Anchorage news

• Alaska Weather Forecast – March 14, 2017

  14-03-2017 23:52
  
  Sunny, breezy conditions continue in Anchorage today. We’ll see winds out of the north at 10 to 20 mph, with gusts up to 35 mph at times. The higher wind gusts will mostly be confined to West Anchorage.
  Expect afternoon high temperatures in the mid 20s.
  Today we gain 5 hours and 44 minutes of daylight, making our day 11 hours and 41 minutes long.
  Iditarod Weather
  Quiet conditions continue with a mix of sun and clouds on the coast.
  Morning temperatures will run between 0 to negative 10 degr
  
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• Seavey family watches, waits as father and son approach Iditarod finish line

  14-03-2017 23:46
  
  Mitch Seavey was only a few hours away from the Iditarod finish line in Nome by early-Tuesday afternoon. Inside of a house, just a couple of blocks off of Front Street, his oldest son, Danny, and his father, Dan, sat at a kitchen table watching the Iditarod tracker.
  Dan and Danny Seavey watch the Iditarod tracker in Nome. (Megan Edge / KTVA)
  They were confident that Mitch Seavey would clench his third title, but said second was still up in the air. Nicolas Petit and Dallas Seavey were racing for
  
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• Climate bill faces tough sledding in Alaska legislature

  14-03-2017 23:44 via ktoo.org
  
  Rep. Geran Tarr and Rep. Andy Josephson, Anchorage Democrats and co-chairs of the House Resources committee, hear testimony from oil and gas industry representatives on Wednesday Feb. 1, 2017, in Juneau, Alaska. (Photo by Rashah McChesney/Alaska’s Energy Desk)
  Two Anchorage Democrats have introduced a bill to create a statewide commission on climate change. But even its authors doubt the bill has much of a chance, at least this session. Still, they argue, it’s a step in the
  
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• Waiting for Martin Buser in Unalakleet: Old friends, and muktuk

  14-03-2017 23:36 via ktoo.org
  
  Mushers who have been competing in the Iditarod a long time have relationships and traditions they revisit each time they run the race.
  When Martin Buser gets to Unalakleet, that means a bag of muktuk.
  “I love eating the local food, and for about 15 years, a little girl would come and meet me, no matter what time of my arrival, her mom would drag her down,” Buser said. “Now, of course, the girl is grown up and out of Unalakleet.”
  That tradition is being held up by someon
  
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• Planned Parenthood would lose $178 million in payments under GOP health plan

  14-03-2017 23:01 via ktoo.org
  
  The proposed American Health Care Act targets the health provider Planned Parenthood with a set of proposed limits on Medicaid payments to the organization.
  Monday, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office confirmed the magnitude of those limits. The Republican plan would block $178 million in Medicaid reimbursements to Planned Parenthood in 2017.
  “The vast majority of our patients are on some kind of federal program,” Cecile Richards, president of Planned Parenthood, told NPR&rsq
  
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• Newscast – Tuesday, March 14, 2017

  14-03-2017 22:38 via ktoo.org
  
  
  http://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/ktoo/2017/03/2017-03-14-newscast.mp3In this newscast:
  The City and Borough of Juneau preps for a budget with more belt tightening,
  a fourth Iditarod dog dies,
  lawyers for Alaska man charged in the Ft. Lauderdale shooting rampage in January say their client has mental illnesses but can stand trial, andthere’s more snow in the local forecast with high avalanche risk.
  
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• Nome could see Iditarod champ as early as Tuesday afternoon

  14-03-2017 21:00 via ktoo.org
  
  Mitch Seavey beds down his team in Kaltag during the Iditarod. Seavey was expected to finish in Nome sometime Tuesday evening. (Photo by Ben Matheson/KNOM)
  Updated | 2:11 p.m. Tuesday
  Mitch Seavey’s speed continues to exceed expectations. With Seavey out of the Safety checkpoint at 1:10 p.m. Tuesday, an arrival in Nome as early as 3:30–4 p.m. is now possible.
  Original story | noon Tuesday
  Nome may be less than 24 hours away from its 2017 Iditarod finish.
  Assuming no unexpected compli
  
