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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...
This is the second in a series about people finding or rediscovering creative pursuits later in life. The reporting project is funded by a grant from the Alaska Center for Excellence in Journalism. If you have a suggestion of a person who has explored their artistic or creative impulses upon retirement or when other life demands lessened, email editor@seniorvoicealaska.comeditor@seniorvoicealaska.com. Frank Entsminger came to sculpting the hard way-through fire. A taxidermist by trade for...
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...
Although the many shorebird festivals in Alaska start ramping up this month, many of us can’t get to them. But there are a couple of events that you can attend to learn more about the avian world. Bird TLC, a nonprofit that cares for and advocates for Alaska’s wild birds, is screening “Listers,” a documentary about extreme birdwatching. The event is April 3 at 6 p.m. in the Wilda Marston Theatre. The film will screen at 7 p.m. The documentary follows two brothers who know little about birding, but spend a year in a van chasing bird sightin...
The Museum of the North, on the University of Alaska Fairbanks campus, will open an exhibit called “The Sick,” named for the illness that affects those who struggle with addiction. The 45 artworks, by Fairbanks-based artist Kevin Caroll, will be on display April 11-July 26 in the Perspectives Gallery on the upper level of the museum. The exhibit explores addiction in various ways. Caroll is a 2025 bachelor of fine arts graduate of UAF. The museum maintains winter hours through May 14. Those are seven days a week, 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. with the...
The expiration of the enhanced premium tax credits for people with Affordable Care Act (ACA) Marketplace plans is exacting a toll on enrollees surveyed. KFF, a nonprofit health policy research group, asked people it had surveyed in 2025, before the plan costs went up, again in 2026 about their experiences. Half of returning enrollees say their health care costs are "a lot higher" this year compared to last year, including four in 10 who specifically say their premiums are "a lot higher." In...
The correct dates for the Caregiver and Anticipatory Grief Support Group at Hospice of Anchorage are as follows: 4/8 Caregiving Foundations 4/15 Caregiver Burnout and Self-Care 4/22 Healthy Boundaries & Asking for Help 4/29 Communication Skills 5/6 Emotions in Caregiving 5/13 Stress Management & Relaxation 5/19 Finding Hope & Meaning 5/26 Navigating Transitions 6/3 Holidays & Special Dates 6/10 Preparing for What Comes Next 6/17 Life After Caregiving 6/24 Closing & Celebration The group is open and no cost. Simply come as you...
The Anchorage Genealogical Society's annual seminar will feature nationally known genealogy expert Judy Nimer Muhn on April 18. The seminar is from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at St. Mary's Episcopal Church, Waldron Hall, 2222 E. Tudor Road. Muhn began her professional genealogical work in 1993. She has lectured at National Genealogical Society conferences, RootsTech, Federation of Genealogical Societies as well as conferences in Europe and around the United States. Traveling extensively around the worl...
Alzheimer’s Resource Alaska offers mini grants to help ease the daily challenges faced by Alaskans living with Alzheimer’s disease or related dementia and those who care for them. These grants, made possible by the Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority, are designed to improve quality of life and support independence by helping cover the cost of services, equipment, and supports that are often out of reach. The impact of these grants is best understood through the voices of caregivers who use...
Two public member seats are open on the Alaska Commission on Aging. Applicants must be age 60 or older. These are volunteer positions appointed by the governor. Quarterly attendance of board meetings is required. Monthly meeting attendance is strongly encouraged. Apply here....
Organizations can submit a letter of interest now through March 11 for Alaska’s Rural Health Transformation Program. The letter of interest gives organizations a chance to briefly describe their ideas for improving rural health care in Alaska. Alaska’s RHTP is part of a $50 billion national initiative authorized by Congress in 2025 to strengthen rural health systems over the next five years. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has awarded Alaska one of the largest allocations in the nation. The year one award was $272,174,856, pen...
