Robyne, KUAC - Fairbanks
Investigators testify about losing potential witnesses after 1993 UAF campus murder
The chaos of students taking finals and then leaving at the end of the spring semester frustrated investigators in the days after 20-year-old Sophie Sergie was found dead on the University of Alaska Fairbanks campus.
Former University of Alaska Fairbanks janitor testifies in 1993 cold-case murder trial
The first person who reported seeing the Sophie Sergie’s body was Okcha Ancheta. She testified Thursday in the trial of Steven Downs, who is charged with Sergie’s murder and sexual assault.
Former UAF students describe what they heard and saw in dorm in 1993 before Sophie Sergie was found dead
The former university students spoke at the trial of Steven Downs. Downs is charged with Sergie’s murder and sexual assault.
‘Molly of Denali’ episodes getting translated and dubbed in the Gwich’in and Koyukon languages
The "Molly of Denali" project is just one effort of Doyon Foundation’s language revitalization program, which works to preserve the ancestral languages of the Doyon region.
Fairbanks hospital readies mobile morgue
Fairbanks Memorial Hospital has set up a mobile morgue in the parking lot to prepare for any mass casualty event. The refrigerator container is not running yet, but can be ready in two hours.
COVID spike prompts Fairbanks hospital to convert meeting rooms into patient rooms
"We are in a spike far bigger than anything that we have seen to date," says chief medical officer of Foundation Health Partners. "And unfortunately we’re in it at the same time as many places across the country and Alaska.”
Fairbanks police officer resigns alleging hostile work environment
Detective Avery Thompson was put on leave this spring and then demoted after he says he supported his partner, Alana Malloy’s sexual harassment claims.
Pfizer vials, Zoom costumes and plexiglass: Museum of the North builds pandemic collection
Before too many people move on from the pandemic the University of Alaska's Museum of the North wants to collect culturally important objects that represent Alaska’s response to the pandemic to be able to display for future museum visitors.
Walter Harper Day commemorates first person to summit Denali
Walter Harper, an Athabascan guide, was the first person to step foot on Denali. A group of Alaskans have been pushing for more recognition of Harper, who died in his 20s after a steamer he was on ran aground on his way to medical school.
For Alaska’s first tea farm, geothermal energy is key
Jenney Tse is an international-award-winning tea expert, consulted by artisanal growers in Hawaii, India and China. Now she will be starting the only tea farm in Alaska linked to Chena Hot Springs geothermal resources.
‘We get to keep existing’: Pandemic relief fund could be lifeline for concert venues and promoters
After COVID-19 has kept stages dusty and theaters empty for more than a year, performing arts producers, venues, and operators are getting a much-needed lifeline.
New program offers Alaskans up to $75 monthly discount for internet services
A household is eligible if someone qualifies for the Lifeline program, receives assistance like free school lunches, or experienced a substantial loss of income due to pandemic. Households that make less than 135% of the federal poverty designation per household also apply.
‘This place is on fire with COVID’: Younger, unvaccinated patients strain Fairbanks hospital
Medical workers at Fairbanks Memorial Hospital say the hospital’s capacity is being strained by high COVID-19 rates, and the community should be more alarmed.
In Interior Alaska, severe COVID-19 cases surge while vaccinations lag
Fairbanks doctors are pointing to a direct relationship between the high case rate and the Interior’s low vaccination rate.
Decades-old Sophie Sergie murder case proceeds in Fairbanks despite pandemic
The 1993 killing of 20-year-old Sophie Sergie at the UAF dormitory was a considered a cold case until 2018, when DNA evidence found a suspect.
New Paycheck Protection Program loans open to Alaska businesses
The second COVID-19 relief and spending package passed by Congress in December includes $284 billion more for businesses hurt by the pandemic.
Health care workers are first in line for the COVID-19 vaccine. But who’s next?
Health officials are expected to announce the next phase of vaccine allocations on Thursday, but many still won't know when they'll get the vaccine.
Fairbanks teachers’ unions denounce reopening of in-person schooling
In a joint statement, three unions asserted that the Fairbanks school board was disregarding safety standards in their plan to get kids back in classrooms by January, 2021.
Officials say first vaccines could arrive in Alaska by mid-December
The very first COVID-19 vaccine doses may arrive in Alaska before the month is out, but there will be very little of it, and logistics to distribute it are not easy.
Trailing in Republican primary, Coghill asks for recount
Under state law, if the difference between the top candidates is within 20 votes, the state will pay for a recount.