Columns

At the Elvey Building, home of UAF’s Geophysical Institute, Carl Benson, far right, and Val Scullion of the GI business office attend a 2014 retirement party with Glenn Shaw. Photo by Ned Rozell

Alaska Science Forum: Carl Benson embodied the far North

Carl Benson’s last winter on Earth featured 32 consecutive days during which temperatures in his chosen town did not rise above zero degrees Fahrenheit. “It’s… Continue reading

 

Actors in These Birds, a play inspired by death, flowers and Farkle, hold ‘flowers’ during a performance at the UAS Egan Library on Saturday, Jan. 31. (photo courtesy Claire Richardson)

Living and Growing: Why stories of living and dying in Juneau matter

What if we gave our town a safe space to talk about living and dying with family and friends?

 

The Spruce Root team gathers for a retreat in Sitka. Spruce Root, is an Indigenous institution that provides all Southeast Alaskans with access to business development resources. (Photo by Lione Clare)

Woven Peoples and Places: Wealth lives in our communities

Sustainable Southeast Partnership reflects on a values-aligned approach to financial wellness.

 

Four members of the Riley Creek wolf pack, including the matriarch, “Riley,” dig a moose carcass frozen from creek ice in May 2016. National Park Service trail camera photo

Alaska Science Forum: The Riley Creek pack’s sole survivor

Born in May, 2009, Riley first saw sunlight after crawling from a hole dug in the roots of an old spruce above the Teklanika River.

Four members of the Riley Creek wolf pack, including the matriarch, “Riley,” dig a moose carcass frozen from creek ice in May 2016. National Park Service trail camera photo
Fred La Plante is the pastor of the Juneau Church of the Nazarene. (Photo courtesy Fred La Plante)

Living and Growing: You are not alone

Those words can pull us back toward hope, especially when we’ve just heard painful news.

Fred La Plante is the pastor of the Juneau Church of the Nazarene. (Photo courtesy Fred La Plante)
Jeff Lund photo 
The author practices in case he had the chance to be Jimmy from the 1986 movie Hoosiers. He never got the chance on the basketball floor, but had moments in life in which he needed to be clutch.

Opinion: Everyone wants to be Jimmy

Sports, and the movie “Hoosiers,” can teach you lessons in life

Jeff Lund photo 
The author practices in case he had the chance to be Jimmy from the 1986 movie Hoosiers. He never got the chance on the basketball floor, but had moments in life in which he needed to be clutch.
Laura Rorem (courtesy photo)

Living and Growing: Gracious, gentle power

Gracious power is grace expressed with kindness and mercy.

Laura Rorem (courtesy photo)
Construction equipment operating at night at the White House. (photo by Peter W. Stevenson/The Washington Post)

Opinion: Gold at the center of power

What the White House’s golden ballroom reveals about Modern America

Construction equipment operating at night at the White House. (photo by Peter W. Stevenson/The Washington Post)
Peggy McKee Barnhill (Courtesy photo)

Gimme a smile: My roommate’s name is Siri

She hasn’t brought a lot of stuff into the house, and she takes up very little space.

Peggy McKee Barnhill (Courtesy photo)
Ned Rozell/Submitted 
A map showing some of Alaska’s more unique place names.

Alaska Science Forum: What’s in an Alaska name?

I once asked a snowmachiner heading out on a trail from Nome where he was going. “Boston,” he said before speeding off. Not knowing of… Continue reading

Ned Rozell/Submitted 
A map showing some of Alaska’s more unique place names.
Tone and Charles Deehr in Fairbanks, October 2021. (Photo courtesy Charles Deehr)

Alaska Science Forum: Red aurora rare enough to be special

Charles Deehr will never forget his first red aurora. On Feb. 11, 1958, Deehr was a student at Reed College in Portland, Ore. He asked… Continue reading

Tone and Charles Deehr in Fairbanks, October 2021. (Photo courtesy Charles Deehr)
Larry Persily. (Juneau Empire file photo)

Opinion: Governor’s early Christmas spirit is misplaced

“I told the president, it’s like Christmas every morning,” Gov. Mike Dunleavy said at last week’s staged event in Washington, D.C., where the Department of… Continue reading

Larry Persily. (Juneau Empire file photo)
“Hair ice” grows from the forest floor in Fairbanks, Alaska. Photo courtesy of Ned Rozell

‘Hair ice’ enlivens an extended fall in Interior Alaska

Just when you thought you’d seen everything in the boreal forest, a reader points out white whiskers sprouting from the ground. Chris Greenfield-Pastro of Fairbanks… Continue reading

“Hair ice” grows from the forest floor in Fairbanks, Alaska. Photo courtesy of Ned Rozell
Peggy McKee Barnhill (Courtesy photo)

Gimme a Smile: Top ten most terrifying Halloween costumes

These last-minute costumes can likely be found throughout your home.

Peggy McKee Barnhill (Courtesy photo)
Gov. Mike Dunleavy speaks during a press conference at the Alaska State Capitol on Monday, May 19, 2025. (Jasz Garrett / Juneau Empire file photo)

Opinion: Dunleavy hides in the shadow of Trump’s assault on free speech

Using the power of the presidency to censor anyone who recognizes that is not only un-American, it’s an act of utter cowardice

Gov. Mike Dunleavy speaks during a press conference at the Alaska State Capitol on Monday, May 19, 2025. (Jasz Garrett / Juneau Empire file photo)
Peggy McKee Barnhill (Courtesy photo)
Peggy McKee Barnhill (Courtesy photo)

Gimme a smile: _______ is good for you

We all have different ways to fill in the blank for what is good for you

Peggy McKee Barnhill (Courtesy photo)
Peggy McKee Barnhill (Courtesy photo)
The Alaska Capitol is photographed Friday, July 11, 2025, in Juneau, Alaska. (Photo by Erin Thompson/Juneau Empire)

Opinion: Alaska needs to be a smart shopper for taxes

Don’t go grocery shopping when you’re hungry, you’ll make too many wrong choices

The Alaska Capitol is photographed Friday, July 11, 2025, in Juneau, Alaska. (Photo by Erin Thompson/Juneau Empire)
FBI agents leave with boxes from the home of John Bolton, President Trump’s former national security adviser, after serving a warrant in Bethesda, Md., Aug. 22, 2025. The investigation into Bolton began to pick up momentum during the Biden administration, when U.S. intelligence officials collected information that appeared to show that he had mishandled classified information, according to people familiar with the inquiry. (Jason Andrew/The New York Times)

Opinion: Trump’s war against Americans

There’s no guarantee American democracy will survive Trump’s presidency

FBI agents leave with boxes from the home of John Bolton, President Trump’s former national security adviser, after serving a warrant in Bethesda, Md., Aug. 22, 2025. The investigation into Bolton began to pick up momentum during the Biden administration, when U.S. intelligence officials collected information that appeared to show that he had mishandled classified information, according to people familiar with the inquiry. (Jason Andrew/The New York Times)
Peggy McKee Barnhill (Courtesy photo)

Gimme a Smile: Time travel, 10 minutes at a time

I woke up Monday morning to the weird sight of my oven clock running 10 minutes fast

Peggy McKee Barnhill (Courtesy photo)
Guy Crockroft (Courtesy photo)

Living and Growing: Consistency — An underrated quality

How did “Steady Eddie” do it? By working hard and being consistent.

Guy Crockroft (Courtesy photo)