News

Around Town for Monday, Jan. 25

Introduction to Microsoft Excel, 9-11 a.m., The Learning Connection, 210 Ferry Way. Learn to use Excel to organize and calculate data in the workplace. Free.… Continue reading

In this photo taken Jan. 14, Anchorage School District central kitchen manager and chef Karen Richardson watches as Sophie Novakovitch, 5, tries a new menu item - maple sweet potato cubes - at Huffman Elementary school in Anchorage.

School district tries building meals kids will buy – and eat

ANCHORAGE — The Anchorage School District’s dietitian is fed up with kids who hate their school lunches, so much they walk straight from the food… Continue reading

In this photo taken Jan. 14, Anchorage School District central kitchen manager and chef Karen Richardson watches as Sophie Novakovitch, 5, tries a new menu item - maple sweet potato cubes - at Huffman Elementary school in Anchorage.

Bethel woman sentenced in father’s heroin death

ANCHORAGE — A Bethel woman who fatally injected her father with heroin will spend up to two years in prison.The District Attorney’s Office announced Friday… Continue reading

Alaska finishes 2015 with unemployment rate of 6.5 percent

JUNEAU — Alaska finished 2015 with an unemployment rate of 6.5 percent.The state labor department says the December seasonally adjusted rate compares to 6.4 percent… Continue reading

Photo: Log now, canoe later

Sitka National Historical Park maintenance worker Jared Hazel nails down wooden blocks to keep a red cedar log from rolling on Jan. 20 behind the… Continue reading

In this Sept. 30, 2014 photo, Greg Klupar interacts with a kiosk which could be used to dispense raffle and lottery tickets to buyers in Skagway.

Skagway business proposes lottery kiosks, stalled by regs

JUNEAU — An innovative fundraising method could take hold in Alaska after residents of a remote town developed a system for buying and selling raffle… Continue reading

In this Sept. 30, 2014 photo, Greg Klupar interacts with a kiosk which could be used to dispense raffle and lottery tickets to buyers in Skagway.

Coffee and the ‘folly’: Museum event honors William Henry Seward

Nearly 150 years ago, speaking to the people of Sitka, William Henry Seward predicted that Alaska would one day be a U.S. state. Seward was… Continue reading

Richard J. Peterson, president of the Central Council of Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska, speaks in his office Wednesday about a lawsuit brought by the Douglas Indian Association. The lawsuit, over federal transportation funds, was dismissed by the State of Alaska's Superior Court.

Tribal sovereignty in Alaska court affirms independence for some, misfortune for others

A small Juneau tribe took a larger Alaska tribe to court to settle a nearly $1 million dispute. The court’s response: wrong place.On Jan. 13,… Continue reading

Richard J. Peterson, president of the Central Council of Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska, speaks in his office Wednesday about a lawsuit brought by the Douglas Indian Association. The lawsuit, over federal transportation funds, was dismissed by the State of Alaska's Superior Court.

Noise could limit future Fairbanks gun ranges

FAIRBANKS — Noise concerns may lead Fairbanks to set rules for future gun ranges near neighborhoods in the city’s general use and industrial zones.The Fairbanks… Continue reading

In this Jan. 21 photo, Ed John, a member of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, addresses the media at United Nations headquarters. John stated that the world's indigenous languages are going extinct and urgent action is needed to keep them alive.

Indigenous leader: Save Native languages from extinction

UNITED NATIONS — A Canadian tribal chief is calling for urgent efforts to revive indigenous languages, saying their extinction is going unnoticed while the world… Continue reading

In this Jan. 21 photo, Ed John, a member of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, addresses the media at United Nations headquarters. John stated that the world's indigenous languages are going extinct and urgent action is needed to keep them alive.
In this Wednesday, Dec. 30, 2015 photo, a page from IRS.gov regarding IRS electronic filing information for a direct deposit of a refund is displayed on a mobile phone screen in Los Angeles. Electronic filing was up 2.4 percent in 2015 from 2014. Similarly, the use of direct deposit for refund checks also is gaining in popularity. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Tax season: IRS begins to accept returns

WASHINGTON — What’s new when you file your taxes this year? Taxpayers without health insurance will face larger penalties, and those insured by their employers… Continue reading

