KFSK Midday Magazine

The National Science Foundation is dismantling ocean monitoring programs; a proposed timber project on Prince of Wales Island may threaten subsistence uses; and Petersburg voters could be asked a sales tax question in October.

A look at transboundary mining projects; Ketchikan's school district has more time to pay back millions to the borough; and Petersburg's residents are giving items at the dump a second life.

Dozens of Alaskan candidates kicked off their campaigns Monday; Humpback Whale populations near Glacier Bay National Park are slowly recovering; and Petersburg's Borough Assembly approved several financial changes.

Former governor Bill Walker is considering another run for governor of Alaska, a federally funded program to install thousands of heat pumps has only a few hundred applicants; and a group of canoes launched from Petersburg last weekend, embarking on a Journey to Celebration in Juneau.

State lawmakers voted to increase state unemployment benefits; Alaska Airlines may add a flight from Juneau to Portland; and former Alaska Congresswoman Mary Peltola visited Petersburg this week.

Juneau's Assembly looks at cuts as it tries to balance the city's next budget; state lawmakers passed bills to fulfill federal health care expansion requirements; and an interview with Republican gubernatorial candidate Matt Heilala during his visit to Petersburg.

The Alaska Department of Law has voided regulations aimed at restricting the commercial salmon fishery in the South Alaska Peninsula, or Area M; people living outside of Ketchikan's city limits may lost library access; and the Petersburg Community Foundation this spring awarded the highest dollar amount of grants that it ever has.

Hundreds of people gather to honor Hoonah veterans and their families; Ketchikan developers aim to maximize tourism dollars; and an interview with Republican gubernatorial candidate Click Bishop during his visit to Petersburg.

Juneau's Assembly voted to divest from an expensive gondola project and pay back millions of dollars; volunteers prepare a restored lighthouse for its grand reopening; and some advice for National Safe Boating Week from the U.S. Coast Guard about preventing false alerts.

Alaska's legislature is heading toward a special session focused on a natural gas pipeline; Petersburg's millage rates are increasing; and Norway's ambassador to the United States talked 17th of May traditions during the Little Norway Festival.

A warm summer could make Alaska marine heatwaves worse this year; some Alaskans are concerned about plans to reopen a Canadian gold mine; and a classical music festival is coming to Petersburg this week.

Sitka's childcare system can only serve about half of the children who need it, according to a recent assessment; a 44-acre solar power farm is starting up in Wrangell; and a look at the agenda for Petersburg's Borough Assembly meeting tonight.

A Natural Geographic journalist who is walking around the world plans to sea kayak down the Inside Passage; Skagway opened a space dedicated to sharing its Indigenous culture; and Petersburg locals celebrate a wooden seiner's 80th birthday.

The state House unanimously voted to make the giant green cabbage Alaska's official state vegetable; a Canadian mining company plans to drive a large boat up the Taku River, concerning come Juneau locals; and sport fishing on Blind Slough will open to all anglers this summer.

A crowd gathered in Haines for the reopening of a store that burned down in 2024; Juneau middle schoolers carve and design canoe paddles in class; and Petersburg's first MRI machine now has state approval to start operating.

Ketchikan's school district uncovered an additional deficit of over $4.5 million; a giant landslide tsunami in Tracy Arm last summer was the second-largest on record; and Petersburg's Little Norway Festival happens this week.

Alaska's legislature is asking the federal government for flexibility around a massive healthcare program; a plan to make Juneau's temporary flood wall higher has been scaled back; and a look at Petersburg's track and field meet in Ketchikan.

The Alaska Senate passed its take on the state budget yesterday; interest in the aquaculture industry is growing in Alaska; and a new Petersburg craft store opens its doors.

Lawmakers in the Alaska House unveiled their first draft of the state's capital budget Monday; a bill aiming to stabilize the school budgeting process is making its way through the Legislature; and over 20 people gathered in Petersburg in honor of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Peoples Day.

The estimated commercial salmon harvest this year is about 126 million fish; Juneau's Assembly is trying to figure out what to do with parts from a gondola project; and Wrangell's Assembly is considering giving its school district more money, but there's a catch.

The Alaska Legislature failed to override the governor's veto of an election reform bill yesterday; the window to give feedback on preliminary content for revising the Tongass National Forest Plan ends tomorrow; and a longtime police officer in Petersburg retired last week.

A high school program in Petersburg gives students experience with working with children; Gov. Mike Dunleavy vetoed a bipartisan election reform bill yesterday; and why Petersburg Borough Power Department officials say a potential data center could benefit local customers.

The U.S. Forest Service released a draft environmental impact statement for a Prince of Wales timber sale; federal funding could help Alaska prioritize preventative healthcare; and Sitka's new hospital had a grand opening.

The Alaska Senate passed a bill that would offer a pension system for public employees; hikers still can't cross the international border at the historic Chilkoot Trail; and a look at the Viking Swim Club's season.

A mining company plans to build a dock at Cascade Point, regardless of if the state builds a ferry terminal; Sitka's school district will cut eight-and-a-half positions; and the first draft of the Petersburg School District's budget was presented last week.