Alaska news

• Waiting to go home, but tied to Anchorage on parole

  03-12-2015 23:56
  
  This is the fourth story in a five-part series looking at prison re-entry. Want more? Alaska Public Media is hosting a live community forum on Thursday, Dec. 3, at 7:00 p.m. to dig deeper into life after prison.People around the U.S. who are leaving prison all face similar challenges. Sometimes it’s harder to find work or a place to live when you have a criminal history. But some people from rural Alaska face a unique barrier: their conditions of parole prevent them from going home.
  S
  
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• Alaska Airlines adds 'Premium Class,' the latest premium economy offering - USA TODAY

  03-12-2015 22:56
  USA TODAY
  Alaska Airlines adds 'Premium Class,' the latest premium economy offering
  USA TODAY
  United has Economy Plus. Delta has Comfort + and American Airlines has Main Cabin Extra. And now Alaska Airlines will soon join the club with its own premium economy offering. The Seattle-based carrier announced Thursday that it will roll out a Premium ...
  Alaska Airlines will give you a new seating option in 2016: Premium ClassPuget Sound Business Journal (Seattle)
  Alaska Airlines to add premium-
  

• Mayor of Juneau, Alaska, Died of 'Natural Causes': Medical Examiner - Newsweek

  03-12-2015 22:49
  Newsweek
  Mayor of Juneau, Alaska, Died of 'Natural Causes': Medical Examiner
  Newsweek
  Recently elected Juneau, Alaska, Mayor Stephen “Greg” Fisk was found dead in his home on November 30. City and Borough of Juneau. Filed Under: U.S., Alaska. The mayor of Juneau, Alaska—who was found dead inside his home on Monday ...
  Father dead, son wounded after double stabbing in JuneauAlaska Dispatch News
  Juneau police defends response after mayor's deathFairbanks Daily News-Miner
  Ne
  

• Team Alaska to compete in European carving competition - Skagwaynews

  03-12-2015 22:38
  Skagwaynews
  Team Alaska to compete in European carving competition
  Skagwaynews
  Members of Team Alaska pose in front of a ski throne at last year's Buckwheat Ski Classic. BY ELISE GIORDANO. Team Alaska is going global and competing in the Dolomites Snow Sculpture Festival in San Candido, Italy this January. While the snow carving ...
  

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• New Alaska State Trooper Unit Begins in Bethel - KYUK

  03-12-2015 22:12
  KYUK
  New Alaska State Trooper Unit Begins in Bethel
  KYUK
  The Yukon Kuskokwim Delta has a new Alaska State Troopers unit this week. The unit's main goal is to investigate violent crimes faster, so reports can make it onto the district attorney's desk sooner.
  Troopers establish violent crimes unit in BethelAlaska Public Radio Network
  Kalskag man arrested in stabbing unreported for 2 weeksAlaska Dispatch Newsall 8 news articles »
  

• Man stabbed to death in Douglas

  03-12-2015 22:10
  
  A murder occurred on Douglas Island early Wednesday morning at Cedar Park.
  Juneau police investigate the scene of the murder on Douglas Island Thursday morning (Photo by Elizabeth Jenkins/KTOO)
  Juneau Police Chief Bryce Johnson said the victim, a 37-year-old male, died from stab wounds after a fight broke out.
  Chief Johnson said there wasn’t any indication that drugs were involved. But police are investigating if alcohol may have been a factor.
  The fight was over a piece of property.
  &ldqu
  
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• Kasilof special use plan faces pushback

  03-12-2015 18:16
  
  Several organizations on the Kenai Peninsula are voicing their opposition to a state plan that includes building parking lots near the mouth of the Kasilof River.
  The Peninsula Clarion reports the Department of Natural Resources Division of Mining, Land and Water proposed a development plan in October that calls for two parking lots on the north side of the river mouth to accommodate 315 vehicles.
  The Kasilof Regional Historical Association is one of many groups and individuals that have concern
  
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• Small-scale logging businesses fret Tongass timber regs

