Alaska State News

Higher than normal snowpack and ice thickness, among other factors, have created heightened risks in 2026 for much of the Yukon River, the Tanana River, and the lower Kuskokwim River, according to the Alaska-Pacific River Forecast Center.

Bethel musher Pete Kaiser pulled into the Cripple checkpoint on March 12 with 13 dogs on the line.

The 36-year-old former state representative from Sitka says the state’s core problems come down to Alaska not getting its “fair share of our oil resource.” He’s one of three Democrats vying against a dozen Republicans and two independents in the race to be Alaska’s next governor.

In his address to the Alaska Legislature on March 10, U.S. Rep. Nick Begich III spoke to the region’s lengthy road to recovery and responded to comments from state Rep. Nellie Jimmie about the toll that ex-typhoon Halong has taken on communities she represents.

Indigenous dog mushers have strong historical and cultural ties to the Iditarod. This year, two of the top contenders are Alaska Native former champions, and three of the rookies are also Indigenous.

The Yukon-Kuskokwim Health Corporation announced that Dan Winkleman will be leaving and named an interim leader.

The funds come after the U.S. Secretary of Commerce declared a disaster for the 2021 subsistence fishery and set aside roughly $570,000. Eligible households are those whose ability to access subsistence salmon from the Kuskokwim River drainage was impacted as a direct or indirect result of the fishery disaster.

Nicholas Tucker Jr., 49, has been convicted of felony assault and sentenced to serve 12 and a half years in jail for the July 2025 incident in which the girl lost her arm.

This weekend, Kaiser will embark on the 1,000-mile trek from Willow to Nome for the 54th running of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race.

After Richard Pitka pleaded guilty to manslaughter, a Bethel judge sentenced him to 20 years in jail, with five years suspended for the shooting and killing of Russian Mission resident Patrick Changsak in his home.