Anchorage news

• Crews hope to reach full containment of Moose Creek Fire by weekend

  20-10-2016 23:12
  
  Photo by Sarah Saarloos/Alaska Division of Forestry A helicopter drops water on the King Creek Fire, located near Sutton Two firefighters talk to a crew in a Division of Forestry engine on Sunday at the Moose Creek Fire near Sutton. The fire is now estimated at 300 acres and is 25 percent containedPhoto by Sarah Saarloos/Alaska Division of Forestr Crews working the Moose Creek FireCourtesy Jim Sykes Alaska Division of Forestry Photo A helicopter drops water on the Moose Creek FirePatty Sullivan
  
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• Human errors drive growing death toll in auto crashes

  20-10-2016 23:00 via ktoo.org
  
  Our cars and trucks are being made with more safety features. New technologies such as lane departure warnings, blind spot detection, vehicle stabilizers and anti-lock brakes can, and do, save lives.
  Yet more people are dying on the nation’s roadways — nearly 18,000 in the first six months of this year. That’s a huge jump of 10.4 percent over the same time period in 2015, and it’s part of a disturbing trend, according to federal officials, because traffic fatalities rose
  
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• Fairbanks police chief reinstated in wake of shooting

  20-10-2016 23:00 via ktoo.org
  
  Fairbanks Mayor John Eberhart has reinstated the city’s police chief, one month after he was placed on leave pending the outcome of an investigation into allegations of possible conflict-of-interest violations.
  Eberhart announced Wednesday that Chief Randall Aragon would return to work immediately.
  The decision comes in the wake of the shooting of police Sgt. Allen Brandt by a 29-year-old suspect.
  Eberhart cited the need for leadership following the Sunday shooting that left Brandt serious
  
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• Dan Ortiz calls for Republican candidate Bob Sivertsen to denounce ‘dark money’

  20-10-2016 23:00 via ktoo.org
  
  House District 36 incumbent Dan Ortiz called for Republican candidate Bob Sivertsen on Monday to denounce so-called “dark money” in this year’s campaign.
  He was referring to the independent expenditure group known as Southeast Voters for Bob Sivertsen, which has spent about $4,000 opposing Ortiz, some of which funded various ads.
  The Accountability Project, an Anchorage-based group with ties to Southeast Voters for Bob Sivertsen, has one TV ad on its Facebook page attacking Ort
  
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• Weekend concert to benefit Alaska Music Project for Youth

  20-10-2016 22:58
  
  Just how easy is it to record a song? J.W. Frye and Matthew Brenna with Alaska Music Project for Youth (AMP) showed Daybreak how it’s done.
  The organization is also holding a benefit concert, with headliner Black Water Railroad Company, on Oct. 22 at Williwaw.
  Proceeds will help AMP hit its goal of 18 mobile recording studios by 2018.
  The post Weekend concert to benefit Alaska Music Project for Youth appeared first on KTVA 11.
  
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• Story time w/ Aunt Phil: The history of Alaska’s Seward Highway

  20-10-2016 22:53
  
  Sixty-five years ago on Oct. 19, 1951, the 125-mile long Seward Highway was completed and ready for traffic. It connected to the Sterling Highway, which had opened to Homer the previous year.
  The route from Resurrection Bay to Alaska’s interior has been in existence for thousands of years, of course. Russian explorers searched the area for furs and minerals as early as the 1700s. And Natives have used the region for thousands of years. In fact, Dena’ina Indians found abundant ga
  
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• Newscast – Thursday, Oct. 20, 2016

  20-10-2016 22:48 via ktoo.org
  
  
  http://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/ktoo/2016/10/2016-10-20-1230-newscast.mp3In this newscast:
  The U.S. Forest Service clears another hurdle in it the years-long process to update the Tongass Forest plan,
  the City & Borough of Juneau holds its first of two public hearings on a proposed ordinance to restrict fireworks use, and
  Juneau police seek tips in a shooting last month in Auke Bay, when someone apparently shotgunned a house and then sped away.
  