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• Save on summer travel for you and your out-of-town guests

  14-03-2017 20:55
  
  The official start to the spring season is about one week away, but the time to save on summer travel is now, says Julie Saupe, president and CEO of Visit Anchorage.
  Travel experts say planning ahead can help save people and their out-of-town visitors a lot of money. So much so, they might just splurge on a hotel, rather than staying in a guest bedroom.
  Saupe joined Daybreak to explain how staying in Anchorage can be more affordable and accessible for summer guests.
  Watch the video above to lear
  
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• Legislature briefed on nearly 30 legal conflicts the state has with federal government

  14-03-2017 20:23 via ktoo.org
  
  A ringed seal. (Public domain photo by Lee Cooper)
  From rivers to ringed seals, Alaska is not always seeing eye-to-eye with the federal government on how its resources should be managed. Legislators recently got an update from the Department of Law on nearly 30 ongoing cases or conflicts the state has with the federal government, Alaska’s largest landowner.
  Questions about how that land can be used, who controls it and how it can be developed often wind up in court.
  “The theme that y
  
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• Iditarod dog dies after collapsing in harness prior to Koyuk checkpoint

  14-03-2017 20:17
  
  Katherine Keith tends to her dogs in Huslia. (Megan Edge / KTVA)
  A male dog from Katherine Keith’s race team died overnight, shortly before the Koyuk checkpoint.
  At about 1 a.m., 4-year-old Flash “collapsed in harness and died shortly thereafter,” according to a release from the Iditarod Trail Committee.
  The incident occurred about 10 miles before Keith’s arrival in Koyuk, the release says.
  A necropsy will be conducted to determine the cause of death.
  
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• Sitka teens who rescued Anchorage residents from fire get national honor

  14-03-2017 19:57
  
  A national group has honored a group of Sitka High School basketball players who last year helped pull residents from a burning building in Anchorage.
  The Sitka Sentinel reports (http://bit.ly/2lX4bRd) that the National Federation of State High School Associations announced Monday that the boys basketball team will receive the “National High School Spirit of Sport Award” for the western region.
  The boys helped 11 people out of a burning apartment building while in Anchorage for the s
  
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• Iditarod is healthy competition for Seavey family

  14-03-2017 18:19
  
   
  The first days of the Iditarod are like the edges of a jigsaw puzzle. The pieces gradually move into place and a picture emerges as mushers inch closer to Nome.
  Mitch Seavey saw the picture before anyone else – that victory was in sight.
  It’ll be six years now that the Seavey family has dominated the Iditarod, with Mitch’s son Dallas, breaking his own record last year.
  The patriarch of the family, Dan Seavey, who ran the very first Iditarod in 1973, takes pride in
  
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• Iditarod 45 Race Blog: Mitch Seavey headed for 3rd title

  14-03-2017 16:30
  
  View the 2017 Iditarod Trail Map
   The post Iditarod 45 Race Blog: Mitch Seavey headed for 3rd title appeared first on KTVA 11.
  
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• 1 hospitalized after shooting at South Anchorage house party

  14-03-2017 15:50
  
  One person was taken to the hospital after a shooting at a “large party” in a South Anchorage house, according to the Anchorage Police Department.
  Early Tuesday morning, one witness described hearing at least 20 gunshots at the party, located on the 1600 block of Tammy Avenue. Another witness, a young man at the party, described a chaotic scene after the shots rang out. He says he had to hide in one of the bathrooms of the house.
  “I went in there to try to be safe,&rd
  
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• Iditarod trail photos: Unalakleet

  14-03-2017 06:46
  
  (David Poyzer / KTVA) Joar Leifseth Ulsom's dog team in Unalakleet. (David Poyzer / KTVA) Joar Leifseth Ulsom's in Unalakleet. (David Poyzer / KTVA) Wade Marrs in Unalakleet. (David Poyzer / KTVA) Full moon and a frosty sunset in Unalakleet. (David Poyzer / KTVA) Dog team in Unalakleet. (David Poyzer / KTVA)Musher pulls into Unalakleet. (David Poyzer / KTVA) Jason Mackey checks his dog team in Unalakleet. (David Poyzer / KTVA) Jason Mackey leaves Unalakleet. (David Poyzer / KTVA) Dog sleds park
  
