Alaska news

• Senate passes bill to curb, contain Medicaid costs

  11-03-2016 23:24
  Senate passes bill to curb, contain Medicaid costsMedicaid is a major state cost and one of the areas lawmakers have targeted for reform as the state grapples with a multibillion-dollar budget deficit. March 11, 2016
  
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• Kito named minority whip; Spohnholz gets committee assignments

  11-03-2016 23:21
  Kito named minority whip; Spohnholz gets committee assignments  State Rep. Sam Kito III has been named House minority whip, succeeding the late Rep. Max Gruenberg in that role.March 11, 2016
  
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• 49 Voices: Bulou Croker of Anchorage

  11-03-2016 22:59
  
  This week we’re hearing from Buluo Croker in Anchorage. Croker is originally from Fiji and moved up here from American Samoa.
  Bulou Croker of Anchorage (Photo by Wesley Early, APRN – Anchorage)
  CROKER: I’m going on two years now. I came all the way from Fiji to American Samoa and I was with a son of mine. He’s in the U.S. Marines. Then I came up here the year before last because I have a son that served in the U.S. Army here on JBER. And that’s how I came here to Al
  
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• How chefs cook wilderness gourmet on the Iditarod Trail

  11-03-2016 22:40
  
  
  Jeff King was the first musher to the Yukon, wins a five course meal, and starts his 24 hour rest. (Photo by Zachariah Hughes / KSKA.)
  One of Jeff King’s prizes for reaching the Yukon River in Ruby before anyone else was a five-course meal supplied by on of the Iditarod’s sponsors. And as Alaska Public Media’s Zachariah Hughes reports, the meal might mean more to the chefs than it does for the musher.
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  Andrew Adlesperger is sitting on his inside his small, cozy ro
  
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• Zirkle first musher into Galena, Sass first to leave

  11-03-2016 22:18
  
  (Photo by Zachariah Hughes/KSKA)
  Iditarod veteran Aliy Zirkle and Brent Sass have been playing leapfrog down the river so far today.
  Sass was the first musher to leave Ruby in today’s early morning hours. But he ceded the lead when Zirkle overtook him as he camped along the trail between checkpoints.
  Zirkle held onto the lead until Galena, where she is currently stopped. Now Sass is back in the lead after spending just five minutes at the checkpoint before continuing on toward Nulato.
  A ha
  
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• Mushing Explained Video: Gearing up from the paws up

  11-03-2016 22:08
  
  Sled dogs and mushers endure some of the most brutal weather on the planet. In this episode, we talk to mushers and veterinarians about the gear that is necessary for completing long-distances trips.
  Leading mushers like Aaron Burmeister and Cody Strathe explain the basics necessary to keep dogs and mushers performing at an elite level over 1,000 miles of mountains, rivers, tundra, and ice.
  Custom coat pockets, strategic insulation, dog booties, and high tech boots are all part of the gear stra
  
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• AK: Transitioning from addictions of youth to sober adulthood

  11-03-2016 22:01
  
  Mason (left) and Jazzmyne (right) Ballison outside the Alaska Public Media studios. (Photo by Anne Hillman/KSKA)
  A year ago, we first heard from a young couple who were trying to overcome their addictions to methamphetamines. Their strategy was to move away from Anchorage and try to start over in Wasilla because being around friends who were still using made it much too hard.
  They ended up back in Anchorage when they lost their housing, but despite their challenges, the couple is still sober. An
  
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• Planning the future of the Arctic

  11-03-2016 22:00
  
  (USGS photo)
  Once little discussed, the Arctic and its future is becoming a popular topic for debate among those who live in it and those who are attracted to its resources. The U.S.-led Arctic Council will meet in Fairbanks during Arctic science summit week. What are the priorities?
  Arctic Council
  Arctic Science Summit Week
  HOST: Lori Townsend
  GUESTS:
  Admiral Robert Papp, Arctic representative, State Department
  Richard Glenn, president, Barrow Arctic Science Consortium
  Statewide callers
  Pa
  
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• TV show about Alaska plane crashes doesn't please Murkowski or travel industry

