Anchorage news

• A night at the Bethel Winter House

  03-12-2016 23:47
  
  The Bethel Winter HouseDean Swope / KYUK
  Bethel’s homeless shelter, Bethel Winter House, opened earlier this week, providing relief from the cold to Bethel’s many in need. A story published by KYUK Public Media showed what it was like for guests on Wednesday night.
  Around dinnertime, Major Lonnie Upshaw checked a large convection oven.
  “I’m serving lasagna, and chicken alfredo pasta with rolls tonight,” Upshaw said.
  Upshaw, who has been with the
  
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• Alaska Marine Highway System prepares to sell ferry Taku

  03-12-2016 23:23
  
  Alaska Marine Highway ferry Taku.Photo: Erich Tritz
  The Alaska Marine Highway System is working to get rid of the state ferry Taku.
  The Ketchikan Daily News reports that Alaska Department of Transportation spokesman Jeremy Woodrow says the state has not yet decided how it will dispose of the ferry, but it has received permission from the Federal Highway Administration to sell the vessel.
  Federal approval was required because of federal cash invested in the Taku throughout its lifetime.
  Woodrow
  
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• Troopers: Remains found likely belong to David Grunwald, 1 teen charged in connection to his death

  03-12-2016 21:55
  
  David GrunwaldCourtesy Edie Grunwald David Grunwald's vehicle, found abandoned and burnedKen Kulovany/KTVA David Grunwald's vehicle, found abandoned and burnedKen Kulovany/KTVA Dozens of people turned out to help search for missing teen David Grunwald Saturday
  Alaska State Troopers say it is likely the remains of missing 16-year-old David Grunwald have been found. Additionally, at least one teenager now faces charges of kidnapping and murder in connection to the case.
  Human remains were found i
  
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• ‘This isn’t the end’: Investigator calls for continued public help after missing teen’s remains likely found

  03-12-2016 21:55
  
  David GrunwaldCourtesy Edie Grunwald David Grunwald's vehicle, found abandoned and burnedKen Kulovany/KTVA David Grunwald's vehicle, found abandoned and burnedKen Kulovany/KTVA Dozens of people turned out to help search for missing teen David Grunwald Saturday
  Last updated at 4:15 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 3
  Alaska State Troopers say it is likely the remains of missing 16-year-old David Grunwald have been found. Additionally, at least one teenager now faces charges of kidnapping and murder in
  
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• JPD officer shoots Juneau man after responding to car crash

  03-12-2016 21:45 via ktoo.org
  
  A 38-year-old Juneau man was injured in an officer-involved shooting and medivaced to Seattle. Juneau police originally responded to a vehicle crash early Saturday morning. (Photo by Quinton Chandler/KTOO)
  Update | 12:28 p.m.
  A 38-year-old Juneau man injured in an officer-involved shooting early Saturday morning had been driving a gray Jeep Cherokee that failed to stop for a Juneau police officer earlier.
  According to a police news release, a police officer attempted to stop the v
  
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• Electrical fire displaces 3 from Debarr Road home

  03-12-2016 21:20
  
  The scene of the fireEric Ruble/KTVA Eric Ruble/KTVA The scene of the fireEric Ruble/KTVA
  A fire displaced three people in East Anchorage early Saturday morning, according to the Anchorage Fire Department.
  At least a dozen units responded to the fire at the Glacier Terrace Trailer Park, located near 4110 Debarr Road, just after 3 a.m., according to assistant fire Chief Erich Scheunemann.
  The fire was under control within half an hour, AFD dispatchers confirmed.
  Scheunemann said no one was injur
  
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• UPDATE: Stabbing victim went to Brother Francis Shelter after attack near 5th and Gamble

  03-12-2016 21:14
  
  Last updated at 2:46 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 3
  The Anchorage Police Department says new information shows a stabbing that was believed to have occurred at the Brother Francis Shelter early Saturday morning may have actually taken place in the area of Fifth Avenue and Gamble Street.
  The stabbing was reported just before 1 a.m., according to a statement from police. When officers and medics arrived at the shelter, they found a man with a single stab wound to the back.
  “The victim had shown up
  
