A dog camp atop a Juneau glacier keeps mushing afloat during Alaska’s summer tourism season - Anchorage news - NewsLocker (2024)

Haze smiles as he waits to pull a sled at the Norris Glacier dog sledding camp on Wednesday, Aug. 14, 2024. (Clarise Larson/KTOO)https://media.ktoo.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/16dogsx.wav
Dog sledding is an iconic piece of Alaska’s history. From its roots in Alaska Native culture to the Klondike Gold Rush to the Iditarod, it’s withstood the test of time.
Now, it’s taken on a new form to help it survive: excursions for Juneau’s ever-booming cruise ship tourism ind

Stolen suitcase and quarantined steamship led to arrest in Juneau woman’s 1919 murder

Juneau circa 1910-1920. (Wikimedia Commons)
Part of a continuingweekly series on Alaska history by local historian David Reamer. Have a question about Anchorage or Alaska history or an idea for a future article? Go to the form at the bottom of the ADN story.
“Japan Threatens China With War,” blared the banner headline on the Feb. 11, 1919 issue of the Alaska Daily Empire out of Juneau. Other front-page-worthy articles included news on boxer Jack Dempsey, fallout from the First

Justice to monitor Alaska primary election for compliance with language requirements

The Yukon-Kuskokwim hub of Bethel is seen from the air on July 13, 2015. The Bethel Census Area, where many residents speak Yup’ik, is one of the rural regions where U.S. Justice Department representatives will be monitoring for compliance with Voting Rights Act language requirements. (Photo by Rachel Loehman/USGS Alaska Science Center)
The U.S. Justice Department plans to monitor operations at polling places in parts of rural Alaska on Tuesday, the state’s primary election day, for

3 things to know about voting in Alaska’s primary election

Natalie Kiley-Bergen casts her ballot in Alaska’s primary election on Monday, Aug. 19, 2024. She voted early at Anchorage’s City Hall. (Adam Nicely/Alaska Public Media)
Alaskans have until 8 p.m. Tuesday to vote in the state’s top-four primary election.
Here are three things to know:
What are we voting on?
Tuesday’s primary election, featuring candidates from all parties, will narrow the field to no more than four candidates in each race ahead of the ranked choice general

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Newscast – Monday, August 19, 2024

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In this newscast:Gov. Dunleavy signed a bipartisan bill into law last week that puts more guardrails on how local governments assess the value of real estate,
A controversial 2023 court ruling ordering the closure of commercial trolling for king salmon in Southeast Alaska has been lifted,
The Metlakatla Indian Community is receiving $2 million of federal funding for its tribally owned salmon hatchery

Governor signs bill putting more guardrails on property assessments

Houses line the streets of South Douglas in late May. (Photo by Clarise Larson/Juneau Empire)
Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy signed a bipartisan bill into law last week that puts more guardrails on how local governments assess the value of real estate. Assessments are what provide the basis for property taxes.
The newly signed bill, SB 179, requires tax assessors to be accredited by the state, prevents municipalities from raising the assessed value of properties during an appeal process and changes t

Lingít Word of the Week: S’áxt’ – devil’s club

Kids hike by devil’s club on Juneau’s Auke Lake Trail. (Photo by Lisa Phu/KTOO)
This is Lingít Word of the Week. Each week, we feature a Lingít word voiced by master speakers. Lingít has been spoken throughout present-day Southeast Alaska and parts of Canada for over 10,000 years.
Gunalchéesh to X̱’unei Lance Twitchell, Goldbelt Heritage Foundation and the University of Alaska Southeast for sharing the recorded audio for this series.
This week&rsquo

Disagreements over bipartisanship fuel five-way race for Eagle River state Senate seat

