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Jake Blount, an award winning banjo player, is the featured artist for the Alaska Folk Festival’s 2022 show. (Courtesy photo / Michael Last)

News

Q&A: Renowned East Coast banjo performer to headline Folk Fest

Drawing his inspiration from Black and Indigenous communties back east, Blount is the featured artist for 2022.

The Juneau Police Department stood up a new missing persons database to help the community in the search for the lost. (Michael S. Lockett / Juneau Empire File)

News

Police launch local missing people database

It’s meant to help the police and community work together to find missing persons more quickly.

Michael S. Lockett / Juneau Empire Riverbend Elementary School principal Elizabeth Pisel-Davis gestures at drawings of things schoolchildren were thankful for that currently decorate the walls of the school after massive flooding from a burst pipe in January meant much the school’s interior had to be gutted.

News

New walls, news roof, new name: Riverbend undergoing major changes

The school board will vote on the name change in April.

A Coast Guardsmen rescues a 70-year-old man who fell off Mt. Verstovia while hiking on March 26, 2022. (Screenshot / USCG)

News

Coast Guard rescues 70-year-old hiker near Sitka after 200-foot fall

The man fell several hundred feet, according to the Coast Guard

JDHS’ Jake Sleppy, right, vies for the ball in a tipoff against TMHS during the regular basketball season. JDHS just ended their season with an unsuccessful championship attempt. (Michael S. Lockett / Juneau Empire File)

Sports

JDHS boys end season at state tournament

The long season gave players lots of time to refine their game.

JDHS’ Mila Hargrave (24) sinks a shot during a game against TMHS on March 5, 2022. JDHS would go on to win the match. (Michael S. Lockett / Juneau Empire)

Sports

‘We certainly got better as the season went on’: JDHS coach reflects on the completed season

Only three teams bested the Crimson Bears this season.

The Naqsralugiaq Pass in the Brooks Range is one of two passes added to FAA charts in a recent update after consulting with Alaskan aviators. (Courtesy photo / FAA)

News

FAA adds two passes in Brooks Range to charts

The addition comes as part of a push by FAA for improved aviation safety in Alaska.

Petty Officer 3rd Class Christopher Daniel, an aviation maintenance technician at Air Station Sitka, observes an oil sheen surrounding the Western Mariner, an 83-foot inspected tug, in Neva Strait March, 21, 2022. (U.S. Coast Guard / Petty Officer 1st Class Brian Wereda)

News

Recovery efforts for grounded tug near Sitka continue

Nearly a thousand gallons of diesel have been recovered from the ruptured tank.

Dozens of Ukranian dumplings, called varenyky, sit after being prepared for a benefit dinner and silent auction to benefit children in war-torn Ukraine on Friday, March 25, 2022. (Courtesy photo / Olena Zubya)

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Charity dinner and auction to benefit Ukraine

Much ado about dumplings.

Lance Fenumiai, Juneau local and rugby player for St. Vincent College and recently named All-American by National Collegiate Rugby, pauses during a game against Wheeling University. (Terry Hancock / Wheeling University)

Sports

Juneau man named All-American college rugby player

He was also the first player from his school invited to a national college rugby event.

The deadline for the Alaska Permanent Fund Dividend, which comes from the fund managed by the Alaska Permanent Fund Corporation, is coming up fast, landing on March 31, 2022. (Michael S. Lockett / Juneau Empire)

News

Deadline approaching to apply for PFD

This year’s payout is still being decided.

National Guardsmen Sgt. Andrew Hunt and Sgt. Jason Williams, survey team members for the 103rd Civil Support Team, suit up as they prepare to investigate a simulated hazardous material situation in an exercise with Juneau’s emergency organizations on march 22, 2022. (Michael S. Lockett / Juneau Empire)

News

Suiting up: Juneau agencies practice hazmat ops with National Guard, FBI

Planning for the exercise began early last year.

This Friday, March 18 photo shows an Air Force C-17 at Juneau International Airport as it ferried gear to Juneau for a hazardous materials exercise with the city and other organizations. (David Rigas / Juneau Empire)

News

City and military hold hazardous material exercise

The exercise will test the city’s response to a hazmat emergency.

Capital City Fire/Rescue personnel participate in the rescue of a capsized kayaker near Don D. Statter Harbor on March 21, 2022. (Courtesy photo / CCFR)

News

CCFR rescues kayaker near Auke Bay

The kayaker was in the water for more than 20 minutes, firefighters said.

An arch at the State Library, Archives and Museum was vandalized late last week, leaving it lopsided. (Michael S. Lockett / Juneau Empire)

News

State museum art installation vandalized

The state will repair the arch, but it will take some time.

Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé sophomore Alwen Carrillo calls out to his teammates during a game earlier this season. The Crimson Bears on Wednesday will take on top-seeded Bettye Davis East Anchorage High School to open the state tournament. (Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire File) Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé sophomore Alwen Carrillo calls out to his teammates during a game earlier this season. The Crimson Bears on Wednesday will take on top-seeded Bettye Davis East Anchorage High School to open the state tournament. (Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire File)

Sports

JDHS boys ready for state tournament

They’re shipping off to Anchorage.

An improvised heating device sparked a February fire in a vehicle near Donna’s, totally destroying the vehicle. (Courtesy photo / Capital City Fire/Rescue)

News

Fire marshal: Homemade heating device sparked February car fire

No one was injured, but the vehicle was immolated.

Police are investigating a hit and run that resulted in a serious casualty on Thursday evening. (Michael Penn / Juneau Empire File)

News

Man medevaced to Seattle following hit and run

He suffered serious injuries from being hit by the pickup truck.

Two U.S. Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcons, assigned to the 180th Fighter Wing, fly in formation after being refueled by a KC-135 Stratotanker, assigned to the 97th Air Refueling Squadron, during U.S. Northern Command Exercise Arctic Edge 2022, March 15, 2022. (U.S. Air Force / Staff Sgt. Taylor Crul)

News

Military wraps up major cold-weather exercise

More than a thousand servicemembers traveled to Alaska from across North America for the exercise.

The Mendenhall River is one of Juneau’s many water systems that was affected by the drought from 2016 to 2019. (Michael S. Lockett / Juneau Empire)

News

Project looks into causes, effects of 2016-2019 drought

Hotter weather and less rain drove the three-year drought.