Published May 11, 2023

A woman from Nome is a 2023 recipient of the Governor’s Arts and Humanities Award.

Marjorie Kunaq Tahbone is Inupiaq and Kiowa from Nome. She is an artist, teacher, traditional tattooist, hide tanner and business owner.

She graduated from University of Alaska Fairbanks with a bachelor’s degree in Alaska Native Studies with a minor in Inupiaq Language.

Kunaq is currently working toward a masters’ degree in Indigenous Studies focusing on traditional Inupiaq tattooing and ceremony.

She says there is a need to accentuate cultural learning in rural Alaska

Published May 12, 2023

When Mark Cosby enrolled at UAA, he was given his WolfCard and assigned a university username. He was surprised to discover it was “jmcosby2.” 

“I beat you to the punch,” his son Matt Cosby said. Junior Cosby was given the username “jmcosby,” and Mark, despite being the senior Cosby, has jokingly been referred to in the family ever since as “the second Cosby.”

“Everytime I look at that over the years I kinda laugh,” Mark said. 

It all worked out in the end, as the father and son duo graduated Sunday, May 7, in the 2023 spring commencement ceremony at the Alaska Airlines Center. It was touching as Mark Cosby walked across the stage, graduating with his bachelor’s in civil engineering from the College of Engineering (COE). You could hear a "whoop" ringing out from the depths of the crowd as Matt Cosby cheered on his father.

Published May 12, 2023

A dog that pulled his way into history has given scientists insight into what makes Alaska sled dogs and other working breeds unique.

Researchers have used a tiny patch of skin cut from a taxidermy mount of Balto to determine that the 1925 Serum Run hero had no wolf in his recent background. They also found that Balto, a black husky built like a tank, was full of mixed-breed vigor and was adapted to make the most of a diet that included starch.