News

Former Lieutenant Governor Valerie Davidson has stepped into another leadership role, becoming the first female president of Alaska Pacific University.

For Alaskans who travel by plane, heading to a DMV to sign up for a federally-mandated REAL ID is a priority. But getting to the DMV can be difficult as Alaskans are pushed to stay indoors and limit contact during the coronavirus pandemic.

At a news conference, President Donald Trump says he will be extending the deadline for Americans to get REAL ID compliant.

Of the 20 official Native languages in Alaska, nine Athabascan languages in the Doyon region are working on developing fluent speakers. The Doyon Foundation is accepting proposals for language development grants.

A people’s language defines who they are, says Allan Hayton, the program director for the Doyon Foundation’s Language Revitalization program.

This summer the North Pacific was hit with the second marine heatwave of the decade. Mirroring the first so-called “Blob” of 2014, scientists measured ocean temperatures as more than five degrees above normal, across millions of square miles stretching from Alaska to California.

The first “Blob” decimated fisheries, caused a mass seabird die-off and spurred toxic algal blooms up and down the coast. In the last year and a half, a second heatwave began brewing.

An unusual mortality event, or UME, was designated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) for ice seals in the Bering Strait region in 2019.

With hundreds of ice seal strandings last year in the Bering Sea, researchers from NOAA Fisheries plan to set sail this April to find out more information about how ice seals are doing with less sea ice, and what might be causing so many to become sick or die.

The Bristol Bay Area Health Corporation is restructuring its operations to prepare the region for coronavirus.

Health providers based at Kanakanak Hospital in Dillingham normally travel regularly to villages around the region to provide care to residents. But in an effort to prevent any spread of the virus to communities, BBAHC has postponed village travel for its staff indefinitely.

Alaska Pacific University announced Tuesday, March 24, 2020, that Valerie Nurr’araaluk Davidson will succeed its current president Bob Onders on April 25th.

The appointment will make Davidson the first female president of the Anchorage-based liberal arts and sciences college.

Davidson has a long history of working in Alaska Native leadership, health, education, law and policy.

Demand for products like hand sanitizer, cleaning supplies and toilet paper has spiked across Alaska, spurred by concerns over the coronavirus. That strain has been tough for some rural communities. The Alaska Commercial Company operates 33 stores around the state, several of which are in Bristol Bay.

At Doyon Limited’s annual shareholder meeting Friday, March 20, 2020, CEO and President Aaron Schutt shared some positive news during his address.

The meeting was held as a virtual webcast out of coronavirus concerns. Though some shareholders took to Facebook to comment about problems with streaming internet in rural Alaska.

During his address, Doyon Limited CEO and president Aaron Schutt (Koyukon Athabascan) apologized to shareholders for the change in process.  He  acknowledged concerns about bandwidth -- particularly in rural areas -- affecting access to the meeting.

A bill that would substantially reform the state’s Village Public Safety Officer Program received public testimony from various Native leaders across the state.