KUAC

On the Yukon Quest Trail, there are a few things mushers have to be especially picky about including a sturdy sled. Jumble ice near McCabe Creek, half way to Pelly Crossing is testing sled engineering this year.Download Audio

It’s hard to imagine that oceans in the far north once teemed with ancient marine reptiles. But 145 million years ago, that’s exactly what was happening a couple hundred miles north of mainland Europe. A region east of Greenland and north of Norway used to be home to a whole slew of giant sea-faring reptiles. “It is literally one of the richest places in the world for marine reptiles like Plesiosuars and Ichthyosuars,” says Pat Druckenmiller.

The contentious issue of antlerless moose hunts drew a large crowd to a Fairbanks Fish and Game Advisory Committee meeting Thursday night.

Organizers of the Copper Basin 300 canceled the sled dog race on Sunday less than halfway through the course, after mushers encountered extreme cold and an impassable stretch of trail.

The Occupy movement has continued into the New Year in communities across the United States. In Fairbanks, a small but steadfast group of Occupy protestors has maintained a presence at a downtown park since mid October.

The 90 or so people who work for Boeing in the Interior got a late Christmas present Friday when the Pentagon awarded a seven year, $3.5 billion contract to the company to operate the Fort Greely based missile defense system.

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.

The unusually warm weather is expected to give way to more seasonal temperatures. National Weather Service meteorologist Don Aycock in Fairbanks says an upper level low moving down from the North Pole is forecast to spread frigid air into the interior by the holiday weekend.

A group of Ester-area residents working to build a community library have approved a ultra energy-efficient design.

Lonnie Dupre is back in Alaska for a second attempt at climbing Denali solo in the month of January.