Published Jan 17, 2023 by Ned Rozell photo

The Engaging Underrepresented Voices project, led by researchers from locally-based Northern Social-Environmental Research and the International Arctic Research Center at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, have launched an online survey on local experiences of environmental change and are asking APIDA (Asian, Pacific Islander, Desi-American) and Black residents of Interior Alaska to participate.

The research pilot is the first of its kind to focus on APIDA and Black residents of the Interior to understand ways the communities may be impacted by climate change. Survey participants can enter for a chance to win $100 and $50 gift cards to popular local businesses. The survey must be completed by Jan. 31 to be eligible. The survey link is euv.northernser.com/survey.

Published Jan 16, 2023 by Porter Binks/FISU Games

University of Alaska Fairbanks Nordic skier Mariel Pulles won the gold medal in the 1.5-kilometer sprint Sunday at the World University Games in Lake Placid, N.Y.

Representing her home country of Estonia, Pulles completed the final in a time of 2 minutes, 54.57 seconds. She finished 0.67 seconds ahead of runner-up Tiia Olkkonen of Finland.

“I was hoping (to win a medal) actually,” Pulles, a junior on the Nanooks squad, said. “But you never know what’s going to happen in sprinting because there are so many falls and poles breaking… so, I’m happy.”

After placing fifth in qualifying, Pulles won her quarterfinal heat with a time of 2:58.36 seconds and placed second in her semifinal in 2:59.05.

Fairbanks native Anne O’Hara and her U.S. National teammates were back in the win column at the World University Games in Lake Placid, N.Y., on Sunday.

Published Jan 15, 2023 by Olivia Olsen

Homecourt advantage was of no help to the University of Alaska Fairbanks women's basketball team as they lost their second consecutive game at the Alaska Airlines Gymnasium on Saturday.

Coming off a road win at rival Alaska Anchorage last Saturday and a devastating, last-second overtime loss to Northwest Nazarene University Thursday, the Nanooks' fell 73-56 to Central Washington (13-4 overall, 5-3 GNAC).

An early 4-0 lead for the Nanooks (4-5 overall, 1-6 GNAC) quickly turned into a double-digit deficit of 22-10 by the end of the quarter. A combination of turnovers – lobbed passes have plagued the young Alaska team – and going cold from 3-point range saw the game quickly get out of hand.

Published Jan 15, 2023 by Olivia Olsen

The University of Alaska Fairbanks men’s basketball team snapped a four-game GNAC losing streak Saturday, posting a 75-73 win over Western Washington University at the Alaska Airlines Gymnasium.

The Nanooks (7-8 overall, 2-5 GNAC) led for all but 3½ minutes and never trailed by more than three points throughout the night in a consistently close game. The Vikings’ last lead came with 17:32 to play, and UAF eventually led by as many as 11 points – 65-54 with 7:19 to play.

Published Jan 15, 2023 by Danny Martin For the Daily News-Miner

Daniel Hornbuckle anticipated an emotional evening Saturday in Alaska Airlines Gymnasium.

The University of Alaska Fairbanks was the site of Hornbuckle’s last college basketball game in his hometown. The former West Valley High School standout is in his final season with the Western Washington University Vikings.

“There’s going to be some mixed emotions because of all of the stuff that I went through there,’’ Hornbuckle, by phone Monday night, said of his freshman season (2016-17) and a redshirt year (2017-18) with the Nanooks.

“But I also think it’s going to be more than pure excitement,’’ added the 6-foot-1, 170-pound guard for the Vikings, of Bellingham, Washington.

Before he returned to Fairbanks for the matchup, Hornbuckle contributed nine points – all from 3-point shots – and five assists for Western Washington in a 79-74 win over the Alaska Anchorage Seawolves on Thursday night at the Alaska Airlines Center on the UAA campus.

Published Jan 14, 2023 by Josh Reed

The University of Alaska Anchorage gymnastics team opened the 2023 season in front of a lively crowd Friday night at the Alaska Airlines Center.

Despite falling to the West Chester University Rams 191.000-189.175 in a dual meet, the Seawolves felt like the meet was a victory before either team stepped on the floor for the first rotation.

After nearly being eliminated due to budget cuts in 2020, the team raised the necessary funds for permanent reinstatement last summer, ensuring the future of the program.

Published Jan 14, 2023

The #2-ranked Alaska Nanooks rifle team grabbed a top-five win over #5 West Virginia on Friday, Jan. 13. They shot their way past the Mountaineers 4744-4736 to move to 7-0 in head-to-head matches on the season.



Published Jan 14, 2023

Alaska Equity Fund (AKEF) is seeking proposals to invest up to $10 million in State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI) funding.

The University of Alaska has a long history of being at the forefront of economic and workforce development in Alaska.

