The Barrow and Point Hope girls basketball teams played a couple of great games over the weekend, but the Class 3A Whalers outlasted the 2A Harpoonerettes en route to the series sweep....

She didn't win a medal at the Winter X Games like she did last year, but it almost doesn't matter because Callan Chythlook-Sifsof of Dillingham is feeling too good. "I'm riding about as well as I ever have," she said by phone from Aspen, Colo. "I definitely feel on top ...

The Tuzzy Consortium Library has partnered with Fred Ipalook Elementary School to kick off another season of guys reading in Barrow. The program invites men from the community to come and read to the fourth-grade boys during their lunch period....

The leaders of two North Slope public service organizations will meet Wednesday Feb. 8 to discuss future goals and funding for area schools....

You may have seen a lot of news lately about the rising cost of Alaska's corrections system. We have to face the facts: Prisons are incredibly expensive — regardless of where or how they are built. It's time for us to start focusing on why we have had to build a new prison in the f...

This week, while the real Alaska was shivering through the end of a month of record-low temperatures, in the movie world, the state was red hot. Everybody is talking about Alaska these days — from the debut of the movie "Big Miracle" to a whole new pack of "reality TV shows&qu...

On January 12, 2012, I attended a public meeting in Kotzebue hosted by The Alaska Department of Transportation. I went to see what the plan was related to the proposed road to the Ambler Mining District as well as future roads in the NW Arctic Borough....

This feels like déjà vu, at least for us it certainly seems like it. Here we are resurrecting a newspaper that stopped printing last August. The new and combined newspaper of The Bristol Bay Times and The Dutch Harbor Fisherman come back into print this week....

A Kivalina resident remains in stable condition after having suffered a serious stab wound on Saturday. The family member charged with allegedly stabbing him, Rhonda Norton, 30, is in custody at the Kotzebue holding facility....

A young Barrow man is facing attempted murder charges after allegedly shooting two other Barrow residents over the weekend....

By the time North Slope District Librarian Lisa Sobienak completes her first year in Alaska, she'll have made at least two trips to each village in the district. As the sole librarian for 10 schools — three in Barrow and seven outlying — she has slated every other week for trave...

Kiana high school students earned some bragging rights last semester, with grades that reflect a strong upward swing in student achievement....

The ice road from Kotzebue to Noorvik is a welcome addition to the landscape in the winter months when many folks can find themselves feeling the onset of cabin fever....

Each year, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) releases its annual Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) report. The definition of "release" under the inventory is quite broad and is often mischaracterized. I'd like to clarify what the report means for Red Dog and how we fit into it....

There are times when we all find our work challenging. On Mondays, I typically get a little wide-eyed, staring at the approaching newspaper deadline and knowing that no matter what I have accomplished, I could have done more....

For weeks now my wife has been watching these Republican debates on TV. I can't stand them, although I must admit when I am stuck watching one, they do have some entertainment value....

A Friday panel discussion in Anchorage covering potential tsunami debris from Japan put several concerns to rest — for the time being — and shed light on some sensitive issues. But some in the Northwest Alaska region aren't convinced....

Barrow resident Zoran Antoski, 60, was arrested at his home last Wednesday on narcotics charges. The arrest warrant stemmed from an incident on July 29, 2011, when a box Antoski had shipped to himself from Fairbanks was found to contain 410 grams of cocaine, 258 grams of marijuana and two bottles o...

Two missing snowmachiners were safely found by Kivalina Search and Rescue crews in separate searches last week....

Those who have for years attempted to unlock the riddle of high suicide rates in northern rural Alaska say their approach is holistic — looking at all aspects of each person, family and community and working to heal the wounds therein....

In Alaska, you don't have to be big city to be a big story. At least, not when you're Zaz Staheli. The National Geographic Show "Alaska Wing Men" is in its second season now, and features the 24-year-old Kiana pilot, along with a number of other wing men from around the state....

NOME - While dignitaries, state leaders and an international audience applauded from afar, fuel continued to flow to Nome from the Russian tanker vessel Renda on Wednesday without incident....

When I was in journalism school, the instructions were very clear. Never accept anything from a source - not a lift to a baseball game, not a free drink, and certainly not a chance to ride on a C130 all the way to Nome so you can see the historic arrival of an icebreaker to one of Alaska's Arct...