  03-12-2015 18:01
  The U.S. Forest Service recently released a plan giving loggers a timeline for the transition to second-growth harvesting. The plan is currently open for public comment. A proposal to end clearcutting of old-growth trees in the Tongass National Forest has some Southeast logging companies concerned about the future.
  Susan Tyler runs Icy Straits Lumber & Milling in Hoonah with her husband Wes. It’s a family business and one of the few surviving timber companies in the region.
  W
  
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• Sitkans, DOT look for solutions to ‘bleak’ ferry schedule

  03-12-2015 17:55
  
  The ferry Taku sails into the Wrangell Narrows on its way south in 2013. (Ed Schoenfeld/CoastAlaska News)
  Sitkans turned out in force last week for a lunchtime brainstorming session to address the proposed ferry schedule, but the Department of Transportation couldn’t make any promises that things would improve.
  Deputy Commissioner of Transportation Mike Neussl spent about two hours explaining the shortfalls in his budget next year, and listening to ideas from the more than 30 Sitkans in th
  
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• Kuskokwim salmon management group weighs in on 2016 fishery proposals

  03-12-2015 17:53
  
  (KYUK file photo)
  The Kuskokwim River Salmon Management Working Group is supporting two proposals that would implement a new permit system for king salmon fishing, if adopted by the State Board of Fish. The group rejected moving to a Tier 2 status.
  The working group held a meeting last Tuesday to weigh in on the stack of proposals for the Kuskokwim salmon fishery.
  There were representatives from all corners of the Kuskokwim salmon fishery at the meeting, including elders, subsistence fisher
  
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• Board of Fish hears mixed views on permit stacking

  03-12-2015 17:50
  
  Kelly Stier testifies to the state Board of Fisheries in Anchorage on Dec. 2, 2015. (KDLG photo)
  Among the 73 proposals before the state Board of Fisheries this week are several the address permit stacking for both set-netters and drift fishermen.
  In public testimony so far, fishermen have been divided on whether or not that would be a good thing for the fishery.
  Dillingham resident Robin Samuelson is a former board of fish member who has been drift fishing his whole life. During public testimon
  
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• Dive fishermen and sea otters face complex competition

  03-12-2015 17:48
  
  What many Americans consider to be a cute, back-floating mammal is a pest, even a thief, to some Southeast Alaskan fishermen.
  A sea otter floats on its back. (Photo by Theresa Soley/KTOO)
  Humans and sea otters enjoy consuming the same bottom-dwelling seafood: Dungeness crabs, clams, sea cucumbers and urchins. Competition between dive fishermen and sea otters for those resources has intensified as the otter population grows.
  Wadley has been a commercial sea cucumber diver for 27 years. She dove f
  
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• Homer voters say ‘yes’ to using HART funds to shore up budget

  03-12-2015 17:39
  
  City Hall, Homer, Alaska.
  In Homer’s special election, Tuesday, Proposition I passed – that’s according to unofficial results released by the city Tuesday night.
  Proposition I will suspend .75 percent of city sales tax to the Homer Accelerated Roads and Trails program, for three years.
  The Fund was created to pay for city road and trail improvements. It holds 7 million dollars. City leaders needed a vote of the public in order to move the money. The proposition redirects nearly
  
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• Aspiring business owners gear up for Aleutian Marketplace Competition

  03-12-2015 17:38
  
  (Logo via APICDA)
  During the month of January, a non-profit program dedicated to nurturing small businesses is offering cost-free application reviews for the 2016 Aleutian Marketplace Competition.
  Sponsored by the Aleutian Pribilof Island Community Development Association (APICDA) and the Aleut Corporation (TAC), the Aleutian Marketplace is a regional competition only open to current or former residents of Unalaska and 11 other Aleutian communities.
  The winner will receive $20,000 in s
  
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• Halibut commission weighs 2016 harvest recommendations

