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New snow slows CB 300 mushers
Molly Rettig, KUAC – Fairbanks
A winner in the Copper Basin 300 sled dog race is expected to cross the finish line in Glenn Allen some time this evening. In the lead is Ryne Olson, with just over 20 miles to go. Just a few miles behind her, clustered closely together, are veteran Allen Moore of Two Rivers, Paige Drobny of Esther, and Michelle Phillips of Canada.
Economic forecasters in Anchorage say despite recession ‘sky’s not falling’
Zachariah Hughes, Alaska Public Media – Anchorage
With the state in a recession, many are searching for economic signs of what’s in store for 2017. On Friday the 13th, inside a packed ballroom at a hotel in downtown Anchorage, members of the business and real-estate industries gathered to hear the forecast for Alaska’s largest city.
Alaska’s population increases slightly
Wesley Early, Alaska Public Media – Anchorage
On January 12, the Department of Labor released its 2016 report on population change in Alaska. The population has grown slightly because of births, but people are still moving out faster than they are moving in.
National and Alaska tribal health leader Sally Smith dies
Joaqlin Estus, KNBA – Anchorage
A Yup’ik woman from the Bristol Bay region known as one of the people who created the Alaska tribal health system and a savvy national advocate died Jan. 10. For nearly 50 years, Sally Smith played a key role in transforming an under-funded, under-staffed and ill-equipped health system for Natives into one that is a model for tribal self-governance.
Greenhouse grows inspired young people
Anne Hillman, Alaska Public Media – Anchorage
A new Anchorage greenhouse is sprouting more than seeds – it’s helping young people develop life skills and improve their mental health. Anchorage Community Mental Health Services recently began the new program Seeds of Change.
Mushing, a tradition on the fritz in Bristol Bay
Avery Lill, KDLG – Dillingham
It’s been a few years since communities like Dillingham, New Stuyahok, Ekwok, or Koliganek have been able to host sled dog races, but a few mushers are working to keep alive a tradition that’s declining in the region.
David Cornberg has the last word in “Coming into the Country”
Annie Feidt, Alaska’s Energy Desk – Anchorage
The last person John McPhee talks to in his book Coming into the Country is a man who calls himself River Wind. At the time, River Wind was 32 years old, about to head down the Yukon in a 15 foot aluminum canoe to find a place to live. Forty years later, he goes by his given name, David Cornberg and spends most of the year in Fairbanks.
