Rural Alaska

Fee hike considered in Sitka for high electrical use

Sitka officials are considering an increase in fees for customers using higher-than-average levels of electricity.

Barrow searchers looking for missing woman door-to-door

A house-to-house search is under way in Barrow for a missing woman, Eliza Simmonds, according to the North Slope Borough mayor's office.

In D.C. forum, Alaskans urge action on Bush energy crisis

Lawmakers, energy experts and Native leaders said Thursday that rural Alaska's oppressive energy costs are a dire problem with elusive solutions.

Governor signs suicide prevention measure

Gov. Sean Parnell has signed legislation requiring suicide prevention training for certain teachers, administrators, counselors and specialists in Alaska public schools.

Rare Bush refuge struggles to keep a door open for women

The Emmonak Women's Shelter, Alaska's only village center for abused women, is often the only option for women living in 13 surrounding villages. Funding woes will likely close it by summer's end.

For Native American women, more rape, then less support

EMMONAK -- She was 19, a young Alaska Native woman in this icebound fishing village of 800 in the Yukon River delta, when an intruder broke into her home and raped her. The man left. Shaking, the woman called the tribal police, a force of three. It was late at night. No one answered. She left a message on the department's voice mail system. Her call was never returned. She was left to recover on her own.

Haines Borough challenges latest redistricting plan

The Alaska Redistricting Board's latest attempt at redrawing the state's political boundaries has drawn opposition. The state Supreme Court must decide whether to approve the plan, or send it back to the board for yet another try.

Climber who died on Mount McKinley was from Germany

National park officials say a climber who died in a fatal fall on Mount McKinley was from Germany.

1,100-foot fall causes first death of season on McKinley

Bald eagle is euthanized after being shot in the elbow

Alaska Raptor Center officials in Sitka say a bald eagle that had been shot had to be euthanized.

Fire destroys historic Copper Center Lodge

An early morning fire Sunday destroyed the historic Copper Center Lodge, one of the last surviving Alaska roadhouses. The lodge, located off the Old Richardson Highway in Copper Center, was one of the few original roadhouses still operating, said owner Tom Huddleston. The original roadhouse on the site was built in 1896 and served gold miners.

Redistricting Board told to keep working on Southeast districts

The Alaska Supreme Court has ordered the state Redistricting Board to rework House and Senate districts in Southeast Alaska for a plan to be used for this year's elections.

USPS proposes cutting hours at rural Alaska post offices

The cash-strapped U.S. Postal Service on Wednesday proposed reducing hours of operation at dozens of rural post offices in Alaska and thousands nationwide as a way to keep them open.

Postal Service vows to keep rural post offices open

Meeting considers role for Alaska Native language council

Should a semester of Alaska Native language studies be required in high school? Should every school have a Native language teacher? Those were among suggestions Monday at a meeting called in response to passage of a bill creating a state Native language council.

Alaska ferry strikes seafood processor's dock

One of Alaska's largest state ferries plowed into a seafood processing plant's dock in Petersburg on Monday, causing significant damage, officials said. The 408-foot Matanuska hit the dock belonging to Ocean Beauty.

Whaling commission's ex-chief pleads guilty to stealing funds

A longtime head of the Alaska Eskimo Whaling Commission pleaded guilty Monday to stealing and misspending hundreds of thousands of dollars from the organization, and her successor is scheduled to plead to similar charges Wednesday.

Alaska Native villages and tribes win HUD grants

Officials with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development say a dozen Alaska Native villages and tribes are receiving a total of nearly $6 million in grants to help them meet needs for affordable housing and economic and community development.

Group plans Territorial Guard memorial

The Western Alaska town of Bethel is planning to quickly push forward with its plans for a memorial park honoring those who served in the 6,400-member Alaska Territorial Guard.

Speak Native languages now, or let them go forever

The number of people in Southeast Alaska who can speak one of the three Native languages there -- Tlingit, Haida and Coastal Tsimshian -- has dropped to perhaps 250, reports Lance A. Twitchell (Xh'unei), an assistant professor of Native languages at the University of Alaska Southeast. In a Juneau Empire column, he calls for a new individual and institutional commitment to revitalizing the languages.

Lost fisherman describes ordeal

The Ketchikan fisherman who survived seven days in the wilderness after becoming lost credits his survival to his rescuers: "I'm alive," he said in a telephone interview. "I'm extremely grateful. I'm no hero. The heroes are the people that found me."

After being lost for a week, Ketchikan man found alive

Searchers have rescued a Ketchikan man who was missing for a week on Prince of Wales Island after he set out for a solo trout fishing trip and became lost, Alaska State Troopers said.

Lost fisherman describes ordeal

Tanana River tripod falls in Nenana Ice Classic betting game

A spokeswoman for Alaska's annual ice breakup betting game says the tripod set up on the Tanana River ice tipped and stopped the official clock at 7:39 p.m. Alaska Standard Time on Monday.

Salcha floods as breakup ice jams Tanana River in Interior