Alaska News Nightly: Friday, May 15, 2015

Stories are posted on the APRN news page. You can subscribe to APRN’s newsfeeds via emailpodcast and RSS. Follow us on Facebook at alaskapublic.org and on Twitter @aprn.

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Parents Sue ASD Over Vague Suspension Notification Policies

Anne Hillman, KSKA – Anchorage

Two families are suing the Anchorage School District for illegal suspension practices. The mothers say that the suspension notices the district sends out don’t include the full reasons for the suspensions

Rep. Young Riles Indian Country with Hearings on ‘Land In Trust’ Powers

Liz Ruskin, APRN – Washington, D.C.

The Interior Secretary’s power to take land into trust for tribes could create pockets of Indian Country across Alaska. Tribes see it as an opportunity to police their own territory and improve village safety. Others see it as the reservation model that Alaskans rejected in the land claims settlement act 44 years ago.

Sealaska Unveils Its New Building in Downtown Juneau

Elizabeth Jenkins, KTOO – Juneau

The Sealaska Heritage Institute unveiled its new structure in downtown Juneau on Friday. It’s called the Walter Soboleff Building after the late Tlingit scholar, elder and religious leader.

Wolf Hunt Adjacent to Denali Closes Early

Dan Bross, KUAC – Fairbanks

The state of Alaska is closing wolf hunting early in the Stampede area along the northeastern edge of Denali National Park.

5 Ill After Eating Fermented Seal Flipper

Matthew Smith, KNOM – Nome

First three, and now five, people have fallen ill or been taken under medical observation after two separate meals of fermented seal flipper in the Seward Peninsula community of Koyuk have been linked to the toxic bacteria that causes botulism.

NOAA Seeks Public Comment on Beluga Recovery Plan

Shady Grove Oliver, KBBI – Homer

NOAA Fisheries is seeking public comment on a draft recovery plan for Cook Inlet beluga whales. According to a release from NOAA, the plan will structure efforts to bring the whales back up to a healthy population size. Once there, the hope is to remove them from the federal endangered species list.

Anchorage: Activists Rally for Medicaid Expansion, Oil Tax Law Revision

Ellen Lockyer, KSKA – Anchorage

Supporters of Medicaid expansion have continued their efforts with rallies in downtown Anchorage this week.

49 Voices: Seth Landon of Wasilla

Anne Hillman, KSKA – Anchorage

This week, we hear from Seth Landon, who also participated in the Clean Air Challenge. Landon moved to Alaska five years ago from the flat lands of Michigan and now calls Wasilla home.

AK: Biking A Century

Anne Hillman, KSKA – Anchorage

Have you ever thought about biking one hundred miles in one go? KSKA’s Anne Hillman did, so she signed up for the Clean Air Challenge. It’s a bike ride the American Lung Association hosts every year to raise money for education and research on lung disease.

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