KNOM - Nome

Christmas presents may be arriving later than expected for many rural communities in Alaska. That’s after Alaska Air Cargo, Alaska Airlines’ cargo-specific carrier, placed an embargo on freight shipments for several hubs across the state.

According to Alaska Airlines, the embargo began on Dec. 16 and will end on Dec. 21.

The embargo excludes Alaska Air Cargo’s GoldStreak shipping service, designed for smaller packages and parcels, as well as live animals.

Alaska Airlines spokesperson Tim Thompson cited “unexpected freighter maintenance and severe weather impacting operations” as causes for the embargo.

“This embargo enables us to prioritize moving existing freight already at Alaska Air Cargo facilities to these communities,” Thompson said in an email to KNOM. “Restrictions will be lifted once the current backlog has been cleared.”

With the Christmas holiday just a week away, carriers like Northern Air Cargo have rushed to fill the gap. Gideon Garcia, the Anchorage-based company’s vice president of cargo operations, said he’s noticed an uptick in package volume.

“It’s our peak season, and we’re all very busy in the air cargo industry,” Garcia said. “We are serving our customers with daily flights to our scheduled locations across the state and trying to ensure the best possible holiday season for all of our customers.”

Garcia said the holiday season is a tough time for all cargo carriers, but especially those flying in Alaska.

“We operate in places that many air carriers in other parts of the country just sort of shake their head at in disbelief. But to us, it’s our everyday activity,” Garcia said. “The challenges we face with windstorms, with cold weather, make it operationally challenging.”

Mike Jones is an economist at the University of Alaska Anchorage. He said a recent raft of poor weather across the state only compounded problems for Alaska Air Cargo.

“I think we’ve seen significantly worse weather at this time of year that is at one of the most poorly timed points in the season,” Jones said.

Jones said Alaska Air Cargo is likely prioritizing goods shipped through the U.S. Postal Service’s Alaska-specific bypass mail program during the embargo period. That includes palletized goods destined for grocery store shelves but not holiday gifts purchased online at vendors like Amazon.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Alaska Airlines was responsible for 38% of freight shipped to Nome in December 2024.

Alaska Air Cargo’s daily scheduled flight between Anchorage and Nome has only flown four times in the month of December, according to flight data from FlightRadar24.

An Alaska Air Cargo 737-800 freighter landed in Nome Thursday at 11:53 a.m., its first arrival in a week. Friday’s scheduled flight has been cancelled.

The Alaska State Troopers are returning to television with a new show set to air in January. The self-titled documentary series follows troopers responding to calls across the state, including cities in the interior and villages in rural Alaska.

Spokesperson for the troopers, Austin McDaniel, said the State of Alaska won’t be compensated for participating in the show, and instead views it as a recruiting tool. He said bringing the show back was also in response to requests to station more troopers in underserved communities.

“Many communities, especially in rural Alaska, are asking us to hire more state troopers,” McDaniel said. “To hire more state troopers we have to show people what state troopers do.”

McDaniel said the old series that began airing in 2009 drummed up thousands of job applications for the state-run police force each year. He said that number has dwindled since the show ended in 2015.

“Today, we receive hundreds [of applications]. Around 1% are successful in making it to become a state trooper,” McDaniel said. “We’re hoping to increase the number of qualified applicants that are interested in becoming state troopers.”

KNOM reported in September that at least one trooper was spotted filming during a flight between Unalakleet and Nome.

McDaniel said troopers were given a choice to participate in the show. He also said the production company behind the show, Anusia Films, followed an “in-depth process” to get consent from Alaskans featured in the series.

According to a press release from the network airing the show, A&E, the series will include “multi-agency criminal takedowns” and “life-saving search and rescue missions.” McDaniel said the hope is to give Alaskans a better understanding of how troopers spend their days.

“We hope Alaskans will see that and it will be a point of pride for the work that their law enforcement officers do to keep them safe every day,” McDaniel said.

The new season of “Alaska State Troopers” begins airing on A&E on January 7, 2026. Older seasons of the show will also be available on-demand through the A&E app.

