This week we check out some year-round skiing — atop a glacier — and meet a running pro who kicked breast cancer and now kicks butt. We’ll visit Dillingham, where the Little League isn’t always so “little,” and Juneau, where it takes a whole town to play one game of football. And what happens when your toddler’s favorite new sport involves crushing small things with large trucks?
Tune in this weekend on most APRN stations statewide (check our usually-accurate listings here), or subscribe to our podcast.
Glacier Skiing
Top skiers from Alaska Pacific University — including Becca Rorbaugh, Taz Mannix, Olympian James Southam, and Coaches Erik Flora and Frode Lillifjell — aren’t letting summer ruin their wintertime fun. APRN’s Annie Feidt joined them at a week-long training camp… on snow. And they didn’t have to travel very far to find it.
- Music Button: “The Games” by Pamyua from “Caught in the Act”
The Games: WEIO
The World Eskimo Indian Olympics (WEIO) began in Fairbanks in 1961. Last month, for the first time, the games were held in Anchorage, where 120 athletes flocked to the Sullivan Arena to test their strength, agility and endurance. AK host Rebecca Sheir gets a post-game analysis from WEIO Board Chair Perry Ahsogeak.
- Calendar of Events: AK’s weekly look at upcoming events around the state. (Song: “Rock and Roll, Pt. 2” by Gary Glitter from The Ultimate Gary Glitter – 25 Years of Hits)
- Break: “Heavy Action (Theme from Monday Night Football)” by Johnny Pearson from Heavy Action (Theme from Monday Night Football) – Single
Marathon Woman
Anchorage triathlete, coach and mother Lisa Keller owns Multisport Alaska. She helps athletes beat their personal records every year. This year she helped a bona fide non-athlete cross the finish line of her first marathon. Katie Hecker has the story of her unlikely 26.2-mile journey.
- Music Button: “Runnin’ Down a Dream” by Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers from Full Moon Fever
Touching Down in Juneau
The Juneau-Douglas Crimson Bears just kicked off their football season. AK’s Scott Burton speaks with the team, as well as Coach Bill Chalmers and Offensive Coordinator Rich Soros, to see what it takes to toss the pigskin on an island in the heart of a temperate rainforest.
A School of Salmon
Traditionally, school children in one of the state’s richest salmon regions were condemned to eat farmed fish on Fridays. But as David Henderson tells us, lunch lady Patty Luckhurst decided to change that – with help from Peter Pan Seafoods manager Norm Van Vacter and Sonny Leveque’s “Open Line” show on KDLG.
300 Villages: Nuiqsit and Platinum
- Break: “Take Me Out to the Ballgame (Original Composition Inspired by the Music of Tim McGraw)” from Pickin’ On Tim McGraw: The Bluegrass Tribute, Vol. 2
Toddler Truckin’
Commentator Jonathan Bower knows someone who’s obsessed with hard-driving, four-wheeled vehicles: his toddler son.
- Music Button: “Truckin'” by Grateful Dead from American Beauty
Dillingham Little/Littler League
In Dillingham, Anne Hillman discovers what it takes to play Little League in a little town.
Alaska Baseball League
Every summer, dozens of college baseball players travel from Outside to hone their skills in the Alaska Baseball League. This year, Palmer’s Mat-Su Miners teetered on the brink of an Alaska League first place. AK’s Ellen Lockyer attended their final game of the season, and spoke with pitcher Max Peterson, hitter Joey August, player Chris McMurray and general manager Pete Christopher.
Your Comments & Letters
A semi-regular segment featuring your two cents about the show. To send in your comments and letters, email us at ak@aprn.org. (Music: “Do Nothing Till You Hear From Me” played by John Pizzarelli from One Night With You – The John Pizzarelli Collection)
- Closing: “We Are the Champions” from A Guitar Tribute to Queen
