Alaska news

• Alaska News Nightly: Friday, Mar. 4, 2016

  05-03-2016 02:38
  
  
  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.
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  Alaska Senate weighing a bill to overhaul Medicaid
  Andrew Kitchenman, KTOO – Juneau
  The Senate Finance Committee has been weighing a wide-ranging bill to overhaul Medicaid in Alaska. One provision is aimed at curbing the abuse of opioid drugs.
  An
  
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• 44th Iditarod: what, who, and why to watch

  05-03-2016 02:19
  
  
  The 44th annual Iditarod trail sled dog race gets underway on Sunday, although the festive ceremonial start kicks off Saturday in downtown Anchorage.
  This is one of the largest fields in the race’s history, with 85 mushers signed up to start.
  To break down the race, Lori Townsend spoke with KNOM News Director Emily Schwing and Alaska Public Media’s Zachariah Hughes. Both will be reporting from the trail the next two weeks, and have a few recommendations on what to keep on eye on. And
  
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• Coast Guard rescues two British explorers near Seward Peninsula

  05-03-2016 02:07
  
  
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  Two British explorers were rescued from the icy waters of Bering Strait yesterday afternoon. Neil Laughton and James Bingham left the village of Wales on the western edge of the Seward Peninsula on Wednesday. The men were attempting to cross the strait when they began to drift north into open ocean.
  Neil Laughton (left) and James Bingham were recently rescued by U.S. Coast Guard off the Bering Strait. (Photo by Emily Russell, KNOM)
  Laughton andBingham started their journey on
  
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• Alaska Senate weighing a bill to overhaul Medicaid

  05-03-2016 01:53
  
  
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  The Senate Finance Committee has been weighing a wide-ranging bill to overhaul Medicaid in Alaska. One provision is aimed at curbing the abuse of opioid drugs.
  Sen. Peter Micciche speaks on the floor of the Alaska Senate (Photo by Skip Gray/Gavel Alaska)
  Senate Bill 74 would require doctors to check a database before prescribing opioids. The sponsors want to make sure patients aren’t going from doctor to doctor seeking pills. The bill also requires pharmacists
  
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• Moose: Biology, Lessons and Urban Stories

  05-03-2016 01:00
  
  By Hagerty Ryan, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; via WikiMedia
  Moose are part of life in Alaska in so many ways. Whether as dinner, as a road hazard, as an exciting visitor in your back yard, and as really amazing animals that deserve our respect for living in some of the harshest conditions on the planet, from coastal Alaska to the Arctic. You might think you already know all about them, but I’m betting almost everyone will learn more on our next show. In the first half, we’ll
  
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• 4-H Western Region Leaders Forum in danger of being shutdown in Alaska

  05-03-2016 00:32
  Hundreds of youth and adults are in Fairbanks as part of 4-H Western Region Leaders Forum. While the gathering represents a decade’s long tradition, some local leaders question how much longer it will exist in Alaska.
  For some 40 years, 4-H clubs in the 13 western states have taken turns hosting the regional forum. Jan Hanscom is past president of the state volunteer organization. She says the current event has drawn more than 300 4-H leaders and agents to Fairbanks where they’ll tak
  
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• Researcher: Science must protect key species from climate change-driven extinction

  05-03-2016 00:22
  
  Mark Urban and other researchers say climate change could wipe out one-sixth of Earth’s species that won’t be able to adapt to the warming planet.
  Mark Urban shown under a sheet of auefis in Alaska. These ice sheets form over Arctic underground springs but have become less prevalent with global warming. (Photo courtesy of Mark Urban)
  “Some species will be just fine – in fact, will do better in a changed climate,” Urban said. “But then there are the others that
  
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