Published Dec 20, 2022 by Josh Reed

On the college hockey scene, the UAA men’s team returned home for the second leg in the return of the annual Governor’s Cup this past weekend after getting swept by in-state rival UAF in the first last week. The end result was the same for the Seawolves as the Nanooks swept them again to hand them their fourth straight loss. Unlike last week when they were able to score a pair of goals in both games, they got shut out in both contests this time around.

While his team wasn’t able to find success on the ice this past week, UAA hockey coach Matt Shasby was able to have some better luck on the recruiting trail by having local product Caleb Huffman sign a National Letter of Intent to join the program after the holiday break.

A day after the hockey team got shut out for the second straight time in the frigid Last Frontier, the UAA women’s basketball team got blown out in sunny southern California 88-58 by undefeated Cal State Dominguez Hills. It marked the second loss for the Seawolves on the young season but their first in lopsided fashion. Senior guard Rachel Ingram came off the bench and led the team in both minutes with 28 and points with 14 as the only player to reach double figures in any statistical category.

The UAA men’s basketball team didn’t take the court this past week but it did land a notable recruit for the future of the program, announcing Utah prep standout Trey Evans signed his National Letter of Intent to join the team. The 6-foot-5 point guard is averaging 9.0 points, 6.3 rebounds, 4.3 assists, 3.3 steals and 1.0 blocks per game for Real Salt Lake Academy and is the first member of the Seawolves 2023 recruiting class.

One Seawolf that did enjoy some success in his respective sport was junior alpine skier Leon Nikic. He led UAA with a pair of top-10 finishes at the Nor-Am races at Beaver Creek with a sixth-place finish in the slalom race on Dec. 14 followed by a ninth-place finish on Dec. 15.

The UAA volleyball program announced the promotion of longtime assistant Stacie Meisner to the position of head coach. The former Seawolf player turned coach will be replacing the coach she played for and served under in Chris Green, who resigned last month as the most successful coach in program history.

Published Dec 19, 2022 by Suzanne Downing

Kohlhase was recently named Public Works director, when former director Lance Wilber was promoted to executive director of Community Development. Kohlhase previously served as the director of project management and engineering for the Municipality of Anchorage. He worked for the U.S. Forest Service in Anchorage for 22 years, including seven years as engineering staff officer for the Chugach National Forest.

Kohlhase graduated from the University of Alaska Fairbanks in 1993 with a degree in Civil Engineering. He has been a registered Professional Engineer since 1998.

Published Dec 19, 2022 by Ned Rozell

The Arctic Report Card, a compilation of northern science by researchers from all over the planet — most of them doing work in Alaska — came out in mid-December at the fall meeting of the American Geophysical Union in Chicago.

In summary, what smart people predicted in 2006, during the first report card press conference, is still trending the same way: We are living in a much-warmer far north.

Some of the changes are subtle and hard for us to notice. For example, daily temperatures being a few degrees higher than that day in the past. Others are more striking, like Alaska beachcombers finding seabird carcasses washed up in twos and threes where in years before they saw none.

Of 117 seabird carcasses scientists examined from 2017 to 2021, 92 were emaciated.

What changed in the Bering and Chukchi seas, the former known as one of the richest fishing grounds on Earth?

Less ice floating on the top of northern oceans (a trend the Arctic Report Card scientists have quietly shouted about since its inception) allows water to absorb more heat from the sun.

The warmer ocean has probably caused nutrient-rich fish like sand lance and capelin to decline. This has happened while less-nutritious species like juvenile walleye pollock have increased in the waters offshore of western Alaska.

Biologists have referred to pollock as “junk food,” which may not be able to sustain birds or at least make them hesitant or unable to lay eggs.

“Observations at northern seabird breeding colonies indicate lack of breeding attempts or very late and unsuccessful breeding over several years,” the scientists wrote. “The seabird die-offs stem from a lack of food or unfavorable foraging conditions, indicating ecosystem changes that may be associated with abnormally high ocean water temperatures.”

Published Dec 19, 2022

University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) doctoral student Sarah Clement requests input via a survey on research scientists' experiences leading or working on community and citizen science projects in the Arctic and sub-Arctic.

The research questions guiding this study include:

• What are scientists’ motivations and goals for public engagement through community and citizen science projects?
• Does leading or working on community and citizen science projects influence scientists' beliefs about their abilities to engage with the public, and if so, in what ways?
• What other outcomes do scientists experience by leading or working on community and citizen science projects?

Published Dec 19, 2022 by KTUU

"You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose." These famous words from Dr. Seuss couldn't be more true for the newly graduated from the University of Alaska Anchorage. It's the day so many waiting for --- graduation---

Fall commencement took place today at UAA, a day set for honoring and celebrating the challenging work students at UAA had to face to achieve their goals.

The students we spoke with today are thankful for all the support and help they received to get them to this moment in life. And for some today is just a stepping stone to reach that next goal.

Published Dec 19, 2022

On June 1, 1908, the crowd watched and waved as the S.S. Ohio pulled away from its Seattle berth. The steamship was bound for Nome, loaded with a fresh batch of fortune seekers, mail and cargo. For its experienced captain, Charles G. Conradi, the fanfare, departure and route were routine. He had done it before and surely expected to do it again. However, this time was different. Weeks late and considered lost, the ship endured a near mutiny and the crashing ice of the Bering Sea before finally reaching its destination. Aided by the letters of a passenger, the journey of the Ohio illuminates the realities and difficulties of travel in the waning days of gold rush-era Alaska.