.
akpub.io
November 24, 2025 at 9:40 PM
The Alaska Bureau of Investigation has launched what it’s calling an attempted murder investigation into the shootings, which occurred late Thursday night and early Friday morning.
Over the past decade, it's become more difficult for commercial halibut fishermen off Alaska's coasts to catch enough halibut to meet their quotas.
Off Alaska's coast, halibut abundance and size pose challenges to fishermen and orcas
Over the past decade, it's become more difficult for commercial halibut fishermen off Alaska's coasts to catch enough to meet their quotas, as the flat whitefish have become less abundant and smaller.
akpub.io
November 24, 2025 at 8:30 PM
Over the past decade, it's become more difficult for commercial halibut fishermen off Alaska's coasts to catch enough halibut to meet their quotas.
Amazon, Google, Meta and Microsoft are set to collectively sink around $400 billion on AI this year, mostly for funding data centers.
Here's why concerns about an AI bubble are bigger than ever
Tech companies are pouring billions into AI chips and data centers. Increasingly, they are relying on debt and risky tactics. Financial analysts are worried there's a bubble that will soon pop.
akpub.io
November 24, 2025 at 7:40 PM
Amazon, Google, Meta and Microsoft are set to collectively sink around $400 billion on AI this year, mostly for funding data centers.
Alaska’s state government is increasingly failing to keep up with requirements in state and federal law.
A legislative auditor said she identified dozens of accounting and compliance issues in her agency’s most recent audit.
A legislative auditor said she identified dozens of accounting and compliance issues in her agency’s most recent audit.
Alaska state agencies are increasingly struggling to comply with the law, auditor warns
Alaska's legislative auditor says her team identified 85 issues in the 2024 fiscal year audit. That’s about double what auditors found a decade ago.
akpub.io
November 24, 2025 at 6:02 PM
Alaska’s state government is increasingly failing to keep up with requirements in state and federal law.
A legislative auditor said she identified dozens of accounting and compliance issues in her agency’s most recent audit.
A legislative auditor said she identified dozens of accounting and compliance issues in her agency’s most recent audit.
"Two Old Women" is an adaptation of Velma Wallis' novel of the same name. Wallis's 1993 book is based on an Athabascan legend and takes place before colonization.
The first screen adaptation of 'Two Old Women' is told entirely in Gwich'in
The film will also be shown at the Anchorage International Film Festival on Dec. 13 at 3 p.m.
akpub.io
November 22, 2025 at 2:10 AM
"Two Old Women" is an adaptation of Velma Wallis' novel of the same name. Wallis's 1993 book is based on an Athabascan legend and takes place before colonization.
The evaporator is the first of its kind in the region, and is powered by methane produced by the landfill instead of natural gas. (via Mat-Su Sentinel)
That plume towering over Mat-Su’s landfill? It’s filtered water from decomposing trash
Soupy black trash water, once trucked south and dumped into Cook Inlet, is now treated and vaporized above the landfill.
akpub.io
November 22, 2025 at 1:10 AM
The evaporator is the first of its kind in the region, and is powered by methane produced by the landfill instead of natural gas. (via Mat-Su Sentinel)
There's less than a month to go before the Dec. 15 deadline to sign up for a plan that begins Jan. 1. If Congress doesn't act before then, some people may have to choose between paying far more than they're comfortable with or forgoing insurance altogether.
These families' health care costs will balloon if Congress doesn't act on the ACA
Millions of Americans face sharply rising costs for health care plans they bought through the Affordable Care Act marketplaces, unless Congress acts soon. Here's what's at stake for them.
akpub.io
November 22, 2025 at 12:45 AM
There's less than a month to go before the Dec. 15 deadline to sign up for a plan that begins Jan. 1. If Congress doesn't act before then, some people may have to choose between paying far more than they're comfortable with or forgoing insurance altogether.
📺 TV Festival is back!
