APRN » Top Stories

Haines Hiker Rescued from Meade Glacier

pyack — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 04:00:30 +0000

A Haines hiker stranded on Meade Glacier has been rescued. Coast Guard spokesman Dana Warr says that the hiker was picked up Wednesday afternoon.

Rosemarie Alexander, KTOO – Juneau and Ellen Lockyer, KSKA – Anchorage

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Troopers Investigating Chignik Lake Death

pyack — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 03:58:43 +0000

The death of a young woman in Chignik Lake is under investigation by Alaska State Troopers. Late Monday, the body of 32-year old special education teacher Candice Berner was discovered near a gravel road leading to the community’s airstrip. State Troopers are not saying much about the case, except that they are awaiting the results of an autopsy.

Ellen Lockyer, KSKA – Anchorage

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To Couple or Decouple Gas and Oil – the Question Before Juneau

pyack — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 03:19:15 +0000

Hearings opened in the Senate Tuesday morning on a bill to separate oil taxes from gas taxes — addressing the risk that – taken together — the two resources reduce the total revenue to the state. Economist Roger Marks told the Senate Finance Committee that the tax value of oil far exceeds the tax value of gas. Calculations from legislative and administration economists put the cost of combining the resources at nearly two Billion dollars a year when gas and oil prices are similar to the current market conditions. Separating the two taxes has solid support in the Finance Committee, and strong support throughout the entire Senate. However, there is objection to “decoupling” — as it’s called. House Minority Leader Beth Kerttula of Juneau says there’s reason to worry that dealing with the bill will turn into a complete re-write of the state’s tax regime.

Dave Donaldson, APRN – Juneau

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South Carolina Republican Says Now is Time to Act on Energy Policy

pyack — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 02:25:44 +0000

A Republican Senator negotiating climate change legislation left a White House meeting on Tuesday saying now is the time to act on energy policy. South Carolina Republican Lindsey Graham (right) has been working for months with Democrat John Kerry of Massachusetts (center) and Independent Senator Joe Lieberman of Connecticut (left) on a bipartisan climate change bill. Graham said this evening outside the White House that comprehensive legislation can create jobs, diminish dependence on foreign oil, and improve the environment – and he wants members of his party to get engaged.

Photo and Story by Libby Casey, APRN – Washington

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Fast Pace Marks First Hours of Iditarod

pyack — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 03:30:16 +0000

Photo by Lori Townsend, APRN – Anchorage

Fans and supporters turned out in force Saturday to cheer on their favorite mushers.

This year’s Iditarod is shaping up to be a fast one. The leaders are already out of the Rainy Pass checkpoint.

Whitehorse musher Sebastian Schnuelle is in front. He left the checkpoint at 2:20 Monday afternoon.

But he doesn’t have much breathing room- John Baker from Kotzebue and Warren Palfrey from British Columbia are only about 20 minutes back. Ray Redington Jr and Zack Steer and Paul Gephardt are also close behind. A number of teams are resting at Rainy Pass, including Hans Gatt, Cim Smyth, Aliy Zirkle and Jeff King.

Annie Feidt, APRN – Anchorage

Photo of Schnuelle by Patrick Yack, APRN – Anchorage

Follow all the coverage on your favorite APRN station, here at APRN.org and on Twitter @APRN or @Iditarod.

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Rookie’s Grandpa Made Original Serum Run

pyack — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 03:26:28 +0000

Rooke Middy Johnson has family ties to the original 1925 serum run.

Unalakleet musher William ‘Middy’ Johnson is a rookie, but his grandfather, Henry Ivanoff, was on the original serum run in 1925. His nickname Middie is from his younger days when his grandmother called him Mr. William and younger kids who couldn’t quite say Mister, called him “Middy” and it stuck. Johnson says his father carried mail and worked for the army hauling freight with dogs. His father has been gone for many years, but he says dogs have always been in their family.

