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The deadly landslide that crashed through the outskirts of Wrangell on the night of Nov. 20, 2023, is seen from the air on the following day. The landslide killed six people and blocked a major road, the Zimovia Highway. (Photo provided by Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities)

News

From rain-drenched mountains to Arctic permafrost, Alaska landslides pose hazards

Scientists with government agencies and academia depend on each other and the public to help keep track of…

An albacore tuna is hooked on a bait pole on Oct. 9, 2012, in waters off Oregon. Tuna are normally found along the U.S. West Coast but occasionally stray into Alaska waters if temperatures are high enough. Sport anglers catch them with gear similar to that used to hook salmon. (Photo provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration/West Coast Fisheries Management and Marine Life Protection)

Sports

Brief tuna bounty in Southeast Alaska spurs excitement about new fishing opportunity

Waters off Sitka were warm enough to lure fish from the south, and local anglers took advantage of…

Isaac Updike breaks the tape at the Portland Track Festival. (Photo by Amanda Gehrich/pdxtrack)

Sports

Updike concludes historic season in steeplechase heats at World Championships

Representing Team USA, the 33-year-old from Ketchikan raced commendably in his second world championships

A whale breaches near Point Retreat on July 19. (Chloe Anderson/Juneau Empire)

Sports

Weekly Wonder: The whys of whale breaching

Why whales do the things they do remain largely a mystery to us land-bound mammals

Trees standing in water on the flooded shore of Mendenhall Lake are pictured from the Mendenhall Glacier Visitor’s Center on Sept. 15, 2025, in Juneau, Alaska. (Chloe Anderson for the Juneau Empire)

News

Updated: Flood warning canceled as Suicide Basin release comes to an end

Mendenhall Lake observed a crest of 9.6 feet as of 7 p.m.

The main campus of the University of Alaska Southeast. (Jasz Garrett / Juneau Empire)

News

Trump administration terminates University of Alaska grants for Alaska Native, Indigenous students

The full extent of the grant funding freeze across the University of Alaska system is still being analyzed

Renee Boozer, Carlos Boozer Jr. and Carlos Boozer Sr. attend the enshrinement ceremony at the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in Sprinfield, Massachusetts, on Saturday, Sept. 6, 2025. As a member of the 2008 U.S. men's Olympic team, Boozer Jr. is a member of the 2025 class. (Photo provided by Carlos Boozer Sr.)

Sports

Boozer Jr. inducted into Naismith Hall of Fame with ‘Redeem Team’

Boozer Jr. is a 1999 graduate of Juneau-Douglas: Yadaa.at Kale

Natalie Brown plays a drum and sings during an Orange Shirt Day event near the Mendenhall Wetlands viewing area in Juneau on Saturday, Sept. 30, 2023. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire)

News

‘Always in our hearts:’ September an important month for boarding school survivors

The National Day of Remembrance coincides with Congressional consideration of the boarding school healing bill

Salmon caught on the opening day of the spring Chinook salmon run in 2020 in Washougal, Washington. (Grant Hindsley/The New York Times)

News

Another bust year for Yukon River king salmon returns, sonar counters show

Fish counters show 2025 returns have again failed to meet that target after missing in 2024 as well.

The northern lights are pictured near the Mendenhall Glacier on Sept. 3, 2025. (Chloe Anderson for the Juneau Empire)

Neighbors

Weekly Wonder: Chasing the aurora

She’s hard to find, and even trickier to photograph

Photo by Martin Truffer The 18,008-foot Mount St. Elias rises above Malaspina Glacier and Sitkagi Lagoon (water body center left) in 2021.

Sports

Alaska Science Forum: The long fade of Alaska’s largest glacier

SITKAGI BLUFFS — While paddling a glacial lake complete with icebergs and milky blue water, I dipped my…

Photo by Jeff Lund/Juneau Empire The point of fishing is to catch fish, but there are other things to see and do while out on a trip.

Sports

I Went to the Woods: Fish of the summer

I was amped to be out on the polished ocean and was game for the necessary work of…

Photo courtesy Corvus Design The Anan Wildlife Observatory’s main viewing deck, shelter and spiral staircase to lower-level platforms all factored into the design award presented by the Alaska chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects.

Neighbors

Anan Observatory rebuild wins landscape architects award in Wrangell

The award recognizes the new viewing platforms, shelter, boardwalk and stairs by Corvus Design

Chloe Anderson for the Juneau Empire From left, Assembly candidates Wade Bryson, Nano Brooks, Greg Smith and Ella Adkison participate in a forum moderated by the Juneau Downtown Business Association on Thursday, Sept. 4.

News

Candidates discuss visions for Juneau at election forum

Juneau Downtown Business Association hosts Board of Education and Assembly candidate forum

The U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Storis is shown here underway, June 3, 2025, from Pascagoula, Mississippi. The Storis is the Coast Guard’s first new polar icebreaker acquisition in 25 years and will expand U.S. operational presence in the Artic Ocean. (Photo courtesy of Edison Chouest Offshore)

News

Coast Guard issues contract for major icebreaker port expansion in Seattle

The budget package also included $300 million for port construction in Juneau to support the newly commissioned Coast…

A female brown bear and her cub are pictured near Pack Creek on Admiralty Island on July 19, 2024. (Chloe Anderson for the Juneau Empire)

Sports

Bears: Beloved fuzzy Juneau residents — Part 2

Humor me for a moment and picture yourself next to a brown bear

Nathaniel Wilder / The New York Times Local fishermen use dipnets to catch salmon at the mouth of Alaska’s Kenai River, where it runs into Cook Inlet, on July 21.

News

Alaska produces a ton of gas. Soon, its biggest city might not have enough.

Officials expect that, in the next several years, they may not have enough of the fuel to keep…

A view of visitors exploring the Mendenhall Glacier Recreation Area taken from the visitor center on Monday, April 14, 2025. (Jasz Garrett / Juneau Empire)

News

Researcher is feared dead after falling into hole on Mendenhall Glacier

Officials said that the man was a resident of Italy and that they were trying to notify his…

A gray-headed chickadee feeds along the Canning River in northern Alaska in 2015. Photo by Aaron Lang.

Neighbors

Alaska Science Forum: Calling lost chickadees in far north poplars

If and when beavers do arrive, they could completely change habitats along North Slope river corridors

Isaac Updike of Ketchikan finished 16th at the World Championships track and field meet in Budapest, Hungary, on Tuesday. (Alaska Sports Report)

Sports

Ketchikan steeplechaser makes Team USA for worlds

Worlds are from Sept. 13 to 21, with steeplechase prelims starting on the first day