Alaska State News

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."

For many on the Y-K Delta, the breakup of the Kuskokwim River is the official indicator of spring. Waiting for breakup is a collective experience, as is the community's annual game of guessing exactly when that will happen.

The Senate Committee on Indian Affairs and chair U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski visited Bethel this week to hear directly from tribal leaders and agency heads about the federal government’s response to ex-typhoon Halong and the path forward. Testimony showed that the need for better planning and cooperation between tribes and agencies is immediate.

Across the country on May 5, communities gathered in honor of Missing and Murdered Indigenous People. On the Y-K Delta, where several such cases remain unsolved, dozens took to the street to march in support.

The city of Marshall says multiple families have received precautionary vaccinations after multiple community members handled puppies that had been living alongside a dog that later tested positive for rabies.