Photo and Story by Lori Townsend, APRN – Anchorage

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Legislators Make the Rounds in DC

pyack — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 03:28:43 +0000

A third of Alaska’s legislators are in Washington D-C right now for meetings about energy issues. They’re attending the annual conference of the Energy Council, a group made up of a dozen oil and gas producing states, six Canadian provinces, and Venezuela.

Libby Casey, APRN – Washington DC

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Court Upholds Decision on Nome Policeman

pyack — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 03:27:50 +0000

The Alaska Court of Appeals has upheld a high-profile conviction of a Nome police officer accused of killing a 19-year-old while he was on duty in 2003.

The Anchorage Daily News

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Thawing Sea Bed Releasing Methane Gas

pyack — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 03:38:02 +0000

A thawing arctic sea bed is releasing massive amounts of methane gas into the atmosphere. The discovery off the eastern Siberian coast could accelerate global warming.

Dan Bross, KUAC – Fairbanks

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UA to Get New Climate Center in Anchorage

pyack — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 03:36:57 +0000

The University of Alaska will host a new federal regional center for climate change research. The Anchorage-based Climate Science Center is the first of eight to be set up throughout the country. They’re part of an Obama Administration plan to learn more about the effects and implications of global warming.

Libby Casey, ARPN – Anchorage

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Kookesh Slapped with Ethics Violation

pyack — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 03:46:14 +0000

Angoon Senator Albert Kookesh, a Democrat, has been slapped with a state ethics violation over comments he made in January at a Craig city council meeting. A senate ethics subcommittee found that Kookesh implied that he would use his legislative power to block state funding for community projects if the Craig city council opposed legislation he was supporting.

Deanna Garrison, KRBD – Ketchikan

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Providence to Expand for Newborns and Cardiac Patients

pyack — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 03:43:32 +0000

Anchorage based Providence Alaska Medical Center announced today a proposal for a 150 million dollar expansion to newborn intensive care facilities and a larger cardiac surgery center. Dr. Richard Mandsager is Providence Alaska’s chief executive. Mandsager says about 75% of the expansion will go toward modernizing and expanding the labor and delivery unit and the mother/baby units for normal births.

Lori Townsend, APRN – Anchorage

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Google Might Get Juneau Bid

pyack — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 02:38:43 +0000

Internet giant Google announced last month plans to test ultra-high speed broadband networks in communities throughout the United States. The company promises Internet speeds over one gigabit per second — more than 100 times faster than what most Americans have access to today. Several communities around the country are considering bidding for the service, including Juneau.

Casey Kelly, KTOO – Juneau

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Legislators Take off for DC

pyack — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 03:26:09 +0000

More than a third of the state legislature is heading to Washington this week to meet with federal officials and to attend sessions of the Energy Council — a group of states and other countries that get together every year to discuss common energy-related issues.

Dave Donaldson, APRN – Juneau

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Gas For Southcentral Alaska Debated in Juneau

pyack — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 03:24:25 +0000

A bill proposed in the Alaska state legislature aims to expedite the construction of an in-state gas pipeline to bring natural gas from the North Slope to Southcentral Alaska; including Anchorage and the Kenai Peninsula. Its prime sponsor is House Speaker Mike Chenault, a Republican from Nikiski. Governor Sean Parnell said he’d like the legislature to make up its mind on what the governor should do. He says that last year, his office was given seven million dollars for work on the instate gas line. He says his team is meeting the legislature’s own schedule and is within budget — under last year’s instructions. Parnell says his team was charged last year with getting cost estimates on all the options possible for an instate line — and to get as many permits as possible for a developer to use. That would speed up construction and lower the cost of a line. He says Chenault’s bill would spend hundreds of millions of dollars for a project without the advance work necessary. He says Chenault’s project does not even consider that there is no gas available at this point.

