Anchorage news

• Alaska athletes prepare for Special Olympics World Winter Games

  09-03-2017 23:52
  
  Two Alaska athletes are headed to Austria to compete in the 2017 Special Olympics World Winter Games.
  Madison Englund, a snowboarder from Fairbanks, and Jennifer Troutman, a skier from Anchorage, and will be among 195 members of Special Olympics Team USA.
  “We’re honored to have two athletes from Alaska being part of team USA,” said Jim Balamaci, president of Special Olympics Alaska. “We know that we’re going to do our personal best, and we’re going to try
  
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• Juneau weighs winter campground for downtown homeless

  09-03-2017 23:35 via ktoo.org
  
  
  Snow collects on abandoned belongings at a campsite above downtown Juneau on March 3, 2017. AJT Mining Properties evicted its occupants in February. Homeless people have few legal camping options in the winter. (Photo by Jacob Resneck/KTOO)http://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/ktoo/2017/03/170309_homeless_web.mp3Next month Juneau’s downtown camping ban goes into effect. Supporters of the ban said it would only be one part of the community’s homeless strategy. Much of the land above Junea
  
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• Alert levels lowered for Bogoslof and Cleveland volcanoes

  09-03-2017 23:30 via ktoo.org
  
  The Alaska Volcano Observatory has lowered the alert levels for two Aleutian volcanoes.
  Bogoslof is back at the intermediate “watch” level, following a powerful eruption Tuesday night.
  The volcano hasn’t produced ash since that three-hour blast and its seismicity has died off, but scientists say Bogoslof could blow again with little warning.
  Meanwhile, Cleveland Volcano — 45 miles west of Nikolski — has been quiet since a small eruption last month.
  Satellite data sh
  
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• Paul Ryan sells health care bill as a ‘once-in-a-lifetime opportunity’

  09-03-2017 23:05 via ktoo.org
  
  “This is the chance. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” said the speaker, roving the stage with a wireless mic, gesturing at both the audience in front of him and the PowerPoint presentation behind him.
  TED Talk? Late-night infomercial? Nope — it was House Speaker Paul Ryan, making a hard pitch for his health care plan after a week of loud conservative criticism.
  After listening to conservative groups like the Club For Growth blast the bill as a “warmed-over subst
  
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• Newscast – Thursday, March 9, 2017

  09-03-2017 22:53 via ktoo.org
  
  
  http://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/ktoo/2017/03/20170309-newscast.mp3In this newscast:
  Juneau leaders look into more options for helping the homeless get through winter ahead of the anti-camping ordinance taking effect,
  the state health commissioner reacts to federal proposals to shift health care costs back to the states, and
  Alaska’s U.S. senators push back against big cuts to the Coast Guard’s budget in President Donald Trump’s proposed budget.
  
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• Stranded seal gets first-class rescue in Unalaska

  09-03-2017 22:22 via ktoo.org
  
  Andy Dietrick checks in on the ringed seal before her flight to Anchorage. (Laura Kraegel/KUCB)
  Late on a Friday afternoon, Melissa Good sits on her front step filling out labels for a dog carrier. The crate is not for her dog. It holds a yearling ringed seal.
  “He looks like he’d be nice and light and fluffy like a fluff ball, but not the case,” she said. “He’s heavier than he looks. He’s really dense! About two feet long about 30 pounds.”
  Good
  
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• Wade Marrs leads Iditarod 2017 into Ruby

  09-03-2017 22:21 via ktoo.org
  
  Wade Marrs led two past champions into the Ruby checkpoint last night in the 2017 Iditarod.
  Three-hundred-fifty miles into the trail, the racing is underway as teams plot their next moves along hundreds of winding miles on the Yukon River.
  Willow musher Wade Marrs arrived first into the checkpoint a little before 7 o’clock.
  “There’s a lot of people out here, am I the first one here?” Marrs asked. “You are,” the response came. “Oh wow, that’s cool,
  
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• Mic Check in the Morning: Mivos Quartet

  09-03-2017 21:38
  
  Based in New York, the Mivos Quartet performed on Daybreak Thursday morning, before taking the stage at the Anchorage Museum on Friday and Saturday.
  The string quartet was created by Homer-raised composer Conrad Winslow and performs pieces created by contemporary composers from across the circumpolar north. The group’s music selection comes from countries like Finland, Russia, Iceland, Denmark, Canada, and the United States.
  The Mivos Quartet is part of the An
  
