Tim Ellis, KUAC - Fairbanks
Tim Ellis is a reporter at KUAC in Fairbanks.
Borough Assembly OKs Testing for promising woodstove emissions-control technology
The Fairbanks North Star Borough Assembly approved a resolution that supports and authorizes testing of a type of air-pollution control technology that local advocates say will clean smoke from woodstoves and help improve the area’s air quality. Listen now
Ice Alaska board cancels alternate ice-carving event, plans 2019 World Ice Art Championship
For the first time in 29 years, Ice Alaska will not be hosting an ice-carving event. The nonprofit’s board of directors made it official Wednesday by canceling plans for a smaller youth carving event the organization had hoped to stage in March. The organization will instead focus on bringing back the World Ice Art Championships next year. Listen now
Boeing receives defense contract to expand missile defense at Fort Greely
The Defense Department has awarded a $6.56 billion contract to the Boeing Company to oversee another expansion of the missile-defense base at Fort Greely. Listen now
23-car pileup clogs Johansen Expressway for three hours
A 23-car pileup closed a slippery stretch of the Johansen Expressway for nearly three hours Tuesday afternoon. Listen now
All of Alaska cutoff from road access, for a time, due to snow and ice
Officials in Canada's Yukon Territory closed the Klondike Highway and a stretch of the Alaska Highway on Monday due to heavy, blowing snow drifting on a road surface already slick with ice. Listen now
Wilson calls on LeDoux to resign
North Pole Rep. Tammie Wilson says fellow lawmaker Gabrielle LeDoux should resign because she failed to promptly respond to a legislative staffer’s complaint that she was sexually harassed by a lawmaker who was later forced to resign over those and other allegations. Listen now
North Pole awards $52M water system expansion contract to Fairbanks firm
Work on a $52 million project to expand North Pole’s municipal water system is expected to begin within a few weeks, now the City Council has awarded the contract to a Fairbanks company. Listen now
New study recounts discovery of ‘ancient Beringian’ ancestors of indigenous peoples
UAF archeology professor Ben Potter and an international team of scientists he worked with have discovered evidence of a previously unknown, ancient people who were among the first to cross over from Asia to Alaska more than 15,000 years ago. Listen now
Supporters say Trump’s infrastructure proposal could fund ‘Road Belt’ power line
President Trump says he’s ready to move ahead this year on his campaign pledge to pass a trillion-dollar program to improve the nation’s infrastructure. That’s motivated officials with a Glennallen-based economic development organization and the electrical co-op that serves the area to dust off an old plan to build a 300-mile-long high-tension power line that would run from the Mat-Su Valley community of Sutton to Tok and Delta Junction. Listen now
‘Let them talk!’ Iconic political figure Jack Coghill urges collegiality among legislators
The Legislature has faced seemingly impossible challenges over the years, according to Jack Coghill, who spent decades as a lawmaker in the Territorial House and state Senate. The 92-year-old Nenana Republican visited Fairbanks earlier this month to talk about his life and career – and offer some advice to lawmakers. Listen now
Refuge drilling opponents prepare for next phase of struggle
Now that Congress has OK’d oil and gas exploration in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge’s coastal plain, opponents are preparing for the next phase in their decades-long struggle to protect the environmentally sensitive area. Listen now
Chinook gusts up to 80 mph knock out power around Interior
Golden Valley Electric Association crews are still working to repair damage to power lines caused by warm chinook winds that blasted the Interior over the weekend, especially around Delta Junction. Listen now
One of the Fairbanks Four sues the city over alleged civil rights violations
One of the Fairbanks Four is suing the city and four Fairbanks police officers over allegations that his civil rights were violated by police during their investigation of a 1997 murder, which led to a trial and conviction of the plaintiff and three other defendants in 1999. Listen now
AIDEA board OKs sale of Pentex to Interior Gas Utility
The Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority’s board of directors on Thursday approved selling Pentex Alaska Natural Gas Company and its assets, including Fairbanks Natural Gas, to the Interior Gas Utility. Listen now
New fiber-optic cable system to turbocharge North Slope broadband access
Residents of five North Slope communities will soon have access to much faster internet connections, now that Anchorage-based Quintillion has activated its new, land- and sea-based fiber-optic cable network. Listen now
New study outlines Polaris building contamination ‘in every floor, every room’
A federal study details contamination inside a deteriorating downtown Fairbanks landmark.
Interior Gas Utility sets public meetings to explain proposed purchase of Pentex Assets
The Interior Gas Utility has scheduled a couple of public meetings for later this month to inform Fairbanks North Star Borough residents about the status of the IGU board’s proposal to buy Pentex Alaska Natural Gas Company as part of the local utility’s efforts to build a natural-gas distribution system for Fairbanks and North Pole. Listen now
North Pole residents urge assembly to deny local marijuana-growing facility
Several residents of a North Pole neighborhood told Fairbanks North Star Borough Assembly members Thursday that they do not want a marijuana-growing business in the area. Their arguments swayed half the members, but that wasn’t enough to pass a measure that would’ve opposed state approval of a business license for the facility.
Trump administration proposes $2.1 billion expansion of Fort Greely missile-defense base
The Trump administration announced last week it has asked Congress to appropriate $2.1 billion to expand the missile-defense base on Fort Greely. Listen now
To improve Fairbanks air quality, 200 engine-heater plug-ins added to public buildings
Four public buildings around Fairbanks will offer more electrical outlets in their parking lots next year to encourage customers to plug-in their engine-block heaters during cold snaps. The project is intended to help improve the area’s air quality. Listen now