Sen. Kelly Merrick, R-Eagle River, walks toward the House chamber in the Alaska State Capitol on Jan. 30, 2024. (Eric Stone/Alaska Public Media)
The purpose of Tuesday’s primary election is to narrow each field to four candidates. But few races have more than four to start with.
One is the state Senate race in Eagle River, at the northern edge of Anchorage, where the incumbent, Republican Sen. Kelly Merrick is under attack for her willingness to work across the aisle.
Republican Jared Goec

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BYU scientists visit Alaska to study Alzheimer’s in Pacific Islander and Indigenous elders

Researchers held a health fair for a Pacific Islander congregation at a campsite in Willow. The aim was to connect with and collect data from elders for Alzheimer’s research in understudied populations. (Photo courtesy of Brigham Young University)
Scientists from Brigham Young University in Utah visited Alaska in early August to research Alzheimer’s disease in Pacific Islander, Native Hawaiian, Alaska Native and American Indian elders. Theresearchis funded by a federal gr

Alaska elections officials plan to debut new ballot-tracking system with Aug. 20 primary

A tracker used by the Alaska Division of Elections is seen on Friday, Aug. 16, 2024 at the division’s offices in Juneau, Alaska. (Photo by James Brooks/Alaska Beacon)
The Alaska Division of Elections is using a new tool this year in an attempt to avoid the kinds of ballot-counting problems that have occurred during previous elections.
Enclosed in the bright red and green paperwork bags sent to every remote polling station is a small, black tracking device that will allow workers to trace t

Bering Sea storm brings erosion and flooding to Western Alaska communities

Severe flooding is seen in the coastal community of Kwigillingok on the morning of Sunday, Aug. 18, 2024. (Courtesy Lewis Martin)
A series of large storms have left some Western Alaska communities grappling with flooding and erosion. Some residents report that the flooding is worse than Typhoon Merbok, and that it rivals this year’shistoric breakup floodson the Kuskokwim River.
In Tuntutuliak, on the lower Kuskokwim, a community member reported to the National Weather Service t

Newscast – Friday, Aug. 16, 2024

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In this newscast:Dog sledding is an iconic piece of Alaska’s history — from its roots in Alaska Native culture to the Klondike Gold Rush to the Iditarod — it’s stood the test of time. And today, it’s taken on a new form to help it survive: excursions for the ever-booming cruise ship tourism industry.Two Alaska State Troopers are being charged with assault for using unreasonable force w

Juneau Afternoon: MusicAlaska wants to hear your magical music moments, plus Blackwater Railroad Company and updates from the Juneau Public Libraries

Tyson Davis plays with the band Blackwater Railroad Company, in July of 2019 in Juneau. (File photo KTOO)On today’s program:The Alaska Independent Musicians Initiative / MusicAlaska is looking for musicians and others to submit their favorite memories and storiesBlackwater Railroad Company is playing this weekend in Juneau highlighting the album they recorded and mixed in town last winterUpdates from the Juneau Public Library
Bostin Christopher hosts the conversation. Juneau Afternoon airs

Federal appeals court ruling eliminates — for now — legal threat facing Southeast Alaska fishers

A chinook salmon. (Ryan Hagerty/U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service)
A three-judge panel at 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has overturned a lower-court decision that could have temporarily halted troll fishing for salmon in Southeast Alaska.
The appellate court decision, announced Friday, clears the way for the region’s troll fishery to continue. It had been threatened by a lawsuit from the Washington-based Wild Fish Conservancy, an environmental group.
The group filed suit in 2020, arguing

2 Soldotna troopers charged with assault over May arrest in Kenai

Alaska State Trooper Joseph Miller (left) tases Ben Tikka while Trooper Jason Woodruff (right) deploys a police dog against him on May 24, 2024 in Kenai, Alaska. (From Alaska Department of Law)
Two Alaska State Troopers are being charged with misdemeanor assault for using unreasonable force while arresting a person in Kenai who they thought was someone else, according to criminal charges filed Wednesday.
Joseph Miller Jr. and Jason Woodruff, both state troopers based in Soldotna, are facing one

