Alaska Dispatch News
Fireworks dazzle Fur Rendezvous
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- Fireworks dazzle Fur Rendezvous
- Date posted
- 10 years ago
- Description
- Fur Rendezvous carnival goers and people in downtown Anchorage Saturday evening were treated to 15 minute fireworks show that featured star and heart-shaped pyrotechnics. The fireworks were shot off from an area in Ship Creek valley near the Alaska Railroad depot. A group of about two-dozen gathered at C Street and 3rd Avenue to watch the festivities.
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- Snowmachine stuck in the trail
- Date posted
- 10 years ago
- Description
- The first two dog teams to hit the race course Saturday afternoon avoided a potentially dangerous situation. A race volunteer trying to move a snowmachine from one side of the trail to the other flipped it over in the path of the dogs less than 20 seconds before they arrived. The incident happened near the intersection of Cordova Street and 16th Avenue. Other volunteers and a spectator rushed to help the man up just before the teams came by. The snowmachine was supposed to be on the other side of the trail to help control traffic and the crowd from getting too close to the dogs.
Watch this video to see the close call.
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- Sprint sled dog race through Anchorage
- Date posted
- 10 years ago
- Description
- The annual sled dog sprint competition at Fur Rendezvous billed as the Open World Championship usually features three consecutive days of racing on a 26-mile course, with teams powered by as many as 20 rocketing dogs.
Nothing is the usual this year, though.
Not the distance, not the course, not the conditions, not the format, not the start procedure, not the size of the teams, not the purse and not the race’s name.
Yet, in a wonderfully stubborn attempt to salvage something meaningful from the nearly snow-free conditions and warm temperatures that have plagued outdoor winter sports in general and reduced local dog trails to ice in particular, Rondy organizers unveiled truncated racing Friday afternoon.
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- 2016 New Life Native Musicale in Anchorage
- Date posted
- 10 years ago
- Description
- Performers at the annual New Life Native Musicale sing songs of inspiration and devotion. The largest gathering of Alaska Native Christians, Musicale brings together hundreds a groups and soloists from rural villages across the state. Since the 1960s the event has been held during the week of Fur Rendezvous, as a way to provide a healthy alternative to the night bar scene in downtown Anchorage.
Formerly held at West High School, the gospel music festival is now hosted by Change Point Church and this year was held a week earlier than usually as an experiment. 500 invitations were sent out and a finally selection of 200 groups perform over five nights. Each performer or group has ten minutes on the stage to sing or give a testimony. “Sometimes there’s a single person that sings, there might be a group of eighteen, there might be group from churchs, just all kinds of people sing or give testimony,” says coordinator Fran McCue.
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- Kasuun Elementary Food Club
- Date posted
- 10 years ago
- Description
- Kasuun Elementary School first-grade teacher Kellie Mitchell collaborated with health teacher Karen Bronga to set up the after-school cooking club for students. Over the course of four afternoons this year, Mitchell, Bronga and several parent helpers have led the third through six graders through several simple meal ideas: chicken quesadillas, lasagna, fried rice and chicken wraps. Bronga said it’s a great opportunity for kids to learn to be safe in the kitchen in a controlled environment. Some of the kids have some experience cooking -- enough that parents trust them to use the stove at home. Others are starting the class from zero.(Video by Bob Hallinen / Alaska Dispatch News)
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- How Wade met Sophie
- Date posted
- 10 years ago
- Description
- Musher Wade Marrs met Sophie DeBruin while she was volunteering for Iditarod to assist with medical checks for Iditarod dogs in 2014. They tell the story of how they met and share a few of the challenges professional dog mushing can add to a relationship. Marrs, who finished 8th in the 2015 Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, will race again this year. (Video by Marc Lester / Alaska Dispatch News)
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- Anchorage Museum connects with Beam+ telepresence robot
- Date posted
- 10 years ago
- Description
- In early February the Anchorage Museum purchased a Beam+ telepresence robot to connect with people from across the globe.
Diana Montano of Museum Hack beamed in from New York to take a tour with museum staffers Doug Adams and Lindsay Garrod.
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- Anchorage in traffic
- Date posted
- 10 years ago
- Description
- A time-lapse video takes a tour of the roads of midtown and downtown Anchorage, Alaska, on a slushy Monday, February 22, 2016. Road included are Tudor Road, Lake Otis Boulevard, Northern Lights Boulevard, C Street, Seward Highway and Minnesota Drive. (Video by Marc Lester / Alaska Dispatch News)
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- Our Voices Will Be Heard rehearsal at Perseverance Theater
- Date posted
- 10 years ago
- Description
- “Our Voices Will Be Heard" is the first play written, directed and performed by Natives to be performed on the main stage in Perseverance Theatre history.
