Wire Service

Caribou graze on the greening tundra of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in northeast Alaska in June, 2001. (Michael Penn / Juneau Empire File)

Let Alaska be open for business

The Biden administration needs to follow federal law and allow Alaska to honor its constitutional obligation by developing its resources.

Caribou graze on the greening tundra of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in northeast Alaska in June, 2001. (Michael Penn / Juneau Empire File)
Kate Troll (Courtesy Photo / Kate Troll)

Opinion: Making tourism lemonade out of pandemic lemons

Can we make the most of a bad situation?

Kate Troll (Courtesy Photo / Kate Troll)
Bruce Schultz, interim chancellor of the University of Alaska Anchorage (courtesy)

Alaska Voices: Making higher education accessible to all Alaskans

While each of our universities has its own identity and specialty, our strength comes from our shared vision for the future of higher education in Alaska.

Bruce Schultz, interim chancellor of the University of Alaska Anchorage (courtesy)
The Homer Foundation logo.

Voices of the Peninsula: One year later

We rose up in a multitude of ways to show our compassion for each other.

The Homer Foundation logo.
The badge for the Kenai Police Department
The badge for the Kenai Police Department
Till Lauer

Tangled Up in Blue: Marathon Training

I want to brag for a second, although my self-deprecating side would argue this whole column is just a biweekly boast. After ignoring incessant calls… Continue reading

Till Lauer
A snowmachine at rest in front of the Snag Lake public use cabin. (Photo provided by USFWS)

Preparedness is key to staying safe in the backcountry

If you spend any time in the backcountry it’s bound to happen: an ankle sprain halfway into a day hike, the afternoon blowup that unexpectedly… Continue reading

A snowmachine at rest in front of the Snag Lake public use cabin. (Photo provided by USFWS)
Ariel Silverman (Photo courtesy of Ariel Silverman)

Voices of the Peninsula: The costs of climate change on the Pebble Mine

Climate change should be thoroughly factored into mine planning and regulation.

Ariel Silverman (Photo courtesy of Ariel Silverman)
Gov. Mike Dunleavy speaks at an Anchorage news conference on Dec. 11, 2020. (Courtesy photo / Office of Gov. Mike Dunleavy)

Opinion: Secretary Blinken, protect Alaska’s fisheries

Perhaps no group of Alaskans has been impacted more severely by the global economic collapse than our fishers and processors

Gov. Mike Dunleavy speaks at an Anchorage news conference on Dec. 11, 2020. (Courtesy photo / Office of Gov. Mike Dunleavy)
In this Feb 23, 2021, file photo, U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, speaks during a hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington. The Alaska Republican Party has not only censured Sen. Murkowski for voting to convict former President Donald Trump in his impeachment trial, but it also does not want her to identity as a GOP candidate in next year’s election, a member of the party’s State Central Committee said Tuesday, March 16, 2021. (Sarah Silbiger/Pool Photo via AP, File)

Alaska GOP censures Murkowski, looks for ’22 challenger

“The party does not want Lisa Murkowski to be a Republican candidate.”

In this Feb 23, 2021, file photo, U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, speaks during a hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington. The Alaska Republican Party has not only censured Sen. Murkowski for voting to convict former President Donald Trump in his impeachment trial, but it also does not want her to identity as a GOP candidate in next year’s election, a member of the party’s State Central Committee said Tuesday, March 16, 2021. (Sarah Silbiger/Pool Photo via AP, File)
(Peter Segall / Juneau Empire File)

Opinion: Real governance is more than performance

There are examples at the state level.

(Peter Segall / Juneau Empire File)
Alaska Attorney General Treg Taylor, foreground, appears before the House Judiciary Committee for a confirmation hearing on Monday, March 15, 2021, in Juneau, Alaska. Republican Rep. Christopher Kurka, a committee member, is seen in the background. (AP Photo/Becky Bohrer)

Alaska AG discusses plans, Clarkson in hearing

Dunleavy appointed Taylor as attorney general in January to replace Ed Sniffen.

Alaska Attorney General Treg Taylor, foreground, appears before the House Judiciary Committee for a confirmation hearing on Monday, March 15, 2021, in Juneau, Alaska. Republican Rep. Christopher Kurka, a committee member, is seen in the background. (AP Photo/Becky Bohrer)
Dallas Seavey poses with his dogs after winning the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race race near Willow, Alaska, early Monday, March 15, 2021. (Marc Lester/Anchorage Daily News via AP, Pool)

Seavey matches most wins by a musher

He matched the record of five wins by Rick Swenson, known as the King of the Iditarod for picking up those titles from 1977-91.

