‘I will not dishonor her’: Widower refuses to sue Bering Air despite safety concerns

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ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - The husband of one of 10 people killed on Bering Air Flight 445 said he will not sue the company because of the vital services it provides to rural northwest Alaska, even as new details emerge about what may have caused the crash.

Jason Ryan and his wife, Liane Ryan, were married for nearly 30 years.

They met as kids, and for the second time, he said, at their childhood church in Wasilla after Ryan returned from serving in the U.S. Marine Corps.

“She’s the love of my life,” Ryan said.

Liane Ryan’s legacy continues through her children, her students and the young teachers she mentored throughout rural Alaska. She taught in the Mat-Su School District for 27 years as a sixth-grade science and math teacher before retiring.

After retiring, she took a position through the University of Alaska Fairbanks mentorship program as an early career teacher’s mentor, working with first and second-year teachers new to Alaska.

“She retired and was unemployed for about 24 hours when she took the job through UAF in the mentorship program,” Ryan said.

During her last visit to Unalakleet, Liane was doing STEM projects with kids. Her final Facebook post showed her making slime with students.

(READ MORE - ktuu.com)

Shaktoolik Extends Winning Streak to 18

Shaktoolik had won 17 straight games and Seth Paniptchuk did his part to make it 18 on Thursday. The Wolverines simply couldn't be stopped as they easily beat the Hoonah Braves 81-39 thanks in part to Paniptchuk, who posted 26 points. His big performance that afternoon made it 19 games in a row in which he has scored at least 15 points.

Shaktoolik's win bumped their record up to 19-1. As for Hoonah, their loss dropped their record down to 8-11.

(READ MORE - maxpreps.com)

NTSB: Bering Air flew overloaded planes prior to crash near Nome that killed 10

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New reports show that Bering Air exceeded weight limits on flights prior to the crash of an overloaded plane near Nome last February that killed the pilot and all nine passengers.

That finding is part of a massive docket of investigative documents the National Transportation Safety Board made public Wednesday. The docket includes 78 documents totaling more than 3,400 pages.

The single-engine Bering Air Cessna Caravan crashed on Norton Sound sea ice about 30 miles southeast of Nome after leaving Unalakleet amid spells of freezing rain. Flight 445 carried several locals, Anchorage-area engineers working on a water plant, and a Mat-Su educator.

The NTSB is investigating what caused the Feb. 6, 2025, crash, the third fatal civilian aviation incident in the U.S. in less than a week and one of Alaska’s deadliest in decades.

A preliminary NTSB report released last year found the Caravan’s weight on takeoff was more than 1,000 pounds too heavy for the icy conditions it was flying into. The Federal Aviation Administration requires operators to follow such weight limitations.

(READ MORE - adn.com)

Commission recommends reprimand for Nome Superior Court judge on paid leave for nearly a year

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The Alaska Commission on Judicial Conduct has recommended a Nome judge be reprimanded for behavior including using offensive accents to impersonate people from other ethnic groups, and keeping a courtroom of attorneys waiting for an hour while he watched a sports game.

The recommendation came after a brief hearing Friday in which members of the commission, which is charged with investigating allegations of misconduct in Alaska’s judiciary, agreed with a special prosecutor that Nome Superior Court Judge Romano DiBenedetto had broken judicial ethics canon and undermined public trust in his position.

DiBenedetto was placed on paid administrative leave on March 23, 2025, according to the Alaska Court System. Since then, the Nome area has been without a regular judge for nearly a year.

The Alaska Supreme Court will determine what happens next for DiBenedetto. Sanctions can range from reprimand or censure to retirement, suspension or removal from office.

In a statement, DiBenedetto’s attorney John Cashion wrote that the judge “cooperated with the Commission on Judicial Conduct throughout the entirety of the proceedings, worked cooperatively with the Commission’s Special Counsel, and stipulated to the findings of fact advanced to the Alaska Supreme Court.”

“At this point, the matter is in the hands of the Alaska Supreme Court, and we will not have any further comment until they have evaluated the agreed upon recommendation for discipline,” Cashion wrote.

The state is paying DiBenedetto his full salary of $259,729.08 while he is on administrative leave, according to a spokesperson for the Alaska Court System. He is not working while on leave.

(READ MORE - adn.com)

A look at Siberian Yupik dance long ago, through a teacher’s stories

image from: alaskapublic.org

Chris Petu has been teaching a Siberian Yupik and Native dance class for over a year now in Gambell, a village on Saint Lawrence Island in the Bering Sea.

Petu has been a teacher for so long. He’s welcoming and kind to all of us students and he’s so respectful to everybody in the community. He said dance was much more strict in the past. He said in the past, only the composer’s daughter or wife could dance to the song.

“Those were the only ones that danced,” he said.

