UPDATE: The National Weather Service has canceled the flood warning for Kalskag.While the river ice in front of Bethel has officially broken up, a flood warning remains in place until the evening of May 7 roughly 90 miles up the Kuskokwim River at Kalskag. An ice jam has sent water over the road connecting the lower and upper sections of the community.

Bethel’s Kuskokwim Ice Classic tripod tripped the clock at 4:10 p.m. on May 5, 2025, marking breakup in Bethel. That’s three days earlier than breakup at Bethel last year.

Seventeen-year-old James J. McMillen died in Bethel after police say a snowmachine he was driving sank in a pond and he was unable to swim to safety late Saturday evening (May 3).

Twenty-six-year-old Fredrick Abraham pleaded guilty to criminally negligent homicide after initially being charged with second-degree murder in the death of 30-year-old Joan Camille in March 2024 near the lower Yukon River community.

Just hours after residents reported ice moving out in Aniak on Wednesday (April 30) evening, a large run arrived from upriver and jammed up just below the community. As of Thursday (May 1) evening, no flooding had been reported.

The pace of breakup remains around five days ahead of the normal schedule, though widespread low water could still lead to ice jams, according to a hydrologist with the Alaska-Pacific River Forecast Center.

Just five days after the official start of breakup in Nikolai, social media reports confirmed the ice had gone out more than 200 miles downriver in Sleetmute and Red Devil. According to the Alaska-Pacific River Forecast Center, that puts breakup around five days ahead of schedule.

Ice in front of the upper-river community of Nikolai broke during the 8 a.m. hour on Tuesday (April 22), according to community reports and confirmed by the Alaska-Pacific River Forecast Center.

The May 7 deadline will change ID requirements for both TSA-screened flights and the small air carriers that serve the region's 56 villages. For residents who must fly to Anchorage and beyond to access medical care and other services, there may be multiple challenges to updating IDs.

A Bethel Police detective has been honored with one of local law enforcement’s highest honors for saving a child’s life. Detective Daniela Cordoba was recognized for her quick action and compassion at a recent city council meeting.