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• Cup with the Chief: APD’s staffing goals and how to prevent winter crime

  20-10-2016 22:28
  
  The Anchorage Police Department is well on its way to hitting a goal of 400 officers by the end of the year.
  APD Chief Chris Tolley sat down with Daybreak to discuss how they are working toward that goal.
  He also said winter is nearly here, and that means the department will see a spike in car thefts due to unattended cars warming up. Tolley’s advice for residents is to get a remote start or stay near your vehicle.
  The post Cup with the Chief: APD’s staffing goals and how to pre
  
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• SLIDESHOW: Alaska Federation of Natives convention celebrates 50 years

  20-10-2016 22:17
  
  The Carlson Center in Fairbanks fills up with convention-goers on the first day. Megan Edge/ KTVA Veterans stand for the Color Guard at the annual AFN convention. Megan Edge/ KTVA Megan Edge/ KTVA An opening prayer following a healing ceremony at the annual AFN convention. Megan Edge/ KTVA Lt. Gov. Byron Mallott watches the keynote address at AFN. Megan Edge/ KTVA Shoppers check out the craft fair the the annual AFN convention. Megan Edge/ KTVA Megan Edge / KTVA
  The Alaska Federation of Natives
  
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• As objection hearings wrap, countdown to new Tongass plan

  20-10-2016 22:03 via ktoo.org
  
  The U.S. Forest Service wrapped up objection hearings Wednesday on a plan that could shape the future of timber in the Tongass National Forest.
  It was the last chance for the public to register opposition to to the Tongass Land and Resource Management Plan amendments, which has been nearly three years in the making and will go into effect this winter. The meetings took place during a two week span in Ketchikan and Juneau.
  About 27 groups and organizations testified in opposition — inc
  
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• Decomposed body found near railroad tracks in Anchorage

  20-10-2016 22:00 via ktoo.org
  
  ANCHORAGE — Police say a decomposed body was found near railroad tracks in south Anchorage.
  Someone called police shortly after 8:30 p.m. Wednesday after finding the body while walking in a wooded area near Huffman Road and the Old Seward Highway, said Jennifer Castro, spokeswoman for Anchorage Police Department.
  Nothing immediately suspicious was found at the scene, according to police.
  The state medical examiner’s office will perform an autopsy to determine identific
  
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• Decomposed body found near railroad tracks in south Anchorage

  20-10-2016 21:26
  
  Police say a decomposed body was found Wednesday evening in south Anchorage.
  The Anchorage Police Department stated in a release Thursday morning that the report came in around 8:30 p.m. Wednesday. APD said the remains were found near the railroad tracks off Huffman Road near the intersection of Old Seward Highway.Police say that nothing immediately suspicious has been found at the scene.
  APD stated the State Medical Examiner will conduct an autopsy to identify the body and determine the possibl
  
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• Save the ruby slippers: Smithsonian seeks funds to preserve Dorothy’s shoes

  20-10-2016 21:00 via ktoo.org
  
  Dorothy’s ruby slippers could use a little more magic these days — or at least some conservationist TLC.
  The famous shoes from The Wizard of Oz are among the most popular items on display at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History. But they’re showing their age, and the museum is asking the public to pitch in to help keep the shoes intact for decades to come.
  The Smithsonian launched a Kickstarter campaign seeking $300,000 in donations to fund preservation w
  
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• First measurable snowfall of the season coming to Anchorage, Mat-Su

  20-10-2016 20:39
  
  ANCHORAGE — A cold front is on the way to Southcentral and will bring the first chance for measurable snowfall for the Anchorage area beginning late Thursday.
  Rain will develop Thursday afternoon across the Susitna Valley, before spreading to the Matanuska Valley and Anchorage by the evening hours. As temperatures fall, the rain will mix with snow before transitioning to all snow after midnight. Snowfall accumulation between 0.5 inches and 2 inches is most likely, with larger totals possi
  
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• Live Blog – Alaska Federation of Natives convention

  20-10-2016 20:13
  
  [View the story “Live Blog – 2016 AFN Convention” on Storify]
  The post Live Blog – Alaska Federation of Natives convention appeared first on KTVA 11.
  
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• After five days, Moose Creek fire nearly half contained

  20-10-2016 20:00 via ktoo.org
  
  The Moose Creek fire near Sutton is nearly half contained, according to fire information officials Wednesday.
  Fire managers expect to have the blaze, which is at 46 percent, fully contained by the weekend.
  The wildfire started Saturday morning, sparked by a burning debris pile.
  High winds in the Matanuska Valley drove the fire to consume more than 300 acres.
  Winds diminished on Tuesday, allowing fire crews to get a start on a line around the fire.
  The western flank of the fire also has
  
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• VP candidate Kaine: Trump is ‘attacking central pillar of our democracy’

  20-10-2016 19:00 via ktoo.org
  
  Donald Trump at Wednesday’s presidential debate refused to say whether he would honor the results of the Nov. 8 election. But is that just a tease meant to build suspense?
  Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Kaine tells Morning Edition host Steve Inskeep he doubts that.
  “I’m not sure anybody can believe it,” Kaine told Inskeep the day after the debate. “That moment would not have been as big a moment last night had Donald Trump not spent the last few weeks goin
  
