Anchorage’s Ice Storm Closures
Freezing rain has hit Anchorage and is expected to stick around until this evening, when it is expected to transition into up to 5 inches of snow. The weather and detrimental road conditions have caused the closure or limited service of many entities and services around town. Click here to find a list of known closures.
Team Rubicon To Help Kotlik Clean Up After Storm
Team Rubicon, the disaster-relief NGO made up of retired military personnel, is heading to Kotlik on Monday. The same group has sent volunteers to Haiti, Pakistan, Chile, and, most recently, the Philippines. It’s part of the multi-agency effort to help communities in Western Alaska clean-up after powerful storms two weeks ago.
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Alaska SeaLife Center Using Resurrection Bay For Heat
As energy bills are rising for most people across the state, the Alaska SeaLife Center’s are actually dropping. That’s because they’re using the cold waters of Resurrection Bay to heat their building.
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Department of Defense Releases Arctic Strategy Document
The Department of Defense released a 16 page Arctic Strategy document on Friday. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel talked about it at an event in Nova Scotia. The report states the arctic is at a "strategic inflection point," transforming from a region of relative isolation to one of increasing access to resource extraction, fishing and tourism as sea ice recedes faster than projected.
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Richardson Highway Speed Limit Changed To 65 Between Delta Junction, Valdez
The State Department of Transportation begun changing speed limit signs this week along the Richardson Highway between Delta Junction and Valdez from 55 to 65 miles per hour.
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How Fairbanks Covered JFK’s Assassination
Fifty years ago when news of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy spread around the world, Alaska’s connection to the lower 48 was limited by technology. Listen to how how Fairbanks' newly created public radio station covered the story.
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Icy Storm Hammers Southcentral Alaska
Icy roads are creating hazardous driving conditions in Southcentral Alaska today. Freezing rain began coating snow at around 9am. By noon cars were stranded across Anchorage and the People Mover bus system had shut down.
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The Law in Alaska
A recent report by the Tribal Law and Order Commission is the seventh study to call for more effective administration of justice in rural Alaska to address pressing problems of family violence, alcohol abuse, and high rates of recidivism and suicide. Now the state Attorney General says he’s looking for better ways to co-operate with tribes. What about the state Supreme Court?
APRN: Tuesday, 11/26 at 10:00am
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300 Villages: Portage Creek
This week we travel to southwest Alaska where Chris Carr and his wife, Leona, are the entire year-round population of Portage Creek, a speck on the map about 30 air miles southeast of Dillingham. The Carrs run a general store and a bush guiding service.
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New Map Shows Likely Tsunami Flood Zones
In the back of most Sitkans’ mind is this question: When the big wave comes, will my house be under water? Researchers at the Alaska Earthquake Information Center have an answer, of sorts. This month, they released a new map outlining which parts of Sitka would be affected by a major tsunami.
Subsistence Fishermen File Brief in Appeals Court
New court documents were filed in Alaska’s Appeals Court arguing why the convictions against Yup’ik subsistence fishermen should be overturned.
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Teaching in the City Under One Roof
It takes a different kind of person to live in Whittier, Alaska. The town is accessible only by water or by tunnel, the weather is extreme, and the only housing option is an ugly apartment building. But the community has managed to win over grade school teacher Erika Thompson.
Alaska Public Media video producer Travis Gilmour spent a day with Thompson and found out life in this one-building town is unique, even by Alaska's standards.
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Legislators To Submit Receipts For Office Expenses
For the past year, legislators have been required to treat their office accounts as income. They got a lump sum from the state, and were expected to spend that money on stationery and mailers under the honor system. Now, they're moving back to a policy where they have to submit receipts for those expenditures.
JBER Soldier Receives Soldier’s Medal
A JBER soldier was awarded the highest military honor for an act of heroism in a non-war setting today. Sergeant 1st Class John Kerns recieved the Soldier's Medal for pulling a man from a burning car after it crashed and before it exploded a few moments later.
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Riley Plaintiffs, Dems Rule Out Redistricting Appeal
The legal fight over Alaska’s redistricting plan may be nearing an end. Jason Gazewood, an attorney for Fairbanks-area plaintiffs George Riley and Ronald Dearborn, says they do not plan to appeal a decision approving the latest map.
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McGrath Skeletons Found To Be 1,000 Years Old
A construction project in McGrath last year uncovered three skeletons. Authorities opened a missing persons case, but it turns out these remains have been “missing” for much longer than anyone expected. Radiocarbon dating shows the bones could be a thousand years old. Scientist have spent the last year analyzing DNA and isotopes to find out more about who the individuals were, what they ate and whether they are related to people living in the McGrath area today.
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Family of Man Shot By Anchorage Police Sues
The family of man fatally shot by Anchorage police is suing the police department, officers and the city, claiming reckless, excessive force was used.
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Amendment Would Let Military Prosecutors Handle Sexual Assault Reports
The U.S. Senate this week has been debating how the military should handle sexual assault reports from service members. Both Alaska senators have signed on to an amendment that would let military prosecutors, rather than a suspect’s commander, determine which cases to pursue. Senator Lisa Murkowski on Wednesday spoke on the Senate floor about some of the incidents that motivate her.
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Organization Becoming Difficult For Fishermen, Scientists Partnerships
In Alaska, fishermen and scientists have a long history of working together to figure out how to catch fish in a way that’s safe – for crew members, and for the species out in the ocean. Now, there’s a plethora of research groups out there wanting to set up those partnerships – but, it’s getting harder to organize their efforts.
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New Book Celebrates 25 Years of Collaborative Science
A new book celebrates 25 years of collaborative research and science between the Cup'ik people of Chevak, the Fish and Wildlife Service and the U.S. Geological Survey. The title, Banding Together to learn and Preserve, 25 years of goose banding at old Chevak lays out the premise of this year book style collection of pictures and science information gathered during the decades of bird banding.
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