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When the scandal erupted last year over long wait lists at the Phoenix VA, Alaska was found to have quite short wait times. The Alaska VA has for years been buying care for veterans outside the VA, from the private sector and the Native health care system. That’s the model Congress chose when it passed the Veterans Choice Act last year, aimed at solving the VA backlog in the Lower 48. But as the new Choice program spreads to Alaska, vets and providers say it’s undoing parts of the Alaska-grown system that have worked well.

Update: Friday, June 19. 7:00 am.Managers of the Sockeye Fire near Willow plan to begin letting residents back into the evacuation area Friday. At 10 this morning, the evacuation zone will be reduced to the fire perimeter line, controlled by nine security checkpoints. Homeowners who have lost homes will be let into the fire zone, starting at 11. The evacuation is set to end entirely on Saturday but security checkpoints will remain in place through the weekend. On the Parks Highway, traffic will be controlled between mileposts 71 and 78 until Monday.

The Mount Marathon race in Seward is the Super Bowl of Alaskan sports. Each July 4th, racers charge up Mount Marathon - a climb of more than 3,000 feet, and then descend in a matter of minutes in a burst of speed that can look like a controlled fall. A new documentary tells the story of the race through the perspective of several Mount Marathon legends.APRN: Tuesday, 6/23 at 10:00amDownload Audio

Aleutian sockeye has found a new niche market through the organic food delivery company Full Circle Farms.

Alaska Fish and Game is stepping up its research on bats in Southeast. The nocturnal, bug-eating animal is being threatened in the Lower 48 by a disease called White-Nose Syndrome. That’s prompting Alaska researchers to find out which bats live here and where they roost. But they can’t do all the work by themselves, so they’re enlisting the public’s help.

https://youtu.be/XrCMDFESfuwFires ripped through Southcentral Alaska and the Kenai Peninsula this week, destroying structures and triggering evacuations. As the fires calm down, people are starting to head home. This week on Alaska Edition we’ll talk about fighting fires and taking the next steps toward recovery.KSKA: Friday, 6/19, at 2:00 p.m. and Saturday, 6/20, at 6:00 p.m.KAKM: Friday, 6/19, at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday, 6/20, at 4:30 p.m.

Small Part of Card Street Fire Under Control; Sockeye Fire Starting to “Cooperate”; Healy Lake Fire Doubles In Size; Juneau Protesters Rally Against Shell’s Arctic Plans; Six Cruise Ships Release Treated Sewage into Harbors; Fishermen In the Dark About King Limits; Mat-Su Residents To Learn About Their Homes in Wake of Sockeye; Kids Gather in Tanana to Learn Some Basketball and Life Skills

The crowd of about 40 gathered in the drizzling rain outside Juneau’s federal building this afternoon to protest Royal Dutch Shell’s oil rig, the Polar Pioneer. The vessel left Seattle on Monday after weeks of public outcry.

Several wildfires are burning in the interior, including a growing blaze east of Delta Junction. Division of Forestry spokesman Tim Mowry says the Healy Lake fire made a major push west toward Delta beginning late Wednesday night and increased in size from 2,000 to up to 6,000 acres.

How do you connect with the past and the future at the same time? For one artist, the start is through polar bear hides made of zip ties and an ancient Inupiaq whaling suit made of flexible plastic mesh. Allison Warden speaks about her newest project, The Place of the Future-Ancient.