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As Iditarod mushers and their teams head out of Willow on Sunday, March 8, and race toward Nome, they will follow a path steeped in history-a story written by Native traders, gold rushers and the evolution of the Alaska frontier. The northern route, used during even-numbered years like 2026, passes through remote villages and towns that each tell a unique tale of adaptation, ambition, and survival. After leaving Willow, teams thunder past checkpoints at Yentna Station, Skwentna, Finger Lake,...
Alaska has 139 active clinical trials looking for those willing to sign up for research studies in Anchorage, Fairbanks and Bethel. Not only do you earn money for participation, but you also learn about your own state of health. Over the past few years, I've been found to have Stage 1 fatty liver disease, which the earliest and mildest form where fat accumulates up to 33% in liver cells and usually causes no noticeable symptoms. But it is crucial to address because it can progress to...
My husband, Gary, passed away in December 2025 at the Palmer Veterans and Pioneers Home -his residence for almost four years. The staff graciously told me to take all the time I needed to remove his belongings from his room. Above his bed was a beautiful quilt made by his grandmother-a lady I never met. It is a requirement that only lightweight items be placed on the wall above a bed at the Pioneer Home...a precaution for earthquakes. On the wall in his bathroom was a lovely Alaska-themed lap...
In the past, scammers preferred using gift cards, bank transfers, and payment apps to swindle money from their victims. But scammers have had to adapt as awareness and protections have increased among consumers, law enforcement, and businesses. Their latest tactic involves directing victims to pay at a "crypto ATM," a new and less familiar method. About one in 17 U.S. adults (6%, or 14.2 million people) have been tricked into converting cash into cryptocurrency or know someone who has fallen...
Anchorage's oldest unsolved murder happened 105 years ago this month when the town's first police chief was gunned down as he tried to get a handle on illegal activities like prostitution, bootlegging, and gambling. An eyewitness account of crime in the railroad town founded in 1915 comes from Kenneth Gideon, author of "Wandering Boy," who visited the town as it began to grow along Ship Creek. Along with describing the proliferation of prostitution, Gideon noted: "The government had decreed...
Many cold-weather cities have a winter carnival, and Anchorage is no different. Fur Rendezvous is Feb. 26-March 8 this year. The festival – informally called Fur Rondy or "Rondy" – is a significant part of the city's history and tradition. In the mid-1930s, Anchorage was a town of about 3,000 people that stretched between Park Strip and Ship Creek. Winters were long and with few of the modern-day entertainments we take for granted. Though it started as a way for trappers and hunters to show off...
Irish traditional musical group Cherish the Ladies performs in Kodiak on Feb. 4, in Fairbanks on Feb. 6, and in Anchorage on Feb. 7. In Kodiak, the performance is at 7 p.m. at the Gerald C. Wilson Auditorium. Tickets available through the Kodiak Arts Council. In Fairbanks, the group will be at Hering Auditorium. In Anchorage, you can see them at the Alaska Performing Arts Center and tickets are available at CenterTix.com … Cyrano's Theatre Company is producing the romantic musical “The Fantasticks,” from Jan. 30-Feb. 22. The performance on Fe...
The light is coming back, and that's a good thing. But if you're not instantly heartened by the returning light and are dreading the next few months of cold and dark, this is what I've learned about coping with winter. Get outside. It doesn't matter what the temperature is or how strong the wind is blowing. Make it a point to get outside. Ideally, you'll spend 20 minutes walking or doing more vigorous exercise. If you're less than mobile, can you stand on your porch and look at the stars on a...
I have many stories about friends who have ignored signs their body is in trouble and made the problem worse. A friend called me one February and-unusual for her-was drunk on the phone and very angry about another friend's treatment of her. Then she complained of fevers and chills, but she said, "On the good side, I've lost 25 pounds in the last two months." My immediate thought: cancer. Within the month she was in a hospital where she lived hooked up to many machines. I watched two doctors come...
On a cold Thursday morning in the Fairbanks Job Center, a small group of seniors gather to learn more about computers and how to work with them. Their guide is also a senior, also still learning about computers. The seniors are participants in the MASST program. MASST stands for Mature Alaskans Seeking Skills Training. It's a federal program of the Department of Labor, administered by the state of Alaska Division of Vocational Rehabilitation, within the Alaska Department of Labor. The MASST...
The October 2025 ADAC quarterly meeting was the first ever face-to-face meeting. The day included a review of A Call to Action: Alaska’s 10-year Map to Address Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementia with Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority, a discussion on data and work with the Division of Public Health, a presentation by Aging at Home Fairbanks, a clinical presentation on the connection between hearing loss and dementia, ADAC workgroup updates, and more. Access links for the minutes here: https://bit.ly/4843rOb The slide deck is ava...
A highlight of Alaska is that when it’s the holiday season, it looks like a Christmas card: snow falling, children playing, trees glistening. Get out and enjoy the many ways to celebrate the season … Nome has a Christmas Extravaganza at 5:30 p.m. Dec. 5 at Old Saint Joe’s on Anvil City Square. For details, email cityevents@nomealaska.orgcityevents@nomealaska.org https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=1143779374595519&set=gm.1152069650376073 ... Each year, the Anchorage Concert Chorus sings Handel’s “Messiah.” Catch it at 2 p.m. Dec. 7 at First...