Read the full story on Alaska Dispatch News: http://j.mp/1WHeoIT
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- Spenard Road reconstruction visualized
- Date posted
- 10 years ago
- Description
- Anchorage voters will decide in April whether to approve money for a long-delayed effort to rebuild Spenard Road, a project that has been churning back to life in recent weeks.
At West Anchorage High School this month, project managers held an open house to showcase the latest version of the plans. The project, which stretches through a vibrant commercial area surrounded by apartment buildings and condos, would convert the north end of Spenard Road between Northern Lights and Hillcrest Drive from four lanes to three lanes — at least as currently envisioned. Project managers hope to have most of the plan complete by the end of July, and they want to construction be complete by the end of the summer 2017.
Watch this video to get an understanding of the city's current plan.
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- 2000 hard miles begin in Anchorage
- Date posted
- 10 years ago
- Description
- The Iron Dog snowmobile race is more than going fast for 2000 miles through the arctic Alaskan wilderness. Top teams trim out their machines to withstand the pounding doled out by the rugged terrain. It is billed as the world’s longest and toughest snowmobile race, got started Saturday in downtown Anchorage. This is the second year that the race held their ceremonial start in Anchorage.
The race officially gets under way Sunday in Big Lake. From there teams of two racers each will head to Nome, where they have a mandatory layover, before heading to the finish line in Fairbanks.
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- Flips and tricks for Flying Iron freestyle
- Date posted
- 10 years ago
- Description
- Three snowmachine acrobats dazzled a crowd of several hundred spectators on the north side of the Sunshine Plaza tonight during the “Flying Iron” freestyle show. The city shut down 3rd Avenue between C and E Streets and piled a giant mounds of snow for the snowmachiners to drive, jump and land on. Safety was top of mind. The show started 30 minutes late as the drivers and mechanics worked on a sled that wasn’t quite right.
The show kicked off festivities for Iron Dog weekend. The 2000-mile race from Big Lake to Nome and then onto Fairbanks begins on Sunday after the pro class racers drive through the streets of Anchorage Saturday.
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- Sunken car towed from Palmer Hay Flats salmon rearing waters
- Date posted
- 10 years ago
- Description
- Wade Behm and his son Eric of Happy Hooker Towing were called in by Alaska Department of Fish and Game to winch out a sunken Ford pickup truck from the waters of Palmer Hay Flats State Game Refuge Wednesday.
Read the full article on Alaska Dispatch News: http://j.mp/1RaQV18
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- Pickup truck towed out of salmon rearing waters in Palmer Hay Flats
- Date posted
- 10 years ago
- Description
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- Supply bags gathered for 2016 Iditarod
- Date posted
- 10 years ago
- Description
- Competitors in the upcoming Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race brought their drop bags to the Air Land Transport facility in South Anchorage on Wednesday, February 18, 2016. The bags contain their personal food, dog food and other supplies for their trip to Nome. Race marshall Mark Nordman said there’s about 1,400 to 1,500 pounds of drop bags dropped off for each of the 86 participating mushers. Those will be delivered to the various checkpoints along the trail. (Video by Marc Lester / Alaska Dispatch News)
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- Valdez Ice Climbing Festival
- Date posted
- 10 years ago
- Description
- Over the Presidents Day weekend, 300 people gathered in Valdez' Keystone Canyon for the Valdez Ice Climbing Festival. Climbing 200 foot frozen waterfalls, participants are helping make the dream of Levitation 49, a non-profit sports commission, a reality. Organizers hope that by hosting outdoor events year round, Valdez will attract new businesses and year-round residents.
Read more: http://www.adn.com/article/20160216/v...
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- Complicated Alaska budget crisis explained in simple terms
- Date posted
- 10 years ago
- Description
- With the state facing a $3.5 billion budget deficit, Alaskans have been debating a complicated series of plans on how to fix the problem. How much state spending needs to be cut? Should we increase taxes or initiate new ones? How does the Alaska Permanent Fund fit into the situation? It's by far the biggest issue the governor and state legislators are dealing with in Juneau this year.
In recent months, Gunnar Knapp, professor of economics at the University of Alaska Anchorage and director of the Institute of Social and Economic Research, has been on a mission to educate Alaskans about the problem and potential solutions. He's given versions of a presentation about the budget crisis and Alaska's looming fiscal cliff to anyone who will listen, and has spoken to groups large and small.
We asked Knapp to make a shorter, somewhat simplified version of his presentation for a video audience.
