Alaska State News

Yuut Elitnaurviat, the vocational center serving the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, is under new leadership after Executive Director Mike Hoffman recently retired. Yuut Elitnaiurviat says it could not be in better hands with his replacement – a household name across the region and the state.

Last week, three Alaska drag queens traveled to the bush to perform in Bethel’s first-ever drag show. The Pride event bridged Native culture with the modern art form featuring an all-Indigenous cast.

Students from Mertarvik have been documenting the impact climate change has had on their lives through writing and photographs. A group of Mertarvik students traveled to New York City earlier this year to see their work on display.

The coastal New England town of Provincetown, Mass. and the Bering Sea coastal village of Mertarvik are just about as far away as two places can be in the United States. But students in both communities have common ground in growing up in a rapidly changing climate.

The civil suit filed in Bethel Superior Court on July 18 alleges negligent actions by hunting guide Bruce Werba and two companies under Werba’s control caused Eugene "Buzzy" Peltola Jr.’s death.

The July 17 event not only marked the anniversary of the death of a civil rights icon, but also the death of the main source of public radio funding for Alaska.

Tribal nations and rural communities rely the most on federal funding for public broadcasting. More than just dollars and jobs, they stand to lose an essential source of local news and connection.

Racers swam, biked, and ran their way through Bethel’s first triathlon on July 12, centered around the community pool. But while athletes say it was Bethel’s first traditional triathlon, the three-sport race has a history in the community.

Despite unfinished business in the Alaska Legislature, school districts across the state have reached the deadline to submit the operating budgets that will carry them into 2026. Most of the sprawling districts that serve the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta say they have already planned for the worst.

Naneng’s former boyfriend, 24-year-old Edward Atcherian, has been charged with second-degree murder for Naneng’s death and is currently being held at the Yukon Kuskokwim Correctional Center in Bethel.