Coast Guardsman’s death prompts mental health conversations at Base Kodiak

A U.S. Coast Guard rescue helicopter lands on a runway before it parks near an Air Station Kodiak hangar. (Brian Venua/KMXT)
The death of a Kodiak-based U.S. Coast Guardsman this summer has sparked a new wave of conversations about mental health on the base.
U.S. Coast Guard Air Station Kodiak held a ceremony on July 26 to honor the life and service of a rescue swimmer who died on June 25.
The Coast Guard said the investigation into the service member’s death is ongoing, but no foul play i

Fire aboard former state ferry Malaspina quickly extinguished in Ketchikan

The state ferry Malaspina sits in layup in Ward Cove near Ketchikan on May 10, 2020. (Photo by Eric Stone/KRBD)
A fire broke out on the decommissioned state ferry Malaspina in Ketchikan’s Ward Cove on Tuesday night, but was extinguished without injuries.
North Tongass Volunteer Fire Department Chief Jerry Kiffer said the fire aboard the vessel, which is being used as a bunkhouse for workers in Ward Cove, was reported at about 7:30 p.m. Tuesday. When firefighters arrived, there were no visi

Flooding put this Juneau child care center out of commission. Community support helped it reopen.

Carolina Sekona spent the weekend scrambling to set up a new day care in the vacant Floyd Dryden Middle School. (Photo by Anna Canny/KTOO)https://media.ktoo.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/14childcare.wav
On Tuesday, Issac Benson crouched down to help his two-year-old son Silas take off tiny purple rain boots. Then he scooped Silas up and carried him through the doorway of a classroom at Juneau’s former Floyd Dryden Middle School.
“I’m back,” Silas Benson said, as he enter

Newscast – Thursday, Aug. 15, 2024

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In this newscast:It was the first day of school for students in the Juneau School District today. And, it’s also the first time students headed to the newly consolidated high school and middle school campuses.
An emergency day care center opens up in the former Floyd Dryden Middle School as residents continue to recover from the glacier outburst flood last week.

Juneau Afternoon: Alaska State Library programs, Marc Wheeler’s ice cream cookbook

The fourth annual Free Ice Cream Day at Coppa on Saturday, April 28, 2018 in Juneau, Alaska. (Photo courtesy Rashah McChesney)On today’s program:Programs of the Alaska State LibraryAlaska Talking Book CenterSLED (State Library Electronic Doorway)Marc Wheeler’s new cookbook collects all the favorite flavors that were offered at Coppahttps://candiedsalmonandrhubarb.com/
Bostin Christopher hosts the conversation. Juneau Afternoon airs at 3:00 p.m. on KTOO and KAUK with a rebroadcast at

Costco says it’s going to start cracking down on membership sharing

Sun shines on Costco in Juneau on March 26, 2019. (Photo by Jeremy Hsieh/KTOO)
Are you craving that$1.50 hot-dog-and-soda combofrom Costco? Be sure to have your own membership card handy.
Over the coming months, shoppers will have to start scanning their membership cards at the entrances to Costco warehouses rather than just presenting them to a store employee, the retail giantannounced.
The Washington-based company is the latest to crack down on membership sharing, as business

Juneau welcomes back students to newly consolidated middle and high schools

Students walk to the Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé entrance for the first day of school on Thursday, Aug. 15, 2024. (Clarise Larson/KTOO)https://media.ktoo.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/15firstday.wav
The neighborhood surrounding Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé was packed Thursday morning. It was the first day of school for the Juneau School District.
Cars lined the streets, buses filled the roads and students shuffled down the sidewalks.
Juniors Ximena