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• YK tribes look for solutions to impacts of alcohol on villages

  09-03-2017 21:31 via ktoo.org
  
  
  Tribal members from more than a dozen YK Delta tribes met March 8, 2017, in Bethel to discuss how their villages have been affected since alcohol sales began in Bethel last spring and what tribes can do about it. (Photo by Gale Ekamrak/KYUK)
  Representatives from more than a dozen tribes across the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta came together to share how their communities have been affected since Bethel started selling alcohol last spring.
  Bethel’s alcohol stores are affecting the entire region, an
  
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• After public testimony, House committee rejects proposal to cut school bond reimbursements

  09-03-2017 21:14 via ktoo.org
  
  
  The Haines Borough has taken out more than $18 million in bonds to pay for a new school and renovations. (Photo by Emily Files/KHNS)
  On Tuesday, the House Finance Committee changed course on a proposal to cut school bond debt reimbursements.
  The proposal would have left municipalities from Fairbanks to Wrangell with significant funding deficits.
  http://media.aprn.org/2017/ann-20170308-03.mp3Haines is one of the municipalities that would have been affected by the proposal.
  In 2005, Haines built a
  
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• Commercial long-line seasons to open on time

  09-03-2017 20:35 via ktoo.org
  
  
  Commercial longliners in Alaska can go fishing March 11 after all.
  The National Marine Fisheries Service announced March 3 that the start date for halibut and black cod fishing will be March 11.
  http://media.aprn.org/2017/ann-20170308-08.mp3March 11 is the halibut fishing start date approved by the International Pacific Halibut Commission back in January. The National Marine Fisheries Service typically opens long-line fishing for black cod on the same day.
  President Donald Trump issued
  
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• Trump takes in ‘all things Alaska’ with visit from Murkowski and Sullivan

  09-03-2017 20:24 via ktoo.org
  
  
  U.S. Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan brought their case for developing Alaska’s resources to the Oval Office on Wednesday, March 8.
  Murkowski said they and Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke met with President Donald Trump for nearly an hour.
  http://media.aprn.org/2017/ann-20170308-01.mp3“It was a great opportunity to just kind of make the case for all things Alaska,” Murkowski said afterward. “The president was clearly interested and engaged. I had lots of maps.&rd
  
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• U.S. senators make budget plea for Coast Guard

  09-03-2017 20:05 via ktoo.org
  
  
  Members of the Coast Guard secure the Emergency Towing System. (Zoe Sobel/ KUCB)
  Both of Alaska’s U.S. senators wrote the White House budget director Wednesday asking him to spare the Coast Guard from the budget ax.http://media.aprn.org/2017/ann-20170308-02.mp3
  According to the Washington Post and other news outlets, President Donald Trump plans to reduce funding for the Coast Guard by nearly 12 percent in his budget request to Congress.
  Nearly two dozen U.S. senators signed
  
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• Fire damages downtown Anchorage apartment building, temporarily displaces residents

  09-03-2017 18:30
  
  Occupants of a downtown apartment building are now displaced after an early morning fire, according to the Anchorage Fire Department.
  Callers reported the fire just before 4 a.m., and AFD crews were at the building, located near the corner of 11th Avenue and M Street, just five minutes later.
  “…Multiple occupants were still inside their apartments and several were trapped by fire,” states a morning alert from the department.
  “Due to high life safety concerns,” AFD
  
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• Governor Walker introduces bill authorizing communities to pay for trooper services

  09-03-2017 08:58
  
  Gov. Bill Walker introduced three new bills Wednesday that he says will make Alaska communities safer, and one of them could bring Alaska State Troopers to communities that are without law enforcement.
  The state’s $3-billion deficit has caused trooper posts across the state to shut down, and the Indian Law and Order Commission reports as of 2015, at least 75 communities in Alaska don’t have any law enforcement at all.
  The governor says House Bill 163 — and its si
  
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• On the trail: Bryan Bearss weighs in on Iditarod scratches

  09-03-2017 08:32
  
  One musher has already scratched from the 2017 Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. Veteran musher Bryan Bearss weighs in on factors that can lead a musher to scratch, including extreme cold weather.
  KTVA is the official station of the Iditarod. Follow our coverage on Twitter, Facebook and online. 
  The post On the trail: Bryan Bearss weighs in on Iditarod scratches appeared first on KTVA 11.
  
