Associated Press

KODIAK — Former service members of the U.S. Coast Guard have filed a lawsuit claiming they were wrongfully forced to retire.

The Kodiak Daily Mirror reports the lawsuit filed in federal court last month claims about 400 service members were made to retire in violation of federal law from 2012-14.

One of three plaintiffs named in the suit, Derrik Magnuson says he was selected for involuntary retirement in 2013 after 21 years of service. He was stationed in Kodiak since 2000.

The suit claims the Coast Guard violated service members’ rights to due process and it forced retirement without adequate review and without any reduction in the force, requirements under a statute in effect at the time.

Coast Guard officials declined to comment, citing the ongoing litigation.

JUNEAU — Some Alaska Democratic party leaders are questioning the candidacy of a woman running in their U.S. House primary.

Carol Hafner doesn’t live in Alaska and says she hasn’t visited. But she says she’s serious about running and sharing her perspectives.

Hafner listed New Jersey and South Dakota addresses in her candidate filing.

Under the U.S. Constitution, to serve in Congress, one must, in addition to meeting age and citizenship requirements, inhabit the state at the time elected. Generally, candidates in such races are from Alaska. But not always.

The Alaska Division of Elections says challenges filed by Democrats were made after the protest deadline, and therefore weren’t reviewed.

The highest-profile candidates in the Democratic primary are Dimitri Shein and independent Alyse Galvin.

ANCHORAGE — Clerks at the Anchorage Police Department say they’re increasingly overwhelmed with paperwork and dispatchers are swamped with calls.

The department has added about 100 new police officers in three years without hiring additional support staff.

The Anchorage Daily News reports that means the public is spending more time on hold when calling 911 or when dialing a non-emergency number to file stolen vehicle reports.

Empty dispatch jobs may mean a delay in an officer showing up to a crime.

The administration of Anchorage Mayor Ethan Berkowitz says it aims to beef up other parts of the police department.

It’s not yet clear where the money for more support staff will come from. The dispatchers and records clerks the managers are asking for could cost about $600,000 in salaries.

ANCHORAGE — Alaska State Troopers are letting the public know the amount of drugs and alcohol being seized by the statewide drug enforcement unit each month through a website.

Troopers hope the online drug seizure dashboard connects with communities and encourages residents to start having conversations, KTUU-TV reported last week.

“It’s not just an issue in your home — it’s not just a personal use issue that happens at home,” said Capt. Michael Duxbury of the drug enforcement unit. “It’s spilling onto the roads, creating gun violence. It’s having an impact on how many vehicles are being stolen. It’s burglaries — those kinds of things that it translates to.”

Much of the state was designated earlier this year as a high intensity drug trafficking area, a classification allowing access to new federal grant funding. The state then rolled out the online resource that tracks alcohol and drug seizures.

In April, more than 2,300 grams of heroin, 29 grams of cocaine and 841 grams of methamphetamine were confiscated.

In May, the unit seized more than 1,700 grams of heroin, more than 1,300 grams of methamphetamine and about 13 grams of cocaine.

While cocaine production is a growing problem, Duxbury said heroin and meth are already widely abused in the state.

“We had enough seized heroin alone last year to dose everyone one and a half times in the entire state using the 2016 census,” Duxbury said.

New numbers will be added to the dashboard around the 20th of each month, troopers said.

ANCHORAGE — A small airplane that has been missing since Sunday was located south of Fairbanks with the pilot and the passenger found dead.

KTUU-TV reports an Alaska National Guard helicopter on a training mission located the wreckage Wednesday afternoon about 30 miles southwest of Fort Greely.

Lt. Col. Candis Olmstead says the helicopter crew landed near the site at Denin Ridge and confirmed the aircraft was the missing plane.

Arthur and Ann Ward had taken off from Salcha in a Piper PA-18 Super Cub headed for McCarthy. A family member reported them missing Monday morning.

National Transportation Safety Board investigators are planning to access the wreckage Thursday.

More than a dozen aircraft had searched for the missing plane Wednesday.

KETCHIKAN — A former Alaska pastor and retired school teacher has pleaded not guilty to six counts of sexual abuse of a minor.

The Ketchikan Daily News reports Douglas Edwards entered the plea Friday after being indicted Thursday by a Ketchikan grand jury on three counts of sexual abuse of a minor in the second degree and three counts of third-degree sexual abuse of a minor.

Edwards’ attorney, Julie Willoughby, did not respond to an attempt for comment by the Daily News.

The charges relate to incidents that allegedly occurred with a 14-year-old girl in 2017 at Ketchikan High School, the basement of First Baptist Church in Ketchikan and Edwards’ residence.

Edwards’ trial is set for Sept. 17.