Alaskans win video contest, trip to Norway
A lifelong Alaskan and a relative newcomer to the state combined forces recently to make a short film called Arctic Contrast, winning a video contest sponsored by the Norwegian Embassy in DC.
Wage increase kicks In January 1
In 2014 Alaskans voted for one-dollar increases to go into effect in 2015 and 2016. The first, raised it from $7.75 per hour, to $8.75. The second, to $9.75 an hour goes into effect January 1, 2016. Download Audio
Arctic air warming, but North Pole not turning to slush
The North Pole is melting according to many news outlets. But Walt Meier, a research scientist for NASA and a co-author of NOAA’s 2015 Arctic Report Card on Sea Ice, said that’s not quite accurate. Download Audio
No time to Google when mom is ready to deliver
Anchorage municipal attorney Bill Falsey got a quick lesson in labor and delivery this week. He and his wife, Alaska Dispatch News reporter Jeannette Lee Falsey, expected to have their baby in the hospital. Falsey says Jeannette woke at about three in the morning on December 29th, with contractions that were far apart. By 6 am, the couple had called Bill's mom to come to the house and were getting ready to go to the hospital. Then Jeannette's water broke and the contractions quickly became more urgent. Download Audio
Color me this: New trend for adults makes timely arrival in Haines
A new trend has landed in Haines, and for once we’re not trailing way behind. Adult coloring is wildly popular pretty much everywhere, including Alaska, and the Babbling Book on Main Street can’t keep the boutique pages in stock. Download Audio
Another Juneau restaurant empire growing
Another Juneau restaurant empire is taking form with the opening of an Italian restaurant next month in the space recently known as the Silverbow Bakery. In Bocca Al Lupo will be the newest restaurant venture by the people who run The Rookery Café, Panhandle Provisions and The Taqueria. Download Audio
Stebbins teenager arrested for stabbing teen from St. Michael
Alaska State Troopers are investigating the stabbing of a St. Michael teenager by another teen from Stebbins.
Alaska News Nightly: Wednesday, Dec. 30, 2015
Rep. Hawker won't seek re-election; Russian icebreaker makes record-setting Arctic voyage; Fairbanks marijuana club treads carefully forward; About 7,700 Alaskans have enrolled in expanded Medicaid; Alaska school districts advised to adopt transgender policies; Behavioral health the focus of Mat-Su grants; Holy Bible translated into modern Yup'ik; Former Juneau mayor Jamie Parsons dies at 74
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Rep. Hawker won’t seek re-election
Hawker is known for his policy work, including his involvement in legislation setting up the Alaska Gasline Development Corp. But he also has endured criticism over the cost of a lease for Anchorage legislative office space that he helped negotiate.
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Russian icebreaker makes record-setting Arctic voyage
According to the Russian media outlet Port News, a Russian icebreaker has just completed the fastest transit of the Northern Sea Route. Along with setting the speed record, the icebreaker also completed the trip over a month after the shipping season usually ends in the Arctic.
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Fairbanks marijuana club treads carefully forward
Fairbanks first marijuana business has been open for just over a month. “The Higher Calling” – or THC – is one of several so called “clubs” in the state that have arisen since voter’s passage of a marijuana legalization initiative in 2014.
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About 7,700 Alaskans have enrolled in expanded Medicaid
A state health department official says that since the state expanded Medicaid to cover more lower-income Alaskans on Sept. 1, about 7,700 people have enrolled.
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Alaska school districts advised to adopt transgender policies
School restrooms and locker rooms have become legal battlegrounds recently as courts in the Lower 48 puzzle over how schools should treat students who don’t identify with the gender they were assigned at birth. Now, two statewide education organizations are trying to equip Alaska school districts with policies regarding transgender students.
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Behavioral health focus of Mat-Su Health Foundation grants
A Mat-Su nonprofit is looking to fill the funding gap for behavioral health services with more budget cuts on the horizon at the state level. One program benefiting from that grant money is aiming to curb the earliest sources of drug and alcohol abuse with a focus on Adverse Childhood Experiences awareness.
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Holy Bible translated into modern Yup’ik
The Holy Bible is now available in the modern Yup’ik orthography after nearly half a century of work put in by fluent Yup’ik speakers in the Bethel area and the American Bible Society. A number of elders were involved with the project.
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Former Juneau mayor Jamie Parsons dies at 74
Former Juneau mayor Jamie Parsons died Saturday in Washington state after more than a decade battling cancer. He was 74. Friends and former colleagues remember his sense of humor, his love of sports and his unfailing commitment to the capital city.
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‘Letters from the Sky’ melds snow science with art
Art and science combine in a new exhibit at the University of Alaska Museum of the North in Fairbanks. The “Letters From the Sky” installation opening Thursday shows how snowflakes form.
High winds, downed lines cut power to thousands from Willow to Cooper Landing
High winds and falling trees cut power to thousands of residents today throughout the Mat-Su, Anchorage, and down the Kenai Peninsula as far as Cooper Landing.
Positive forecast could mean early fishing for Stikine kings
That’s a large enough return to allow commercial fishing on this side of the border and an allowable catch of 1,100 Chinook. Catches of Stikine kings are managed under the Pacific Salmon Treaty between the U.S. and Canada.
Early morning Mat-Su outage leaves up to 20K without power
As many as 20,000 Matanuska-Susitna residents have been without power this morning due to wind.