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Rain at the National Weather Service Juneau station on Nov. 11 doesn’t exist as snow until hits the upper portion of nearby Thunder Mountain. So far this November has been both warmer and wetter than normal. (Photo by National Weather Service Juneau)

News

El Niño playing outsize role in Juneau’s warmer temperatures, according to National Weather Service

Early peek at numbers shows Juneau is 4.9 degrees warmer than average this November.

Jonson Kuhn / Juneau Empire File Even the Grinch got into the holiday spirit at last year’s Gallery Walk on Friday, Dec. 2, 2022.

News

An abundance of traditional and new ways to capitalize on this year’s Gallery Walk

More than 50 events scheduled Friday afternoon and evening from downtown to Douglas.

An overhead view of the landslide that struck about 11 miles south of the center of Wrangell, destroying three homes and leaving six people dead or missing. (Photo courtesy of Caleb Purviance via the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities)

News

Girl, 11, is fourth confirmed fatality of Wrangell landslide, two others still missing

Three other family members also killed; officials at town hall address debris removal, other efforts

Nathan Bishop, 58, has been missing since Saturday evening, according to the Juneau Police Department. (Photo provided by the Juneau Police Department)

News

Search continuing for Juneau resident Nathan Bishop, 58, missing since Saturday evening

Police say Bishop “physically able, but suffers from Parkinson’s and dementia.”

The Alaska Division of Insurance of some health care providers disagree about the impact of a state regulation setting minimum payments for out-of-network providers. Provider groups sued the state this week. (Photo by Valeriya/Getty Images Plus)

News

Alaska health care providers sue to keep state rule mandating minimum payments for care

State plans to end regulation on Jan. 1, citing upward pressure on prices,

About 50 people watch the lighting of the Christmas tree outside Douglas Community United Methodist Church on Friday night. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)

News

Pining and pirouetting for the holidays in Douglas

Tree lighting and Santa Skate bring early seasonal glow to community “where sunlight touches first.”

Brenda Schwartz-Yeager (right), a watercolor artist from Wrangell, discusses her works with Megan Griffin (left) and Lacey Sanders during the Juneau Public Market at Centennial Hall on Saturday. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)

News

Wrangell vendors struggle with thoughts about landslide, get lots of support at Juneau Public Market

“Everybody’s just been so thoughtful, talking to us and asking if there’s things they can do to help.”

Sunrise at Auke Rec on Nov. 12. (Photo by Joe Orsi)

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Wild Shots

To showcase our readers’ work to the widest possible audience, Wild Shots have been moved in front of…

People gather for a newly organized communal Friendsgiving celebration at the log cabin at Savikko Park on Thursday night. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)

News

Communal Friendsgiving allows some a day of thanks without observing Thanksgiving

Many Alaska Natives, other Indigenous peoples in U.S., disagree with holiday’s traditional narrative.

Debris from a massive landslide on Monday night extends into the sea at mile 11 on Zimovia Highway in Wrangell. (U.S. Coast Guard)

News

5 family members and a commercial fisherman neighbor ID’d as dead or missing in Alaska landslide

Parents and one child of family killed, two more children and adult neighbor missing.

Ann Stepetin (left) and Marion Dau (center) talk to Pauline Duncan about her woven aprons and other items for sale at the Indigenous Artists & Vendors Holiday Market on Friday at Elizabeth Peratrovich Hall. The market and nearby Juneau Public Market continue through Sunday. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)

News

Getting a warm and fuzzy feeling on a rainy Black Friday at the public markets

Annual Juneau Public Market, Indigenous Artists And Vendors Holiday Market continue through Sunday.

This photo provided by Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management shows a helicopter arriving near mile 11 of the Zimovia Highway where ground teams, including search and rescue dogs, are actively working to search areas that state geologists have determined safe for entry Wednesday in Wrangell following a massive landslide earlier in the week. Three people have died and searchers looked Wednesday for three others who remain missing after a landslide ripped through a remote Alaska fishing community on Monday. (Willis Walunga/Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management via AP)

News

Officials begin clearing debris while 3 remain missing in Wrangell landslide that left 3 dead

WRANGELL — Searchers looking for three people who remain missing after a massive landslide that killed three others…

Steller sea lions bask on rocks in the Gulf of Alaska on June 29, 2003, with the research vessel Tiglax sailing in the background. Of all NOAA-managed Alaska marine mammals, Steller sea lions were the most frequent victims of human-caused deaths and serious injuries, according to a newly released five-year report. (Photo provided by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service)

News

Steller sea lions top list of Alaska marine mammals killed by human activities

Encounters with humans from 2017 to 2021 killed hundreds of Steller sea lions and other marine mammals that…

Participants, many clad in fowl weather gear, head out onto the Airport Dike Trail during the annual Turkey Trot 5K and 1 Mile Fun Run on Thursday morning. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)

Sports

Turkey Trot participants thankful for fowl conditions

“Worst weather we’ve had in 10 years” just means burning off more calories.

Members of the chorus rehearse a portion of Handel’s “Messiah” on Wednesday evening at Ḵunéix̱ Hídi Northern Light United Church. “Part I” and the “Hallelujah Chorus” of the oratorio are scheduled to be performed at the church at 7 p.m. Saturday and 3 p.m. Sunday. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)

News

This performance of Handel’s “Messiah” is blowin’ in the wind

Re-orchestration that replaces string instruments with wind instruments scheduled this weekend.

Former Juneau Volunteer Fire Department Chief Jim Carroll (left), and Juneau Mayor and Alaska Attorney General Bruce Botelho serve traditional Thanksgiving dinner dishes to Marzena Whitmore, a volunteer who serves the filled plates to diners during the communal meal hosted by The Salvation Army Juneau Corps at the Juneau Yacht Club on Thursday. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)

News

Thankful for a spontaneous holiday feast

Hundreds share Salvation Army’s annual Thanksgiving, including some with sudden holiday plan changes.

Jerome Dennis stands about five feet from his house in Thunder Mountain Mobile Park, which suffered heat damage, including broken windows, when the house next door caught fire. (Meredith Jordan/ Juneau Empire)

News

Fire destroys one home, damages two others as stored ammunition bursts

No people or pets harmed in the Thunder Mountain Mobile Park blaze.

An encampment of homeless people is off of 1st Avenue in Anchorage on Nov. 21. (Photo by Andrew Kitchenman/Alaska Beacon)

News

Domestic violence is feeding Alaska’s homelessness crisis

Part of the series “Domestic violence in Alaska: A crisis at home.”

Jack Scholz, left, Tristan Cameron, center, and Dilip Ratnam discuss cultural upbringings in a rehearsal scene of “A Nice Indian Boy” at Perseverance Theatre on Tuesday night. The production is scheduled for the theater’s main stage from Dec. 1-17, with video on demand available Dec. 13-Jan. 22. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)

News

Intimate confines of Juneau bring new layers to familiar meet-the-family feud

Perseverance Theatre’s “A Nice Indian Boy” makes characters with big culture gaps cope on small stage.

The front page of the Juneau Empire on Nov. 25, 1985. (Photo by Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)

News

Empire Archives: Juneau’s history for the week of Nov. 26

Three decades of capital city coverage.