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A vaccine dose is prepared at a mass vaccination site in St. Mary’s County, Maryland, in 2021. Vaccination rates for Alaska children have declined in recent years, the state reports. (Maryland Executive Office of the Governor photo)

Amid national measles outbreaks, vaccination rates for Alaska children have fallen, report says

Measles, once thought eliminated in the U.S., has spread among unvaccinated people.

A vaccine dose is prepared at a mass vaccination site in St. Mary’s County, Maryland, in 2021. Vaccination rates for Alaska children have declined in recent years, the state reports. (Maryland Executive Office of the Governor photo)
Juneau singer/songwriter Annie Bartholomew rehearses with the Juneau Symphony on Thursday, May 29, 2025, in the Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé auditorium. Two folk songs by Bartholomew about women during Klondike Gold Rush will be featured in rearrangements for orchestra during performances Saturday and Sunday. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)

Juneau Symphony’s last mainstage concert of season features some notable firsts

First music by Indigenous composer, local folk singer’s songs rescored for orchestra among weekend’s works

Juneau singer/songwriter Annie Bartholomew rehearses with the Juneau Symphony on Thursday, May 29, 2025, in the Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé auditorium. Two folk songs by Bartholomew about women during Klondike Gold Rush will be featured in rearrangements for orchestra during performances Saturday and Sunday. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
Chrish Newell, right, and partner Jess Contreras, far left, compete in the Farmers Carry during the HYROX 2025 Atlanta Doubles in late April. They qualified for the World Championships scheduled Sunday, June 15, 2025, in Chicago. (Photo courtesy Chris Newell)

Chrish Newell finds strength in new sport

2012 JDHS grad in HYDROX world championships.

Chrish Newell, right, and partner Jess Contreras, far left, compete in the Farmers Carry during the HYROX 2025 Atlanta Doubles in late April. They qualified for the World Championships scheduled Sunday, June 15, 2025, in Chicago. (Photo courtesy Chris Newell)
Klas Stolpe, a sports reporter for the Juneau Empire and multiple other publications since the mid-1990s, receives the Alaska School Activities Association’s Gold Lifetime Pass for Region V this year during a ceremony at Thunder Mountain Middle School on Saturday. (Melissa Bastable Ganey / Mel G Photography)

Longtime Southeast Alaska sports reporter Klas Stolpe wins ASAA’s annual Gold Lifetime Pass award

Honor recognizes “significant service to high school students of Alaska” for at least 20 years.

Klas Stolpe, a sports reporter for the Juneau Empire and multiple other publications since the mid-1990s, receives the Alaska School Activities Association’s Gold Lifetime Pass for Region V this year during a ceremony at Thunder Mountain Middle School on Saturday. (Melissa Bastable Ganey / Mel G Photography)
Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé’s Charlie Begenyl pitches during their 10-5 victory over Ketchikan on the first day of the Region V Baseball tournament at Norman Walker Field on Thursday. (Christopher Mullen/Ketchikan Daily News)

JDHS baseball opens region tournament with win

Crimson Bears boys defeat Kayhi on Thursday, face Sitka on Friday.

Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé’s Charlie Begenyl pitches during their 10-5 victory over Ketchikan on the first day of the Region V Baseball tournament at Norman Walker Field on Thursday. (Christopher Mullen/Ketchikan Daily News)
Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé Crimson Bears freshman goalkeeper Callen Walker (1) is swarmed by teammates after saving the final shot in a penalty shootout win over Service to open the 2025 ASAA/First National Bank Alaska Soccer State Championships at Wasilla High School on Thursday, May 29, 2025. Senior teammate Kellen Chester (8) consoles Service senior Matej Omalley (2). (Klas Stolpe / Juneau Empire)

Crimson Bears freshman keeper saves seniors’ state title hopes in tournament opener

JDHS defeats Service in penalty shootout, advances to Friday’s semifinals.

Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé Crimson Bears freshman goalkeeper Callen Walker (1) is swarmed by teammates after saving the final shot in a penalty shootout win over Service to open the 2025 ASAA/First National Bank Alaska Soccer State Championships at Wasilla High School on Thursday, May 29, 2025. Senior teammate Kellen Chester (8) consoles Service senior Matej Omalley (2). (Klas Stolpe / Juneau Empire)
The Lewis Glacier on Mount Kenya, one of the few glaciers in Africa, in March. (Luis Tato/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images)

Some glaciers will vanish no matter what, study finds

Glacial ice will melt for centuries even if global temperatures stop rising now, according to new research.