The Russian Tanker Renda and the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Healy's icebreaking mission to Nome truly shows the tremendous coordination and teamwork it took for these ships to get to Nome. These two captains and crews had never worked together. They come from different countries. They come from di...

The June Nelson Elementary School student council was among five groups in Nome and Kotzebue to benefit from Alaska Airlines donations last month....

Just as Alaska started its decent into colder realms this October, Kotzebue residents' options for fuel delivery were narrowed to one when the Kikiktagruk Inupiat Corporation closed the doors on its fuel delivery service. This leaves Crowley, which owns the tank farm in Kotzebue, the sole deliv...

Breast cancer awareness in Barrow. Storm relief. Tsunami debris concerns. Clean water grants. ASRC investments. Idita-Rider auction....

BARROW — Billy Aiken got up early Monday and switched on the TV to make sure he got a glimpse of his grandparents, Robert and Martha Aiken, and the rest of the Barrow Dancers participating in President Bill Clinton's second inaugural parade. "They looked great,' he said later...

Kotzebue Middle High School's recently-hired principal, J. Lee Garner, left his post abruptly this month after less than a year on the job....

In just four short days the sun will once again peak over the Barrow horizon, giving creatures great and small reason to welcome back the light....

NOME - While Alaska dignitaries gathered in Nome on Sunday to sing the praises of the recent collaboration that brought the Coast Guard's icebreaker, the Healy, and the Russian icebreaker, the Renda, all the way to the Arctic in the dead of winter to fill the town's fuel tanks, others have...

There's cold and then there's really cold. Right now, in Northwest Alaska, it's really cold....

I thought for sure I'd be riding the Renda to Nome to report on the historic mission to deliver fuel to the ice-bound community. Instead I 'walked the plank' in the Aleutian Islands....

Geoff Haskett, the Regional Director of the US Fish and Wildlife Service, and Sarah Conn, Project Leader for the Fairbanks Fish and Wildlife Field Office are proud to announce the appointment of two new employees to the Service's Barrow Field Office — Ernest Nageak as Alaska Native Affa...

This fall I put 672 Alaskans to work in jobs they'll talk about for the rest of their lives....

Start digging into the reason the United States' polar icebreaker fleet has dwindled to one small ship and there is little one can do but shake one's head. Like so many issues that require the wheels of government to turn, this one has obviously been shoved to the back burner for years now...

As chairman of the Sitnasuak Native Corporation, I have been directly involved in all of the aspects of the work to get the Russian ice class tanker Renda with its 1.3 million gallons of diesel fuel and gasoline to Nome, Alaska....

As a bitter cold sunrise greeted Kotzebue, Alaska on Jan. 4, Alaska State Troopers were bundling up for a rare trek into frozen backcountry. Their purpose - to locate and arrest 40-year-old James Darin Monroe for the alleged sexual assault of a 3-year-old child. Monroe fled Kotzebue on Christmas D...

Even after a hard spill on the hardwood floor Lyndon Itta, 9, beamed. He wasn't alone. There was an epidemic of grins Saturday afternoon at the Old Ipalook Elementary School gym in Barrow, site of the recently opened roller-skating rink....

Access to fuel has created some of Alaska's most interesting headlines this winter, especially as the Russian ship Renda broke through pack ice on a unique voyage to Nome this week. But Nome isn't the only Northwest community having to get creative in the way of fuel supply....

News of the unprecedented attempt by U.S. Coast Guard and the Russian tanker Renda to break through hundreds of miles of ice and bring fuel to Nome has enthralled Alaskans, and even caught the attention of the nation and the world....

The world is full of relationships. There is the relationship I had with my wood stove this morning when I woke to find I had fallen asleep without banking the fire, again, and would be starting the morning with only a few coals. Brrr....

Never mind the trophy, Lynette Hepa of the Barrow High School girls basketball team played her heart out in Saturday's ACS Invitational championship game for a much greater prize. A banana split....

After winning 16 of 25 matches in the first half of the college wrestling season, Montana State University-Northern sophomore Jared Miller of Kotzebue enters the second half full of optimism....

As Alaska turns from 2011 to the New Year, a team effort reminiscent of the famous Iditarod serum run to Nome is underway to bring desperately needed fuel supplies to Nome. The Russia-flagged, ice-strengthened tanker Renda, along with her crew, are attempting to make history with the first ever fuel...

