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There is a throughline in Madeline Holdorf's life. Holdorf, the former volunteer statewide AARP president, received the Ron Hammett from the Municipality of Anchorage Senior Citizens Advisory Commission on May 6. When she graduated from high school more than 60 years ago, she received the outstanding service award. "It takes my breath away, actually," said Holdorf in a conversation after the award ceremony, held at the Anchorage Senior Activities Center. "In my retirement and when I had a...
As Alaska’s 2026 legislative session concludes, AARP Alaska is grateful for the Legislature’s bipartisan work to advance three key priorities that help Alaskans age with dignity, security, and independence. Representing more than 76,000 members statewide, AARP’s 2026 agenda focused on two fundamental needs for older adults: financial resilience and strong consumer protections. AARP has made both public and private-sector retirement policy a top priority, recognizing that increased savings empower older Alaskans to maintain independence and a...
Family members, friends, and caregivers gathered on the morning of May 2 at the Anchorage Golf Course for the 2026 annual Alzheimer's Resource Alaska (ARA) "Amblin' for Alzheimer's" event. ARA hosts the event to raise awareness about the growing incidence of Alzheimer's and related dementias in Alaska. Alzheimer's is the most common type of dementia, but there are many others. https://www.webmd.com/alzheimers/alzheimers-dementia Dementia causes issues with thinking, behavior, and memory....
The Alaska Senate passed HB 96, which creates a Home Care Employment Standards Advisory Board by a vote of 19-1. The legislation is meant to expand access to affordable home and community-based care. The legislation also empowers an advisory board that will develop policy recommendations for senior care improvement, and requires agencies that provide personal care to allocate a certain percentage of funding to Personal Care Assistants. Seniors are the fastest growing demographic in the state of Alaska, with an expected 500% increase by 2050....
The SS Northwestern was launched on November 28, 1889, by the Delaware River Iron, Shipbuilding and Engine Works of Chester, Pennsylvania, under the name of the SS Orizaba and was an iron-hulled combined passenger/freighter ship that was powered by a coal-fired steam-driven engine and a four-bladed screw propeller. The first owner of the Orizaba was the Ward Line (also known as the New York and Cuba Steamship Company), and she sailed for nine years carrying passengers between New York, Mexico,...
Golf tournament organized by Anchorage Senior Activities Center The Anchorage Senior Activity Center is holding “Summer Blast,” a golf tournament and barbecue June 17. The event is June 17 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Russian Jack Springs Park. A team of four participating in the golf tournament costs $100. For more information or to RSVP, call 907-770-2000. Russian Jack Springs Park is at 801 Pine Street, but the chalet is at 1600 Lidia Selkregg Lane. Nome senior center is organizing outings in June The XYZ Senior Center in Nome is org...
The Anchorage Museum’s exhibit “Cold War to the Cosmos” was a big hit with family who visited the state this spring. It closes Sept. 7. Part of the exhibit features an interview with Dan O’Neill, author of “The Firecracker Boys,” which tells the nonfiction story of Project Chariot, a 1958 U.S. government plan to detonate nuclear bombs in Point Hope, Alaska, to create a harbor, which was stopped by local Inupiat people and environmental activists. He is giving a lecture at 6:30 p.m. June 17. Register here....
A streamlined registration and titling process for legally imported vintage motor vehicles will be the law after the passage of SB 239. “This legislation is a significant win for Alaskans who value automotive history and the freedom to enjoy classic imports,” Rep. St. Clair said in a news release. “By clarifying that 25-year-old legally imported vehicles do not need to meet 2026 safety standards, we are protecting the rights of collectors and ensuring these unique vehicles can stay on the road where they belong.” The bill, which drew biparti...
Daylight floods the state in June. Fairbanks receives roughly 21 hours and 49 minutes to 22 hours and 10 minutes of daylight, while Anchorage receives 19 hours and 20 minutes. Take advantage of all the activity ... The Celebration Native festival, organized by the Sealaska Heritage Institute during even years, in Juneau is June 3-6. https://sealaskaheritage.org/shi-celebration/ ... The Three Barons Renaissance Festival is held over two weekends 801 Pine Street in Anchorage, June 6-7 and 13-14. The first weekend is pirate-themed and the second...
This month, we have two photos either entirely generated by AI or modified using AI. We want to be transparent and forthcoming with you about this. The cover photo we modified so that there is a bit more foliage present than in the original image. It helps us fill in the space we need to run this photograph. The second one is clearly labeled, and it was generated using Gemini, a popular AI platform on the internet. It goes with Lawrence D. Weiss’ story about using AI to try to find out more abou...
Editor's Note: National Centenarian's Day is Sept. 22. The day honors those who've celebrated 100 birthdays or more. We're publishing profiles of people who have hit this milestone. The Alaska Commission on Aging is working with the Governor's Office, Pioneer Homes and Long Term Care Ombudsman to celebrate Alaska's centenarians. If you know someone who is 100 or older and would like us to profile them, contact editor@seniorvoicealaska.comeditor@seniorvoicealaska.com. You can take the girl out...
Katie Chadwick got the idea last summer that she wanted to do the all-women Gold Nugget Triathlon, an event with origins in an early 1980s effort by moms to create sports opportunities for their daughters and other girls. Katie had been on what she describes as a “health journey,” and saw the Gold Nugget as an opportunity to demonstrate how she had become stronger and leaner. Her 60th birthday was coming up, and she wanted to set a goal to mark the moment. “I just had this idea that I wante...
