News

This week APRN and our affiliates across the state have been taking a look back at favorite and significant stories of 2011. Tonight we start in Nome.

Anchorage Port Director Announces Retirement, Susitna-Watana Dam One Step Closer To Reality, Cleveland Volcano Erupts, Girl Injected With Heroin Dies, Vitus Marine Waiting For Decision On Jones Act Waiver, EPA Begins Assessment Of Bristol Bay Watershed, Part 3: Urban Hospitals in Alaska Reap Huge Profits, State Gets Money For Efforts To Enroll Children In Public Health Care, UAF Returning Over 1,000 Union Organizing Letters, Year In Review: Nome and Anchorage

The Alaska Health Care Commission just released a series of reports that try to understand why health care costs so much more in Alaska. One important finding is that the cost for specialty care is much higher here than in other parts of the country.

The Salvation Army in Fairbanks received an unusual donation in its red collection kettles this holiday season. Salvation Army Fairbanks Major Kevin Bottjen says the anonymous gifts were dropped into several of its red collection kettles in local store fronts Dec. 23.

This year, Hollywood film studios sent crews to Alaska to shoot scenes for the movies, “On Frozen Ground” and “Big Miracle.”

The family that road a five-person bike to Fairbanks in 2010, and drove an old bus out of town this past summer, is back home in Kentucky. The Harrsions, who go by the nickname Pedouins, are traveling the country selling a book about their nomadic lifestyle.

APRN and our affiliates are using this last week of 2011 to look back on some of the stories that left an impression. Some because they were fun, but some because they were difficult to report on.

Russian Tanker Waiting On Jones Act Waiver, Missing Bethel Teen Found Dead, Karluk Manor Object Of Lawsuit Against Anchorage Municipality, National Parks See Visitor Increase In 2011, Part 2: Specialty Care Comes With a Big Price Tag in Alaska, Salvation Army Receives Unusual Donation, State Money Available For Those Looking For Future In Film, Adventurous Family Selling Book On Nomadic Lifestyle, Year In Review: Haines, Unalaska and Homer

Anchorage-based Alaska Communications Systems or ACS has lowered its annual dividend to shareholders by 77 percent.

RuralCap, an organization which advocates for services for rural villages, has taken on the work of energy saving upgrades for many of Alaska’s most remote communities.

The Rasmuson Foundation is contributing $2 million to expand their ‘Community Asset Building Initiative’ over the next three years. It’s an opportunity for communities to develop their own philanthropic organizations.

New research shows northern Southeast Alaska’s sea otter population is growing slower than in the southern part of the region. But it’s still expanding, which continues to worry fishermen and divers.

This week we’re taking a look back at some of the important, and favorite stories from 2011 from APRN and our member station reporters from across the state. Tonight we’ll start in Juneau.

Judge Releases BP From Probation For 2009 Spill, Man Faces Four Charges For Injecting Teen With Heroin, Part One: Health Care In Alaska, ACS Lowers Annual Shareholder Dividend By 77 Percent, RuralCap Working On Rural Energy Saving Upgrades, ‘Community Asset Building Initiative’ Gets $2 Million For Expansion, Northern Southeast’s Sea Otter Population Growing Slower Than Southern Region, Year In Review: Juneau, Dillingham and Fairbanks

A local beachcomber and a renowned oceanographer have found that Kodiak is already receiving some of the earliest arrivals of debris from the Japanese tsunami that resulted from a 9.0 earthquake last March. The tsunami killed nearly 16,000 people and devastated 400 miles of Japan’s coastline.

The process to set federal fishing policy in the North Pacific relies on public input and sound science. That was the message that came out of a recent panel discussion held in Seattle.

In this last week of 2011, APRN and our member station reporters from across the state are taking a moment to reflect back on some of the stories that were significant for Alaskans. Today we’ll hear from the first three in our week-long series.

State Gives $1.5 Million To Support Suicide, Substance Abuse Prevention In Southwest Alaska, Mushers Add Another Alaska Race To Schedule, Federal Definition Of Homelessness Finalized, Budget Would Put New Trooper Helicopter In Fairbanks, Japanese Tsunami Flotsam Appearing In Kodiak Waters, Panel Discusses NPFMC Process, Year In Review: Washington DC, Nome and Sitka

The Fairbanks North Star Borough has awarded a contract to investigate expansion of local natural gas distribution. The $430,000 bid award to Northern Economics is for a two-fold study.

How do you improve Southeast Alaska’s economy? Business, government, and nonprofit group leaders met in Juneau earlier this month to share and refine their ideas.