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.
Palmer police chief back on the job after ‘inappropriate’ comments about Black Lives Matter
Palmer’s police chief returned to work Monday after a nearly three-week suspension over Facebook posts he made calling the Black Lives Matter movement a “hate group” and, separately, questioning the legitimacy of sexual assault reports.
LISTEN: How the Supreme Court’s ruling on discrimination affects LGBTQ Alaskans
Anchorage lawyer Caitlin Shortell told Alaska Public Media's Casey Grove there are still some loopholes, and now, more than ever, it's important for Alaskans who feel discriminated against in the workplace to know their rights.
Feds drop charges for alleged coronavirus quarantine violation
Duane Fields, 48, is the only person known to have been criminally prosecuted in the state for violating coronavirus quarantine rules. He had been charged with contempt of court for allegedly violating a court order as part of his conditions of release to quarantine for two weeks at an Anchorage hotel.
LISTEN: Alaska DACA recipient cheers Supreme Court ruling, but says the struggle continues
DACA recipient and Anchorage resident HJ Kim says she had been anticipating a ruling from the High Court -- one way or the other -- and had worried she would have to leave her job and be deported to South Korea, where she was born.
Action on Palmer police chief’s protest-inducing statements still pending
Two weeks, one protest and one city council meeting later, and the city of Palmer has made no decision yet on how to handle statements by its police chief calling the Black Lives Matter movement a "hate group" and questioning the honesty of sexual assault victims.
LISTEN: Alaska NAACP activism in early ’80s changed police use of force rules
Anchorage's history of activism impacting local police policy includes the NAACP's efforts toward repealing the "fleeing felon" rule. That said police officers were justified in using lethal force to stop a fleeing felon.
LISTEN: Alaska lacks good data on police killings, researcher says
Researchers wish there was more data to contextualize the rate of police killings in Alaska.
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.