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Denali Commission Money Survives House
Liz Ruskin, APRN – Washington DC
In Congress this week, the Denali Commission survived another attempt to strip it of federal funds.
Fairbanks Wind Energy Battle Continues
Dan Bross, KUAC – Fairbanks
A Fairbanks based alternative energy company continues to push Golden Valley Electric Association to buy more of its wind power. Alaska Environmental Power operates a wind farm in Delta Junction, and recently teamed with an Anchorage law firm on a report it hopes will sway utility members.
Rep. Guttenberg Looks To Jumpstart Fairbanks LNG
Dan Bross, KUAC – Fairbanks
State Representative David Guttenberg wants to jumpstart Fairbanks’ conversion to natural gas heating. The state is pursuing a public private project to process North Slope gas and truck it to Fairbanks, but Gutenberg says it faces a familiar problem.
Fairbanks Rains Approach Record Levels
Dan Bross, KUAC – Fairbanks
Scattered rain showers are in the Fairbanks area forecast, and any precipitation that falls will add to local totals that have Fairbanks on track to continue breaking wet weather records. The last rain event Monday, a thunderstorm that brought heavy downpours boosted July precipitation even further above normal. The National Weather Service reports that Monday’s thunderstorm dropped 1.13 inches at Fairbanks International where the agency takes its official measurements.
‘Among Wolves’ Details Researcher’s Lifelong Passion
Emily Schwing, KUAC – Fairbanks
Earlier this year, the University of Alaska Press released a book detailing a biologist’s life-long effort to chronicle the lives of wolves that live inside the boundary of Denali Park and Preserve.
Marybeth Holleman was a friend of Doctor Gordon Haber, who was killed in a plane crash in Denali in 2009. Holleman spent the last few years digging through forty years’ worth of Haber’s field notes, journals and even tweets. Holleman has compiled Haber’s work into a new book.
Alaska Native Leader Don Wright Passes Away
Ellen Lockyer, KSKA – Anchorage
Alaska Native leader Don Wright has died. He was 84 when he passed away at home on July 5. Wright was instrumental in developing the tribal lands compensation legislation, Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, signed by President Richard Nixon in 1971. Wright was leader of the Alaska Federation of Natives that year.
AK: Bear Aware
Lisa Phu, KTOO – Juneau
For naturalist Steve Merli, bear education isn’t just about staying alive. The way he sees it, knowing how to behave in bear country allows Alaskans to explore wilderness more deeply.
Merli works with Discovery Southeast, a Juneau organization that connects kids with nature programs.
Earlier this month, KTOO’s Lisa Phu joined campers for a lesson that had some questioning their assumptions about bear encounters.
300 Villages: Palmer
This week on AK we’re heading to Palmer, home to the state’s only musk ox farm. Mark Austin is director of the musk ox farm in Palmer.
