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.
LISTEN: COVID-19 almost killed this marathon runner. Now he wants Alaskans to take the threat seriously.
Fairbanks resident Greg Finstad was one of the first people in Alaska diagnosed with COVID-19. He says the disease almost killed him and he’s still recovering.
LISTEN: To require masks or not? Food service workers criticized from both sides.
In following Alaska's health guidelines for preventing the spread of coronavirus, service industry workers are sometimes caught between customers who think a business's rules around things like wearing masks are too strict, and those who think the rules are not strict enough.
Palmer police chief suspended after ‘inappropriate’ 2018 posts surface, city says
In Facebook posts that were widely shared over the weekend, the Palmer Police Chief called the Black Lives Matter movement a "hate group" and seemed to question the legitimacy of reports by victims of sexual assault.
Iditarod champ’s long-awaited journey home included old cargo plane, engine trouble and a collision with a deer
Waerner won the race March 18th. But he couldn't get back to Norway because of coronavirus-related, international travel restrictions related to flying his dogs. So he ended up staying with friends near Fairbanks in Ester.
LISTEN: This Alaska bush pilot died in a plane crash. Now his friend who survived wants to honor him.
Researcher Ben Jones says he's compiled a list of more than 100 scientific publications that his pilot friend, Jim Webster, contributed to, and he's seeking an honorary, posthumous degree for Webster from UAF.
Convict released early in California flew home to Alaska a day after testing positive for COVID-19
It remains unclear why prison officials put Duane Fields on a plane to Alaska after he tested positive for the virus. Fields says he was unaware of the test results until days after he arrived.
Charges: Anchorage convict broke quarantine after release from California prison. Then he learned he was positive for COVID-19.
A convicted Anchorage drug dealer, diagnosed with cancer and granted early release from a federal prison in California amid the coronavirus pandemic, is now charged with violating Alaska’s two-week quarantine mandate.
LISTEN: With loosening restrictions, Anchorage gym owner wary of going to full capacity
Billy Crumm, owner of Elite Sports Performance in Anchorage, says even when the gym is allowed to open to 100 percent capacity, their class sizes will stay smaller and they’ll keep other measures in place for the foreseeable future, too.
Alaska News Nightly: Friday, May 22, 2020
Alaska health officials work to train hundreds of new coronavirus contact tracers. And the city of Anchorage follows the state's lead on reopening, with a few more rules.
LISTEN: Alaska fishing charters struggling, as travel restrictions put damper on tourism
Andy Mezirow guides fishing charters out of Seward with his business Gray Light Sportfishing. He also sits on the North Pacific Fishery Management Council, where he's proposed loosening bag limit restrictions to entice more Alaska residents to buy fishing charters.
Alaska News Nightly: Thursday, May 21, 2020
Alaska’s latest plan to get North Slope natural gas to market has environmental approval from federal energy regulators. Also: The state says there's no timeline for bringing back its budget transparency tool. And the commercial Copper River fishery is on pause, with low fish returns.
LISTEN: An iconic Anchorage neighborhood is named after him, but who was the real Joe Spenard?
Public historian David Reamer set out to answer that questions in his latest column for the Anchorage Daily News, and he spoke about it with Alaska Public Media's Casey Grove.
LISTEN: Cellphone tracking gives real-time insight into Alaska’s economic recovery
A UAA researcher discusses what cell phone data is showing us, including what it reveals about people returning to retail locations.
LISTEN: ‘There’s no easy decisions,’ says owner of popular Anchorage restaurants
Snow City Cafe on April 3, 2020 (Lex Treinen/Alaska Public Media)
Alaska’s restaurants, with razor thin profit margins, have been hit as hard as any sector shut down to prevent the spread of coronavirus.
Restrictions...
Ask a Climatologist: A tale of early summer heat, green-up and extreme pollen
Climate researcher Brian Brettschneider says there are some things that stand out about Alaska’s spring and early summer, including the second earliest heat wave in Fairbanks and its astonishing level of birch pollen.
Anchorage to further ease coronavirus restrictions for businesses Monday
The Municipality of Anchorage plans to further ease coronavirus restrictions on businesses like bars and gyms on Monday, allowing them to reopen, following a similar move by the state government that went into effect Friday.
Iditarod DQ’s Lance Mackey for positive meth test during race
Mackey’s 21st place finish in this year’s race will be vacated after the positive test from a sample collected in White Mountain, the Iditarod statement says. Mackey finished the race, his 16th Iditarod, in Nome on March 19.
Anchorage pilot program to provide coronavirus relief for small businesses and renters
City officials said up to 100 eligible small businesses will each be able to apply for $10,000 grants to help sustain them, after the city ordered many to halt operations more than a month ago with the aim of preventing the spread of the virus. The relief program also includes funding to help pay rent for Anchorage residents whose finances have been hit hard by the pandemic, for example, those who’ve been laid off during the economic downturn.
With fewer recreational opportunities, Alaskans flock to state parks
Alaska’s state parks have seen a major uptick in users as snow melts and other recreational opportunities remain limited by concerns over the spread of coronavirus.
LISTEN: Pared down Sikuliaq sailing in Gulf of Alaska maintains research streak
More than two decades of ocean sampling by the University of Alaska-owned-and-operated research vessel Sikuliaq in the Gulf of Alaska will remain uninterrupted by the coronavirus pandemic.