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Alex Whetman, suffering leg cramps and numb hands moments after winning the inaugural Ironman Alaska on Sunday, found something sufficient to divert his attention a minute or so later while in the midst of explaining his victory to the surrounding cameras and voice recorders. Whetman, a Salt Lake City resident participating in his fifth Iron Man, finished with a time of 9 hours, 11 minutes and 17 seconds, more than 12 minutes ahead of the second-place finisher. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)

Update: Freezing hands and cramping legs still make it across the Ironman Alaska finish line

Willpower and horsepower?

Alex Whetman, suffering leg cramps and numb hands moments after winning the inaugural Ironman Alaska on Sunday, found something sufficient to divert his attention a minute or so later while in the midst of explaining his victory to the surrounding cameras and voice recorders. Whetman, a Salt Lake City resident participating in his fifth Iron Man, finished with a time of 9 hours, 11 minutes and 17 seconds, more than 12 minutes ahead of the second-place finisher. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
President Joe Biden walks to board Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, on his way to his Rehoboth Beach, Del., home after his most recent COVID-19 isolation, Sunday, Aug. 7, 2022. (AP Photo / Manuel Balce Ceneta)

Senate Democrats approve big Biden deal; House to vote next

Both of Alaska’s Republican senators voted against the bill.

  • Aug 7, 2022
  • By Alan Fram and Lisa Mascaro Associated Press
  • Nation-World
President Joe Biden walks to board Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, on his way to his Rehoboth Beach, Del., home after his most recent COVID-19 isolation, Sunday, Aug. 7, 2022. (AP Photo / Manuel Balce Ceneta)
A blank wood sign at the seaplane dock welcomes people to Tenakee Springs, where the adjacent moss-covered helipad has been in disrepair and unusable for years. The town is struggling with numerous infrastructure deficiencies, along with a shrinking population and uncertain future. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)

Sharing shortfalls and stoutness in Tenakee Springs

Part 1 in a three-part series.

A blank wood sign at the seaplane dock welcomes people to Tenakee Springs, where the adjacent moss-covered helipad has been in disrepair and unusable for years. The town is struggling with numerous infrastructure deficiencies, along with a shrinking population and uncertain future. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
A telephone booth, one of two in Tenakee Springs, awaits callers near the recreational boat harbor at the edge of town. While full-size phone booths have all but vanished in the United States, the two in Tenakee are all the more remarkable because both allows calls to be made free of charge. The drawback is the calls can only be local and calling cards for long-distance numbers aren’t always available for purchase. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)

Trivial Tenakee tidbits

Random bits of weirdness from a town with two phone booths and no bathhouse committee applicants

A telephone booth, one of two in Tenakee Springs, awaits callers near the recreational boat harbor at the edge of town. While full-size phone booths have all but vanished in the United States, the two in Tenakee are all the more remarkable because both allows calls to be made free of charge. The drawback is the calls can only be local and calling cards for long-distance numbers aren’t always available for purchase. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
An unofficial 4 1/2-mph speed limit sign implores people to slow down from the official 10 mph limit while driving ATVs and bicycles on the dirt road passing through a trio of family homes on the outskirts of Tenakee Springs. A suggestion to impose an official 5 mph limit in some parts of the community where children frequent has been unsuccessfully made recently to the city council. No cars or trucks, except for two essential public service vehicles, are allowed in the town. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)

Choosing the road less traveled

Part three of a three-part series.

An unofficial 4 1/2-mph speed limit sign implores people to slow down from the official 10 mph limit while driving ATVs and bicycles on the dirt road passing through a trio of family homes on the outskirts of Tenakee Springs. A suggestion to impose an official 5 mph limit in some parts of the community where children frequent has been unsuccessfully made recently to the city council. No cars or trucks, except for two essential public service vehicles, are allowed in the town. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire Laird Jones, a Juneau resident who attended a sharing event Friday, shares the story of his great-aunt’s death while attending the Carlisle Indian Industrial School in Pennsylvania. She is still buried in one of its graveyard’s 14 unmarked graves, Jones said. His family is on a mission to bring her home to Alaska and to share her story.