As the remnants of a typhoon were set to slam western Alaska, Gov. Mike Dunleavy issued a disaster declaration Thursday for communities hit by a powerful storm earlier in the week.

The state Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management said in a press release that flooding and storm surge damaged homes and infrastructure during Wednesday’s storm. Kotzebue was under a mandatory evacuation, which has since been lifted. According to officials, there are no reports of injuries at this time.

Carter MacKay is a meteorologist with the National Weather Service. He said initial forecasts overestimated tide levels by one to two feet, which was good for low-lying communities like Kotzebue and Shishmaref.

“As an overall trend, there was an abundance of high water and erosion across the west coast with some areas of damage, but it wasn’t widespread impacts,” MacKay said.

The declaration activates public and individual assistance programs across the Bering Strait, Lower Yukon, and Kashunamiut school regions, as well as the Northwest Arctic and North Slope boroughs. Those programs help repair public infrastructure and provide aid to families whose homes were damaged.

State emergency officials are deploying response teams and have requested help from the Alaska National Guard and State Defense Force.

Incident Commander Mark Roberts said in the release that preparations made before the storm helped keep people safe, but warned that more bad weather is on the way. Flood warnings are in effect across western Alaska through Monday as another storm, the remnants of Typhoon Halong, approaches the Bering Sea.

MacKay said the weather service is already shifting its focus to the upcoming storm.

“It’s looking a little bit worse in terms of really strong winds gusted about 70 to 80 miles an hour,” MacKay said. “So wind gusts could be even stronger with this next one moving in, which could lead to potentially more significant coastal impacts.”

Residents are urged to stay alert, follow local instructions and keep emergency plans ready.

Western Alaska is bracing for another strong storm system this weekend as the remnants of Typhoon Halong are expected to move into the Bering Sea late Sunday into Monday. The storm will potentially arrive just days after a strong low pressure system prompted a mandatory evacuation in Kotzebue.

According to the National Weather Service, the upcoming storm could cause strong winds, high surf and coastal flooding across the Bering Strait region.

Typhoon Halong is currently off the coast of Japan. National Weather Service Meteorologist Carter MacKay said the typhoon is expected to move east before turning north toward the Bering Sea.

“The confidence is high that it will work north into the Bering, but exactly the track of where it goes once it gets to the Aleutians is a bit more uncertain,” MacKay said.

MacKay said models predicted that tides would drop several feet below normal before surging back up as the system passes through the Bering Strait.

“It actually shows water receding to like 2-to-6 feet below the low tide line. So it’s drawing out a lot of water from our coastal communities only then to, pretty much a day later, bring it all back with the winds,” MacKay said.

The weekend’s potential storm is reminiscent of 2022’s ex-typhoon Merbok, which caused millions of dollars in damage across Western Alaska. But MacKay said it was too early to accurately compare the two storms.

Rick Thoman is a climatologist with the Alaska Center for Climate Assessment and Preparedness. He said the region has been hit with several big storms this week, and he’s also watching this next one.

“To have another one come along, seems like it’s worth starting to get folks thinking about, ‘Okay, what if we have another big storm over the weekend,'” Thoman said.

Nome officials met throughout the day Wednesday to discuss the storms. Emergency shelters and supplies will be made available in case of extreme flooding.

The city is encouraging residents to build emergency kits with water, warm clothes and food in case they have to evacuate. The city also advises residents to take pictures of property and secure any loose items outside.

Residents can find the latest forecast by visiting weather.gov/afg.

Among the 22 mushers who have signed up so far for the 2026 Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race is a longtime backer competing under modified rules.

Norwegian businessman Kjell Inge Røkke’s entry is drawing mixed feelings from the dog mushing community.

“My initial reaction was a billionaire just bought his way into this race,” six-time Iditarod finisher Mille Porsild said.

Companies and subsidiaries owned by Røkke have sponsored the Iditarod since 2018. Røkke has even mushed sections of the trail with dogs trained by 2020 champion Thomas Waerner.

The Iditarod’s new Expedition Program will allow Røkke to race with outside support – unlike other competitors. Porsild said the announcement, which was released at midnight on June 14, caught her by surprise.

“What is it he bought himself into? Where are the rules? What is this?” Porsild said.

