Emily Schwing, special to Alaska Public Media

Cases of West Nile virus are on the rise in the United States. This year, every state in the country, except Hawaii and Alaska, have recorded cases of the mosquito borne illness, which is carried by birds. Alaska has never documented a case of the sometimes deadly disease being contracted in the state.

Migratory shorebirds in the Arctic have been gearing up over the last month for the long migration south. There’s no telling how many will take to the air from Alaska, but one scientist will have a chance to find out starting next year.

Vandals broke into the reindeer pens and destroyed the greenhouses on the southwestern corner of campus at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks late last Wednesday night. The incident may have contributed to the death of on reindeer calf. Another calf was injured and an entire growing season’s worth of data is a loss for one researcher.

The Doyon Native Corporation has ambitious Interior Alaska oil and gas exploration plans – seismic work in the Yukon Flats and drilling in the Nenana Basin, both this winter.

America’s National Parks Serve as a back drop for some of the United States’ best known artwork. Much of that work was created long before the National Park Service established an ‘Artist in Residence’ program. One man has just completed his fourth residency in Alaska and his ninth in the United States. KUAC’s Emily Schwing caught up with Stephen Lias in Bettles to find out how he turns a backpacking trip on the arctic tundra into a classical music composition.

The tiny community of Bettles on the Koyukuk River, just south of the Brooks Range, may have become Alaska’s farthest north concert venue over the weekend. A handful of musicians and two Alaska bands flew north of the Arctic Circle for the First Bettles Bush Bash.

The 15th International Congress on Circumpolar health convenes in Fairbanks today (Monday). Representatives from all nine Arctic nations, as well as scientists, health professionals and Alaska’s Congressional delegation will discuss issues related to health in the far north during the week-long conference.

In the last 13 years, more than two dozen schools have permanently closed their doors in rural communities across the state. Most are still sitting empty. The schools had to shut down after villages lost too many school aged kids to meet state requirements. That’s the case for the school in Rampart, which closed in 2000. It’s one of four buildings the state is looking to move, refurbish or demolish.

Alaska isn’t home to nearly as many invasive plants as Lower 48 states. But they are beginning to creep in. An invasive aquatic plant is invading a waterway near North Pole. During a plant survey in 2010, specialists discovered Elodea in Chena Slough. This summer, the Fairbanks Soil and Water Conservation District is testing an eradication method.

A new genetic study of polar bears out form the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences on Monday shows the species is older than previously thought. The study also suggests that intermingling with brown bears could have been in partial response to previous changes in earth’s climate.

The 52nd Annual World Eskimo Indian Olympics, known as WEIO is underway in Fairbanks this weekend.

This month, the Department of Transportation begins a reconnaissance and feasibility study as part of an effort to offer the Interior community of Tanana road access to Fairbanks. It’s part of Alaska Governor Sean Parnell’s ‘Road to Resources Initiative.’ The initiative aims to increase access to natural resources and reduce fuel and supply costs to Alaska’s rural communities. If built, more than 35 miles of road will be the first link in a longer road that could stretch between the interior and the Bering Sea coast.

High water and lots of debris aren’t the only things keeping fish wheels out of the Yukon River this summer. Rural Alaskans depend on subsistence to fill their freezers and root cellars for the winter. Local subsistence fishermen would normally put their fish wheels in the Yukon River this time of year, but an historically low run of King salmon may keep fish wheels out of the water until chum salmon start running up the Yukon in September. KUAC’s Emily Schwing was in Eagle last week, where she sat down with local fishermen.

After visiting with local leaders and fishery managers in Bethel last week, U.S. Senator Mark Begich is asking Alaska Governor, Sean Parnell to declare a fisheries disaster in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta.

A well-respected chief from Eagle Village, Alaska was killed in a car accident in Anchorage last week. Seventy-one-year-old Isaac Juneby was a charismatic man, known for his humor and smile. Juneby was one of the last Han language speakers. He recently began a master’s degree focusing on Han regalia. His wife Sandi says he did not start speaking English until the age of nine. As a child, she says he wore the traditional clothing of the Han-Athabascan tribe.

The state has been working for nearly a year to revamp its animal health care regulations. The Office of the State Veterinarian hosted the last in a series of public workshops Monday to discuss the draft.

Members of the Congressional delegation are weighing in on the Air Force’s decision to suspend the relocation of the F-16 Aggressor Squadron from Eielson Air Force Base to Joint Base Elmendorf Richardson. ...

Alaska Senator Mark Begich received a letter today from Air Force Chief of Staff General Norton Schwartz stating that the Air force will not take action on the proposal to relocate the F-16 Aggressor...