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• Police: Man stabbed at Brother Francis Shelter, no suspect identified

  03-12-2016 21:14
  
  The Anchorage Police Department is investigating a stabbing that occurred at the Brother Francis Shelter early Saturday morning.
  The stabbing was reported just before 1 a.m., according to a statement from police.
  “Officers and medics arrived and located an adult male with a single stab wound to the back,” police explained.
  The victim was treated at a nearby hospital for a wound police said was not life-threatening.
  “No suspect has been identified in the stabbing at this time an
  
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• Silver Alert: Troopers seek whereabouts of 89-year-old Fairbanks man

  03-12-2016 20:45
  
  R O’Grady. Courtesy Alaska Department of Safety
  ANCHORAGE — An 89-year-old man’s disappearance has prompted a Silver Alert from the Alaska Department of Safety.
  R O’Grady was last seen near the area of Phillips Field Road and Peger Road in Fairbanks, according to the alert, which was issued around 2 a.m. on Saturday. O’Grady is believed to be endangered, Alaska State Troopers wrote.
  He was last seen wearing a gray Carhartt jacket and gray coveralls. Authorities bel
  
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• New details in Juneau officer-involved shooting

  03-12-2016 20:11
  
  Last updated at 12:45 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 3
  The Juneau Police Department has provided new details into the shooting involving two of its officers and a local man. The man was transported to Seattle for treatment after one of the officers shot him, according to police.
  Juneau police issued a statement about the incident Saturday morning, saying the two officers initially came into contact with the man around 4:19 a.m. on the 16500 block of Ocean View Drive. The officers were responding to
  
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• Juneau resident shot by officer, medivaced to Seattle

  03-12-2016 20:11
  
  A Juneau resident is undergoing treatment after a police officer shot him early Saturday morning, according to the department.
  Juneau police issued a statement about the incident, saying two officers initially came into contact with the 38-year-old resident at 4:19 a.m. on the 16500 block of Ocean View Drive.
  “The 38-year-old Juneau resident was shot by one of the officers,” police wrote. “The male was taken to the Bartlett Regional Hospital via ambulance, and was later medivac
  
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• Make the Alaska Aces part of your team

  03-12-2016 07:01
  
  Here’s your chance to make Stephen Perfetto part of your team. The Alaska Aces center is one of three from the team on the ballot for the annual Meigray- ECHL Fantasy Team.
  Left-wingers Garet Hunt and Tim Wallace are also on the ballot. You can only vote once during the period that ends Monday, Dec. 12.
  The winning player for each team will wear a team jersey with a 2017 ECHL Fantasy Team patch during an upcoming home game.
  More: http://www.echl.com/fantasy
  The post Make the Alaska Aces pa
  
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• Bean’s Cafe opens overnight shelter, operated by its own staff

  03-12-2016 06:52
  
  About 50 people were expected to spend Friday night inside Bean’s Cafe. Executive director Lisa Sauder said the decision was made less than one week ago, after the municipality asked for help in accommodating people who were turned away from places like Brother Francis Shelter due to high demand.
  “The need is great. The temperatures are cold. It is dangerous to be outside right now, so there was no time to waste,” said Sauder.
  She estimated at least 50 people are left without a
  
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• Lawmakers, school board consider alternative approach to classroom discipline

  03-12-2016 06:35
  
  School suspensions may become a thing of the past. Lawmakers and school board members are looking at a different approach to student discipline statewide.
  National studies have found that, for many incarcerated adults, their pathway to jail started with frequent suspensions in school. The trend is now known as the School-to-Prison Pipeline. Educators statewide are trying to figure out how to break that link.
  An alternative program for troubled youth called Step Up offers a start. Learning t
  
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• Economist: Alaska is in a recession

