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Alaska Chinese Association is marking its 50th anniversary with Golden Jubilee Lunar New Year celebration from noon to 4 p.m. Feb. 15 at Dimond High School (2909 W. 88th Ave., Anchorage, AK 99502) will feature performances, food, and family activities. Tickets and information are available here. The community celebration leads into the Year of the Horse, which begins with Lunar New Year on Feb. 17, 2026, marking half a century of Chinese heritage, community building, and cultural fusion in...
Music has a remarkable ability to reach people living with Alzheimer's disease and related dementias, often long after other forms of communication become difficult. Melodies, rhythm, and familiar lyrics can spark recognition, ease anxiety, and create moments of joy and connection. Research and lived experience show that music engages multiple areas of the brain, allowing emotional memory to remain accessible even as other abilities change. I know firsthand the transformative power of music....
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. Every morning before dawn, Susie Ford is up. Coco, her little dog, is waiting. At 5 a.m., she...
This year's Fur Rondy will be different in that there is now an Anchorage Mushing District arch over Fourth Avenue, marking the starting line for the Fur Rendezvous Open World Championship Sled Dog Race and the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, the state's most famous international event. The landmark was inaugurated in November 2025, and it was the culmination of a multi-year effort by led by Jim Huettl, the president of the nonprofit Anchorage Mushing District. "He was indefatigable," said Rod...
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...
Alaska has one of the highest smoking costs in the nation, according to a report from personal-finance company WalletHub. The company calculated the potential monetary losses—including the lifetime and annual costs of a pack of cigarettes per day, health care expenditures, income losses and other costs—brought on by smoking and exposure to secondhand smoke. Smoking impacts your health and your pocketbook. Tobacco use is responsible for nearly half a million deaths in the United States each year and remains the leading cause of lung cancer, acc...
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...
Feb. 1-28 National Black History Month. It is observed annually in the United States and Canada in February. It is also called African-American History Month. In 1926, Historian Carter G. Woodson and the Association for the Study of Negro Life and announced the second week of February to be “Negro History Week” in honor of the birthday of Abraham Lincoln and abolitionist Frederick Douglass, according to Wikipedia. It has evolved since then to occupy a month. Feb. 1 National Dark Chocolate Day. Editorial opinion: The best kind of chocolate. Feb...
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...
Alaska House Rep. Will Stapp has introduced HB 255, known as the PFD Senior Raffle Bill, which would establish two new funding mechanisms, the Senior Citizen Grants Endowment Fund and the Senior Citizen Grants Dividend Raffle Fund, to strengthen financial support for organizations serving older Alaskans. If the bill passes, Alaskans could choose to direct a portion of their Permanent Fund Dividend (PFD) toward these funds and participate in associated raffles, creating a voluntary and dedicated...
When Eleanor Frisby smiles, the entire dining room at the Palmer Veterans & Pioneers Home seems to brighten. Staff and residents say she has always had that kind of warm, steady and unmistakably strong presence. Frisby, who will celebrate her 100th birthday on Jan. 25, built her life on hard work, family devotion and an unwavering instinct to care for others. It's fitting she now lives where she worked as part of the original trio of staff hired when the home opened in the early 1970s. Even on...
Start the new year off right with a run through the woods. The First Howl is in Palmer on Jan. 1. Runners will have four hours to complete three separate loops on the Crevasse Moraine trail system. There will be a 5-mile, 3-mile, and 1-mile loop. At bib pick up, each runner will spin the wheel to determine the order of their loops. At the halfway point of each loop, runners must find a hidden book and tear out the page that matches their bib number (Barkley style) and return their page to the race director at the completion of that loop. After...
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...
Four Chaplains Day will be celebrated at 2 p.m. Feb. 3 at the Alaska Veterans Museum at 411 W. Fourth Ave. in Anchorage in the yellow Sunshine Building. The sinking of the U.S. Army Transport Dorchester on Feb. 3, 1943, was a tragic event during World War II, caused by a German torpedo. Of the 902 men aboard the USAT Dorchester, 672 died, leaving 230 survivors. When the news reached American shores, the nation was stunned by the magnitude of the tragedy and heroic conduct of the four chaplains. As the ship went down, survivors in nearby rafts...