Boarding school sharing event highlights family’s fight to bring their loved one home

“She is so far from here, we want to bring her home to be with family”

Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire Laird Jones, a Juneau resident who attended a sharing event Friday, shares the story of his great-aunt’s death while attending the Carlisle Indian Industrial School in Pennsylvania. She is still buried in one of its graveyard’s 14 unmarked graves, Jones said. His family is on a mission to bring her home to Alaska and to share her story.
This photo shows Delta Air Line’s ticket counter after hours inside the Juneau Airport. Delta has been consisting offering daily flights in and out of Alaska to Seattle throughout the year, though that is expected to change starting in October. (Jonson Kuhn / Juneau Empire)

Fewer fall flights expected, but Delta says year-round service to continue in Juneau

Daily flights expected until October.

This photo shows Delta Air Line’s ticket counter after hours inside the Juneau Airport. Delta has been consisting offering daily flights in and out of Alaska to Seattle throughout the year, though that is expected to change starting in October. (Jonson Kuhn / Juneau Empire)
For the first time in a decade, the Alaska Permanent Fund Corp., source of more than half of Alaska’s general-purpose state revenue, posted negative investment returns for an entire fiscal year. (Michael S. Lockett / Juneau Empire File)

Alaska Permanent Fund Corp posts negative returns for first time in a decade

The decline will not have an immediate negative effect on state finances

For the first time in a decade, the Alaska Permanent Fund Corp., source of more than half of Alaska’s general-purpose state revenue, posted negative investment returns for an entire fiscal year. (Michael S. Lockett / Juneau Empire File)
Kevin Allred, left, and his son, Flint, discuss options for finding building project materials in front of the elder Allred’s house along the main street in Tenakee Springs on Tuesday. Both are among the high percentage of residents who say they make a living dong “odd jobs.” That diversity of skills proves useful in other ways in the tiny community such as when the father made a mechanical hand from spare parts for his son when he broke his hand a year ago. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)

Seeking the upsides of downsizing

Part 2 in a three-part series

Kevin Allred, left, and his son, Flint, discuss options for finding building project materials in front of the elder Allred’s house along the main street in Tenakee Springs on Tuesday. Both are among the high percentage of residents who say they make a living dong “odd jobs.” That diversity of skills proves useful in other ways in the tiny community such as when the father made a mechanical hand from spare parts for his son when he broke his hand a year ago. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
From left, Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., and Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., confer just before a news conference to discuss their efforts to rescind recent Biden administration rules on the National Environmental Policy Act, at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Aug. 2, 2022. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Surprise Senate vote would overturn Biden environmental rule

Sen. Dan Sullivan, an Alaska Republican, sponsored the measure.

From left, Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., and Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., confer just before a news conference to discuss their efforts to rescind recent Biden administration rules on the National Environmental Policy Act, at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Aug. 2, 2022. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
An update on the possible expansion of the Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center gives the public a glimpse at three new alternative action plans. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire)

Forest Service announces reworked Mendenhall area plans

A suppemental statement is expected this fall.

An update on the possible expansion of the Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center gives the public a glimpse at three new alternative action plans. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire)
A sign points to a weigh-in station for the Golden North Salmon Derby in 2021. This year, the Auke Bay weight station will be at Auke Nu Cove, near the ferry terminal. (Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire File)

The fish that keeps on giving: The Golden North Salmon Derby is back and it’s fishy fun for a good cause

Don’t leave it to salmon else.

A sign points to a weigh-in station for the Golden North Salmon Derby in 2021. This year, the Auke Bay weight station will be at Auke Nu Cove, near the ferry terminal. (Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire File)
An athlete takes a photo of the Ironman Village sign placed at the entrance of Thunder Mountain High School on Thursday afternoon. (Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire)

Gearing up for Ironman Alaska: The competition is now just days away — here’s what to expect

Delays and hoorays.

