Alaska news

• State delaration of Indigenous Peoples Day only applies to 2015

  13-10-2015 23:35
  Alaska Gov. Bill Walker signed a proclamation, declaring the second Monday of October “Indigenous People’s Day.” (Photo by Anne Hillman, KSKA – Anchorage)
  Alaska’s governor recognized Monday, which is federally known as Columbus Day, as Indigenous Peoples Day for the entire state. Columbus Day is not recognized on the state level. Governor Bill Walker signed the proclamation Monday morning and First Alaskans President Liz Medicine Crow made the announcement at the E
  
  Read more

• Trapper and hiker take the stand in first day of small claims trial

  13-10-2015 22:30
  
  In the lobby of the Dimond Courthourse on Monday morning, attorney Nick Polasky hands trapper John Forrest court documents before the trial. Polasky is Kathleen Turley’s lawyer. (Photo by Lisa Phu/KTOO)
  Monday’s small claims case between a trapper and a trap springer was supposed to last an hour, but after about two and half hours in District Court, it’s stretching into a second day.
  Juneau trapper John Forrest is suing hiker Kathleen Turley for springing his lawfully set traps
  
  Read more

• USFWS, SeaLife Center investigate sea otter deaths, ask for public’s help

  13-10-2015 21:53
  Sea Otters. (U.S. Fish & Wildlife photo)
  Scientists continue to see large numbers of dead or sick sea otters turning up in the Kachemak Bay region.
  Officials with the U.S Fish and Wildlife Service say the agency has received about 200 reports of sick or dead otters over the past couple of months.
  They’ve teamed up with the Alaska Sea Life Center in Seward and they’re running tests to try to find out the cause. In the meantime, they’re asking for the public’s help.
  It&
  
  Read more

• SeaPort Airlines sells Alaska service, says flights should be uninterrupted - OregonLive.com

  13-10-2015 21:01
  OregonLive.com
  SeaPort Airlines sells Alaska service, says flights should be uninterrupted
  OregonLive.com
  JUNEAU, Alaska — An Oregon-based commuter airline is shedding its Alaska operations to a local company better equipped to deal with the eccentricities of flying in Alaska. SeaPort Airlines of Portland has sold its commuter airline, Wings of Alaska, to ...
  SeaPort sells southeast Alaska commuter operationsStatesman Journalall 23 news articles »
  

• Advertisement

• Shell’s oil rigs leave the Arctic, skip Seattle

  13-10-2015 19:23
  
  Shell’s Noble Discoverer drill rig leaving Unalaska Monday afternoon. (Photo by John Ryan, KUCB – Unalaska)
  Shell’s two Arctic oil rigs pulled into Unalaska’s Dutch Harbor on Sunday, some 1,100 miles south of the company’s drilling site in the Chukchi Sea.
  The Noble Discoverer and the Polar Pioneer headed south from the Chukchi shortly after Shell abandoned its quest for Arctic Ocean oil after drilling one well this summer.
  Shell spokeswoman Megan Baldino said the r
  
  Read more

• Alaska Governor Says More Oil Drilling Needed to Combat Climate Change - TIME

  13-10-2015 19:21
  TIME
  Alaska Governor Says More Oil Drilling Needed to Combat Climate Change
  TIME
  Bill Walker Mark Thiessen—AP Alaska Gov. Bill Walker addresses a news conference when it was announced that nearly every Alaskan will receive $2,072 from this year's oil dividend check, Sept. 21, 2015.
  Why did Shell walk away from Alaska?Alaska Public Radio Network
  Alaska Gov. Says State “Urgently” Needs More Oil Drilling to Pay for Climate ...Slate Magazine (blog)
  Alaska Governor Wants To Drill I
  

• Alaska News Nightly: Monday, Oct. 12, 2015

  13-10-2015 03:41
  
  
  Stories are posted on the APRN news page. You can subscribe to APRN’s newsfeeds via email, podcast and RSS. Follow us on Facebook at alaskapublic.org and on Twitter @aprn.Download Audio
   
  Alaska first state to celebrate Indigenous Peoples Day
  Anne Hillman, KSKA – Anchorage
  Alaska is now the first state to recognize the second Monday in October as Indigenous Peoples Day instead of Columbus Day.
  ‘Not in our smokehouse!&
  