  11-03-2016 21:41
  
  TV show about Alaska plane crashes doesn't please Murkowski or travel industry Sen. Lisa Murkowski says a show about Alaska air crashes premiering Sunday is in poor taste and could do major damage to business in the state.March 11, 2016
  
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• TV series about Alaska plane crashes doesn't please Sen. Murkowski or the travel industry

  11-03-2016 21:41
  
  TV series about Alaska plane crashes doesn't please Sen. Murkowski or the travel industry Sen. Lisa Murkowski says a show about Alaska air crashes premiering Sunday is in poor taste and could do major damage to business in the state.March 11, 2016
  
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• Mammography and Breast Cancer Screening Guidelines

  11-03-2016 21:00
  
  Heather Tauschek, MD, from imagingak.com
  New cases of breast cancer, the most common female cancer, unlike many cancers that are decreasing have been stable for the last 10 years in the U.S. but death rates have been slowing improving. Anchorage radiologist Dr Heather Tauschek and Dr Thad Woodard will discuss mammography, the rationale for breast cancer screening recommendations, and newest recommendations for breast cancer screening on this Line One program.
  HOST: Dr. T
  
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• Friday’s Three to Read: catch up on Iditarod 44

  11-03-2016 21:00
  
  Brent Sass hustled through the Ruby checkpoint early Friday morning. (Photo by Zach Hughes, KSKA)
  The teams that have been lurking behind the front runners in the spotlight are about to come out of the woodwork. Leading teams are done with their 24-hour layovers (or soon will be) and head to the flat expanses of the Yukon River, where a new race opens up to the Bering Sea coast.
  No one has opened up a commanding lead at this juncture. Brent Sass and Aliy Zikle are reaching Galena. Behind them, t
  
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• Alaska tribal advocates want Murkowski, Sullivan to vet a Supreme Court nominee

  11-03-2016 20:59
  
  Alaska tribal advocates want Murkowski, Sullivan to vet a Supreme Court nomineeAlaska Native leaders want the state’s U.S. senators to go against their party’s insistence that the appointment of a new Supreme Court justice be left up to the next president. March 11, 2016
  
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• Musher Ken Anderson receives 2-hour time penalty

  11-03-2016 19:18
  
  (Photo by Patrick Yack/Alaska Public Media)
  When he came into Ruby Friday morning, race officials informed Ken Anderson that they would add two hours to his mandatory eight-hour layover.
  The penalty comes after Anderson violated rule 38 and ran more than two dogs abreast.
  “I’m about playing by the rules,” Anderson said. “If it’s in the rulebook and I did it, then it’s pretty cut and dry.”
  “We don’t read the whole rule book and memorize it.&rd
  
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• Little Shop of Horrors at Mad Myrnas

  11-03-2016 18:43
  
  Little Shop of Horrors
  The home of “Camp” theatre, Mad Myrnas is presenting for the second year in a row the Alan Menken and Howard Ashman musical Little Shop of Horrors, based on the 1960 low budget black comedy film by Roger Corman. Actors Paige Bohall and Regina MacDonald drop by Stage Talk this week to plant some seeds for discussion. Little Shop of Horrors runs through March 26th.
  Facebook
  HOST:
  Steve Hunt
  GUESTS: 
  Paige Bohall: “Audrey I”, Little Shop of Horror
  
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• Aliy Zirkle takes lead en route to Galena

  11-03-2016 18:08
  
  Iditarod veteran Aliy Zirkle waves to fans at the 2016 Iditarod ceremonial start in Anchorage on March 5. (Photo by Patrick Yack/Alaska Public Media)
  Iditarod veteran Aliy Zirkle was the second musher out of Ruby early this morning, but she overtook Brent Sass a short ways down the trail.
  Both are on the move toward Galena – a 50-mile run down the Yukon River – with 15 dogs in harness.
  Jeff King was the first musher to reach Ruby, but is in the midst of his mandatory 24-hour layover.
  
