Tim Ellis, KUAC - Fairbanks
Tim Ellis is a reporter at KUAC in Fairbanks.
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.
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.
House speaker, Interior lawmakers lay out case for overriding governor’s budget cuts
State House Speaker Bryce Edgmon joined five Fairbanks-area legislators and University of Alaska President Jim Johnsen Wednesday for a news conference focused on overriding the governor's deep cuts to the university system and other state programs. The lawmakers and Johnsen then spoke to about 700 people at a town hall in Fairbanks, almost all of whom urged them to override.
First class of veterinarians graduate from UAF-Colorado State program
The first graduates of a new veterinary-medicine program offered through the University of Alaska Fairbanks have all been hired to work here in Alaska and the Lower 48.