Anchorage news

• Miscommunication leads to hundreds of extra ballots sent to Juneau voters

  19-09-2024 01:43 via ktoo.org
  
  A city election worker handles envelopes at the City and Borough of Juneau Ballot Processing Center on Oct. 3, 2023. (Clarise Larson / for the Juneau Empire)
  About 600 Juneau residents may have accidentally been sent two ballots for the upcoming municipal election. That’s due to a miscommunication between the city and the company that prints and mails the municipal ballots, city officials said. 
  The Municipal Clerk’s Office, which runs municipal elections, announced the mistake
  
  Read more

• Whooping cough spike reaches epidemic level in Alaska, public health experts warn

  21-09-2024 04:19 via ktoo.org
  
  Syringes containing a vaccine for whooping cough at a pediatric office in Anchorage. About two thirds of Alaskan kids are up to date on their pertussis vaccines. (Matt Faubion/Alaska Public Media)
  Dr. Janet Shen has been a pediatrician at the Children’s Clinic in Anchorage for almost thirty years. And she said in the past few weeks, she’s seen more cases of whooping cough, or pertussis, than in the rest of her career.
  “Mostly it’s children [or] teenagers who have had a co
  
  Read more

• Scientists, conservationists to hold forum on proposed Juneau-Douglas second crossing

  21-09-2024 04:11 via ktoo.org
  
  A coalition of Juneau scientists, conservationists and wildlife enthusiasts will hold a forum about the proposed Juneau-Douglas second crossing on Monday at 6 p.m. in Elizabeth Peratrovich Hall.
  The Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities, the City and Borough of Juneau and the engineering firm DOWL have been collaborating over the past two years to identify possible routes for the transportation corridor to connect Juneau with north Douglas via their planning and environmenta
  
  Read more

• Newscast – Friday, Sept. 20, 2024

  21-09-2024 03:10 via ktoo.org
  
  In this newscast:A coalition of Juneau scientists, conservationists, and wildlife enthusiasts will hold a forum about the proposed Juneau-Douglas Second Crossing next weekQuakers return cultural artifacts to Kake at the annual Dog Salmon FestivalPeltola bill would lift the ban on bringing puppies through Canada
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Climate change makes farming easier in Alaska. Indigenous growers hope to lead the way.

  20-09-2024 17:59 via ktoo.org
  
  Cousins Viva Johnson (left) and Bernadette Pete harvest celery with instructor Leonardo Sugteng’aq Wassilie at Calypso Farm and Ecology Center, just outside Fairbanks, Alaska. Johnson and Pete can’t always get fresh produce in their village of Alakanuk, near the Bering Sea. In August, they participated in an Indigenous-led farmer training program at the farm. (Anna Canny/KTOO)
  Editor’s note: Anna Canny reported this story for NPR’s Climate Solutions Week. 
  Growing up
  
  Read more

• Peltola bill would lift ban on bringing puppies through Canada

  20-09-2024 16:31 via ktoo.org
  
  Osprey and Chinook, retired sled dogs, wait in the Juneau Animal Rescue parking lot for shots. (Photo by Claire Stremple/KTOO)
  Congresswoman Mary Peltola is co-sponsoring a bill that would make it easier for Alaskans to travel through Canada with their dogs.
  The bill, called the Homeward Bound Act, would lift many of the burdens imposed this summer by a Centers for Disease Control rule. The rule banned puppies younger than six months and required dog owners to provide more documentatio
  
  Read more

• Juneau Afternoon: ‘Refuge Alaska’ film; Ice Legacy features world-renowned polar explorers; NAMI Juneau Family & Friends seminar

  20-09-2024 04:31 via ktoo.org
  
  
  “Refuge Alaska” premieres on Sept. 27, 2024.On today’s program:In advance of National Public Lands Day, Sustain Music & Nature is releasing “Refuge Alaska” nationally on Friday, Sept. 27, 2024. This unique film features Alaska’s National Wildlife Refuges.World-renowned polar explorers Børge Ousland and Vincent Colliard will discuss their ICE LEGACY project at the Mendenhall Glacier Visitor’s Center on Friday, Sept. 20, at 7:30 p.m. The project
  
  Read more

• Newscast – Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024

  20-09-2024 03:39 via ktoo.org
  
  In this newscast:
  Juneau voters will decide whether to OK $10M bond for wastewater infrastructure improvements.The Alaska Marine Highway System has been awarded $177.4 million in federal grants.Alaska Permanent Fund Dividend for 2024 is $1,702.Fall is peak fishing for certain species on Prince of Wales Island.
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Alaska Permanent Fund Dividend for 2024 is $1,702