He said he probably wouldn’t have been a drummer if he had grown up in the old days because his parents weren’t drummers. Petu told us back then, women would practice dance moves, but if a dancer made a wrong move, the older women would throw a shoe at them.

“They had a big pile of shoes,” Petu said. “There were some girls dancing, but once [they made] a little wrong move, they would be thrown. A woman threw [a shoe] at the girl.”

Long ago, the traditions were a lot stronger than today. We would have been so happy to have experienced that. But then we are grateful that we don’t have to be put in that position where we get shoes thrown at us. We would be so scared.

(READ MORE - alaskapublic.org)

Trump administration denies full disaster funding for Western Alaska storms, state files appeal (alaskabeacon.com)

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The Trump administration has denied Alaska’s request for full reimbursement for disaster relief efforts immediately following last October’s devastating Western Alaska storms, despite the Dunleavy administration’s claim that the federal disaster declaration meant the state would be fully reimbursed.

Gov. Mike Dunleavy arrives in Bethel after visiting the storm-damaged villages of Kipnuk and Kwigillingok. (Photo by Eric Stone/Alaska Public Media)

Gov. Mike Dunleavy arrives in Bethel after visiting the storm-damaged villages of Kipnuk and Kwigillingok on Oct. 17, 2025.

That leaves the state on the hook for millions of dollars for disaster recovery, however the full amount is still unknown.

The state’s request for federal support for 100% of disaster relief efforts in the first 90 days after the storms hit was denied on Dec. 20, according to a spokesperson for the Alaska Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management on Thursday.

The state appealed the denial on Jan. 15, and asked for a 90% federal cost reimbursement, but has not yet gotten a response from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

“We have not heard back from FEMA on approval or denial and there is no timeframe requirement,” said Jeremy Zidek, public information officer for the division, by email.

A spokesperson for Dunleavy’s office did not respond to a list of questions, but confirmed the appeal on Friday. “An appeal has been filed and the administration will await the federal government’s decision,” said Jeff Turner, Dunleavy’s communications director.

In the meantime, the federal government is reimbursing Alaska’s disaster recovery efforts at roughly 75%, leaving the state to cover 25% of its costs, with some exceptions for certain relief programs, Zidek said.

(READ MORE - alaskabeacon.com)

Villages Destroyed and a Hunger for Home

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In October, as planeloads of evacuees from Alaska villages leveled by Typhoon Halong touched down in Anchorage, Tim Ackerman set about organizing a tribal hunting party.

They gathered their rifles and left out of the town of Haines on Alaska’s southeast panhandle, driving north along the rocky shore, scouting for sleek, dark heads breaking the smooth surface of the water.

The evacuees, the hunters knew, would soon be craving seal.

The storm hit a Yupik region 700 miles west on the Bering Sea coast, and even though Mr. Ackerman is Tlingit, he knew that Alaska Natives most everywhere took comfort in the taste of golden seal oil, rich in omega-3s and considered a medicinal soul food. It didn’t take long for him to shoot a 150-pound harbor seal, he said. The group paddled out by canoe, hooked it and hauled it in.

“Came into town, cleaned it up, wrapped it in two layers of Visqueen and tied it all shut, put some handles on it and took it out to the airport, weighed it in, and it was ready to ship,” Mr. Ackerman said.

Image

A man in a fur-lined jacket walking next to a pickup truck carries a rifle in the snow.

Tim Ackerman knew when he heard of the villages being evacuated that the residents would be craving their traditional foods.Credit...Colin Arisman for The New York Times

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The head of a seal emerging from calm water.

Seal meat and oil are essential to the traditional diet of the Yup’ik people.Credit...Colin Arisman for The New York Times

The seal traveled by small plane to Juneau and then on an Alaska Airlines jet to Anchorage, where it was butchered and portioned for individual meals. The meals rode to a giant freezer at the Alaska Native Heritage Center, an organization at the center of an unprecedented wild food distribution effort to help more than 600 evacuees, mostly sheltered in Anchorage hotels, maintain their traditional diets as they await word on when, if ever, they can return home.

“Holed up in a hotel room and not able to go out and practice your subsistence, you’re basically separated from what you knew,” Mr. Ackerman said.

(READ MORE - nytimes.com)

Unalakleet's Undefeated Season over After Four Games

Unalakleet was the 43-33 winner over Bethel when they last played one another on Thursday, but their luck changed this time around. The Wolfpack received a blow on Friday as they fell 47-29 to the Warriors. The loss was the Wolfpack's first of the season.

Having lost for the first time this season, Unalakleet fell to 3-1. As for Bethel, their win (their first of the season) made their record 1-8.

Unalakleet does not have any more games scheduled as of now. As for Bethel, they will square off against Kenai Central on Thursday.

