Dan Bross, KUAC - Fairbanks

Conditions are improving at Manley Hot Springs after ice jams on the Tanana River caused flooding over the weekend.

The anniversary of a 1993 murder brought people together in Fairbanks yesterday to remember those lost in unsolved homicide cases.

The state is taking feedback on proposed new student achievement standards. Education Commissioner Michael Hanley is hosting meetings around the state, and was in Fairbanks Tuesday. The new standards will replace the current package developed in the mid 1990’s, and are designed to clarify what’s expected of kids at each grade level. Hanley says they’re based on a Common Core package developed by the National Governors Association and the council of chief state school officers.

Fairbanks turned out last night to support the family of a baby who died last week as the result of child abuse. The event was organized by interior Alaska Native leaders for the family of 2-year-old Jacob Williams, who died of injuries inflicted by his mother’s boyfriend. William’s family is from Allakaket and last night’s gathering raised money for funeral services in the village. One of the organizers Tisha Simmons says there was also a broader goal.

After nearly seven months camped at a downtown park, Occupy Fairbanks has taken down its tents. The move follows a notice from the Fairbanks North Star Borough last week threatening legal action if the group refused to clear out of the park, where overnight camping is not allowed. Occupy Fairbanks member William White says the group anticipated having to call it quits.

Tourism officials aren’t sure what type of a season to expect this summer. Numbers have been up and down since peaking in 2008, and then tanking the next year with the recession. Fairbanks Convention and Visitor’s Bureau Director Deb Hickok says varying sectors of the market have performed erratically in the years since.

Alaska is playing a role in the growing field of unmanned aviation, and provisions in a recently passed Federal Aviation Administration reauthorization Act could expand it.

A bill that passed the legislature will benefit businesses that operate around military installations. Businesses inside state designated Military Facility Zones would have access to tax breaks and low interest loans. Sponsor Representative Steve Thompson, of Fairbanks, says the change could attract new companies to meet specific military needs in Alaska. As an example, Thompson says there’s opportunity around Eielson Air Force base related to unmanned aerial vehicles.

There’s no short term energy relief from the state legislature, but two bills approved by state lawmakers offer potential for new access to natural gas.

Wild fire scientists are anticipating a normal season over much of Alaska this summer. That would mean about 1 million acres burned. Recent years have seen an early start to fire season, but Alaska Interagency Coordination Center Fire Weather program manager Heidi Strader says that’s less likely over much of Alaska this year.

Eagle is facing a bleak tourism future. Holland America has decided to eliminate the historic Yukon River community at the end of the Taylor Highway from its summer tour route.

A reward for new information about an old Fairbanks murder has increased. The Tanana Chiefs Conference is offering $35,000 for information leading to exoneration of four interior men, three of whom are Alaska Native, imprisoned for the 1997 beating death of Fairbanks teenager John Hartman.

There are still few details about a North Slope oil field accident that killed a Fairbanks man. Doyon Drilling worker David James, originally from Ft. Yukon, died in the accident at a offshore drilling rig site Monday.

New housing for University of Alaska Fairbanks students will test high efficiency design and construction. The Sustainable Village will include four-bedroom homes designed to be heated with the equivalent of 200 gallons of oil per year, but the houses will use a mix of solar and biomass energy.

The interior is transitioning into spring after a colder than normal March. The average temperature in Fairbanks was 4 point 5 degrees Fahrenheit last month. National Weather Service meteorologist Rick Thomam says that’s almost 7 degrees below normal.

Parties on both sides of the Fairbanks teacher contract dispute will likely employ a private mediator to jump start stalled negotiations, and expedite a resolution. Negotiating teams for teachers and the district reached an...

The state Re-districting Board voted to approve a new map of legislative districts over the week-end. This is a revision of last week's plan crafted to conform to the requirements of the state...

A California man, who lived in the wilderness around Healy, has been arrested for burning down a cabin. State Troopers say Andrew Costales told them he left a fire going in a woodstove of the private cabin near Dora Creek, and the structure burned while he was out. Costales was arrested in Healy March 23rd, and charged with burglary, criminal trespass, and criminally negligent burning.

An Air Force team headed to Alaska next month will assess projected savings from moving Eielson Air Forces Base’s F-16 squadron to Joint base Elmendorf Richardson in Anchorage. The site activation task force team is scheduled to be at Eielson April 11-14 and at J-BER the 16-18. Pacific Air Force Public Affairs Director Colonel Maria Carl in Hawaii says the team will look at all aspects of moving the F-16 squadron.

A weekend rescue in the White Mountains National Recreation Area could have been avoided with some basic preparation and planning. Local musher Peg Billingsly and an out of state client were picked up by Alaska Wildlife Troopers Sunday after miscommunications and dog trouble left them stranded at two separate locations. Both women are OK, but BLM spokesman Craig McCaa says the incident points out how easy it is for things to go wrong in the wilderness, even along marked and groomed trails in the White Mountains.