An athlete takes a photo of the Ironman Village sign placed at the entrance of Thunder Mountain High School on Thursday afternoon. (Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire)
Capital City Fire and Rescue responded to a report of a small fire at the Juneau Christian Center on Glacier Highway in the Mendenhall Valley on Wednesday around 3:30 p.m. (Jonson Kuhn / Juneau Empire)

Small fire extinguished at Juneau Christian Center

Capital City Fire/Rescue extinguished fire without incident

Capital City Fire and Rescue responded to a report of a small fire at the Juneau Christian Center on Glacier Highway in the Mendenhall Valley on Wednesday around 3:30 p.m. (Jonson Kuhn / Juneau Empire)
The author and his high school basketball coach Don Busse, survey a map of a mountain in the early light of Aug. 16, opening day for non-federally qualified users on parts of Prince of Wales Island where Jeff Lund grew up. (Jeff Lund / For the Juneau Empire)

I Went to the Woods: Us vs. them

We still take pride in being the antithesis of that Lower 48 bickering, right?

  • Aug 3, 2022
  • By Jeff Lund
The author and his high school basketball coach Don Busse, survey a map of a mountain in the early light of Aug. 16, opening day for non-federally qualified users on parts of Prince of Wales Island where Jeff Lund grew up. (Jeff Lund / For the Juneau Empire)
A shopper reaches for some fruit in the produce section at Super Bear IGA. City and Borough of Juneau members OK’d an ordinance that approves funding for a third party to survey Juneau residents on whether the city should remove the sales tax on unprepared food — and how it should make up for the potential lost revenue. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire)

City OKs surveying residents on possibly removing sales tax on food

Short-term rental survey gets the go-ahead, too.

A shopper reaches for some fruit in the produce section at Super Bear IGA. City and Borough of Juneau members OK’d an ordinance that approves funding for a third party to survey Juneau residents on whether the city should remove the sales tax on unprepared food — and how it should make up for the potential lost revenue. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire)
Juneau's 14 annual National Night Out celebrated here in this photo on Rivercourt Way, however, this was just one of several locations around town to partake in this National event, which first originated in 1984. Jonson Kuhn / Juneau Empire)

NNO time like the present: National Night Out events held all over town

Event fuels community engagement with first responders.

Juneau's 14 annual National Night Out celebrated here in this photo on Rivercourt Way, however, this was just one of several locations around town to partake in this National event, which first originated in 1984. Jonson Kuhn / Juneau Empire)
This March 2020 photo shows Juneau’s City Hall. Friday was the first day for candidates to file for October’s municipal election. By the end of the day, only one certified candidate was listed on the CBJ website. However, all three Assembly members with expiring terms said they intent to run again. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire File)

A unique challenge to huge hike in assessments

Owner wants Juneau Assembly, not courts, to resolve dispute about property values.

This March 2020 photo shows Juneau’s City Hall. Friday was the first day for candidates to file for October’s municipal election. By the end of the day, only one certified candidate was listed on the CBJ website. However, all three Assembly members with expiring terms said they intent to run again. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire File)
City Manager Rorie Watt chats with member of the Assembly during a break in Monday night’s meeting. (Clarise Larson/ Juneau Empire)

City nixes ordinances that would allow city to advocate for ballot initiative outcomes

“Information is one thing, but weighing in on an election is another”

City Manager Rorie Watt chats with member of the Assembly during a break in Monday night’s meeting. (Clarise Larson/ Juneau Empire)
Ivan and Iryna Hrynchenko give a short speech at the City Borough of Juneau Assembly meeting Monday night. The mother and son are the first refugees from the war in Ukraine to be welcomed to the capital city. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire)

Juneau’s first Ukrainian refugees receive special recognition from the city

The mother and son duo were welcomed to Juneau in late June.

Ivan and Iryna Hrynchenko give a short speech at the City Borough of Juneau Assembly meeting Monday night. The mother and son are the first refugees from the war in Ukraine to be welcomed to the capital city. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire)