The state of Alaska has finally secured the funding it needs to replace a couple aging bridges on the Alaska Highway, and this year's Iditarod champion just won the Kobuk 440 sled dog race.

The State of Alaska has finally secured almost $109 million in federal funding to replace two aging bridges on the Alaska Highway.

Mined metals rival Alaska seafood as top exports from the state, according to a state Department of Labor analysis. // An Alaska House committee last week inserted a roughly $3,800 Permanent Fund dividend into its latest draft of the state budget. But that figure is far from final.

Dark and starry night skies won’t disappear entirely from Fairbanks as days get longer this spring and summer.

Three of Alaska’s key shipping companies are set to hike rates as fuel prices skyrocket amid the war with Iran. // The University of Alaska Fairbanks announced its opening the Interior’s first planetarium to the public later this month. // A federal judge last week dismissed a class-action lawsuit filed against the Alaska Office of Children’s Services. // A Harvard law professor weighs in on oral arguments about birthright citizenship in the U.S. Supreme Court putting Native Americans in the spotlight. // An Alaska Public Media reporter provides some context for Mary Peltola’s campaign messaging in the race for U.S. Senate.

Meanwhile, administrators insist the center is growing and becoming more community-focused.

Dan Bross and Rick Thoman talk about the record cold March, and Fairbanks record cold winter.

Recent controversy over reports of cutbacks at UAF's primary research institute for Alaska Native languages drew the attention of state lawmakers this week. // The Fairbanks borough has the highest residential vacancy rate in the state. That should be good for renters, but it isn’t that simple. // Alaska lawmakers are considering two bills that would eliminate the need to change our clocks twice a year. // University of Alaska staff voted to form a union. The Coalition of Alaska University Employees for Equity will be the UA system's largest union. // The federal government has announced that it’s giving Alaska $109 million to help pay for replacing two old bridges on the Alaska Highway.

A look inside the community with the state’s highest rental vacancy rate shows what that data point can capture – and what it can’t.