Alaska News

Martin Buser at the 2013 Iditarod ceremonial start in Anchorage. Photo by Patrick Yack, APRN – Anchorage.

Martin Buser has again regained the Iditarod lead, departing Grayling at 12:52 p.m., staying at the checkpoint for only 10 minutes.

Aliy Zirkle, Aaron Burmeister, Jake Berkowitz and Sonny Lindner round out the top-5.

Buser is the only competitor in the top-5 that has used both the mandatory 8-hour and 24-hour layovers.

Volunteers getting ready at the Dillingham Vol. Fire Deptartment. Credit Jason Sear.

A plane crashed Friday morning in the Muklung Hills, roughly 20 miles northeast of Dillingham, but by 6pm Friday, authorities had not been able to reach the crash site.

A pilot and co-pilot are believed to have been onboard an ACE Air Cargo Beechcraft 1900 Super King that went missing at 8:15am while enroute to Dillingham from King Salmon. Authorities are withholding the names. The plane appears to have crashed near the site of the 2010 crash that killed former Sen. Ted Stevens.

Efforts to locate the plane and attempt a rescue have been hampered by poor weather throughout the day. There was confusion earlier as it was believed the wreckage had been spotted; as of 6pm Friday evening, there have been no confirmed sightings of any wreckage, including by the Air National Guard assets on station. Authorities have determined a location based on coordinates from the plane’s ELT 406 beacon.

The search has been turned over to the Air Force’s Rescue Coordination Center at Joint Base Elmendorf Richardson. An Air National Guard HC-130 and HH-60 Pave Hawk Helicopter arrived early Friday afternoon. Both aircraft have Guardian Angel pararescue crews onboard and are expected to continue searching for the wreckage through Friday evening.

According to a written statement from the Alaska National Guard, snow and rain are creating icing problems for the aircraft, and a low cloud ceiling continues to frustrate the search.

“No sighting of the overdue aircraft has been made, and although the satellite is picking up the 406 signal, when crews fly overhead of the satellite coordinates, they can’t hear an audible VHF emergency locator signal,” said Master Sgt. Sal Provenzano, non-commissioned officer in charge of the RCC.

The first search and rescue efforts Friday morning were coordinated by the Alaska State Troopers in Dillingham; most were also thwarted by bad weather. Local pilots reported a “o/o visibility” over the Muklung Hills. A ground-search effort of about a dozen volunteers and EMTs on snowmachines left Dillingham at 11am, but were turned around within an hour; it was determined that recent rain and warm temperatures have created difficult, if not dangerous conditions for ground travel. An Egli Air helicopter in from King Salmon was also waved off on account of low visibility.

A U.S. Coast Guard MH-60 Jayhawk from Kodiak was on station by shortly after 12pm. The Jayhawk searched the area until it was relieved by the Air National Guard Assets at about 2pm.

The cause of the crash is unknown. Both the NTSB and the FAA will be investigating.

Neither The Energy Council nor its affiliated nonprofit CLEER has a website. They’re headquartered at the same address in Dallas, Texas. And The Energy Council’s filings with the government list its mission as serving as a “forum for governmental entities to discuss energy and environmental policy issues.”

That was on full display Friday morning at the elegant Washington Court Hotel.

Kansas State Senator Carolyn McGinn kicked off the conference by thanking the sponsors.

“Today’s luncheon is sponsored by a longtime friend of The Energy Council, Mr. Mike McGarey of the Nuclear Energy Institute,” she said.

McGinn continued:

“Tomorrow’s breakfast will be hosted by Sara Tays of Exxon Oil.”

And she concluded with a nod to BP Alaska.

“For a number of years, Paul Quesnel of BP Alaska as the primary sponsor for each and every CLEER University Advisory Board Seminar,” she said to applause.  ”This meeting is no exception, and I’d like to ask Paul to stand so that we may thank him for his continuing generosity. Thank you Paul, and thank you BP.”

Indcluded on the list of attendees: Bill Brackin, ExxonMobil’s lobbyist in Alaska; Portia Babcock, ConocoPhillips’s chief lobbyist in Alaska; Michelle Egan with the Aleyeska Pipeline Service Company; Nikki Martin from the Alaska Oil and Gas Association; Rick Rogers, the executive Director of the Resource Development Council for Alaska.

