Casey Grove, Alaska Public Media - Anchorage
Casey Grove is host of Alaska News Nightly, a general assignment reporter and an editor at Alaska Public Media. Reach him at cgrove@alaskapublic.org. Read more about Casey here.
Officials arrest ‘drug kingpin’ who’s accused of trafficking drugs from Mexico to Alaska
Federal prosecutors say Miguel Baez Guevara recruited Alaskans through social media and encrypted texting apps to help smuggle drugs to the state from Mexico.
Alaska News Nightly: Tuesday, September 14, 2021
Doctors at Providence say they're overwhelmed with covid patients and are rationing care. Also, Democrats in Southeast question the proposed redistricting maps. And a restaurant in Chicken Alaska plays along with a national fast food ad campaign.
Former Anchorage epidemiologist says mayor’s inability to help with rising COVID hospitalizations ‘doesn’t quite make sense’
Janet Johnston is now senior epidemiologist at the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium. She says it's important for any city to have sufficient hospital capacity, but in Anchorage it's particularly important.
Alaska News Nightly: Monday, September 13, 2021
ustration over the Anchorage mayor's inability to help with rising COVID hospitalizations. Also, scientists work to get rid of an invasive isopod that's been discovered in Sitka and Ketchikan. And scientists spot two groups of right whales near Kodiak.
Alaska News Nightly: Thursday, September 9, 2021
Doctors describe harrowing conditions as Alaska sees day after day of record COVID hospitalizations. And, environmental groups are cheering an EPA decision to try to block the Pebble mine, while Gov. Mike Dunleavy vows to fight federal overreach.
Alaska water can be teeming with Giardia, as this science writer knows well
Giardia are a one-celled creature that get inside mammals — science columnists included — and multiply by the millions.
Anchorage hockey boosters raised the funds, but a lot of work remains for Seawolves to skate again
The University of Alaska Anchorage announced Tuesday it was reinstating the hockey program after a group called Save Seawolf Hockey said it had raised the necessary $3.1 million.
Alaska’s COVID hospitalizations hit another record high
The state health department on Wednesday reported 161 COVID-19 hospitalizations and 801 new coronavirus infections.
Alaska overdoses and deaths rise, as global pandemic overshadows state opioid epidemic
Drug overdoses in Alaska have continued to increase the past three years, and, last year, Alaska had the most opioid overdose deaths ever reported.
Denali Park Road landslide slumping prompts closure and search for long-term fix
Underneath a 100-yard section of road going through Polychrome Pass is a thawing rock glacier, causing the road to slump. And the rate at which it's slumping has increased in recent years, making it harder to maintain for bus traffic —the most popular way for visitors to access Denali National Park.
Come sail away: Bering Strait Festival to open border with Russia in 2022
The seven-day festival is a multi-year effort to bring together residents of the high north from both sides of the strait, some of whom are relatives, and to honor their shared culture.
17-year-old charged in Two Rivers, Pleasant Valley arsons
The boy -- named only as “J.G.” in a statement from Alaska State Troopers -- will be tried as an adult on multiple charges of arson, burglary and criminal mischief, troopers said.
Ask a Climatologist: What is termination dust, anyway?
How do we know what fits the definition of "termination dust?" The answer is: We don't. National Weather Service climate researcher Brian Brettschneider wants to change that.
Alaska to pay ACLU attorneys after losing lawsuit over abortion-related court funding vetoes
The state of Alaska has been ordered to pay nearly $87,000 in attorneys fees to the American Civil Liberties Union after losing a lawsuit over the governor’s vetoes of court funding in 2019 and 2020.
Two Rivers Lodge burns as investigation of string of summer arsons continues
So far, public safety officials have not said arson caused the fire at the lodge, seen completely engulfed in flames in videos on social media. But fire marshals are investigating nine other structures that have burned in the area that they say were intentionally set.
Alaska-based vets reflect on Afghanistan, resurgence of Taliban
The withdrawal of the U.S. military from Afghanistan has been watched closely by veterans of the 20-year war, who’ve expressed a range of emotions and opinions as the Taliban have once again swept into power.
Anchorage inspectors intercept more than 3,000 fake COVID-19 vaccination cards
The counterfeit vaccination cards were found in a shipment from China to the Port of Alaska.
Alaska reports 9 coronavirus deaths and over 1,100 new cases in 2 days
The cases announced Wednesday are the most since December, when infections were decreasing from a peak in November.
Alaska’s share of fatal, small commercial plane crashes growing relative to rest of U.S.
A fatal plane crash near Ketchikan this month has renewed concerns about the number of fatal, small commercial aircraft accidents in Alaska, which, according to an investigation by member station KUCB and ProPublica, is growing relative to the rest of the country.
Anchorage’s new police chief wants department to refocus
Anchorage Police Chief Kenneth McCoy says law enforcement has made progress combating crime in Alaska's largest city, but he says there are also some continuing problems he'd like to see addressed and some ways he thinks the department can refocus.