  03-12-2015 17:36
  
  Commercial and sport fishing fleets in some parts of Alaska will be allowed to harvest more fish, under recommendations presented to the International Pacific Halibut Commission.
  Commissioners listened to the reports of staff biologists at their interim meeting in Seattle Tuesday morning.
  Commissioners heard data supporting increased halibut harvests in 6 of 8 sub-areas in the Gulf of Alaska.
  The interim meeting of the International Pacific Halibut Commission is our first look at the huge volume
  
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• Chilkat robe saved from eBay sale back in Southeast

  03-12-2015 17:01
  
  The Sealaska Heritage Institute recently acquired a Chilkat robe believed to be a funerary object. (Photo by Elizabeth Jenkins/KTOO)
  A Chilkat robe that was for sale on eBay has returned to Southeast Alaska. The robe traveled all the way from Texas, where it was almost sold to the highest bidder. Instead, Sealaska Heritage Institute welcomed it home.
  A crowd packed the red cedar clan house at Walter Soboleff Building downtown: Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian gathered together. The ceremony beg
  
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• Mother on trial for alleged assault on tot during Alaska-Hawaii flight - Alaska Dispatch News

  03-12-2015 16:18
  Alaska Dispatch News
  Mother on trial for alleged assault on tot during Alaska-Hawaii flight
  Alaska Dispatch News
  Samantha Leialoha Watanabe walks outside of federal court in Honolulu in May. A misdemeanor assault trial is starting against the mother, who is accused of physically and verbally assaulting her 15-month-old daughter during a flight from Anchorage to ...
  Mother on Trial for Assaulting Tot on Alaska-Hawaii FlightABC Newsall 62 news articles »
  

• Greg Fisk, Newly Elected Mayor of Juneau, Alaska, Died of Natural Causes: Autopsy - NBCNews.com

  03-12-2015 13:14
  NBCNews.com
  Greg Fisk, Newly Elected Mayor of Juneau, Alaska, Died of Natural Causes: Autopsy
  NBCNews.com
  JUNEAU, Alaska — The police chief in Alaska's capital city defended his department's response after the newly elected mayor was found dead at home, bruised and bloodied, and speculation ran rampant as to the cause of his death. But on Wednesday ...
  Mayor of Juneau, Alaska, died of natural causesReuters
  Mystery Remains in Death of Alaska MayorABC News
  Juneau Mayor Greg Fisk found
  

• Alaska fish and game boards consider cutting meetings to save money - Fairbanks Daily News-Miner

  03-12-2015 09:50
  Alaska fish and game boards consider cutting meetings to save money
  Fairbanks Daily News-Miner
  FAIRBANKS — The boards that set Alaska's fish and game rules may meet less often or furlough staff starting next year because of cuts to the groups' $1.7 million budget. Two panels of seven members, the Alaska Board of Game and the Alaska Board of ...
  

• Photos: Alaska Aces' 2-1 OT loss to Colorado Eagles - Alaska Dispatch News

  03-12-2015 09:03
  Photos: Alaska Aces' 2-1 OT loss to Colorado Eagles
  Alaska Dispatch News
  Alaska forward Tim Coffman attempts to deflect the puck during the Aces' 2-1 OT loss to the Colorado Eagles at the Sullivan Arena on Wednesday, Dec. 2, 2015. Buy this Image. Bill Roth / ADN. Show thumbnails Hide thumbnails Hide captions Show captions.
  

• 'Songster' at heart: Dom Flemons brings blues stylings to Alaska - Alaska Dispatch News

  03-12-2015 08:36
  Alaska Dispatch News
  'Songster' at heart: Dom Flemons brings blues stylings to Alaska
  Alaska Dispatch News
  Dom Flemons sees himself plainly -- as a "songster" -- singing and playing an array of songs spanning generations and genres. “I mean the definition itself isn't that complex,” he said. But Flemons' methodology is anything but simple. In preparation ...and more »
  

• Alaska Christmas tree shines bright on Capitol Hill - KTVA.com - Alaska News and Weather

  03-12-2015 07:00
  KTVA.com - Alaska News and Weather
  Alaska Christmas tree shines bright on Capitol Hill
  KTVA.com - Alaska News and Weather
  Alaska's Christmas gift to the nation was lit up Wednesday evening. The 74-foot Lutz spruce from the Chugach National Forest is shining bright in the middle of the U.S. Capitol building's west lawn. There are 2,000 ornaments on the tree. Each was ...and more »
  