I wanted to share some experiences that I and two other trappers had these last three years. I am teaching my 13-year-old grandson how to trap. We started last year along the Noatak River area below Hugo's Mountain....

Alaska's seafood industry continued its mission to ramp up its message to policy makers, especially those from rail-belt regions who tend to overlook its economic significance....

2011 is gone. We will never have that year again. When it's gone, it's gone. But over the last 365 days, I will always remember a handful of days. Like the day my daughter was born....

The world is full of relationships. There is the relationship I had with my wood stove this morning when I woke to find I had fallen asleep without banking the fire, again, and would be starting the morning with only a few coals. Brrr....

The Arctic Slope Regional Corporation ushered in 2012 with new leadership by the name of Crawford Patkotak of Barrow. After 12 years of service on the ASRC board, Patkotak was appointed board chairmen on Dec. 13....

Barrow - The North Slope Borough Assembly was scheduled Tuesday night to consider adoption of a controversial new ordinance that has raised a number of red flags for the borough's law department but has also gathered the support of some locals who believe Inupiat are disproportionately underemp...

A partnership between the city of Kotzebue and the state Department of Corrections that has been on the rocks for more than a decade took a turn for the worse this winter as Kotzebue city officials told the state to take its prisoners elsewhere....

A starting guard for the Barrow High School boys basketball team since his sophomore season, senior standout Colin Long is just about as experienced as they come in Alaska Class 3A....

The Noorvik boys basketball team this week will return to the place where it all began for the Bears last year. The Husky Shootout in Kotzebue....

Inupiaq artist Larry Ahvakana has spent more than four decades building a reputation as a dynamic and profound artist. His unique sculptures, glass panels, masks and many other pieces are held in private and public collections around world....

Last year at this time, I told myself I should not be working this hard....

Each year, thousands of Alaskans choose Jan. 1 as the start date to their new-and-improved life. The gyms flood with eager exercisers, salad greens jump off the shelves, and those who still have yet to quit smoking brace themselves for the big fight....

Alaska's mushing community can add a new race to their to-do lists in the coming year, as the Norton Sound Sled Dog Club ushers in the Paul Johnson Memorial - Norton Sound 450....

Selawik resident Floyd Knox was killed during a high-speed snowmachine crash on the Noorvik to Selawik trail last Wednesday evening. Knox, 35, was pronounced deceased at the scene....

Published Jan. 1, 1997 - The group Challenge Alaska has planned an Arctic snowmachine expedition as a fundraiser for its programs for disabled Alaskans. The Challenge Alaska Arctic Cat Expedition is a plan to circumnavigate the Alaskan Arctic, covering some 4,000 miles over parts of the next two wi...

Marjorie Baker, the mother of 2011 Iditarod winner John Baker, died Christmas Eve in Mexico. The Kotzebue business-owner was 79....

The bittersweet year 2011 was full of controversy and victory for the North Slope and Northwest region of Alaska, with contentious elections and the sweetest of wins for Kotzebue's favorite musher, Barrow basketball players, and the communities facing a raging storm predicted to pack a deadly p...

The Northern Waters Task Force (NWTF) recently met last week to submit recommendations and findings to the Alaska Legislature next month. In 2010, NWTF was created to facilitate regional coordination and State of Alaska leadership in the ongoing development of the United States' policies relate...

Last week the students of Kobuk School joined local elder, Elmer Ward and Northwest Arctic's Bilingual Coordinator, Raymond Woods, to learn how to construct a mud-sharktrap....

Just after the New Year, Jana Schuerch will return to the Northwest Arctic with her fiancé and three children after two long years away for school. She returns with new credentials and a hope that she can bring better health care to the home she's been missing....

Larry Higbee is no stranger to Alaska's multi-occupational tradition. He's worn his fair share of hats since coming to Alaska in 1977 to be Point Hope's first police officer. This month he took on a new one, as co-owner and operator of Aulagraug's Store smoke shop with his wife, ...

I love my job at Bering Air. I get to meet many people from different walks of life. A few summers ago, I met a passenger who I had a fun conversation with. After talking for a while, I told him he reminded me of Santa Claus. He smiled and than asked, "what would you like for Christmas this yea...

It all started innocently enough, Ron and Zona Hogan said. They had a sweet tooth and made a lot of cookies and candy to take to the Kotzebue schools where they worked during the holidays. But what started small grew rapidly, especially after the couple retired....

