Ketchikan elementary students gain gardening skills
Inside a small room at Ketchikan’s Fawn Mountain Elementary School is a lush garden. It’s tended by students, who are growing lettuce, zucchini and … knowledge.
Trump administration offers more NPR-A land for oil leasing than ever before
The Bureau of Land Management announced all 900 tracts set aside for leasing will be up for bid. That compares to just 145 tracts offered last year. It’s the largest lease sale ever in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska.
A mushing dog whodunit amid Iditarod doping scandal
The mushing world has been rocked by an unfolding scandal over doping in the Iditarod. It started two weeks ago, when the race’s governing body announced it was changing rules for drug tests after a banned substance was found in four dogs from a top team. Speculation ignited. http://media.aprn.org/2017/ann-20171024-01.mp3 The Iditarod Trail Committee announced Monday…
Congress could decide fate of Tongass plan to move away from old-growth timber
Conservationists and timber industry groups thought the Forest Service’s decision was finalized last year. But now Congress has a chance to weigh in.
Remembering Balloo: Sitka’s Fortress mourns rescue bear
One of the rescue animals at Sitka’s Fortress of the Bear was euthanized Thursday. Balloo, a 7-year-old brown bear, lived the entirety of his adult life at the educational rescue center, which is permitted by the state to raise orphaned bear cubs and sees tens of thousands of visitors a year. He had lost mobility in…
Test results point to achievement gaps among Sitka’s students
Sitka’s school district is performing above the state average based on the latest test scores — but the numbers are not necessarily something to brag about. Instead, Sitka’s educators hope the new test results help them focus their efforts on under-performing populations in the schools.
Key critic says the votes aren’t there for full repeal of crime bill
The House Judiciary heard a variety of proposed changes to Senate Bill 54. The bill would scale back some of the reductions in criminal sentencing enacted last year.
Tribal advocacy group calls for reinstating Northern Bering Sea climate resilience area
The national tribal advocacy group passed a resolution urging the federal government to restore the Northern Bering Sea Climate Resilience Area as originally issued and to incorporate traditional knowledge “into all federal decision-making that would affect the northern Bering Sea region.”
Mental health clinicians work to keep students safe in Kodiak schools
It’s been at least nine years since a student in the Kodiak Island Borough School District has taken his or her own life. The Kodiak Island Borough School District and the Providence Kodiak Island Counseling Center have partnered for years to provide mental health services to the region’s schools.
Chilkoot Indian Association works to purchase vacant dock
A Haines tribe is in the final stages of buying a local dock that has gone unused for years. The Chilkoot Indian Association sees the Portage Cove dock as an economic development opportunity and a chance to keep a piece of land in tribal hands.
Kodiak Coast Guard hoists crewman after fall
A 42-year-old crewman, who was working on the 655-foot motor vessel Delsa, southeast of Cold Bay, fell 20 feet from the boat’s scaffolding, according to a Coast Guard news release. He suffered possible injury to his back and hip.
What’s the history of the Quonset huts on Atlin Drive?
If you’ve driven on Mendenhall Loop Road, you may have seen the huts. The rusted steel half-circles look a bit like mini-airplane hangars.
Fourth special session opens with differences over crime, tax bills
Of the two items on the special session agenda, there appears to be more urgency to pass the crime bill.
Iditarod committee says Dallas Seavey’s sled dogs failed drug test
“I have done nothing wrong,” Seavey said. “I have never knowingly broken any race rule. I have never given any banned substances to my dogs.”
Alaska’s congressional delegation addresses AFN on final day of convention
Sen. Dan Sullivan’s recounted President Trump suggesting reversing the McKinley-Denali name change in a meeting. “And Sen. Murkowski and I jumped over the desk and we said ‘No!'”
New winter tours, heliski map ordinance on Haines Assembly agenda
Haines’ newly elected officials will take their seats Tuesday night. The election results are set for certification at the beginning of the assembly meeting. It won’t mean much change in the makeup of the body.
Juneau’s shuttered Bergmann Hotel to be sold
Owners of the dilapidated Bergmann Hotel say they are selling their downtown properties. The historic hotel was shut down in March after being condemned by the city over safety hazards.
Searchers recover pilot Kyle Stevens’ remains in Yukon River near Russian Mission
The remains of Kyle Stevens, 31, have been found. Missing after taking off from Russian Mission last week, Stevens’ body was recovered Friday in the Yukon River near the village. The crashed plane was found days earlier.
Alaska Native tribes unite to oppose mega-mines
Tribal groups from opposite ends of the state have formed an alliance to fight mines they say threaten traditional fisheries.
University extends bid, comment deadline for proposed Chilkat Peninsula timber sale
The deadline for bids and public comment on a proposed Haines-area timber sale has been extended. The University of Alaska is offering up 400 acres of old growth Sitka spruce and western hemlock on the Chilkat Peninsula.