  03-12-2016 05:26
  
  JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) – A state labor department economist says Alaska is in a recession, facing job losses across most sectors of the economy amid chronically low oil prices.
  Caroline Schultz says the recession likely began at the end of 2015.
  Job numbers released by the department Friday show average monthly employment in the first half of 2016 was down 5,530 jobs, or about 1.6 percent, compared to the same period in 2015.
  The oil and gas industry was especially hard hit during that period
  
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• Guns and marijuana: Murkowski says feds are going too far

  03-12-2016 05:21
  
  Alaskans using marijuana may be forfeiting their right to bear arms. According to federal law, marijuana users can’t legally buy guns in the United States.
  At Granny’s Guns and Loan in Midtown, owner Barry Barr knows his firearms and the rules required to sell them. Each buyer must fill out federal Form 4473.
  “They have to answer these questions honestly and then sign the back page,” Barr said.
  But one question in particular is under fire.
  “Question E asks &lsq
  
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• APD asks community where officers should spend their time

  03-12-2016 05:02
  
  Anchorage will soon have new police officers on the streets and for some people, they couldn’t come soon enough. Back-to-back academies, including a graduation on Thursday, are pushing the numbers up.
  APD spokeswoman Jennifer Castro said there are 40 more officers on the street then there were in January of 2015. She said by next fall Anchorage residents should see the effects of staffing levels at 400 officers, a staffing level the city hasn’t seen since 2009.
  The department is reac
  
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• Avalanche experts: Check your safety gear before venturing into the backcountry

  03-12-2016 04:40
  
  When it comes to being in the backcountry safety is a top priority.
  “I’d say, if I showed up and missed a piece of safety gear, it didn’t make it in the car I probably wouldn’t go,” skier Tad Denning said. “It’s hard to enjoy yourself up there when you know you’re not prepared.”
  Denning and his friends were just a few of the dozens of people playing in the powder at Turnagain Pass on Friday.
  They packed their bags with avalanche essentials. &
  
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• 4-vehicle accident backs up Egan Drive, five people injured

  03-12-2016 04:21 via ktoo.org
  
  Update | 6:48 p.m.
  A Bartlett Regional Hospital spokesperson says the five people taken to the hospital from the car accident are all in stable condition.
  Community Relations Director Katie Bausler said there were two minors and three adults admitted. All were evaluated in the emergency room.
  Original story | 6:21 p.m.
  (Photo by Heather Bryant/KTOO)
  The intersection of Egan Drive near Fred Meyer was closed Friday evening after five people were injured in a four-vehicle accident.
  Lt. David Campbe
  
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• State unemployment data shows the bleak reality of an oil crash

  03-12-2016 03:29 via ktoo.org
  
  Alaska’s Northstar Island is in the Beaufort Sea and built out of gravel 6 miles off the Alaska coastline. Alaska’s economy has been shedding oil and gas industry jobs with the heaviest losses in the North Slope Borough. (Photo courtesy Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement)
  As oil prices dropped, Alaska’s jobs have dwindled.   
  The state’s oil and gas industry shed nearly 2,400 jobs in the first half of the year. That’s according to new data from
  
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• From rotten ice to wildfires: hunting and fishing becomes complicated in a changing Alaska

  03-12-2016 03:18 via ktoo.org
  
  Screenshot from the video Silavut Atlannuraqtuq, Our Changing Weather, about climate change in Northwest Alaska. (Image courtesy of the Maniilaq Association and ANTHC)
  Alaskans have heard stories for years about how climate change is affecting subsistence hunting and fishing. Now researchers are trying to quantify that impact– and they’re finding the biggest problem is access.
  This summer, Maija Lukin set out to document changes around her home community of Kotzebue.
  For Lukin, the i
  
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• Trump speaks with Taiwan’s president, risking China tensions