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• Nonprofit awarded contract to run Homer animal shelter

  20-10-2016 19:00 via ktoo.org
  
  Homer City Council awarded a new contract for the City Animal Shelter to the nonprofit Alaska Mindful Paws on Oct. 10.
  The group will manage and operate the shelter as part of a two-year contract for $179,150 per year.
  Amy Ware will be the new shelter manager as of Jan. 1, 2017. She’s had previous experience rescuing and fostering stray animals, and expects it to be a natural transition.
  “I think it will be a smooth transition, but it will definitely be a work in progress,” War
  
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• Independent Senate candidate visits Haines: ‘I’m all work, no party’

  20-10-2016 19:00 via ktoo.org
  
  Margaret Stock, who is an independent candidate for the U.S. Senate seat currently occupied by Lisa Murkowski, makes a campaign stop in Haines on Oct. 8. (Photo by Emily Files/KHNS)
  Margaret Stock says if she is elected to office, she’ll be “all work and no party.”
  No party as in no political affiliation and the distractions, she says, that come with it.
  Stock is an independent candidate for the U.S. Senate seat currently occupied by Lisa Murkowski.
  She made a campaign stop in
  
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• 50th AFN convention begins today in Fairbanks

  20-10-2016 11:07 via ktoo.org
  
  The 50th Alaska Federation of Natives convention in Fairbanks will open with a healing ceremony from the Alaska Suicide Prevention Council. The observance acknowledges a suicide that took place at the Dena’ina Center in Anchorage during the final hour of the convention last year.After the ceremony, the agenda for the three-day conference has many of the same elements it features every year. AFN President Julie Kitka will deliver her annual report. Shortly after, Gov. Bill Walker will addre
  
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• Athabascan bead artist gets ready for AFN

  20-10-2016 08:41
  
  Donna Pulliam, an Athabascan bead artist, has worked hard all year to prepare for the Customary Arts Show at the Alaska Federation of Natives (AFN) convention. When AFN gets underway in Fairbanks on Thursday, she’ll join more than 100 other artists who share the same passion for their traditional art and culture — and the thrill of selling their work.
  Pulliam is headed for AFN with several suitcases, stuffed with hand-sewn moccasins, vests and gloves, all adorned with designs th
  
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• Anchorage, Whittier to sign contract for police coverage in Girdwood

  20-10-2016 08:37
  
  The Whittier Police Department may start assigning officers to patrol Girdwood as soon as this weekend.
  Sam Daniel, a member of the Girdwood Board of Supervisors, said city managers for Whittier and Anchorage are expected to sign a contract with WPD on Thursday. It will take effect beginning Saturday, he said.
  The Anchorage Assembly approved the contract earlier this month, shortly after Alaska State Troopers officially ended their patrols along that stret
  
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• Alaska voters watching presidential debate were decided, but not excited

  20-10-2016 08:22
  
  Millions of people across the country watched the third and final presidential debate Wednesday night. In that audience were several dozen Alaskans who gathered at Bear Tooth Theater to watch live as candidates Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump squared off for the last time in front of an audience that large before the Nov. 8 election.
  People lined up early to get a good seat, but KTVA didn’t come across any undecided voters or voters particularly excited about their cho
  
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• Forestry: Calmer winds help crews battling 2 Southcentral wildfires

  20-10-2016 06:12
  
  Photo by Sarah Saarloos/Alaska Division of Forestry A helicopter drops water on the King Creek Fire, located near Sutton Two firefighters talk to a crew in a Division of Forestry engine on Sunday at the Moose Creek Fire near Sutton. The fire is now estimated at 300 acres and is 25 percent containedPhoto by Sarah Saarloos/Alaska Division of Forestr Crews working the Moose Creek FireCourtesy Jim Sykes Alaska Division of Forestry Photo A helicopter drops water on the Moose Creek FirePatty Sullivan
  
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• In Nome, a new search effort for Joseph Balderas

  20-10-2016 06:08
  
  City Manager Tom Moran and others view map of search grid before beginning effort to find missing person Joseph BalderasPhoto: Davis Hovey, KNOM (2016)
  Joseph Balderas was reported missing on June 27, 2016 / Courtesy Finding Joseph
  NOME — Tuesday morning’s briefing in the Nome City Fire Hall began the ground search phase of a new autumn search and rescue effort for missing person Joseph Balderas.
  City manager Tom Moran is acting as incident commander for this search effort, eve
  
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• ‘Vigilant Shield’ tests US, Canada military partnership

