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Graduates Emily Hatley, Lara Millette, Autumn Levy, Rosaline Westfall, Rylee Johnson and Jarvis Evans throw their caps in the air after the commencement ceremony held Sunday afternoon at the University of Alaska Southeast. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire)

UAS celebrates annual graduation ceremony

Indigenous students were honored in annual Native Graduation Celebration.

Graduates Emily Hatley, Lara Millette, Autumn Levy, Rosaline Westfall, Rylee Johnson and Jarvis Evans throw their caps in the air after the commencement ceremony held Sunday afternoon at the University of Alaska Southeast. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire)
Hundreds walk the waterfront near Elizabeth Peratrovich Plaza Saturday afternoon during the 2023 Juneau Maritime Festival. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire)

13th annual Maritime Festival welcomes record-breaking number of vendors

Hundreds flocked to Elizabeth Peratrovich Plaza on the Saturday afternoon.

Hundreds walk the waterfront near Elizabeth Peratrovich Plaza Saturday afternoon during the 2023 Juneau Maritime Festival. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire)
Owners Patsy Anderson-Dunn and Kim Anderson in front of Mendenhall Mall today. (Courtesy Photo / Patsy Anderson-Dunn)

Skateland to Glam: A history of the Mendenhall Mall

If you think the Mendenhall Mall is dead, you haven’t been there lately. Three years ago, Mendenhall Mall — the 200,000-square-foot shopping center in the… Continue reading

Owners Patsy Anderson-Dunn and Kim Anderson in front of Mendenhall Mall today. (Courtesy Photo / Patsy Anderson-Dunn)
Hiram Henry, 48, wins the 7.5-mile run in the Magnificent Mendenhall Mudpuddle Meet on Saturday. (Courtesy Photo / Quinn Tracy/ Heather Parker)
Hiram Henry, 48, wins the 7.5-mile run in the Magnificent Mendenhall Mudpuddle Meet on Saturday. (Courtesy Photo / Quinn Tracy/ Heather Parker)

Henry, Dorn, Taintor top Magnificent Mendenhall Mudpuddle Meet

Rerouted course included nearly 1-mile hill.

Hiram Henry, 48, wins the 7.5-mile run in the Magnificent Mendenhall Mudpuddle Meet on Saturday. (Courtesy Photo / Quinn Tracy/ Heather Parker)
Hiram Henry, 48, wins the 7.5-mile run in the Magnificent Mendenhall Mudpuddle Meet on Saturday. (Courtesy Photo / Quinn Tracy/ Heather Parker)
Sven Haakanson Jr. (center) helps unwind the small intestine of a Kodiak brown bear with the help of Peter Otsea (right) while Haakanson leads a bear gut processing workshop Saturday afternoon at the Alaska State Museum. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire)
Sven Haakanson Jr. (center) helps unwind the small intestine of a Kodiak brown bear with the help of Peter Otsea (right) while Haakanson leads a bear gut processing workshop Saturday afternoon at the Alaska State Museum. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire)
Julia Keefe, left, guides her Indigenous Big Band through a performance at Elizabeth Peratrovich Hall to open this spring’s Juneau Jazz & Classics festival on Friday night. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)

Music for the missing woman in red

Indigenous Big Band pays tribute to national day of remembrance in JJ&C’s opening concert

Julia Keefe, left, guides her Indigenous Big Band through a performance at Elizabeth Peratrovich Hall to open this spring’s Juneau Jazz & Classics festival on Friday night. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
Sightseeing buses and tourists are seen at a pullout popular for taking in views of North America's tallest peak, Denali, in Denali National Park and Preserve in August 2016. (AP Photo / Becky Bohrer)

Denali National Park worker dies after triggering avalanche

DENALI NATIONAL PARK AND PRESERVE — A Denali National Park and Preserve employee died when he was caught in an avalanche while skiing in the… Continue reading

Sightseeing buses and tourists are seen at a pullout popular for taking in views of North America's tallest peak, Denali, in Denali National Park and Preserve in August 2016. (AP Photo / Becky Bohrer)
(Michael Penn / Juneau Empire File)

Police calls for Saturday, May 6, 2023

This report contains information from law enforcement and public safety agencies.

(Michael Penn / Juneau Empire File)
Catherine Edwards, co-chair of Tlingit and Haida’s Violence Against Women Task Force hugs Áakʼw Ḵwáan spokesperson Fran Houston at at the steps of the Alaska State Capitol Friday evening for a rally and march to recognize Missing and Murdered Indigenous Peoples Awareness Day held each year on May 5. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire)

‘This is now a plea’: Rally brings awareness to missing and murdered Indigenous people

“We want answers — our families deserve answers on what happened to our people.”

Catherine Edwards, co-chair of Tlingit and Haida’s Violence Against Women Task Force hugs Áakʼw Ḵwáan spokesperson Fran Houston at at the steps of the Alaska State Capitol Friday evening for a rally and march to recognize Missing and Murdered Indigenous Peoples Awareness Day held each year on May 5. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire)
Senate President Gary Stevens, a Kodiak Republican, listens to Sen. Löki Tobin, an Anchorage Democrat, as she speaks in support of a bill Stevens sponsored that would require Alaska high school students to complete a civics education course or receive a passing score on a civics assessment exam in order to graduate. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire)

Senate passes bill implementing new civics requirements to graduate high school

The bill advances as recent national data shows declining test scores on the topic.