It was late afternoon as Sauraq made her way across the village under the shimmer of the Northern Lights. It was cold and the hard-packed snow squeaked under her mukluk boots. She thought of the Kinuyakii playing football with her head and sang a song as she ran....

In recent years, it has become politically incorrect in many circles to say, "Merry Christmas." Instead, happy holidays is substituted, assumedly to protect those who celebrate a holiday other than Christmas....

For the past week, my parents have been in town. It's only the second time in the nearly two decades my sister and I have lived up here that they made the trip in winter. And, in true Alaska style, they got winter — the full-blast blended margarita-like slurpee snow in-your-face kind of...

The Presidential Inaugural Committee liked the Barrow Dancers so much the last time the group performed in an Inaugural Parade for President Bill Clinton that the group has been invited back to help kick off his second term....

Despite the appointment of an impartial third party investigator, debate over the recent election of North Slope Borough mayor continues with lawyers dueling over the release of election information, police records and who should investigate allegations of vote-buying....

Thousands of prehistoric artifacts excavated from Point Barrow in the 1950s have been returned to Alaska, opening up countless research opportunities for those studying prehistoric Eskimo culture dating back to 500 A.D....

Scientists are still stumped as to what is causing ringed seals and walruses in Northwest Alaska to be afflicted with lesions, become lethargic, and in many cases, die....

Facing one of the state's top Class 3A girls basketball teams is one thing. Doing it on the road to open the season is another. Welcome to Kotzebue's world....

Just give Anthony Ashby the keys and watch him go. The junior guard drove the Noatak boys basketball team to the 2011 Sivu Tournament championship after beating Buckland 49-46 in the title tilt....

After two months of spikes, digs and serves, the mixed six volleyball season boiled down to the state tournament....

Opening weekend for the Barrow High School boys bas- ketball team was about more than just tipping off the season....

When told that the Kotzebue High School wrestling team extended its streak of top-5 finishes at the state tournament this year, junior standout Scott Hansen didn't say much....

Early in December, I was taking Alaska Husky "Avu" for an evening walk, trying to avoid icy patches on the road. The temperature was dropping, but I asked Avu to walk slowly while I surveyed the evening sky — the new moon, Jupiter and much more....

This week, our staff is relying more than ever on modern technology to get the paper out. The only difference is our staff is more spread out then normal....

A few months ago, I thought I knew Alaska. I'd lived here more than half my life, after all....

Point Hope resident Eva Kinneeveauk was among 10 Alaskans recognized by the National School Board Association for exceptional local leadership....

With the help of a communications upgrade, Alaska's health care system takes another step toward tech-savvy efficiency....

A hearing scheduled for Monday to examine responses from the North Slope Borough to allegations that the recent runoff election for borough mayor was mismanaged was rescheduled for 9 a.m. Wednesday due to weather....

Alaska residents in the direct path of November's major Pacific storm now have access to relief efforts through an Alaska Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management hotline....

If one phrase was heard over and over at Monday night's public hearing concerning the Outer Continental Shelf oil and gas-leasing program, it was "we are not ready."...

When the U.S. Postal Service loses $10 billion in one fiscal year, it's no surprise they're looking for ways to cut costs. And Alaska happens to be a big one....

Just because she went 26-0 as a rookie head coach with the Barrow High School girls basketball team doesn't mean Jordyn Danner is a Miss Know It All....

There is no mystery to why the Kotzebue High School wrestling team enjoys success year after year....

Former high school basketball stars from Barrow, Kotzebue, Point Hope and Kiana had a solid week on the college hardwood in the NWAACC....

North Slope Borough mayor candidate George Ahmaogak presented a dizzying array of accusa- tions concerning last month's runoff election at a meeting Friday that began the official investigation of the election's validity....

Buffered by a $1.92 million federal grant, the Alaska Humanities Forum is introducing a new program designed to ease new teachers into Alaska's Bush schools. The program aims to combat rural Alaska's annual teacher turnover rate, which at 35 percent soars over urban areas....

More than 50 years ago artist and scien- tific pioneer Jeffries Wyman staged one of his historic exploratory retreats at UAF's Anaktuvuk Pass weather station. While there, he created more than 100 paintings and drawings....