  20-10-2016 05:50
  
  Roughly 700 military personnel from the U.S. and Canada are training together this week, preparing to defend our homes.
  Lt. Gen. Ken Wilsbach said the annual exercise, called Vigilant Shield, is all about procedure: detect an enemy plane, evaluate the threat and respond. Detection starts at the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), the radar watching over North America.
  “We need to be prepared for whatever threat comes into NORAD,” Wilsbach said.
  Alaska’s size and A
  
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• In Anchorage, a Trump supporter keeps the faith

  20-10-2016 05:50 via ktoo.org
  
  
  Julie Tisdale of Anchorage is a Donald Trump supporter. (Photo courtesy Julie Tisdale)
  Recent polls show the presidential race unexpectedly close in Alaska, and in the coming weeks, we’ll be checking in with voters around the state — asking what matters most to them and who they’re supporting as Election Day approaches.
  Julie Tisdale of Anchorage. Tisdale is 47, an accountant and a lifelong Alaskan, and she’s an enthusiastic supporter of Donald Trump.
  She sat down wi
  
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• Years-long cleanup of Kincaid Park debris complete

  20-10-2016 05:33
  
  Some heavy lifting at Kincaid Park is bringing a nearly decade-long cleanup project to an end.
  Joe Meehan, refuge manager for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, said the Anchorage Coastal Wildlife Refuge that sits below the bluff at Kincaid was at one time used as a city dump.
  “Anyone who wanted to get rid of something, they went to this out-of-the-way place and threw it over the edge,” Meehan said.
  For the last nine years, the Department of Fish and Game has been working to cle
  
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• 4th Avenue Theatre will stay standing, at least for now

  20-10-2016 05:09
  
  Once considered among the most luxurious theatres west of the Mississippi River, the Fourth Avenue Theatre now sits empty and boarded up.
  It’s been this way since the late 2000s. People often question what will become of the downtown landmark. At the Anchorage Assembly meeting on Tuesday night, Municipal Attorney Bill Falsey gave an update.
  “There was a recent development that occurred late yesterday when contractors retained by the owners of the Fourth Avenue Theatre went to th
  
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• An update on wounded Fairbanks police Sgt. Brandt and the man accused of shooting him

  20-10-2016 04:53
  
  Anthony George Jenkins-Alexie, the man accused of shooting Fairbanks police Sgt. Allen Brandt, was arraigned in court Wednesday. Charging documents released at the hearing reveal new details in the case, including an alleged confession penned by Jenkins-Alexie.
  Sgt. Allen Brandt. Photo: City of Fairbanks
  Brandt survived the encounter with Jenkins-Alexie and was able to provide details to police about the shooting. In the charging documents, Brandt told police he first saw Jenkins-Alexie on Seven
  
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• Newscast – Wednesday, Oct. 19, 2016

  20-10-2016 04:32 via ktoo.org
  
  
  http://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/ktoo/2016/10/20161019-newscast.mp3In this newscast:
  Jennifer Canfield checks in from Fairbanks with political endorsement news on the eve of the Alaska Federation of Natives Convention,
  the Kodiak Police Department has a new plan for body camera use, and
  a case pitting farmers’ rights against neighboring landowers’ rights has wafted its way up to the Alaska Supreme Court, a first test case of the state’s Right to Farm Act.
  
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• Nikiski residents in limbo after LNG land grab

  20-10-2016 03:04 via ktoo.org
  
  Bill Warren says he was negotiating to sell a the home and land to the Alaska LNG project on Sept. 25, 2016, in Nikiski. Warren, and others in Nikiski, said they are unsure what will happen to their land as the project transitions to state control. (Photo by Rashah McChesney/Alaska’s Energy Desk)
  Over the last two years, the Alaska LNG project bought about 630 acres of land in Nikiski, on the Kenai Peninsula. That’s where the state and its partners hoped to build a giant natural gas
  
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• Troopers: Priest died before recent fire in Alaska village

  20-10-2016 03:00 via ktoo.org
  
  ANCHORAGE — Alaska State Troopers say an autopsy showed that a 72-year-old priest who was recently found dead following a fire in the southwest Alaska village of Chefornak died of natural causes before the blaze started.
  Troopers say no foul play is suspected in the Oct. 12 death of Theodore Kessler. The Roman Catholic Diocese of Fairbanks has said Kessler was a long-serving priest and that the fire broke out in the church rectory.
  According to troopers, the fire marshal’s office det
  
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• City begins taking public comment on fireworks ordinance tonight