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- Stan Hooley announces the 2016 Iditarod start
- Date posted
- 10 years ago
- Description
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- Younger and more aggressive homeless people raise concern downtown
- Date posted
- 10 years ago
- Description
- Editor's note: Video includes explicit language
The Anchorage Downtown Partnership reports that its “ambassadors,” who patrol downtown on foot, have recently seen an increase of aggression, and in some cases violence, from Anchorage’s homeless, especially young adults and teens. The nonprofit estimates there are at least 200 people who live on the streets in the downtown area. A portion of this group sleeps in alleys and doorways, and under heat exhaust vents.
Each morning the Partnership's security team rouses the regulars before the majority of business owners, employees and customers show up. The rest of day they help keep order on downtown streets and inside businesses, like coffee shops, where some of homeless are not welcome because they loiter, steal and harass the general public.
On Friday morning, Feb. 5, Alaska Dispatch News spent about three hours with the interim director of security for the Anchorage Downtown Partnership, Micha...
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- One more try to reconstruct Spenard Road
- Date posted
- 10 years ago
- Description
- After nearly two decades of debate and planning, the Spenard Road reconstruction project -- from 30th Avenue to Hillcrest Drive -- is positioned to receive $13.8 million if a city bond proposal passes during the April 5 Anchorage municipal election.
The municipality's promotional machine is in overdrive. From 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday at West High School, project planners and engineers will host an open house to get their message out. They are still taking public comment on the project and entertaining ideas for improvements.
The team will attend various community forums over the next several weeks, including with area community councils and at the Spenard Chamber of Commerce.
Anchorage Mayor Ethan Berkowitz has made construction projects a priority as the city copes with declining state revenue from oil.
“One of the ways that Anchorage is going to get through the state’s fiscal situation is we’re going to build our way through it,...
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- Alaska Ski for Women
- Date posted
- 10 years ago
- Description
- Morning sunshine brightened the trails as 500 skiers participated in the 20th annual Alaska Ski For Women at Kincaid Park on Super Bowl Sunday, Feb. 7, 2016. Donations from the women-only cross country ski event has contributed over $1 million to groups that actively work to improve women's lives and help stop the cycle of domestic abuse against women and children.
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- Anchorage chefs toss aside rivalries for South Restaurant's 'back room' series
- Date posted
- 10 years ago
- Description
- It’s not every day that the executive chef of South Restaurant + Coffeehouse finds himself under the instruction of another chef in his own kitchen.
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- 2016 Denali Doubles sled dog race begins
- Date posted
- 10 years ago
- Description
- Seventeen teams began the Denali Doubles sled dog race on February 5, 2016. The race, founded and organized by veteran dog musher Jeff King, uses a unique format. Teams must consist of two mushers and can use up to 20 dogs. The race follows the Denali Highway near Cantwell, Alaska, for 226 miles. (Video by Marc Lester / Alaska Dispatch News)
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- How to make sablefish bone broth
- Date posted
- 10 years ago
- Description
- Alaska Black Cod owner Rich Clarke makes use of the fish waste from his small processing plant, as well as hopping on the latest food trend Jan. 25, 2016, by making a French-style clear “fumet” broth he sells as “sablefish stock.”
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- Anchorage Jail surveillance video of Larry Kobuk death
- Date posted
- 10 years ago
- Description
- Warning: This video contains extremely graphic scenes and language.
Surveillance video from the Anchorage Jail, depicting the death of 33-year-old Larry Kobuk, who was arrested January 27, 2015 on charges of vehicle theft. Kobuk died at the jail during an incident where four officers restrained him in an attempt to remove his clothing, which was needed as evidence.
The State of Alaska released this same video, without audio, earlier this month but the Alaska Correctional Officers Association, the union representing officers at the Anchorage Jail, felt that the video without audio was unfairly portraying their members as using excessive force. The union released the same video, with audio, to members of the media today.
Full story: http://www.adn.com/article/20160129/alaska-correctional-officers-union-releases-video-inmate-death-allege-bias
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- Police speak after Point Woronzof body discovery
- Date posted
- 10 years ago
- Description
- The person found critically injured at Point Woronzof after the discovery of a body there Thursday morning has died, police say.
Police announced the second death at about 1 p.m. Thursday, following a morning call to Point Woronzof near Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport.
"Detectives have identified the two found this morning (a male and a female) and are in the process of notifying their next of kin," police wrote. "The bodies of both persons were found on the beach just below the parking lot at Point Woronzof. Homicide detectives continue to investigate the circumstances leading to their deaths."
A statement from the Anchorage Police Department announced the injured person's discovery at about 10 a.m. That person was taken from the scene by ambulance.
