Dan Bross, KUAC - Fairbanks
Dan Bross is a reporter at KUAC in Fairbanks.
Hundreds of UAF employees must get their COVID vaccines due to federal funding
UA interim President Pat Pitney announced the mandate Tuesday morning, citing $300 million in recently-renewed or soon-to-be-signed federal contracts.
Man mauled by bear near Cantwell
A cyclist was attacked by a bear in the Cantwell area Tuesday, Alaska State Troopers report.
Episcopal Diocese of Alaska to investigate the history of church-operated boarding schools for Indigenous children
Episcopal Diocese of Alaska Bishop Mark Lattime said the action was prompted by the discovery this summer of unmarked graves where Indigenous children were buried at church-run, Canadian boarding schools.
University of Alaska interim president turns down UAF’s request for broad COVID vaccine requirement
UA Interim President Pat Pitney says an existing system-wide mask mandate and targeted vaccination requirements for some groups at individual campuses are proving effective. Also she expects federal vaccine requirements to soon apply to the university system.
Alaskans have been spotting turkey vultures all over the state this year
“With their bright red, featherless heads, you just can’t mistake them for anything else,” said migratory bird biologist Jim Johnson.
Now you can watch as the Museum of the North readies the ‘Into the Wild’ bus for display
The University of Alaska Fairbanks has moved the “Into the Wild” bus to a UAF engineering building lab for repairs.
Fairbanks police and fire struggle with excessive overtime, burnout and turnover
“I want you to imagine calling 911, saying someone is breaking into your house and dispatch telling you no one is available,” said Andrew Wixon, a Fairbanks police officer.
Work on $55 million bridge over slumping part of Denali Park Road could start next year
The affected stretch of the gravel road is at mile 45 in an area known as Pretty Rocks in Polychrome Pass, where subterranean ice is melting due to climate warming.
Musher Brent Sass kills aggressive bear while moose hunting near Eureka
Brent Sass says the bear chewed up a pair of boots, climbed a tree where he was in a stand looking for a moose and then later showed up outside of his tent.
Two more cases of Alaskapox reported in Fairbanks area
It's the third and fourth known Alaskapox infections.
Fairbanks hospital faces persistent staffing shortages, higher turnover
In hopes of attracting staff as COVID-19 hospitalizations spike, the Fairbanks hospital has created a new temporary part-time position called a COVID relief aide. It's also offering bonuses and hiring incentives.
Fairbanks schools to require face masks as COVID-19 cases climb
The Fairbanks North Star Borough School District Board voted this week to start requiring that everyone in school buildings age 2 and up wear a face mask.
Fairbanks Pioneer Home reports 8 COVID-19 cases over past month
Carolyn Hall said her 78-year-old father is one of the Fairbanks Pioneer Home residents who recently tested positive for COVID-19. “This isn’t just a story about my dad, my loved one, my family,” she said. “It’s about our entire community because you never know when it might be your loved one.”
Fairbanks hospital to require COVID-19 vaccine for staff as it wrestles with full ICU
“It’s really tough right now and I just feel for our employees who are overworked and — to some degree, I think —underappreciated when people don’t look at the science and don’t wear masks and don’t get vaccinated," says the board chair of Foundation Health Partners.
Damaged plane makes emergency landing in Fairbanks after big mid-air drop
A social media post by a passenger said the Wright Air Service Cessna Caravan “twirled upside down twice,” and photos of the plane on the tarmac in Fairbanks show a bent aileron on the aircraft’s right wing.
Champion dog musher Lance Mackey diagnosed with cancer again
Lance Mackey survived throat cancer nearly 20 years ago, prior to racking up four Iditarod and four Yukon Quest wins.
Fairbanks hits 88 degrees, crushing temperature record set more than a century ago
The previous record for Aug. 2 was 85 degrees set in 1919 and 1911.
Labyrinth helps Fairbanks man through chronic pain
Labyrinths have long been used as meditative and therapeutic tools, and a Fairbanks man credits walking and maintaining a labyrinth on his property with helping him cope with chronic pain.
Fairbanks man shoots grizzly bear he says was charging him
48-year-old Robert Wyble said he and his son Kendall and the family dog were hiking Monday in a familiar area past the end of Smallwood Trail near Mile 7 Chena Hot Springs Road when the grizzly sow charged.
Beaver dams burst, blocking Richardson Highway with debris. Twice.
No vehicles were caught in either slide, and in both incidents the highway was cleared and re-opened in about 2 hours. But there’s concern that another such release could result in a more serious outcome.