The Lewis Glacier on Mount Kenya, one of the few glaciers in Africa, in March. (Luis Tato/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images)
Monitoring equipment at Suicide Basin was turned back on by the U.S. Geological Survey on Sunday, May 4, 2025. (Photo courtesy of Jamie Pierce)

UAS releases Juneau Glacial Flood Dashboard to help community plan for flooding

Website provides forecasting, depths of inundation maps and explains why glacial outbursts occur.

Monitoring equipment at Suicide Basin was turned back on by the U.S. Geological Survey on Sunday, May 4, 2025. (Photo courtesy of Jamie Pierce)
Sitka Municipal Clerk Sara Peterson, left, looks over paperwork from precinct 1 with Holley Bayne, Precinct 1 chair Alix Snelling and deputy Clerk Jess Earnshaw. durinng Wednesday night’s tally of votes at Harrigan Centennial Hall. Unofficial results have 773 in favor and 2,071 against the proposition which would have limited cruise visitors ashore to 300,000 annually, and 4,500 daily; required at least one quiet day a week with no large ships; and implemented a permit system for cruise ships. (James Poulson / Daily Sitka Sentinel)

Sitka voters reject cruise ship limits

By a more than 2-to-1 margin, voters in Wednesday’s special election turned down a ballot proposition to limit cruise ship visitation in Sitka. The vote… Continue reading

Sitka Municipal Clerk Sara Peterson, left, looks over paperwork from precinct 1 with Holley Bayne, Precinct 1 chair Alix Snelling and deputy Clerk Jess Earnshaw. durinng Wednesday night’s tally of votes at Harrigan Centennial Hall. Unofficial results have 773 in favor and 2,071 against the proposition which would have limited cruise visitors ashore to 300,000 annually, and 4,500 daily; required at least one quiet day a week with no large ships; and implemented a permit system for cruise ships. (James Poulson / Daily Sitka Sentinel)
Long time Juneau official Bob Sims, shown during action last week at Adair-Kennedy Memorial Park, has been named the 2024-25 Alaska Sports Official of the Year by a committee sponsored through the Alaska School Activities Association (ASAA) and the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS). (Klas Stolpe / Juneau Empire)

Juneau whistle blower receives state honor

Robert Sims named Alaska Sports Official of the Year.

Long time Juneau official Bob Sims, shown during action last week at Adair-Kennedy Memorial Park, has been named the 2024-25 Alaska Sports Official of the Year by a committee sponsored through the Alaska School Activities Association (ASAA) and the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS). (Klas Stolpe / Juneau Empire)
The front page of the Juneau Empire on May 26, 1995. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
The front page of the Juneau Empire on May 26, 1995. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
A hemp crop waits to be harvested in Lincolnshire for British CBD oil producer Crop England on Aug. 27, 2021, in Grantham, England. The farm supplies Crop England, a British CBD oil producer founded in 2019 by Mike and Jackie Lamyman. (Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)

Judge: Alaska limits on intoxicating hemp products do not violate the U.S. Constitution

Ruling may end 2023 legal challenge and mean such products are restricted to marijuana retailers here.

A hemp crop waits to be harvested in Lincolnshire for British CBD oil producer Crop England on Aug. 27, 2021, in Grantham, England. The farm supplies Crop England, a British CBD oil producer founded in 2019 by Mike and Jackie Lamyman. (Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)
Butch Laiti is president of the Douglas Indian Association, a tribal government in Juneau. The association has purchased a fishing boat and wants to buy a commercial fishing permit for its members to share, but a state law bars it from doing so. (Nathaniel Herz/Northern Journal)

Coastal Alaskans see commercial fishing limits as a ‘crisis.’ Lawmakers don’t.

Legislature adjourned without addressing expanding access to commercial fishing careers.

Butch Laiti is president of the Douglas Indian Association, a tribal government in Juneau. The association has purchased a fishing boat and wants to buy a commercial fishing permit for its members to share, but a state law bars it from doing so. (Nathaniel Herz/Northern Journal)
Juneau ranked eighth out of 12 communities in an annual study asking business leaders how they feel about the business climate in Southeast Alaska. (City and Borough of Juneau)

Uncertainty dragging down mood of Southeast business leaders in annual survey

Tariffs, layoffs, other Trump policies result in “second-lowest levels of positivity” since 2010.