  19-09-2024 21:51 via ktoo.org
  
  The Michael J. Burns Building, which houses the Permanent Fund offices on 10th Street, on Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2024. (Clarise Larson/KTOO)
  This year’s Permanent Fund Dividend will be $1,702.
  While PFD announcements of years past included oversized novelty checks and press conferences, the Department of Revenue quietly made the announcement in a prepared statement Thursday morning.
  “This is the 43rd year Alaskans have received their share of the state’s natural resources and invest
  
  Read more

• Anchorage partners police officers with social workers to assist city’s homeless

  19-09-2024 17:30 via ktoo.org
  
  Lt. Brian Fuchs with the Anchorage Police Department oversees the city’s Homeless Outreach Prevention and Engagement team. (Wesley Early/Alaska Public Media)
  Anchorage city leaders are hopeful that a new team in the Anchorage Police Department will help keep homeless residents safe while connecting them with the resources they need.
  Mayor Suzanne LaFrance touted the new pilot program, which is called the Homeless Outreach Prevention and Engagement team, at a press conference Wednesday.
  &ld
  
  Read more

• Postal inspectors stop suspicious envelope intended for Alaska elections officials

  19-09-2024 06:15 via ktoo.org
  
  Workers at the Alaska Division of Elections’ State Review Board consider ballots on Tuesday, Aug. 27, 2024, at the division’s headquarters in Juneau. (Photo by James Brooks/Alaska Beacon)
  Officials with the U.S. Postal Service intercepted a threatening envelope sent to the Alaska Division of Elections on Tuesday, one of a number of similar packages sent to elections officials in other states, Lt. Gov. Nancy Dahlstrom announced.
  Dahlstrom, who oversees elections work in the state, sai
  
  Read more

• Juneau Afternoon: Master Carver David Boxley; Musician Nico Fuentes; JV Corp celebrates 50 years in Juneau

  19-09-2024 05:55 via ktoo.org
  
  Nico Fuentes will play a benefit concert at the Filipino Community Hall on Saturday, Sept. 21 at 5:00 p.m.On today’s program:Nico Fuentes in “A Concert for a Cause” at the Filipino Community Hall on Saturday, Sept. 21David Boxley will present “Tsimshian Art” as part of the SHI Fall Lecture seriesDavid Boxley’s websiteSHI Lecture series archive on YouTubeJesuit Volunteer Corp celebrates 50 years of placing volunteers at social services agencies in Juneau
  Bostin
  
  Read more

• Alaska on Trump’s mind: He endorses Begich and confuses Arctic refuge with Afghanistan air base

  19-09-2024 05:22 via ktoo.org
  
  Donald Trump speaking at a campaign event in Michigan on Sept. 17. (C-SPAN)
  Republican U.S. House candidate Nick Begich III has won the endorsement of former President Donald Trump.
  Trump initially supported Lt. Gov. Nancy Dahlstrom for the seat, but she finished behind Begich in the primary and dropped out of the race. Two years ago, Trump endorsed former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin and not Begich for Alaska’s sole seat in the House.
  But in a social media post Tuesday Trump praised Begich as
  
  Read more

• WATCH LIVE: Juneau School Board candidates discuss local issues at 2024 League of Women Voters forum

  19-09-2024 04:00 via ktoo.org
  
  Juneau School Board candidates running in the Oct. 1 election will answer questions about local education issues during the 2024 League of Women Voters School Board forum.
  KTOO’s Clarise Larson and the Juneau Empire’s Mark Sabbatini will moderate the live forum.
  Watch in person at KTOO’s studio, live on KTOO 360TV or listen live on KTOO 104.3 FM and KAUK 91.7 FM starting at 7 p.m.
  See Tuesday’s Juneau Assembly forum here.
  Find more elections coverage — including can
  
  Read more

• WATCH: Juneau School Board candidates discuss local issues at 2024 League of Women Voters forum

  19-09-2024 04:00 via ktoo.org
  
  Six Juneau School Board candidates running in the Oct. 1 election answered questions about local education issues during the 2024 League of Women Voters School Board forum on Wednesday.
  KTOO’s Clarise Larson and the Juneau Empire’s Mark Sabbatini moderated the live forum.
  See Tuesday’s Juneau Assembly candidate forum here.
  Find more elections coverage — including candidate profiles — at ktoo.org/elections. 
  