In the announcement, the committee’s CEO, Rob Urbach, called the creation of its Expedition Program a “new chapter in Iditarod history.” He claimed it would enhance the sport’s “global visibility, financial sustainability, and cultural outreach.”

Røkke will receive a modified “Expedition Class Finisher’s Buckle” for finishing the race, but is ineligible to actually win.

A spokesperson for the Iditarod Trail Committee said in an email that Røkke’s exemptions from the rules “mostly pertains to no outside assistance.”

Røkke will also skip the requirement to qualify by competing in shorter races like the Yukon Quest. Porsild said that troubled her the most.

“Anybody is not going to go, you know, participate in the Olympics,” Porsild said. “He needs to qualify, like any other musher, and show that he can actually manage a team of 16 dogs.”

Saturday signups

At the June 28 sign-up event in Wasilla, 2024 and 2025 runner-up Matt Hall said Røkke’s name didn’t come up.

“It was a fun day, and that’s how it should have been. I take that as a really good thing, you know, that whatever the little initial drama over it was and et cetera, has kind of passed,” Hall said.

Hall said he was holding out for more information, like how many snowmachines may be running support for Røkke.

“This gentleman isn’t there to take the first-place prize,” Hall said. “We don’t even really understand if he’s gonna be listed officially as a position or just a finisher. It’s information I want to know closer to date so that I can plan accordingly.”

Nic Petit, an 11-time Iditarod finisher, said he hoped Røkke’s inclusion would benefit mushers at the back of the pack.

“I understand you can’t hold volunteers over forever, but the biggest problem is that they can’t keep vets there forever,” Petit said. “But if this guy’s gonna be traveling with his own vet crew, then it’d be great for his vet crew to sign on to helping the back of the packers not have to go home.”

In exchange for being exempted from the full rulebook, Røkke is adding $100,000 to next year’s race purse and pledging $10,000 each to 17 villages along the race’s route. He also halved the registration cost for mushers entering the race and sent some cash to Iditarod HQ too.

Røkke’s contributions only apply to next year’s race, unlike other multi-year sponsorship agreements the Iditarod has brokered. In an interview with the Anchorage Daily News, Urbach said he hoped the Expedition Program would attract the likes of Elon Musk, Richard Branson or Snoop Dogg. But Petit said he took issue with that model.

“That’s one of the things about this guy, he’s been around the dogs,” Petit said. “I don’t think that you should be allowed to just hop on a sled you lease because you got some money and you know nothing about what you’re doing.”

Røkke declined a request for an interview, but told Norwegian news outlet VG that planning for next year’s race had been underway for over three years.

Roseann Titus was getting ready Thursday morning when she saw flames coming from a bathroom at the front of her house in the Western Alaska village of White Mountain. Her granddaughter and great-grandson were still in bed.

Titus said she tried unsuccessfully to put out the fire and then rushed to wake them up. But the flames spread into the hallway, blocking the way out of the house.

That’s when her great-grandson, 8-year-old Colton Koonooka-Kowchee, sprang into action.

“We didn’t know how to contain it, so he kind of jumped out the window and ran for help,” Colton’s mother, Venessa Marie Koonooka, said.

She said her son plunged 10 feet from the window into a snowdrift below. Then he ran through deep snow to get help – which came in the form of Shane Bergamaschi, a volunteer firefighter.

Bergamaschi helped pull Titus through a window and rushed her to the local clinic to await a medevac.

“They helped us right away when we got in there with my grandma’s burns and smoke inhalation,” Marie Koonooka said. “I only had a popped knee and a few frostbites on my toes. I was okay.”

Titus was flown to Anchorage, where she was treated for burns on her shoulder and arm. The home was a loss, including personal belongings and two moose legs from a recent hunt.

Colton’s grandmother, Nora Brown, who was not in the home at the time, credited her grandson with keeping the situation from getting much worse.

“If it wasn’t for Colton jumping out on his own, we would have probably lost my mother, and the houses nearby probably would have caught fire,” Brown said.

Titus has worked for the Bering Strait School District since 1988. Bering Air is ferrying donations to the family, and a GoFundMe has been set up.