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Chloe Anderson / Juneau Empire
A pod of killer whales is pictured in the Lynn Canal on June 3.

Weekly Wonder: The gray area around black and white

Orcinus orca loosely translates to “barrel-chested creature from hell”

Chloe Anderson / Juneau Empire
A pod of killer whales is pictured in the Lynn Canal on June 3.
President Donald Trump and President Vladimir Putin of Russia during a joint news conference in Helsinki, Finland, July 16, 2018. President Trump is pushing to end the war in Ukraine, but analysts say the Russian leader could turn a hastily-planned meeting to his advantage. (Doug Mills/The New York Times)

Trump to meet Putin at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage

Trump was expected to make what amounted to a day trip to Alaska to meet with Putin.

President Donald Trump and President Vladimir Putin of Russia during a joint news conference in Helsinki, Finland, July 16, 2018. President Trump is pushing to end the war in Ukraine, but analysts say the Russian leader could turn a hastily-planned meeting to his advantage. (Doug Mills/The New York Times)
The Mendenhall river is pictured from Botherhood Bridge on Aug. 11, 2025. (Chloe Anderson for the Juneau Empire)

CBJ, CCFR and others share flood preparedness updates ahead of expected annual flood event

Due to an atmospheric river the Juneau area experienced this weekend, both lake and river levels have risen

The Mendenhall river is pictured from Botherhood Bridge on Aug. 11, 2025. (Chloe Anderson for the Juneau Empire)
A screenshot from the USGS monitoring location of the basin shows the status of the area as of Aug. 11, 2025.

Suicide Basin reaches capacity; CBJ urges residents in inundation zone to prep for evacuation

In the past, it has taken up to six days for the outburst flooding event to begin after reaching this point

A screenshot from the USGS monitoring location of the basin shows the status of the area as of Aug. 11, 2025.
Sailors participate in the commissioning ceremony for U.S. Coast Guard polar icebreaker Storis, on Sunday, Aug. 10, 2025, in Juneau, Alaska. (Image courtesy the Office of U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan)

U.S. Coast Guard adds icebreaker to fleet for first time in 25 years

Federal officials see the refurbished ship Storis as the first of many new additions and a statement of sovereignty in the Arctic under the Trump administration

Sailors participate in the commissioning ceremony for U.S. Coast Guard polar icebreaker Storis, on Sunday, Aug. 10, 2025, in Juneau, Alaska. (Image courtesy the Office of U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan)
President Donald Trump arrives to deliver remarks at an event at the White House in Washington, Aug. 7, 2025. Airstrikes on Ukraine by Russia on Friday came the day that President Trump’s deadline expired for Russia’s leader to agree to end the war. (Haiyun Jiang/The New York Times)

Trump says he will meet with Putin in Alaska next week

The meeting comes as he tries to secure a deal to end the war between Russia and Ukraine

  • Aug 8, 2025
  • By Tyler Pager and David E. Sanger c.2025 The New York Times Company
  • State & Legislature
President Donald Trump arrives to deliver remarks at an event at the White House in Washington, Aug. 7, 2025. Airstrikes on Ukraine by Russia on Friday came the day that President Trump’s deadline expired for Russia’s leader to agree to end the war. (Haiyun Jiang/The New York Times)
Photos by Delcenia Cosman/Homer News
Salmonfest-goers crowd in front of the Ocean Stage during Blackwater Railroad’s performance on Saturday, Aug. 2, at the Kenai Peninsula Fairgrounds in Ninilchik.

Celebrating salmon, art and culture

Salmonfest was held in Ninilchik last weekend, featuring music, community and advocacy

Photos by Delcenia Cosman/Homer News
Salmonfest-goers crowd in front of the Ocean Stage during Blackwater Railroad’s performance on Saturday, Aug. 2, at the Kenai Peninsula Fairgrounds in Ninilchik.
A meter stick laid alongside the damaged petroglyph rock shows the size of the stone. (Photo courtesy U.S. Forest Service)

Officials respond to vandalism that damaged a petroglyph rock at Wrangell beach site

A petroglyph rock was found split in half last month

  • Aug 8, 2025
  • By Larry Persily Wrangell Sentinel
  • Local News
A meter stick laid alongside the damaged petroglyph rock shows the size of the stone. (Photo courtesy U.S. Forest Service)
Isaac Updike breaks the tape at the Portland Track Festival. (Photo by Amanda Gehrich/pdxtrack)

Ketchikan’s Updike finishes 5th in steeple at US nationals

Updike was running in his seventh national final

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

Traveling nurse charged with murder of 78-year-old Southcentral Alaska man

John “Skip” Dove Jr. was found on Tuesday stabbed to death in his home off Sports Lake Road north of Soldotna.

