Lori Townsend, Alaska Public Media
Barrow votes to change name to Utqiagvik
By a margin of six votes, residents of Barrow have voted to change the name of their city back to its Inupiaq name, Utqiagvik. City council member Qaiyaan Harcharek started the process this summer. Listen Now
AK: Transformation through fire, a state-wide mask tour comes to an end
Museums are usually a place for appreciating art that will be around for centuries. But earlier this month, the Anchorage Museum hosted a ceremony to burn ten beautiful Alaska Native masks. The artists who created the masks wanted to inspire community conversations about illness and healing. Listen Now
Building Fires in The Snow
Stories and poetry that celebrate the urban wilderness interface in Alaska through the lens of LGBTQ writers is brought together in a new anthology called Building Fires in The Snow. Authors and editors Lucian Childs and Martha Amore helped bring it all together. Listen Now
Alaska Women Speak and growing with the times
It started as a feminist magazine and in the last 24 years, Alaska Women Speak has grown with the times and the topics that are important to women. Carmen Davis is one of the volunteers that has kept the publication thriving. She says at a recent retreat, supporters re-imagined its mission and changed the size but maintained its print persona. Listen Now
The race for U.S. Senate: Margaret Stock
Margaret Stock is running as an Independent for U.S. Senate. The first time candidate says she will promote a strong national defense and support military veterans. She’s also pro-choice. She is the first in a series of candidates we’ll feature on TOA over the next few weeks. Listen Now
White Horse, an essay about sexual assault trauma
The difficult and painful topic of sexual assault and the trauma that follows will be the discussion tomorrow evening at the Anchorage museum. The conversation be held after a staged reading of a personal essay called White Horse, about a campus rape and the aftermath, written by Elise Goldbach and featured in the current issue of The Alaska Quarterly Review. Listen Now
Pieces of Me: Rescuing My Kidnapped Daughters
Child abduction is a nightmare not many parents have had to deal with, but Anchorage author Lizbeth Meredith knows first hand how terrifying it is. In 1994, her former husband kidnapped their two young daughters and took them to Greece. It took two years to get them back. Listen Now
Wisdom Keeper: One Man’s Journey to Honor the Untold History of the Unangan People
Ilarion Merculieff, is an Aleut educator and has traveled the world working with indigenous people. He's written a book called Wisdom Keeper, that's available now, chronicling the stories of his people of the Pribilof Islands and messages from Native elders in Alaska and other countries. It also highlights the science and technology that his sea going people were adept at. Listen Now
Alaska Politics and Public Policy
Learning from the past helps inform the future. Clive Thomas’s new book on policy, people and the institutions that helped create the political structure of Alaska is an exhaustive examination of topics such as the state’s constitution and how it differs from others, being an owner state, the politics of lobbying, the federal relationship, transportation, economic realities, state courts and a wide range of political issues. I do mean wide range. The book is more than 1200 pages and weighs 5 pounds! Listen Now
1919: The Spanish Flu in Dillingham
The deadly influenza pandemic known as the Spanish Flu, killed millions of people world wide but hit Alaska particularly hard. Thursday evening, an Anchorage lecture will examine the impacts to the Bristol Bay region and how the canneries there helped the local population. Listen Now
Burning the masks of ‘Aggravated Organisms.’
Yupik carver Drew Michael and painter Elizabeth Ellis created 5 foot tall masks in an exhibit called ‘Aggravated Organisms’ to represent the 10 most prevalent diseases impacting Alaskans. After 3 years of touring the masks to Alaska communities across the state and a showing in Seattle, Michael has decided to end the educational journey of these masks through the traditional method of burning. The ceremony will be held on the lawn of the Anchorage museum. At the same time, Michael plans to put out a statewide call to promote healing through community cohesiveness and mutual support. Listen now
The history of the creation of the permanent fund
What was the original intent of the Alaska Permanent Fund? A rainy day savings account for Government funding after oil was depleted or a fund to pay citizens a dividend and subsidize programs? What happens if the fund is drawn down to help shore up budget shortfalls? We’ll discuss a UAF course designed to answer these questions with former state government officials who were there during the early days.
Alaska’s Bears: How the understanding of human-bear interactions has changed
Alaska's bears haven't changed in the last two decades, but scientific understanding of them has. Back country enthusiast and writer Bill Sherwonit has released an updated version of his book Alaska's Bears. Listen now
Alaska News Nightly: Monday, Sept. 05, 2016
In U.S. House Race, both claim labor's love; As waters warm, Arctic fish populations change; An increase in students for Skagway's school; Weekend shooting in Fairbanks leaves one dead, two others injured; Tanana road opens; Planning underway for youth court in Juneau; Pre-school Aluttiq Immersion program planned by Kodiak's Sun'aq Tribe; Want to learn Tlingit? Yes, there's an app for that; New photo id cards for Southeast tribe Listen now
High rate of homicide in Anchorage
More than two dozen murders have taken place in Anchorage since the beginning of the year. APD reports that of the 15 homicides since June, six were engaged in drugs or other criminal activity. Four were domestic violence killings. Five were in isolated areas of the city in the late evening/early morning hours, prompting APD to caution citizens to “Be extra aware of their surroundings and to report any suspicious person or activity to police.” The long message also says, “If you plan to be out late at night, make sure you travel with several friends and not alone.” Listen Now
New Attorney General Lindemuth speaks on tribal land trust status
Alaska's new Attorney General Jahna Lindemuth is no stranger to litigation. Lindemuth has been practicing law in the state for nearly 20 years and has argued cases before the Alaska Supreme Court and the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. Lindemuth also represented clients pro bono, including one of the men known as the Fairbanks Four, helping to secure the release of the men after 18 years in prison. Listen now
The future of higher education in Alaska
The pinch of state budget cuts is being felt across the state. How will these impacts affect Alaska University system campuses, especially the smaller campuses? What can the university system do to build in sustainability and long term fiscal stability? Listen Now
Barry ZeVan: My Life Among the Giants
There's a lot of former Midwesterners in Alaska, and if you lived in Minnesota or Wisconsin in the 1970s and got your news from KSTP in Minneapolis, then Barry ZeVan the weatherman was a celebrity you knew. Listen now
Weather, climate and the potential La Nina
There was a lot of concern about a big fire season this summer after a winter of very low snow fall and a dry spring. There were some burns but the season was not remarkable for fire, it was more of note for hot temps, then rainfall, mudslides and flooding. El Nino is getting to the geriatric stage and La Nina may be moving in. What will that mean for the next 6 months? We’ll talk to the climate experts and find out. Listen Now
‘And Soon I Heard a Roaring Wind’ gives a natural history of wind
Alaskan author Bill Streever likes to tackle big topics in his writing. His best selling book Cold, covers everything from avalanches to expeditions into the world's most frigid places. His next book, Heat was a similar examination of the science and stories of the world's hottest places. His newest work seems like the biggest challenge yet, a fascinating focus on moving air. Streever's -And Soon I Heard a Roaring Wind- is a look at the natural history of wind through science, stories and his own narrative as he and his wife sailed the Gulf of Mexico. Listen now