Casey Grove (Alaska Public Media)

The storm that slammed into western Alaska last weekend was the result of several factors all converging to make it so destructive. Ocean temperatures continue to creep upward, and similar, huge, devastating storms hitting Alaska could become more likely.

The Alaska Legislature passed a budget late Wednesday night that includes a $3,200 payout to Alaskans in the form of Permanent Fund Dividends and energy relief payments.That’s a compromise, after the state Senate had earlier sought $5,500 payments. House members argued that would draw too much from state savings.

Maj. Gen. Brian Eifler says it’s a problem he and other top Army officials are thinking about and working on every day. He says there are some specific things about Alaska that factor in, but often it’s other issues in a soldier’s life that are exacerbated by being stationed in the north, in most cases far from home, that become contributing factors to depression and hopelessness.

Alaska’s first investigator focused on missing and murdered Indigenous people is a veteran of the troopers