Southeast Alaska tribe continues hands-on response to glacial flooding

A flooded house is pictured in Juneau, Alaska. (Photo courtesy of National Weather Service)
A Southeast Alaska tribe is continuing to respond to a glacial outburst that flooded some 290 homes in Juneau.
Early estimates show around 14.6 billion gallons of water were released from an ice dam on the Mendenhall Glacier. That’s according to Aaron Jacobs, a senior service hydrologist at the National Weather Service office in Juneau. The Mendenhall River gauge crested at 15.99 feet at 3:15 a.m. o

Archivists hope to return nearly two decades worth of regalia left behind at past Celebrations

Marjorie Barker Edá Shawaat Tlakwadzee opens the drawers of the archives at Sealaska Heritage Institute. July 16, 2024. (Photo by Yvonne Krumrey/KTOO).https://media.ktoo.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/13lostandfound.mp3
At the Grand Entrance to Celebration each June, dancers from around Southeast Alaska enter Centennial Hall, wearing button blankets with hand-beaded clan crests, hats woven from strips of cedar, and carved formline headpieces depicting clan emblems.
Celebration only lasts

Juneau Afternoon: Beat the Odds, Bollywood Dance, and Cube Cove Restoration Project

People dance during a Holi festival celebration downtown on Monday, March 25, 2024. (Clarise Larson/KTOO)On today’s program:Cancer Connection’s Beat the Odds run/walk fundraiser is on Saturday, August 17 starting at 9:00 a.m. at Kax̱dig̱oowu Héen ElementaryThursday, August 15 is Indian Independence Day, and there will be a Bollywood flash mob to help celebrate at 6:00 p.m. at the Elizabeth Petratovich Plaza in Downtown JuneauInformation from the USDA Forest Service o

Newscast – Wednesday, August 14, 2024

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In this newscast:A newly permitted affordable housing project hopes to help fill gaps in Juneau’s housing,
Archivists with Sealaska Heritage Institute is cataloging lost and found from nearly two decades of Celebrations,
A renowned culture-bearer in Sitka passed away last month

Coast Guard confirms new icebreaker will be homeported in Juneau

The Aiviq anchored in Unalaska in August 2016. (Sarah Hansen/KUCB)
The U.S. Coast Guard made an official announcement today that it plans to homeport an icebreaker in Juneau.
Plans to dock an icebreaker in the capital city have been discussed for a few years, but previous funding attempts were removed from federal legislation.
The vessel — the Aiviq — is privately-owned, and was built for oil exploration in the Arctic. The agency says the icebreaker will increase U.S. pre

Anchorage police fatally shoot teen girl who they say was holding a knife

An Anchorage police vehicle at the scene of an officer-involved shooting on Wednesday, Aug. 14, 2024. (Ava White/Alaska Public Media)
Anchorage police say officers shot and killed a teenage girl armed with a knife late Tuesday.
The shooting happened in a neighborhood on the 4800 block of East 43rd Avenue, near the Alaska Native Medical Center, according toa police statement.
At abrief news conference Wednesday morning, Police Chief Sean Case said that officers had been responding to

Peltola still holds fundraising cash advantage in U.S. House race, new figures show

Republican businessperson Nick Begich III, Republican Lt. Gov. Nancy Dahlstrom and Democratic U.S. Rep. Mary Peltola are among 12 candidates competing in the primary for the seat currently held by Peltola. (Photos by Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon)
Ahead of Alaska’s Aug. 20 primary election, incumbent Democratic U.S. Rep. Mary Peltola continues to hold a fundraising advantage against her 11 competitors,new filingswith the Federal Elections Commission show.
As of July 31, Peltola&rs

Eaglecrest board selects new general manager

Craig Cimmons interviews for the Eaglecrest Ski Area general manager position during a meeting at City Hall on Friday, Aug. 2, 2024. (Clarise Larson/KTOO)
The Eaglecrest Board of Directors has selected a new general manager for the ski area.
On Wednesday, the board announced Craig Cimmons accepted the position and will begin his new role in early October. He was one of two finalists chosen from a pool of 17 applicants.
Cimmons is currently based in Vermont and is the director of the Ski &a