The list includes about 20 members of the legislature. Some brought spouses, others brought staffers.

Sitka Republican Bert Stedman, chairman of The Energy Council, introduced Billy Tauzin. Tauzin, a Democrat turned Republican, is also a congressman turned D.C. lobbyist.

Stedman told the crowd they have something to learn from Tauzin’s career.

“As a Democrat he didn’t have Republican opposition. Then he swapped to the Republicans and didn’t have Democratic opposition,” he said while laughing at his own joke. “So we should all aspire to those goals, getting elected and not having opposition.”

Tauzin regaled the attendees, who were busy eating plates of bacon and eggs, with stories of a different Washington; of a Washington where opposing lawmakers came together to work on energy, or to fix the tax code.

He’s now lobbying former colleagues, aiming to protect certain federal tax provisions for oil producers.

“But as long as we have it, the provisions in the tax code that are critical to the production of energy in this country, and to strip them out to save a few billion dollars in a sixteen trillion dollar deficit situation, makes little sense to me,” Tauzin said during the convention’s keynote address.

Some lawmakers proposed cutting 2 to 4 billion dollars in tax credits to the oil industry as a way to offset spending.

“There’s one particular provision in the code I’m trying to preserve, which affects ConocoPhillips Alaska, which is a sponsor of this meeting today. It’s called dual capacity,” Tauzin said.

Tauzin said that provision prevents U.S. based oil companies from double taxation on foreign earned money – if they bring the money back to the US, they won’t be taxed on it.

Tauzin is lobbying to protect federal interests., but the lobbyists in from Alaska will have plenty of time to make the lower-taxes pitch to state lawmakers this weekend.

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Legislation proposing sea-otter bounties will get its first hearing next week. It’s already drawing opposition from environmental groups and the federal marine mammal protection agency.

Fishermen harvesting Dungeness crab, geoduck clams and some other ocean-floor species have been coming up empty in recent years.

The reason is the rapid expansion of the sea otter population. The marine mammals mostly eat clams. But as they bring their voracious appetites into new areas, they clear out many of the shellfish sought by commercial, subsistence and personal-use divers and fishermen.

“So what we’re trying to do is come up with some assistance for the folks in the area that want to go out and harvest them to afford to be able to do so,” says Sitka Republican Senator Bert Stedman. He represents Kake, Prince of Wales Island and other coastal Southeast communities where otters have moved in.

He’s authored a bill that would give Alaska Natives – the only people who can legally hunt marine mammals – a $100 reward for each pelt they take.

“You’ve got your costs of your fuel and other items you need. Also, there’s tanning cost issues. We’re just trying to assist in the harvest,” he says.

Otters were once widespread along the West Coast from California out to the Aleutians. Russian and American hunters virtually wiped them out, except for a few remote areas.

They were reintroduced to Southeast about 50 years ago. Recent studies say their numbers have grown by as much as 12 percent a year in southern Southeast and 4 percent in the north.

Federal legislation protects otters, only allowing Alaska Natives to harvest them for traditional purposes.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service spokesman Bruce Woods says states can’t impose bounties.

“The Marine Mammal Protection Act prohibits any state from enforcing a law that affects the take of a marine mammal without first soliciting and receiving management authority for that species from the Secretary of the Interior,” Woods says.

The agency is working with Native hunters and craftspeople to better define the legal use of pelts. That could increase the overall harvest.

But Woods says Stedman’s legislation, and a similar bill in the House, are trumped by federal rules.

“We’ve got nothing to say about whether the law could be passed or not. But if the law were enforced, at least by an initial reading of the MMPA, that enforcement would be illegal,” he says.

Opposition to the bill is growing among some of the same organizations that campaigned against wolf control. They say otter population growth is a good thing.

“They’re a keystone species,” says Tina Brown, president of the Alaska Wildlife Alliance.

She points out that otters eat sea urchins, which eat kelp, allowing coastal Southeast to return to its natural balance.