  Read more

• Newscast – Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024

  19-09-2024 03:05 via ktoo.org
  
  In this newscast:Postal inspectors stopped a suspicious envelope intended for Alaska elections officials.Miscommunication leads to hundreds of extra ballots sent to Juneau voters.Alaska is in the middle of an epidemic of whooping cough cases.This week’s Tongass Voices features Mitch Erie, a U.S. Forest Service firefighter.
  
  Read more

• Tongass Voices: Mitch Erie on what it takes to be a firefighter for the U.S. Forest Service

  18-09-2024 22:13 via ktoo.org
  
  
  Mitch Erie works as a firefighter for the U.S. Forest Service in Wrangell. (Photo courtesy of Mitch Erie)
  This is Tongass Voices, a series from KTOO sharing weekly perspectives from the homelands of the Áak’w Kwáan and beyond.
  Mitch Erie is a U.S. Forest Service firefighter based out of Wrangell, but he says the job takes him all over Alaska and the country. 
  The Forest Service is recruiting more firefighters now. There are 17 open positions in Moose Pass and Anchorage i
  
  Read more

• Alaska pursues appeal of $17.5 million penalty over federal education funding equity dispute

  18-09-2024 18:25 via ktoo.org
  
  Deena Bishop, commissioner of the Alaska Department of Education and Early Development, speaks at a news conference on March 15, 2024, with Gov. Mike Dunleavy. (Photo by Claire Stremple/Alaska Beacon)
  Consequences are mounting for Alaska as a dispute continues between the state’s education officials and their federal counterparts over whether the state spent pandemic relief equitably.
  The U.S. Department of Education has said it will withhold $17.5 million in federal grant funds from the s
  
  Read more

• Sen. Murkowski joins Democrats to support IVF bill

  18-09-2024 05:02 via ktoo.org
  
  The U.S. Capitol, viewed from the east side. (Liz Ruskin/Alaska Public Media)
  Alaska’s U.S. senators split their votes Tuesday on a bill that would provide federal protection and guarantee insurance coverage for in vitro fertilization.
  Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins of Maine were the only two Republicans to vote in favor of advancing the IVF bill. Forty-four Republicans, including Sen. Dan Sullivan, blocked the measure. The bill fell nine votes short of the number needed to pr
  
  Read more

• WATCH LIVE: Juneau Assembly candidates discuss local issues at 2024 League of Women Voters candidate forum

  18-09-2024 04:44 via ktoo.org
  
  Juneau Assembly and mayoral candidates running in the Oct. 1 election will answer questions about local issues during the 2024 League of Women Voters Assembly forum.
  KTOO’s Clarise Larson and the Juneau Empire’s Mark Sabbatini will moderate the live forum. Watch live on KTOO 360TV or listen live on KTOO 104.3 FM and KAUK 91.7 FM beginning at 7 p.m. Tuesday.
  School board candidates will participate in a forum on Wednesday. Come in person to KTOO’s studio to watch or tune in liv
  
  Read more

• WATCH: Juneau Assembly candidates discuss local issues at 2024 League of Women Voters candidate forum

  18-09-2024 04:44 via ktoo.org
  
  Juneau Assembly and mayoral candidates running in the Oct. 1 election answer questions about local issues during the 2024 League of Women Voters Assembly forum.
  KTOO’s Clarise Larson and the Juneau Empire’s Mark Sabbatini moderate the live forum.
  School board candidates will participate in a forum on Wednesday. Come in person to KTOO’s studio, watch live on KTOO 360TV or listen live on KTOO 104.3 FM and KAUK 91.7 FM starting at 7 p.m. Tuesday.
  Find more elections coverage &mda
  
  Read more

• Newscast – Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024

  18-09-2024 02:40 via ktoo.org
  
  In this newscast:Bethel Regional High School classes were temporarily suspended on Monday morning in response to a threat that spread on social media.Juneau Assembly discusses funding for flood preparation as residents ask for more guidance.Bartlett Regional Hospital’s Rainforest Recovery Center will permanently close next week.Seagriculture USA occurred in Ketchikan last week, and participants discussed Alaska’s potential growth as a seaweed producer.
  