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• Alaska Sens. Murkowski, Sullivan meet with President Trump

  09-03-2017 07:22
  
  Alaska’s two U.S. senators met with President Donald Trump and Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke and called the meeting productive.
  In a joint statement, Republican Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan say Wednesday they discussed everything from responsible resource development to national security.
  The senators say the meeting was an opportunity to explain challenges facing Alaska, such as access to lands and resources.
  The federal government oversees more than 60 percent of land within Ala
  
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• Heavy snow hits Southeast Alaska

  09-03-2017 07:12
  
  Anchorage has yet to see a single snowflake in the month of March, but the same can’t be said for the Southeast. It was a slow start to the season in the southern inner channels, but they’re making up for lost time this week.
  The climate records for this area are tracked on Annette Island, where they’ve picked up 19 inches of snow in the last eight days. That’s the most snow they’ve seen this time of year since 2009.
  Just north in Ketchikan, they picked up anot
  
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• Sled dog injured in 2016 Iditarod snowmachine attack makes comeback in 2017 race

  09-03-2017 07:09
  
  Crosby charges ahead as lead on Kristin Bacon’s team as they took off from Fairbanks during the restart. Photo courtesy of Katherine Updegraff/Bacon’s Acres’ Kennel
  While there are more than 800 dogs in the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, one in particular is standing out from the rest.
  Last year, a drunken snowmachiner attacked mushers Aliy Zirkle and Jeff King on the trail between Galena and Nulato. Those attacks resulted in injuries and one dog died — King’s l
  
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• Mat-Su Borough Assembly bans traps in some parks, on school grounds

  09-03-2017 07:09
  
  The Matanuska-Susitna Borough Assembly voted Tuesday night to ban trapping in eight recreation areas and on school grounds. Less than 24 hours later, an Assembly member has asked for reconsideration of the ordinance, according to a borough spokeswoman.
  The ban was sponsored by Assembly member Dan Mayfield, who said at least three dogs have been caught in traps and treated by borough animal care personnel in recent years, and even more had been treated by local veterinarians. Some of the injuries
  
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• Hearing set for lawsuit challenging new name of Alaska town

  09-03-2017 06:58
  
  A court hearing is set for Thursday in Alaska for the two sides in a lawsuit challenging the new Inupiat Eskimo name of the nation’s northernmost town.
  Voters in the town formerly known as Barrow approved the new name, Utqiagvik, by six votes last October.
  The civil lawsuit was subsequently filed by a local Alaska Native corporation, which claims city officials rushed the process with insufficient outreach to the public. Plaintiffs also maintain the new name isn’t even the area&rsquo
  
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• 2 former APD officers win discrimination lawsuit, awarded nearly $1 million each

  09-03-2017 06:56
  
  Two former Anchorage police officers have won a long-running lawsuit against the city. A jury awarded Alvin Kennedy and Eliezer Feliciano nearly a million dollars apiece after they argued they were victims of racial discrimination by the department.
  Kennedy, who is black, and Feliciano, who is Hispanic, worked as undercover detectives. Both were employed by APD for 20 years. The men claimed discrimination after they were removed from a drug task force — known as th
  
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• East High JROTC respectfully retires weathered, worn flags

  09-03-2017 06:44
  
  The Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (JROTC) Thunderbird Battalion respectfully retired more than 50 flags at East Anchorage High School on Wednesday.
  The flags, mostly starts and stripes, were collected over the past year. Each was worn, torn or ready for replacement.
  The JROTC held a solemn ceremony and then each flag was laid into a burning barrel.
  Cadets say the ritual is among the most respectful way to retire a flag.
  “We are impacting the community because they now
  
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• Lawmakers bank on popular cause to bridge budget gap

  09-03-2017 06:28
  
  In raising new money for the state budget, lawmakers are looking to a popular cause for support — public education.
  With a $3-billion shortfall in state coffers, lawmakers know they’ve got to bring in new money. Unlike legislative per diems or travel budgets, collecting money for education is considered a non-controversial way to bridge the gap.
  Members of the House majority have vowed to make the department a top priority this session.
  “I see education as one of our primary re
  
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• AFD gets new firetruck, first of its kind in Alaska