  Read more

• ‘Not in our Smokehouse’ calls elders and youth to action

  13-10-2015 03:38
  
  
  The Elders and Youth Conference kicked off in Anchorage today. This year’s theme is a call to action “Not in Our Smokehouse!”
  Download Audio
  The smokehouse at the Elders and Youth Conference in the Dena’ina Center in downtown Anchorage. (Hillman/KSKA)
  A particular scent wafts out of the Dena’ina Convention Center Exhibit Hall these days.
  “It smells like smoked fish!” exclaimed Elders and Youth participant Rochelle Adams as she stands outside the full-siz
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• After pause, city software boondoggle comes back on line

  13-10-2015 03:37
  
  
  After a two-month “pause,” Anchorage Mayor Ethan Berkowitz has announced the city will continue working to implement the costly and contentious SAP software program.
  Download Audio
  An external audit review of the project presented Friday found no fault with the software system itself, but instead identified a number of missteps putting the program into action.
  “It was a train wreck from the beginning, frankly,” said Assembly member Elvi Gray-Jackson, who chairs the c
  
  Read more

• About 285 same-sex couples wed in Alaska in past year

  13-10-2015 03:36
  
  
  The state health department says nearly 285 same-sex couples have married in Alaska in the year since a federal judge struck down the state’s ban on gay marriage as unconstitutional.
  Download Audio
  Monday marks the one-year anniversary of the decision striking down a voter-approved ban on same-sex marriage. Except for a brief period last October, couples have been able to apply for licenses.
  In June, following litigation across the country, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled same-sex couples nat
  
  Read more

• Hooper Bay endures 4th suicide in 2 weeks

  13-10-2015 03:35
  Hooper Bay. (Photo via Travis S./Flickr)
  The village of Hooper Bay has suffered another loss. A fourth person has died by suicide.
  Alaska State Troopers received a call that 21-year-old Carl Dominic Robert Joe had died from an apparent suicide Saturday afternoon, according to the online trooper dispatch.
  Joe’s death comes less than a week after three other young adults have died.
  In late September, 26-year-old Noel Tall died from suicide. Less than a week later, 24-year
  
  Read more

• What Medicaid expansion means for this Juneau family

  13-10-2015 03:34
  
  
  Medicaid expansion has been available to Alaskans for over a month, and 93 people in the capital city have enrolled. Two-hundred and sixty-three in all of Southeast. It’s providing coverage for the uninsured. But it’s also offering increased care for those who qualify with Indian Health Service.
  Download Audio
  For one Juneau man, that means having options to treat alcohol addiction.
  James Refuerzo and his family outside their home. (Photo by Elizabeth Jenkins/KTOO)
  James Refuerz
  
  Read more

• Homelessness survey finds at least 70 in Juneau sleeping outside

  13-10-2015 03:33
  
  
  Volunteers and staff from Juneau’s shelter and soup kitchen went to the streets and interviewed 70 homeless people over the course of a few days in September. It’s been three years since the vulnerability index survey was done in the capital city.
  Download Audio
  Brad Correia and his group searched for people sleeping outside in the Mendenhall Valley area and out the road. (Photo by Lisa Phu/KTOO)
  The surveys can connect people to services, help The Glory Hole keep track of where peop
  
  Read more

• Begich says he’s no moper; urges Native youth to persist

  13-10-2015 03:32
  
  
  Former U.S. senator Mark Begich spoke to the Elders and Youth Conference today, one of his biggest Alaskan audiences since he lost re-election and left office in January.
  Download Audio
  Begich urged the young attendees to participate in their communities, to vote and to stay positive. He drew on his own life for illustration.
  “A lot of people assume that somehow I was born and then I was in public office. Just magically occurred. That is not the case,” he said. “I hav
  
  Read more

• Begich says he’s no moper; urges AFN youth to persist

  13-10-2015 03:32
  
  
  Former U.S. senator Mark Begich spoke to the Alaska Federation of Natives Elders and Youth Conference today, one of his biggest Alaskan audiences since he lost re-election and left office in January.
  Download Audio
  Begich urged the young attendees to participate in their communities, to vote and to stay positive. He drew on his own life for illustration.
  “A lot of people assume that somehow I was born and then I was in public office. Just magically occurred. That is not the case,
  
  Read more

• Cookbook project aims to get Alaska foods on school menus

  13-10-2015 03:31
  
  
  A new cookbook intended for Alaska schools and other institutional kitchens is coming out soon.
  The cookbook is called “Make it Local: Recipes for Alaska’s Children.” It is a collaborative project involving the education and natural resource departments of the State of Alaska, along with the UAF Cooperative Extension Service.
  Download Audio
  (Chef Danielle Flaherty prepares some brussel sprouts at a recent cooking demonstration at the Galena Pool)
  The project was funded by a USD
  
  Read more

Follow @News_Alaska on Twitter!