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The Battle Of Dude Creek
Alexandra Gutierrez, APRN – Juneau
The Dude Creek Critical Habitat Area is an important resting place on their migration route. The rest of the year, the reserve doesn’t look like much. It’s a soggy parcel of land just outside of town. But it’s special to the small community, which asked the state to protect the area 25 years ago. Now, the cranes aren’t the only thing causing a fuss at Dude Creek. The wetlands have become an unlikely battleground in a fight that could decide how millions of acres of sensitive land in the state are managed.
New AFN Co-Chairs Elected
Lori Townsend, APRN – Anchorage
The annual Alaska Federation of Natives convention wrapped up Saturday in Fairbanks. AFN board co-chairs were elected in the morning. Ana Hoffman garnered the most votes.
AFN Attendees Rally For ‘Fairbanks 4’
Dan, Bross, KUAC – Fairbanks
A group of people assembled for AFN rallied Saturday in support of 4 Native men they believe are wrongly imprisoned for murder. George Freese, Eugene Vent, Marvin Roberts and Kevin Pease, are serving long sentences for the 1997 beating of Fairbanks teen John Hartman. The so called “Fairbanks Four” case jumped to center stage last month, when the Alaska Innocence Project filed requests for post conviction relief based on new information showing others are responsible. The call for their exoneration took on a broader voice at the weekend rally.
Legislators Aim To Influence Federal Arctic Policy
Tim Ellism, KUAC – Fairbanks
Climate change is causing Arctic sea ice to melt rapidly and recede, opening up vast stretches of Arctic waters for shipping and resource development. In response, a group of state legislators and others is working on a policy they hope will help shape Alaska’s policy for managing those changes – and influence the federal government’s broader national Arctic policy.
Alaska WWII Vets Visit DC Memorial
Liz Ruskin, APRN – Washington DC
An estimated 1,500 World War II veterans live in Alaska. The generation that fought the Nazis and the Imperial Japanese Army are now in their 80s and 90s. A group dedicated to honoring these Alaskans, The Last Frontier Honor Flight- flew two dozen veterans to Washington, D.C. last week to visit the World War II Memorial.
