Dan Bross, KUAC - Fairbanks
Dan Bross is a reporter at KUAC in Fairbanks.
Fairbanks Area Sees Heavy Rainfall, Flooding
The Fairbanks area has seen some impressive rainfall over the last few days. National Weather Service meteorologist John Lingass reports 2 to 3 inches around Fairbanks, and 3 to 4 inches over the hills northeast of town. The heavy rains are causing flooding along rivers.
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New Placer Mining Permits Proposed
Interior miners aren’t happy with changes proposed to federal permits for small scale placer operations that impact water resources, including wetlands. Dozens of miners attended an Army Corps of Engineers public meeting in Fairbanks this week on the proposals.
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Parnell Announces New Agreement With TransCanada
The state and TransCanada Corp. have formally ended their relationship under terms of the Alaska Gasline Inducement Act. Governor Sean Parnell shared the news in an address to the Fairbanks Chamber of Commerce on Tuesday.
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DEC Works To Contain Fuel Spill on Dalton Highway
Water is being used to flush fuel out of the tundra, where a tanker truck rolled off the Dalton Highway earlier this month. The Nana Corporation truck is estimated to have leaked in excess of 2,500 gallons of fuel near milepost 299, about 110 miles south of Deadhorse.
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Steel Creek Fire Draws Speedy Response
A new Fairbanks area wildfire drew a major response last night. Alaska Division of Forestry information officer Sam Harrel reports that ground and air resources were tapped to attack the Steel Creek Fire, near mile 4 Chena Hot Springs Road.
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Right-Wing Lt. Gov. Candidate Vies for A Ballot Slot
A Fairbanks woman is part of a team trying to get a new party on the Alaska ballot. Maria Rensel is running as an Alaska Constitution Party candidate for lieutenant governor. Resnel says the campaign is all about breaking up the lock Republicans and Democrats have on Alaska politics.
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Crews Making Progress On 100-Mile Creek Fire
Mangers of the 100-Mile Creek Wildfire response are bracing for high winds. A Red Flag Warning is in effect for the 23,000 acre fire west of Delta Junction from noon to midnight, calling for south winds gusting to 35 miles per hour, and humidity in the 25 percent range. Over 500 firefighters are assigned to the blaze and Fire Information Officer Sarah Sarloos says a lot of work has been done.
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Fairbanks Assembly Passes Truancy Ordinance
The Fairbanks North Star Borough assembly passed a truancy ordinance last night. The ordinance lines out local policy addressing chronic unexcused absence from school including fines for repeated offenses.
Air Force Considering Transfer Of HAARP Facility To UAF
The Air Force has paused a plan to demolish the HAARP facility, as it reconsiders options for transferring its ionospheric research infrastructure near Gakona to another entity. That could be the University of Alaska Fairbanks.
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Utah Official Advocates For Land Transfer In Alaska
Alaska is not alone in its conflicts with the federal government over land management. Leaders in some Lower 48 western states want Alaska to join an effort to gain control of federal lands within their borders.
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Exxon Mobil Developing Point Thomson Into Natural Gas Field
The first natural gas targeted development project on the North Slope is expected to come on line as early as next year. The Pt. Thompson Field is being developed by Exxon Mobil, 60 miles east of Prudhoe Bay.
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Canadian Man Embarks On 6,700 Mile Horseback Trip
A Canadian man started a horseback trip from Deadhorse to Mexico on Tuesday. Rider Len Crow is embarking on the 6,700 mile journey to raise money for orphanages, including a facility in Guadalajara, Mexico, where his ride is scheduled to wrap up in 11 months.
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Prescribed Interior Burn Extends To Over 6,000 Acres
On the Kenai Peninsula, rain over the weekend helped further knock down the Funny River fire, but in Interior Alaska, a wild fire in the Delta Junction area gained major acreage over the weekend. The 100 Mile Creek Fire, sparked by an earlier prescribed burn on military land, went from about 700 acres to more than 6,000, as high winds fanned flames.
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Research Center to Monitor Acid Levels
Remotely operated vehicles will be plying Prince William Sound and the Gulf of Alaska this summer, measuring acid levels. The float and glider vehicles are the latest technology deployed through a long running monitoring project overseen by University of Alaska Fairbanks Ocean Acidification Research Center Director Jeremy Mathis.
UAF Expecting Over $12 Million Budget Deficit
A University of Alaska Fairbanks committee is recommending cuts to close an expected 12 to 14 million dollar FY 15 budget deficit. The Planning and Budget Committee was charged with developing options to address rising costs and decreased state funding.
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Cannabis Entrepreneurs Preparing For Potential Legalization
Alaska’s marijuana ballot initiative has some Fairbanks entrepreneurs organizing in hopes of being able to grow and sell the drug. Proposition 2 would have the state regulate marijuana like alcohol.
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State Finds No Health Impacts From Aurora Energy Plant
An analysis by the state finds no health impacts from coal ash and dust from the downtown Fairbanks Aurora Energy Plant. Particulates from the facility drift onto properties in the surrounding neighborhood, but the state report dispels health concerns.
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State Files Fairbanks 4 Response
The state has filed a response to petitions for post conviction relief for the Fairbanks four. The four men, George Frese, Kevin Pease, Marvin Roberts and Eugene Vent were convicted of the 1997 beating death of John Hartman, but continue to profess their innocence. Last fall the Alaska Innocence Project filed new information in the case that points to others being responsible for the killing. The state response indicates it so far is not convinced, but it has requested an evidentiary hearing.
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Memo Underscores Confession In Fairbanks 4 Case
There’s new evidence challenging the long contested murder convictions of 4 Native men in Fairbanks. The information was provided to the court by the Alaska Innocence Project, in its effort to free the men known as “The Fairbanks 4”.
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Troopers Maintaining Presence In Tanana
Alaska State Troopers are maintaining a presence in the village of Tanana. Trooper spokeswoman Megan Peters says Troopers do not have a post in the village and the assignment of officers there is temporary.
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