Senate President Gary Stevens, a Kodiak Republican, listens to Sen. Löki Tobin, an Anchorage Democrat, as she speaks in support of a bill Stevens sponsored that would require Alaska high school students to complete a civics education course or receive a passing score on a civics assessment exam in order to graduate. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire)
Left to right, CCFR Captain John Adams and Engineer Sam Berni stand before family and friends during a badge pinning ceremony on Thursday at Station 1 in Juneau. Adams was promoted to captain and Berni to engineer. (Jonson Kuhn / Juneau Empire)

CCFR celebrates two promotions with badge pinning ceremony

Firefighters John Adams and Sam Berni move up the ladder.

Left to right, CCFR Captain John Adams and Engineer Sam Berni stand before family and friends during a badge pinning ceremony on Thursday at Station 1 in Juneau. Adams was promoted to captain and Berni to engineer. (Jonson Kuhn / Juneau Empire)
Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire
State Rep. Andi Story, D-Juneau, explains during Wednesday’s floor session how a bill she is sponsoring will add to the number of Alaska Native languages officially recognized by the state and expand the role of a Native language preservation council.

Alaska Native language expansion passes House

Bill by Juneau lawmaker adds more officially recognized dialects, expands preservation council’s role

Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire
State Rep. Andi Story, D-Juneau, explains during Wednesday’s floor session how a bill she is sponsoring will add to the number of Alaska Native languages officially recognized by the state and expand the role of a Native language preservation council.
A red dress hangs on a tree in the courtyard at Winnipeg City Hall during a rally, Thursday, Dec. 15, 2022, in Winnipeg, Manitoba, to call on the city to cease dumping operations at Brady landfill and conduct a search for the remains of missing and murdered indigenous women believed to be buried there. Friday, May 5, 2023, marks Missing and Murdered Indigenous Peoples Awareness Day, a solemn day meant to draw more attention to the disproportionate number of Indigenous people who have vanished or have faced violence. (Daniel Crump / The Canadian Press)

Wearing red, Indigenous families honor missing relatives

“I join in raising awareness about an injustice that was once invisible.”

A red dress hangs on a tree in the courtyard at Winnipeg City Hall during a rally, Thursday, Dec. 15, 2022, in Winnipeg, Manitoba, to call on the city to cease dumping operations at Brady landfill and conduct a search for the remains of missing and murdered indigenous women believed to be buried there. Friday, May 5, 2023, marks Missing and Murdered Indigenous Peoples Awareness Day, a solemn day meant to draw more attention to the disproportionate number of Indigenous people who have vanished or have faced violence. (Daniel Crump / The Canadian Press)
`Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire
James and Claudia Criss of Juneau testify Tuesday during a House State Affairs Committee meeting in opposition to a bill that would repeal ranked choice voting and open primaries in Alaska.

Will elections bills get a vote this session?

Repeal of ranked choice voting appears doomed to defeat, far-ranging procedural changes still viable

`Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire
James and Claudia Criss of Juneau testify Tuesday during a House State Affairs Committee meeting in opposition to a bill that would repeal ranked choice voting and open primaries in Alaska.
In October 2007, 1-year-old Anna Rozell admired a statue of Balto in Central Park of New York City. (Courtesy Photo / Ned Rozell)

Alaska Science Forum: Long after run to glory, Balto lives on

Balto gives scientists insight into what makes Alaska sled dogs and other working breeds unique.

In October 2007, 1-year-old Anna Rozell admired a statue of Balto in Central Park of New York City. (Courtesy Photo / Ned Rozell)
Kimberly Farmer / Unsplash

Opinion: The relationship between financial literacy and paying taxes

Paying state and local taxes will be part of the household budgets they learn to manage.

  • May 5, 2023
  • By Rich Moniak
Kimberly Farmer / Unsplash
Bears greet each other on Chichagof Island in this picture from the fall of 2022 that won first prize for best feature photo from the Alaska Press Club during its annual awards banquet in April. It was the main photo for a Planet Alaska feature published in the Capital City Weekly in October of 2022. (Photo by Elleana Elliott)

Empire staff and contributors earn 11 Alaska Press Club awards

The Juneau Empire won 11 Alaska Press Club awards at its annual banquet, which took place five days after the newspaper announced a cutback in… Continue reading

Bears greet each other on Chichagof Island in this picture from the fall of 2022 that won first prize for best feature photo from the Alaska Press Club during its annual awards banquet in April. It was the main photo for a Planet Alaska feature published in the Capital City Weekly in October of 2022. (Photo by Elleana Elliott)
(Michael Penn / Juneau Empire File)

Police calls for Thursday, May 4, 2023

This report contains information from law enforcement and public safety agencies.

(Michael Penn / Juneau Empire File)
Jane Hale (Courtesy Photo)

Coming Out: Making mustard

Pardon my caps, but I LOVE THAT STUFF.

Jane Hale (Courtesy Photo)
Annie Bartholomew’s debut album, Sisters of White Chapel, only at Kindred Post during May First Friday. Annie will be at the shop with her banjo playing songs from the release and selling early copies of the CD featuring of songs inspired by women who came to Alaska during the Klondike Gold Rush. (Courtesy Photo / Juneau Arts and Humanities Council)
Annie Bartholomew’s debut album, Sisters of White Chapel, only at Kindred Post during May First Friday. Annie will be at the shop with her banjo playing songs from the release and selling early copies of the CD featuring of songs inspired by women who came to Alaska during the Klondike Gold Rush. (Courtesy Photo / Juneau Arts and Humanities Council)