Alaska News Nightly: Tuesday, June 9, 2015

Stories are posted on the APRN news page. You can subscribe to APRN’s newsfeeds via email, podcast and RSS. Follow us on Facebook at alaskapublic.org and on Twitter @aprn.

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Budget Negotiators Agree on Per-Pupil School Funding

Associated Press

House and Senate budget negotiators have agreed to fully fund the per-student funding formula for the coming year, as work continues to  reach an overall budget deal.

Coal Lawsuit Results In Little Change

Ellen Lockyer, KSKA – Anchorage

The Sierra Club is claiming a victory for environmentalists opposed to Seward coal shipments.

Coastal Communities Protest Naval Activity in the Gulf of Alaska

Shady Grove Oliver, KBBI – Homer

Several coastal communities, including Kodiak, Cordova, and Homer, have held both land-based and fishing boat flotilla protests over the last few weeks to voice their concerns about planned Navy and joint military training exercises in the Gulf of Alaska.

Rep. Don Young Marries on 82nd Birthday

Liz Ruskin, APRN – Washington, D.C.

Alaska Congressman Don Young tied the knot today, on his 82nd birthday. Young married 76-year-old Anne Walton, a flight nurse from Fairbanks, this afternoon.

NOAA Survey Ships Depart for Arctic

Francesca Fenzi, KNOM – Nome

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration officially launched its Arctic survey season in Alaska yesterday. Two research ships – the Ranier and the Fairweather – will set out from Kodiak to chart the underwater and shoreline topography of the Arctic Ocean.

Wood Bison Get Acquainted With Their New Habitat

Tim Bodony, KIYU – Galena

The first load of wood bison bulls has been successfully released into the wild in the Innoko River valley.

Deciphering the Journey of Bristol Bay Smolt

Molly Dischner, KDLG – Dillingham

Every year, millions of sockeye salmon return to Bristol Bay, headed for spawning grounds in area rivers. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game has counting projects on several rivers throughout the region to give managers a sense of how many fish enter rivers to spawn, but less is known about what happens to outbound juvenile fish each spring. Research teams on three rivers that flow into Bristol Bay have been studying those baby fish, called smolt, for the past few years.

Budget Woes Hurt Small Spuds

Ellen Lockyer, KSKA – Anchorage

The legislative deadlock over next year’s state budget is no small potatoes.  In fact, the Alaska Plant Materials Center in Palmer may soon have to look for alternative funding sources to keep it’s seed potato program going.

Kinetic Energy, A Ball and An Unlikely Path to Art

Anne Hillman, KSKA – Anchorage

An Eagle River man started with a pile of  junk, a roll of wire, and an obsession, and ten years later, ended up with art.

Odess: ‘Sitka Opened Her Arms To Me’

Vanessa Walker, KCAW – Sitka

Big-ticket philanthropy usually goes like this: Charitable organization makes a pitch; donor writes a check. There might be some reports to write, and maybe the donor is invited to a nice lunch. Or at least this is the way it’s supposed to work. Carol Odess , a major benefactor of the Sitka Fine Arts Camp, is an outlier,

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