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• Trail Mix: No need for five-course meal in Ruby when there’s $5 bear soup for sale

  11-03-2016 18:00
  
  Zachariah Hughes filled up on black bear soup in Ruby during the Iditarod sled dog race. (Photo by Zach Hughes, KSKA)Trail Mix is Alaska Public Media’s reporters’ inside look at covering the 2016 Iditarod
  Near the first Iditarod checkpoint on the Yukon River, the Ruby Bible Church was selling a soup and sandwich lunch special for $5. When I arrived, there were three options to pick from, and I went with the “Seven Bean and Black Bear” offering.The bear was tender but a bi
  
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• Iditarod teams consider options for run down the Yukon River

  11-03-2016 17:42
  
  
  Brent Sass charged into Ruby, dropped a dog, grabbed supplies, and left. (Photo by Zachariah Hughes/KSKA)
  Halfway to Nome, the real racing has begun as Iditarod dog teams make their way to Ruby, the first stop along the Yukon River.
  Somewhere in the next 134 miles, teams must take a mandatory eight-hour layover, but gaps are starting to open up in the field.
  The challenge for mushers now is how and when they will decide to make their big moves.
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  Brent Sass only stayed in Ruby for n
  
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• New TV show about Alaska plane crash investigations faces opposition - KTUU.com

  11-03-2016 05:22
  KTUU.com
  New TV show about Alaska plane crash investigations faces opposition
  KTUU.com
  A new TV show that follows National Transportation Safety Board investigators in Alaska is facing opposition from the state's tourism industry, victims of plane crashes and members of Alaska's congressional delegation. The six part series Alaska Air ...
  

• Proposal to ban RV camping in Anchorage parking lots dropped after outcry

  11-03-2016 04:45
  Proposal to ban RV camping in Anchorage parking lots dropped after outcryAnchorage Assemblywoman Elvi-Gray Jackson said she won't pursue a proposal to ban overnight vehicle camping in Anchorage commercial parking lots after receiving an avalanche of angry calls and emails. March 10, 2016
  
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• Mid-pack and back-of-the-pack Iditarod mushers meet adventure on race trail

  11-03-2016 04:27
  
  
  Spirits in Takotna were high Thursday morning, with a cluster of well-fed and rested mushers getting set to end their 24-hour rests. The front-runners who rested here like Mitch Seavey and Pete Kaiser roared back onto the trail late last night. The mushers camped out now, like Ryne Olson, are on a different pace.
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  Veteran Ryne Olson, pictured here at the Willow start, rested in Takotna in the 2016 Iditard. (Photo by Ben Matheson / Alaska Public Media.)“It’s interesting
  
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• Aging Southeast: Seniors find purpose, friendship at The Bridge

  11-03-2016 03:54
  
  
  Health care and housing options are limited for seniors in Southeast, but a few adult day programs are offering relief for care providers, families and friends. They’re often a stop-gap solution until space opens up in a home.
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  The Bridge in Juneau is one of two formalized adult day programs in Southeast. The program costs $180 a day and accepts Medicaid waivers. (Photo by Elizabeth Jenkins, KTOO – Juneau)
  At Juneau’s Bridge Adult Day Program, it isn&rsq
  
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• Alaska Republicans holding conventions this month

  11-03-2016 03:53
  
  
  Alaska Republicans are holding district conventions around the state this month. Last week, Ted Cruz won 12 Alaska delegates in the state GOP Preference Poll, followed by Donald Trump with 11 and Marco Rubio with 5. The state republican party will choose 28 delegates to represent those votes at the state convention in Fairbanks at the end of April. The national convention takes place in Cleveland in July.
  Peter Goldberg is Chair of the Alaska GOP. He says this year there’s been a lot of in
  
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• A King’s march to the mighty Yukon River

  11-03-2016 03:52
  
  
  Denali musher Jeff King at the 2016 Iditarod ceremonial start in Anchorage on Saturday, March 5. (Photo by Patrick Yack/Alaska Public Media)
  The first dog team in this year’s Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race has reached the midway point of of Ruby on the Yukon River, 495 miles along the Iditarod trail. Jeff King’s team was not only the first team to arrive, but is the only team to travel this far without taking 24 hours rest.
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  When Jeff King’s dog team pulled into Rub
  
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• Both chambers of Alaska Congress prepare to vote on budget

  11-03-2016 03:51
  
  
  The path to setting Alaska’s state government budget enters a new phase this week, as both legislative chambers prepare to vote on different versions of the spending plan.
  Sen. Pete Kelly speaking on Senate floor (Stock Photo by Skip Gray/Gavel Alaska)
  As the House heads into a debate on the budget Thursday, it’s eyeing a proposal that includes a 280 million-dollar reduction from last year.
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  The Senate Finance Committee’s current budget includes 215 million dollar
  
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• Senators pan Arctic agreement as Canadian leader visits U.S.

