Coast Guard National Security ship docks in Juneau before Bering Sea fisheries mission

JUNEAU, Alaska (KTUU) - With cruise ships months away from docking into Juneau’s now-rainy harbor, the port welcomed a new visitor Wednesday: the USCGC Waesche, a national security cutter stopping in Alaska’s capital before heading into the Bering Sea.

“It’s basically a small town,” Capt. Michele Schallip, the Coast Guard’s Arctic Chief of Staff said onboard the ship. The Waesche’s crew was grabbing lunch while she spoke to reporters.

At 481 feet long, the Waesche was the largest visitor in Juneau’s rainy harbor Wednesday afternoon as the vessel and her crew geared up for the next leg of their trip into the Bering Sea.

“What we’re trying to do, by doing fisheries law enforcement, is keep the fishing community in compliance with our laws,” Cmdr. Charlie England, the Waesche’s Executive Officer, said on the ship’s bridge. “That’s going to keep a sustainable and thriving fishery to maintain that vital part of our commerce.

“There’s a $16 billion fishing industry in Alaska that is vital, not just to Alaska, but to all of America.”

Steep stairs guide your way to the bridge, with Coast Guard members in many of the doorways. While they may not all have been onboard about an hour after docking, she carried a crew of 150.

The bridge is a room clearly well versed by the Waesche’s crew. The signs were visible from the dry-erase writing on the windows, the complex instrumentation filling its space and a wooden placard hanging above the window facing the bow.

“KNOCK,” the placard reads. “SAILORS ARE A SUPERSTITIOUS GROUP”

The superstition may be valuable. England said the crew is typically on the ship for about 180 days of the year, and it can be an action-packed half of the year.

(READ MORE - ktuu.com)

Kodiak man faces felony charge for harassing store employees while claiming to be ICE agent

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - A Kodiak man has been arrested and charged with a felony for allegedly impersonating an Immigration and Customs Enforcement Officer and harassing employees at the local Walmart and Safeway for “their papers,” according to James Brooks with the Alaska Beacon.

The incident comes amid a deployment of masked, un-uniformed federal agents nationwide as part of President Donald Trump’s mass-deportation campaign. That campaign has resulted in thousands of people being detained. People protesting the federal government’s actions have been killed and injured.

The Kodiak Daily Mirror first reported the charge facing Maximillian I. Kaplan, who was arrested Wednesday after a Walmart employee reported that a white man in his 30s, wearing black, “came into the store yelling at cashiers and customers for their papers, saying he was from ICE and that he almost got into a fight with someone outside,” according to an affidavit submitted to Kodiak District Court by Detective Jeffrey Valerio of the Kodiak Police Department.

Before police responded, they received another call from a manager at the nearby Safeway store, who said a similar looking man “came into the store and was very disruptive to customers.”

When police found Kaplan, he said that God told him to ask the employees for their papers.

Kaplan confirmed that he told the employees that he was with ICE and that he had asked them for their papers, Valerio wrote. When he asked Kaplan why he said he was with ICE, Kaplan replied, “because I am.”

Online court records show Kaplan is facing a charge of “impersonating a public servant,” a Class C felony, the lowest-level felony. In Alaska, that’s punishable by up to five years in prison and a $50,000 fine. First-time offenders, particularly for nonviolent crimes, may receive probation and no jail time.

(READ MORE - alaskanewssource.com)

Alaskan skier makes history ahead of Winter Olympics with best American man finish in Tour de Ski

image from: https://alaskapublic.org/news/2024-02-19/schumachers-world-cup-win-after-two-tough-years-shows-world-class-talent-is-still-in-there

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - Gus Schumacher is hitting his stride at the right time as the Anchorage skier strung together a historic set of six races in eight days in Italy.

Schumacher placed seventh overall in the multi-day Tour de Ski, the best finish ever by an American male, which was previously set at 13th place.

(READ MORE - ktuu.com)

Alaska newborns kick off 2026 hours apart in Nome

image from: https://www.alaskasnewssource.com/2026/01/06/alaska-newborns-kick-off-2026-hours-apart-nome/

NOME, Alaska (KTUU) - Two babies born within hours of each other in Nome helped ring in 2026, despite having different birth years.

Owen Lynden Elton Seppilu, a baby boy, and Octavia Norlina Kogassagoon, a baby girl, were separated by about nine hours at birth last week, but while Owen made it before the end of 2025, little Octavia waited until 2026 to make her appearance.

Octavia is likely the first newborn of the year in Alaska, having an official time of 12:23 a.m. on Jan. 1, 2026. (READ MORE - ktuu.com)