Juneau ranked eighth out of 12 communities in an annual study asking business leaders how they feel about the business climate in Southeast Alaska. (City and Borough of Juneau)
A group of fourth-grade Harborview Elementary School students share the digging and planting task at Juneau’s newest accredited arboretum on Arbor Day, celebrated Monday, May 19, 2025. (Laurie Craig / For the Juneau Empire)

Planting of new trees at Evergreen Cemetery celebrate its new status as an arboretum

More than 100 donated trees of 42 varieties planted during past decades.

A group of fourth-grade Harborview Elementary School students share the digging and planting task at Juneau’s newest accredited arboretum on Arbor Day, celebrated Monday, May 19, 2025. (Laurie Craig / For the Juneau Empire)
Olga Lijo Serans, owner of Hearthside Books, discusses its inclusion in USA Today’s voting competition to determine the “10 Best Independent Bookstores” in the U.S. at her Nugget Mall branch on Monday, May 26, 2025. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)

Hearthside Books and Toys among 20 contenders in online vote for 10 best independent bookstores in US

USA Today contest that ends June 2 also includes famous stores such as Strand Book Store in NYC.

Olga Lijo Serans, owner of Hearthside Books, discusses its inclusion in USA Today’s voting competition to determine the “10 Best Independent Bookstores” in the U.S. at her Nugget Mall branch on Monday, May 26, 2025. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
KINY’s “prize patrol” vehicle is parked outside the Local First Media Group Inc.’s building on Wednesday, June 19, 2024. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire file photo)

KINY’s parent company enters Chapter 15 bankruptcy proceedings; local co-owner says operations unaffected

Company that owns 11 Southeast Alaska radio stations placed in receivership over defaulted $8.2M loan.

KINY’s “prize patrol” vehicle is parked outside the Local First Media Group Inc.’s building on Wednesday, June 19, 2024. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire file photo)
Klas Stolpe / Juneau Empire
Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé freshman sprinter Bella Connally (4) wins the girls 100-meters in a Crimson Bears sweep as classmates Lydia Goins (7), Addie Hartman (5) and Shandiin Frommherz (3) trail her across the finish during the Region V Track & Field Championships at Juneau’s Thunder Mountain Middle School on Friday.

JDHS girls win Region V track championship over Kayhi

Crimson Bears top DI school, Sitka Wolves top DII competitions.

Klas Stolpe / Juneau Empire
Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé freshman sprinter Bella Connally (4) wins the girls 100-meters in a Crimson Bears sweep as classmates Lydia Goins (7), Addie Hartman (5) and Shandiin Frommherz (3) trail her across the finish during the Region V Track & Field Championships at Juneau’s Thunder Mountain Middle School on Friday.
A payday advance neon sign is seen in this undated photo. (EHStock/Getty Images)

Alaska Legislature votes to limit high interest rates and fees for payday loan lenders

On the 120th and last day of Alaska’s annual legislative session, the state House passed a bill that would curb high interest rates and fees… Continue reading

A payday advance neon sign is seen in this undated photo. (EHStock/Getty Images)
Athletes with a chance for state titles include 1,600-meter runners: Sitka senior Connor Hitchcock, Wrangell junior Boomchain Loucks and Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé seniors Ferguson Wheeler, Nick Iverson, Owen Woodruff and Sage Janes, shown in the combined 1,600-meters during the Region V Track & Field Championships at Juneau's Thunder Mountain Middle School on Saturday. (Klas Stolpe / Juneau Empire)

JDHS track and field athletes set for state field in Anchorage

Crimson Bears have multiple chances for championships this weekend

Athletes with a chance for state titles include 1,600-meter runners: Sitka senior Connor Hitchcock, Wrangell junior Boomchain Loucks and Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé seniors Ferguson Wheeler, Nick Iverson, Owen Woodruff and Sage Janes, shown in the combined 1,600-meters during the Region V Track & Field Championships at Juneau's Thunder Mountain Middle School on Saturday. (Klas Stolpe / Juneau Empire)