Juneau Independent

As breweries in Alaska adjust to a legal ruling that could allow them to have unlimited live shows, a different sort of industry is also celebrating: musicians. 

Perseverance Theatre had originally planned to bring its newest production, opening in Juneau later this month, to Anchorage. For the past decade, the theater has regularly run productions in both the capital city and Anchorage. But staff say the decision to postpone the latter leg came after a period of financial pressure on the national and local level…( Read full story )

In a Jan. 24 draft decision, the U.S. Forest Service said it would not move forward with constructing the Herbert Glacier cabin due to “the complexity of the cabin location and ongoing capacity challenges.”

A Juneau resident took home a sick mountain goat kid with crusty skin lesions after hiking Perseverance Trail last weekend and contacted the Alaska Department of Fish & Game. Officials say the goat had a highly contagious viral skin infection that can transfer to humans and pets.

Some storefront owners in Juneau spoke out against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement or shuttered their doors Friday as part of the nationwide general strike following recent killings in Minneapolis.

According to the study, published in the journal Landslides in November, news outlets reported 281 destructive landslides between 1883 and 2025 in Alaska.

Juneau high school students are speaking out about how unresolved contract negotiations are affecting them in the classroom.

With almost 700 participants, Juneau’s annual board game convention sold out for a second time this year. Some people traveled from as far as Indiana and Massachusetts to play at Platypus Con. And the weekend-long event stayed open late — until the early morning hours…( Read full story )

What began as a simple solution to an overcrowded online buy-and-sell page has grown into one of Juneau’s most influential community forums.

Fourth Street, between Main and Seward streets, will be closed to traffic between noon and 1 p.m. on Jan. 24 for a rally in front of the Alaska State Capitol, according to an information release from the Juneau Police Department.

Seventeen-year-old Quinn Branch was among the young fishermen socializing at the Hangar on the Wharf ballroom in downtown Juneau on Tuesday evening as part of the Alaska Young Fishermen’s Summit.

More than eight years after 19-year-old Kake resident Jade Williams was killed at a party, a man has been sentenced for causing her death. 

Alaska lost about a third of its U.S. Forest Service employees in the past year due to federal staffing cuts led by the now-defunct Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE. Before that, the agency had around 700 Alaska-based staff. This month, the agency told KTOO that 467 remain.

With the state Legislature starting on Tuesday, Jan. 20, the policymakers from across the state have returned to Alaska’s capital city.

Among the many impacts of the storm, 10 boats sank in harbors across the city, weighed down by snow loads. Juneau Docks and Harbors deployed extra deckhands to shovel boats out before they went under.

The Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska recently launched a new foundation. Its main goal right now is to fundraise for a new education campus in Juneau.

The City of Hoonah declared a local emergency this week following heavy snowstorms in the region.

The roof of the Bill Ray Center, an empty building on F Street in downtown Juneau, collapsed Tuesday following back-to-back snowstorms and rain…( Read full story )

Juneau Mayor Beth Weldon is travelling to Washington, D.C., this week to press federal officials and Alaska’s congressional delegation for funding and coordination on the city’s long-term solution to recurring flood risk from Suicide Basin, even as the capital city grapples with ongoing winter weather…( Read full story )

Dozens of Thunder Mountain Mobile Park residents weren’t able to use their showers or do laundry over the holidays and during recent snowstorms. Wright Services, the company that owns the park, said it won’t be able to repair the main water line until temperatures warm. And warm weather isn’t in the forecast any time soon…( Read full story )

“My Mother’s Bones,” weaves women’s stories through the language of folklore and fairytales. An exhibition by artists Rachel Levy and Alex Bookless, the show debuted at First Friday at the Juneau Arts and Culture Center…( Read full story )

After Juneau residents helped raise more than $1 million this fall, a local boy with a rare genetic disease will be able to receive a potentially life-changing gene therapy in the new year. For the past two years, 4-year-old Cade Jobsisʼs mother Emma Jobsis has been raising money to allow scientists to restart clinical trials that previously showed promising results treating AP4 Hereditary Spastic Paraplegia, or SPG50…( Read full story )

The Alaska Department of Education and Early Development, or DEED, found that the Juneau School District did not provide occupational therapy services to some students that were supposed to receive them last school year…( Read full story )

This week marks six months since 42-year-old Juneau resident Benjamin “Benny” Stepetin was last seen in downtown Juneau.   His brother, Martin Stepetin Sr., said his family and friends haven’t stopped looking for him even during the holidays…( Read full story )

The Juneau School District has begun work on a new five-year strategic plan aimed at guiding the district through academic, organizational and financial challenges ahead…( Read full story )

Some hunters say restricting hunts on does and younger bucks will lead to a more mature Sitka blacktail deer population on Douglas. State officials say the proposed regulations would miss their target…( Read full story )

An Alaska Airlines flight headed from Juneau to Sitka on Monday morning was struck by lightning just before landing. The plane landed safely in Sitka

The Juneau School District Board of Education took another step toward finding a new superintendent.  At a special board meeting Monday, the board approved a contract with a national search firm to find its next leader in a 5 to 1 vote, with board member Melissa Cullum absent…( Read full story )