Ben Stanton, KDLL – Kenai and Dave Donaldson, APRN – Juneau

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Alaska Monitoring Tsunami Potential

pyack — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 20:34:57 +0000

The Associated Press – Anchorage

Officials at the Alaska emergency coordination center are monitoring the tsunami situation after the earthquake in Chile. Alaska Department of Military and Veterans Affairs deputy commissioner McHugh Pierre says they will begin to notify communities if the wave develops later Saturday.

Bill Knight is the tsunami warning and science officer at the West Coast and Alaska Tsunami Warning Center in Palmer. He says based on early morning models of the tsunami, he didn’t expect this to escalate beyond advisory level for Alaska. He says the state has seen far more damaging tsunamis than this one probably will be. Projections of wave measurements include 1.3 feet at Sitka and Seward and 2.3 feet at Kodiak.

West Coast and Alaska Tsunami Warning Center

Game Board Assessing Roaming Wolves

pyack — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 02:25:09 +0000

The State Game Board is taking up the contentious issue of Denali wolves that roam outside park boundaries and are vulnerable to hunting and trapping. The board convened a 10 day meeting in Fairbanks Friday on a range of interior issues, including the Denali wolf buffer. The board is considering proposals to increase, shrink or eliminate the protective buffer.

Dan Bross – KUAC, Fairbanks

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Young Wants More from Interior on Bristol Bay

pyack — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 02:24:17 +0000

Alaska Congressman Don Young, has signed on to a letter with other House Republicans demanding more information about a leaked Interior Department report. The draft internal report came to light last week. It lists places in the nation potentially worthy of federal protection, and includes two Alaska locations: Bristol Bay and Teshekpuk Lake in the western Arctic.

Libby Casey, APRN – Washington DC

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Stimulus Spending Winner: Alaska

pyack — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 03:11:45 +0000

Photo by Roger W. Wetherell, DOT and public facilities department.

Construction project in Gustavus, paid for with stimulus money.

Alaskans have gotten more of the federal stimulus dollars – per person – than any other state. This month marked one year since President Obama signed the stimulus law, or American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, but Alaska will reap the bulk of benefits in the year ahead.

Libby Casey, APRN – Washington DC

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AG Sullivan Warmly Received

pyack — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 03:09:19 +0000

Attorney General designee Dan Sullivan on Thursday was warmly received by the House Judiciary Committee in the first step along the way to his confirmation to the job. Sullivan was appointed by former-governor Sarah Palin last June and has been serving in the office since then.

Dave Donaldson, APRN – Juneau

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Gas Pipeline Could Lose Money, But Parnell Stays the Course

pyack — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 03:54:48 +0000

The Parnell administration agrees with legislative consultants who say under certain conditions the state could lose money with a natural gas pipeline from the North Slope to North American markets. But they counsel against changing the tax regime to remove the possibility.

Dave Donaldson, APRN – Juneau

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Alaska Fishing Interests Rally in DC

pyack — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 03:50:44 +0000

A handful of Alaskans were among thousands of fishermen who rallied today in the nation’s capital.

The recreational and commercial fishermen were protesting restrictions in federal fishing law designed to boost stocks but restrict their catch.

And they want more flexibility from the Obama Administration when it comes to regulations.

Photo and Story by Libby Casey, APRN – Washington DC

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Protesters gathered in Washington Wednesday for a rally critical of federal fishery policies.

EPA Releases Plans for Greenhouse Gas Emissions

pyack — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 03:15:08 +0000

The Environmental Protection Agency has laid out its timeline for regulating greenhouse gas emissions. EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson shared her plans on Monday in a letter to lawmakers.

Libby Casey, APRN – Washington DC

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Cab Fares Dropping in Bethel

pyack — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 03:14:10 +0000

Cab fares in Bethel are dropping for the first time in years. The Western Alaska City has the highest ratio of cabs to residents in the Nation. Now a race to bargain basement prices is threatening to push some cabbies out of the business, while customers welcome the low rates.

Shane Iverson, KYUK – Bethel

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