Celebrate 50 years of KAKM with encores of Walrus: Life on This Ice and Ken Burns: The National Parks. We'll be live in the studio sharing what makes Alaska Public Media special and how you can show your support.
Learn more at buff.ly/o82S9jm.
Celebrate 50 years of KAKM with encores of Walrus: Life on This Ice and Ken Burns: The National Parks. We'll be live in the studio sharing what makes Alaska Public Media special and how you can show your support.
Learn more at buff.ly/o82S9jm.
November 22, 2025 at 12:30 AM
📺 TV Festival is back!
Celebrate 50 years of KAKM with encores of Walrus: Life on This Ice and Ken Burns: The National Parks. We'll be live in the studio sharing what makes Alaska Public Media special and how you can show your support.
Learn more at buff.ly/o82S9jm.
Celebrate 50 years of KAKM with encores of Walrus: Life on This Ice and Ken Burns: The National Parks. We'll be live in the studio sharing what makes Alaska Public Media special and how you can show your support.
Learn more at buff.ly/o82S9jm.
The request may turn out to be moot after a federal judge temporarily blocked the deployments to Washington D.C. on Thursday, declaring the use of troops is likely unlawful. (via Alaska Beacon)
Gov. Dunleavy approves deployment of Alaska National Guard to Washington D.C. in 2026
Officials with the National Guard told state legislators about the decision just days before a federal judge temporarily ordered an end to deployments in the nation’s capital.
akpub.io
November 21, 2025 at 11:30 PM
The request may turn out to be moot after a federal judge temporarily blocked the deployments to Washington D.C. on Thursday, declaring the use of troops is likely unlawful. (via Alaska Beacon)
On Nov. 17, Eaglexit members sent a draft of their petition to detach from Anchorage to the Alaska Local Boundaries Commission.
“We feel like we're founders of the Constitution, in our own little area here,” said Eaglexit chair Catherine Margolin.
“We feel like we're founders of the Constitution, in our own little area here,” said Eaglexit chair Catherine Margolin.
Group working to separate Eagle River-Chugiak area from Anchorage gains ground
The Eaglexit movement gained momentum this week when it submitted a draft detachment petition to the state boundary commission. “This is definitely the furthest we've gotten,” says the group’s chair.
akpub.io
November 21, 2025 at 10:30 PM
On Nov. 17, Eaglexit members sent a draft of their petition to detach from Anchorage to the Alaska Local Boundaries Commission.
“We feel like we're founders of the Constitution, in our own little area here,” said Eaglexit chair Catherine Margolin.
“We feel like we're founders of the Constitution, in our own little area here,” said Eaglexit chair Catherine Margolin.
The draft offshore leasing plan includes the Bering Sea, the Gulf of Alaska and other areas important to the fishing industry.
New offshore drilling plan opens almost all federal water off Alaska
The draft plan calls for lease sales in Cook Inlet and the Arctic, as well as the Bering Sea and other regions important to the fishing industry.
akpub.io
November 21, 2025 at 9:20 PM
The draft offshore leasing plan includes the Bering Sea, the Gulf of Alaska and other areas important to the fishing industry.
It's commonly said that Alaska imports 95% of its food, but that number can't be traced back to a verifiable, data backed source.
That figure you’ve heard on how much food Alaska imports? It's not real.
The 95% number has been repeated so often, for so long, it’s become something like conventional wisdom. But experts aren’t convinced it should stay that way.
akpub.io
November 21, 2025 at 8:50 PM
It's commonly said that Alaska imports 95% of its food, but that number can't be traced back to a verifiable, data backed source.
The museum wants to use the bus to tell Chris McCandless' story, while also raising awareness about missing and murdered Indigenous people in Alaska.
The ‘Into the Wild’ bus exhibit is still under wraps as museum searches for funding
That hasn’t stopped people from making the pilgrimage to Fairbanks to try to see it.
akpub.io
November 21, 2025 at 7:45 PM
The museum wants to use the bus to tell Chris McCandless' story, while also raising awareness about missing and murdered Indigenous people in Alaska.
