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(Michael Penn / Juneau Empire file photo)

Police calls for Sunday, Dec. 31, 2023

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

(Michael Penn / Juneau Empire file photo)
Brett Weideman, wearing a banana costume, and his son Bodhi, 7, dressed as a Pikachu, celebrate the New Year by emerging from Auke Bay during the 33rd annual Juneau Polar Bear Dip at the Auke Village Recreation Area on Monday. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)

Hundreds wave goodbye to last year, plunge into 2024 during 33rd annual Juneau Polar Bear Dip

Participants embrace cold waters of Auke Bay, prospects for 2024 with equal enthusiasm.

Brett Weideman, wearing a banana costume, and his son Bodhi, 7, dressed as a Pikachu, celebrate the New Year by emerging from Auke Bay during the 33rd annual Juneau Polar Bear Dip at the Auke Village Recreation Area on Monday. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
(Juneau Empire file photo)

Aurora forecast for the week of Jan. 1

These forecasts are courtesy of the University of Alaska Fairbanks’ Geophysical Institute and available online, along with more data, at www.gi.alaska.edu/monitors/aurora-forecast. The listings below will… Continue reading

(Juneau Empire file photo)
(Michael Penn / Juneau Empire file photo)

Police calls for Saturday, Dec. 30, 2023

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

(Michael Penn / Juneau Empire file photo)
(Michael Penn / Juneau Empire file photo)

Police calls for Friday, Dec. 29, 2023

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

(Michael Penn / Juneau Empire file photo)
A U.S. Forest Service map shows Wrangell Island and the location of the Zimovia Highway, which runs along Zimovia Strait. Rockfall-mitigation work planned this summer is part of a yearslong project funded in 2020. It targets different sites than the area buried in the fatal Nov. 20 landslide. (Image from U.S. Forest Service map of the Tongass National Forest)

Rockfall-mitigation work on tap for Wrangell after deadly landslide

The Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities is seeking bids for rockfall-prevention work along a highway in Wrangell that was the site of a… Continue reading

A U.S. Forest Service map shows Wrangell Island and the location of the Zimovia Highway, which runs along Zimovia Strait. Rockfall-mitigation work planned this summer is part of a yearslong project funded in 2020. It targets different sites than the area buried in the fatal Nov. 20 landslide. (Image from U.S. Forest Service map of the Tongass National Forest)
The sun sets on snow-covered boats in Auke Bay on Jan. 10, 2022. On Jan. 1, 2024, most local docks and harbors fees will increase 9%. (Photo by the City and Borough of Juneau Docks and Harbors Department)

Changes in state minimum wage and alcohol laws, local harbor fees and sales taxes coming Jan. 1

Free IDs for released prisoners, lifetime trapping licenses for disabled vets also start in 2024.

The sun sets on snow-covered boats in Auke Bay on Jan. 10, 2022. On Jan. 1, 2024, most local docks and harbors fees will increase 9%. (Photo by the City and Borough of Juneau Docks and Harbors Department)
A skier skates on Feb. 28, 2021 to the high point of the Spencer Loop trail in the Hillside neighborhood of Anchorage. (Photo by Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon)

With New Year’s resolutions on the way, Alaska health officials tout Fresh Start program

Just in time for people to declare their resolutions for 2024, the Alaska Department of Health is publicizing some success stories from a self-improvement program… Continue reading

A skier skates on Feb. 28, 2021 to the high point of the Spencer Loop trail in the Hillside neighborhood of Anchorage. (Photo by Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon)
A polar bear walks along the shore in Alaska on Sept. 6, 2019. A different animal discovered dead in October near Utqiagvik is now confirmed to be the world’s first documented case of highly pathogenic avian influenza in a polar bear.(Photo provided by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service)

Avian influenza death of Alaska polar bear is a global first and a sign of the virus’ persistence

A polar bear found dead on Alaska’s North Slope is the first of the species known to have been killed by the highly pathogenic avian… Continue reading

A polar bear walks along the shore in Alaska on Sept. 6, 2019. A different animal discovered dead in October near Utqiagvik is now confirmed to be the world’s first documented case of highly pathogenic avian influenza in a polar bear.(Photo provided by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service)
Indigenous celebrations took center stage in Juneau in 2023, including the debut of the Kootéeyaa Deiyí (Totem Pole Trail), launch of the Hōkūle‘a 47-month Polynesian canoe voyage and Áak’w Rock Indigenous music festival. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire file photos)
Capital City Weekly

Juneau’s top 10 arts and culture stories of 2023

Indigenous events and celebrations took center stage throughout the year.