Dallas Seavey poses with his dogs after winning the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race race near Willow, Alaska, early Monday, March 15, 2021. (Marc Lester/Anchorage Daily News via AP, Pool)
Jim Watson / Pool via AP
In this Feb. 23 file photo Interior Secretary nominee Rep. Deb Haaland, D-N.M., speaks during her confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill on Feb. 23.

Haaland OK’d at Interior, 1st Native American Cabinet head

Haaland was confirmed by a 51-40 vote, the narrowest margin yet for a Cabinet nomination by President Joe Biden.

Jim Watson / Pool via AP
In this Feb. 23 file photo Interior Secretary nominee Rep. Deb Haaland, D-N.M., speaks during her confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill on Feb. 23.
Alaska state Sen. Lora Reinbold sits in a Senate gallery on Friday, in Juneau. The Alaska Senate voted Wednesday to allow leadership to restrict access to the Capitol by Reinbold, an Eagle River Republican, over violations of protocols meant to guard against COVID-19. (AP Photo/Becky Bohrer, Pool)

Senate leaders accommodate Reinbold over virus rules

Two days earlier, senators voted to allow leadership to restrict access by Reinbold to the Capitol.

Alaska state Sen. Lora Reinbold sits in a Senate gallery on Friday, in Juneau. The Alaska Senate voted Wednesday to allow leadership to restrict access to the Capitol by Reinbold, an Eagle River Republican, over violations of protocols meant to guard against COVID-19. (AP Photo/Becky Bohrer, Pool)
Kim McNett in a photo taken in March 2014 on one of her Arctic adventures. (Photo by Bjørn Olson)

Voices of the Peninsula: Peatlands can help draw down and sequester carbon

Though peatlands cover only 3% of the Earth’s surface, they store twice the amount of carbon as all the world’s forests combined.

Kim McNett in a photo taken in March 2014 on one of her Arctic adventures. (Photo by Bjørn Olson)
An election official lays out more “I voted” stickers on Tuesday, Nov. 3. Stickers for the 2020 general election featured designs by Alaskan artist Barbara Lavallee. (Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire File)

Opinion: Voting rights should be enshrined, not suppressed

Please contact your senator urging passage of the For the People Act.

An election official lays out more “I voted” stickers on Tuesday, Nov. 3. Stickers for the 2020 general election featured designs by Alaskan artist Barbara Lavallee. (Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire File)
Pete Kaiser leaves the Ophir, Alaska, checkpoint with his dog team during the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race on Friday, March 12, 2021. (Zachariah Hughes/Anchorage Daily News via AP, Pool)

Dog illness prompts former Iditarod champion to scratch

Pete Kaiser scratched at the McGrath checkpoint.

Pete Kaiser leaves the Ophir, Alaska, checkpoint with his dog team during the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race on Friday, March 12, 2021. (Zachariah Hughes/Anchorage Daily News via AP, Pool)
This photo provided by the Alaska Wildlife Troopers taken March 9, 2021, Doug Ramsey, left, of Sundance Wyoming, poses with Alaska Wildlife Trooper Jason Kneier near a hole in the ice of a river in Swentna, Alaska. The two helped pull an 8-year-old boy from the water after he fell into the river. (Alaska Wildlife Troopers via AP)

Troopers, Iditarod volunteer help rescue child from river

“It happened really fast. I was glad I was at the right place at the right time.”

This photo provided by the Alaska Wildlife Troopers taken March 9, 2021, Doug Ramsey, left, of Sundance Wyoming, poses with Alaska Wildlife Trooper Jason Kneier near a hole in the ice of a river in Swentna, Alaska. The two helped pull an 8-year-old boy from the water after he fell into the river. (Alaska Wildlife Troopers via AP)
Nikiski’s Bethany Carstens (right) and ACS’s Jordan Todd tip off to begin the 2019 Class 3A girls state basketball championship at the Alaska Airlines Center in Anchorage. (Photo by Joey Klecka/Peninsula Clarion)

Alaska Voices: March Madness will go on, safely

Some may question ASAA and our schools if conducting activities is a wise decision in the current environment.

Nikiski’s Bethany Carstens (right) and ACS’s Jordan Todd tip off to begin the 2019 Class 3A girls state basketball championship at the Alaska Airlines Center in Anchorage. (Photo by Joey Klecka/Peninsula Clarion)