  11-03-2016 03:50
  
  
  Prime Minister Trudeau and President Obama at the White House Thursday (Image: C-Span Video)
  When a U.S. president and a Canadian prime minister meet, it’s not a given that the Arctic will be on the agenda. But this morning, on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s first official visit to Washington, D.C. the two leaders released an agreement on the Arctic, energy and climate. Alaska’s senators aren’t happy with it.
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  The Arctic portion of the agreement calls for a
  
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• Traveling Music 3-13-16

  11-03-2016 03:39
  
  Traveling Music
  Shonti Elder
  3-13-16
   
  Format:
  Song TitleArtist / Composer
  CD Title
  Label
  Duration
   
  Concert ahead: Solas, Friday, March 18, PAC (by Anchorage Concert Association)
   
  Just You
  Solas / Eamon McElholm
  Another Day
  Shanachie
  4:01
   
  There is A Time
  Solas / Dillard, Jayne
  Love and Laughter
  Compass
  3:24
   
  Edward
  Old Blind Dogs / traditional, instrumental by Rory Campbell
  The World’s Room
  Green Linnett
  5:04
   
  Bring Me A Boat
  Kate Rusby / lyrics Kate Rus
  
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• Alaska News Nightly: Thursday, Mar. 10, 2016

  11-03-2016 03:39
  
  
  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
  Senators pan Arctic agreement as Canadian leader visits U.S.
  Liz Ruskin, APRN – Washington D.C.
  When a U.S. president and a Canadian prime minister meet, it’s not a given that the Arctic will be on the agenda. But this morning, on Prim
  
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• Borough money floats MV Susitna overhaul

  11-03-2016 03:17
  
  After years tied to a dock, the Matanuska Susitna Borough’s ailing ferry, Susitna, could be sold to the Philippine Red Cross  by this summer.
  Repairs on the damaged ferry Susitna will go ahead, according to a Matanuska Susitna Borough spokeperson. Patty Sullivan said in an email on Wednesday that the Mat Su Borough Assembly voted Tuesday night  to spend $2 two million on repairs to four engines on the ship. The vote on the appropriation had been delayed since mid February because
  
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• Walker requires state agencies to improve efficiency

  11-03-2016 02:18
  
  Governor Bill Walker is seeking to streamline state agencies responsible for financing economic development, housing, and renewable energy.
  He signed an administrative order Thursday requiring the Alaska Housing Finance Corporation, Alaska Energy Authority, and Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority to find opportunities to become more efficient or consolidate.
  The agencies have more than $3 billion in assets and employ 440 people.
  Walker says the state hasn’t pre-determined wh
  
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• Hawker returns to Anchorage for cancer treatment

  11-03-2016 01:34
  
  Hawker returns to Anchorage for cancer treatment Rep. Mike Hawker was excused from the House’s budget debate Thursday for treatment “related to progression of cancer first diagnosed in 2010,” his office said in a prepared statement.March 10, 2016
  
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• Iditarod adjusts Robert Redington’s rest schedule after mistaken early release

  11-03-2016 00:14
  
  Iditarod officials are adjusting Robert Redington’s race schedule after he was mistakenly released early from Nikolai. (Photo of Iditarod restart by Ben Matheson/Alaska Public Media)Iditarod officials are adding 50 minutes to Wasilla musher Robert Redington’s Yukon River layover after he was inadvertently allowed to leave the Nikolai checkpoint 50 minutes before the correct release time.
  Race Marshall Mark Nordman in a statement from the Iditarod Trail Committee, says the early relea
  
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