“When you have the kelp forest, you have nurseries for finfish and it’s thought that the kelp forest can increase herring populations and salmon populations. Another benefit is they reduce CO2 emissions and slow ocean acidification,” she says.

Brown says the alliance is talking with other groups, as well as legislators and attorneys, about the bounty bill’s impacts.

“I can’t say whether it makes a difference in the numbers of sea otters. I can say that it makes a difference on the way Alaska appears before the rest of the country and the world,” Brown says.

And what about the hunters?

Tlingit-Haida Central Council Economic Development Director Carrie Sykes has been working on the issue. She says tribal members have mixed feelings.

“Some people think that it would be a good idea, in that it could offset the cost of hunting and tanning,” she says. “The others are worried about what the perception will be from different organizations, like Defenders of Wildlife. And we’re not sure how it would really work.

Sykes says local tribes have more influence on the issue than the regional Central Council.

Stedman, the Senate bill’s author, says it should be considered a first draft. He expects changes as it’s considered by the Legislature.

“Maybe we end up having this just a Southeast program and we exclude areas where the sea otters are elsewhere, out in the Aleutians and other places,” he says. “We’re not trying to eradicate, but we’re trying to control the growth.”

He also expects organized opposition.

“And I recognize that there are a lot of citizens outside of Southeast Alaska that might just think this is a ghastly thing to do. But I can assure you we’re better prepared to take care of our own backyard than people in San Francisco and Florida are,” Stedman says.

His legislation comes before the Senate Resources Committee on March 13. The House version, introduced by Anchorage Republican Representative Charisse Millett, is not yet scheduled.

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Jake Berkowitz at the 2013 Iditarod’s ceremonial start in Anchorage. Photo by Josh Edge, APRN – Anchorage.

Iditarod mushers start the race with up to 16 dogs.  The can drop dogs along the trail, but they have to finish with six. Many mushers will drop dogs in Iditarod after completing the longest single run along the trail.  It’s 80 miles from Ophir, but most teams remain large halfway through the race.

A calm evening turned into a blustery night as gusting winds rustled dried grass outside the musher cabin.

But the weather hasn’t affected Jake Berkowitz.  A number of mushers have referred to his team as a “freight train.” As the wind started to pick up, he pulled out of Iditarod with all of the 16 dogs he started with.

“Oh, I’ve never driven a dog team that’s this competitive and this eager to go at the same time,” Berkowitz said.

There are only a few teams that haven’t dropped any dogs halfway through the race.  The majority of mushers have only dropped two or three. Aaron Burmeister left Iditarod with 15 dogs.  He says it’s a sign of high quality dog care.  When he started the race, he had a few dogs he wasn’t sure about.

“The team as a whole is great, but a little dog I wouldn’t have considered ever even dreaming of taking her on Iditarod, she’s just kind of the token of the kennel that we kept training and working with, her name is Java.  She’s a little 40 pound black female.  She’s got a great personal, great dog, but I got her for breeding,” Burmeister said.

But Java stepped up.  She’s been running in lead for the team.

“It’s very fun it’s made it a lot of fun to watch her on the run and it gives you something to be excited about for the future because she’s great little dog,” Burmeister said.

Lance Mackey is running an entirely new team of dogs this year.  The four-time champion has won the race with 15, but he’s also driven teams as small as seven.  He says he wants his crew of young, inexperienced dogs to enjoy the race.

“No matter what they do from here on out, it’s been a stellar performance for this group and you can’t help but smile seeing he young ones stand up and eat and do the things I want to see them doing,” Mackey said.

Vets say the majority of dogs dropped so far have had minor wrist and shoulder injuries.  They haven’t seen what they refer to as a “red dog.”  That’s a dog that needs to be flown out of a check point for immediate medical attention yet.

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A citizen review committee has weighed in on the proposed Fairbanks North Star Borough school district budget for next year. The over $262 million operating budget represents a 1 percent increase over the current year. The district anticipates a funding short fall and has proposed teacher cuts the citizen committee disagrees with.

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Former Alaska Governor Bill Sheffield says it’s time for Alaska to build its own gas pipeline.