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• Bearss Blog: Iditarod 45 heats up on the way to the Burled Arch

  14-03-2017 06:05
  
  Richard Beneville, mayor of Nome, welcomes mushers under the Burled Arch in Nome - 2015. (David Poyzer / KTVA)
  Mitch is playing his hand perfectly, arriving in Elim after a 5 hour, 40 minute run and staying until just after Nicolas Petit arrived. Over this run, Mitch was consistently able to run nearly a full mile an hour faster than Nic, buying him time to rest himself and his team, just 13 minutes shy of 3 hours.
  The questions pending now are how does Nic feel about his team and will he risk
  
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• Slideshow: Regional high school basketball tournament action

  14-03-2017 05:53 via ktoo.org
  
  Ketchikan’s AJ Dela Cruz holds the title net and four fingers representing her fourth straight 4A girls Region V championship win with the Lady Kings. (Photo courtesy Klas Stolpe)
  Juneau sportswriter and photographer Klas Stolpe covered the Region V high school basketball tournament held in Juneau last weekend and sent along these photos. Tune into Morning Edition on Tuesday for his recap of tournament action and a preview of the upcoming state tournament.
  You can follow Stolpe’s cov
  
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• Alaska House passes bill extending medical coverage for families of fallen officers, firefighters

  14-03-2017 05:05
  
  The Alaska House unanimously passed a bill Monday extending medical benefits for the families of Alaska law enforcement officers and firefighters killed in the line of duty.
  House Bill 23 would create a special fund through the Alaska Department of Public Safety that would ensure continued health care coverage for the spouses and children of a fallen officer or firefighter. Appropriations to the fund are need based, according to its sponsor, Rep. Andy Josephson, who explained in his sponsor stat
  
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• Iditarod 45 Race Blog: Mitch Seavey inches closer to Nome

  14-03-2017 05:00
  
  View the 2017 Iditarod Trail Map
   The post Iditarod 45 Race Blog: Mitch Seavey inches closer to Nome appeared first on KTVA 11.
  
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• AFD to give away 500 donated carbon monoxide detectors

  14-03-2017 03:40
  
  Every year, Anchorage firefighters respond to nearly 500 carbon monoxide calls, according to Anchorage Fire Department Battalion Chief James Dennis.
  He says it’s a common problem in Alaska.
  Just a week ago, nine people in Houston were hospitalized from the gas, and the month before that, Hillside teen Trevor Noble lost his life from exposure in his family home.
  In both cases, firefighters say CO detectors were in the homes, but not working.
  Traci Johnson, who works with the Anchorage Home
  
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• APD’s small vice unit key part of new plan to fight drugs

  14-03-2017 03:24
  
  Detectives in the vice unit at the Anchorage Police Department often go unnoticed, as their work necessitates going undercover to track down people involved in prostitution, illegal gambling and drugs. The latter is now a more important part of their mission, as APD recently announced it would refocus the vice unit’s long-term drug investigative efforts as part of a larger plan to fight the city’s drug problem.
  The vice unit has five or six permanent officers, but they are often assi
  
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• Juneau preps for city budget deficit

  14-03-2017 02:58 via ktoo.org
  
  The CBJ Finance Department is headquartered in the Municipal Way Building behind City Hall. (Photo by Casey Kelly/KTOO)
  The City and Borough of Juneau has released early numbers for next year’s $330 million budget and the outlook isn’t rosy.
  Finance Director Bob Bartholomew said revenue hasn’t kept pace with spending.
  “For the general government departments we’re projecting a $1.2 million shortfall where expenditures exceed sustainable revenues,” Bartholomew s
  
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• Police arrest suspect who allegedly stole vehicle with toddler inside

  14-03-2017 02:42
  
  A man accused of stealing a vehicle with a toddler in the backseat on New Year’s Day has been found and arrested, according to the Anchorage Police Department.
  Bruce King, 37, was wanted for the charge of first-degree vehicle theft for the New Year’s incident. The vehicle was recovered a short time after the theft, and the child was inside, unharmed, according to police.
  Bruce King. Courtesy Anchorage Police Department
  More than two months later on March 12, police received a re
  
