Joey Klecka
Digital Reporter/Producer
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Joey is a longtime Alaskan with childhood roots in Eagle River. Having grown up exploring the vast wilderness of Alaska, he has a strong grasp of what makes the state unique.
Joey graduated with a bachelor's degree in Journalism from the University of Alaska Fairbanks and spent eight years covering the sports scene on the Kenai Peninsula.
At Alaska's News Source, Joey worked as producer of the Morning Edition, before taking up a role as digital reporter.
Education
Awards
Updated: Feb. 3, 2023 at 8:24 AM AKST
|By Joey Klecka
No one was hurt in the blaze, according to a Bering Strait School District administrator, who told Alaska’s News Source that the building was a vacant teacher housing unit.
Updated: Feb. 2, 2023 at 8:10 AM AKST
|By Joey Klecka
The earthquake centered about 78 miles west of Anchorage, according to the Alaska Earthquake Center, and hit closest to the community of Tyonek on Cook Inlet’s western shore.
Updated: Feb. 1, 2023 at 2:13 PM AKST
|By Joey Klecka
It’s part of President Joe Biden’s massive 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law that allocated $550 billion in new spending for the country’s roads, bridges and transit infrastructure.
Updated: Feb. 1, 2023 at 9:18 AM AKST
|By Joey Klecka
The statement tweaked previous proposed reports on the sustainability and legality of the project, which would produce hundreds of thousands of barrels of oil per day and billions of dollars in state revenue.
Updated: Jan. 31, 2023 at 8:15 PM AKST
|By Joey Klecka, Elena Symmes and Georgina Fernandez
The Environmental Protection Agency issued its final determination under the Clean Water Act. It’s a victory for conservation groups and a blow to advocacy groups for Pebble Mine, the proposed project in Southwest Alaska.
Updated: Jan. 31, 2023 at 7:04 PM AKST
|By Joey Klecka, Shannon Cole and Carly Schreck
The union representing the drivers, Alaska Teamsters Union - Local 959, announced that all students in the district — a student population of over 18,000 — were dropped off Tuesday morning at their respective schools before the bus drivers went on strike.
Updated: Jan. 30, 2023 at 7:11 AM AKST
|By Joey Klecka
Police said they found a man in an alleyway with a “gunshot wound in his lower body.” Police said he was taken to the hospital and is expected to survive.
Updated: Jan. 27, 2023 at 12:05 PM AKST
|By Joey Klecka and Nolin Ainsworth
The man used a stolen handgun to fire at a police officer after being pinned in his Jeep against a snowbank in a Klatt neighborhood, according to police. The officer did not fire back and was not injured.
Updated: Jan. 26, 2023 at 7:50 AM AKST
|By The Associated Press, Joey Klecka and Lex Yelverton
The new rule will take effect once it is published in the Federal Register, which is expected to happen Friday, said agency spokesperson Larry Moore.
Updated: Jan. 24, 2023 at 5:46 AM AKST
|By Joey Klecka
The district wrote in an online social post that all classes will be canceled in lieu of online learning, with the exception of Glacier View School.
Updated: Jan. 18, 2023 at 6:10 PM AKST
|By Tim Rockey, Joey Klecka and Lauren Maxwell
A polar bear attacked and killed a St. Michael mother and her young son Tuesday in Wales, according to troopers, on the western tip of the Seward Peninsula.
Updated: Jan. 17, 2023 at 6:27 PM AKST
|By Joey Klecka and Carly Schreck
While it’s yet unknown when the avalanche itself came down, Hopp said the train hit the snow field around 2 a.m. derailing the first two locomotive cars and partially derailing a third along the 3,144-foot train.
Updated: Jan. 13, 2023 at 12:43 PM AKST
|By Joey Klecka
Troopers found the remains of two individuals in a house burned the day before New Year's Eve, which they reported as being a total loss. Two people were arrested with one of them receiving nine felony counts.
Updated: Jan. 12, 2023 at 10:25 AM AKST
|By Nolin Ainsworth and Joey Klecka
Anchorage police arrested the suspect after nearly six hours, following a situation with the SWAT and Crisis Negotiation Team in a west Spenard neighborhood.
