Briefs

A walk-in inflatable model colon, on display on Oct. 20 at the Alaska Federation of Natives convention, gives visitors a close-up view of a typical precancerous polyp. This is the smaller of two inflatable displays that teh Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium and Southcentral Foundation use to raise awareness of colorectal cancer. (Photo by Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon)

Study documents high rates and persistence of colorectal cancer among Alaska Natives

BY: - March 17, 2023

Alaska Natives continued to have the world’s highest rates of colorectal cancer as of 2018, and case rates failed to decline significantly for the two decades leading up to that year, according to a newly published study. The study, by experts from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Alaska Native Tribal Health […]

Alaska legislators are again on track to ignore the 90-day session law imposed by voters

BY: - March 16, 2023

Leading Alaska state legislators said this week that they intend to wrap up the 2023 legislative session in mid-May, closer to the Alaska Constitution’s 121-day limit than the 90-day limit approved by voters in a 2006 ballot measure. ”I think there’s no doubt in my mind that we will be here through the 121,” said […]

The scales of justice are seen in an undated photo. (Getty Images)

Jury convicts former Libertarian Alaska state Senate candidate of murder

BY: - March 15, 2023

A Palmer jury on Monday convicted former Libertarian state Senate candidate of second-degree murder and other crimes associated with a fatal shooting one month before the 2020 general election. Gavin Christiansen murdered 35-year-old Devin Moorhouse of Anchorage after a road rage incident, jurors concluded after a weeklong criminal trial in Palmer. Christiansen was a candidate […]

A northeastern portion of the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska. is seen from the air on June 28, 2014. ConocoPhillips' Willow project, which the company says would produce up to 180,000 barrels a day, is planned for this federal land unit. Because the project is on federal territory and not state territory, royalties from oil production would be split between the federal government and a special fund for communities on the North Slope. They would not go into the state treasury for general govenrment use. (Photo by Bob Wick/Bureau of Land Management)

New lawsuit seeks to block development of Alaska’s Willow oil project

BY: - March 14, 2023

A coalition of environmental groups filed suit Tuesday, seeking to halt development of the Willow oil project on Alaska’s North Slope. The filing, from the Sovereign Iñupiat for A Living Arctic, the Alaska Wilderness League and the Northern Alaska Environmental Center, among other organizations, says the Department of the Interior failed to properly consider the […]

Banners on the Anchorage Museum of History and Art, seen on March 12, use Indigenous language to inform that the city is part of the Dena'ina homeland. (Photo by Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon)

Indigenous language council, citing broad work, seeks name change and other updates

BY: - March 14, 2023

What’s in a name? For the council given the responsibility of safeguarding Alaska’s Indigenous languages, a name change could reflect a broader purpose. Under legislation pending in the state House, House Bill 26, the Alaska Native Language Preservation and Advisory Council would be renamed to sometime more general: the Alaska Native Language Council. It might […]

Auto headlights and the setting sun create a colorful scene as workers head home during the evening rush hour in Anchorage on Jan. 26. (Photo by Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon)

Alaska’s working-age population on decline since 2013 peak, and recovery chances seen as dim

BY: - March 11, 2023

Alaska’s working-age population peaked 10 years ago, and the rate of loss since then has been nearly the highest among all U.S. states, according to the Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development. The details are described in the lead article in the March issue of Alaska Economic Trends, the monthly magazine produced by the […]

The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge sprawls to the shoreline of the Beaufort Sea, seen here in 2006. Oil development has been proposed for the refuge's coastal plain. (Photo by Steve Hillebrand,/U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service)

ANWR boundary dispute will continue as Alaska challenges ownership of oil-rich land

BY: - March 10, 2023

A nine-year-old dispute between the state of Alaska and the federal government over the western border of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge won’t be resolved anytime soon. On Thursday, U.S. District Court Judge Sharon Gleason declined to issue a verdict on the dispute, and instead referred it back to a federal appeals board that has […]

An exploration site at ConocoPhillips' Willow prospect is seen from the air in the 2019 winter season. (Photo by Judy Patrick/provided by ConocoPhillips Alaska Inc.)

Federal judge rules in favor of ConocoPhillips to keep Willow drilling data secret

BY: - March 9, 2023

A federal judge has blocked the public release of exploration data from five oil wells drilled in the National Petroleum Reserve as part of ConocoPhillips Alaska’s Willow project. Wednesday’s decision by U.S. District Judge Sharon Gleason preempts a state law intended to encourage oil and gas development on the North Slope by requiring companies to […]

The entrance of the University of Alaska Southeast in Juneau as seen on May 25, 2022.

Biologist and college administrator in Colorado chosen to lead University of Alaska Southeast

BY: - March 9, 2023

The University of Alaska Southeast will have a new top leader this summer. Aparna Dileep-Nageswaran Palmer, a college administrator and professor in Colorado, will succeed retiring Karen Carey as the chancellor in Juneau, University of Alaska President Pat Pitney announced on Wednesday. Palmer, a biologist, currently serves as vice president of Front Range Community College, […]

Alaska Legislature approves free trapping licenses for disabled veterans

BY: - March 8, 2023

The Alaska Legislature has unanimously passed a bill that gives disabled veterans and members of the Alaska National Guard free trapping licenses in addition to the free hunting and fishing licenses they already receive.  The Alaska House of Representatives voted 39-0 in favor of Senate Bill 10 on Monday, and on Wednesday, the Alaska Senate […]

TThe summit of the Crow Pass trail in the Chugach National Forest is seen on Sept. 13, 2020. The 26-mile trail runs from Girdwood to Eagle River. (Photo by Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon)

Proponents of Alaska Long Trail pitch 14 projects as steps toward ambitious 500-mile goal

BY: - March 8, 2023

 An ambitious project to create a 500-mile network of connected Alaska trails would move a few steps closer to reality if state lawmakers approve funding for selected pieces of it, advocates say. The Alaska Long Trail project envisions a trail system running from the Gulf of Alaska coastline in Seward to the boreal forest in […]

Alaska courts consider rules for permanently streaming many hearings online

BY: - March 7, 2023

The Alaska Court System is planning to continue video streaming many court hearings online despite the end of the COVID-19 emergency that prompted the first broadcasts. The court system is taking public testimony on the proposal through March 17. Alaska’s constitution requires public access to trials, and the court system’s streaming program began during the […]