Tim Ellis, KUAC - Fairbanks
Tim Ellis is a reporter at KUAC in Fairbanks.
Earthquake Rattles Yakutat; Felt in Whitehorse; No Damage Reported
A strong earthquake near the Canadian border rattled portions of Southern Alaska and the Yukon Territory just before 4 this morning.
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Air Force Delays Scrapping Research Facility; UAF Seeks Takeover Deal
The Air Force has agreed to delay its plans to demolish a $300 million research facility near Glennallen to allow more time to work out a deal to transfer ownership to the University of Alaska-Fairbanks.
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New Radio Stations Reaching Out to Natives, ‘Under-Represented’ Audiences
A new Fairbanks radio station is broadcasting programs aimed at the Native community in the Interior. Another group hopes to launch its station early next year to provide radio programming for other groups that they say are not being served. The ventures are part of a nationwide trend of community-based radio.
Tanana River Bridge Nearly Done, But State Officials Can’t Predict Fate of Next Phase
Alaska’s longest bridge is pretty much done. The 3,300-foot structure now spans the Tanana riverbed just west of Salcha, providing the military with year-round ground access to its training ranges on the far side. But, state officials don’t yet know where they’ll get funding to begin work on the next phase of the Northern Rail Extension project.
New EPA Carbon-Pollution Rules Will Spark Rate Hikes In Fairbanks
Golden Valley Electric Association customers can expect a rate hike to pay for new federally required pollution controls. The EPA’s emissions control requirements announced today, will be phased in over coming years in an effort to cut greenhouse gas emissions from power plants.
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Prescribed Interior Burn Extends To Over 6,000 Acres
On the Kenai Peninsula, rain over the weekend helped further knock down the Funny River fire, but in Interior Alaska, a wild fire in the Delta Junction area gained major acreage over the weekend. The 100 Mile Creek Fire, sparked by an earlier prescribed burn on military land, went from about 700 acres to more than 6,000, as high winds fanned flames.
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Golden Valley Electric Loses Biggest Customer
Golden Valley Electric Association is scheduled to lose one of its biggest customers this week – the Flint Hills Resources refinery in North Pole. But GVEA is working on plans to hook up another industrial customer next year that will buy nearly as much electricity as the refinery.
Clearwater Lodge Burns Down
The Clearwater Lodge near Delta Junction burned to the ground this morning. The rustic lodge was a popular gathering place for fishermen, birders and others who come to the Clearwater River.
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Flint Hills Begins Shutting Down Fairbanks Refinery
Officials with Flint Hills Resources-Alaska began shutting down the company’s North Pole refinery on Thursday.
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Earth Day Celebration Helps Mark Wilderness Act’s 50th Anniversary
Earth Day will be celebrated with a concert in Fairbanks on Tuesday. It’s part of a summer long series of events marking the 50th anniversary of the Wilderness Act and other environmental laws.
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‘Let The Games Begin!’ Gala Opening Ceremony Celebrates Diverse Cultures
The 2014 Arctic Winter Games officially got underway Sunday, with a gala opening ceremony before a standing-room-only crowd at the Carlson Center. A full slate of competition – and a weeklong array of cultural events – begins today.
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People Say Final Farewell To Former Territorial Governor Stepovich
People from across Alaska and the Lower 48 assembled in Fairbanks today to bid final farewell to former Territorial Governor Mike Stepovich.
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Tok Residents Trying to Revive Biomass-Fueled Power Plant Project To Cut Energy Costs
Business and community leaders in Tok are trying to revive a plan to cut the area’s high energy costs by generating electricity with biomass.
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Tourists Rescued Near Chatanika
Alaska State Troopers rescued a group of tourists late Friday night after they got stuck in their vehicle trying to get to a lodge about 20 miles north of Fairbanks near Chatanika on an outing to view the aurora borealis.
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North Pole Crude Refinery Shutting Down
Officials with Flint Hills Resources Alaska announced today they will halt processing crude oil at the company’s North Pole refinery over the next few months.
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Army Seeks ‘Data Gaps’ Over Cleanups At Old Chem/Bio-warfare Site Near Greely
Environmental officials are reviewing cleanup work conducted at a former military test site south of Delta Junction. The Gerstle River site was used by the Army to test chemical and biological agents during the height of the Cold War.
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PILT: Local Municipal Officials Hope Congress Will Fund Federal-Aid Program
City and borough government officials here in Alaska are a bit on edge about Congress’s failure to provide funding for the PILT program, which helps local governments with a lot of federal land in their areas. The program is especially critical to smaller communities like Delta Junction.
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Fairbanks Militia Leader Holding Anti-Gun-Control Rally
A local militia leader is organizing an anti-gun-control rally that’ll be held next month in downtown Fairbanks. The rally is one of five to be held around the state on Feb. 23 to show support for the Second Amendment and other right-wing political causes.
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Refinery Owner Seeks Lower Cleanup Level For Tainted Groundwater
The operator of the North Pole refinery wants the state to set a lower standard for cleaning up the sulfolane groundwater-contamination problem in the North Pole area. Flint Hills Resources Alaska has asked the head of the state Department of Environmental Conservation to set a less-stringent cleanup level for the industrial solvent that leaked into the groundwater for more than a decade before Flint Hills bought the refinery in 2004. The requests could delay cleanup for several months.
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Air Quality Regulations Worry Fairbanks, State Officials
The controversial air-quality regulations that state officials have proposed for Fairbanks-area residents are aimed at reducing pollution from wood-burning heating systems. They do not apply to coal-fired systems, which are increasingly popular because coal is cheaper than wood.
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