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Alaska’s COVID ‘superstorm’ experience of 2021 offers lessons for future pandemics, study says
Alaska’s experience with the delta wave that emerged in the COVID-19 pandemic is likened to a “superstorm” in a new study that compares pandemic patterns in regions across the Arctic. The study, by a research group at the University of Northern Iowa that is focusing on COVID-19 in the Arctic, was published on Aug. 17 […]
Inuit Circumpolar Council gets new Alaska president and vice president
The Inuit Circumpolar Council’s Alaska branch has new leadership, the organization announced on Tuesday. Marie KasaNnaaluk Greene, a former chief executive of NANA Regional Corp., is the new president, and Nicole Kannik Paniġiuq “Kanayurak” Wojciechowski is the new vice president, the organization said. The ICC represents Inuit people in Alaska, Canada, Greenland and Russia’s Chukotka […]
Sweeney drops out of House race after posting disappointing results
Tara Sweeney, the fourth-place candidate in the race to succeed the late Don Young as Alaska’s sole U.S. House member, ended her campaign on Tuesday. Her travels around the state “reinforced my passion to do whatever I can to make Alaska an even better place to call home,” Sweeney said in a statement. “That said, […]
To encourage more young fishermen, look to farm programs as models, new study argues
Young Alaskans seeking to break into commercial fishing face a lot of the same barriers that confront young farmers in the Lower 48 states, but they have far fewer resources to help overcome those barriers, according to newly published research. A study by Alaska experts with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration argues that the […]
More Alaskans now eligible for monkeypox vaccine, and some seem eager for that protection
Alaska has expanded the eligibility for vaccination to prevent monkeypox, and residents are taking up on the offers for protection against the virus, officials with the state Department of Health said on Friday. The department last week broadened eligibility standards to include people who have been in contact with someone exposed to monkeypox or at […]
Steller sea lions most likely victims of human-caused marine mammal deaths in Alaska
Over a five-year period, 867 Alaska sea lions, seals, whales and small cetaceans like dolphins died or were gravely injured from interactions with humans, according to a report newly released by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The report, required by the Marine Mammal Protection Act, lists documented cases of human-inflicted harm from 2016 to […]
Alaska voters cast ballots in special House election in state’s first ranked choice contest
Alaska voters on Tuesday completed an experiment that has drawn national attention – a ranked choice election for the person who will fill out the U.S. House term of the late Don Young. The special election to choose the person who will fill the remaining four months of Young’s term came down to three candidates […]
Justice Department watching Alaska election for language and disability compliance
The U.S. Department of Justice said Tuesday it is monitoring Alaska’s election to ensure compliance with two laws, the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. The effort is aimed at maintaining compliance with the voting law’s minority language requirements and the disability act’s accessibility requirements, the department said […]
Tundra burns helped make the 2022 Alaska fire season one of the biggest since 1950
Alaska is closing out what is likely to be the state’s seventh-biggest wildfire season since 1950, wrapping up a summer notable for record-breaking fires in the tundra of the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta in the southwestern part of the state. In all, more than 3 million acres have been burned by wildfires this year, according to the […]
As Congress prepares to pass climate bill, Alaska environmentalists see more harm than good
The $370 billion climate bill that passed the U.S. Senate on Sunday is America’s biggest-ever response to climate change, expected to both reduce the national deficit and significantly cut greenhouse-gas emissions. But here in Alaska, environmental organizers are worried that tradeoffs in the bill will lead to more mining and drilling in the state in […]
Arctic Commitment Act introduced in Senate seeks to raise U.S. profile at top of world
A wide-ranging bill introduced by Sen. Lisa Murkowski and Sen. Angus King seeks to boost U.S. investment in Arctic commerce, science and defense. The Arctic Commitment Act, introduced last week, focuses on ways that the United States can become a bigger player in Arctic marine shipping and commerce, which is increasing as sea ice diminishes. […]
Independence Mine, a ‘gem’ in state park system, gets big donation for restoration work
A private charity has donated $1.3 million to restore historic buildings at a popular Alaska state park. The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust has provided the money to restore buildings at the Independence Mine Historical Park. The site, in the Talkeetna Mountains near Palmer, once housed a thriving gold-mining operation but has […]