Alaska news

• Lack of snow, winds fuel Alaska’s first wildfire of 2016

  23-02-2016 22:35
  
  A lack of snow in interior Alaska helped the state’s first wildfire of 2016 to burn on open tundra.
  The Alaska Division of Forestry says in a statement that the fire started and was extinguished Monday on military land about 10 miles south of Delta Junction.
  The agency says the fire was started by live-fire training. Firefighters from the Fort Greely Fire Department extinguished the fire.
  Officials didn’t know how many acres were burned, and planned to travel to the site Tuesday to d
  
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• EPA penalizes 4 Alaska gas station for delayed leak tests

  23-02-2016 22:34
  
  The Environmental Protection Agency has reached settlement agreements with four southcentral Alaska gas stations that violated federal law for underground tanks.
  The agency says facilities that store petroleum must maintain leak detector systems on underground piping and conduct line tests to ensure that petroleum doesn’t leak into groundwater.
  Two Holiday stations in east Anchorage were penalized $10,650 and $6,390 for failing to provide an adequate leak detector system by delaying requir
  
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• Calista announces record shareholder dividend

  23-02-2016 22:34
  
  Calista Corp. is announcing a record dividend for shareholders of the regional Alaska Native corporation.
  Calista officials say the $5.6 million distribution was recently approved by the corporation’s board of directors.
  Each share in the payout is about $4.23. For the average shareholder with 100 shares, that will work out to $423. Checks are expected to be mailed out on April 15.
  Officials say the dividend is an 11 percent increase over the 2015 dividend.
  Calista is the Native corporatio
  
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• Andrew Reid, ex-Bethel police officer, faces criminal charges for violent 2014 arrest

  23-02-2016 22:32
  
  Former Bethel Police Officer Andrew Reid is facing criminal charges for assaulting and violently arresting a man in the Bethel AC parking lot.
  Alaska Dispatch News’ Lisa Demer reports, Reid, who was fired by the BPD last year, is facing charges of fourth-degree assault and official misconduct for the 2014 incident. A surveillance camera captured the encounter, showing Reid slamming Wassillie Gregory to the pavement multiple times.
  A hearing is set for March 15 in Bethel and does
  
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• Nanwalek school bursting at the seams

  23-02-2016 22:30
  
  (Photo by Ron Keffer)
  Nanwalek School is nearing 150 percent capacity, but the Kenai Peninsula Borough School district has no plan to expand the facility. It’s so crowded that next year, the principal plans to move one class into a re-purposed garage.
  Nanwalek is an Alutiiq/Sugpiaq community near the Southern tip of the Kenai Peninsula.
  Principal Nancy Kleine tours me through Nanwalek School where somewhere between 75 and 85 students, depending on enrollment at any given tim
  
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• As the Arctic roasts, Alaska bakes in one of its warmest winters ever - Washington Post

  23-02-2016 21:52
  Washington Post
  As the Arctic roasts, Alaska bakes in one of its warmest winters ever
  Washington Post
  This winter's shocking warmth in the Arctic, some seven degrees above average, has oozed into the Alaska which is experiencing one of its mildest recorded winters. [Scientists are floored by what's happening in the Arctic right now]. So far this winter ...and more »
  

• Weekend snowstorm ups avalanche danger in Kenai Mountains

  23-02-2016 21:43
  
  While the central Kenai Peninsula didn’t end up with much snow to show for heavy precipitation Sunday, the Kenai Mountains were loaded with as much as 4 feet, which poses significant avalanche danger.
  In Turnagain Pass, the Summit Lake area and surrounding mountains, avalanche danger is high from the weekend storm.
  Wendy Wagner, a forecaster for the Chugach National Forest Avalanche Information Center, said on Monday that it’s a good day for skiers, snowboarders and snowmachiners to
  
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• Alaska Air National Guard members deploying to Middle East

  23-02-2016 21:37
  
  More than 100 members of the Alaska Air National Guard are deploying to the Middle East this week.
  The guard says most of them are part of an airlift squadron, flying C-130s.
  Others come from Guard maintenance units.
  They will be supporting the battle against ISIL in Iraq and Syria.
  The deployment is expected to last four months.
  
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• Alaska Democrats sue state over rejection of proposed primary change

  23-02-2016 20:32
  
  Alaska Democrats sue state over rejection of proposed primary change Alaska Democrats are suing the state after Lt. Gov. Byron Mallott denied the party's request to allow candidates not affiliated with a political party to run in the Democratic primary.February 23, 2016
  
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• Obama to governors: Fossil-fuel states need to get ready for change

  23-02-2016 19:45
  
  Obama to governors: Fossil-fuel states need to get ready for changePresident Obama took his final question of the National Governors Association reception from Alaska Gov. Bill Walker, who pressed for opening the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil drilling, an effort met with predictable resistance. February 23, 2016
  
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• Alaska News Nightly: Monday, Feb. 22, 2016

  23-02-2016 03:57
  
  
  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
  Japanese community recalls JBER internment camp
  Zachariah Hughes, KSKA – AnchorageNew historical evidence is shedding light on the internment of Japanese people in Alaska during World War Two. A small ceremony held last Friday at Joint-Base
  
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• Japanese community recalls JBER internment camp

  23-02-2016 03:11
  
  
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  New historical evidence is shedding light on the internment of Japanese people in Alaska during World War Two.
  Camp construction at Fort Richardson, 1942 (Courtesy of Dr. Morgan Blanchard, Northern Land Use Research Alaska)
  A small ceremony held last Friday at Joint-Base Elmendorf Richardson was one of the first of its kind, according to officials present. The ceremony fell on the official Day of Remembrance held nation-wide, and is part of an expanding effort to recognize the exp
  
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• Legislators consider using Permanent Fund to close budget deficit

