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This Dec. 3, 2019 photo shows Santa Claus arriving in Napakiak, Alaska, on an Alaska National Guard UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter. The Guard brought its Operation Santa Claus to the western Alaska community, which is being severely eroded by the nearby Kuskokwim River. (AP Photo/Mark Thiessen)

Santa, soldiers bring joy to Alaska village

The Alaska National Guard gave folks a reason to smile, thanks to its “Operation Santa Claus” program.

This Dec. 3, 2019 photo shows Santa Claus arriving in Napakiak, Alaska, on an Alaska National Guard UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter. The Guard brought its Operation Santa Claus to the western Alaska community, which is being severely eroded by the nearby Kuskokwim River. (AP Photo/Mark Thiessen)
Gov. Mike Dunleavy speaks to members of the media before welcoming Juneau residents to the Governor’s Open House on Tuesday, Dec. 11, 2018. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire) Gov. Mike Dunleavy speaks to members of the media before welcoming Juneau residents to the Governor’s Open House on Tuesday, Dec. 11, 2018. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)

Dunleavy: Operation Lady Justice brings violence against women front and center

Alaskan women are killed by men at the highest rate in the country.

Gov. Mike Dunleavy speaks to members of the media before welcoming Juneau residents to the Governor’s Open House on Tuesday, Dec. 11, 2018. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire) Gov. Mike Dunleavy speaks to members of the media before welcoming Juneau residents to the Governor’s Open House on Tuesday, Dec. 11, 2018. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)
Students from Kenai Central and Nikiski Middle/High School are recognized as Students of the Month at the Kenai and Soldotna Chambers of Commerce Luncheon at the Kenai Visitor and Cultural Center on Dec. 4, 2019. From left: Kenai Central High School Principal Briana Randle, Hunter Beck, Scott Cunningham, Damaris Severson, Tucker Mueller, Bryan McCollum, Kaycee Bostic, Kaitlyn Johnson and Nikiski Middle/High School Principal Dan Carstens. (Photo by Brian Mazurek/Peninsula Clarion)

Schools briefs for the week of Dec. 15-22

What’s happening this week

Students from Kenai Central and Nikiski Middle/High School are recognized as Students of the Month at the Kenai and Soldotna Chambers of Commerce Luncheon at the Kenai Visitor and Cultural Center on Dec. 4, 2019. From left: Kenai Central High School Principal Briana Randle, Hunter Beck, Scott Cunningham, Damaris Severson, Tucker Mueller, Bryan McCollum, Kaycee Bostic, Kaitlyn Johnson and Nikiski Middle/High School Principal Dan Carstens. (Photo by Brian Mazurek/Peninsula Clarion)
An American red squirrel eating white spruce seeds. (Photo by Courtney Celley/USFWS)

Refuge notebook: Squirrels are incredible

I recently took a family vacation to my home state of Minnesota to visit family and friends. We arrived in time to help rake up… Continue reading

An American red squirrel eating white spruce seeds. (Photo by Courtney Celley/USFWS)
Ann Berg

Homesteading in Nikiski without power

In our younger days I cooked every meal on the woodstove, as we lived here for 5 years without power

Ann Berg
(File)

Schools briefs for the week of Dec. 9-13, 2019

What’s happening this week.

(File)
The gear hound evolves

The gear hound evolves

Maybe it started when I was a little kid, and the Sears catalogue would show up in the mail.

The gear hound evolves
Minister’s Message: How Christmas got its festive trees and twinkling lights

Minister’s Message: How Christmas got its festive trees and twinkling lights

There is a tradition of lights and trees going back to before my ancestors converted to Christianity

Minister’s Message: How Christmas got its festive trees and twinkling lights
Landsat 8 data showing the head (SE Corner) of the Swan Lake Fire on June 8, 2019. (Photo provided by John Morton)

Refuge Notebook: Managing Wildfire with Data

When you think of data-driven careers, the natural resource field is probably not the first profession that comes to mind. I envision a guy or… Continue reading

Landsat 8 data showing the head (SE Corner) of the Swan Lake Fire on June 8, 2019. (Photo provided by John Morton)
Pigskin Pick ‘Em: Hitting the final quarter of the year

Pigskin Pick ‘Em: Hitting the final quarter of the year

We’ve reached the home stretch of the NFL season with 75% of the schedule completed after the 13th week of action. Speaking of the number… Continue reading

Pigskin Pick ‘Em: Hitting the final quarter of the year
Ann Berg

How Pioneer Potluck got started

Recipes for tomato salsa, crockpot moose roast and curried seafood salad

Ann Berg
Refuge notebook: Taking the wild out of wildlife

Refuge notebook: Taking the wild out of wildlife

I find this a little depressing. A 2018 study published by the National Academy of Sciences estimates that by weight, 70% of all birds on… Continue reading