As many of you may have heard, in addition to owning and publishing the Arctic Sounder, I am chairman of my village corporation of Nome, Sitnasuak Native Corporation. Sitnasuak's fuel business has been waiting for its final fuel barge to arrive in Nome for three months....

The recent allegations of misconduct involving the runoff election between North Slope Borough mayoral candidates do a lot more than create work and heartache for borough employees....

Anchorage-Butch Lincoln is known for many of the attributes he brings to the University of Alaska Anchorage men's basketball team....

Madame President, Special Rapporteur James Anaya, Distinguished Members of the Human Rights Council and all distinguished participants: The right to self-determination is an inherent right that can never be redefined or limited by domestic law. The Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples can...

"I can't believe I did it!" said an enthusiastic Gary Savetilik on passing his final test to obtain his GED. "It feels great, wow, it's awesome."...

This Saturday morning I had a long list of things to do. I finished my coffee and jumped up to stoke the stove before getting started. "What about the door?" my wife Stacey said. She was still drinking her coffee. "Nome is already blowing." Oh crap! The door!...

Several Ambler students made the journey to Anchorage this week to share their fall field experience during a wildlife consortium. Ambler teacher Ann Washburn accompanied highschoolers Tim Cleveland and Mollie Penn, and middle schoolers Kituq Williams and Carrie Williams on the trip....

The remote Northwest corner of Alaska may become a little less hard to reach if U.S. Sen. Frank Murkowski, R-Alaska, has his way....

As long as our economy continues to lag there will continue to be many threats to rural Alaska. Rural Alaska has yet to achieve the standard of living found in urban areas of Alaska or the rest of the United States....

What do Facebook, Twitter, E-Bay, cell phones and the hundreds of thousands of apps out there have in common for rural Alaska? They have all opened up the entire world to Selawik, Nuiqsut, Pt. Hope, Buckland and all the other small villages throughout Alaska to run a business or just make a little ...

Few in the United States could say to be more impacted by glob- al warming than those living on the sliver of land that is Kivalina. Each time a fall storm rolls in over the Chukchi Sea, like the massive storm last month, Kivalina loses a bit more ground....

Hello I hope you all had a Happy Thanksgiving and are looking forward to a Merry Christmas. It's now December and the second session of the 27th Alaska Legislature is right around the corner. We will be convening next month on the 17th....

After eight weeks of sweat, sacrifice and two-hour practices, the Northern Conference wrestling season comes down to this....

Point Hope's Guy Tuzroyluk had the perfect debut for the Grays Harbor College Chokers in last week's NWAAC men's basketball opener. He didn't miss a shot....

On November 16, 2011, the Industrial Mine Technology students in the Millwright program at the Alaska Technical Center went to the Kotzebue Electric Association for a tour of the plant....

It was a Saturday in October. The sun shone through the window onto the tablecloth, I could see tiny dust particles float in the air. I thought about the people fishing at the point of the village while I sewed....

The city of Kivalina got its day in court Monday as its legal team argued that ExxonMobil, BP and a host of other industrial emitters are such major contributors to global warming that they should have to pay for damages incurred by the erosion-bashed city....

Armed with 7,500 DVDs and double that number in books, Best Beginnings is gearing up to spread new parenting resources to families all over Alaska, including communities in northwest Alaska....

A hearing on George Ahmaogak's contest of the recent election for North Slope Borough mayor will be held on Tuesday at 9:30 a.m. at the borough assembly room....

Alaska Natural Gas Development Authority CEO steps down. Senate passes bill to bring benefits to Alaska....

There are many traditions during Thanksgiving that almost always include families and friends getting together and working all day to prepare the Thanksgiving feast....

As this edition of the Arctic Sounder comes out, many of you will be comfortably settled with friends and family enjoying a feast fit for a king. Thanksgiving kicks off more than a month of indulgence, indulgence that is not only dangerous to one's waistline but also to the pocketbook....

Alaska Technical Center students in the Construction Trades Technology program joined the community in helping elders weatherize their homes recently in Kotzebue. They also helped with routine maintenance issues like changing light bulbs and smoke detector batteries....

With both of his older brothers being former state champion wrestlers for Kotzebue High School, Brett Reich took his fair share of abuse growing up. He didn't know he was being molded into a winner....

It didn't take long for Barrow's Tyler Adams to pay dividends for Blue Mountain Community College in Oregon. The freshman guard started the season opener and made several key plays in a 73-70 win over Portland Community College in NWAACC men's basketball action in Pendleton, Ore....

