Catching up? Here are some Alaska stories you might have missed over the holiday

Snow covers skis and snowboards at the Hilltop Ski Area. (Joey Mendolia/Alaska Public Media)

First day back in the office after a busy holiday week? We got you covered. Here are our 10 most read stories from last week to get you caught up.

Is Baby Yoda indigenous? The character captures the heart of Alaska Native artists.

Indigenous fans have taken to adopting “Baby Yoda,” declaring the character is Native. The hashtag #NativeBabyYoda shows memes of him wearing a Pendleton coat, in a traditional backboard, even playing the band A Tribe Called Red in a spaceship.

Murkowski’s statements on impeachment make news, and cut both ways

The senator says she disagrees with Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell’s pledge to hold the trial in “total coordination” with the White House. But she’s also criticized how the Democrats have built their case.

Why some Alaskans 👍🏽, ❤️ and ✊ over new Juneau bathroom signs

A few months ago, Juneau public libraries got new bathroom signs that are in English and Lingít. They’re making a splash on social media.

Trident’s Sand Point plant closed for winter as warming waters decimate cod stocks

In a fishing town of just under 1,000, a large employer is forced to close for six months. It’s a huge blow.

Fire at BC fish farm releases thousands of Atlantic salmon

Mowi Canada West confirms there were 21,000 non-native salmon in the pens at the time of the blaze. It downplayed threats to wild stocks.

LISTEN: Sadie Maubet Bjornsen is perhaps the best cross-country skier in the world. She lives in Anchorage.

Bjornsen joined us from France last week. She’s taking a holiday break from racing to spend time with her husband. She told us how her season has gone so far.

Longstanding tensions underlie Arctic Slope Regional Corp.’s withdrawal from AFN

Long before Arctic Slope Regional Corp. announced its withdrawal from the Alaska Federation of Natives last week, there were signs of a schism between Alaska’s largest Native corporation and the state’s most influential Native advocacy group.

Pebble foes ‘appalled’ Dunleavy sent a letter the mining company wrote for him

Opponents of the Pebble Mine are outraged by a CNN report showing that Gov. Mike Dunleavy has signed letters helpful to the mine that were essentially written by Pebble Limited Partnership.

Mel Sather, Alaska broadcasting pioneer, dies at 75

An Aleut, born in Seward in 1944, Sather was still in high school in Anchorage when Alaska broadcast pioneer Augie Hiebert hired him at Northern TV.

LISTEN: A Washington Post correspondent talks about reporting on climate change on Alaska’s North Slope

The Washington Post made the Alaska North Slope village of Nuiqsut front page news earlier this month, under a provocative headline: “Alaska’s warming, but can’t quit big oil.” Post reporter Juliet Eilperin explored the village’s place in the global debate over climate change with Nat Herz of Alaska’s Energy Desk.

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