APD said in an initial statement that calls reporting a citizen’s discovery of a body at the point, just north of Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport, came in shortl...
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- Gov. Bill Walker's 2016 State of the State speech
- Date posted
- 10 years ago
- Description
- Gov. Bill Walker delivers the annual State of the State address before the Legislature at the Alaska Capitol in Juneau on Thursday, Jan. 21, 2016.
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- KTVA reporter quits on-air, reveals herself as owner of Alaska Cannabis Club
- Date posted
- 10 years ago
- Description
- KTVA Charlo Greene just quit on live TV after revealing she was the founder of the AK Cannabis Club.
Read the full article on Alaska Dispatch News: http://j.mp/adnakcannabisclub
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- Alaska Forest School
- Date posted
- 10 years ago
- Description
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- 'Happy Birthday, Asi,' Ma'o Tosi on violence in our community
- Date posted
- 10 years ago
- Description
- Ma'o Tosi, Anchorage community leader active in programs that help youth, posted this video commentary to Facebook on Aug. 5, 2015, with the following tag.
"With the violence in our streets picking up I visited a friend this morning to vent but thought I'd share. I don't want to see others make the same choices...I don't want to see others end up like us or worse. Happy birthday Asi...love you always bro! #Peace#AnchorageReppin #AsiSaafi #RIP #TokoUso PLEASE SHARE and TAG someone, if you think it can help."
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- Earthquake home explosion in Kenai
- Date posted
- 10 years ago
- Description
- Vinnie Calderon talks about the loss of his home on Lilac Lane in Kenai, AK on Sunday, January 24, 2016. His home was completely destroyed when a natural gas leak caused two explosions and a fire. Calderon suffered burns when he went back into the house after getting his family out to get a housemate out.
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- Earthquake clean up at Anchorage True Value Hardware
- Date posted
- 10 years ago
- Description
- Security video of a 7.1 magnitude earthquake knocking over bins full of nuts and bolts at the Anchorage True Value Hardware store on Jewel Lake on Sunday, Jan. 24, 2016.
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- With lack of snow in Anchorage, mushers head north
- Date posted
- 10 years ago
- Description
- The Montana Creek Dog Mushers Association, located just south of the Talkeetna Spur Road cutoff, is one of the only places in southcentral Alaska where sprint mushers can race this year.
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- Alaska Native students learn how to reduce heating costs
- Date posted
- 10 years ago
- Description
- A group of middle school students from Western Alaska visited Anchorage this week to get a glimpse of college existence and learn the fundamentals of science, technology, engineering and math, also known as STEM.
STEM is a worldwide movement that encourages students at an early age to excel in the four core subjects. The 12-day Middle School Academy is put on by the Alaska Native Science & Engineering Program at University of Alaska Anchorage.
Friday's lessons included a section on energy conservation through home insulation.
"The reason why we’re doing this experiment is because the heating bill is almost a thousand bucks per month,” said Cooper Moen, a student in the Lower Yukon School District.
Throughout the academy, the students have built computers and bridges, learned about earthquake engineering and experimented with renewable energy.
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- Tango opera 'Maria de Buenos Aires' prepares for Anchorage debut
- Date posted
- 10 years ago
- Description
- "She was born on the day God was drunk.” That description is one of the first things we learn about the title character of the opera “Maria de Buenos Aires,” which has its Alaska premiere this week.
Soprano Catalina Cuervo and baritone Luis Alejandro Orozco star.
Read the full article on Alaska Dispatch News: http://j.mp/1TdYF51
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- Raw video TIRE VIEW: Fat biking through Far North Bicentennial Park
- Date posted
- 10 years ago
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- Raw video FRONT VIEW: Fat biking through Far North Bicentennial Park
- Date posted
- 10 years ago
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- Raw video REAR VIEW: Fat biking through Far North Bicentennial Park
- Date posted
- 10 years ago
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- Anchorage is fat bike heaven
- Date posted
- 10 years ago
- Description
- You've seen them all around town. It's clear that fat biking is here to stay. This growing trend in Anchorage's bicycling community is now a mainstream way for even the casual rider to take advantage of Anchorage's easily accessible trail system, and Alaska's outdoor lifestyle, all year long.
On the morning of Jan. 15, a small group of avid fat-tire bikers met Alaska Dispatch News in Anchorage's Far North Bicentennial Park for a explanation and demonstration of fat-tire bike basics. Clinton Hodges, Laura Fox, Ryan Greeff and Nick Blades have all been riding fat-tire bikes for several years. Watch this video to learn more about fat-tire biking and see this group of friends in action.