Noorvik's Tommy Coffin and Kotzebue's Ethan Roetman were the big winners at this year's Northwest Arctic Borough School District Wrestling Championships....

The bowhead whale hunters in Point Hope, Alaska ("Tikigaq," the home of the whale bone arches), do not hunt whale anymore in the fall time. Not for a long time. But there was a "whale's tail festival" held in Point Hope on October 27, 2011. It's a tradition that'...

The recent Veterans Day made me think of some military developments in the high Alaska Arctic back in the 1960s. I first flew from Anchorage to Barrow in 1969. The cold war with the USSR was a major concern, and in the Anchorage and Fairbanks areas one could often hear fighter jets going overhead....

As an educator for nearly 15 years and a guy who likes to take young people out hunting, fishing and trapping, I can honestly say that our children aren't getting taught what they need in order to carry on our culture and traditions....

This past summer marked the 21st consecutive year of the eider research project near Barrow, Alaska. The research project began in 1991 as a collaborative effort between the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the North Slope Borough Department of Wildlife Management. This project was developed to ...

For Alvin Werneke and his friends, the occasional Texas Hold-Em game around the kitchen table just wasn't cutting it. They wanted a regular, competitive game to sink their teeth into every weekend. That's why, in 2006, Werneke pulled together the Midnight Sun Poker League....

In last week's popular show Flying Wild Alaska on the Discovery Channel, Kavik Peacock is shown delivering an ATM to Wainwright, Alaska. Kavik and his brother Lahka, who are both my brother-in-laws, own and operate five ATMs throughout rural Alaska. Their company is called Rural Financial Serv...

Alaska Statewide Suicide Prevention Council, along with other state agencies, is hosting a two-day summit in January focusing on creating a state suicide prevention plan....

If ever there was a confounding, baffling, frustrating and nearly impossible social problem to wrap your mind around, let alone design a program for, it is suicide....

Police are releasing few details about two deaths in Kotzebue that were discovered last Thursday citing a current investigation....

After compiling 1,430 total yards and scoring 17 touchdowns, Barrow High School football star Trace Hudson must have made opposing coaches so angry that they left him off the all-conference first team...

Just do it. That's the mentality Kotzebue High School wrestling coach Mark Lane wants his team to take to the mat. Too often he has watched kids overthink a match, so the championship coach wants his wrestlers to just do it. Don't think about it....

It looked like an upset special. The Barrow High School volleyball team had No. 1-ranked Grace Christian of Anchorage on the ropes in the first round of the Class 3A state tournament in Wasilla....

This weekend, Reigning 2011 Miss Teen Alaska USA Denali Whiting, of Kotzebue, passed on her crown to the new 2012 winner Veronica Temple of Chugiak, Alaska , but the spotlight hasn't left the region....

Flooding, power outages, wind damage reports still coming in from rural communities...

The New Year is prime time for meaningful changes — some we look forward to and some we don't....

My Name is Not Easy is a young adult novel about a group of Inupiat children sent away to boarding school in the '60s. The story follows their hope, homesickness and bonding as they try to navigate a world very different from the one they were born into....

My Name is Not Easy is a young adult novel about a group of Inupiat children sent away to boarding school in the '60s. The story follows their hope, homesickness and bonding as they try to navigate a world very different from the one they were born into....

Two Ambler men perished on the Kobuk River early Tuesday morning after trying to "skip" their snowmachine over open water....

All-tournament player Lowery credits Barrow's team-first mindset...

Wrestling demands toughness but relies on endurance. In other words, you can have the courage of champion but if you have an empty tank you can't go anywhere. That's why Barrow High School wrestling coach Steve Gillaspie has emphasized on conditioning more than ever the last couple weeks. ...

A two-time state champion and a four-time state semifinalist, Jared Miller was the quintessential star of the Kotzebue High School wrestling team....

Brower leads initial vote count by 65, 268 ballots still in question...

Flooding, power outages, wind damage reports still coming in from rural communities...

Months of door-knocking, speeches, baby-bouncing and politicking will come to its natural conclusion next Tuesday as voters head to the polls to choose a mayor for the North Slope Borough....

Western Alaska lost an Inupiat Renaissance Man on October 14, 2011. This is a good title for the man that was Paul Charles Johnson of Unalakleet....