• Alaska State Troopers form new violent crime unit for Y-K Delta - KTUU.com

  03-12-2015 06:14
  KTUU.com
  Alaska State Troopers form new violent crime unit for Y-K Delta
  KTUU.com
  The Yukon Kuskokwim Delta has one of the highest violent crime rates in the state according to the Department of Public Safety. In fact, almost a quarter of the sexual assault and child sexual abuse cases come from that region, according to Alaska ...
  

• Two Dalton, Ga., grannies go zip lining in Alaska. - Chattanooga Times Free Press

  03-12-2015 06:05
  Chattanooga Times Free Press
  Two Dalton, Ga., grannies go zip lining in Alaska.
  Chattanooga Times Free Press
  The 77-year-old asked the zip line guide if she needed to remove her false eye. The 87-year-old frowned when she was told to kick up her legs to go faster. This is the story of two senior ladies who refuse to sit on a porch and rock their golden years ...
  

• Alaska must take action now on harmful algal blooms in our changing oceans - Alaska Dispatch News

  03-12-2015 05:51
  Alaska Dispatch News
  Alaska must take action now on harmful algal blooms in our changing oceans
  Alaska Dispatch News
  OPINION: Harmful algal blooms - and the increased threat of paralytic shellfish poisoning - should have Alaskans finding ways to protect subsistence consumers. For the last 10 years I have been researching harmful algal blooms (HABs) along the Gulf of ...
  

• New Airport Manager to Focus on Expanding Alaska Flight Network - webcenter11

  03-12-2015 05:40
  New Airport Manager to Focus on Expanding Alaska Flight Network
  webcenter11
  If you're looking to head out of town by air, more travel options and destinations may be on the horizon. The new manager of the Fairbanks International Airport Jeff Roach said extending Alaska's network of flights will be one of his top priorities ...and more »
  

• With whale hunt photos, Bill Hess fosters intercultural intimacy - Alaska Dispatch News

  03-12-2015 05:16
  With whale hunt photos, Bill Hess fosters intercultural intimacy
  Alaska Dispatch News
  At the beginning of my Mormon mission, my parents sent me $80 a month, by the end, $100. That was what I had to live on, so there wasn't much left for film and processing. I didn't take many pictures. One time, both my Navajo companion and I went ...and more »
  

• Alaska US Senators respond to move to close ANWR - webcenter11

  03-12-2015 04:13
  Alaska Dispatch News
  Alaska US Senators respond to move to close ANWR
  webcenter11
  Alaska U. S. Senators Dan Sullivan and Lisa Murkowski today blasted a proposal to designate the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) as wilderness. The two republican lawmakers were responding to legislation introduced by 34 ...
  Senate Democrats renew battle lines over drilling on ANWR coastal plainAlaska Dispatch Newsall 5 news articles »
  

• Alaska News Nightly: Wednesday, Dec. 2, 2015

  03-12-2015 03:53
  
  
  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
   
  No foul play suspected in Juneau mayor’s death
  Lisa Phu, KTOO – Juneau
  Preliminary autopsy results indicate the late Juneau mayor died Monday morning from natural causes, likely a heart issue. Based on that information, Juneau Police
  
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• Finding work after prison: Persistence pays off

  03-12-2015 03:44
  
  
  This is the third story in a five-part series looking at prison re-entry. Want more? Alaska Public Media is hosting a live community forum on Thursday, Dec. 3, at 7:00 p.m. to dig deeper into life after prison.
  Most people leaving prison have to find a job fairly quickly both to support themselves and to meet their parole requirements. Their job searches can be more complicated than most because of the stigma of having a criminal history, but that doesn’t mean it’s impossible.
  
