The Northern Alaska Environmental Center is moving forward with a recovery plan after paying off debts following near financial ruin. At the beginning of September, following a separation with their executive director, board members said they discovered there was not enough funds for payroll. This led to the furloughing of the entire staff and pausing on all programs.
Community members, farmers, and Indigenous food advocates gathered Nov. 22 at the University of Alaska Fairbanks for a town hall on food security as the state’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, SNAP, funding becomes increasingly uncertain and local food systems face growing pressures.
Organized by Concerned Residents of Interior Alaska and co-sponsored by UAF’s Office of Sustainability, Resource Management Society, and the Alaska Farmers Market Association, the town hall featured a panel followed by breakout sessions focused on strengthening Fairbanks’ culturally rooted food systems.
When Mike Sfraga was appointed interim chancellor at the University of Alaska Fairbanks in July, he knew he had to manage and navigate a dynamic budget landscape. At the chancellor’s budget forum on Nov. 20, his goal was to have the public understand where UAF’s money comes from and how it flows out though the whole community.
The meeting kicked off with Sfraga’s opening remarks and then transitioned to talks from other UA leaders discussing the difficult budget ahead. After Sfraga, Julie Queen, the vice chancellor for administrative services at UAF, spoke to the crowd.
After months of staff furloughs, financial strain and the executive director departing, the Northern Alaska Environmental Center, founded in 1971, is working to rebuild its operations and regain stability.
On Sept. 10 the center’s board of directors released a letter stating that Elisabeth Dabney, former executive director, would be “concluding her service” with the Northern Center. Five days later, the board issued a second message announcing that they would be placing their programming on pause. This included furloughing all four staff members.
ASUAF had their hands full this week covering their usual agenda, but also with discussions over lack of proper communication from UAF leader’s decisions regarding recent job cuts, and drawn out discourse and tension over the election of one of their newest senators.
The first guest speakers were Provost and Vice Chancellor Charlene Stern, who was joined by Interim Chancellor Mike Sfraga, Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs and Enrollment Management Owen Guthrie, and Director of Signers Hall Bradley Lobland, to discuss the rumors and concerns from staff about the reorganization of the Center for Teaching and Learning, or CTL.
For those who cannot go home for the holidays this year, the Associated Students at University of Alaska Fairbanks, or ASUAF, and the Honors College, came together to make sure that students could still celebrate with their friends.
ASUAF and the Honors College hosted a Friendsgiving event on November 20th in the Great Hall, which was open to any UAF student.
Residents in Alaska’s Kuskokwim Delta were forced to leave their homes last month as ex-Typhoon Halong brought historic flooding and damaging winds to the region, webinar presenters said. Rick Thoman, climate specialist at the Alaska Center for Climate Assessment and Preparedness, and Ed Plumb, weather and flood hazards specialist at Alaska Center for Climate Assessment and Preparedness, shared details about the storm’s impact and forecasts.
Fairbanks North Star Borough Mayor Grier Hopkins visited the University of Alaska Fairbanks campus to speak on his experiences with issues such as housing, coalition building, and population retention and how he handles all of those responsibilities now as the elected mayor.
The Nanooks women’s volleyball team dominated the Seattle Pacific Falcons 3–0 Thursday night at the Alaska Airlines Gymnasium during Military Appreciation Night.
The team will face off against the University of Alaska Anchorage Volleyball team during the NCAA Division II women’s volleyball championships December 11-13 in South Dakota.
On Halloween, the University of Alaska Fairbanks women’s swim team had their third meet of the season, this time against Simon Fraser University. They competed against Simon Fraser again on Saturday, but lost both days, despite a great effort. The score on Halloween was 108 to 59, and the next day was 100 to 48.
On October 25 the Nanooks kicked off the basketball season by playing a scrimmage against alumni. The bleachers were packed with fans eager to get a first glimpse of the upcoming season and to watch former players return to the spotlight.
A letter from the Alaska Press Club Board: We should not accept these actions by Carpenter Media as normal. They threaten the ability of journalists to serve as watchdogs for our communities.
We will always defend editorial independence, transparency and the right of Alaska’s journalists to do their work free from intimidation.
Over the past few years, Russian and Chinese incursions into U.S. territory have become more frequent and more brazen. On September 24, 2025, multiple Russian aircraft, including Tu-95 “Bear” long-range bombers and Su-35 fourth-generation fighters, breached the Alaska Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ).
Lil Jit: December 12, 2024 to September 18, 2025
On a cold winter night, with a sliver of moon high above, peeking through wisps of cloud, a small bundle of joy came into our lives. White as the snow beneath our feet, with eyes red like glowing embers, we gave him a name worthy of his spirit: Lil Jit.
Fireweed Collective Fairbanks released their voter guide for the 2025 Fairbanks North Star Borough Municipal Election.
I stepped onto the bridge beside the tall patch of fireweed blossoms, careful not to step in the reindeer scat lying in the brush, as the swirling river shimmered ahead beneath the hot July sun.
