Alaska News Nightly: July 21, 2014

Individual news 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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Campaign Profile: Sullivan’s “Amazing Credentials”

Liz Ruskin, APRN – Washington, DC

As a candidate for U.S. Senate, Dan Sullivan has a bucket of advantages. He married into an acclaimed Athabascan family. His own family, back in Cleveland, are six-figure donors to Republicans in high places. One of his biggest assets, though, is his resume. But political opponents say his record has thin spots and complain he oversells himself.

Companies Apply for LNG Export License

The Associated Press

The companies pursuing a major liquefied natural gas project in Alaska have applied for an export license with the U.S. Department of Energy. The application requests authorization to export up to 20 million metric tons of liquefied natural gas a year for 30 years. Participants in the project include BP, ConocoPhillips, ExxonMobil Corp., TransCanada Corp. and the Alaska Gasline Development Corp., or AGDC.

Scientists in Denali Looking for Dinosaur Remnants

Steve Heimel, APRN – Anchorage

Scientists are back in Denali National Park for another year of dinosaur hunting. They are taking more measurements on a hillside not far from the park road that contains thousands of tracks laid down in what was an arctic lake bed about 70 million years ago.

Scientists Probing Alaska’s Bat Population

Joaquin Palomino, KSKA – Anchorage

Not much is known about the bat population that lives in Alaska. And until recently, there was no pressing need to study the nocturnal mammal. But with bats being decimated across much of the country by the fungal disease White Nose Syndrome, state and federal researchers are working to learn as much as they can about the animal.

North Slope Students Inspired by GeoForce

Anne Hillman, KSKA – Anchorage

Twenty-six high school students from the North Slope recently completed the third year of UAF’s GeoForce program. The four-year summer program gets students into the field to learn about geology hands-on. They’ve seen glaciers in Alaska, visited the Grand Canyon, and explored volcanoes in the northwest. Program Coordinator Sarah Fowell says GeoForce aims to motivate students to study science.

Oil Spill Drill Conducted Near Teller

Zachariah Hughes, KNOM – Nome

Even as marine traffic increases past the Bering Strait, no one knows how well an oil spill could be cleaned up in the case of an accident. Stakeholders traveled to the region last week to conduct the first spill response exercise there, and learn more about the challenges.

Services Held for Bethel Woman

Daysha Eaton, KYUK – Bethel

A Bethel woman who had a baby while in a coma, then passed away was laid to rest over the weekend. The young woman was clinically brain dead for most of her pregnancy. Her baby, Faith, was born on July 8th and is now being raised by family in Bethel.

 

 

 

 

 

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