The word on everyone's lips at the Alaska Federation of Natives annual convention last weekend was unity — though the definition differed....

In a keynote address that moved from personal...

Charlotte Brower, George Ahmaogak and write-ins neck-and-neck in preliminary vote counts....

Janice Doherty launched a last-minute writein campaign for mayor of Nome and garnered an impressive 42 percent of the vote, according to unofficial results....

When the first paper Arctic Sounder came out on April Fools' Day, 1986, founding editor Martha Stewart felt like she had given birth. It was the end of a yearlong journey to create a paper where one was before. And it was the beginning of one of the best experience of her life, Stewart said....

I often have discussions with fishermen about the issue of salmon quality. When questioned about whether a fisherman has chilling capacity, such as RSW or insulated holds or slush bags for holding slush ice, the results are mixed....

Joe Gallagher, public relations coordinator for the Homer Electric Association, has received the Alaska Power Association's Hatcher-Williams-Turkington Employee Award for exemplary service to his electric cooperative and community....

Alaskans who filed for the 2011 Permanent Fund Dividend between Jan. 1 and March 31 have until Aug. 31 to make Pick.Click.Give. charitable contributions on the state's PFD Division homepage, choosing between over 400 nonprofit causes....

Several dozen residents of rural Alaska communities are honing their skills in gardening and farming skills, under a U.S. Department of Agriculture grant coordinated through the Fairbanks Cooperative Extension Service....

Twelve of 15 new graduates of the University of Alaska Anchorage's first physician assistant program, including Katie Copps-Wilson of the Levelock/Naknek area, and Cordella Sewall of Kodiak, say they plan to work in Alaska....

An agreement to enhance collaboration on ocean, coastal and climate science for the Arctic was signed today by three oil companies and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration....

Twenty-five of the 36 rural Alaska post offices that have been under consideration for closure are no longer under consideration for closure....

Alaska's salmon season is on the home stretch and the catch will be far afield from early expectations of 203 million fish....

Calista Corp. and First Alaskans Institute announced today the transfer of ownership of First Alaskans Magazine to FAI....

Veterans from across Alaska are invited to participate in the third annual state-wide Veterans Summit at the Carlson Center in Fairbanks Aug. 26....

Mysterious 'orange goo' that washed ashore in early August at Kivalina in Northwest Alaska consists of fungal spores, not the microscopic eggs that preliminary analysis indicated, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administrations said today....

The Bureau of Ocean Energy, Management, Regulation and Enforcement has released a final supplemental environmental impact statement for the Chukchi Sea oil and gas lease sale 193, held in February 2008....

The Alaska Supreme Court has cleared the way for an initiative that could block development of the Pebble Mine to be placed on the Oct. 4 ballot for the Lake and Peninsula Borough....

The end of Alaska Newspapers Inc. (ANI) and Camai Printing brings new life to newspapers and staff alike. As I think about all the great things that we've accomplished here, I am so proud that I was part of such an amazing team....

Veteran journalist Edgar Blatchford, an associate professor at the University of Alaska Anchorage, has purchased The Tundra Drums and Seward Phoenix Log, part of the Alaska Newspapers Inc. group, Calista Corp. announced today....

Alaskans spent about $7.5 billion in 2010 on health care, a new report compiled by the University of Alaska Anchorage concludes....

Researchers with the U.S. Geological survey said today that they will attempt to radio tag nearly three dozen walruses in northwest Alaska in August as part of an ongoing study to see how Pacific walrus are responding to reduced sea ice conditions in late summer and fall....

A notice of proposed rulemaking designed to improve safety on towing vessels has been published by the U.S. Coast Guard in the Federal Register and public comment now is being sought....

Keeping fish cold is the key to quality, and new technology is taking chilling to whole new levels....

Bristol Bay Native Corp.asked the state of Alaska today to withdraw its amicus curiae briefing in litigation involving a ballot initiative that would affect development of the Pebble mine....

A report released today by the Alaska Department of Education and Early Development says 231 of 505 public schools in Alaska made adequate yearly progress in 2010-2011 under the controversial No Child Left Behind Act....

Alaska's history is rich with mining, and every mine is different. Gold, copper, lead. But when it comes to the risk of contamination, differences in geology and hydrology - rocks and water - drive the risk. Pebble is different from other Alaska mines because of rocks and water....

