Letter from the Editor - Summer Sun 2025
“And so with the sunshine and the great bursts of leaves growing on the trees, just as things grow in fast movies, I had that familiar conviction that life was beginning over again with summer.”
F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby
Ahoy readers,
The summer is well upon us as we all know from the brutal heat and our eyes made watery from wildfire smoke. If summer is a liminal space in most of the world, it’s doubly so here in Alaska. After enduring our double-feeling winters, we are rewarded with the manic joys of blooms and eternal sun.
I write to you today from the liminal lines in pages. This is my first edition at The Sun Star as your very humble editor in chief. It’s a role that many great Alaskans have held. Earlier this spring I met Casey Grove, the current lead on Alaska News Nightly, and Tom Hewitt, former opinions editor at ADN and current Special Assistant to our mayor. Both told me about the impact being editor at The Sun Star had on their lives. I’m honored to carry the torch.
I’m also proud of our team. Our staff lost three graduate students in May, and all of us remaining are undergrads. With little training, Amber McCain has taken over as layout editor with grace, and simultaneously has been blanketing coverage of the Fairbanks beat. Our copy editor, Lizzy Hahn, is sharpening her journalistic skills with a much coveted internship at Anchorage Daily News this summer, reporting with excellence for the biggest newspaper in the state. Autumn McPherson has managed to deliver us quality stories while back in her home state of Wyoming. And we just recently added Aaron Thomas to our ranks; he delved into a complex UAF research publication that explains the shocking depth of human impact on Alaska.
And while indeed all of Alaska is impacted by humans, we still have the wealth of space that allows us quiet spaces and open minds. As we collectively face copious federal budget cuts, a public education system that continues to be underfunded, AI seemingly entering our bloodstream, and countless other challenges, we are also surrounded by stories of hope. Gardens and storefront flowers are blooming more than ever. There are heaps of students and researchers carrying on with their passion in spite of grants being hacked away at. Toolik Field Station, an absolute stalwart gem of climate research, just celebrated its 50th year anniversary.
Here at The Sun Star you’ll see some changes this fall. Although we will continue to only print one per month, we will be releasing a weekly newsletter delivered right to your inbox. We want to give you more factual information that will improve your lives, starting with more consistent and timely stories. And we’ll cover more of what’s important to you when we hear from you. Tell us about events you’re excited about, people in your lives that deserve celebrating, bureaucracies that aren’t working as they should, and injustice’s creeping growth wherever it moulders. We’re here to serve our community.
Photo by Anna Lionas
Colin A. Warren, new Sun Star Editor-in-Chief.
Sincerely,
Colin A. Warren
Editor-in-Chief