  09-03-2017 06:14
  
  Anchorage firefighters at Station 1 have a new truck, and it’s unlike any other in Alaska.
  For starters, it’s bigger.
  The tractor-drawn aerial, otherwise known as a tiller, is 61 feet long, has double the storage space and is designed to be more maneuverable than a rig half its size. That’s because it has a shorter wheelbase, according to Anchorage Fire Department Senior Capt. Paul Urbano.
  The new tiller requires one driver to operate the rig, while another engineer steers
  
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• Great moments in Iditarod history: Rookie musher claims 1975 Iditarod title

  09-03-2017 06:00
  
  His win was one for the ages — Emmitt Peters’ rookie victory in 1975 is still held in high regard today.Photos courtesy of Iditarod Trail Annual and Iditarod: The First Ten Years – Rob Stapleton, Alice Puster, Bill Devine, Fran Durner, and Frank Flavin
  KTVA is the official station of the Iditarod. Follow our coverage on Twitter, Facebook and online.
  The post Great moments in Iditarod history: Rookie musher claims 1975 Iditarod title appea
  
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• Police say problem affected AT&T customers calling 911

  09-03-2017 04:08
  
  Last updated at 6:10 p.m. on Wednesday, March 8
  The Anchorage Police Department says AT&T cell phone customers may not be able to reach 911 until nationwide issues are resolved.
  Police said in an alert around 6 p.m. Wednesday evening that 911 calls weren’t getting through from AT&T phones.
  “Until AT&T has resolved this issue, you’ll need to call the police dispatch business line to get an operator,” police said.
  At 6:10 p.m., police issued a second statem
  
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• Monegan: Keeping drugs out of Alaska prisons tough

  09-03-2017 03:39
  
  Alaska’s public safety commissioner says keeping drugs out of state prisons continues to be a tough task.
  Commissioner Walt Monegan. Courtesy State of Alaska, Department of Public Safety
  Walt Monegan is a former acting corrections commissioner. He says he thinks technology eventually will help in better monitoring and intercepting items.
  During a confirmation hearing for his current role Wednesday, Monegan said prison officials have found large sling shots that were used to send drugs into
  
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• How certain is that big oil discovery? Would you bet the farm on it or just a six-pack?

  09-03-2017 03:12 via ktoo.org
  
  An Armstrong rig on the North Slope. Multiple discovery wells, outside analysts and a good flow test mean Armstrong’s recent oil discovery is a good bet. (Photo courtesy Armstrong Oil & Gas)
  There’s a lot of excitement building about three big oil discoveries on Alaska’s North Slope. Caelus Energy, Armstrong Oil and Gas and ConocoPhillips all recently announced they’ve found huge new oil fields.
  But what does it take to prove an oil discovery?
  Geologist David Housekne
  
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• Short-lived proposition to cut funds for Alaska’s gasline corporation dies in committee

  09-03-2017 02:53 via ktoo.org
  
  Rep. Tammie Wilson, R- North Pole, reads through a series of amendments to the state’s budget as Rep. Lance Pruitt, R-Anchorage, listens, during the House Resources on Tuesday in Juneau. (Photo by Rashah McChesney/Alaska’s Energy Desk)
  Two House Republicans want to cut funding for the state’s gas line corporation. During a House Finance committee meeting, Rep. Tammie Wilson proposed cutting more than $10 million from the state’s operating budget, earmarked for the Al
  
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• Mushers disagree on Iditarod’s new communication-device rule

  09-03-2017 02:39 via ktoo.org
  
  
  Two-time champion Mitch Seavey begins his Iditarod run at the Fairbanks re-start on Monday. (Photo by Ben Matheson/KNOM)
  As mushers speed toward Nome, a controversial new Iditarod rule is in effect for the first time.
  After a vote by the board of directors last fall, mushers are now allowed to carry two-way communication devices, like cell and satellite phones.
  Many competitors both young and old think the presence of technology goes against the spirit of the race.http://www.knom.org/wp-audio/20
  
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• Rep. Ortiz introduces state version of Mental Health land trade

  09-03-2017 02:08 via ktoo.org
  
  
  A springtime view of Deer Mountain. (Photo by Leila Kheiry/KRBD)
  While waiting for federal legislation to expedite a land exchange between the U.S. Forest Service and Alaska Mental Health Trust, state officials are working on a companion bill in the Alaska Legislature.
  https://krbd-org.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/08LandTrade.mp3Rep. Dan Ortiz of Ketchikan introduced House Bill 155 to help move the land trade forward.
  Rep. Dan Ortiz
  The bill would approve exchanging about 18,000 a
  