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• No foul play suspected in Juneau mayor’s death

  03-12-2015 03:37
  
  
  Preliminary autopsy results indicate Juneau’s mayor died Monday morning from natural causes, likely a heart issue. Based on that information, Juneau police do not suspect any foul play.
  Download Audio
  Greg Fisk was discovered dead inside his Kennedy Street home Monday afternoon.At a press briefing in Juneau on Wednesday afternoon, Juneau Police Chief Bryce Johnson said the 70-year-old was found with some bruises and injuries on his face that were bleeding.
  “People fall and faces
  
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• Sitka teen tased repeatedly by police readies for lawsuit

  03-12-2015 03:36
  
  
  The Alaska Native teenager at the epicenter of a tasing incident in Sitka last year has hired legal counsel. Though he’s not yet filed a lawsuit, the lawyer representing Franklin Hoogendorn intends to bring his case before a Sitka jury.
  Download Audio
  Myron Angstmam has run a private practice out of Bethel since 1977. He’s no stranger to cases involving police conduct on the job, and has represented both parties. In 2007, he defended a Bethel police officer i
  
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• State report finds potent cannabinoids in Spice

  03-12-2015 03:35
  
  
  A new report from the state health department confirms alarming facts about synthetic drugs that have overwhelmed emergency responders in Anchorage.
  Download Audio
  Researchers with the state’s epidemiology division looked at hundreds of medical records from emergency rooms in two Anchorage hospitals during a six-week period this summer [July 15 – Sept 30]. More than 150 visits were flagged as cases that were likely Spice-related. Twenty percent of the patients were adm
  
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• Traveling Music 12-13-15

  03-12-2015 03:33
  Traveling Music
  guest host Kluonie Frey
  (Shonti Elder’s daughter)
  12-13-15
   
  Format:
  Song TitleArtist / Composer
  CD Title
  Label
  Duration
   
  Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer
  Straight No Chaser / Johnny Marks
  Christmas Cheers
  Atco / Atlantic
  2:21
   
  Party Hard
  Zach Gill / Zach Gill
  This Warm December
  Brushfire Records, Inc
  1:59
   
  The Rebel Jesus
  Jackson Browne and the Chieftains / Jackson Browne
  The Bells of Dublin
  RCA Victor
  3:48
   
  Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy
  Pentaton
  
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• Anchorage wins grant for economic development workshops

  03-12-2015 03:33
  
  
  The Municipality of Anchorage announced Wednesday it has won a competitive grant to bring a workshop focusing on the economic and fiscal health to the city.
  Download Audio
  The grant, which comes from the national non-profit Smart Growth America, is a free, two-day workshop covering development strategies to support the local economy.
  Though the ground covered could apply anywhere, Chris Schutte – who is the municipality’s director of economic and community development – says it
  
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• Mount Polley Mine to discharge wastewater

  03-12-2015 03:32
  
  
  A British Columbia mine that’s become a poster child for environmental disasters will soon begin discharging wastewater.
  The Mount Polley Mine’s tailings dam broke in August 2014, releasing more than 6 billion gallons of silty water and mine-processing leftovers.
  Download Audio
  Hazeltine Creek, once a narrow waterway, is filled with mud, silt and logs following August 2014’s tailings dam breach at the nearby Mount Polley Mine. The British Columbia project has been granted a per
  
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• Soldotna girl flies to DC to light Chugach tree - Alaska Public Radio Network

  03-12-2015 03:31
  Alaska Public Radio Network
  Soldotna girl flies to DC to light Chugach tree
  Alaska Public Radio Network
  Technically, the Speaker of the House is supposed to light the Capitol Christmas tree. But as Paul Ryan pointed out, he's brand new at the post. Photo: Architect of the Capitol. “I've never done this before, so I'm going to need some help, and I'd like ...
  