Anchorage’s got plenty to do before the turkey’s in the oven 🦃👇
💼 Job fair (Fri)
🥬 Kimchi Day Festival (Sat)
🧶 Craft Fair (Sat)
🎁 + More markets, music & trivia!
Full list → alaskapublic.org/weekender
#AnchorageWeekender #AnchorageEvents #ShopLocalAK
💼 Job fair (Fri)
🥬 Kimchi Day Festival (Sat)
🧶 Craft Fair (Sat)
🎁 + More markets, music & trivia!
Full list → alaskapublic.org/weekender
#AnchorageWeekender #AnchorageEvents #ShopLocalAK
November 21, 2025 at 6:49 PM
Anchorage’s got plenty to do before the turkey’s in the oven 🦃👇
💼 Job fair (Fri)
🥬 Kimchi Day Festival (Sat)
🧶 Craft Fair (Sat)
🎁 + More markets, music & trivia!
Full list → alaskapublic.org/weekender
#AnchorageWeekender #AnchorageEvents #ShopLocalAK
💼 Job fair (Fri)
🥬 Kimchi Day Festival (Sat)
🧶 Craft Fair (Sat)
🎁 + More markets, music & trivia!
Full list → alaskapublic.org/weekender
#AnchorageWeekender #AnchorageEvents #ShopLocalAK
The Metlakatla fishing rights case stays alive after a judge rejects the motion to dismiss.
Judge denies Southeast Alaska tribes' effort to dismiss Metlakatla fishing rights case
The case challenging the state of Alaska's right to regulate Metlakatla fishermen was headed for trial when a coalition of tribes asked the court to dismiss it.
akpub.io
November 21, 2025 at 5:35 PM
The Metlakatla fishing rights case stays alive after a judge rejects the motion to dismiss.
The sounds could reveal a lot about the mysterious creatures, which are both incredibly vocal and cryptic.
Do you ever hear whale sounds? This biologist wants you to tell him about them
Lately, Fred Sharpe has been focusing on whale noises that can be heard at the surface. He says they're understudied compared to their underwater counterparts.
akpub.io
November 21, 2025 at 4:25 PM
The sounds could reveal a lot about the mysterious creatures, which are both incredibly vocal and cryptic.
Your Anchorage Weekender: Make kimchi, test your trivia skills, shop local and catch live music.
The Anchorage Weekender: Kimchi Day, trivia and 5 more local events
As we head into the holiday stretch, Anchorage is packed with ways to stay busy.
akpub.io
November 21, 2025 at 1:00 AM
Your Anchorage Weekender: Make kimchi, test your trivia skills, shop local and catch live music.
We just launched a new series called Alaska Survival Kit, your guide to making the most of life in the 49th state. Think NPR's Life Kit, but with more advice for Alaska things like wildlife encounters and getting outside.
Our first story: Three tips for embracing winter, even if you hate the cold.
Our first story: Three tips for embracing winter, even if you hate the cold.
3 tips for embracing winter in Alaska, even if you hate the cold
Winter in Alaska is long but that doesn’t mean you need to struggle through it.
akpub.io
November 21, 2025 at 12:44 AM
We just launched a new series called Alaska Survival Kit, your guide to making the most of life in the 49th state. Think NPR's Life Kit, but with more advice for Alaska things like wildlife encounters and getting outside.
Our first story: Three tips for embracing winter, even if you hate the cold.
Our first story: Three tips for embracing winter, even if you hate the cold.
Full benefits were two weeks late, even though the state had emergency funds to prevent that. (via Alaska Beacon)
Alaska didn’t use $5M set aside to fund SNAP during the shutdown even though benefits were late
Officials say the state never used the funds it set aside to keep people from waiting for food benefits because the state’s system had to be reconfigured to use state money.
akpub.io
November 21, 2025 at 12:00 AM
Full benefits were two weeks late, even though the state had emergency funds to prevent that. (via Alaska Beacon)