Anchorage news

• APD searching for robbery suspect on foot in South Anchorage

  08-12-2016 23:56
  
  Police in Anchorage are looking for a male robbery suspect Thursday afternoon.
  In a text message alert, the Anchorage Police Department stated they are searching for the suspect, who they said is on foot, near O’Malley Road and Main Tree Drive.
  The message advised people living in the area to “secure their homes.”
  This is a developing story; please check back for updates.
  The post APD searching for robbery suspect on foot in South Anchorage appeared first on KTVA 11.
  
  Read more

• APD: 2 arrested for midtown Anchorage bank robbery

  08-12-2016 23:56
  
  Two people are in custody for robbing a midtown Anchorage bank, then attempting to elude law enforcement, according the Anchorage Police Department.APD said shortly after 1:20 p.m. they received a report of a robbery at the Denali Federal Credit Union on the 300 block of Minnesota Drive. An initial report to police claimed the suspect fled in a white sedan toward Spenard Road, but the vehicle was spotted by police on O’Malley Road, police said.
  “Officers pinned the vehicle into a sno
  
  Read more

• Russia seen moving new missiles to Eastern Europe

  08-12-2016 23:00 via ktoo.org
  
  In what could mark an escalation of tensions with the West, commercial satellite images suggest that Russia is moving a new generation of nuclear-capable missiles into Eastern Europe.
  Russia appears to be preparing to permanently base its Iskander missile system in Kaliningrad, a sliver of territory it controls along the Baltic coast between Lithuania and Poland. Arms control experts shared fresh satellite imagery with NPR, which they say provides evidence that the Iskander will soon be housed i
  
  Read more

• Body found in truck burning in Steese Highway ditch

  08-12-2016 23:00 via ktoo.org
  
  ANCHORAGE — Alaska State Troopers are trying to identify a person found dead in a truck that burned in a ditch along the Steese Highway.
  Troopers shortly after 5 p.m. Wednesday took a report of a truck burning at Mile 155 about seven miles from the village of Circle.
  Investigators say the driver may have lost control and driven into the ditch.
  The accident caused minimal damage but troopers say at some point the truck caught fire, destroying the truck and apparently causing the driver&rsqu
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Preventing the spread of the flu this holiday season

  08-12-2016 22:32
  
  It’s flu season in Alaska and there are doctor-recommended ways to prevent getting it and spreading it.
  Dr. Jay Butler, the director of public health at Alaska Health and Social Services, says getting vaccinated is the single best way to avoid getting the flu. Another reason to get the flu shot — so others around you don’t get infected. Because of that, Butler says families should all get vaccinated.Hand washing is also one of the best ways to prevent the spread
  
  Read more

• UAA volleyball drops Angelo State, moves one step closer to national title

  08-12-2016 22:23
  
   
  The UAA volleyball team’s dream season will continue.
  The Seawolves advanced to the national semifinal of the NCAA Division II Volleyball Tournament with a four set win over Angelo State 14-25, 25-22, 27-25, 25-16 at the Sanford Pentagon.
  After dropping the first set, UAA came back to take a tight second. The Seawolves (33-2) grabbed control of the third set and the match with a strong 7-1 run midway through, winning it in extra points. Their defense was equally outstanding, es
  
  Read more

• Story Time w/ Aunt Phil: The ‘Lost Alaskans’

  08-12-2016 22:07
  
  Imagine being deemed insane through a jury trial, and then sent to the Lower 48 for treatment in the dead of winter before planes and automobiles were available to transport you south. That’s what happened to some Alaskans at the turn of the last century.
  The opening of the Alaska Psychiatric Institute in 1962 marked a dramatic change in the way Alaska handled those who suffered from mental illness. Construction of the facility meant Alaskans might find treatment for their mental illnesses
  
  Read more

• John Glenn, first American to orbit the Earth, dies at 95

  08-12-2016 22:00 via ktoo.org
  
  The first American to orbit the Earth has died. John Glenn was the last surviving member of the original Mercury astronauts. He would later have a long political career as a U.S. senator, but that didn’t stop his pioneering ways.
  Glenn made history a second time in 1998, when he flew aboard the shuttle Discovery to become the oldest person to fly in space. Glenn was 95; he had been hospitalized in an Ohio State University medical center in Columbus since last week.
  Glenn had been battling
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Former astronaut, US Sen. John Glenn of Ohio has died at 95

