No civil service for Vic: Vic Kohring hoped Wasilla voters were willing to give him a new lease on political life with a seat on the city council. Back in the mid-2000s, Kohring had been a powerful Valley Republican, serving as chairman of a special House Committee on Oil and Gas, loud anti-tax crusader and loyal supporter of low taxes on the oil companies doing business here. And then the FBI caught him taking money from VECO Corp.'s Bill Allen. With about 20 percent turnout, Tuesday night, Kohring was routed by Brandon Wall, who won by about a 2-to-1 margin.
Surprise musk ox baby! A musk ox calf born out of season has brought some unexpected cuteness to the Musk Ox Farm in Palmer, Alaska. The farm calls the "miraculous birth" nearly unprecedented, as babies are usually born in spring. Mama Ellie was thought to have been bred this fall -- but it turns out she had already gone into an unusual, off-season heat last winter, and had bred with 2-year-old male Ironman. The resulting fuzzy bundle of musk ox adorability arrived at the farm on Sept. 27. The Musk Ox Farm is staying open for the weekend of Oct. 4 and Oct. 10 to allow folks to come say hello to baby Maggie.
Heroin bust in Kodiak: Police in Kodiak, a city of 6,130 on an island of the same name in the Gulf of Alaska, seized $15,000 of tar heroin on Monday, along with stolen weapons and cash. The Kodiak Police Department, Alaska State Troopers and federal agents seized an estimated $27,500 during the drug sting. Nearly a week before authorities served their search warrants, Kodiak police detectives intercepted a package containing 33.9 grams of tar heroin, a sticky, black substance making its way into Alaska by boats, planes and cars. The packaged was addressed to individuals who had been subjects of a long-term investigation of drug sales in the city, police said. Police did not name any individuals or list any charges stemming from the search and seizure in a press release.
No injuries in aircraft incident in Pilot Point: Alaska State Troopers reported in a dispatch that a pilot was uninjured after the wing of his aircraft inadvertantly clipped a state building in Pilot Point on Monday night. Troopers said that 59-year-old Soldotna resident Frederick "Rick" Reynolds was attempting to land his 1966 Cessna 185 on the airport taxiway -- due to a crosswind sweeping over the main runway -- when a gust caught the aircraft and forced the wingtip into a state building that houses a grader for the airport. Troopers said there was "little to no damage" to the building, though the same couldn't be said for the plane, as the propeller made contact with the ground in the incident.
APOC denies expedited review request: The Alaska Public Offices Commission unanimously refused to give expedited review Monday to a campaign complaint filed last week against a Fairbanks mayoral candidate and a Fairbanks motel. The decision meant that the complaint by Ron Arnold will be reviewed according to regular APOC procedure and not on the day before the municipal election in Fairbanks, which takes place Tuesday. Arnold's complaint against Vivian Stiver and Donna Gilbert, operator of the Ranch Motel, objected to the use of the motel as a site to collect campaign contributions for Stiver, which was promoted on a local radio station. Stiver and Gilbert said that after the complaint was made, the motel was no longer used as a site to collect donations. Stiver and Fairbanks attorney John Eberhart are competing in the election Tuesday to replace City Mayor Jerry Cleworth, who did not run for re-election.
The bright side: The government may have shut down at 8 p.m. Alaska time Monday, furloughing thousands of employees around the Last Frontier, but for those who work in Anchorage, there's at least one upside: free coffee. Kaladi Brothers Coffee is making things a few bucks easier on workers who won't be able to go to work or collect a paycheck by offering free java to federal employees. "Work still needs to get done, so we're serving FREE Red Goat brew to federal employees tomorrow. Come see us," Kaladi Brothers wrote on their company Facebook page.