Steve Heimel, APRN Contributor
sheimel (at) alaskapublic (dot) org | 907.550.8454 | About Steve
Officials Identify Two Killed In Parks Highway Collision
Two people who died Friday in a collision on the Parks Highway have been identified. Shawn Dugan, 25, of Fort Wainwright, and Sandy Graetzsch, 33, of Fairbanks were killed when their vehicle slid across the center line and hit a SUV with three aboard, who were treated for non life-threatening injuries.
Israel Keyes Dies Of Apparent Suicide In Alaska Prison
Confessed serial killer Israel Keyes is dead of an apparent suicide in his Alaska prison cell. Federal prosecutors announced Keyes' death at a news conference on Sunday. They said Keyes confessed to abducting Samantha Koenig from an espresso cart last February in Anchorage, and killing her, also to abducting and killing Bill and Lorraine Currier of Essex, Vermont. They say there may have been other killings as well.
Are You Really What You Eat?
It’s very Alaskan to have a freezer full of wild food. Tell us how you use that food on the next “Talk ofAlaska.” Food from the wild and preparing food that feeds the spirit as well as the body is the subject on the next Talk of Alaska.
KSKA: Tuesday, 12/4 at 10am
Report Presents Analysis Of Giant Ice Sheets
Scientists say they have resolved one of the biggest arguments in the climate change debate. In a report published in “Science” magazine today, they present a new, comprehensive analysis of how much the giant ice sheets of Greenland and Antarctica have been melting and how much that adds to the rise of the world’s oceans.
The History of the Governor’s Mansion
You may never have heard of Walter E. Clark, but he was the first occupant of the Alaska Governor’s Mansion, along with his wife. They began a tradition of annual holiday open houses that continues to the present day. The story of that big house in Juneau inter-weaves with the story of Alaska’s history, as we’ll hear on the next Talk of Alaska.
KSKA: Tuesday, 11/27 at 10:00am
Ernie Turner Center Back In Operation
The Ernie Turner Center is back in operation. A new interpretation of state regulations forced the closure of the Anchorage de-toxification center because of the cost of staffing it. The Cook Inlet Tribal Council says the change is going to cost it another hundred thousand dollars a year, and they don't know where that money is going to come from. They say there is a wait list.
BP To Pay $4.5 Billion In Deepwater Horizon Settlement
BP has agreed to plead guilty and pay a $4.5 billion fine to settle federal criminal charges surrounding the Deepwater Horizon blowout and spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Eleven people were killed in the 2010 explosion. The Anchorage Daily News reports that the company could be on the hook for billions more as the federal government plans to pursue a civil claim for violations of the Clean Water Act. More than 4 million barrels of oil were released into the Gulf of Mexico from the blowout.
Living History as Witnessed by Press Photographer Jim Lavrakas
There are certain images that you never forget. In a career of chasing ambulances and showing up at disasters, a press photographer might catch one or two such images, unless they’re in Alaska. News events as seen through the lens of press photographer Jim Lavrakas is the subject on the next Talk of Alaska.
KSKA: Tuesday, 11/20 at 10:00am
Scientists Work To Track Ice Islands
The oil and gas industry, government agencies and scientists are meeting this week in Anchorage to talk about Arctic oil and gas development. A wide range of issues are being discussed – everything from spill response to ice tracking to wildlife changes. It is well known that over the past decade the sea ice has been melting back to record levels. But what is less well known is how to track some of the large – and dangerous – pieces of ice that have been breaking loose.
No ‘Unusual Mortality Event’ Cases Reported This Year
The Unusal Mortality Event that saw seals and other marine mammals showing up with hair loss over a swath of Alaska's northern coast may be over. Experts told a science meeting Wednesday that no cases of the hair loss syndrome have been reported so far this year.
State Sends Officials New Estimate Of Fisheries Disaster
The Parnell administration has sent federal fisheries disaster officials a new estimate of that poor Chinook Salmon returns to Alaska rivers cost fishermen. Only commercial fishing is eligible for fisheries disaster aid, not subsistence or sports fishing. The new estimate is that about $16.8 million in revenue were lost by the industry because of Chinook Salmon closures. The prior estimate was about $10 million.
Woman Dies In Seward Highway Crash
A woman died after a vehicle accident near the Seward and Sterling Highway interchange on Sunday. No identity has been released yet. There were two people in the southbound vehicle when it left the road, according to State Troopers.
Man Found Dead In Midtown Anchorage
A man was found dead in a midtown Anchorage business park Saturday. Initial police reports say he and his girlfriend were drinking and passed out. The man, said to be in his 30s, did not wake up.
Living History As Witnessed By Vic Fischer
The chance to design entire communities and even a new state was just one of the many historical adventures of Vic Fischer. He was also in Germany for the burning of the Reichstag and he was in Moscow for the Stalin purges. He never would have seen the United States had it not been for Eleanor Roosevelt. Vic Fischer will tell parts of his amazing story on the next Talk of Alaska.
KSKA: Tuesday, 11/13 at 10:00am
New Faces Coming To Alaska Legislature
Alaska was assured of new faces in the Legislature, as redistricting pitted incumbents against one another. But that was just the beginning of the changes. As usual Alaska went overwhelmingly Republican for President, and only one state-wide office was in contest. Republican Congressman Don Young had no trouble defeating Democrat Sharon Cissna and will go on to pass Ted Stevens record of 40 years representing Alaska.
Anchorage Man Arrested In Canada After Skipping Border Checkpoint
Tuesday night, Canadian authorities used an aircraft and a search dog to hunt down an Anchorage man who sought to elude a border check at Beaver Creek on the Alaska Highway. The fugitive is identified as Jason Echeverri, 29. Not much more information is yet available about the incident. The highway into Haines Junction was closed for a while during the search.
More Tsunami Debris Heading Toward Alaska
Hunks of styrofoam, floats, some barrels and a basketball are some of the things that are turning up on Alaska shores from the Japan tsunami of 2011. More will be coming, borne by trans-Pacific ocean currents. Today the statewide public radio call-in show “Talk of Alaska” got an update on tsunami debris.
Troopers Investigate Kivalina Robbery
Last week the village store in Kivalina was shut down while state troopers investigated a theft. The store had $180,000 on hand in its safe to cash forthcoming Permanent Fund Dividend checks in hopes that villagers would spend locally. Somebody broke into the store and took the money out of the safe, which may not have been locked.
Work Continues To Create ‘Transboundary Area of Shared Beringian Heritage’
National Parks spanning the Bering Strait are now in a stage of active planning after last month’s agreement between Russia and the United States to go ahead with them. The Russian National Park head has been looking at public lands in Alaska for the past two weeks.
Police Don’t Suspect Foul Play In Anchorage Woman’s Death
Anchorage police say there were no suspicious circumstances surrounding the death of a woman in a tent pitched in the woods late Friday. Janet Eikemo, 54, was reportedly suffering from cancer and died while sleeping with some other people in the tent, including her son.