Recent News

KETCHIKAN, Alaska (AP) — The U.S. Forest Service has extended the public comment period for a proposed tree harvesting initiative.

The Ketchikan Daily News reports people will have until July 13 to comment on the Forest Service’s plan to harvest young-growth timber on a parcel of land on the north end of Gravina Island, located 4 miles (6.4 kilometers) west of Ketchikan.

A majority of the proposed area is owned by the Forest Service, but about one-third of it is owned by the State of Alaska.

The project would encourage the harvesting of young-growth timber over older trees. The Forest Service says the action would benefit small businesses by opening up new markets and allowing industry operators to refine skills and equipment need to economically harvest and process young-growth timber.

HOONAH, Alaska (AP) — Alaska State Troopers say quick action from an 11-year-old boy saved a fishing party from a charging brown bear.

The Juneau Empire reports Elliot Clark was walking through the woods near Game Creek last week with his three family members and three dogs when the bear came out and charged them.

Elliot’s father says the bear ran through two of the men, leaving Elliot and his cousin left in its path. Elliott raised his pump action shotgun and shot the bear with birdshot.

His father says the first shot did nothing, but two more downed the bear and finishing shots by the boy and his uncle killed it.

Elliot’s father says not getting around to putting a sling on his son’s gun might have saved their lives, as he was able to quickly ready himself.

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — The Anchorage Police Department has sworn in its next chief of police.

KTUU-TV reports the department had a changing of the guard ceremony on Friday, with Chris Tolley passing his spot at the helm on to Justin Doll.

Tolley had been the department’s chief of police for roughly two years and says he plans to spend more time with his wife. He indicated he would be staying in Anchorage for some time.

Doll was previously a captain with the department. He has worked with Anchorage police for more than 20 years and also was a non-commissioned officer in the United States Marine Corps Reserve for roughly six years. The department states he is a highly skilled law enforcement commander.

The department’s employees association President, Brian Wilson, called Tolley’s departure from the force bitter sweet.

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — A huge crash jolted 11-year-old Zach Landis awake in his Anchorage home, but it soon became clear this wasn’t an ordinary intruder or even his sisters playing a trick on him.

A black bear had just broken through the garden-level window of Zach’s tiny bedroom and was whimpering like a scared dog in the room. The boy screamed, and the man-sized animal bolted out the window and disappeared.

The boy scrambled over shattered glass and ran upstairs to tell his parents. His father called police after seeing the damage left behind. No one was hurt, just shaken up.

The Monday night incident is the latest encounter between bears and humans this summer in the nation’s largest state, including four bear maulings in the last two weeks.

JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — The U.S. Mint has proposed a new $1 coin with designs honoring a landmark anti-discrimination law that passed in territorial Alaska in 1945, years before the U.S. Civil Rights Act.

The Alaska Native woman influential in the law’s passage, Elizabeth Peratrovich, is featured on most of the design options. The new coin, scheduled for release in 2020, is part of a mint program honoring Native Americans.

Peratrovich’s powerful testimony is credited as pivotal in efforts to pass an anti-discrimination law. This was at a time when, according to the Alaska Federation of Natives, many Alaska Natives faced poverty and unemployment due to segregation.

Gov. Bill Walker said it was the first piece of anti-discrimination legislation passed by any state or territory since the Civil War. The U.S. Civil Rights Act was passed in 1964.

FAIRBANKS, Alaska (AP) — An Alaska man who set a car on fire as people were inside will serve seven years in prison.

The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner reports 28-year-old Dexter Reedy reached a plea deal with the state Wednesday. He pleaded guilty to one count of first-degree arson. He received a nine-year sentence with two years suspended and three years of probation.

Reedy is also required to get anger management counseling and stay away from alcohol and illegal drugs during his probation period.

According to charging documents, Reedy was suspected of threatening to kill one man and starting a fire on a truck as a couple was inside last year. The people were able to escape the vehicle unharmed.