Western

After five years of rebuilding their herd and corral, the Midnite Sun Reindeer Ranch is ready to take the next step — fundraising for two mobile slaughter units that would let them process and sell the meat from their business just outside of Nome.

Despite not needing a visa for the trip, Sivoy Miklahook now finds himself on the wrong side of the Strait as his Russian papers inch closer to expiration and residents in western Alaska rally to bring him home.

Each year, coastal communities in Western Alaska watch feet – even yards – of shoreline disappear into the waves. Now, a new online mapping tool will let them look at past erosion and see where coastlines might be in future years.

October opened with the season’s first fall storm, flooding communities across Western Alaska’s coast. In the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, strong surges hit Toksook Bay.

The expansion would offer a better and more reliable Internet connection throughout the YK Delta and much of Western Alaska.

As sea ice melts and temperatures rise, cruise ships, mainly European ones, are taking advantage of the Arctic’s more navigable waters.