  08-12-2016 22:00
  
  Wikipedia Public Domain Photo
  Former astronaut and U.S. Sen. John Glenn has died in Ohio. He was 95.
  Glenn became a national hero in 1962 when he became the first American to orbit the Earth.
  Hank Wilson with the John Glenn School of Public Affairs says Glenn died Thursday afternoon at the James Cancer Hospital in Columbus.
  Glenn was the third U.S. astronaut in space and the first of them to get into orbit. He circled the Earth three times. The Soviet Union had put a man into orbit a year earli
  
  Read more

• Firefighters respond to construction warehouse fire in Bethel

  08-12-2016 22:00 via ktoo.org
  
  The Bethel Fire Department responded to a structure fire over the weekend with no injuries reported.
  The cause is not yet known.
  The Bethel Police Department’s Facebook page said firefighters responded Sunday to a report of smoke and flames coming out of a warehouse belonging to Faulkner Walsh Constructors in Bethel.
  Part-owner Steven Walsh said that he is not sure about the cause, but he has an idea of where the fire started.
  “I believe it started near the waste oil heater, and
  
  Read more

• Fairbanks airport police arrest one of nation’s ‘most wanted’

  08-12-2016 21:49
  
  A man on a national most wanted list was arrested Monday in Fairbanks.A Thursday release from the Fairbanks International Airport stated that two airport police officers stopped Kevin Trask for a routine traffic stop just before 4 a.m. Monday, during which the man gave them false identification. When they investigated further, they found that Trask was on the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Most Wanted list for possession and distribution of child pornography.
  Trask,
  
  Read more

• Puffin die-off on St. Paul Island may point to larger ecosystem problems

  08-12-2016 20:00 via ktoo.org
  
  St. Paul residents have seen 300 puffin carcasses wash ashore since mid-October. Scientists say seabirds are good indicators of overall ecosystem health, which means the die-off could be a sign of trouble for all sorts of species. (Photo by COASST Island Sentinels)
  In the past two months, 300 dead puffins have washed up on St. Paul Island, alarming residents who had only seen six carcasses over the last decade.
  The die-off appears to be slowing down now, but scientists say it could be the sign o
  
  Read more

• Deadly Oakland fire may spur crackdown on off-the-grid artists’ spaces

  08-12-2016 20:00 via ktoo.org
  
  Smoke hung in the air for days in Oakland’s largely Latino Fruitvale district after a deadly fire broke out late Friday night in an artists’ warehouse, leaving 36 people dead.
  Like so much of the city, it’s a neighborhood facing ripples of gentrification created by the tech boom in the Bay Area, which now has some of the highest rents in the country.
  Carmen Brito lived in the now destroyed warehouse known as the Ghost Ship. She barely got out with her life.
  “You can go th
  
  Read more

• A surfer and his paddleboard embark on a lonely trans-Atlantic voyage

  08-12-2016 19:00 via ktoo.org
  
  In 2010, Chris Bertish paddled into 25-foot waves en route to a win at the Mavericks Surf Contest, an annual competition at one of the world’s most famous (and nastiest) big-wave breaks. On Tuesday, Bertish paddled out to conquer something even more massive — roughly 4,600 miles larger, in fact.
  The 42-year-old South African surfer and sailor set out to become the first person to cross the Atlantic Ocean unassisted on a stand-up paddle board.
  The journey he has laid out for himself t
  
  Read more

• Franklin to step down as head of Alaska Alcohol and Marijuana Control Office

  08-12-2016 18:43
  
  The director of the state’s alcohol and marijuana control office is leaving her job. Cynthia Franklin told KTVA her last day is Jan. 6.
  Franklin took over the beverage control board two months before voters legalized marijuana and has been essential in creating Alaska’s pot regulations.
  “I expected it to pass and I enjoyed working on it,” Franklin said. “And I feel like I accomplished a lot and I’m ready to move on to my next challenge.”
  In a phone inter
  