(READ MORE - maxpreps.com)

Shaktoolik Picks Up Ninth Consecutive Victory + How To Watch

Shaktoolik waltzed into their contest on Saturday with eight straight wins... but they left with nine. They walked away with an 84-73 win over the Gambell King Polar Bear. That's the second time they've managed to beat them this season, as they also won 74-48 on Friday.

Despite the loss, Gambell still got an impressive performance from Damian Campbell-Newhall, who posted 30 points. The matchup was Campbell-Newhall's fourth in a row with at least 17 points. Tristan Campbell was another key player, putting up 18 points.

Shaktoolik's victory bumped their record up to 10-1. As for Gambell, they are on a six-game losing streak (dating back to last season) that has dropped them down to 0-3.

(READ MORE - maxpreps.com)

AC rushes to refill shelves as weather, maintenance plagues cargo carriers

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The Alaska Commercial Company (AC) is revamping its shipping plans this winter as a combination of severe weather and high seasonal demand has caused disruptions in Nome and nearby communities.

AC President Kyle Hill said the conditions have led to product shortages, delayed freight and increased spoilage — prompting both short-term action and long-term changes to the company’s supply chain.

“This year was particularly bad over the past month or two, from a weather perspective,” Hill said. “In those temperatures some food was freezing on the tarmac here [in Anchorage] when it was getting loaded onto a plane, or freezing in Nome when it came off the plane, which is a constant challenge.”

(READ MORE - knom.org)

An Alaska Town Is Now Key to Trump’s Global Ambitions

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To the unimaginative eye, the view of Nome, Alaska, from Joy Baker’s well-heated S.U.V. looked like a whole lot of nothing: The early winter sun was sliding below the horizon barely four hours after it had risen, the gray water of the inner harbor had already frozen over, and the only stirring came from a flock of hearty seabirds diving for dinner just off shore.

But Ms. Baker has a vision that goes well beyond the subarctic calm: “More traffic, more services, more jobs. More of everything for people here.”

Ms. Baker is director of the Port of Nome and thus the local overseer for a $548-million-and-counting plan to expand the port, in one of America’s most remote cities on the Bering Sea. Nome is a quiet, frozen frontier town much of the year, known mostly for the Iditarod sled race, and reachable only by air except for a few summer months when the water thaws enough to allow boats through.

Soon, however, Nome’s existing dock will be turned into the country’s first deepwater Arctic port, a critical hub in President Trump’s ambitions to make the United States master of the far north and compete with other world powers for untapped natural resources and shipping corridors.

(READ MORE - nytimes.com)

Nome-Beltz Picks Up Fifth Consecutive Win

Nome-Beltz extended their winning streak to five on Saturday, bumping them up to 5-3. They sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 59-56 win over the Lathrop Malemutes. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest victory the Nanooks have posted since January 17, 2025.

Having lost for the first time this season, Lathrop fell to 8-1. The defeat continues a trend for them in their meetings with Nome-Beltz: they've now lost four in a row.

Despite the loss, Lathrop still got an impressive performance from Alfred Parker, who dropped a double-double with 16 points and 11 boards. Parker has also also been stellar as far as field goal percentage is concerned: he's posted one of at least 62% every time he's hit the court this season. Another player making a difference was Armani Smith, who posted nine points and three steals.

(READ MORE - maxpreps.com)

Student charged after bringing firearm onto Nome-Beltz campus

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 A male student at Nome-Beltz Middle High School has been charged with Terroristic Threatening in the second degree and Misconduct involving weapons in the fourth degree after being taken into custody the morning of January 6 after bringing a firearm onto school grounds.
No one was injured in the incident. 

According to a letter released by Nome Public Schools Superintendent Jamie Burgess just after 2 p.m. on January 6, the weapon was unloaded. Initially she wrote that students made staff aware that a student had brought a firearm to school at around 9:30 a.m. This timeline was updated in a follow-up letter on January 9 letter to roughly 10:30 a.m.

After being notified, staff initiated a “stay in place” response and called the Nome Police Department.

Nome Police Officer Dylan Howard told The Nugget in an interview that the Nome Police Department was dispatched at 10:31 a.m. and arrived at the campus seven minutes later. The officers met with the school administration, who told them they suspected that a student had a firearm. The principal fetched the student from class, and he indeed admitted to having the firearm in his pocket.

(READ MORE - nomenugget.com)

Kansas couple donating 2,000 pounds of beef to Halong survivors

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ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - A Kansas couple is taking a trip to the Last Frontier - and they’re taking a ton of beef with them.

The journey is being led by Cow Team 6, an organization that works to help communities recover from recent disasters.

The initiative was started by Jeremy and Nicole Scheffler following Hurricane Helene in September 2024.