• Fairbanks snowmachiner survives avalanche burial

  03-12-2015 03:31
  
  
  A Fairbanks man survived burial by an avalanche in the HooDoo Mountains. The accident in the popular snowmachining area near Summit Lake off the Richardson Highway was the one of two in recent weeks.
  Download Audio
  Sean Herring was snow machining with friends in the Summit Lake area last weekend following a storm that brought heavy snow and wind to the Eastern Alaska Range. Herring says the group was staying away from big slopes, and he’d driven away from the others up a small drainag
  
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• Oh, Chugach tree! Soldotna girl flies to DC to light Alaska spruce

  03-12-2015 03:30
  
  
  Technically, the Speaker of the House is supposed to light the Capitol Christmas tree. But as Paul Ryan pointed out, he’s brand new at the post.
  Download Audio
  Photo: Architect of the Capitol.
  “I’ve never done this before, so I’m going to need some help, and I’d like to have Anna come up here to help me please light this tree,” Ryan said, on a drizzly evening.
  A 10-year-old in a fluffy blue dress and elaborate braids came into the spotlight, on the lawn t
  
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• Murkowski declares ANWR wilderness bill ‘dead on arrival’

  03-12-2015 03:01
  A pair of Democratic U.S. senators have introduced a bill to designate parts of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge as a permanent wilderness area.
  The bill prompted immediate outrage from Alaska Senators Dan Sullivan and Lisa Murkowski, both Republicans, who want parts of the refuge opened up to oil and gas drilling. In a statement, Murkowski declared the bill “dead on arrival.”
  A view of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Photo: USFWS
  The legislation, from Senators Edward Ma
  
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• Grounded Russian oil tanker leaks into North Pacific

  03-12-2015 02:21
  A Russian tanker carrying 200,000 gallons of oil ran aground off an island in the North Pacific over the weekend. As it continues to leak, it resurrects a debate on how safety can be improved in a region where a major wildlife corridor overlaps with a busy shipping through-point.
  The tanker struck a reef off the island of Sakhalin during a storm, according to The Siberian Times.
  Oiled sea birds. Sakhalin Watch and Club Boomerang.
  The vessel been stuck on that r
  
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• Grounded Russian oil tanker leaks into Bering Strait

  03-12-2015 02:21
  
  A Russian tanker carrying 200,000 gallons of oil ran aground off an island in the North Pacific over the weekend. As it continues to leak, it resurrects a debate on how safety can be improved in a region where a major wildlife corridor overlaps with a busy shipping through-point.
  The tanker struck a reef off the island of Sakhalin during a storm, according to The Siberian Times.
  Oiled sea birds. Sakhalin Watch and Club Boomerang.
  The vessel been stuck on that r
  
  Read more

• Port MacKenzie repairs tacked to Mat-Su ferry sale

  03-12-2015 02:17
  
  Mat-Su Borough’s unused ferry, Susitna, is one step closer to finding a home. But plans for the maritime sale were almost scuttled when a last-minute spate of amendments was introduced at Tuesday’s Borough Assembly meeting.
  MV Susitna. Photo by Jay Galvin, accessed via Flickr Creative Commons.
  On Tuesday, the Matanauska-Susitna Borough Assembly approved an ordinance accepting a payment of  $250,000 from the Phillipine Red Cross as a down payment on the MV Susitna. The money is t
  
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• Alaska budget expert Gunnar Knapp to retire from post as ISER director - Alaska Dispatch News

  03-12-2015 01:34
  Alaska Dispatch News
  Alaska budget expert Gunnar Knapp to retire from post as ISER director
  Alaska Dispatch News
  A leader in the effort to address the state's towering fiscal problem has announced he's retiring -- sort of. Gunnar Knapp, director of the Institute of Social and Economic Research at the University of Alaska Anchorage, said in a letter to colleagues ...and more »
  

• Newly elected Alaska mayor found dead in his home - New York Post

  03-12-2015 00:44
  New York Post
  Newly elected Alaska mayor found dead in his home
  New York Post
  Juneau Police investigate the home of Juneau Mayor Greg Fisk (right), where he was found dead on Nov. 30. Photo: AP. JUNEAU, Alaska — Police are investigating the death of the newly elected mayor of Alaska's capital city, whose body was found at his ...
  Injuries found on Alaska mayor's body, police sayFox News
  Mayor of Juneau, Alaska, found dead; police address rumorsCNN
  Police: Juneau, Alaska mayor "suffer
  

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