Alaska State Troopers logo.
U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr. and Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, listen to a question asked at a news conference held Tuesday at the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium headquarters in Anchorage. At the event, which was part of Kennedy’s itinerary during his Alaska trip, the secretary made several claims about vaccines that are disputed by medical experts. (Photo by Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon)

US Sec. Kennedy, in Alaska trip, repeats doubts of vaccines, while promising new ‘universal vaccine’

Comments follow the secretary’s decision to axe funding for mRNA vaccine development

U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr. and Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, listen to a question asked at a news conference held Tuesday at the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium headquarters in Anchorage. At the event, which was part of Kennedy’s itinerary during his Alaska trip, the secretary made several claims about vaccines that are disputed by medical experts. (Photo by Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon)
The Alaska Capitol is photographed Friday, July 11, 2025, in Juneau, Alaska. (Photo by Erin Thompson/Juneau Empire)

Special session continues in almost-empty Alaska Capitol building

Most state legislators have left Juneau and aren’t scheduled to meet again until Aug. 19 due to differences over the agenda

The Alaska Capitol is photographed Friday, July 11, 2025, in Juneau, Alaska. (Photo by Erin Thompson/Juneau Empire)
Denali, the tallest mountain in the United States, is seen in this undated photo. (Denali National Park and Preserve photo)

Driver dies after hitting a moose near Denali National Park

The National Park Service said it was investigating the crash

Denali, the tallest mountain in the United States, is seen in this undated photo. (Denali National Park and Preserve photo)
Alaska National Guard courtesy photo
Multiple homes and roads are seen inundated in the Mendenhall Glacier Basin following an Aug. 6, 2024, outburst flood from the Mendenhall Glacier.

Alaskans work to analyze and reduce risks of glacial outburst flooding

As residents of Juneau use new information to gird for near-annual floods, scientists are studying glacier dynamics to better understand what the future holds

Alaska National Guard courtesy photo
Multiple homes and roads are seen inundated in the Mendenhall Glacier Basin following an Aug. 6, 2024, outburst flood from the Mendenhall Glacier.
A flying bat shows its extended hand and fingers of its “hand-wing.” (Photo by Bob Armstrong/courtesy)

On the Trails: Bats in the belfry

There are now six species of bat known to be resident in Southeast

A flying bat shows its extended hand and fingers of its “hand-wing.” (Photo by Bob Armstrong/courtesy)
Humpback whales bubblenet feed in Saginaw Channel on July 18, 2025, in Juneau, Alaska. (Photo by Chloe Anderson/Juneau Empire)

Weekly Wonder: Bubblenet feeding shows the humanity in humpback whales

Bubblenet feeding is a complex cooperative behavior handed down from one generation of whales to the next

Humpback whales bubblenet feed in Saginaw Channel on July 18, 2025, in Juneau, Alaska. (Photo by Chloe Anderson/Juneau Empire)
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Coleman, Hertberg rule Long Course at Aukeman Triathlon

Will Coleman passed John Bursell on the last leg to win the Long Course at the Aukeman Triathlon on Sunday, Aug. 3, in Juneau. Emily… Continue reading

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Larisa Koenig, who left Wrangell as a young child in the late 1970s and now lives in Washington state, is the writer for a video production that focuses on a fictional tribe and Indigenous culture, with characters and experiences inspired by her own life. (Courtesy photo)

Writer with Wrangell roots writes for show highlighting Native culture

As a child, Larisa Koenig experienced a vision of her grandfather being mortally injured during a totem raising that she credits with saving him from… Continue reading

Larisa Koenig, who left Wrangell as a young child in the late 1970s and now lives in Washington state, is the writer for a video production that focuses on a fictional tribe and Indigenous culture, with characters and experiences inspired by her own life. (Courtesy photo)
Illustration by Clara Mooney

Woven Peoples and Place: Fireweed jelly with Haida Botanicals

The land guides us in lessons if we lend our eyes and ears to hear it

Illustration by Clara Mooney
The joint House and Senate majorities of the Alaska Legislature hold a press availability after the adjournment of the Legislature’s special session in Juneau, Alaska, on Saturday, Aug. 2, 2025. (Screenshot courtesy Gavel Alaska/KTOO)

Alaska Legislature adjourns after overriding governor vetoes

Gov. Mike Dunleavy said he would “possibly” call another special session before January

The joint House and Senate majorities of the Alaska Legislature hold a press availability after the adjournment of the Legislature’s special session in Juneau, Alaska, on Saturday, Aug. 2, 2025. (Screenshot courtesy Gavel Alaska/KTOO)