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- Volunteer spirit in full swing at Food Bank of Alaska
- Date posted
- 10 years ago
- Description
- About 50 volunteers pitched in for the Food Bank of Alaska’s monthly “box build,” held this month on January 18, 2016. The food will be given low income seniors around Alaska. Twenty tons of food are packed into 1,500 thirty-pound boxes by the volunteers. David Cornwall, Food Bank’s logistics manager, said the boxes are distributed by trucks, planes and barges around the state. He said he sees many of the same people pitch in month after month, looking for an opportunity to make a difference. “I like to see all the people coming in to volunteer, and there’s nothing better than handing this box or any food out to somebody that really needs it,” he said.
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- Tina and Austin: Life after the crash
- Date posted
- 10 years ago
- Description
- In March 2013, while Tina Ervin was away for the night, her five-year-old son Austin was involved in a car accident with family friends in Wasilla, Alaska. The accident left Austin, now 8, unable to move his body from the neck down and requiring ventilator to breathe. With full-time help, Tina cares for her son. Tina describes the experience and her motivation in helping him live the fullest life he can.
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- Akiak Dash 2016
- Date posted
- 10 years ago
- Description
- The 2016 Akiak Dash sled dog race began on the Kuskokwim River in Bethel on Saturday, January 16, 2016.
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- Beach Front Silent Disco dance party at the Anchorage Museum
- Date posted
- 10 years ago
- Description
- Anchorage local artist Buck Walsky re-created his Burning Man art installation on the front lawn of the Anchorage Museum. Beach Front Silent Disco is a dance party like no other. Alex the Lion djed music that was wirelessly transmitted to two hundred headphones that people could rent for the evening to dance. To a casual passerby the event looks like an odd miming performance with people shuffling around in frigid temperatures under sea creature-like blue lights. It was a surreal and joyful event to celebrate winter, sponsored by Polar Nights at the Anchorage Museum.
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- Blues Central, Anchorage's new speakeasy
- Date posted
- 10 years ago
- Description
- Longtime Anchorage residents are well acquainted with Blue Central, the midtown bar and restaurant that closed in 2013. It’s been resurrected at Williwaw (both in name and in a liquor license transfer) but with a far different look. Forget the well-worn booths and neon lighting. Blue Central has gone back to the Prohibition era, with a modern twist. Pictures of rock 'n' roll icons line the bar, lit by vintage-style Edison light bulbs. The cocktails include pop culture-inspired mixes alongside Prohibition-era favorites. Even getting in to the bar is an event -- requiring a phone booth, password and an unmarked door.
Read the full article on Alaska Dispatch News: http://j.mp/1PtK0wr
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- Chief Chris Tolley addresses media on January 15, 2015
- Date posted
- 10 years ago
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- Beer lovers! "Barley Wine Blastoff" is Friday
- Date posted
- 10 years ago
- Description
- Midnight Sun Brewing Co. will release a very limited supply of vintage barley wine during their "Barley Wine Blastoff" tomorrow morning in the tasting room loft on Dimond Hook Drive. They'll have only a few cases starting at 11 a.m. Friday. This event is a kick off Alaska Beer Week. Watch the video to find out more details.
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- Seal bombs thrown into Sitka hatchery net fine against skipper
- Date posted
- 10 years ago
- Description
- A crew member of the fishing vessel Sara Dawn throws a seal bomb over the boundary line of the Hidden Falls Hatchery near Sitka on July 21, 2013, in this video recorded by a hatchery worker and given to Alaska Wildlife Troopers. The Sara Dawn's skipper, 43-year-old Andrew Kittams, agreed in October 2015 to pay more than $15,000 in fines and restitution over fish illegally scared into his nets in the case.
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- Unseen – Seen, a group portrait show at Beans Café in Anchorage
- Date posted
- 10 years ago
- Description
- Painter James Temte puts the finishing touches on his mural for Unseen – Seen, a group portrait show at Beans Café.
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- Anchorage Police Chief discusses officer involved shooting
- Date posted
- 10 years ago
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- Mortar live-fire training on JBER
- Date posted
- 10 years ago
- Description
- Paratroopers with the 1st Battalion, 501st Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division fired 120mm mortars towards the Eagle River impact area during live-fire training at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson on Tuesday, Jan. 12, 2016. Residents in and around Anchorage, JBER, Eagle River and the Mat-Su Valley should expect to hear loud noises through Thursday as the Spartan Brigade conducts biennial certification of the mortar units prior to executing a brigade live-fire at the Joint Readiness Training Center in Fort Polk, La., in February. Bill Roth / adn.com