“They felt like they needed to help out,” said CT6 Incident Commander Kenny Rypstra. “Ultimately he just felt like he could help by bringing beef down there.”

The Scheffler’s efforts continued during the flooding in Texas last summer, which connected Rypstra with the organization.

“We were at church, and we were praying for the families that were affected and I kind of felt like I needed to do something,” he said. “I went to go find how I could help and got linked up and met Jeremy and Nicole there. We all helped with the search and rescue there and ultimately decided to team up and expand CT6.”

(READ MORE - ktuu.com)

Nome council moves to issue new taxicab permits

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The Nome Common Council voted unanimously Monday night to reject a proposed ordinance that would’ve repealed the city’s taxicab and motorbus licensing requirements. Instead, the council approved a motion to reissue 11 taxicab permits through a public lottery.

The move comes as Nome’s sole taxicab operator, Nome Checker Cab, ceased operations at the end of 2025. Nome City Clerk Dan Grimmer said at the meeting that Checker Cab’s licenses expired and that he had not fielded an application to renew them as of the Jan. 12 meeting. 

The vote followed more than an hour of public testimony and council debate over Ordinance O-26-01-01, which would have eliminated regulations governing taxi vehicle permits, including requirements for insurance, inspection, and identification, while retaining chauffeur licensing requirements. 

(READ MORE - knom.org)

Basketball Recap: Shaktoolik Piles Up the Points Against Shishmaref + How To Watch

You're bound to get a positive result if you outscore your opponent every quarter and that's exactly how it played out for Shaktoolik on Saturday. Given that consistent dominance, it should come as no surprise that they blew the Shishmaref Northern Lights out of the water with a 92-58 final score. The Wolverines have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won four matchups by 31 points or more this season.

Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Shaktoolik to victory, but perhaps none more so than Seth Paniptchuk, who shot 63% from the field to rack up 24 points along with six assists and six boards. Paniptchuk has been hot for a while, having posted 15 or more points the last nine times he's played. Another player making a difference was Chase Katchatag, who went 13-for-21 en route to 27 points and six rebounds.

(READ MORE - maxprepsports.com)

Roundball roundup: Fruean fabulous for Barrow boys at Prep Shootout; Kroon leads Wasilla girls over Colony; Shaktoolik scores 129

image from: alaskasportsreports.com

Shaktoolik boys score 129

Not even a running clock could slow down the Shaktoolik boys.

The Wolverines put on a layup clinic and hit 23 3-pointers on their way to a 129-48 victory over the Upriver Hunters in an epic scoring spree.

They kicked it off with a 47-point first quarter before scoring 36 in the second quarter, 30 in the third and 16 in the fourth.

Reigning Class 1A Player of the Year Seth Paniptchuk and Co. made 30-of-34 shots inside the lane and 23-of-56 from 3s.

(READ MORE - alaskasportsreport.com)

Shareholders ask BSNC to divest from ICE contracts

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Bering Straits Native Corporation faces criticism from shareholders regarding the corporation’s involvement in federal contracts to aid in the detention and removal of asylum seekers, illegal immigrants and migrants.

BSNC has in the past ten years secured lucrative contracts with the federal government, specifically the Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, to perform service related to migrant detention and removal.

Since the second Trump administration’s aggressive policies to round up and deport migrants and asylum seekers, the Native corporation’s participation in business contracts with DHS and ICE has come under renewed scrutiny by shareholders.

(READ MORE - nomenugget.com)

National Native helpline for domestic violence and sexual assault to open Alaska-specific service

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A national support line for Native survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault has begun work to launch an Alaska-specific service. 

Strong Hearts Native Helpline is a Native-led nonprofit that offers 24-hour, seven-day-a-week support for anonymous and confidential calls from people who have experienced domestic violence or sexual assault. 

The line is staffed by Native advocates, but Strong Hearts Deputy Executive Officer Rachel Carr-Shunk said there are not yet any Alaska Native people answering phone calls.

That is set to change soon.

(READ MORE - alaskabeacon.com)

Korean delegation visits Nome, tours port facilities

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The mayor of South Korea’s second-largest city visited Nome Tuesday to discuss opportunities for international cooperation on Arctic infrastructure and trade.

Mayor Park Heong-joon was accompanied by over a dozen people, including an interpreter, delegates from the Korean Consulate in Anchorage and two South Korean media outlets. 

The day before the Nome visit, Heong-joon met with Anchorage Mayor Suzanne LaFrance to sign a Friendship City" agreement with Alaska’s most populous city. He also met with Governor Mike Dunleavy, an interaction Heong-joon described as “very excellent”.

“This visit will be a good opportunity for promoting our cooperation and the working new projects,” Heong-joon said of his interaction with Gov. Dunleavy. 

(READ MORE - knom.org)