Dan Bross, KUAC - Fairbanks
Dan Bross is a reporter at KUAC in Fairbanks.
Vets vent about poor VA care during listening sessions in Fairbanks, Kenai
Alaska military veterans testified yesterday at listening sessions in Kenai and Fairbanks about problems accessing federally funded health care benefits. Interior veterans shared concerns specific to the Veterans Choice Act, as well as more general issues about working with the Veterans Administration.
Download Audio
Potentially exonerating info leaked in Fairbanks Four case
Statements undermining murder convictions of the so called “Fairbanks Four” were briefly published in an on line Fairbanks Daily News-Miner article. The web story, which was quickly taken down by the paper today, shares leaked court documents outlining long sealed statements about the 1997 murder of John Hartman.
Download Audio
Flint Hills refinery asks for looser cleanup standards
Flint Hills continues to push for a less stringent standard for removal of a spilled chemical from groundwater at the company’s shuttered North Pole refinery. Removal of the industrial solvent sulfolane is costing the refinery a lot of money, and opinions differ on how clean groundwater should be.
Download Audio
Yukon king run shows signs of recovery
Chinook salmon continue to swim up the Yukon River, the latest indication that the long ailing run may have turned a corner toward recovery.
Download Audio
24 Apache Choppers To Nest At Ft. Wainwright
The first U.S. Army apache helicopters to be based in Alaska are scheduled to arrive at Fort Wainwright this week. They're part of a new unit that will include 24 helicopters and 400 soldiers.
Download Audio
Doyon Announces New Oil & Gas Prospect Near Nenana
Doyon plans to drill another oil and gas exploration well in the Nenana area. It will be the third the company has sunk into the oil and gas rich basin.
AG Rejects Cook Inlet Gas Facility Sale, Calls for Revision
Alaska Attorney General Craig Richards has rejected the proposed sale of a Cook Inlet natural gas processing facility that’s targeted for expansion to produce more gas for Fairbanks.
Download Audio
AIDEA Shares Info On 16 Interior Energy Project Proposals
The Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority has released some details on proposals to supply natural gas to the Interior Energy Project.
Download Audio
Open Call for Gas Supply Proposals Closes
The deadline for proposals to supply the State lead Interior Energy Project with natural gas was Monday. The Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority is managing the project, and AIDEA spokesman Karsten Rodvik says the state corporation is considering a range of possibilities for getting affordable gas to the Interior.
Download Audio
Proposed Cantwell Hydro Projects Draw Skepticism
Small hydro-electric projects proposed for the Cantwell area are receiving a mixed response. The proposals outlined at a public meeting this week include both dam and river diversion projects.
Download Audio
Yukon King Run Stronger Than Expected
A stronger than expected run of Yukon River Chinook salmon is allowing fishery managers to loosen subsistence harvest restrictions on both the U.S. and Canadian sides of the river. The better-than-anticipated run is still small by historical standards, but may signal that Yukon King stocks are beginning to rebuild.
Download Audio
Under Alaska Management, Mosquito Fork is Open for Business
The federal government has backed down in a long running legal dispute with the State of Alaska over ownership of an eastern interior river. State ownership the Mosquito Fork of the Forty Mile River will open it up to new activity, including mining.
Download Audio
Post-Flooding Gravel Work to Raise Dalton Highway
A contractor is expected to begin work soon building up a portion of the Dalton Highway severely damaged earlier this year by overflow ice and flooding from the Sag River. It’s part of plan to armor the major North Slope oil field supply conduit against future ice and flood impacts.
Wet Weather Gives Wildland Firefighters An Edge
The statewide wildfire response that’s been operating at peak for more than a month is ramping down. Wet weather over areas of the interior has calmed many fires.
Download Audio
Denali Wolf Hunt Nears Opening Despite Low Population Numbers
Wolf hunting season is scheduled to open next month in and around Denali National Park, despite record low wolf numbers. This spring, Park biologists counted fewer than 50 Denali wolves, heightening a long running battle over the popularly viewed animals.
Download Audio
Fairbanks Voters To Decide on 5% Pot Tax
City of Fairbanks voters will consider a 5 percent sales tax on marijuana. The city council has approved putting the proposed retail tax before voters in the October municipal election. The tax is an effort to tap unknown revenue that legalized marijuana sales could provide.
Download Audio
Five Fires Threaten Tanana On the Yukon
Recent rain slowed wildfire growth around the interior, but there are still nearly 2 hundred active blazes, and over twenty staffed fires. The largest response is to a half-million-acre complex of fires near Tanana. Managers expect suppression and demobilization to take weeks.
Download Audio
Fairbanks Police Launch Website to Crowdsource Tips on Cold Cases
The city of Fairbanks has launched a new web page to share and generate information about unsolved murder cases. Local police are tracking cases ranging from months to decades old.
Download Audio
Rain Helps Slow A Vigorous Fire Season In the Interior
Areas of the Interior have received rain in recent days, helping to slow wildfires that have charred more than 4.7 million acres, and fire season is far from over.
Download Audio
Sled Dogs Safe, But Musher Stays To Protect Fire-Threatened Homestead
Yukon Quest champion Brent Sass remains at his wildfire-threatened compound in Eureka, but his dogs are safe in Fairbanks.
Download Audio