Published Nov 1, 2023 by KNOM Radio

The University of Alaska Fairbanks stands as the only college in the United States that offers a class in traditional parka crafting. Marilyn Koezuna-Irelan has taught the course on campus since 2008. She finds satisfaction in sharing her knowledge because she was raised on values of helping others.

Marilyn learned to make parkas from her mother Rose Koezuna, who was taught by generations before her. Her mother would invite her to help with sewing projects she was working on, and eventually learned to sew her own clothes. She says she learned the joy of sewing from working with her family.

The course contributes two credits toward the art requirements necessary for a bachelor’s degree. During the class, students fashion a parka to their size, which they can take home upon completing the course.

Published Nov 1, 2023 by Gavin Struve

The University of Alaska Fairbanks men’s basketball team closed its preseason with a pair of full scrimmages against the Seattle Mountaineers, a semi-pro group, on Oct. 30 and 31. In addition to the Monday and Tuesday scrimmages, the Nanooks held an alumni game on Oct. 21 and had a Blue/Gold intrasquad scrimmage on Oct. 25.

It all comes in preparation for the Nanooks’ regular season, which will begin when they welcome Hawaii Pacific and Chaminade for the Alaska/Hawaii Challenge on Nov. 10 and 11. However, they won’t play the Seawolves until the new year.

While the News-Miner was on hand for the most recent scrimmage, scores and statistics for scrimmages are not reportable.

Published Nov 1, 2023 by Michelle Theriault Boots

The Crime in Alaska report was alternately used by the National Republican Congressional Committee to slam Democrats, including Rep. Mary Peltola, D-Alaska, for being soft on crime and also by Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy as proof his administration’s public safety policies are working.

So how best to understand what crime statistics really reveal about public safety in Alaska? University of Alaska Anchorage criminologist Brad Myrstol has some thoughts. First, he says, understand what the data includes — and what it leaves out.

While the data represented by the Crime in Alaska report is considered the most complete record of crimes reported to police, it has limitations, said Myrstol, the director of the Alaska Justice Information Center.

One major reason: The data only represents crimes people tell police about, and some types of crime are underreported, he said.

So what is the Department of Public Safety data good for? Trends. The Crime in Alaska data is “very good for estimating the change in crime over time,” he said.

A caveat: Looking at data from one year to another is less illuminating than looking at how crime incidence and rates play out over longer periods of time.