Annie Feidt, Alaska Public Media - Anchorage
Annie Feidt is the broadcast managing editor at Alaska Public Media. Reach her at afeidt@alaskapublic.org. Read more about Annie here.
Groups React To Aerial Bear Hunting Plan
Wildlife conservation groups are concerned by the state’s plan to shoot bears from aircraft. Valerie Connor is the conservation director at the Alaska Center for the Environment. She says no other state allows aerial predator control of bears. And she says the plan makes it too easy for the department to over harvest the animals.
Providence Hospital Expanding Electronic ICU
Providence hospital in Anchorage is expanding a system that’s helping nurses and doctors deliver better care to critically ill patients. It’s called the Electronic Intensive Care Unit, or eICU. It adds an extra layer of care for patients in the Anchorage ICU. And even allows staff in Anchorage to help treat patients in rural hospitals around the state and the Pacific Northwest.
Repsol Still Working To Control Blown Out Exploratory Well
It’s been two weeks since the Spanish company Repsol suffered a blow out at an exploratory well on the North Slope. The company still doesn’t have control of the well and extreme weather is slowing that work.
Anchorage On Pace To Break Total Snow Record
Anchorage is on track to break the total snow fall record for the season. As of Wednesday, 119.9 inches had fallen in the city. The record is 132.8 inches, set back in the winter of 1954-1955. And National Weather Service Meteorologist Dave Snider says there is more snow in the forecast.
Girdwood Skier Survives Washington Avalanche
A Girdwood Skier survived an avalanche on Sunday that killed three other skiers in Washington. Elyse Saugstad was swept nearly 2000 feet down a steep slope in the backcountry near Stevens Pass. The four were among three groups of skiers — about a dozen people in all — making their way through a foot and a half of fresh snow when the avalanche hit.
Crews Thawing Equipment on Rig That Suffered Blowout
Crews are still thawing equipment on the North Slope drilling rig that suffered a blowout last week. The Spanish company Repsol was drilling an exploratory well on Wednesday when they hit a gas pocket that caused the blowout. Natural gas was flowing uncontrolled from the well and so workers had to shut down the equipment and evacuate the rig.
Crews Continue to Respond to Exploratory Well Blow Out
Gas is still flowing intermittently from an uncontrolled exploratory drilling well on the North Slope. The well suffered a blow out Wednesday morning. It’s located on land, a few miles from the Beaufort Sea. Cathy Foerster is the engineering commissioner for the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission. She says the well is releasing a mix of gas and water.
Anaktuvuk Pass Residents Lobby Against Road to Umiat
Residents from Anaktuvuk Pass are in Juneau this week to lobby against a proposed road to Umiat, an area with oil and gas potential. The state wants to build the road as part of its “Roads to Resources” program. But community members say it would disrupt the caribou herds they depend on for subsistence.
State Responds to Well Blow Out
The state is responding to a blow out from an exploratory well on the North Slope. The Spanish company Repsol was in the early phase of drilling a well Wednesday morning when they encountered an unexpected gas "kick." That means gas started flowing up the well. Cathy Foerster is the engineering commissioner for the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission. She says calling the accident a "blow-out" makes it sound worse than it is. She says the safety equipment did its job.
State Working To Implement Affordable Care Act Requirements
Alaska is one of several states suing to overturn the Affordable Care Act- President Obama's health care overhaul. But behind the scenes, state agencies are quietly working on implementing various requirements in the law.
Tribal, Federal Representatives Attempt To Solve Sewage System Problems
Residents in a few dozen rural villages in Alaska are still using honey buckets. And with declining federal funds that isn’t likely to change anytime soon. But a group of state, tribal and federal representatives met at a workshop in Anchorage today to try to find innovative solutions to the problem.
Chenault Renews In-State Gas Line Push
State House Speaker Mike Chenault – a Republican from Nikiski – is renewing his push for a small diameter in-state gas line with a new bill that streamlines previous legislation.
Employers Enacting ‘Workplace Wellness Programs’
We’ve all heard it before- lose weight and you’ll be healthier. Now more and more companies are trying convince their employees to drop pounds and meet other health goals.
Holly Brooks Takes Three Week World Cup Break
Anchorage skier Holly Brooks is taking a three week break from the World Cup tour. She is spending the time in Italy and Austria, recuperating from a broken wrist. With some good rest, she is hopeful she can heal enough to race again next month with a goal of making the U.S. Ski team next season.
Board of Game Will Consider Aerial Predator Control of Bears
The Board of Game will consider instituting the state's first aerial predator control program on bears at their annual statewide meeting that convenes Friday in Anchorage. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game says it's proposing the program for a section near the Kuskokwim River where the moose population has struggled in recent years.
Up To 16 Inches Of Snow Expected In Anchorage
It may be hard for residents of Southcentral Alaska to believe, but there is more snow in the forecast. A lot more snow. The National Weather Service expects the storm to start around 9pm in the Anchorage area tonight. By the time it’s all over 24 hours later, 8 to 16 inches of new snow could be on the ground. For the Mat-Su Valley, the predicted snow totals are a bit tamer- only 5-11 inches.
Plows Brace For Another Big Snowstorm
Anchorage is on pace to break the city’s snowfall record this winter. The 80 or so inches that has fallen so far is about double the average. And the city is now bracing for another gigantic wallop of the white stuff.
AK: Sprouts
Fresh, locally grown, vegetables are getting easier to find in Alaska in the summer. But they are still very scarce in the winter. An entrepreneur in Anchorage is starting to change that though.
Kikkan Randall Takes World Cup Silver Medal
Anchorage skier Kikkan Randall took home a World Cup silver medal today in the skate sprint in Toblach, Italy. She finished just behind Norway’s Marit Bjoergen.
Year In Review: Sitka, Anchorage and Juneau
In this last week of 2011, APRN and member station reporters from across the state have been reflecting on the stories of this past year that stood out for them. Some because they were important or difficult to report on, or as in this first story from Sitka because they were fun.