  Read more

• State regulators look to update petroleum cleanup guidelines

  08-12-2016 17:42
  
  Alaska officials are working to revise decades-old protocols to be used in the event of petroleum-based spills.
  KTOO-FM reports that the state’s Department of Environmental Conservation met in November to discuss an overhaul of the agency’s regulations for cleaning up petroleum spills.
  Sally Schlichting, who handles policy and regulation for contaminated sites for the DEC, says the update is long overdue. The last time petroleum guidelines were updates was in 1999.
  Schlichting s
  
  Read more

• Kodiak, military officials meet over military exercises

  08-12-2016 17:36
  
  Kodiak and military officials are meeting to help assuage community concerns about military exercises in the Gulf of Alaska.
  The Kodiak Daily Mirror reports that Northern Command Liaison Officer to Alaska Command Col. Chris Reifel met with the Kodiak City Council on Tuesday to address Northern Edge, a U.S. Pacific Command exercise in the Gulf of Alaska with participation from all military services and other agency partners.
  Reifel’s visit marks the second time military officials have
  
  Read more

• Alaska pharmacies begin offering lifesaving overdose drug without prescription

  08-12-2016 17:04
  
  It’s been a big year for naloxone — a drug that saves lives by reversing the effects of opioid overdoses — and now it’s easier to get than ever before. Alaska state law changed, allowing doctors to prescribe it to family members of drug users. Now, select pharmacies are qualified to dispense the drug without a doctor’s prescription.
  It’s a milestone one Alaska mother has been fighting for.
  “I have a daughter who’s an active addict and I w
  
  Read more

• Alaska pharmacies begin offering lifesaving overdose drug without doctor’s prescription

  08-12-2016 17:04
  
  It’s been a big year for naloxone — a drug that saves lives by reversing the effects of opioid overdoses — and now it’s easier to get than ever before. Alaska state law changed, allowing doctors to prescribe it to family members of drug users. Now, select pharmacies are qualified to dispense the drug without a doctor’s prescription.
  It’s a milestone one Alaska mother has been fighting for.
  “I have a daughter who’s an active addict and I w
  
  Read more

• Former Fairbanks state Rep. Mike Kelly dies in plane crash

  08-12-2016 08:46 via ktoo.org
  
  Former state Rep. Mike Kelly, R-Fairbanks, on Dec. 21, 2010. Kelly died Dec. 7, 2016, as a solo pilot in a plane crash 17 miles southeast of Fairbanks. (Creative Commons photo by James Brooks)
  Former state Rep. Mike Kelly died Wednesday in a plane crash, according to the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner.
  The crash occurred around 1:30 p.m., 17 miles southeast of Kelly’s hometown of Fairbanks on Fort Wainwright, according to the Alaska State Troopers. The troopers were waiting for the State Medic
  
  Read more

• Cold weather keeps plumbing, heating experts busy with repairs

  08-12-2016 07:03
  
  As temperatures drop during the winter, Circle Plumbing and Heating said its number of heat-related problems goes up.
  Installation manager Mark Wondzell said the company gets 30 to 40 calls a day ranging from failing zone valves to broken boiler pumps.
  He advises people to call a professional as soon as they notice something is wrong. Broken heating systems can lead to frozen pipes in a matter of hours when it dips below zero.
  “Once a pipe splits it’s going to spray water, ruin your
  
  Read more

• Hundreds of dead puffins found on St. Paul Island may be linked to warmer ocean temps

  08-12-2016 06:51
  
  Courtesy St. Paul Island Sentinels
  Scientists with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service say warming ocean temperatures could be contributing to a new round of seabird deaths.
  Seabird biologist Kathy Kuletz says nearly 300 tufted puffins have washed up on the shores of St. Paul Island in Alaska’s Pribilof Islands since early October. It’s a significant number of deaths, according to Kuletz, since usually only two or three dead puffins show up a year.
  She also said there are likely to be
  
  Read more

• Plane with 4 on board goes missing en route to Anchorage; search underway

  08-12-2016 04:43
  
  A search effort is underway for a plane carrying four people that left Port Alsworth Wednesday morning bound for Anchorage, according to Clint Johnson, spokesperson with the National Transportation Safety Board.
  The plane left Port Alsworth around 10:30 a.m. and never arrived at it’s destination of Merrill Field, says Johnson.
  Four people were on board the plane when it left, according to Sgt. Edward Eagerton with the Alaska Rescue Coordination Center. The plane was headed through Lake Cla
  