Fishing People of the North: Cultures, Economies and Management Responding to Change is the theme of the 27th annual Wakefield Fisheries Symposium, coming to Anchorage Sept. 14-17....

Alaska's redistricting board submitted its final redistricting plan to the Justice Department today, with a request for preclearance of that plan under section 5 of the Voting Rights Act....

A field hearing on the future of the Coast Guard in Alaska on Friday at the University of Alaska Anchorage will feature testimony from Admiral Robert J. Papp, commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard, Sen. Mark Begich, D-Alaska announced today....

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar says that the federal government will continue to move forward toward offshore oil and gas development in the Arctic, while ensuring protection of the fragile Arctic environment....

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar is winding up his trip to Alaska today with a visit to Denali National Park and a news conference in Anchorage, where he is expected to comment on energy, health and park service observations over the past few days....

Bush Alaska sports prodigy Sam Hill has struggled with self-doubt, but he never bought into the notion that kids from rural Alaska can't succeed....

Caleb Pungowiyi, a prominent Yupik Eskimo know for his many achievements, was among five individuals and one organization named today as winners of the 26th annual Alaska Conservation Foundation conservation achievement awards....

A final report on the proposed state legislative redistricting plans, by Voting Rights Act expert Lisa Handley, was released on Monday by the Alaska Redistricting Board....

The Alaska SeaLife Center at Seward has officially opened the Walter J. and Ermalee Hickel Overlook, in tribute to the significant contribution of the Hickel family in establishing the marine facility....

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar says that the Obama administration has a commitment to developing offshore oil and gas and renewable energy in Alaska, but also has a commitment to doing it right....

Alaska Supreme Court justices have granted a motion from the Pebble Limited Partnership to expedite a decision over a Lake and Peninsula Borough ballot initiative that would affect development of the proposed Pebble mine....

Scientists at the NOAA Alaska Fisheries Science Center's Auke Bay Laboratories have determined the mysterious orange substance that washed ashore last week near the village of Kivalina is microscopic eggs, said a press release from NOAA....

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, in partnership with Stewart's Photo Shop in Anchorage, has set a Nov. 1 deadline for submission of entries to the first annual Alaska Fish Photo Contest....

An international symposium on erosion and landscape evolution is slated for Sept. 18-21 in Anchorage by the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers....

Calista Corp. announced Aug. 5 the sale of three weekly newspapers and two specialty shoppers, effective in late August, to Jason Evans and Kiana Peacock....

Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, has introduced legislation instituting preventative measures to keep students from dropping out of school....

Shell Oil Co.'s plan to begin drilling exploration wells in Alaska's Beaufort Sea in July 2012 was given conditional approval today by the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Enforcement and Regulation, or BOEMRE....

Arne Fuglvog, a top fisheries aide to Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, has agreed to plead guilty to a violation of a federal law combating illegal trafficking in fisheries, and now faces incarceration and fines totaling $150,000....

Arne Fuglvog, a top fisheries aide to Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, has agreed to plead guilty to a violation of a federal law combating illegal trafficking in fisheries, and now faces incarceration and fines totaling $150,000....

I want to take advantage of reaching all of you one last time through the Arctic Sounder to let you know what I think is going to be critical for us to survive and maintain a reasonable quality of life in the coming years....

The commission affirmed that a quota of 58 polar bears per year will be shared between the two countries....

Maude Hopson's dream was always to walk with her daughter down the aisle. The graduation aisle, that is....

National economic woes aside, the Alaska Permanent Fund saw a 20.6 percent return for fiscal year 2011, for a value of $40.1 billion, the third highest return in the fund's history, according to unaudited figures released today....

Calista Corp. announced today the sale of The Cordova Times to Jennifer Gibbins, a Cordova resident and current editor for the weekly newspaper. Gibbons will assume ownership effective in late August....

The Pebble Limited Partnership filed an emergency petition with Alaska Superior Court today, seeking a decision by Aug. 15 on whether an initiative affecting development of the proposed Pebble mine can go to voters in an October election....

Rep. Don Young, R-Alaska, voted with the majority today as the House of Representatives passed the Budget Control Act of 2011 by a vote of 269-161....

"We are particularly happy about the outcome because the Lums made allegations against the officers that were false, and the officers have had to wait three years to be cleared of these accusations once and for all," said borough police chief Leon Boyea....