Refuge notebook: Taking the wild out of wildlife
Graduate student Sue Ives used this portable acrylic chamber with an infrared gas analyzer to measure carbon flow in a peatland on the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge. (Photo provided by the refuge)

Refuge notebook: Healthy peatlands store carbon and help salmon

After this last summer’s lightning, fires and long drought, it should be obvious that our local climate is becoming warmer and drier than longtime residents… Continue reading

Graduate student Sue Ives used this portable acrylic chamber with an infrared gas analyzer to measure carbon flow in a peatland on the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge. (Photo provided by the refuge)
A brave volunteer dressed up in a bat costume to help peers visualize the anatomy of a bat resulted in an unusual question. (Photo provided by Kenai National Wildlife Refuge)

Refuge notebook: No silly questions

“Why don’t bats get dizzy from hanging upside down?” A second grade student at Tustumena Elementary School posed this excellent question to me. I stood… Continue reading

A brave volunteer dressed up in a bat costume to help peers visualize the anatomy of a bat resulted in an unusual question. (Photo provided by Kenai National Wildlife Refuge)
Refuge notebook: Swan Lake Fire Story Map

Refuge notebook: Swan Lake Fire Story Map

The Swan Lake Fire was reported at 6:52 p.m. on June 5. Over the next 145 days, more than than 3,000 firefighters and support personnel… Continue reading

Refuge notebook: Swan Lake Fire Story Map
This adult male Bobolink was singing and displaying in a distant field near Homer, Alaska. With the aid of a 500mm lens, astute birders documented the first occurrence of this species on the Kenai Peninsula. (Photo by Sarah Dzielski)

Refuge Notebook: The Future of the Bobolink

June 23, 2019 started as almost every other day this summer. Hot, dry weather dominated from Hope to Seldovia. It was, however, unique in the… Continue reading

This adult male Bobolink was singing and displaying in a distant field near Homer, Alaska. With the aid of a 500mm lens, astute birders documented the first occurrence of this species on the Kenai Peninsula. (Photo by Sarah Dzielski)
(File photo)

Police say Seward homicide victim was lured, beaten

Five people have been charged in the Aug. 25 death of Preston Atwood.

(File photo)
(File)

Schools briefs for the week of Dec. 1-7, 2019

What’s happening this week

(File)
A makeshift memorial to Savanna Greywind featuring a painting, flowers, candle and a stuffed animal is seen on Monday, Aug. 28, 2017, in Fargo, N.D., outside the apartment where Greywind lived with her parents. Republican U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski from Alaska is taking up the cause for a bill aimed at helping law enforcement with cases of murdered and missing indigenous women. Former North Dakota Democratic Sen. Heidi Heitkamp introduced and helped pass Savanna’s Act in the Senate before she lost election, but it was blocked in the House by a retiring Republican. (AP Photo/Dave Kolpack, File)

Cold-case bill gains steam

Savanna’s Act aims to help law enforcement investigate cases of murdered and missing indigenous women

A makeshift memorial to Savanna Greywind featuring a painting, flowers, candle and a stuffed animal is seen on Monday, Aug. 28, 2017, in Fargo, N.D., outside the apartment where Greywind lived with her parents. Republican U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski from Alaska is taking up the cause for a bill aimed at helping law enforcement with cases of murdered and missing indigenous women. Former North Dakota Democratic Sen. Heidi Heitkamp introduced and helped pass Savanna’s Act in the Senate before she lost election, but it was blocked in the House by a retiring Republican. (AP Photo/Dave Kolpack, File)
In this March 26, 2019, file photo, protestors unfurl a “Recall Dunleavy” banner as Gov. Mike Dunleavy, upper left, speaks during a roadshow with Americans for Prosperity in 49th State Brewing Company in Anchorage, Alaska. Dunleavy said he hopes to move past the rancor of his first year in office, amid an unsettled dispute with lawmakers over state spending and threat of a recall effort looming large. The Republican will mark a full year in office Tuesday, Dec. 3. (Bill Roth/Anchorage Daily News via AP, File)

Dunleavy marks 1st year in office

Dunleavy: We will continue to do the right thing even though it may not be ‘politically palatable’

In this March 26, 2019, file photo, protestors unfurl a “Recall Dunleavy” banner as Gov. Mike Dunleavy, upper left, speaks during a roadshow with Americans for Prosperity in 49th State Brewing Company in Anchorage, Alaska. Dunleavy said he hopes to move past the rancor of his first year in office, amid an unsettled dispute with lawmakers over state spending and threat of a recall effort looming large. The Republican will mark a full year in office Tuesday, Dec. 3. (Bill Roth/Anchorage Daily News via AP, File)