Tim Ellis, KUAC - Fairbanks

Tim Ellis, KUAC - Fairbanks
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Tim Ellis is a reporter at KUAC in Fairbanks.

Additional Pogo workers have tested positive for COVID-19, mine company won’t say how many

Northern Star Resources would not say how many workers at the mine have tested positive. A company spokesperson said Tuesday that it’s “a small number.”

Pogo mine worker tests positive for COVID-19 after 12-day shift

A worker at the Pogo gold mine has tested positive to COVID-19. And he may have come in contact with up to 14 others at the mine that’s located 38 miles northeast of Delta Junction.

Pentagon is paying to extend North Pole’s water system due to PFAS contamination in wells

The Pentagon is paying for the nearly $30 million project because the substance that contaminated the groundwater beneath Moose Creek came from Eielson Air Force Base. The perflourinated chemical compound called PFAS likely came from the use of firefighting foam at the base.

Tammie Wilson abruptly announces she’s leaving legislature for state job

Rep. Tammie Wilson, R-North Pole, surprised fellow lawmakers Friday when she announced she’s quitting the Legislature to take a job with a state agency that she’s often fought against during her 10 years in the state House.

Study shows rapid growth in Fairbanks-area senior population

Organizations like the Fairbanks Senior Center are working on strategies to handle that rapidly growing population in communities all around the borough.

A summer wildfire on the Kenai Peninsula is contributing to a winter rise in electric rates for some Interior Alaska residents

Golden Valley Electric Association customers will be paying more for electricity over the next few months due to the temporary loss of two sources of cheap power.

As reported Delta-area mountain lion sightings increase, wildlife managers search for evidence

Officials have confirmed the presence of mountain lions in Southeast Alaska, but have yet to substantiate reports of animals roaming further north.

Ex-service members plan to develop Interior Alaska community for homeless veterans

If all goes well, organizers hope to open the North Pole Vet Village within the next five years.
A sign that says Fort Wainwright.

Citing executive order, Fort Wainwright evicts public employee union

In an emailed statement, Fort Wainwright officials said they’re evicting the union, “in accordance with Executive Order 13837, which prohibits government agencies from providing free or discounted office space to labor organizations.”

Judge begins deliberations over ex-refinery owner’s groundwater contamination liability

The state seeks tens of millions of dollars from Williams Alaska Petroleum for contaminating the area’s groundwater, and to help pay for cleanup and expansion of North Pole’s water system.

With completion of $40M hangar, Fort Wainwright drone unit ‘fully established’

The nearly 57,000-square-foot hangar will accommodate up to a dozen of the Gray Eagles, which have been flying around Fort Wainwright for about three years now.

Fairbanks utility says new natural gas storage tank will support system expansion

When the Interior Gas Utility’s 5.25 million-gallon LNG storage tank is completed next month, the utility that provides natural gas to Fairbanks will finally be able to resume expanding its customer base.

Delta city council member denies posting racist comments on social media

A Delta Junction City Council member says he’s been victimized by a fake Twitter account established under his name in January that includes several posts with racist comments.

In Fairbanks, some Alaskans welcome this proposed North Slope oil project. Others say ‘slow down’

The project is expected to produce 2,000 construction jobs and some 130,000 barrels of oil a day. Opponents are concerned about what it would mean for the environment.

More than 2,000 Fort Wainwright soldiers to deploy to Iraq

The Stryker soldiers are part of a joint task force that will mainly be helping train Iraqi troops, law-enforcement officers and other security forces.

Missile Defense Agency: ‘Kill vehicle’ contract cancellation won’t affect Greely expansion

The Pentagon's decision last week to cancel a billion-dollar contract held by Boeing Co., due to problems with the "kill vehicle" payload on interceptor missiles like those at Fort Greely, won't affect the expansion...

Army, contractor begin planning to dismantle deactivated Fort Greely nuclear power plant

The Army Corps of Engineers is moving ahead on a project to decommission the mothballed nuclear-power plant at Fort Greely.

Fairbanks City Council OKs application for Alaska’s first cannabis shop with onsite-consumption area

The Fairbanks City Council voted Monday to support a cannabis entrepreneur’s bid to open Alaska’s first on-site marijuana consumption facility. But the Anchorage business person who’s proposed the facility must first win an appeal from the state’s marijuana-regulating agency.

5 recent missile-launch alerts direct Fort Greely residents, workers to take shelter

Fort Greely has declared five so-called "shelter in place" alerts over the past two weeks, apparently in response to recent North Korean missile test launches.

UAF project seeks to provide air quality data for rural, remote Alaska areas

A graduate student with the University of Alaska Fairbanks is installing air-quality sensors in rural and remote areas around the state to monitor wildfire smoke and other types of air pollution.