In this Wednesday, Dec. 30, 2015 photo, a page from IRS.gov regarding IRS electronic filing information for a direct deposit of a refund is displayed on a mobile phone screen in Los Angeles. Electronic filing was up 2.4 percent in 2015 from 2014. Similarly, the use of direct deposit for refund checks also is gaining in popularity. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Democratic Presidential candidate, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt. gestures as he speaks during a campaign stop, Thursday, Jan. 21, 2016, in Peterborough, N.H. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Clinton faces challenge in Iowa caucus reminiscent of 2008

WASHINGTON — Recall this 2008 storyline: Hillary Clinton enters the presidential campaign as the Democratic front-runner, runs into an inspirational candidate who generates big crowds… Continue reading

Democratic Presidential candidate, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt. gestures as he speaks during a campaign stop, Thursday, Jan. 21, 2016, in Peterborough, N.H. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
In this Jan. 19,, 2016, photo, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump smiles after speaking at the Iowa Renewable Fuels Summit in Altoona, Iowa. Trump and some mainstream Republicans are engaged in a long-distance flirtation. Both sides are coming to the realization that they'll need each other if the billionaire businessman becomes the party's presidential nominee. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

Trump and GOP leaders realizing they may need each other

DES MOINES, Iowa — Donald Trump and some mainstream Republicans are engaged in a long-distance flirtation. Both sides are coming to the realization that they’ll… Continue reading

  • Jan 25, 2016
  • By JILL COLVIN, JULIE PACE and STEVE PEOPLES
  • Nation-World
In this Jan. 19,, 2016, photo, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump smiles after speaking at the Iowa Renewable Fuels Summit in Altoona, Iowa. Trump and some mainstream Republicans are engaged in a long-distance flirtation. Both sides are coming to the realization that they'll need each other if the billionaire businessman becomes the party's presidential nominee. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)
In this photo provided by Vincent Nusunginya, items fallen from the shelves litter the aisles inside a Safeway grocery store following a magnitude 6.8 earthquake on the Kenai Peninsula on Sunday Jan. 24, 2016, in south-central Alaska. The quake knocked items off shelves and walls in south-central Alaska and jolted the nerves of residents in this earthquake prone region, but there were no immediate reports of injuries.

Magnitude-6.8 quake jolts Alaska; 1 home explodes

ANCHORAGE — A magnitude-6.8 earthquake knocked items off shelves and walls in south-central Alaska and jolted the nerves of residents in this earthquake-prone region. But there were no… Continue reading

In this photo provided by Vincent Nusunginya, items fallen from the shelves litter the aisles inside a Safeway grocery store following a magnitude 6.8 earthquake on the Kenai Peninsula on Sunday Jan. 24, 2016, in south-central Alaska. The quake knocked items off shelves and walls in south-central Alaska and jolted the nerves of residents in this earthquake prone region, but there were no immediate reports of injuries.

State creates special investigative unit to handle police misconduct

Gov. Bill Walker and Alaska Attorney General Craig Richards have released more details of their plan to establish a unit in the Department of Law… Continue reading

Ed and Barbara Phillips of the Icy Strait Lodge in Hoonah pack their vehicle after taking advantage of the store-closing sales at Walmart on Friday.

Rolling out: With Walmart’s closure, uncertainty looms

Juneau’s Walmart has been packed since it announced it was closing up shop on Feb. 4.On Friday, the first day of a 50-percent-off sale on… Continue reading

Ed and Barbara Phillips of the Icy Strait Lodge in Hoonah pack their vehicle after taking advantage of the store-closing sales at Walmart on Friday.

4 dead after shootings in northern Saskatchewan

TORONTO — A remote aboriginal community in western Canada was left reeling from the unimaginable after a gunman opened fire at a school and a… Continue reading

Court: Kansas Constitution protects abortion rights

WICHITA, Kan. — The Kansas Court of Appeals refused Friday to implement the state’s first-in-the-nation ban on a common second-trimester abortion method, ruling in a… Continue reading

Mallott signs marijuana regulations, but Department of Law warns of security gap

Lieutenant Gov. Byron Mallott signed Alaska’s first commercial marijuana regulations on Friday, but regulators and legislators now face a headache from the FBI.In a memo… Continue reading

US seeks to limit methane gas ‘flaring’ at drilling sites

WASHINGTON — The Obama administration on Friday proposed new rules to clamp down on oil companies that burn off natural gas on public land, arguing… Continue reading