Sheffield has been stumping the state on his own dime to promote the Alaska Stand Alone Pipeline – or ASAP.  The acronym is appropriate, he says, because Alaska is on the threshold of an energy crisis and needs the gas As Soon As Possible. Sheffield says some communities are already over the edge.

“Too many of our residents are struggling to deal these days with bills to heat their homes and cook their meals that add up to the price of a monthly mortgage,” he told the Juneau Chamber of Commerce Thursday.

Once called the Bullet Line, the current proposal under the Alaska Gasline Development Corporationwould take natural gas from Prudhoe Bay  to Southcentral Alaska.

Sheffield says the decline of Cook Inlet production is driving up commercial and domestic energy costs.  He says the instate gasline could help those plants reopen, rejuvenate the Flint Hills Refinery near Fairbanks, and spur other business and industry along the way.

Sheffield, a Democrat, served as governor from 1982 to 1986.  For several years he was CEO of the Alaska Railroad Corporation; now in retirement, he is still on the board of directors.

He says he knows how the lack of natural gas has changed the economics of the railroad.

“In the past, Flint Hills, when they had all three stacks working, (they only use one stack at the refinery now),  used to send 130 railroad cars a day down to the port of Anchorage with product –  jet fuel to the Anchorage airport, gasoline for Southcentral Alaska,  and other products like NAPTHA to South American and to Asia.  Now instead of the 130 railroad cars, there’s 20 cars five days a week,” he says.

While the gas pipeline would mainly serve the Interior / Southcentral region of the state, Sheffield believes surplus gas could be shipped to other parts of Alaska,  including Southeast. He says surplus gas also could be sold to other countries.

The Alaska Gasline Development Corporation was funded by the state legislature in 2010.  Since then it has received $72 million  in state funds  toward the $400 million needed to get the project to open season then sanctioning.  During an open season, natural gas producers indicate their interest in shipping down the line; the sanctioning stage is when the corporation decides if the project should move forward.

The cost of 737-mile pipeline and facilities is estimated at $7.7 billion.  AGDC Public Affairs Director Leslye Langla says the pipeline would be financed and not paid for by the state.

AGDC last month awarded a contract for design of facilities, to include a North Slope Gas Conditioning Facility and Cook Inlet Extraction Plant.  The Final Environmental Impact Statement is done, and state lawmakers are working on legislation to establish AGDC as an independent public corporation of the state (House Bill 4).

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14. Jackie Keizer’s piece, “Come to Your Senses,” is made of plastic bags from various retailers. It’s worn here by Emily Reilly. Photo by Ed Ronco, KCAW – Sitka

Right now, as you’re listening to this, a group of Sitka residents are preparing to walk the runway. But they’ve traded in the usual fabrics for more eccentric media. Maybe it’s a dress that’s all zippers. Or a suit made out of nautical charts. Or a purse composed of bicycle valve stems. In the fashion world, this might be called madness. In Sitka, it’s called wearable art.

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This week, we’re heading to Unalakleet, an Iditarod checkpoint on the Bering Sea Coast.  Jay Thomas is principal at the school in Unalakleet.

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Aliy Zirkle greets fans at the ceremonial start of the 2013 Iditarod in Anchorage. Photo by Josh Edge, APRN – Anchorage.

Aliy Zirkle has taken the lead in the 2013 Iditarod. She checked into the Grayling checkpoint at 9:54 a.m. Friday.

Aaron Burmeister and Jake Berkowitz arrived in Grayling about 30 minutes apart, at 11:06 a.m. and 11:37 a.m., respectively.

Martin Buser and Sonny Lindner round out the top-5, and are on the 18 mile run from Anvik to Grayling.

Buser is the only one of the five leaders who has taken both the mandatory 8-hour and 24-hour layovers.

All five have completed the 24-hour layover.

Anchorage School District Superintendent Jim Browder was not chosen to lead Des Moines Public Schools.

Anchorage School District Superintendent Jim Browder. Photo by Daysha Eaton, KSKA – Anchorage.

Browder was in the top-3 candidates for the position and went through his final interview with the district on March 6.