  Read more

• Bartlett Regional Hospital’s Rainforest Recovery Center will permanently close next week

  18-09-2024 02:02 via ktoo.org
  
  Rainforest Recovery Center on Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (Clarise Larson/KTOO)https://media.ktoo.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/17rainforest.wav
  Bartlett Regional Hospital has operated the high-intensity substance misuse treatment program at Rainforest Recovery Center for over two decades.The 16-bed facility has allowed Juneau residents and others in Southeast Alaska to access treatment faster, without having to travel to places like Anchorage or Seattle.
  But this spring, the hospital shared that
  
  Read more

• Juneau Assembly discusses funding for flood preparation, as residents ask for more guidance

  18-09-2024 01:51 via ktoo.org
  
  Juneau Assembly chambers in City Hall during the local election on Oct. 4, 2022. (Photo by Tasha Elizarde/KTOO)
  Juneau residents testified at Monday’s Assembly meeting to call for flood preparation and prevention following last month’s record-breaking glacial outburst flood, which devastated parts of the Mendenhall Valley. 
  Jake Waid lives on Center Court. His neighborhood took on water for the first time this year. In his testimony, he referenced the photo of the Mendenhall Gla
  
  Read more

• Alaska’s presidential election allows voters to rank up to eight candidates

  17-09-2024 16:57 via ktoo.org
  
  A ballot box containing absentee ballots dropped off at Anchorage City Hall is seen on Aug. 19, 2024. (Photo by Andrew Kitchenman/Alaska Beacon)
  Alaska’s first ranked choice presidential election will include eight candidates, according to the final roster approved by the Alaska Division of Elections.
  Because Alaska’s top-four primary election doesn’t apply to the presidential race, voters will be able to rank all eight options if they choose to do so.
  The first ballots for the
  
  Read more

• Juneau voters will decide whether to OK $10M bond for wastewater infrastructure improvements

  17-09-2024 16:51 via ktoo.org
  
  City and Borough of Juneau’s Utilities Superintendent Brian McGuire walks across a bridge in the wastewater clarifier building at the Juneau Douglas Wastewater Treatment Plant on Friday, Sept. 13, 2024. (Clarise Larson/KTOO)https://media.ktoo.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/17wastewater.wav
  Every time you wash your hands, take a bath or flush the toilet — your water and waste go somewhere. In Juneau, it goes to one of the sewage treatment plants run by the city.
  Each day, the plants p
  
  Read more

• 4 people killed in St. Mary’s plane crash

  17-09-2024 03:11 via ktoo.org
  
  St. Mary’s, Alaska (courtesy of Walton Smith)
  Four people are dead after a plane they were traveling in from Bethel crashed short of the runway in St. Mary’s late Sunday night, according to transportation officials.
  The Cessna 207 was operated by Bethel-based Yute Commuter Service. The pilot and three passengers departed Bethel for the roughly 100-mile journey to the lower Yukon River community at around 9 p.m. Sunday, according to National Transportation Safety Board Alaska Chief Cl
  
  Read more

• U.S. Navy plans apologies to Southeast Alaska villages for century-old attacks

  17-09-2024 03:07 via ktoo.org
  
  Angoon students prepare to paddle the unity canoe they built with master carver Wayne Price on June 19, 2023. It is the first canoe of its kind since the U.S. Navy bombardment of Angoon in 1882 that destroyed all the village’s canoes. The Navy plans to issue apologies to Kake and Angoon residents in the fall of 2024. (Photo by Claire Stremple/Alaska Beacon)
  Two Tlingít villages in Southeast Alaska will receive apologies for wrongful military action from the U.S. Navy this fall.
  The
  
  Read more

• Newscast – Monday, Sept. 16, 2024

  17-09-2024 03:04 via ktoo.org
  
  
  In this newscast:
  Four people have died after a plane they were traveling in from Bethel crashed short of the runway in St. Mary’s late Sunday (9/15) night.
  The Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska has received $15 million in funding via the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Climate Pollution Reduction Grant program.
  Researchers have documented a hundred more cases of bird flu in Alaska, but some species are showing signs of immunity to the disease.20
  
  Read more

• $15 million EPA grant for Southeast composting projects latest in local expansion efforts

  16-09-2024 23:08 via ktoo.org
  
  In a commercial operation like Juneau Composts in Lemon Creek, items are sorted out before they are mixed into a compost pile. (Photo by Matt Miller/KTOO)
  The Central of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska has received $15 million in funding via the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Climate Pollution Reduction grant program.
  The Tribe will use the money to expand composting in Juneau and tribal communities across Southeast Alaska. It’s part of a larger trend of funding
  
  Read more

Follow @AnchorageNewsUS on Twitter!