The Alaska Commission on Aging will hold a quarterly meeting in Juneau on May 27. The event will be online via Zoom, from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. In preparation for writing the next four-year State Plan for Senior Services, the focus of the meeting will be the Older Americans Act (OAA). The Commission will receive training on the OAA and hear from agencies managing OAA programs. There will be a public comment period at 1 p.m., allowing for feedback from individuals and organizations. To participate via Zoom, use the address http...
3 Rings Circus is coming to Anchorage and Fairbanks in May. This circus features the motorcycle high wire, aerial ballerinas, Argentinian gauchos and the dueling wheels of death. A portion of every ticket sold benefits Big Brothers Big Sisters of Alaska, a nonprofit that creates and supports one-to-one mentoring relationships for children facing adversity. The organization matches youth (Littles) with adult volunteers (Bigs) to provide a supportive relationship that helps children achieve their full potential. www.bbbsak.org Show Schedule Carls...
Last month, newsrooms around the country marked Local News Day, an opportunity to connect people with trusted local news organizations. The Senior Voice is a local news organization, with almost all of the content reported and produced here in Alaska. We strive to bring you news and information that is helpful to you as an older Alaskan or as someone who helps or lives with an older Alaskan. To do that, we ask that you complete our readership survey, which will help us improve the way we cover...
Arctic Marine Science: Sikuliaq to Shore opens May 15 at the Anchorage Museum, bringing visitors inside Alaska’s ice-capable research vessel and the science studying northern seas. Visitors to the can view the world of Arctic marine research through this immersive exhibition that reveals how scientists and coastal communities are working together to better understand environmental shifts in northern seas. The exhibit is presented in partnership with the North Pacific Research Board (NPRB), the exhibition transforms the Patricia B. Wolf F...
May 1-31 National Bike Month. Get your two-wheeler or three-wheeler out and enjoy the warm weather May 1- 31 National Garden Month May 11-17 National Women’s Health Week. An annual observance to highlight women's health issues and priorities, and to encourage women of all ages to seek preventive care and screenings. May 6-12 National Nurses Week. If you’ve ever been in the hospital, you know nurses are essential to your care. Tell the nurses in your life how much you value them. May 1 International May Day. Also known as International Wor...
Fares on the Alaska Marine Highway System will increase May 1, the first hike since 2019. See fares and routes on the ferry system’s website.…. May 2 is Military Appreciation Day at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson. It’s from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Arctic Warrior Events Center, 9387 Kuter Ave. There will be a health fair and services such as information about retirement and food trucks. …. It’s graduation season. May 2 is the ceremony at the University of Alaska Fairbanks; May 3 is the date for graduations at the University of Alaska An...
ANCOR, a national association for community-based disability service providers, has announced that Thomas "Tom" Bandelow, a direct support professional at Hope Community Resources, Inc. has been named the recipient of the 2026 Alaska DSP of the Year award. Tom is part of the largest-ever class of DSP of the Year honorees, with 57 outstanding professionals being chosen from a record-breaking 544 nominations from around the country. For more than 28 years, Tom has provided outstanding direct...
“What gets measured gets managed.” (Peter Drucker). Please take a few moments to complete this survey and help the Senior Voice to improve. Your feedback will provide staff with a solid understanding of what our readers and friends would like to read. For your convenience, the survey is online, is only 13 questions and should take less than five minutes to complete. A print version is available upon request. Please share your name and email address with the completed survey to be entered int...
Each spring in Alaska, as the snow softens and the light returns, something else begins to stir across our communities. Stories. At Alzheimer's Resource Alaska, we hear them every day. A daughter describing the first moment she realized her mother was forgetting familiar places. A husband learning how to become a caregiver after decades of partnership. A friend who simply refuses to let someone they love face dementia alone. These are the stories that bring people to Amblin'. If you have never...
The Fairbanks North Star School District will lengthen the academic year by three days to account for snow days in February. School’s out for the 2025-26 year on May 27. In Anchorage, administrators decided to make April 19, previously an in-service day, a regular school day to account for earlier bad weather. KTOO, the public radio station in Juneau, reported that students there missed four days because of bad weather, but won’t have to make them up. The district was able to get some of the lost days waived by the state, due to ext...
Some of the most important investigative reporting by Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist Richard Mauer to this day is having an effect on many Alaskans. He was on The Anchorage Daily News team that investigated alcoholism and suicide among Alaska Natives. Mauer also exposed political corruption, reporting on the local Roman Catholic archdiocese not punishing an abusive priest, and the oil-field services company, Veco, that put funds behind Big Oil political candidates in the state....
Impostor scams were the most common form of consumer fraud in Alaska in 2025, according to the Federal Trade Commission. Many impostor scams involve criminals pretending to be bank fraud investigators, who first send a text questioning account activity. Read on to see how this plays out. How it works You receive a text message that appears to be from your bank, asking for confirmation that recent activity on your account was legitimate. When you reply "no," you receive a call, seemingly from you...
Editor's Note: National Centenarian's Day is Sept. 22. The day honors those who've celebrated 100 birthdays or more. We're publishing profiles of people who have hit this milestone. The Alaska Commission on Aging is working with the Governor's Office, Pioneer Homes and Long Term Care Ombudsman to celebrate Alaska's centenarians. This interview was made possible thanks to the Alaska Commission on Aging. Forgive Shirley Gordon if she doesn't tell you she's fine if you ask. "All my life people...
