Alaska State News

The tribe originally applied for the declaration in January, several months after an October 2025 storm destroyed an estimated 90% of homes and led to the mass evacuation of nearly all of the community’s roughly 1,000 residents.

The Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge announced a 30-day closure for all migratory bird species. The closure will be in effect from June 6 through July 6 and applies to the entire region. The only exception is scoters, which have their own closure from June 11 through July 11.

KYUK’s Evan Erickson spoke with Northern Journal reporter Nat Herz, who traveled to Hooper Bay as part of a broader look at what leaders describe as an unfolding crisis that threatens barge-dependent communities in Western Alaska.

The increase would have been limited to disaster relief during the first 90 days after the storms. It would have covered the bulk of costs related to debris removal and emergency protective measures, costs that the state says reached $20 million in the first weeks after ex-typhoon Halong.

Following reporting by KYUK, ProPublica, and NPR, lawmakers tripled the funding the state would allocate toward school construction and maintenance. The budget increase would still only cover about 13% of what school districts requested.

Those located in the Iditarod Regional Education Area and the Lower Yukon Regional Education Area can now apply for individual and public state disaster relief.

Alaska has seen skyrocketing gas prices driven by the war in Iran. But communities in the western part of the state that have been burning last year’s fuel are bracing for their own crisis as they anticipate what could be an even more drastic spike with the arrival of the first barges of the spring.

Breakup on the Kuskokwim River is closely monitored by a team of specialists — River Watch. But their work is made possible by a larger team of experts — the people who live along the Kuskokwim’s banks.

The Kuskokwim Ice Classic tripod drifted out at 8:00 a.m. on Tuesday, May 12. Two Y-K Delta locals guessed the same lucky number.

An ice jam below Aniak has inundated low-lying areas in the community and could cause further issues as the breakup front works its way towards Kalskag. But National Weather Service Hydrologist Johnse Ostman said he's optimistic about a lower river that is "thermally mushing out and degrading."