A group of 14 student athletes from Angoon finally returned home from Juneau Friday morning after a cancelled ferry left them stuck in the capital city for four extra days…( Read full story )

Many retirees tend to spend their leisure time volunteering, reading books, or playing pickleball. But, 69-year-old Jack “Jack Hammer” Duckworth spent his Saturday evening in a boxing ring at Elizabeth Peratrovich Hall, facing an opponent half his age. He was there for the AK Beatdown’s 40th fight night in Juneau…( Read full story )

This week, Thunder Mountain Middle School joined the growing number of schools composting food waste. Before rolling out the program, students in an environmental club led their peers through sorting out their trash and seeing how much of it can avoid the landfill…( Read full story )

By Yvonne Krumrey More than 200 years ago, Lingít and other Alaska Native people waged battles against invading and oppressive Russian colonists in Sitka. To this day, those battles are a symbol of Lingít resistance to colonialism. A Kiks.ádi warrior named Ḵ’alyáan led the attacks, and in 1804 he wore a carved Raven helmet during one of the battles...( Read full story )

In 1959, at a meeting of the American Petroleum Institute, physicist Edward Teller told oil executives that burning fossil fuels would someday warm the planet, melt Arctic ice and raise sea levels. The industry later confirmed the warning in a private report but kept quiet as it continued to expand production. Author Kim Heacox brought this and many stories before a group of about 100 people at Ḵunéix ̱ Hídi Northern Light United Church on Wednesday, Dec. 3. The event, host

Juneau’s Parks and Recreation department began hosting pick-up pickleball three days a week at the Floyd Dryden gymnasium this fall. In the last decade, new players across the country — especially seniors — have been picking up the sport…( Read full story )

The comment period for the first phase of construction of a new ferry terminal north of Juneau ends this Friday.  The state’s proposed Cascade Point Ferry Terminal is slated to be located just beyond where the road ends in Juneau on land owned by Goldbelt Incorporated, a local Alaska Native corporation…( Read full story )

Marc Wheeler has worn a lot of hats in Juneau – from serving on the Juneau Assembly, to founding a beloved Juneau coffee shop and working with youth at Big Brothers Big Sisters of Alaska, he’s no stranger to public service…( Read full story )

Two landslides took out Juneau’s popular Auke Lake Trail in September, causing the City and Borough of Juneau to close it to the public. Now, as trail workers repair it, they say it’s an example of climate impacts on local trails they’ve been seeing more frequently in recent years…( Read full story )

Juneau high school students are getting real-world building experience while creating much-needed affordable homes in the community. That’s thanks to a house build program that’s a partnership between the Juneau Housing Trust and Juneau School District.

City planners are asking Juneau residents to help shape the community’s future as work continues on a major update to the city’s Comprehensive Plan…( Read full story )

As Alaska braces for another challenging budget season, state Sen. Jesse Kiehl, D-Juneau, is calling for realism in Governor Mike Dunleavy’s soon-to-be-released spending plan. Speaking at a Juneau Chamber of Commerce luncheon on Oct. 6, Kiehl said that lawmakers are preparing for difficult financial decisions ahead…( Read full story )

To see Juneau in full color, you need not wait six months until the cloud cover lifts. “Landscapes of Southeast Alaska,” an exhibit by Johanna Griggs and presented by the Juneau Arts and Humanities Council, is at once vibrant and subtle. The show opened at the Juneau Arts and Culture Center on First Friday…( Read full story )

Juneau’s avalanche forecasters are gearing up for winter. The state Department of Transportation and the local electric utility re-installed scientific instruments to help them predict avalanche risk at their largest research site in town…( Read full story )

The University of Alaska will increase tuition for the entire system for a second year in a row, and it’s higher than what its administrators recommended. The Board of Regents approved increasing tuition across the board by 4% next year during a meeting Friday, despite an initial proposal from administrators of only 3%…( Read full story )

Five firefighter apprentices in Juneau received their pins on Saturday, meaning they formally joined the force. The five new recruits are officially EMTs and are welcomed by an understaffed department…( Read full story )

As the federal government shutdown stretches into its second month, federal workers remain furloughed. Now, SNAP benefits are also likely delayed for November.

A beloved maintenance employee at the University of Alaska Southeast starred in a low-budget sci-fi comedy a decade ago. This week, some UAS students screened “Space Trucker Bruce” to honor their friendly campus handyman, and to satisfy their own curiosity.

A $25,000 award will help the tribe upgrade equipment, fund harvests and strengthen food education.

A project meant to bring more than 70 units of new workforce housing to downtown Juneau is dead before it could even break ground. The developer blames the city for stopping it. The city says the project was a risk to public safety…( Read full story )

City officials are working with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to plan the next phase of flood-control work along the Mendenhall River. Mayor Beth Weldon said Corps officials spent an entire day in Juneau last week discussing next steps and funding options for the multi-phase project…( Read full story )

The mayor’s task force on short-term rentals wrapped up four months ago. It was mostly made up of homeowners, not renters. And its findings offered no immediate recommendations on regulations or restrictions for the Juneau Assembly to consider…( Read full story )