  Read more

• Crews continue search for missing plane bound for Anchorage

  08-12-2016 04:43
  
  Last Updated at 10 a.m. on Thurs., Dec. 8
  A search effort continues Thursday for a plane carrying four people that left Port Alsworth Wednesday morning for Anchorage.
  The plane left Port Alsworth around 10:30 a.m. and never arrived at its destination of Merrill Field, according to Clint Johnson, spokesperson with the National Transportation Safety Board.
  An Alaska Air National Guard C-130, a MC-130 and a HH-60 Pave Hawk helicopter from Eielson Air Force Base searched the area
  
  Read more

• Census Bureau adds areas, languages served by translations for elections

  08-12-2016 04:19 via ktoo.org
  
  Yup’ik and English “I Voted” stickers from Bethel’s municipal election. The number of areas and languages with translations of election materials available will increase under changes the Census Bureau announced this week. (Photo by Anna Rose MacArthur/KYUK)
  More people who speak Alaska Native languages but who have limited English proficiency will receive translated sample ballots and other election material. That’s due to changes the U.S. Census Bureau announced o
  
  Read more

• Respected Chilkat and Ravenstail weaver Clarissa Rizal dies at 60

  08-12-2016 04:09 via ktoo.org
  
  Della Cheney, left, and Clarissa Rizal work on braiding the side borders for the Weavers Across Waters Chilkat/Ravenstail community robe on Aug. 22, 2016, at the Sealaska Heritage Institute in Juneau. Lily Hope, one of Rizal’s three daughters, watches the weavers work on the robe, which was part of the Huna Tribal House opening celebration. (Photo by Tripp J Crouse/KTOO)
  “The world has lost another luminary.”
  That’s how the Sealaska Heritage Institute began a message
  
  Read more

• Weed is legal in Alaska, but when will it go on sale in Anchorage?

  08-12-2016 03:27
  
  Alaska Fireweed on 4th Ave. in downtown Anchorage is hoping to open it's doors on Dec. 17. Shannon Ballard / KTVA
  From Southeast to Fairbanks, marijuana shops have started opening their doors across the state.
  But Alaska’s biggest city is trudging behind, leaving many to ask: When will Anchorage’s pot shops finally open?
  The municipality has a list of about 100 or so proposed marijuana businesses, according to Erika McConnell, marijuana coordinator with the Municipali
  
  Read more

• Juneau Afternoon – 12-8-16

  08-12-2016 02:47 via ktoo.org
  
  Thursday on A Juneau Afternoon, Joan Pardes will be your host;
  Joe Nelson, Vice Chancellor of Enrollment Management and Student Affairs, will be here to talk about Spring 2017 enrollment and new scholarship opportunities.We’ll learn about forecasting the weather;
  Bill Legere and Tim Olsen will be here to highlight KTOO’s increased news presence;
  And Nancy DeCherny will be here with news about art happenings in town.
  That’s Thursday on A Juneau Afternoon, live at 3 on KTOO-NEWS
  
  Read more

• NTSB: 1 person confirmed dead in plane crash near Fairbanks

  08-12-2016 02:28
  
  One person is confirmed dead following a plane crash near Fairbanks, according to a spokesperson with the National Transportation Safety Board.
  The plane crash occurred around 1:30 p.m. Wednesday on military land about 17 miles southeast of Fairbanks, NTSB spokesperson Clint Johnson confirms.
  A military helicopter crew was the first to respond to the incident, said Johnson. The pilot, the only person on board the civilian airplane, was pronounced dead at the scene by first responders.
  The&n
  
  Read more

• Former state representative Mike Kelly reportedly killed in plane crash near Fairbanks

  08-12-2016 02:28
  
  One person is confirmed dead following a plane crash near Fairbanks, according to a spokesperson with the National Transportation Safety Board.
  The Fairbanks Daily Newsminer reports the pilot is former Republican Rep. Mike Kelly, brother of current Fairbanks lawmaker Pete Kelly.
  Mike Kelly, former Alaska lawmaker. / Wikipedia Creative Commons
  Kelly’s wife, Cherie Kelly, told the Newsminer the plane he was flying had recently been repaired, but did not elaborate.
  Al
  
