Murkowski’s Bethel hearing to feature U.S. Energy Secretary
U.S. Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz will join a host of state and federal officials in Bethel on Monday to talk rural energy needs. Download Audio
Alaska News Nightly: Monday, Feb. 15, 2016
Rep. Gruenberg dies in Juneau; Neff wins Yukon Quest; Murkowski hearing features energy secretary; UAF's Walsh honored; Bethel fire department wants more positions; EPA recognizes Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium; Ketchikan's safe homes group has been on probation. Download Audio
UAF’s Walsh wins international science award
A University of Alaska Fairbanks scientist is receiving the recognition of his peers. Dr. John Walsh recently garnered a medal from the International Arctic Science Committee. The prestigious award recognizes Walsh’s sustained work in far north. Download Audio
Looming Bethel alcohol sales push need for bigger fire department
The Bethel Fire Dept. is asking the city to fund two extra positions after seeing a surge in alcohol-related calls. The department is straining to respond to the influx, and with legal alcohol sales coming to Bethel, it expects those numbers to rise.Download Audio
LEO program launches new app connecting observers, experts
Last week at the Dena'ina Convention Center in Anchorage high-level EPA officials presented an award to the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium for its Local Environmental Observer, or LEO program. Download Audio
Ketchikan’s safe homes group has been on probation
Ketchikan’s Women in Safe Homes has been on probation since last fall after a site visit by the state Council on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault found the emergency shelter out of compliance with various regulations. WISH officials, though, say there was no warning from the state council that there were any problems. Download Audio
New Tustumena design ready
The State Department of Transportation has a design for the ship that will replace the Ferry Tustumena. The Tustumena has served communities in South Central and Southwest Alaska for a little more than 50 years. The ferry’s home port is in Homer and it regularly travels to 13 ports between Homer and Unalaska.
Senator introduces bill to ban late-term abortion
A North Pole senator has introduced a bill that would require Alaska's doctors to determine whether a fetus could survive outside of the womb before performing abortions.
Alaska News Nightly: Friday, Feb. 12, 2016
FAA break-up bill clears U.S. House committee; organizations call for ban of heavy fuel oil in Arctic waters; KPC graduate takes first job with BlueCrest; Anchorage, Willow will host Iditarod starts despite low snow; Sass first to leave Dawson in Yukon Quest; humane society addresses uproar over Coco’s last day; AK: Leveraging your leopard: the biz behind Alaska's only zoo; 49 Voices: Laurie Fernandes of Anchorage. Download Audio
FAA break-up bill clears U.S. House committee
A bill to privatize the nation’s air traffic controllers cleared the Transportation Committee in the U.S. House last night. Rep. Don Young says he amended it to protect Essential Air Service and Alaska's air taxis. Download Audio
Solutions sought for lack of detox beds in South central Alaska
The director of the Ernie Turner Center says they need more beds to help people detox. AFACT is hosting a community meeting to discuss solutions.
Organizations call for ban of heavy fuel oil in Arctic waters
A group of non-governmental organizations recently sent a letter to the state department calling for a ban on heavy fuel oil, or HFO, in Arctic waters. HFO is tough to cleanup, but the widespread use of HFO throughout the Arctic makes the ban an especially hard sell. Download Audio
Petersburg inmate caught by police
Petersburg Police have apprehended an inmate who escaped from the Petersburg jail Friday morning. Police chief Kelly Swihart says officers arrested 22-year-old Jacob Sturgeon of Petersburg just before 4 p.m. on Friday in a shed behind a home on Lumber Street near downtown Petersburg.
KPC graduate takes first job with BlueCrest
BlueCrest Energy pledged to hire four Kenai Peninsula College graduates to work at their drilling site near Anchor Point. The company made good on its promise. One of BlueCrest’s local hires says the job is the next step in what he hopes will be a promising career. Download Audio
Anchorage, Willow will host Iditarod starts despite low snow
Organizers have decided that a lack of snow in the Anchorage area won't force a route change for this year's Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. The start of the race will be staged as usual in Willow, about 50 miles north of Anchorage. Download Audio
Sass first to leave Dawson in Yukon Quest
It was warm and misty on the Yukon River as Brent Sass left Dawson City with fourteen dogs just after midnight. Snowdrifts, ice melt and gold mines are just a few things mushers have to look out for in the second half of the Yukon Quest.The warm weather has caused some of the glaciated hillsides to melt onto the trail. Download Audio
Humane society addresses uproar over Coco’s last day
Gastineau Humane Society called the dog aggressive and not a viable candidate for adoption. The Juneau couple wishes they’d been notified before the dog was put down. Download Audio
Leverage your leopard: the biz behind Alaska’s only zoo
If you've ever wanted to feed a snow leopard, a moose, or a pack of wolves, this year you've got a chance. Albeit, for a tidy sum. It's part of the special programming that helps keep cultural institutions in Alaska afloat during the long, lean winter months. Download Audio
Search on for escaped inmate in Petersburg
Petersburg police are searching for an inmate who escaped from the Petersburg jail Friday morning. Police reported the escape of 22-year-old Jacob Sturgeon of Petersburg just before 11 a.m. on Friday. He reportedly removed his shirt and shoes while running past the borough’s public works shop on South Second Street. Sturgeon was described as 5 foot nine inches, 180 pounds with brown hair.
WISH on probation, but questions arise
Ketchikan’s Women in Safe Homes (WISH) has been on probation since last fall after a site visit by the state Council on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault found the emergency shelter out of compliance with various regulations. WISH officials, though, say there was no warning from the state council that there were any problems. In fact, just a few months prior, the shelter had received notice of compliance, praising the program for following regulations.