Lori Townsend, Alaska Public Media
Lori Townsend is the chief editor, senior vice president of journalism 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. Read more about Lori here.
April Fools: Balloons Are Future Of Brown Bear Relocation
Residents in Alaska’s largest city are distressed by the increasing human/bear encounters in Anchorage parks, along the coastal trail and area streams. In the lead up to salmon spawning in local waterways, an Anchorage biologist is working on a brown bear relocation program. Dr. Robert Bastic has developed a plan that will safely take bears away from the heavy population of Anchorage while also providing a unique tourism experience. The method? Hot air balloons.
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Gov. Parnell Asking For Investigation National Guard Sexual Assaults
Governor Parnell is asking the federal National Guard Bureau to investigate cases of sexual assault in Alaska’s National Guard. In a press release, Parnell wrote he is “deeply concerned by reports of sexual assaults and other behavior creating a hostile environment and culture within portions of the Alaska National Guard.”
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Jim Stone Recalls 1964 Earthquake Experiences
Fifty-years ago today, Anchorage resident Jim Stone was about 11-years-old. His father was in the Air Force and the family had moved to Alaska four years earlier. He says he remembers the family dog had been very nervous in the hours before the shaking started. When the quake struck, Jim says his mom was making TV dinners while he and his dad and brother were watching Fireball XL5 on a portable television on a roller stand.
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Anchorage And Alaska Railroad Celebrating 100th Birthday
Anchorage is celebrating its 100th birthday. Anchorage historian and author Charles Wohlforth is writing the history of Alaska's largest city and included in the story is why and how the federal government got in to the railroad business in Alaska. The idea was to wrestle control of resources away from the “Alaska syndicate,” a private railroad and coal monopoly run by the wealthy Guggenheim and Morgan families.
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UAA Students Illuminating Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault Issues
Students at University of Alaska Anchorage are organizing a panel discussion this week to highlight the problem of domestic violence and sexual assault in Alaska. The conversation is part of the national “No More” campaign that uses a blue circle with a white dot in the middle as a symbol to increase awareness of the issue.
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UAA Panel Discussing Pros, Cons Of Pot Legalization
Tonight the University of Alaska Anchorage will feature a panel discussion on the pros and cons of legalizing marijuana. Last night we brought you the perspective of a legalization advocate and this evening we offer the opposing side. Dean Guaneli is a retired assistant attorney general for Alaska. Guaneli says there is confusion over the current law regulating marijuana here. He says because of the privacy clause in the state constitution, a 1976 decision by the Alaska Supreme court made it impossible for the state to enforce the law for small amounts in one’s home. But he says in 2006, the legislature clearly re-criminalized marijuana.
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Panel To Discuss Possibility Of Marijuana Legalization
As Alaskans weigh how to vote on a ballot initiative that would legalize marijuana, the University of Alaska Anchorage is holding a forum on Wednesday evening debating the issue. Tonight we bring you the perspective of one of those panelists. Lance Buchholtz is a retired Midwestern Sheriff who joined Law Enforcement Against Prohibition or LEAP in 2013. He is also an ordained minister. He says the war on drugs isn’t working.
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Arctic Ambitions: ‘Doing Business In The Arctic’
Thursday, the World Trade Center Alaska will host the third Arctic Ambitions gathering in Girdwood. The theme for this year’s two-day event is ‘Doing business in the Arctic.’ Greg Wolf is the World Trade Center Alaska executive director. He says this year’s event is larger and the first day will feature speakers from other arctic nations and industries.
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Former Alaskan Appearing On ABC’s ‘Mind Games’
A new ABC television show called Mind Games premieres tonight and one of the weekly series actors is a former Anchorage resident and East High School graduate. Cedric Sanders says his role is an accountant named Latrell.
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Anchorage Daily News Launches Project Examining Effects Of Alcohol On Alaskans
The Anchorage Daily News is undertaking a year-long examination of the affects of alcohol on Alaskan lives. Kyle Hopkins is reporting the series with photojournalist Marc Lester. On Sunday, the reporters introduced four mothers who have kids with fetal alcohol disorders. Hopkins says they wanted to tell the stories of the birth mothers and their kids.