Updated: Jan. 10, 2023 at 7:04 PM AKST
|By Joey Klecka and Elena Symmes
The department confirmed that Shawnda O’Brien is no longer working as the Division of Public Assistance director effective Jan. 9.
Updated: Jan. 6, 2023 at 8:09 PM AKST
|By Joey Klecka
The governor’s decision follows the banning of the popular social media app, which allows users to upload short edited videos, on a federal level.
Updated: Jan. 4, 2023 at 3:20 PM AKST
|By Joey Klecka and Paul Choate
The crash and subsequent investigation closed all lanes of Arctic for hours. A police spokesperson said Monday morning that the road has been reopened.
Updated: Jan. 3, 2023 at 3:32 PM AKST
|By Joey Klecka
Alaska's first documented baby of 2023 arrived precisely 12 minutes past midnight on Jan. 1, giving an Anchorage couple the title of first baby of the new year.
Updated: Dec. 29, 2022 at 3:24 PM AKST
|By Joey Klecka and Lex Yelverton
The city’s current alert system, Everbridge Nixle, has provided emergency alerts and safety notifications to residents with updates on traffic accidents, criminal activity and severe weather situations.
Updated: Dec. 23, 2022 at 12:54 PM AKST
|By Melissa Frey, Joey Klecka, Paul Choate, Nolin Ainsworth and Joe Bartosik
Although the wind gusts are not as strong, roads in Anchorage and the Mat-Su remain dangerous with icy conditions.
Updated: Dec. 23, 2022 at 8:12 AM AKST
|By Joey Klecka
The airlines said unsafe runway conditions caused by wintry weather is to blame for the cancelations and closure of the runways at Seattle’s airport.
Updated: Dec. 22, 2022 at 9:42 AM AKST
|By Joey Klecka
A 40-year-old Kenai man was one of two people who died in the collision, which troopers say occurred near the Kenai Peninsula community of Clam Gulch.
Updated: Dec. 12, 2022 at 12:37 PM AKST
|By Shannon Cole and Joey Klecka
Residents of a Wasilla neighborhood reported hearing a loud noise and experienced shaking buildings on Sunday afternoon. Authorities said a building was destroyed in the blast and others were damaged as well.
Updated: Dec. 9, 2022 at 11:57 AM AKST
|By Joey Klecka
In a message to parents, the district said a decision on all after-school activities will be made by 12 p.m. Friday.
Updated: Dec. 9, 2022 at 9:59 AM AKST
|By Joey Klecka
A new traffic control tower is scheduled to be built at Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport, replacing the old one that has been in operation since it was constructed in 1977.
Updated: Dec. 7, 2022 at 10:14 AM AKST
|By Joey Klecka
Heavy snowfall around Southcentral Alaska has canceled classes and closed buildings in Anchorage and the Mat-Su.
Updated: Dec. 5, 2022 at 12:23 PM AKST
|By Joey Klecka
While fighting the flames, troopers said firefighters found the Ester woman unresponsive in the house and moved her outside, where they attempted lifesaving efforts, but she was pronounced dead.
Updated: Dec. 1, 2022 at 7:57 AM AKST
|By Joey Klecka
A boy has been charged and jailed in connection to the death of a 12-year-old girl Tuesday night.
Updated: Nov. 29, 2022 at 3:49 PM AKST
|By Shannon Cole and Joey Klecka
A village that was slammed by the remnants of Typhoon Merbok in September lost its only store to an early morning fire on Tuesday.
Updated: Nov. 18, 2022 at 9:41 AM AKST
|By Joey Klecka and Georgina Fernandez
The incident closed the Seward Highway near mile 90 for over 40 minutes as members of the Girdwood Fire Department conducted rescue operations on the mud flats.
Updated: Nov. 17, 2022 at 2:25 PM AKST
|By Joey Klecka
An official said that there had not been any previous concerns reported by others regarding the wire, and that the state does its best to “protect Alaskans free access to the navigable or public waters of the State."
Updated: Nov. 17, 2022 at 11:48 AM AKST
|By Joey Klecka
A Kenai man has been charged with murder following a shooting early Thursday morning that left a woman dead.
Updated: Nov. 16, 2022 at 10:52 AM AKST
|By Joey Klecka
Anchorage Police Department officers responded to reports of a dead body with a gunshot wound outside of a residence on Cantonment Court on Tuesday afternoon.