The Des Moines School Board opted to go with Thomas Ahart, who had been serving as the interim superintendent of Des Moines Public Schools since May 2012.

• Resignation Looms For ASD Superindendent

Combining extreme geography with extreme temperature is the specialty of Alaska science writer Bill Streever.  He has been on the North Slope when it was too cold to fly, and he has walked on fire.

HOSTS:

• Steve Heimel

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• Bill Streever, author of “Heat”
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TALK OF ALASKA ARCHIVE

Republican Senator Lamar Alexander, known for his wit and willingness to cut deals with both parties, wanted one key answer:

“I see that you have worked on the Alaska pipeline, that you’re an oil and gas engineer, you said you’ve actually fracked a gas well. You were a banker for 19 years. You’re the chief executive of a billion dollar company. How’d you get appointed by this administration?”

Ms. Jewell spent the morning and part of the afternoon defending the administration’s positions on climate change, public lands and fossil fuels.

Senator Lisa Murkowski, the top Republican on the committee made clear, the spat over a road through the Izembek National Wildlife Refuge would not be an issue at the hearing.

She said outgoing Secretary Ken Salazar needs to address the issue before leaving office.

Instead, Senator Murkowski sought to pin down Ms. Jewell on the often dueling roles of the Department.

“We need you to affirm that public lands provide not just a playground for recreational enthusiast, as important as that is, but also paychecks for countless energy producers, miners, ranchers, loggers,” she said in her opening statement.

Senator Murkowski said she worries about Ms. Jewell’s environmental leanings, she serves on the board of the National Parks Conservation Association; that she’ll put conservation in front of energy production.

Ms. Jewell had a ready answer.

“Many people that enjoy the outdoors, they jump in a car to get there. It requires fuel,” she said. “Many of the products are industry produces are produced in some way or another with materials that derive from fossil fuels.”

Most on the committee sought commitments on parochial issues in their state; some with wider appeal.

Would she commit to pursuing more oil and gas development on public lands?

“We’re blessed with many resources on federal lands, and certainly leaning in to domestic oil and gas production is an important part of the mission of, particularly the Bureau of Land Management, but also the Department of the Interior,” she said.

Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders asked her if she believed in climate change.

“There is no question in my mind that climate change is real, and the scientific evidence is there to back it up,” she responded.

On other issues, like revenue sharing for offshore oil drilling, she avoided an answer like a seasoned politician:

“I certainly have heard from a number of senators about this issue. And if I’m confirmed in this role, I look forward to better understanding the issues by different states, and hopefully bringing it to an appropriate resolution.”

Ms. Jewell seemed to satisfy most Democrats on the panel, and some Republicans.

Hanging over the hearing was Senator Murkowski’s threat to filibuster the nomination.

Ms. Jewell made overtures to Senator Murkowski; saying they both worked on TAPS in some form, that she spent years as the lead banker for the NANA Corporation, that she supports Arctic drilling, so long as it’s done safely.

Ms. Jewell’s home state senator, Maria Cantwell, lent a hand.

“This nominee has probably had more experience dealing with Alaska in a variety of ways in anybody we’ve seen since Alaska Governor Hickel served in this position 40 years ago,” Senator Cantwell said in her introduction of Ms. Jewell.

Ms. Jewell needs to pass a committee vote before the full Senate can debate the nomination. No vote is scheduled yet.

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State agencies no longer need a Department of Environmental Conservation permit to use herbicides and pesticides on state property and rights of way. That’s unless it’s sprayed from an aircraft or directly into water. The DEC recently did away with the public review and permitting requirement for using the chemicals on state land. The agency called the permit process “burdensome” and said was not commensurate with the risk. Critics say that by eliminating public oversight, the DEC is endangering human health as well as fish and wildlife habitat.

Until now, the Alaska Railroad, the Department of Transportation and other state agencies had to get a DEC permit if they planned to treat their property, like roads or other rights-of-way, with herbicides or pesticides. The permit process meant they had to provide a detailed plan that went out for public review, comment and sometimes public hearings as well. Other state and federal agencies could also weigh-in before the DEC decided whether to issue a permit and those decision could be appealed. Permits are still required for spraying directly on water or by aircraft. The DEC says that’s because the increased risk of harm to public health and the environment warrants closer review.

