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The author in one of his favorite pastimes — sitting in the mountains. (Photo courtesy Becky Bohrer)

Sports

Pure Sole: My Mudrooms

A friend of mine from the Haa Yaitx’u Saiani’s Kin Support Program asked me to speak at the…

Twigs of red huckleberry are green all year, but brighter in summer than winter. (Photo by Bob Armstrong)

Sports

On the Trails: Tree bark

The center of a tree or shrub stem (from roots to trunk, branches, and twigs) is woody, composed…

Page Bridges of Holy Trinity Episcopal Church in Juneau. (Photo courtesy of Page Bridges)

Neighbors

Living and Growing: The light of the world

“Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has dawned upon you.”

President Donald Trump delivers remarks during the National Prayer Breakfast at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Feb. 6, 2025. (Eric Lee/The New York Times)

Opinion

Opinion: Dismantling the government. And the Bill of Rights

President Donald Trump has asked more than two million federal employees to consider resigning. If they leave their…

Jessica Larsen of the University of Alaska Fairbanks Geophysical Institute describes her research on Alaska’s Mount Churchill at the Fall Meeting of the American Geophysical Union on Dec. 9, 2024. (Photo by Ned Rozell)

Sports

Alaska Science Forum: The threat within an Alaska mountain

Mount Churchill stands in a white corner of the Alaska map, deceptive in its cold, windblown silence. At…

Snow is also a four letter word with more than one proper use. (Klas Stolpe / Juneau Empire)

Sports

Pure Sole: WTF with the F word

The F word.

A preliminary design of Huna Totem’s Aak’w Landing shows an idea for how the project’s Seawalk could connect with the city’s Seawalk at Gold Creek (left). (Jasz Garrett / Juneau Empire file photo)

Opinion

Opinion: To make Juneau affordable, grow our economy

Based on the deluge of comments on social media, recent proposals by the city to dramatically escalate debt…

An adult double-crested cormorant flies low. (Photo by Bob Armstrong)

Sports

On the Trails: Some January observations

One day, late in January, a friend and I watched two Steller sea lions swimming near Pt. Louisa.…

Ned Rozell sits at the edge of the volcanic crater on Mount Katmai during a trip to the Valley of 10,000 Smokes in 2001. (Photo by John Eichelberger)

Sports

Alaska Science Forum: Thirty years of writing about Alaska science

When I was drinking coffee with a cab-driving-author friend of the same vintage last week, he said of…

The author’s hopper and stonefly tying days are behind him. (Photo by Jeff Lund)

Sports

I Went to the Woods: Tie one on

As a kid I threw spinners and spoons, and didn’t bother to learn the impact of bugs in…

Tari Stage-Harvey is pastor of Shepherd of the Valley Lutheran Church. (Courtesy photo)

Neighbors

Living and Growing: Watching our words for other people

I could be wrong, but the only time Jesus directly talks about Hell is in Matthew 5:22, “But…

Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) questions Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Pentagon, during his confirmation hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee at the Capitol in Washington on Tuesday morning, Jan. 14, 2025. (Kenny Holston/The New York Times)

Opinion

Opinion: Sen. Sullivan doesn’t know the meaning of leadership

Last Wednesday, Sen. Dan Sullivan should have been prepared for questions about President Donald Trump’s pardons of the…

A view of Denali as seen from near the end of the Denali National Park and Preserve park road. (Klas Stolpe)

Sports

Pure Sole: Denali has always answered

Call it what you will, Denali or Mount McKinley, it still rises majestically toward the heavens.

A male northern flicker shows his red mustache mark, identifying him as the red-shafted type. (Photo by Detlef Buettner)

Sports

On the Trails: Northern flickers visit Juneau

There are over a dozen species of flicker, living in various parts of the Americas. The species we…

A person walks along the tideline adjacent to the Airport Dike Trail on Thursday. (Laurie Craig / Juneau Empire file photo)

Neighbors

Gimme A Smile: Help me up

I fell on the ice the other day. One minute, I was carefully picking my way along the…

The Dalton Highway winds through the Jim River and Prospect Creek valleys in northern Alaska, where an official thermometer registered Alaska’s all-time low of minus 80 degrees F on Jan. 23, 1971. (Photo by Ned Rozell)

Sports

Alaska Science Forum: Dangerous cold across the land

In late January 2025, meteorologists from the National Weather Service Prediction Center in College Park, Maryland, are predicting…

President Donald Trump signs executive orders in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington on Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, following his inauguration as the 47th president. Legal experts said the president was testing the boundaries of executive power with aggressive orders designed to stop the country from transitioning to renewable energy. (Doug Mills/The New York Times)

Opinion

Opinion: Sen. McConnell, not God, made Trump’s retribution presidency possible

I’m not at all impressed by President Donald Trump’s executive order aimed at maximizing the development and production…

Brent Merten is the pastor of Christ Lutheran Church, Juneau. (Courtesy photo)

Neighbors

Living and Growing: Imagine the comfort of Jesus’ promise of heaven

Earlier this month, former president Jimmy Carter died at the age of 100. While factors like double-digit inflation,…

Juneau Assembly members confer with city administrative leaders during a break in an Assembly meeting Monday, Nov 18, 2024. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire file photo)

Opinion

Opinion: Community affordability takes a back seat to Assembly spending

Less than four months ago, Juneau voters approved a $10 million bond for wastewater facility upgrades and a…

Naturalists try to identify a small plant — answering the “Who” question, with others to follow. (Photo by Mary Anne Slemmons)

Sports

On the Trails: Naturalists ask many questions

Curious naturalists can ask different kinds of questions about what we see. The most basic kinds consist of…