  03-12-2016 02:45
  
  NEW YORK (AP) – Donald Trump has spoken with the president of Taiwan, a self-governing island the U.S. broke diplomatic ties with in 1979.
  It is highly unusual, perhaps unprecedented, for a U.S. president or president-elect to speak directly with a Taiwanese leader. The U.S. cut formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan when it shifted diplomatic recognition of China to the communist government on the mainland, although Washington still has close unofficial ties with Taipei.
  Trump’s transit
  
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• Haines man who allegedly ‘pistol-whipped’ another man faces felony assault charge

  03-12-2016 02:00 via ktoo.org
  
  A Haines man who allegedly shot at and “pistol whipped” another man was arrested Thursday.
  Francis Hickman, 28, faces a felony assault charge in the assault of another man with a dangerous weapon.
  Police responded to a call from the alleged victim about 11 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 30, according to charging documents.
  Officer Chris Brown responded and located the caller at mile marker 3 on Haines Highway. The man said Hickman fired two sho
  
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• Jury in S.C. police shooting trial says it is struggling to reach verdict

  03-12-2016 01:00 via ktoo.org
  
  The jury in the murder trial of former North Charleston, S.C., police Officer Michael Slager told the judge on Friday afternoon that it’s having trouble coming to a unanimous verdict.
  Slager is accused of murder for shooting Walter Scott multiple times as he ran away from the officer in 2015, after a routine traffic stop.
  The jury heard nearly a month of testimony in the case, including testimony from Slager. Friday was the third day of deliberations. The jurors have three options if they
  
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• Coast Guard, troopers search for missing Port Graham man

  03-12-2016 01:00 via ktoo.org
  
  The U.S. Coast Guard and Alaska State Troopers are searching for a 34-year-old Port Graham man missing since Wednesday.
  Ryan Meganack was last seen leaving Port Graham about 2 p.m. in an 18-foot skiff heading toward Passage Island.
  A number of search parties are looking for Meganack,
  said U.S. Coast Guard spokesperson Bill Colclough.
  “The Coast Guard, the Alaska State Troopers, a NOAA research vessel, the Village of Port Graham and several good Samaritan vessels conducted an
  
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• Barrow’s new Inupiat name challenged in court

  03-12-2016 00:46
  
  On paper, the new Inupiat Eskimo name of the nation’s northernmost town is now official. But not so fast. The reality is not so simple.
  The town was known as Barrow until Thursday, when the new name, Utqiaġvik, became effective, less than two months after voters approved the change with a six-vote majority of voters.
  But the name is being challenged. A local Alaska Native corporation filed a civil lawsuit Wednesday that claims city officials rushed the process with insufficient outrea
  
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• Mic Check in the Morning: Conway Seavey

  03-12-2016 00:39
  
  Conway Seavey and his band have a busy December ahead of them. They’re performing at the KTVA New Year’s Eve Celebration, releasing a new single on Christmas day and providing the backing band for The Stars We Are competition at Williwaw. The winner of that competition will play alongside the Conway Seavey Band on Dec. 31.
  The Conway Seavey Band has been performing since 2015. The year before, Seavey released an EP called “Paradox.” It features original songs. Seavey was
  
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• 4 new elements on the periodic table now have names

  03-12-2016 00:36
  
  It’s now time to say hello, officially, to the four new additions to the Periodic Table of Elements. This week, the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) approved the names of the four new elements, whose existence was first confirmed to the public back in January.
  Modern periodic table with the new additions
  The names for elements 113, 115, 117, and 118 are: Nihonium (Nh), Moscovium (Mc), Tennessine (Ts), and Oganesson (Og), respectively.
  The announcement comes af
  
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• Community of Stebbins experiencing ‘water crisis’

  03-12-2016 00:00 via ktoo.org
  
  The community of Stebbins has been experiencing an ongoing “water crisis” for the better part of this week.
  City Administrator Nora Tom said water pipes are breaking, the trucks hauling water are in need of repairs, and the community is waiting on the needed parts.
  One concerned citizen said people in Stebbins can’t take showers at the community washeteria and instead must travel to St. Michael.
  Stebbins’ water supply is limited. If the situation continues without ch
  
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