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• Dropped Iditarod dog hit and killed in Anchorage after escaping handler

  14-03-2017 02:24
  
  John Baker and Alaska Gov. Bill Walker head down the chute during the Ceremonial Start. (David Poyzer / KTVA) John Baker looks over his dog team in Huslia. (Megan Edge / KTVA) John Baker feeding dogs at Cripple in 2016. (David Poyzer / KTVA)
  A 3-year-old dog dropped during this year’s race was reportedly hit and killed by a vehicle in Anchorage after escaping from his handler’s home, according to Iditarod race marshall Mark Nordman.
  The dog, Groovey, was a member of John Baker&
  
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• House passes bill to provide benefits to survivors of police, firefighters

  14-03-2017 02:11 via ktoo.org
  
  Rep. Chuck Kopp, R-Anchorage, during a House Floor session in January. He supported a bill that would provide health insurance to survivors of police officers and firefighters who die in the line of duty. (Photo by Skip Gray/360 North)
  The state House passed a bill Monday that would provide health insurance to the families of police officers and firefighters who die in the line of duty.
  House Bill 23 was prompted by the shooting deaths of Trooper Sgt. Patrick “Scot
  
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• Calls for Hilcorp to shut down leaking Cook Inlet gas line get louder

  14-03-2017 01:34 via ktoo.org
  
  Chunks of ice float in Cook Inlet on Dec. 13, 2016 near Kenai, Alaska. (Photo by Rashah McChesney/Alaska’s Energy Desk)
  An ongoing natural gas leak in Cook Inlet is sparking a debate over pipeline safety. Hilcorp, the responsible company, says it can’t shut off the flow of gas through the pipeline without risking an oil spill. But a number of environmental groups disagree.
  A recent letter from the federal agency overseeing the incident, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safet
  
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• Juneau Afternoon -3-14-17

  14-03-2017 01:00 via ktoo.org
  
  Tuesday at 3 on A Juneau Afternoon,Alison Holtcamp will be here to highlight this weekend’s Club Baby Seal performances;We’ll get a preview of Perseverance Theatre’s upcoming performances of To Kill a Mockingbird;Andy Kline will be here to talk about the new podcast, Bridge From Nowhere;
  
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• 2 months in, 2 critical bills up for consideration in Alaska House, Senate

  14-03-2017 00:59
  
  Eight weeks into the legislative session, the Alaska House and Senate are poised to take up two pivotal bills: one to use permanent fund earnings to pay for state services and another to approve spending for next year’s state operating budget. Lengthy debate is expected on both measures.
  On Monday, the Alaska Senate took up Senate Bill 26 to use the permanent fund as an endowment for state government. The bill specifies a $1,000 dividend for Alaskans over the next three years, while drawin
  
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• Just a drill: Tsunami warning systems to undergo testing in late March

  14-03-2017 00:10
  
  Tsunami Preparedness Week kicks off on March 26, and includes a test of the Alaska tsunami warning communications system on on March 29, according to state officials.
  The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) National Weather Service, the Alaska Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management and the Alaska Broadcasters Association will conduct a joint test of the system around 10:15 a.m. in the coastal areas of southern Alaska, according to a statement issued Mon
  
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• 300 miles to Nome: Race dynamics change as Iditarod moves to the coast

  14-03-2017 00:10 via ktoo.org
  
  Jeff King mushes into Kaltag in the Iditarod. (Photo by Zachariah Hughes/Alaska Public Media)
  A sleepy sled dog lays down in Kaltag during the Iditarod. (Photo by Zachariah Hughes/Alaska Public Media)
  Iditarod teams have left the Yukon river and reached the Bering Sea coast.
  Mushers are shedding equipment, dropping slow dogs, and looking to make a move in the final 300 miles of the Iditarod.
  Willow musher Wade Marrs was the first to reach Unalakleet, winning a bag of Bering Sea gold nuggets wort
  
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