However, the agency has eliminated that public and government review process for land-based pesticide use.

Pamela Miller, Director of the group Alaska Community Action on Toxics, calls that decision a serious breach of the public’s trust.

“Many of our roadways and certainly the railbelt are located in close proximity to drinking water sources, places where people fish, gather greens and berries. And to simply remove public notification and the right of the public to participate in decisions about these herbicides and pesticides is a very serious assault on our democracy,” she says.

The DEC changes come at a time when the legislature has eased restrictions on cruise ship waste and Governor Sean Parnell has asked the Department Natural Resources and other agencies to look at ways of making their permitting processes more efficient.

According to Miller, out of nearly 150 public comments, only a couple individuals and state agencies supported the DEC’s regulation changes. She says a couple were neutral and the rest were opposed. Her group has asked lawmakers to take a closer look at the issue:

“We do think this is a violation of rights and interests here that are grounded in the constitution of our state and these cannot be taken away. These are rights that can’t be taken away without due process. That includes notification, our right to know and the opportunity to be heard on decisions that can affect our health and well-being.”

Miller points out that if the DOT, for example, decided to spray herbicides on land along the roadways in southeast, they could do so without public review and comment, regardless of potential runoff into drinking water sources, salmon streams or other particularly sensitive areas.

That’s not just a hypothetical situation. In a letter supporting the proposed regulation changes last summer, DOT Special Programs Manager Dan Breeden wrote that the agency had a direct interest because they intended to, “….apply herbicides in our rights-of-way, airports, and at some facilities.” The agency has used only mechanical means to clear brush for more than 20 years according to Breeden, who described several goals for vegetation control including highway vehicle safety, better visibility for pedestrians, bicyclists and animals along the road and better drainage.

Similar comments came in from the Alaska railroad, which said it, “….must apply herbicides to its right-of-way and other track-related facilities to address serious safety concerns and regulatory requirements related to the growth of vegetation…..”

While those agencies will no longer need a permit to use herbicides, the DEC says they will still have to publish public notices in a newspaper 30 days before the chemicals are applied.

“They do have to do public notice that they’re doing this so people are aware of what their plans are and can, you know, choose to avoid the area or what have you. They also have to notify DEC so we have the opportunity to inspect the application if we decide we need to.” says Bob Blankenburg, DEC Solid Waste and Pesticides Program manager.

Blankenburg says the permitting process was a problem for state agencies dealing with what he calls time-sensitive pest-management issues, “…such as invasive weeds along right of ways and in a lot of cases the inability to treat those promptly results in the weeds spreading and creating a greater problem that either needs to be addressed in the future or is not able to be addressed.”

In its written response to public comments on the issue, the DEC emphasized the federal government’s registration and labeling requirements for pesticides and maintained that the Environmental Protection Agency’s analysis of each product was, “sufficient to protect human health and the environment from unreasonable adverse effects.”

Instead of a permit, the new state regulations call for an Integrated Pest Management Plan that must be followed before pesticide and herbicide applications can occur on state-owned lands. According to Blankenburg, that requires agencies to evaluate the extent of the problem and how it should be addressed, “And then consider non-chemical means first before they choose chemical means. So, in some cases that could result in them doing that analysis and choosing not to use herbicides or pesticides.”

But, since no permit is required, that decision would be left up to the agency that’s considering the use of herbicides, not the DEC.

Anchorage Representative Les Gara was among those who submitted comments opposing the changes. He calls the integrated pest management plan requirement meaningless.

“It doesn’t do anything in terms of making sure we protect our fishing streams, nothing substantial. You can still spray pesticides along a fishing stream and according to DEC, that’s OK without any public comment at all. You can still spray in an area where…..it might be a vein that leads to somebody’s water-well, DEC won’t know. You might spray in an area where kids play or families hike. DEC won’t know,” says Gara.

He says his office is considering legislation on the issue.

