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Ukrainian servicemen sit atop armored personnel carriers driving on a road in the Donetsk region, eastern Ukraine, Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)

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Alaska elected officials react to Russian invasion of Ukraine

The invasion began Wednesday evening, Alaska time after a long military buildup.

The MV Tazlina arrives in Juneau in this May 2020 photo. Federal relief dollars may be coming to the state to aide the Alaska Marine Highway System, but the unions that run the ships say workers are leaving the state. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire file)

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Union reps say Alaska’s losing maritime workers

Retention is declining.

The front doors of the Alaska State Capitol was missing the sign notifying visitors of the building's masking requirement on Wednesday, Feb. 23, 2022, after an early morning by lawmakers changed the rule. Masking rules have been in place since October 2020, much to the consternation of some lawmakers. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire)

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Masks now optional in state Capitol

Masks since Oct. 2020.

Doug Simon with the Alaska Section of the Alaska Society of Civil Engineers gave a presentation on Alaska's infrastructure report card at the Alaska State Capitol on Wednesday, Feb. 23, 2022. ASCE graded Alaska's overall infrastructure at a C-. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire)

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Engineers give Alaska’s infrastructure a C-

Workers needed.

Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, speaks to reporters in the state Capitol on Tuesday. Murkowski spoke to reporters after giving a speech to a joint session of the Legislature. (AP Photo / Becky Bohrer)

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Murkowski concerned with how court may rule in abortion case

Murkowski said she respects “a woman’s right to control her choice with reproductive health

U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, gave her annual address to the Alaska State Legislature Tuesday, Feb. 22, 2022, at the Capitol building in Juneau. Murkowski's speech emphasized bipartisanship and making Alaska ready for the opportunities brought by the recent infrastructure package. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire)

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Murkowski: Good things can come together with bipartisanship

Senator talks working across the aisle in annual address.

Senate Finance Committee members Sens. Bert Stedman, R-Sitka, and Natasha Von Imhof, R-Anchorage, listen to public testimony for bills related to the Permanent Fund Dividend on Monday, Feb. 21, 2022. The majority of callers accused lawmakers of stealing PFD money. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire)

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PFD formula proposals provoke strong public reaction

Familiar arguments.

A class photo from the Sitka Industrial Training School ca. 1897-1929, shows young Alaska Native women who were taken from their homes are raised in one of Alaska's boarding schools. This week, the First Alaskans Institute is hosting a summit for survivors and others impacted by the boarding school system. (Courtesy photo / Alaska's Digital Archives)

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Boarding school summit to address generational trauma

‘They will be heard.’

Courtesy Photo / The White House The White House, heavily renovated over the years, has been the home of America’s presidents for most of the country’s history.

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Quiz: Alaska and its history with the presidents

How much do you know about the state’s relationship with the commander-in-chief?

Copies of the Alaska State Constitution are available outside the lieutenant governor's office on the third floor of the Alaska State Capitol. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire)

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Constitutional convention could change everything, or nothing

This article appears in the Juneau Empire’s Guide to the 2022 Alaska State Legislature.

Senators and members of the House of Representatives gather in the House Chamber for Gov. Mike Dunleavy's State of the State speech on Jan. 25, 2022. Both the House and Senate Chambers are located on the second floor of the Alaska State Capitol building. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire)

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Get to know your Capitol

Take a look around.

State Rep. Ron Gillham speaks at a ribbon-cutting ceremony at Kenai Municipal Airport on Friday, Aug. 6, 2021 in Kenai, Alaska. (Ashlyn O'Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

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Kenai area rep introduces raft of education-focused bills

One bill targets critical race theory; another would create state scholarships for private schools.

Dan Newman, left, the founder of Alaska Premier Auctions and Appraisers, and Nick Cline, a business partner, pose Friday, Feb. 18, 2022, in Anchorage, Alaska, with the "Americus Australis," thought to be one the largest gem-quality opals in existence. The gem will be offered at auction Sunday, Feb. 20, 2022, with an opening bid set at $125,000 (AP Photo / Mark Thiessen)

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Alaska auction to feature huge opal stashed away for years

The opal is larger than a brick and is broken into two piece.

A student walks across the campus of the University of Alaska Southeast in this Feb. 4, 2021 file photo. An Anchorage Superior Court ruled Thursday against a group of UA students who had sued the state over funding for higher education scholarship programs. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire file)

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Students appeal Superior Court ruling on higher education funds

Supreme Court to weigh in.

Christopher Constant, a Democrat, announced on Thursday he will seek Alaska's lone seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. (Courtesy Photo)

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Anchorage Assembly member announces US House bid for Alaska

Democrat enters House race fray.

African-American soldiers of Company L, 24th Infantry, famously known as "Buffalo Soldiers" on parade on 5th Avenue in Skagway, between Broadway and State streets, in front of the Daily Budget newspaper on July 4, 1899. A recent book from a University of Alaska Anchorage history professor traces the long history of Black Americans in Alaska. (Courtesy image / Alaska's Digital Archives)

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Book traces over 150 years of Black history in Alaska

Before the gold rush.

A map from the Alaska Redistricting Board shows proposed House Districts in Anchorage, two of which were the subject of a lawsuit against the board for their being paired together in a single senate seat. A judge ruled early Wednesday the board violated the Alaska State Constitution in its drafting of new legislative districts. (Screenshot / Alaska Redistricting Board)

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Judge says redistricting board did not follow constitutional process

Judge overturns maps Skagway, East Anchorage

Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin reacts as she leaves a courthouse in New York, Monday, Feb. 14, 2022. Palin lost her libel lawsuit against The New York Times on Tuesday, Feb. 15, 2022, when a jury rejected her claim that the newspaper maliciously damaged her reputation by erroneously linking her campaign rhetoric to a mass shooting. (AP Photo / Seth Wenig)

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Jury rejects Sarah Palin’s lawsuit against New York Times

“Of course we’re disappointed.”

The entrance to the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services building in downtown Juneau on Jan. 14, 2021. Gov. Mike Dunleavy has twice proposed splitting the department using an executive order, but the Division of Legislative Legal Services has raised issues with the most recent order. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire file)

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Legal memo cites issues with order to split state health department

Length and breadth.

Gubernatorial candidate Les Gara, right, announced as his running mate Jessica Cook, left, an Eagle River school teacher, at a news conference in Anchorage on Monday, Feb. 14, 2022. (Courtesy photo / Erin Kirkland)

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Gara announces running mate in gubernatorial race

A shared vision.