One intrepid postman set out from Nome in November 1905 with his team of dogs, led by a wolf, on a 15-month odyssey that would test his resolve and capture the public's imagination. Eli Smith, a seasoned mail carrier from Nome, embarked on an epic 8,000-mile trek to Washington D.C., all to settle a high-stakes wager. Born around 1855 in Wisconsin, Smith led a life of adventure long before his famous mushing expedition that would test the limits of human and canine endurance. He worked various...
The University of Alaska Fairbanks has received a grant from the National Institutes of Health for $3.26 million for a research project to address coronary heart disease among Yup'ik Alaska Native people in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta region. The project focuses on blending an elder-designed program based on ancestral principles with workshops on traditional foodways-a break from conventional hearth health interventions. The tribally driven project, "Neqpiaput Iinruugut (Our Food is Medicine),"...
The Alaska Moving Image Preservation Association (AMIPA) and Doyon Foundation will co-present a fundraiser screening of “Spirit of the Wind” a 1979 film about George Attla. The event is in recognition of November as Alaska Native/American Indian Heritage Month. Shot on location in Fairbanks, the film follows Attla from his life as a young Athabascan trapper in rural Alaska, to a tuberculosis diagnosis that meant years in sanitoriums in Tanana and Sitka and how he goes on to become a champion sprint dog musher. The film will be screened at 4 p...
The motto of the Salvation Army, "Sharing is Caring," applies well to the Salvation Army Family Store in Fairbanks. On a recent fall day, along with the first snow of the season, three MASST participants gathered with Capt. Jon Tollerud, store manager Penny Turnbull, and three other volunteers. The crew was reorganizing the entire thrift store, closed for the week, for a grand reopening in October. It was clear that they had already done loads of work over the past weeks and months. Winter was...
Alaska Health Fair events offer a chance to learn about important health topics topics in an informal setting. Attendees can receive free basic screenings, obtain information and resources, and have their questions answered by health, wellness and safety professionals. Health fairs are also a great way to connect with local health resources. Most importantly, events feature comprehensive, affordable blood tests. Obtaining blood screenings at health fairs is a great way to get quick, accurate results at a fraction of the cost. Alaska Health...
This month is packed with traditional fall events, such as the Alaska Federation of Natives convention. Make sure you make time to enjoy the golden light and the crisp temperatures … The regular municipal election of the Fairbanks North Star Borough is Oct. 7. Borough Assembly seats B, C and I and school board seats C and D are on the ballot...Voters in Juneau are also going to the polls Oct. 7. They have three ballot measures to consider. Soldotna an acrylic art series begins Oct. 8 and continues each Wednesday until Nov. 5. The sessions a...
Oct. 1-31 National Breast Cancer Awareness Month Oct. 1-31 National ADHD Awareness Month Oct. 1-31 National Domestic Violence Awareness Month Oct. 1-31 National Filipino American History Month. Alaska officially recognizes October as Filipino American History Month following the passage of legislation signed into law in 2023. To learn more about the contributions of Filipino Americans to the state, check out Mana Alaska, a digital storytelling project dedicated to this community. https://www.manaalaska.com/ Oct. 4 National Golf Lover’s Day O...
Every year, the Department of Labor designates the last full week of September as National Employ Older Workers Week: Sept 21-27, 2025. The NEOW Week recognizes the vital role of older workers in the workforce, and it highlights the Senior Community Service Employment Program (SCSEP), which provides on-the-job skills training for seniors, 55 and older, with limited financial resources. SCSEP was authorized under the Older Americans Act of 1965. Here in Alaska, SCSEP is known as Mature Alaskans...
I can still remember the day my mother announced that we were going to make jam. I was perhaps 12 years old and the oldest of four siblings growing up in Glennallen. I don't remember what kind of berries we used or where they came from. But the other details certainly stuck in my mind-washing the jars, measuring the sugar, adding the Certo at just the right time, pouring the jam into the jars, and finally adding a layer of hot wax. Mom made very few batches of jam, but that one lesson stayed...
Opportunities for Lifelong Education, commonly known as OLÉ, has a full schedule of classes and activities this fall for Anchorage-based learners. In Fairbanks, a program through the University of Alaska Fairbanks also offers courses. Sandra Christopherson is one of the founders of OLÉ. She a group of friends thought Anchorage needed more opportunities for adult learners. They put together a nonprofit in 2007 with that aim, enlisting people known for getting things done, such as Gretchen B...
Amy Urbanus was already an assistant professor in the dietetics and nutrition program at the University of Alaska Anchorage but missed working with patients. So she started working with patients at the Anchorage Senior Activities Center, putting in about 20 hours a month to address seniors' nutrition needs. That work, and a professional career as a diabetes educator drove Urbanus to seek a Ph.D., which she is completing at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. She designed her own...
Sept. 1-Sept. 30 National Falls Prevention Awareness Month. Several national nonprofit and advocacy organizations support this month-long awareness campaign, including the Brain Injury Association of America. Accidental falls are one of the leading causes of injury among Alaskans aged 65 and older, often resulting in serious harm like brain injuries or hip fractures. The State of Alaska Department of Health has a myth-busting information page full of resources that can help you. https://health.alaska.gov/en/education/senior-fall-prevention/...
When Joy-El Culligan first came to the Fairbanks Community Food Bank in 2022, a new MASST participant at age 87, executive director Anne Weaver immediately thought she would make an excellent greeter. The Food Bank had used greeters during the COVID-19 pandemic and managed to keep the operation safely going and steadily growing. As the Food Bank's 2020 Annual Report put it, "Our amazing Mature Alaskans Seeking Skills Training (MASST) workers 'manned' the front door, took pre-entry temperatures,...