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• Juneau Afternoon – 3-9-17

  09-03-2017 02:00 via ktoo.org
  
  Thursday on A Juneau Afternoon, Joan Pardes will host,
  Margie Thomson will be here to highlight the SafeZone program
  We’ll talk learn about the Audsubon Society’s upcoming presentation, An Alaskan Big Year
  Heather Mitchell will update us on Juneau Cabaret events;
  We’ll talk with Skagway’s Jeff Brady about an art scholarship opportunity;
  And Nancy DeCherney will be here with art news during Arts Up.
  That, Writers Almanac, Bird Note, music and more, Thursday on A Juneau Aft
  
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• Police search for man wanted on felony warrant for harassing, threatening ex-girlfriend

  09-03-2017 01:43
  
  Salvador Ruiz-GonzalezCourtesy Anchorage Police Department
  The Anchorage Police Department is asking for the public’s help in locating a man wanted on a felony warrant.
  According to an alert from police, 38-year-old Salvador Ruiz-Gonzalez has continued “to contact, harass, and threaten an ex-girlfriend after she obtained a protective order against him.” Police also alleged that he opened a credit card account in her name without her permission.
  “Due to Ruiz-Gonzalez
  
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• Mushers hit Tanana, weighing rests; as first to the Yukon, Petit feasts

  09-03-2017 01:38 via ktoo.org
  
  
  Iditarod mushers reached the Yukon River at Tanana on Tuesday night.
  Teams are ready to launch their race plans as the eight-hour and 24-hour rest periods come into view.
  But first, they must run the longest stretch of the race between checkpoints and make it through the early race with their teams intact.
  http://www.knom.org/wp-audio/2017/03/iditarod-2017/2017-03-08-Iditarod-Tanana-BM.mp3As the sun went down Tuesday, Nicolas Petit staked his claim as the first musher to the Yukon River. He rec
  
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• Lawmakers look to the north as Juneau prepares for Arctic Council meeting

  09-03-2017 00:46 via ktoo.org
  
  The flags of the eight Arctic Council member states and six indigenous permanent participant organizations. (Photo by Linnea Nordström/Arctic Council Secretariat)
  On a cold, sunny day in Juneau, about 40 people gathered in the Capitol to eat lunch and learn about the Arctic. Juneau will host an Arctic Council meeting later this week, and state lawmakers got a visit from national and international scientists, policymakers, and researchers on Tuesday.
  Roberta Burns chairs the&n
  
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• Workforce Wednesday: Geospatial Science

  09-03-2017 00:29
  
  There are more than 2 million images of Alaska dating back to the 1930s, all used to monitor changes due to climate, earthquakes, volcanoes and coastal erosion, according to Stephen Sparks, an imaging specialist with Quantum Spatial.
  “We can look at things like how Turnagain neighborhood changed after the 1964 earthquake or how a community like Utquiagvik, formerly Barrow, has changed over time,” Sparks said. “[There are] many, many uses for the photography.”
  This type of
  
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• Whack-a-Mole, Chupacabra and Merlot: Unique dog names dominate the Iditarod trail

  09-03-2017 00:29
  
  Monica Zappa's dog, Blue Steel, smiles for the camera. (Heather Hintze / KTVA)
  As Nicolas Petit made his way into Tanana, he was pulled along by Anna and Kristy. Not the Berington twins who are also on the trail, but two of his dogs named after the women.
  Many of of his other dogs are also named after fellow mushers.
  “There’s a Jeff, a Libby, a Susie, an Aliy,” Petit said.
  Mushers are known for coming up with creative names for their pups. Often, each litter is given a unique
  
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• Iditarod dog names: Mushers share stories behind dogs’ unique monikers

  09-03-2017 00:29
  
  Monica Zappa's dog, Blue Steel, smiles for the camera. (Heather Hintze / KTVA)
  As Nicolas Petit made his way into Tanana, he was pulled along by Anna and Kristy. Not the Berington twins who are also on the trail, but two of his dogs named after the women.
  Many of of his other dogs are also named after fellow mushers.
  “There’s a Jeff, a Libby, a Susie, an Aliy,” Petit said.
  Mushers are known for coming up with creative names for their pups. Often, each litter is given a unique
  
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