Town Square 49

Let's Talk Anchorage is pleased to offer its first community dialogue: The Occupy Movement: What is it?. The dialogue will take place at the Mt. View Community Library on Saturday, December 17 from 1 - 4 PM. If you are concerned, curious, or committed, this is your opportunity to engage in respectful, facilitated conversations with fellow citizens. More details.

Suicide is difficult to talk about. But often, the conversations most worth having are the hardest to tackle. With Conversations that Matter: Teen Suicide in Alaska, we hope to take a step towards an open, statewide dialog on this important issue. Following the live studio recording of the program, there was an opportunity for audience commentary and questions. Each video is a segment of that conversation. Click for more videos.

A collection of recently posted screen shots of RurAL CAP's iphone app. Have you uploaded some cool photos to your Facebook? Tag @townsquare49 or email townsquare49@alaskapublic.org with the link and we'll post them here. Click for more.

-30 to -40 low temperatures in Fairbanks today. That kind of cold is an experience which, according to these UAF students, runs the gamut from 'awesome' to 'what do you think'. Click for larger view.

Winter is here in full force across the state.  And with a monster storm rolling in to Western Alaska, a quick review of emergency preparedness is not a bad idea.  Here is a good emergency supply list from the State Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management. See the list.

Video of Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Martin Dempsey as he talks with service members and families at a town hall meeting at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska. Click for video.

On August 5, 2011 Stories at the Cemetery provided a self-guided walk through Anchorage Memorial Park Cemetery, featuring presentations by costumed actors at ten pre-selected grave sites. Here's the fourth installment, featuring local actor Micah Williams as Woodard Vining - another man who is not in-fact buried in the cemetery (at least no ALL of him.) Click for larger view.

On Saturday, October 8 there was a painting project at Blaine's Art in Anchorage which used artist Don Kolstad's truck for a canvas. Blaine's owner, Rene Haag, explained the idea behind the project and shared additional details on the supplies used. The instructor was Catherine Thoele. Click for a larger view.

Suicide, particularly youth suicide is one of those ugly sides to our state’s statistics. Of course we know that suicide is far more than a statistic. It impacts our families, it impacts our communities, and in certain parts of Alaska, youth suicide has been devastating.
On October 22nd, at the AFN Convention, I will be conducting a field hearing of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee to really delve into more of the issues surrounding youth suicide, some of the connections that we know to be at play, whether it’s depression, whether it’s witnessing acts of violence within the home, whether it is lack of support.
Read more.

This video, presenting the Yup'ik alphabet, was created by a group of students (and teachers) at Ket'acik & Aapalluk Memorial School in Kwethluk, a village in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta. Read more.

Summer may be officially over, but that doesn't mean we can't enjoy the memories. Local filmmaker Adam Holzer sent us this great video of a truly Alaskan surfing expedition. Adam says: "My friend Kyle Eckstrom from Hawaii was in town for a wedding and during a discussion over coffee, I jokingly asked him if he wanted to surf the bore tide that day (he is a very experienced surfer). Kyle had no clue what it was and I had never done it, but he seemed enthralled with the idea, so we ran with it." Watch the video.

Be heard! Get your Alaskan story on-air, online, and into our community. Join us Thursday, September 15 from 2 - 5 PM at Cafe Del Mundo in Anchorage to record a story for potential use on KAKM, KSKA and townsquare49.org. And, you'll learn more about the project from folks from the Alaska Community Foundation. More details.

On August 5, 2011 Stories at the Cemetery provided a self-guided walk through Anchorage Memorial Park Cemetery, featuring presentations by costumed actors at ten pre-selected grave sites. Here's the third installment, featuring local actor Nate Benson as Dick Francis, unwitting victim in the Cache Creek murders. Click for the video.

On August 5, 2011 Stories at the Cemetery provided a self-guided walk through Anchorage Memorial Park Cemetary, featuring presentations by costumed actors at ten pre-selected grave sites. Townsquare49.org sent a mobile video crew to capture the action. Here's the first installment, featuring local actor Richard Benavides as Milton Hamilton, an Anchorage resident killed by the famous Russian Jack. Click for more details.