News

Supporters of four men imprisoned for the 1997 murder of a Fairbanks teen are looking beyond a recent favorable court ruling. Eugene Vent, George Frese, Kevin Pease and Marvin Roberts are serving multi-decade prison sentences for killing John Hartman. There was no physical evidence tying the men to the beating attack, and the case has long drawn questions about whether justice was served. The latest ruling involves an appeal by one of the convicted men.

Derek Michael Stephens, 30, was arrested Friday afternoon in King Salmon on an outstanding warrant involving four counts of sexual exploitation of a child from the state of Idaho. Bristol Bay Borough Chief of Police Rodney Enevoldsen says authorities in Idaho made his department aware of the Warrant and the interest in Stephens in August, but until last week there had been no plans to extradite.

The official search for a man missing in the Brooks Range has been called off. Thirty one year old Thomas Seibold had been staying at a cabin on the Ambler River since September. He’d planned to hike 25 miles to the village of Kobuk for a flight out on Nov. 11, but never arrived. A two-week aerial search followed, but Alaska State Trooper spokeswoman Megan Peters says there’s been no sign of Seibold.

After a week of harsh weather, responders were finally able to remove fuel from a tug that grounded off the Alaska Peninsula. The Polar Wind was carrying about 20,000 gallons of diesel when it — and the barge it was towing — ended up on the rocks. About 6,000 gallons were lost after the accident, but there have been no reports of oiled animals.

More shoppers than ever before attended Black Friday sales this year – but not in Unalaska, where there are no big box stores or shopping malls. Still, residents managed to find great deals the morning after Thanksgiving.

Two brothers from Juneau died in a boating accident Friday near Tenakee Springs. Alaska State Troopers Spokeswoman Megan Peters says 26-year-old Casey Newman and 23-year-old Kelly Newman went missing when their 18-foot Lund skiff capsized late Friday. Peters says Jim Brown, Jr., in his mid-20s, was also on the boat and was able to swim to shore.

Now it's time for 300 villages. This week were going to Slana, a community of about 150 people at the start of the Nabesna Road. It was one of the last spots in the country to stake a homestead.

In Barrow, the sun has set until January. In Fairbanks, residents have five hours and 22 minutes of sunlight right now. So in comparison, Anchorage's six and a half hours of sun each day sounds generous. Still, that leaves quite a bit of time for dark in the state's largest city.

It's been over a week since the tug Polar Wind and the barge it was towing grounded off the Alaska Peninsula, and response crews are still struggling to remove fuel and other cargo.

Governor Sean Parnell wants the State Board of Education to make student performance an important part of teacher evaluations. The board has been working for months on drafting a new rule that bases 20 percent of a teacher's evaluation on student achievement. The Governor wrote a letter to the board this week, asking to boost that figure to 50 percent.

Parnell Wants Student Performance to be Part of Teacher Evals; Polar Winds Slow Diesel Removal; Scientists Testing for Acidity; UAF Scientist Looking for Wood Alternatives; Hiland Mountain Orchestra Gets Ready for Annual Concert.

Scientists have known for years that greenhouse gasses are altering the chemical makeup of our oceans. More and more carbon dioxide is dissolving into salt water, creating carbonic acid. That changes the ocean’s pH, or acid-alkaline balance. And it’s hitting harder in Alaska.

Musical instruments require extremely high quality wood. One Botanist has spent the last five years at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks searching for alternatives to what’s becoming an increasingly limited resource for woodwind instruments.

The all-female Hiland Mountain Orchestra is rehearsing for its annual concert in December. The string ensemble has gained national recognition for being the first women's prison inmate orchestra in the nation. This year, the orchestra's members have a lot to celebrate. They've matured as musicians and they are expanding the orchestra.