In 2022 the University’s Alaska Small Business Development Center program (Alaska SBDC) announced that they would be deploying $59 million in the SSBCI program dollars to help drive private sector investments into Alaska’s small businesses through the creation of a $32 million loan guarantee program, a $15.9 million loan participation program, a $10 million equity investment program, and a $2 million loan collateral program.

 On Friday, the Alaska SBDC announced the launch of the first of these programs with the release of its $10 million Equity Fund RFP. 

The Alaska SSBCI Equity Fund program will match private sector dollars 1:1 to create $20 million in new equity investment funds focused on making investments in high-growth Alaskan businesses. 

Qualified investors and investment groups are encouraged to submit proposals for new equity investment funds by 3:00 PM February 10, 2023.

Published Jan 14, 2023 by Jasz Garrett

Radon is a colorless, odorless cancer-causing gas that is commonly found in Alaska.

Jennifer Athey manages the Alaska Radon Program. She is also the chief of the Geologic Hazard Section at the Geological and Geophysical Surveys, a division of the Alaska Department of Natural Resources.

"Radon is a naturally occurring, colorless, odorless radioactive gas that originates from certain types of rock, with uranium, found commonly throughout Alaska and the United States. Radon enters buildings through cracks and gaps in the foundation, where it tends to collect and concentrate indoors, especially when buildings are sealed against cold winter temperatures. Radon is only detectable through specific air testing, and the Alaska Radon Program recommends all Alaskans test their homes."

She said it is a collaborative project with the Alaska Department of Natural Resources Division of Geological & Geophysical Surveys and the University of Alaska Fairbanks’ Cooperative Extension Service.

"The U.S Environmental Protection Agency, the EPA, has a state Indoor Radon Grant program that gives money to states annually to conduct outreach and get the word out to residents about radon. The Alaska Radon Program is funded by this grant to Alaska's Department of Environmental Conservation, Division of Air Quality. It's implemented through a partnership of the Alaska Department of Natural Resources, which is my office- the division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys, and the University of Alaska Fairbanks Cooperative Extension Service."

Published Jan 14, 2023

In its first time back on the court since losing leading scorer Da’Zhon Wyche for the remainder of the season, the University of Alaska Anchorage men’s basketball gave itself plenty of chances to put up points by forcing an impressive 25 turnovers.

But the Seawolves weren’t able to make the most of them and ultimately fell 79-74 to Western Washington on Thursday night at Alaska Airlines Center.

“We were just our own worst enemies,” UAA head coach Rusty Osborne said. “We couldn’t make layups and we couldn’t make open (3-pointers).”

Despite outshooting the Vikings by 21 attempts (74-53) on the night, the Seawolves squandered many of those opportunities to overtake their Great Northwest Athletic Conference foes.

“We came up short because we didn’t take advantage of the opportunities that we had,” Osborne said. “We have to finish layups and have to shoot better when we have open 3s, which we had a ton of tonight.”

Published Jan 14, 2023 by Maggie Nelson

A collection of 50-year-old audio recordings from the Aleutians have been digitized and are now accessible online.

The recordings were part of an Unalaska school project from the ‘70s. A group of students and their teacher recorded various Elders in hopes of documenting the language, culture and history of the Unangax̂ community and the Aleutian region.

There’s about 60 reel-to-reel audio tapes that make up the collection. They include topics from day-to-day activities to historic events, fishing stories and recipes, to accounts from Makushin and the other lost villages that were forcibly evacuated during World War II.

The students put together six volumes of written and illustrated accounts based on the recordings. They called themselves the “Cuttlefish Class,” and the volumes became known as the “Cuttlefish Series.”

The recordings sat for about two decades at the Unalaska City School District and were eventually given to the University of Alaska Fairbanks where they were shelved — again — for about another twenty years.

But in late 2020, Leslie McCartney, associate professor and curator of the oral history collection at UAF, got a grant to digitize them.

And now, about two years later, all of those recordings are online and available to the public.

Published Jan 13, 2023

The Anchorage Wolverines of the North American Hockey League (NAHL) are pleased to announce that Assistant Captain and forward Aiden Westin will be staying in his hometown for his college hockey career, as he has committed to play NCAA Division I hockey for the University of Alaska-Anchorage beginning in the 2023-24 season.

Westin, 20, is currently in his second season of playing junior hockey in the NAHL. The 6’1/185 lbs. native of Anchorage, Alaska, is currently leading the Wolverines in scoring during the 2022-23 season with 40 points (19 goals, 21 assists) in 33 games played. His 40 points is good for 4th in scoring in the NAHL.

“Nothing beats the opportunity to play at home in front of family friends and fans. Playing in my hometown the past two seasons has been the best experience of my life and I’d like to continue to do so in the next stage of my career,” said Westin.