Juneau Independent

February's First Friday will feature artist pop-ups, a science and art exhibit, and a radio theatre performance.

Nature connectedness is associated with increased vitality, mindfulness, and compassion.

Transforming frozen fish with Indian spices will tantalize your taste buds.

A rather common but seldom seen denizen of our forests is the northern flying squirrel (Glaucomys sabrinus). They are strictly nocturnal and rather small (about the size of our more familiar red squirrel).

AI Tries To Write The News is a weekly feature where a commercial AI blog tool is asked to write news stories about notable local events of the past week, with excerpts of the results provided.

Jays are perhaps the songbird most familiar to Juneau resident. They are known by their bright blue plumage, with black head and crest.

Making winter foods while ready for spring.

Massive snowstorms of past hit when city lacked modern detection and removal equipment, led to changes in safety preparations and technical analysis.

The outer bark of trees evolved chiefly to protect the trees from pathogenic microbes, fungi, and some insects, and it may provide some incidental protection from damaging forces such as ice or falling branches. It is structurally and chemically resistant to damage and invasion, a set of adaptations that take different forms in different species. We observe some of the external differences along our trails — the ridged bark of hemlock, the scaly bark of spruces, and so on.

The answer is quite simple, really. The person who typed this is human.

Part 1: Gubernatorial hopefuls weigh in on oil taxes and how to cook fish

Perfect to warm up with after shoveling and plentiful for leftovers, "if you can restrain yourself."

AI Tries To Write The News is a weekly feature where a commercial AI blog tool is asked to write news stories about notable local events of the past week, with excerpts of the results provided.

For other animals that live here, the snow can mean lots of different things.

I took a lazy approach to trying to find where I had misplaced a holiday story from waaaaaay back in my Petersburg days detailing how I had discovered the “Santa” visiting us Little Norway youth at the annual Moose Club shindig was actually my Moose Club-member father Harold. So I googled “Santa Klas Stolpe.”

Original Ashby and Leak saloon built in 1891 gutted by fire in 1906; building became the Louvre Theatre before reopening in 1917 as a mercantile store and then the current bar.

Ants?? Why think about ant when the outside temperatures at my house haven’t been over zero degrees (F) for days? Well, thoughts about ants are one kind of nice change from mentally feeling the cold (even in my warm house). And I was prompted by receiving two messages about some interesting ants.

If you are going to a big party and want to bring something unusual but not too difficult to make, consider this recipe.

AI Tries To Write The News is a weekly feature where a commercial AI blog tool is asked to write news stories about notable local events of the past week, with excerpts of the results provided.

Spruce needles are loaded with nasty chemicals; some of them toxic and consumers must have a physiological way to avoid the toxic effects. And mature needles are tough, not easily digestible. Who would want to eat such a diet??

Employees at Petersburg's Lee's Clothing store pose in their Dale of Norway sweaters. (Klas Stolpe / Juneau Independent) By Klas Stolpe Juneau Independent I have learned a lot in my 66 years. Well, some things… a few… not much really. But sweaters. I know a thing or two about sweaters. I had been hoping to share my knowledge gleaned from years of succumbing to my Norwegian-themed hometown’s vast sweater lineage when the annual Solstice Sweater Shuffle kicks off at 10 a.m. Sat

One thing that unites Juneauites even more than talking and/or complaining about the weather is our goldfish-like memory when it comes to said weather. I blame a lot of that on the weather itself; a glorious weekend of sunshine seems to dry soggy reminders of a month-long rains and a winter storm that brings two feet of snow is more than sufficient to bury the memories of weeks where the ground sat brown and cold.

AI Tries To Write The News is a weekly feature where a commercial AI blog tool is asked to write news stories about notable local events of the past week, with excerpts of the results provided.

One person said they tasted ‘like Christmas’, another said they were a fragrant explosion of flavors.

