Anchorage Daily News

SHELDON JACKSON COLLEGE GRADUATES FINAL STUDENTS (KCAW, Sitka): The 130-year old Sitka institution affiliated with the Presbyterian Church closed its doors in 2007, but a handful of students were able to complete their degrees through an arrangement with the University of Alaska. Alaska's oldest higher-education institution is officially gone, but some are holding out hope there'll someday be a new college in Sitka. The Sheldon Jackson College Watch blog has been tracking the institution's demise.

TIME PUTS PALIN AMONG WORLD'S MOST INFLUENTIAL 100 (Ann Coulter, Time Magazine): "The combination of Palin's attractiveness as a candidate and her ability to expose liberals made her a celebrity among Republicans. The only thing I have against her is that she threatens to surpass me in attracting the left's hatred."

DENALI RANGER, GUIDE DIES IN U.K. CLIMBING ACCIDENT (KTNA, Talkeetna): Seasonal Talkeetna resident John Evans, 54, died Tuesday from injuries sustained in a fall in Snowdonia National Park near his winter home in North Wales. The U.K. climbing community is paying tribute online. More details at KTUU and Wales Online.

ICE CLASSIC TRIPOD ON THIN ICE (Fairbanks Daily News-Miner): The clock is ticking. Officials with the Nenana Ice Classic on Wednesday hooked up the clock that will determine who strikes it rich in Alaska's popular guessing game. See a photo of the tripod and an open-water channel running past it on the Ice Classic homepage.

REPUBLICANS UNVEIL NEW NATIONAL COUNCIL, WANT PALIN'S HELP (The Fix, Washington Post): Gov. Palin is expected to play a role in the National Council for a New America, a new effort led by House and Senate Republican leaders designed to find ways to make the party more appealing to independent voters.

FOREST SERVICE INVESTIGATES ALASKA'S DYING ALDERS (KDLG, Dillingham): From Nome to Skagway, alders are dying off - especially in Mat-Su. That might please some people who struggle to keep their property clear of the fast-growing, brushy relatives of birch, but it could be a sign of environmental trouble.

ALASKA, WASHINGTON LAWMAKERS URGE MORE SPENDING ON FERRIES (Alaska Public Radio Network): A bill introduced Wednesday by Sens. Patty Murray, D-Wash., and Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, would nearly triple federal ferry spending to $200 million a year. Alaska's Marine Highway System serves 30 communities along routes totaling more than 3,000 miles. Washington state has the largest ferry system in the country, with over 25 million riders a year.

THE POLITICS OF SPECIES PROTECTION IN ALASKA (Green Inc., The N.Y. Times): The state of Alaska is stepping up efforts to fight a pair of recent listings under the Endangered Species Act - and proceeding cautiously with the reintroduction of a third species to the state - arguing that federal protections are unwarranted and likely to hurt the local economy.

FAIRBANKS GUN-RIGHTS GROUP RAISES PROFILE (Fairbanks Daily News-Miner): The Second Amendment Task Force began a little less than three months ago when more than 100 people crowded into the Fairbanks Denny's restaurant to discuss perceived threats to gun rights and personal liberty. On Wednesday night, the group moved into the convention center for "Freedom Fest," a three-hour event that was part gun show, part rally for conservative issues. With photos

PHEASANTS ESCAPE, MULTIPLY IN HOMER (Homer Tribune): The pheasant population in Homer is reportedly increasing. And because the birds are not indigenous to the area, they could threaten native species, including more than 130 birds that migrate to Kachemak Bay every spring. With photo

NATIVE AMERICANS DESCENDED FROM A SINGLE ANCESTRAL GROUP, DNA STUDY INDICATES (Science Daily, University of California-Davis): DNA evidence shows that Native Americans and Greenlanders are more closely related to each other than to any other existing Asian populations, except those that live at the very edge of the Bering Strait.

VOLCANIC ASH COMPLICATES HOMER STREET SWEEPING (Homer Tribune): Most years, cleaning up Homer's streets after breakup is enough of a challenge for the city's aged street sweeper. This year the lone sweeper has its work cut out for it, as city crews continue to fight volcanic ash finding its way into just about everything.

Return to Alaska Newsreader later in the day for new links.

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HIGHLIGHTS FROM RECENT NEWSREADERS:

The night Bob Hope nearly died in Alaska (Pensacola News Journal)

"American Chopper" crew visits Palin (People)

Andre the 2-legged Mat-Su dog is walking on prostheses (9News, Denver)

Keillor on Stevens: "Have mercy" (Tribune Media)

Don't waste the tax money: Anchorage is not a cycling-friendly city (The Alaska Standard)

Filming Charlie Vandergaw: "Stranger Among Bears" (Animal Planet)

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