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‘Arctic Ambassador’ Position Draws Mixed Reaction From Alaska Delegation
Secretary of State John Kerry announced last week that he’s creating a new position called Special Representative for the Arctic Region. It’s been referred to as an “Arctic Ambassador” in some reports, but it’s not exactly that, and the reaction of Alaska’s two U.S. senators has been mixed.
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YK Delta Teen Smoking Rate Well Above National Average
A Mayo Clinic study of teen smoking rates in the Yukon Kuskokwim delta region found young people there use tobacco at high rates. Nearly 30 percent of 11 to 14 year olds and 63 percent of high school students use tobacco, compared to less than 20 percent of teens nationally. Dr. Christi Patten is the lead author of the YK Delta study. She says focus groups with kids in the region helped them design the intervention program for the youth, but the results were not good.
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Former Alaska Territorial Governor Mike Stepovich Dies
Former territorial governor Mike Stepovich died early this morning, after being injured in a fall. Stepovich served as governor in the late 1950s and was a major advocate for Alaska statehood. He was 94 when he died. Stepovich was born into a Fairbanks mining family. Alaska Edition host and Anchorage Daily News columnist Michael Carey was a teenager when Stepovich was Governor. He says Stepovich was a strikingly handsome man who was Governor at at critical time in Alaska history.
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Tribal Courts
The state's law department deals with a wide range of legal matters but this week's show focuses on tribal courts and what the future may look like for court proceedings in rural Alaska. Earlier this week the Senate Indian Affairs Committee reviewed the Indian Law and Order Commission report. It paints a bleak picture for Native communities, saying the high rates of crime in Native communities is a "National Disgrace and a National Problem" and calls for more authority for tribal justice systems, saying in part that the state and fed government should strengthen rather than degrade tribal sovereignty.
KSKA: Friday, 2/14 at 2PM & Saturday, 2/15 at 6PM.
KAKM: Friday 2/14 at 7:30PM & Saturday. 2/15 at 4:30PM
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Late Performer Leaves Seven Decades of Archive Treasures
When someone dies, it can take months to sort out legal and personal matters, but what if that life encompassed more than 70 years of international stage performances? Russ Reno is a long time family friend of the late performer Percy ‘Mike’ Madill.
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Kikkan Randall Finishes Out Of Medals In Olympic Skate Sprint
It was a disappointing day for Kikkan Randall and her fans. The Anchorage skier failed to medal in the Olympic skate sprint in Sochi- an event many thought she would win. Randall missed advancing to the semifinals by a tiny margin- seven-hundredths of a second.
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Alaskans Among Medal Hopefuls in Sochi
The winter Olympics in Sochi Russia began today with qualifying rounds in some sports. Seven athletes competing in the games call Alaska home or have roots in the state. The most talked about are the cross country skiers from Alaska Pacific University, Kikkan Randall, Holly Brooks, Sadie Bjornsen and her brother Erik. The winter Olympics in Sochi Russia began Thursday with qualifying rounds in some sports.
Managers Give Updates on DOD Cleanup Projects
The annual Alaska Forum on the Environment is underway at the Dena'ina Convention center in Anchorage. On Thursday, federal project managers gave updates on cleanup projects across the state within national parks, on Federal Aviation property and at defense sites. The Defense Department has 537 formerly used defense sites or FUDS. Of those 70, remain active for cleanup.
DOT Works To Dig Out Richardson Highway
State Department of Transportation crews will be working for days to get the Richardson highway completely opened.
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Department of Defense Prepares For More Arctic Activity
Shell may be abandoning their plans for drilling in Alaska’s Arctic waters in 2014, but vessel traffic, tourism and other activity will continue to advance. As part of our ongoing look at future plans for port development and military oversight of Arctic safety and security, APRN’s Lori Townsend recently spoke with Daniel Chiu the undersecretary for strategy at the Department of Defense. Chiu says the Pentagon expects large increases in defense activity is likely decades out, but he says DOD is closely following climate science to ensure they have the lead time to adjust if necessary.
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