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The Alaska Railroad is cutting more than 50 jobs in an effort to trim the corporation’s costs as federal grants and revenue decline sharply.

About half of the jobs are already vacant. Christopher Aadnesen is President of the Alaska Railroad. He says the cuts will come from all areas of the company, but more than 1/3 of the jobs lost are in management.

“Maybe the best way to explain it is to give you an example, my direct reports have gone from 13 to 6 and we’ve taken out lots of management positions, many of them senior management positions,” Aadnesen said.

Aadnesen says one of the company’s main revenue sources comes from shipping coal, but the railroad is operating just two coal trains a week, down from four last year, because the international coal market has weakened. Grant funding from the Federal Transit Administration has also declined sharply. Combine that with an unfunded federal mandate to implement a new safety system and Aadnesen says it adds up to a $45 million hit to the corporation.

Besides the job cuts, Aadnesen says the railroad is trimming millions of dollars by conserving fuel, changing the way it maintains vehicles, and reforming other out of date practices.

“So we have changed the company so it looks very different from the inside, but shouldn’t look different from the outside, to passengers, freight shippers, the public, hoping that as we go forward we will be nimble enough and lowered the cost base of the company enough where we can weather additional storms that may come along while we look for and hope for revenue increases to come back to get us out of this challenge,” Aadnesen said.

Since 2009, the railroad has cut nearly 300 positions out of a workforce of about 900 employees.

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A jury today ruled in favor of the City of Homer and three Homer Police officers who were accused of acting recklessly during a 2006 shootout at the Homer Airport.

The eight-member jury decided not to award any money to the plaintiff, Cherry Dietzmann, who had sought 23-million dollars in compensation for severe injuries caused to her son, Jason Anderson, Jr.

The case stems from a chaotic scene that unfolded at the airport when U.S. Marshalls, working with Homer Police and Alaska State Troopers, attempted to apprehend 31-year-old Jason Anderson, Sr., a wanted drug felon from Minnesota who had fled to Homer.

The marshals lured Anderson to the airport after convincing him there was a problem with his rented Jeep Cherokee. When police cornered him, he pulled a handgun and three Homer Police officers returned fire. Anderson, Sr. was killed during the resulting shootout and his then-two-year-old son, Jason Anderson, Jr., was shot in the head. The boy lost sight in one eye and suffered brain damage that has required 24-hour medical care ever since.

Dietzmann’s attorneys said in court that she had warned the marshals that Anderson was armed and had threatened to hurt his own children. Attorneys also refuted findings from the state medical examiner, claiming that the bullet that hit Anderson, Junior had been fired by Homer Police Officer William Hutt and not by Anderson, Sr.

In 2011, Dietzmann settled a separate lawsuit against the U.S. Marshals for $3.5 million dollars. Homer City Attorney Thomas Klinkner says the city tried to reach a settlement with Dietzmann but to no avail.

The jury reached its verdict Tuesday afternoon, following a month-long trial.

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Photo by Dave Bendinger, KDLG – Dillingham

A Dillingham couple attempted to set a new world record yesterday. They believe they have built the most air-tight house on the planet. KDLG’s Dave Bendinger stopped by as they prepared to test that theory.

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The hill where the University of Alaska Fairbanks sits is again being recognized by its Athabascan name.  A Native elder is calling it an important first step toward restoring many Athabascan place names around Fairbanks.

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Around this time of year, Juneau is known for the bustle of the legislative session — the committee hearings, the press conferences, and the many, many floor speeches. But after hours, some members of the capital gang can be found making noise of a different variety.

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Iditarod, the namesake of the dogsled race to Nome, doesn’t get a lot of visitors, and there is very little left standing that alludes to the gold rush-era importance the town once had, but it was once a bustling hub on the Historic Iditarod Trail that many prospectors journeyed through as they searched for the riches Alaska had to offer,  In the summer of 2011, APRN’s Josh Edge and KSKA’s Kristin Spack had a chance to go out to the ghost towns of Iditarod and Flat, located about 10 miles apart, with Kevin Keeler, from the Bureau of Land Management. Here’s a sneak peak inside Iditarod and once of it’s focal points, the N.C. Store.