Updated: Nov. 15, 2022 at 11:29 AM AKST
|By Joey Klecka
Melecio R. Taong Jr., 43, was charged by the Anchorage Police Department with first-degree assault and attempted murder.
Updated: Nov. 14, 2022 at 12:57 PM AKST
|By Joey Klecka
The department said officers responded to a report of a shooting just before 1 a.m. Friday on Chugach Way. Officers said they found a “deceased adult male” lying outside when they arrived.
Updated: Nov. 11, 2022 at 1:33 PM AKST
|By Tim Rockey, Joey Klecka and Lex Yelverton
Investigators at the scene said they believe the plane, piloted by 46-year-old Palmer pilot Joshua Seagrave, clipped a cable hanging over the river that was connected to a property on one side.
Updated: Nov. 9, 2022 at 11:41 AM AKST
|By Joey Klecka
The Department of Justice said three people conspired to help the construction company win military contracts, including one that the department said was related to the “F-35 aircraft program” at Eielson Air Force Base.
Updated: Nov. 4, 2022 at 11:26 AM AKDT
|By Joey Klecka, Maria Downey and Georgina Fernandez
Sheffield, a Democrat, served as governor from 1982 to 1986, when Alaska’s economy was booming from the explosion of oil field development on the North Slope.
Updated: Nov. 3, 2022 at 4:42 PM AKDT
|By Joey Klecka
The Anchorage School District canceled classes Thursday morning as well as all after-school activities. Alaska Pacific University also announced a campus closure.
Updated: Nov. 1, 2022 at 9:18 AM AKDT
|By Jeremy Rolston and Joey Klecka
About 100 to 150 households are still lacking power and an Anchorage contractor is expected to arrive Tuesday to assess the damage and help restore power to those still affected.
Updated: Oct. 31, 2022 at 3:29 PM AKDT
|By Joey Klecka
A vital transportation artery that has rerouted traffic all summer due to road construction has finally reopened after more than five months.
Updated: Oct. 25, 2022 at 10:00 AM AKDT
|By Joey Klecka
Alaska State Troopers say officers responded to the scene at mile 72.5 around 1:40 p.m. Monday on a report of a collision involving two vehicles.
Updated: Oct. 19, 2022 at 11:14 AM AKDT
|By Joey Klecka
Juneau police said the pickup flipped several times and landed in Auke Lake, where it sank in about 14 feet of water. The driver was found dead by divers.
Updated: Oct. 17, 2022 at 2:08 PM AKDT
|By Jeremy Rolston and Joey Klecka
Bethel police have confirmed that the body of a Bethel man missing since September has been found and recovered. No foul play is currently suspected, police said.
Updated: Oct. 14, 2022 at 12:37 PM AKDT
|By Joey Klecka and Tim Rockey
Stevens was the son of Alaska’s longtime late Sen. Ted Stevens, who died in a plane crash in Aug. 2010.
Updated: Oct. 14, 2022 at 8:46 AM AKDT
|By Joey Klecka
Police said the Suburban was driving eastbound on Debarr and had the green light when the two collided.
Updated: Oct. 12, 2022 at 1:52 PM AKDT
|By Joey Klecka
APOC Chair Anne Helzer claimed Wednesday that there was “reasonable cause” to think that finance violations between A Stronger Alaska and the Dunleavy campaign occurred, and set the expedited hearing for Friday on those grounds.
Updated: Oct. 12, 2022 at 12:17 PM AKDT
|By Joey Klecka and Georgina Fernandez
The Fish and Game department said the 2022-23 red king crab season in Bristol Bay was closed due to counts that are below what the department deems sustainable levels, as was the snow crab season in the Bering Sea.
Updated: Oct. 12, 2022 at 8:40 AM AKDT
|By Joey Klecka
The crash saw the driver get partially ejected from the vehicle at mile 38 of the highway, near downtown Wasilla.
Updated: Oct. 6, 2022 at 1:52 PM AKDT
|By Joey Klecka
A 75-year-old man was pulled from the submerged plane after witnesses at the Chena Marina Airstrip reported that “the plane flipped over forward while taxiing at a slow speed.”