Individuals impacted by the October 2025 West Coast storms have until Feb. 20 to apply for state and FEMA assistance. The State and FEMA IA programs are available for survivors in the declared areas who have experienced damages or emergency expenses from the severe storms, flooding, and remnants of Typhoon Halong that occurred Oct. 8–13, 2025. As of December 13, 1,920 survivors have applied for State IA and 1,558 FEMA IA applications have been received. Ongoing assessments and community assistance visits have indicated that many households in r...
The League of Women Voters Anchorage is organizing a Democracy Fair from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Jan. 10 at the Loussac Library, 3600 Denali Street. The fair is open to all ages and is a free event. The public is welcome, emphasized board vice president Shirley Pittz. “We’re hoping that they come and they keep an open mind, and that they think about democracy more deeply than they do on a normal basis, about what it takes to keep a democracy strong and vibrant.” The League of Women Voters Anchorage celebrated its 75th anniversary in November 2025....
As the Senior Voice January 2026 edition was going to print, Congress was still tied in knots about whether to extend the Affordable Care Act’s enhanced premium tax credits, which were set to expire Dec. 31. The U.S. House of Representatives passed a Republican-backed health care bill in mid-December that does not include an extension of expiring tax credits that help millions of Americans pay for health insurance under the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare. Four Republican members of Congress sided with Democrats’ petition to try to...
Alaska Behavioral Health has a mental health lunch-and-learn series beginning Jan. 5. It’s Mondays from noon to 1 p.m. through Feb. 23 via Zoom. The free online educational series is open to everyone. Weekly webinars are presented by therapists to explore topics related to mental health. Register to attend any or all of the sessions here. Call 907-762-8668 to email bsalvatore@akbh.orgbsalvatore@akbh.org. The first webinar on Jan. 5 is titled “In with the New, Out with the Old: Evaluate and Modify Automatic Thoughts, Beliefs and Behaviors to...
The Alaska Training Cooperative provides non-academic trainings for people who work in Alaska’s direct service professional and behavioral health workforce and who work with people who are affected by Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias as well as other mental health issues. Training and technical staff collaborate with communities and partners to offer trainings and training assistance to agencies, organizations, businesses, and associations. This enhances workforce development blending evidence-based practices with traditional wis...
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...
Dan Kline is a retired UAA professor who is expecting his Affordable Care Act monthly premiums to rise from about $192 per month with government subsidies to $1,733 per month because the U.S. government is drastically reducing subsidies that helped Americans buy health insurance in the pandemic and post-pandemic era. Kline, who is a few months away from turning 65, has used the ACA for health insurance since COBRA coverage ended after he retired in 2021. “This is for an out-of-pocket total of a...
You can contribute $24,500 to 401(k) plans in 2026, up from $23,500, the IRS announced in November. The Internal Revenue Service also issued guidance regarding all cost-of-living adjustments affecting dollar limitations for pension plans and other retirement-related items for tax year 2026, which you can see here: https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-drop/n-25-67.pdf Now, the annual contribution limit for employees who participate in 401(k), 403(b), governmental 457 plans, and the federal government’s Thrift Savings plan is $24,500. You can also c...
Providence Family Medicine Center has been recognized by the American Heart Association and American Medical Association for its commitment to improving blood pressure control rates, earning Silver-level recognition from a national initiative that seeks to lower blood pressure called Target: BP. The Silver achievement award recognizes practices that have demonstrated commitment to improving blood pressure control through BP measurement accuracy. Additionally, three Providence Medical Group Primary Care locations— Huffman, Midtown and S T...
The Alaska Department of Health’s Analytics and Vital Records Section has released three annual data reports that explain facts of interest to health care professionals, policymakers, and the public. Now you can see information on the HAVRS Data and Statistics page, such as Alaska Health Facilities Data Reporting (HFDR) program 2024 annual report. Alaska Vital Statistics 2024 annual report Cancer in Alaska 2022 annual report The reports help shed light on health trends and public health initiatives in the state. The reports are crucial for u...
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...
