A renowned journalist is about to speak on his Arctic travels at UAF, and Ukrainians in Alaska are facing delays in getting their immigration documents renewed.

Journalist and author Neil Shea will talk tonight about his travels around the Arctic in a lecture at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. He also will talk about a book he wrote about the impact of climate change in the region.

Alaska Airlines says it has increased checked bag fees for most customers due to volatile fuel prices and global uncertainty. // Four more aerial-refueling planes arrived at Eielson Air Force Base earlier this month. // Two University of Alaska Fairbanks researchers completed a nearly 2,000-mile journey along Alaska's western coastline by snowmachine last week. // A typically routine appointment to a Fairbanks North Star Borough commission failed to gain enough support from Assembly members last Thursday. // For one engineer in Mission Control for NASA’s historic Artemis II flight, the passion for space exploration was born in a Kenai Peninsula classroom.

The Alaska Air National Guard’s 168th Wing now has a dozen aerial-refueling planes, after four more of the tankers arrived at Eielson Air Force Base earlier this month. [Apr1]. And as KUAC’s Tim Ellis reports, the Air Force also plans to assign an additional 200 active-duty servicemembers to the base.

The regulatory maneuver would split up North Pole and Fairbanks in future assessments by the EPA, which would have to approve any request to divide the area.

The Alaska Department of Transportation has opened the Taylor Highway in the eastern Interior. And the department will begin plowing snow next week on another seasonally accessible highway to the west.

At a campaign event in Fairbanks, Shuerch warned that widening political divisions are making it harder to address Alaska’s biggest problems.

Dan Bross and Rick Thoman talk about the forecast development of an El Nino and uncertainty about what it means for our upcoming summer, fall and winter weather.

Republican gubernatorial candidate Click Bishop announced his running mate Wednesday at a campaign event in Fairbanks. // Gov. Mike Dunleavy signed a fast-track budget bill Thursday that provides $450 million for construction projects, disaster relief and wildfire suppression. // State officials are considering a proposal to ask the EPA to regulate air quality in Fairbanks and North Pole separately. // Gov. Mike Dunleavy signed a fast-track budget bill Thursday that provides $450 million for construction projects, disaster relief and wildfire suppression. // The Alaska Department of Transportation opened the Taylor Highway last week and will begin clearing the Denali Highway next week.

Law enforcement officers and a SWAT team converged on a middle school in Fairbanks Thursday after getting a report of what officials later determined was false information about gunshots at the school on the north side of town.