Indigenous celebrations took center stage in Juneau in 2023, including the debut of the Kootéeyaa Deiyí (Totem Pole Trail), launch of the Hōkūle‘a 47-month Polynesian canoe voyage and Áak’w Rock Indigenous music festival. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire file photos)
(Michael Penn / Juneau Empire file photo)

Police calls for Thursday, Dec. 28, 2023

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

(Michael Penn / Juneau Empire file photo)
A cruise ship visitor prepares to depart Juneau, a view of Telephone Hill from above and a home falls into the flooded Mendenhall River. (Photos by Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire, City and Borough of Juneau, and a screenshot from a video by Sam Nolan)

Juneau’s top 10 news stories for 2023

Mendenhall Glacier issues, hillside areas, unhappiness with local leaders head the headlines.

A cruise ship visitor prepares to depart Juneau, a view of Telephone Hill from above and a home falls into the flooded Mendenhall River. (Photos by Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire, City and Borough of Juneau, and a screenshot from a video by Sam Nolan)
S-s-s-s-omething scary hiding in a downtown garden on Dec. 11.

Art in Unusual Places

The Juneau Empire welcomes reader-submitted photos of art in unusual or unexpected places. To submit, email your photos and captions to editor@juneauempire.com. All photos in… Continue reading

S-s-s-s-omething scary hiding in a downtown garden on Dec. 11.
(Michael Penn / Juneau Empire file photo)

Police calls for Wednesday, Dec. 27, 2023

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

(Michael Penn / Juneau Empire file photo)
A sign asks visitors to exercise restraint at a food pantry in Eagle River on April 21, 2023. (Mark Thiessen / Associated Press file photo)

Alaska opts out of $40 per-child summer EBT program

Administrative requirements “greatly exceeds the benefit that would be issued to children,” state says

A sign asks visitors to exercise restraint at a food pantry in Eagle River on April 21, 2023. (Mark Thiessen / Associated Press file photo)
(Michael Penn / Juneau Empire file photo)

Police calls for Tuesday, Dec. 26, 2023

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

(Michael Penn / Juneau Empire file photo)
A fire hose lies along an uphill driveway to a residence in the 15000 block of Glacier Highway that caught fire early Thursday morning. Firefighters were forced to pull the hose about 100 yards up the driveway to the home because the fire truck was unable to access it due to slippery conditions. (Photo by Capital City Fire/Rescue)

Fire damages front of home near Auke Village Recreation Area

All occupants escape house unharmed, slippery driveway complicates firefighters’ efforts

A fire hose lies along an uphill driveway to a residence in the 15000 block of Glacier Highway that caught fire early Thursday morning. Firefighters were forced to pull the hose about 100 yards up the driveway to the home because the fire truck was unable to access it due to slippery conditions. (Photo by Capital City Fire/Rescue)
The front page of the Juneau Empire on Dec. 30, 2005. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
Capital City Weekly

Empire Archives: Juneau’s history for the week of Dec. 31

Three decades of capital city coverage.

The front page of the Juneau Empire on Dec. 30, 2005. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
The ocean surface at the Chukchi Borderland is seen on Aug. 10, 2016, from the Coast Guard icebreaking Cutter Healy. At the time, an international and multi-disciplinary team of scientists, media personnel, and educators were conducting a mission to the Arctic’s Chukchi Borderland onboard the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Healy. That mission, called Hidden Ocean 2016, was among the many scientific voyages conducted by the Healy in the Arctic each summer and fall. The Chukchi Borderland is an area of complex underwater topography located about 600 miles north of the Bering Strait. The area is part of the large swath of newly mapped extended continental shelf in the Arctic where the U.S. is seeking to assert sovereignty. (Photo provided by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration)

U.S. preparing to claim new ocean territory off Arctic Alaska and in central Bering Sea

Includes an area within the Arctic Ocean that is bigger than California.

The ocean surface at the Chukchi Borderland is seen on Aug. 10, 2016, from the Coast Guard icebreaking Cutter Healy. At the time, an international and multi-disciplinary team of scientists, media personnel, and educators were conducting a mission to the Arctic’s Chukchi Borderland onboard the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Healy. That mission, called Hidden Ocean 2016, was among the many scientific voyages conducted by the Healy in the Arctic each summer and fall. The Chukchi Borderland is an area of complex underwater topography located about 600 miles north of the Bering Strait. The area is part of the large swath of newly mapped extended continental shelf in the Arctic where the U.S. is seeking to assert sovereignty. (Photo provided by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration)
A chart shows gale-force winds of up to 70 miles per hour are expected in downtown Juneau and Douglas on Wednesday. (National Weather Service Juneau)

Gale-force winds of 70 mph expected in parts of Juneau starting Wednesday afternoon

Wet week of snow and rain also ahead as new front moves in, according to forecast

A chart shows gale-force winds of up to 70 miles per hour are expected in downtown Juneau and Douglas on Wednesday. (National Weather Service Juneau)