Capt. Andrew Merrill, commander for the Alaska State Troopers massive C Detachment, said that he is happy to be back in Bethel as part of a push by the agency to make rural Alaska a priority.

In Bethel Superior Court on Nov. 14, Arthur Heckman Sr. admitted to concealing municipal ballots and directing officials to not hold an election. He faces five years of probation.

A man died in Emmonak early on Nov. 13 after he was stabbed while trying to force entry into a residence, according to Alaska State Troopers.

Internet and mobile service provider GCI says that it’s completed a major step toward bringing fiber-optic internet to the lower Kuskokwim Delta. The collaborative network will span hundreds of miles, and could bring faster, cheaper internet to homes by early next year.

The Newtok Village Council has decommissioned the village, deeming it too unsafe to live in. Nearly 90 people will move to higher ground this month, and they’re scrambling to take what they can with them.

Nick Begich III now has 49% of first-place votes to U.S. Rep. Mary Peltola’s 46%, while Ballot Measure 2 is passing by a margin of 1 percentage point.

For decades, King Cove’s roughly 800 residents have called for a road they say could save lives in emergencies. Neither city has a hospital, so residents rely on medical evacuations to reach Anchorage for urgent medical care. The Biden administration last week endorsed the proposal, recommending a land exchange with King Cove’s Native corporation so the road can be built. But that road would go through a federally protected wilderness area. While residents argue it’s a matter of life and death, environmental advocates say the road could threaten vital wildlife habitat — and set a dangerous precedent.

The Associated Press announced Wednesday that Trump, a Republican, has taken Alaska and its three electoral votes. The majority of Unalaskans voted in his favor. He received about 55% of the vote Tuesday. Some questioned ballots still need to be accounted for, but not enough to turn the island’s presidential choice blue.

The Bering Sea’s biggest and most lucrative crab fisheries opened last week, and so far, fishing is looking good.“Fishing has been very good for the [Bristol Bay red king crab] fleet this season and the crab delivered so far has been of high quality — new shell, large size, good meat-fill,” said Alaska Department of Fish and Game Area Management Biologist Ethan Nichols.

Charges against the young man involved in a fatal 2019 Unalaska car crash have been reduced, more than four years after he was originally indicted.Dustin Ruckman, who is now 23 years old, was originally charged in 2020 with two counts of manslaughter, two counts of criminally negligent homicide and one count of reckless driving. He now faces just two counts of criminally negligent homicide.