  23-02-2016 02:58
  
  There are currently three proposals aimed at helping to close the state’s budget shortfall using the Permanent Fund. Legislators are weighing which – if any – to support.
  Today they heard from their own nonpartisan budget expert on what makes each plan unique.
  David Teal, the director of the Legislative Finance Division, notes these proposals would all change the source of Alaskans’ annual dividends.
  “Essentially, the money appears to just fall out of the sky,&rdquo
  
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• Iron Dog rookie from Nome has high hopes

  23-02-2016 02:36
  
  The 33rd Annual Iron Dog snowmachine race kicked off this weekend. While most racers come from Southcentral, a few are based out of the race’s halfway point in Nome. Shawn Pomrenke dredges for gold in the summer with his race partner Amos Cruise. Pomrenke says it’s been a long road to the race’s start line.
  Challenging terrain is nothing new for Pomrenke. He’s spent every summer for the last decade skimming the seafloor for gold off Nome’s coast, work that’s p
  
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• Young adult novel follows lives of four Alaska teens

  23-02-2016 02:12
  
  Bonnie-Sue Hitchcock grew up in Alaska but she says she could never have written her debut novel if she hadn’t moved out of state. Her young adult book, published February 23rd, is called The Smell of Other People’s Houses. Set in 1970’s Alaska, the book tells the story of four teenagers who live very different lives in different parts of the state, but end up coming together in surprising ways.
  Hitchcock is a former Alaska Public Radio reporter who now lives in Colorado. She s
  
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• New Anchorage charter middle school to connect kids to nature, community

  23-02-2016 02:10
  
  
  Josephine Stone tries to catch insects in the icy creek. (Photo courtesy of Jennifer Howell.)
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  After five years of work, a new middle school is opening in East Anchorage this fall, if the school can attract enough students. The Stream Academy is focused on getting kids out of the classroom and doing hands-on research projects. The founders gave prospective students and their parents a taste of their teaching methods over the weekend.
  A group of soon-to-be sixth graders stand by a p
  
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• Fans and mushers celebrate the end of the 2016 Yukon Quest

  23-02-2016 01:58
  
  Mushers and fans gathered over the weekend to celebrate the completion of the 2016 Yukon Quest in Whitehorse. The event was highlighted by awards and stories from the trail.
  Tlingit dancers honor Hugh Neff (Photo by Molly Rettig, KUAC -Fairbanks)
  About a dozen Tlingit dancers paraded onto the stage in fur, feathers, and traditional clothing to congratulate Hugh Neff for winning the Yukon Quest. They thanked him for mentioning Alaska’s native people when he came across the finish line first
  
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• Alaska’s weather among the warmest in over a century

  23-02-2016 01:52
  
  This winter’s warmer than normal weather could set an Alaska record. National Weather Service Alaska region climate science and services manager Rick Thoman  points to a lack of extreme cold temperatures across the state.
  “When we look at the whole state, looking at all of the FAA airport stations, the weather service stations,” Thoman said. “The lowest temperature reported so far has been 47 below at Arctic Village and in the past century, Alaska has not had a winte
  
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• Obama: Oil states must prepare for cleaner future

  23-02-2016 01:36
  
  President Obama hosted governors, including Gov. Walker. (Pete Souza/White House.)
  President Obama told the nation’s governors today that oil and coal producing states should prepare for a shift to cleaner energy.
  “I want to be honest with you — if those states with extractive industries are not currently preparing for the fact that the energy mix is going to continue to change over time, you’re probably doing a disservice to your constituencies,” he said.
  Obama hos
  
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• Fairbanks skier wins nation’s biggest cross country race

  23-02-2016 01:21
  
  David Norris of Fairbanks won the nation’s biggest cross country ski race over the weekend. Norris bested an elite field in Saturday’s 51 kilometer American Birkibeiner in Wisconsin. Norris battled several world class marathon skiers from France to capture victory in the race which finishes on snow covered streets of Hayward, Wisconsin.
  The 25 year old Norris skied for Lathrop High school, and collegiately at the University of Alaska Fairbanks and Montana State University. He current
  
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• Japanese community discusses JBER internment camp

  23-02-2016 01:11
  
  New historical evidence is shedding light on the internment of Japanese people in Alaska during World War Two.
  Camp construction at Fort Richardson, 1942 (Courtesy of Dr. Morgan Blanchard, Northern Land Use Research Alaska)
  A small ceremony held last Friday at Joint-Base Elmendorf Richardson was one of the first of its kind, according to officials present. The ceremony fell on the official Day of Remembrance held nation-wide, and is part of an expanding effort to recognize the experiences of Sou
  
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• Algo Nuevo: February 21, 2016

  23-02-2016 00:59
  
  Here’s the Sunday, February 21st, 2016 edition of Algo Nuevo con Dave Luera — Something New with Dave Luera.
  If you have questions, comments or music requests for host Dave Luera, send email to [email protected] or post your comment at the bottom of this post.
  All tracks played are listed below in the following format:
  Song TitleArtist NameAlbum TitleCD LabelDuration
  21 February 2016
  Europa
  Santana
  The Best of Santana
  Columbia
  506
   
  Ya No Me Importa
  Siggno
  Fantastic 4
  F
  
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• Anchorage sets record for most days without snowfall

  23-02-2016 00:54
  
  A nearly 60-year-old record for low snowfall went down over the weekend. National Weather Service meteorologist Dave Snider confirmed that Saturday night was the 37th day in a row without snow in Anchorage. The streak had started on January 15th.
  The green line on the chart represents 2016. The flatness of the line indicates no new snow. (Graph courtesy of the National Weather Service)
   
  The record was set in 1958 when no snow fell from January 21st to February 25th. The record was matched
  
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