“He’s probably one of the most beloved dogs in the history of humankind.” - Link Olson, the University of Alaska Museum of the North’s curator of mammals.
A voter casts their ballot on the first day of early in person voting in Juneau on Oct. 19, 2026. (Photo by Corinne Smith/Alaska Beacon)
By Corinne Smith
The Alaska Division of Elections does not have to produce a report of rejected absentee voters in the midterm elections, a state court ruled Wednesday afternoon on a lawsuit filed by the campaign of Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Mary Peltola.
The lawsuit was filed by the campaign group Alaskans for Mary against the division on Friday, seeking to make public the names of voters whose absentee ballots have been rejected and the reasons for their rejection before the results are certified on Nov. 25.
The Trans-Alaska Pipeline is seen in the northern Brooks Range on June 20, 2007. Alaska. Rocks in the background produce oil on the North Slope, and running along the pipeline is the Dalton Highway. (Photo provided by the U.S. Geological Survey)
By James Brooks
The Alaska Department of Natural Resources on Tuesday approved a 50-year land lease for a proposed large-scale computing data center on the North Slope near the Dalton Highway, the trans-Alaska oil pipeline and the proposed trans-Alaska natural gas pipeline.
In its final approval, the department said the lease is in the best interests of the state of Alaska, and additional permits will be needed before construction takes place.
A mount of Togo, the lead dog in Leonhard Seppala’s team that delivered life-saving medicine to Nome in the 1925 Serum Run, is seen on display behind plexiglass at the Iditarod Trail Committee headquarters in Wasilla on Feb. 25, 2022. (Photo by Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon)
By Yereth Rosen
More than 100 years after he ran the longest stretches in a heroic dogsled mission to bring lifesaving medicine to snowbound Nome, Togo has returned to Alaska.
Or, to be more precise, Togo’s bones have returned. The skeleton of the famous dog that led legendary musher Leonhard Seppala’s team for 261 miles of the 674-mile Serum Run in 1925, which delivered lifesaving medicine to a diphtheria-stricken Nome, is now at the University of Alaska Museum of the North in Fairbanks.
COMMENTARY
By Kimberly Strong
The words “bipartisan,” “American,” “affordability” and “jobs” altogether insinuate taking care of our communities. But the Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act does anything but that.
…Does the Chilkat Indian Village (Klukwan) Tribal Council want to see improved permitting across our state and the country? Absolutely. But this bill strips power from the Alaska Native community and the public in exchange for fast-tracking industry projects at agencies’ discretion, handing more decision-making to outside, extractive corporations.
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