  20-10-2016 02:51 via ktoo.org
  
  Tonight Juneau residents will be able to voice their opinions regarding a proposed ordinance to restrict the use of fireworks.
  The City and Borough of Juneau is hosting two public meetings within the next week.
  The ordinance would restrict the use and purchase of fireworks to certain times of the year, like New Year’s and the Fourth of July.
  The current draft would limit the use of fireworks to Dec. 31 to Jan. 2, and July 3 to July 5, between 10 a.m. and 1 a.m.
  Penalties could be as a
  
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• Juneau Afternoon – 10-20-16

  20-10-2016 02:00 via ktoo.org
  
  Thursday on A Juneau Afternoon, Joan Pardes will host.
  We’ll talk with this week’s Evening presenter, Dr. James Hoillifield.
  Keynote Speaker for the Juneau World Affairs Council Forum: Human Migration and Refugees: Peril and Hope
  Professor James Hollifield is Professor of Political Science at Southern Methodist University, Ora Nixon Arnold Chair in International Political Economy, and Director of SMU’s Tower Center. He received his Ph.D. in political science from Duke Universit
  
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• Citing ‘very difficult time,’ Fairbanks mayor reinstates police chief

  20-10-2016 01:52
  
  Fairbanks Mayor John Eberhart announced Wednesday morning he has reinstated police Chief Randall Aragon.
  Aragon was put on administrative leave on Sept. 21 following allegations that he had promoted his private security business in an official Fairbanks Police Department capacity. Former Chief Dan Hoffman pushed the city council for a probe into the accusations, which he said came a local business owner.
  Hoffman claimed in a letter to the city council that the business owner met with Aragon
  
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• Where to watch tonight’s final presidential debate

  20-10-2016 01:16
  
   
  ANCHORAGE — Tonight’s final televised debate between presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump will be broadcast live from the campus of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
  The debate begins at 5 p.m. AKST and will be moderated by Fox News anchor Chris Wallace.
  Donald Trump’s guest list for the third and final debate now includes Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin and a woman who has accused former President Bill Clinton of sexual harassment, according to the
  
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• Division of Elections offers Trump campaign chance to be in online election pamphlet

  20-10-2016 01:14
  
  Updated at 4 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 19
  The Alaska Division of Elections says it has offered the Donald Trump campaign the chance to put information about him and his running mate in its online election pamphlet, but that they have not received anything from the campaign.
  A spokesman for the division said while it was too late for Trump and Indiana Gov. Mike Pence to be on the printed version of the pamphlet, which has already been sent out to the public, the online pamphlet can be upd
  
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• Third debate guests include Trump tormentor, Benghazi mom, Obama half-brother

  20-10-2016 01:00 via ktoo.org
  
  Psy-ops in the guest box continues at the third and final presidential debate.
  Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton are both using guest tickets in a calculated effort to rattle their rivals, or at least send a signal to voters watching on TV.
  The in-your-face guest list includes two billionaire critics of Trump, the mother of a Benghazi victim, and President Obama’s Kenya-born half-brother.
  Trump invited Malik Obama to sit in his silent cheering section after the president’s relative en
  
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• Alaska Federation of Natives board endorses presidential candidate for the first time

  20-10-2016 00:32
  
  The largest statewide Native organization in Alaska is breaking with decades of tradition and endorsing Hillary Clinton for president.
  The Alaska Federation of Natives says it’s the first time it has endorsed a presidential candidate in the organization’s half-century of existence.
  The federation’s board of directors voted Tuesday to endorse the Democratic nominee.
  The federation says in a Wednesday news release that some board members abstained from voting “because they
  
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• Central Council endorses Murkowski for U.S. Senate

  20-10-2016 00:27 via ktoo.org
  
  Sen. Lisa Murkowski addresses the Alaska Federation of Natives Convention, Oct. 16, 2015. (Photo by Mikko Wilson/KTOO)
  The Central Council of Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska has endorsed Sen. Lisa Murkowski for U.S. Senate.
  Central Council spokesperson Raeanne Holmes says the organization doesn’t often endorse candidates for political office, though they did endorse Sen. Mark Begich against Dan Sullivan in 2014. Sullivan won. And they supported the so-called Unity Ticket that bro
  
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• 4 things to watch in the last presidential debate

  20-10-2016 00:00 via ktoo.org
  
  The final presidential debate between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump is on Wednesday at 9 p.m. ET. It’s the last chance either candidate will have to make a closing argument before tens of millions of voters.
  It follows yet another unprecedented week in the campaign, in which Trump has repeatedly questioned the legitimacy of the election, predicting that it will be stolen from him through media bias and massive voter fraud.
  Clinton has a lead in the polls nationally and her battleground
  
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