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Anchorage's Parks and Recreation Department opened a new dock on Jewel Lake yesterday. Unlike the previous, weather-damaged facility that loomed 15 feet over the water, this one makes the lake accessible -- to everyone. Jewel lake dock

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is opening public comment on a plan to relax Steller sea lion protections and allow more commercial fishing in the western Aleutian Islands. Download Audio

Although the ancient form of dance called English Morris was born so long ago its origins are murky, it remains alive and well, even in frozen Alaska. Rant and Raven, Anchorage’s Morris dance group, is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, with a tour on the Alaska Marine Highway. Download Audio

Over the past few years Hollywood has taken a keen interest in Alaska. Big budget films are being shot here, and it seems like new Alaskan reality TV programs pop up every week. The bustling industry isn’t growing on its own. The state spends a lot of money courting out of state productions. While it’s a boon for the economy, some think the resources would be better spent elsewhere. Download Audio

The Juneau Assembly is considering a ban on e-cigarette vapors in nearly all indoor public spaces. The local chapter of the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence led the push at an Assembly Committee meeting Monday. Kristin Cox, a naturopathic doctor and the council’s tobacco prevention program coordinator, argued that the new tobacco alternative is being marketed to youths and misrepresented as harmless. Download Audio

This year’s mountaineering season has been one for the record books. Earlier this month, a new speed record was set on Denali. And a team of skiers knocked out back-to-back ascents of the three tallest mountains in the Alaska Range. Download Audio

Hot canola oil pangs off a stainless steel tub under the watch of a local fry bread master. Some people say it’s magic that turns a hand-stretched disc of dough into a puffy -- but-not-too-puffy -- piece of golden, delicious fry bread. Fry bread, that high calorie treat that can go savory or sweet, has generations of history in many Alaska Native families, where the untraditional food has become a cultural fixture. Download Audio

The remains of 17 service members who died in a 1952 plane crash near Mount Gannett have been identified by the Department of Defense and will soon be returned to their families. An Alaska National Guard Blackhawk helicopter crew discovered the crash site two summers ago on Colony Glacier during a training exercise. A team went back to the site to recover what they could later that month. Some of the family members reflected on the experience. Download Audio

Juneau Police are reporting the recovery of an eight-foot dance paddle that was stolen Saturday after the end of Celebration, the big biennial cultural event in the Capital City. Listen now:

A ribbon cutting ceremony for a new public facility was held Thursday morning in downtown Ketchikan. The christening of the Stedman –Thomas Neighborhood Loo attracted about 40 people on a sunny and windy morning. Download Audio

A British kayak team that’s trekking along the Aleutian Islands reached Unalaska Sunday night. KUCB’s Annie Ropeik was part of a group that paddled out to greet them. Download Audio

Gold is in Clutch Lounsbury’s blood. His grandparents took the Valdez Trail up to Fairbanks during the Gold Rush, and Clutch was on a cat before he could walk. He’s searched in creeks, canyons, and underground. He’s sluice boxed, dredged,and hard rock mined all over the Interior and the Arctic. Today he lives in Ester above an 800-foot mine shaft in the hillside. Download Audio

Dozens of paddlers from Yakutat to Metlakatla and places in between landed their canoes on a Juneau beach on their way to the Southeast Native cultural festival Celebration 2014. More than 500 people waded into the water or watched from the shore as the paddlers ended their journey Wednesday afternoon. Hundreds of others lined a nearby causeway or cheered from parks and bridges along the route. We spoke with some of the paddlers and recorded some of the songs and filed this audio post card. Download Audio

Celebration begins this evening at 6 o’clock with the Grand Entrance procession to Centennial Hall. The four-day cultural event of Southeast Alaska Natives includes 50 dance groups. Among them is All Nations Children’s Dance Group of Juneau. The group formed in 1995 and has about 80 members. Download Audio

Tlingit wood carver Tommy Joseph was in Anchorage last week to repair a totem pole which will become part of the Anchorage Museum's collection. Download Audio

For the next few months, politicians are going to be swarming fairs and festivals in an effort to win voters. The Colony Days parade held in Palmer this weekend was the first stop on the circuit. Download Audio

An “earthquake swarm” is hitting the Brooks Range. Seismologists do not know why it is occurring or if it will continue. Friday night a 5.5 magnitude earthquake struck 20 miles northeast of Noatak. This is the third 5.5 quake that has struck the same area in the past two months.

Scientists with the U.S. Geological Survey are using new video collars to get a glimpse into the daily life of polar bears. Researchers have been using radio and GPS collars since the 1980s to track polar bears' movements along the Arctic sea ice. But, that data lacks a lot of contextual and observational information that allows for a better understanding of the bears. Download Audio

More than 70 years have passed since the U.S. government forced the people of Atka from their homes to an internment camp on Killisnoo Island in Southeast Alaska. To protect them from Japanese invasion during World War II, they were moved 1,600 miles from the Aleutian Islands to an old whaling and herring village across the water from Angoon on Admiralty Island. Download Audio

An earthquake shook some Southeast Alaska residents out of bed early Wednesday morning. The 5.8 preliminary magnitude quake with a depth of about 14 miles hit just before 4 a.m., according to the Alaska Earthquake Information Center. Download Audio