Dan Bross, KUAC - Fairbanks
Dan Bross is a reporter at KUAC in Fairbanks.
Interior Tourism Expecting Boost In 2015
More visitors are expected to head to Fairbanks in 2015. Interior tourism operators got a preview of prospects for the upcoming season during a recent conference in Fairbanks. Most of the expected visitor increase is tied to cruise ship and airline industry changes.
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Alaska Railroad Seeks Approval To Move LNG
The Alaska Railroad is among a few across the country seeking first ever approval to transport liquefied natural gas.
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Lawmakers Skeptical Of State’s Plan To Buy Fairbanks Natural Gas Utility
Governor Bill Walker’s latest move to advance the state backed Interior Energy Project with the purchase of a private natural gas utility is expected to expand availability and lower the price of gas in Fairbanks.
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Cook Inlet Gas Considered To Relieve Interior Alaska’s Energy Costs
State and local leaders are trying to determine if natural gas from Cook Inlet gas is viable option for Interior’s need for a lower cost, cleaner energy source. At issue are some of the same costs that derailed an earlier focus to bring in North Slope gas.
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Park Service Considers Banning Some Pack Animals
The National Park Service is out with an annual list of temporary restrictions and rules, and one of the proposed regulations would ban certain types of pack animals from parks.
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Bill Would Set Up Compensation Program For Wrongfully Convicted
Fairbanks Democratic State Representative Scott Kawasaki has pre-filed a bill that would set up a system for compensating people wrongfully convicted of crimes.
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UAF Anticipates Cutting Over 200 Jobs
The University of Alaska Fairbanks anticipates cutting between 200 and 250 jobs this year. That from UAF Chancellor Brian Rogers, who in an address to the Fairbanks Chamber of Commerce yesterday focused on the affect of slumping oil prices on state funding for the university.
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New Regulations Unlikely To Change Coal Ash Disposal In Alaska
The Environmental Protection Agency recently issued the first ever federal standards for the disposal of coal ash by electric utilities. The toxin containing ash has gotten national attention in recent years due to spills in the Lower 48, but the situation is different in Alaska.
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Alaska Skiers Placing Well In National Championships
Alaska skiers continue to post top results at the U.S. cross country ski championships in Michigan.
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UAF To Field Wildfire Crew
The University of Alaska Fairbanks will field a wildfire fighting crew. The tram will be staffed by students in a wild land fire science program.
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Poor Air Quality Raising Health Concerns In Fairbanks
Areas of Fairbanks and North Pole suffered poor air quality this a week as cold stagnant air allowed smoke from wood burning and other combustion to accumulate. The situation is nothing new and the focus of state and local plan to clean up the air. Fine particulate pollution is a known health hazard, and that’s confirmed in a locally produced report.
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UAF Shooting Death Ruled Suicide
A shooting death at the University of Alaska Fairbanks earlier this month has been ruled a suicide.
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Orphan Bear Cubs Find A Home Outside
A permanent home has been secured for two black bear cubs rescued last month. The animals are being temporarily housed at the Alaska Zoo in Anchorage, but they’ll soon be headed Outside.
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University President: Budget Cuts Will Require Downsizing to ‘Core’ Missions
University of Alaska President Pat Gamble is anticipating budget cuts that will force the institution to downsize, and focus on its core missions. Gamble plans to retire at the end of the 2015 school year, but he’s looking beyond his tenure to help the university prepare for the future.
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Governor Walker Shares Upbeat Message With Fairbanks
Governor Bill Walker is striking an optimistic tone despite tanking oil prices that are reducing state revenue. Speaking to the Fairbanks Chamber of Commerce Tuesday, Walker pointed to opportunity.
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UA President Announces Retirement Date
University of Alaska President Pat Gamble will step down at the end school year. Vice President of University relations, Carla Beam says Gamble announced his plan to retire June 1st 2015, to UA Regents, during an executive session Friday.
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EPA To Use North Pole Air Data
The Fairbanks area continues to struggle with fine particulate pollution from wood smoke and other sources. Wintertime air inversions trap emissions at ground level, dropping air quality below federal Clean Air Act standards. Much of the North Star Borough is classified a federal non-attainment area by the Environmental Protection Agency, based on air quality monitoring in Fairbanks, but the EPA plans to begin using monitoring data from North Pole, where pollution is typically much worse.
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University of Alaska Regents Approve Tobacco Ban
The University of Alaska Board of Regents has approved a policy banning smoking and other tobacco use on its campuses statewide.
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‘Sandbar Mitchell’ Restoration Takes New Approach
Restoration of a World War II bomber salvaged from a Tanana River sandbar will benefit from a similar relic in Nome. Some of the parts needed to restore the plane known as “Sandbar Mitchell” will be come from another B-25 that crashed in Nome over 70 years ago.
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DEC Gets Feedback on Fairbanks Air Quality Plan
State Department of Environmental Conservation officials have been in Fairbanks this week sharing information and taking public feedback on a plan for getting the area into compliance with federal air quality standards.
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