Lori Townsend, Alaska Public Media
Lori Townsend is the news director and senior host for Alaska Public Media. You can send her news tips and program ideas for Talk of Alaska and Alaska Insight at ltownsend@alaskapublic.org or call 907-550-8452.
Audubon feature: Offshore regulators pressured to meet Shell’s deadline
A story in Audubon magazine this month details how regulators cut corners and rushed the work schedule as they worked to accommodate Shell's plan to drill in the Arctic last summer. The article follows an Inspector General report released last week showing federal scientists felt they were too rushed to do an adequate job on the environmental review of Shell's proposal.
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The business of marijuana
What will it mean to have legal marijuana in Alaska? State and local governments are working right now on regulations for licensing marijuana retail businesses and growers. What kind of shops will be allowed? Who will be able to grow for commercial sales and where? What are the security implications?
APRN: Tuesday, 12/10 at 10:00am
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Alaska Republicans sue to loosen rules on campaign contributions
Republicans in Alaska are suing in federal court to overturn the state’s strict limits on donations to political candidates and groups.
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Winter food security
A lot of Americans would welcome a forecast for a mild winter, but in Alaska a lack of snow and ice can mean hardship for those in rural communities who depend on cold for traveling and hunting. What happens when the land of ice and snow isn't so frosty?
APRN: Tuesday, 11/24 at 10:00am
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Winter food security
A lot of Americans would welcome a forecast for a mild winter, but in Alaska a lack of snow and ice can mean hardship for those in rural communities who depend on cold for traveling and hunting. What happens when the land of ice and snow isn't so frosty?
APRN: Tuesday, 11/24 at 10:00am
Alaska literary journal dabbles in music artistry
Alaska writers have a range of talents as large as the state they hail from. The Alaska Quarterly Review captures the best of that work and the writings of authors from across the world into an annual collection that has garnered literary praise for decades.
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Contemporary Native art
Keeping Alaska Native culture vibrant and thriving takes work. Young Native artists are meeting that challenge in exciting ways through music, visual art and online media. How do Native artists honor their heritage while stretching themselves creatively?
APRN: Tuesday, 11/17 at 10:00am
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‘My Degeneration,’ Peter Dunlap-Shohl illustrates Parkinson’s
If you read the Anchorage Daily News from the early '80s to 2008, you will remember the work of cartoonist and graphic artist Peter Dunlap-Shohl. And if you've been wondering what he's been up to since he left the ADN, it's a story of daunting health challenges, admirable determination and a new book.
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Study: Tundra fires induce permafrost melt, land change
Wildfire on Arctic tundra can cause permafrost melt from the top down, contributing to landscape slumping, known as thermokarst.
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Alaska’s employment outlook
For decades people came to Alaska for good paying jobs, but what's the outlook now for the future of our labor economy? With declining oil revenue, what will a great job in Alaska look like 10 years from now? How does this current downturn compare to past financial trouble?
APRN: Tuesday, November 10, 2015
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WEIO athlete, mentor Big Bob Aiken dies at 62
A legend of traditional Alaska Native games has died. Big Bob Aiken, known as the 'The World's Largest Eskimo' still held records for the Indian and Eskimo stick pull competitions. He believed deeply in the original purpose of the games.
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House approves TransCanada buyout
With a unanimous vote in the House on Wednesday, the Alaska legislature has approved Gov. Bill Walker’s request to end the state’s partnership with TransCanada -- and take a larger role in the project to build a natural gas line from the North Slope.
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To buyout, or not to buyout? The Legislature debates
The Legislature is meeting in Juneau this week for a special session on the Alaska LNG project -- that’s the proposal to build a giant natural gas pipeline from the North Slope. The big question before lawmakers this session is whether the state should take a larger stake in the project, by buying out one of its partners.
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Is the state finally ready for the gas line?
For decades, Alaska Governors have worked to sign a pipeline deal to sell gas from the North Slope. None have been able to come up with the right formula yet. Current Governor Bill Walker has pushed for gas line development for most of his professional life. Is the time finally right for this massive project?
APRN: Tuesday, Oct. 27 at 10:00am
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Under US chairmanship, Arctic Council convenes in Anchorage
The United States has taken the helm of the Arctic Council and the eight-nation body is meeting in Anchorage this week.
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Confronting suicide in Alaska: Talk, intervene, heal
A discussion after a suicide can help support vulnerable people who are at risk, or it can help push them in that direction, a lot depends on the words used to describe the event.
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Are big energy projects the solution for Alaska’s budget crisis?
What's the prognosis for big energy projects in Alaska? Shell's abandoned the Arctic and state lawmakers are about to duke it out over an expensive new natural gas line. We'll dig into fossil fuel projects. Is the proposed gas line a real solution for the state's budget crisis or CPR on a flailing economy?
APRN: Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2015 at 10:00am
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The current and future authority of Alaska’s tribal governments
The state and tribes have a relationship that is at times tense but there has been progress on some fronts. This week there was an announcement that the first joint tribal/state court would be starting up in Kenai as a partnership with the Kenaitze Indian tribe and the state. A tribal and state judge will sit side by side and preside together over a wellness court, dealing with substance-related criminal cases.
KSKA: Fri., Oct. 16, at 2:00 p.m. & Sat., Oct. 17, at 6:00 p.m.
KAKM: Fri., Oct. 16, at 7:30 p.m. & Sat., Oct. 17, at 6:00 p.m.
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Impacts of ‘Land into Trust’ on Alaska tribes
For the first time, Alaska tribes have the right to ask the federal government to put tribal lands into trust status, just like tribes in the Lower 48. What would this legal designation, known as Indian Country, mean for tribes and for the state? What are the potential benefits and what are the restrictions?
APRN: Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2015 at 10:00 a.m.
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Volcano farts: Scientists look to gas for beta on atmosphere, geothermal resource
In September, a team of scientists crawled around the summit of seven volcanoes in the Aleutian Islands. They updated seismic sensors, replaced 8,000 pounds of batteries and visited one summit that geologists hadn't been to since the 1940s.
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