State Troopers are investigating a death in the Aleutian community of Akutan.

Simon Gatpan, 31, of Santa Clara, California, was found unresponsive on a beach near the Trident Seafoods plant Saturday morning, and was transported to the Akutan clinic, where he was pronounced dead.

Trooper spokesperson Beth Ipsen says he was an employee of Trident Seafoods, but she couldn't provide any details about the circumstances of his death.

A fisherman who died after ending up in the water on Friday has been identified by the State Troopers as 46-year-old Marvin Love Jr, of King Cove. Trooper spokesperson Beth Ipsen says Love was first reported missing around 6 am Friday.

“We got a report saying that there’s actually two people on this fishing vessel, Taurus, and the one crew member woke up and couldn’t find his skipper, and reported him missing.”

Courtesy of Nancy Heise

When the Tustumena ferry went in for repairs this winter, it was supposed to be fixed up in time for the 2013 season. But as KUCB's Lauren Rosenthal reports, it’s still not ready.

That's forced the Alaska Marine Highway System to cancel service to western Alaska for the entire month of June. 

This month, Alaska’s legislature wrapped up one of the most productive sessions in recent memory, passing 71 bills and a capital budget before gaveling out on time. It’s no exaggeration to say that the laws that were created during this session could drive the future of the state.

It was Rep. Bob Herron's first session legislating for the Aleutian and Pribilof islands, along with the Bethel region. He spoke with KUCB's Lauren Rosenthal to recap the year.

Courtesy of Nancy Heise

As the Alaska Marine Highway System approaches its 50th, anniversary, the ferry is struggling with its identity. Under intense pressure to cut costs, the ferry’s managers are trying to get back to basics -- transporting Alaskans and their freight.

That’s why the state is trying to phase out wildlife naturalists, on all ferry routes. As KUCB’s Lauren Rosenthal reports, it’s not clear what that means for riders.

The Obama Administration released its final plan for managing the nation’s oceans Tuesday. The National Ocean Policy has been in development for several years, and a draft stirred up controversy because of provisions related to marine spatial planning or ‘ocean zoning,’ as opponents have dubbed it.

The remote island of St. Paul lost its radio weather service Tuesday. Dave Snyder, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Anchorage, says technicians aren’t sure why the signal stopped broadcasting.

Usually, the FM station plays weather and ice forecasts from the National Weather Service, along with special alerts for severe storms. Crab fishermen use that information when they’re fishing off St. Paul and St. George.

The Alaska state legislature passed the one of the smallest capital budgets in recent years before closing the session on Sunday. Unalaska secured more than $7 million, but some other communities in the region came up empty-handed.

Unalaska's water and wastewater treatment projects each received a little over $3 million, and in a last-minute addition to the House version of the budget, the city also secured $1 million to purchase a fourth engine for the powerhouse. City manager Chris Hladick says that’s not as much as the city had hoped.

“Our original request was $5 million, but the total cost of the project is $7 million. So that leaves us with about $6 million we’ve got to figure out how to finance," Hladick says.

Cobra Dane/Missile Defense Agency

A missile-detecting radar array on the remote Aleutian island of Shemya has been spared from sequestration.

Facing half a billion dollars in budget cuts, Reuters reports the Air Force decided earlier this year to reduce operating time for the system in order to save roughly $5 million a year. But last week, General William Shelton announced a reversal of that plan, citing concerns over North Korea.