Scientists with the Alaska Earthquake Center created this diagram in which red dots represent the Dec. 6, 2025, Hubbard Glacier earthquake and its many aftershocks. The dotted line connecting the Totschunda and Fairweather fault systems represents a possible “connector fault,” about which scientists have theorized for years. (Graphic courtesy Alaska Earthquake Center) By Ned Rozell A few days ago, the forces beneath Alaska rattled people within a 500-mile radius: A magnitude

AI Tries To Write The News is a weekly feature where a commercial AI blog tool is asked to write news stories about notable local events of the past week, with excerpts of the results provided.

First, a word about definitions: we use the word "anadromous" to refer especially to fish that run up streams from the sea to spawn. That word comes from the Greek words meaning "to run up." However, since some salmon live in freshwaters and run up from lakes into the spawning streams, they also fit the definition of anadromous. So here, I will use the term "sea-run" for the familiar types of salmon.

Fall is not really a good time to look for wildflowers, but along several trails we have noticed that yarrow is still blooming nicely, even a bit past the middle of the month.

AI Tries To Write The News is a weekly feature where a commercial AI blog tool is asked to write news stories about notable local events of the past week, with excerpts of the results provided.

You just realized you will need a quart of gravy for your Thanksgiving dinner guests! Don’t panic. 

Trail-walkers here often see signs of bark-eating. For example, porcupines leave their "art-work" at the bases of hemlock trees, with patches of bark removed, exposing the wood beneath it.

AI Tries To Write The News is a weekly feature where a commercial AI blog tool is asked to write news stories about notable local events of the past week, with excerpts of the results provided.

In review: Green auroras occur at about 60 miles above Earth. Red auroras are much higher, from about 200 to 300 miles up, which allows people closer to the equator to see them. An important gas remaining at that altitude is oxygen; electrons that excite the oxygen atoms there produce red light.

We served this with hot focaccia, a green salad and lots of wine. Bon appetit!

e are surrounded by several invasive species of birds, some of which have been in this country so long that lots of folks think of them as native. Here’s a bit of their history and a brief synopsis for our local avian invasives.

Animals often form friendships with each other (and even with other species). Horses have favorite equine companions in the pasture, and cows and goats have similar associations. Dogs have canine buddies, cats have feline chums, and both birds and fish are known to form favored associations with other individuals.

November's First Friday will feature a food drive, photography pop-up, and visual art shows.

The overnight marinade results in a deeply flavored roast chicken along with the vegetables that have been cooked in the delicious drippings from the chicken.

The state’s DNR Public Access Assertion and Defense team is a group of roughly a dozen state workers who have, arguably, Alaska’s best public sector jobs. They spend large parts of their summers flying into and floating the state’s remote rivers and lakes, then spend the winters wielding the data they’ve gathered in court.

A longtime local "liberal" columnist joined during the past week — what’s up with other "Voices" being published? (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Independent) By Mark Sabbatini Juneau Independent One of the primary goals when launching the Juneau Independent was ensuring it featured lots of Voices (hence the name for our opinion section) from a broad range of the community. That means going beyond liberal/moderate/conservative political leanings to include age (students, working p

AI Tries To Write The News is a weekly feature where a commercial AI blog tool is asked to write news stories about notable local events of the past week, with excerpts of the results provided.

Just when you thought you’d seen everything in the boreal forest, a reader points out white whiskers sprouting from the ground.

Plants disperse their seeds in many ways. Some cast their seeds into breezes or water currents, some produce seeds with adaptations that facilitate transport on (or in) animals, and so on.

Global attention after 1918 shipwreck was on end of WW I and Spanish flu epidemic, but annual memorial and other tributes recall victims of West Coast’s worst marine disaster.

Those gathering include a relative of a passenger from the 1918 sinking and a historian who has made 200 dives at the shipwreck site.

Steamship’s ability to use lifeboats was limited after striking reef and severe storm kept rescue ships from providing help. Part two of a three-part series.

Steamship collision with reef north of Juneau 107 years ago killed more than 350 people aboard at a time Juneau was dealing with other tragedies.

Although this dessert is made with puff pastry, don't let it scare you. 

AI Tries To Write The News is a weekly feature where a commercial AI blog tool is asked to write news stories about notable local events of the past week, with excerpts of the results provided.

They’re fun to watch — always active, leading mixed species flocks in fall, sometimes storing seeds for hard times to come.