  Read more

• Former state representative Mike Kelly killed in plane crash near Fairbanks

  08-12-2016 02:28
  
  Last Updated at 8:45 p.m. on Wed., Dec. 2
  One person is confirmed dead following a plane crash near Fairbanks, according to a spokesperson with the National Transportation Safety Board.
  The Fairbanks Daily Newsminer reports the pilot is former Republican Rep. Mike Kelly, brother of current Fairbanks lawmaker Pete Kelly.
  Mike Kelly, former Alaska lawmaker. / Wikipedia Creative Commons
  Kelly’s wife, Cherie Kelly, told the Newsminer the plane he was flying had recentl
  
  Read more

• 1 person confirmed dead in plane crash near Fairbanks

  08-12-2016 02:28
  
  One person is confirmed dead following a plane crash near Fairbanks, according to a spokesperson with the National Transportation Safety Board.
  The plane crash occurred around 1:30 p.m. Wednesday on military land about 17 miles southeast of Fairbanks, NTSB spokesperson Clint Johnson confirms.
  A military helicopter crew was the first to respond to the incident, said Johnson. The pilot, the only person on board the civilian airplane, was pronounced dead at the scene by first responders.
  The&n
  
  Read more

• Troopers involved in shooting near Nikiski while attempting to arrest wanted felon

  08-12-2016 02:03
  
  Last updated at 9:14 p.m. on Wed., Dec. 7
  An Alaska State Trooper was involved in a shooting Wednesday afternoon near Nikiski, spokesperson Megan Peters confirmed in an email.
  Troopers were tipped off around 11:45 a.m. Wednesday that a person wanted on a felony warrant was at a home in Nikiski, according to an online update from AST.
  When troopers arrived to arrest the man, he drove a vehicle at one of them. Troopers responded by firing at the man, injuring him.
  He was taken to a nearby hospital
  
  Read more

• Alaska State Trooper involved in shooting near Nikiski

  08-12-2016 02:03
  
  An Alaska State Trooper was involved in a shooting Wednesday afternoon near Nikiski, spokesperson Megan Peters confirmed in an email.
  She gave few additional details surrounding the incident, but said troopers were “working on getting more information confirmed and posted.”
  According to a report from the Peninsula Clarion, the Nikiski Fire Department responded to the incident near the Kenai Spur Highway shortly before 1 p.m.
  Deputy Chief Trent Burnett told the Clarion that responders
  
  Read more

• Ask a Climatologist: With snow and cold, ‘it’s Alaska again’

  08-12-2016 01:41 via ktoo.org
  
  A pedestrian walks through a snowstorm on Dec. 7, 2016 in Juneau, Alaska. (Photo by Rashah McChesney/Alaska’s Energy Desk)
  It’s winter again in Alaska. There’s snow on the ground across most of the state. Some places, notably Juneau, have a lot of fresh snow. It’s cold, too, and those below normal temperatures are expected to stick around for the rest of the month.
  Brian Brettschneider is a climatologist in Anchorage who closely tracks Alaska climate data and trends. Alas
  
  Read more

• Expedition eyes sunken mini sub on Pearl Harbor anniversary

  08-12-2016 01:13
  
  Federal archaeologists and scientists used a remotely operated vehicle Wednesday to document the condition of a mini submarine used in the attack on Pearl Harbor 75 years ago.
  A Navy destroyer, the Ward, sunk the sub in the first shots fired in World War II by U.S. forces that resulted in casualties, and the first shots fired in the Pacific.
  The submarine belonging to the Japanese Imperial Navy carried a two-man crew.
  Cameras from a remote vehicle operated from a National Oceanic and Atmospheric
  
  Read more

• In looming fight over ANWR, a big unanswered question: how much oil is there?

  08-12-2016 01:04 via ktoo.org
  
  The Porcupine Caribou herd in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge’s coastal plain. (Photo courtesy U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service)
  The coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge ranks as one of the most controversial chunks of land in Alaska. Since Congress set it aside for more study in 1980, environmental groups, politicians and industry have battled over whether to explore for oil there or to protect the wilderness forever.
  As the Trump administration gets ready to take the Wh
  
  Read more

Follow @AnchorageNewsUS on Twitter!