Denali National Park and Preserve staff and volunteers are searching for an overdue hiker in the park’s Teklanika area. Park officials identified the hiker as 42-year-old Mukunda Egen from California, who is seasonally employed in the area. They say he was last seen at about 11 p.m. Friday.
Associated Press
Conditions improve as authorities battle wildfire
Though the wildfire near Alaska’s largest city was only 15 percent contained as of Saturday, fire officials have given a positive prognosis to the blaze. KTVA-TV reports that incident commander Tom Kurth on Saturday said favorable weather this week should not promote growth of the fire near Anchorage and parts of the fire could be…
Police stop woman from driving husband’s body in “rolling wake”
A woman who drove her husband’s body on a days-long traveling wake in Alaska and used ice from canneries to keep him cold is not accused of breaking any laws. Officers responded to a call last week to find the body of a 78-year-old man inside an aluminum transport casket. Ketchikan Police Chief Alan Bengaard…
Minor flooding feared on the Chena River
High water on the Chena River in Fairbanks has forced organizers to postpone or cancel planned races for both rubber ducks and humans. The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner reports that the high water has forced Saturday’s Rubber Duckie Race and the Sunday Golden Days River Regatta to be postponed on week. Sunday’s Dawg Gone Canoe Race…
Supreme Court strikes down abortion barrier
The Alaska Supreme Court has struck down a state law requiring parental notification of a minor seeking an abortion. The court found the law, approved by voters in 2010, violates the state Constitution and cannot be enforced. The law was challenged by Planned Parenthood of the Greater Northwest and others, who argued, among other things,…
One year later, owner reunited with pet snake
A Sitka woman has been reunited with her pet snake after it slithered out the door almost a year ago. The Sitka Daily Sentinel reports that Lavender, a corn snake, was found Tuesday in a man’s yard and she was reunited with her owner Robin McNeilley after a picture of the snake ran in the…
Animal shelter puts out call for Pokemon Go dog walkers
The shelter put out a call for volunteer Pokemon Go dog walkers in a Facebook post last week, but has yet to see any come in to walk a dog.
Kenai Peninsula community looks to solve erosion problem
The river’s current wiped out spruce tree revetments installed by the homeowners in 2004 and 2006.
Half ton of food donated to homeless Anchorage youth stolen
The food went missing from a shed at Anchorage Community Mental Health Services, where it was being stored until space opened up at Covenant House.
Lower costs for heating oil to slow natural gas conversion
The project’s initial estimates for demand have changed now that the price of heating oil has dropped to about $2 per gallon.