The Gentle Giants
The Carriage Wheel Ranch in Chugiak, Alaska is home to the Gentle Giants, six black Percheron draft horses.
The associated Horse-Drawn Carriage Company, owned by Jon Nauman, has been offering carriage, sleigh and wagon rides to Alaskans for nearly 40 years.
Lindsey Holmes Recall Application Rejected
The Division of Elections has rejected a petition calling for the recall of Rep. Lindsey Holmes. While the recall group exceeded the number of signatures required by the state, state attorneys weren't compelled by their legal reasoning for removing Holmes from office.
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Representative Bob Herron Fined For Ethics Violation
Representative Bob Herron is being fined for ethics violations, dating back to when he was first elected to the Legislature in 2009. The House ethics committee found that Herron knowingly withheld “sufficient detail" on his business ventures with another legislator – Senator Lyman Hoffman.
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Attorney General Questions Commission’s Public Safety Solutions
A national commission blames the state of Alaska for the epidemic of violence afflicting Alaska Natives, and has come up with a series of recommendations to strengthen tribal jurisdiction. The state Attorney General agrees there’s a public safety problem, but says the Commission’s solutions aren’t suited to Alaska.
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UAA Tops Out New Engineering Building
The final piece of steel in the University of Alaska Anchorage's new engineering building was put into place today. It marks the beginning of the end for a decade of vast expansion at the university.
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Avian Cholera Caused Savoonga, Gambell Seabird Die Off
Late last month, residents of Savoonga and Gambell on St. Lawrence Island began finding hundreds of dead seabirds as they washed ashore. This week, state officials said the event was from a common disease, and is no cause for concern.
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Powassan Virus On The Rise
A deadly virus transmitted by ticks is on the rise, and researchers are studying its prevalence in Alaska. The Center for Disease Control recently published a study on the Powassan virus in the Western United States and Siberia.
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Ambler Road Focus Of Anchorage Meeting
The controversial Ambler Road was the focus of the Western Arctic Caribou Herd Working Group meeting in Anchorage on Thursday.
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300 Villages: Whale Pass
This week, we’re heading to Whale Pass, a small community on Prince of Wales Island. Bob Meyer lives in Whale Pass.
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AK: Fortress of the Bear
In 2003, a Sitka couple proposed creating a bear rescue center from the remains of the town’s decommissioned pulp mill – a plan that raised some local hackles. Ten years later, the Fortress of the Bear is home to five brown bears and two new black bear cubs – and it has converted some skeptics, including a local biologist.
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Sixteen Year Sentence For Valley Methylone Dealer
Molly, bath salts, ecstasy. The names all mean the designer drug, methylone, and Thursday, methylone dealer Robin Gattis, son of state legislator Lynne Gattis, was handed down a sixteen year sentence in federal court in Anchorage in what is apparently the first case in the country involving a death from the drug.
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Slow Fish: An Idea Whose Time has Come in Alaska?
Alaskans have always enjoyed and defended their fish. We love our clam beaches, most of us oppose fish farming and many of us have our own special recipes not only for cooking, but preserving salmon and other fish. Alaska’s remoteness has helped to protect its fisheries, but in more populated parts of the world, small-scale local fisheries are threatened by habitat degradation and outside-owned fleets.
APRN: Tuesday, 12/10 at 10:00am
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2-Year-Old Assaulted in Bethel, Man Arrested
A Bethel man is in custody for allegedly beating his two-year-old son. Police were called to a Bethel home early on a morning last week and found the toddler with visible facial wounds and a broken clavicle that would require medevac to Anchorage.
With State In The Red, Lawmakers Considering Savings Withdrawal
The state was already looking at deficit spending even before Wednesday's revenue forecast came out, but now Alaska is facing a $2 billion budget shortfall. The governor also wants to put $3 billion toward the state's unfunded pension liabilities. Lawmakers plan to cover that gap with a mix of budget cuts and savings withdrawals.
Arctic Fibre Reveals Alaska Broadband Plans
In another sign of how climate change is transforming the Arctic, a Toronto-based company is planning to lay a fiber-optic cable through Canada’s Northwest Passage.
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BOEM Reviews Lease Sale Comments
The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management received comments this week on the proposed 2016 lease sale for the Chukchi Sea. Unlike lease sales in the Gulf of Mexico, new Arctic lease sales are targeted – certain areas may not be up for auction.
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Court Backs Park Service In Water Rights Case
A court decision has re-affirmed National Park Service authority to regulate state owned rivers flowing through federal lands. The ruling is in a case that spurred public outcry about park service law enforcement.
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Indian Law and Order Commission Report Criticizes Alaska
Wednesday, three members of the Indian Law and Order Commission spoke at the Bureau of Indian Affairs Providers’ Conference to describe the findings of their report to Congress and the President, a report that singles out Alaska for criticism.
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Savoonga Lands 55-Foot Bowhead Whale
Half the community of Savoonga flocked to the beach Tuesday to help haul a 55-foot bowhead whale ashore. The meat is especially welcome in the village because of an economic crisis after a record low walrus harvest this fall.
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Former Legislator, Teacher, Homesteader Niilo Koponen Dies
Fairbanks educator and former state legislator Niilo Koponen passed away Tuesday of natural causes, according to the family’s website.
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