Alaska News Nightly: Friday, April 4, 2025

Summary

Alaska News Nightly: Friday, April 4, 2025 – Detailed Summary

Alaska Public Media’s “Alaska News Nightly” for Friday, April 4, 2025, delivered a comprehensive roundup of statewide issues, ranging from healthcare funding cuts and local government controversies to community initiatives and cultural events. Below is an in-depth summary of the key stories covered in the episode.

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1. Funding Freeze for Planned Parenthood in Alaska

Timestamp: [00:47] – [02:33]

The Trump administration has frozen $1 million in funding for Planned Parenthood in Alaska, impacting family planning and preventive reproductive health services across 12 states. Rebecca Gibron, CEO of Alaska's Regional Planned Parenthood Alliance, highlighted the severity of the situation:

“We're talking about cancers going undiagnosed. We are talking about people not having access to annual wellness exams. Sexually transmitted infection rates will spike.” [01:26]

Pete Hallgren emphasized the critical nature of the Title 10 program funding:

“So this is a program that absolutely must be protected at all costs.” [01:39]

The freeze, reportedly due to potential civil rights violations related to DEI initiatives and taxpayer-subsidized care for undocumented immigrants, threatens to disrupt services for approximately 5,600 patients annually. With only one other provider in the state, Kachemak Bay Family Planning Clinic in Kenai, Gibron stated that Planned Parenthood is exploring legal avenues to restore the funds, ensuring continuity of essential health services.

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2. Recall Petitions Target North Slope Borough Leadership

Timestamp: [02:33] – [05:21]

Amid allegations of misuse of public funds for personal family travel, the North Slope Borough Clerk has initiated a recall petition against Mayor Josiah Al Akhsarak Patkatak and Assembly President Crawford Pottkatak. Alena Neidsen reported that residents accuse the mayor and his father of lavish expenditures, including first-class flights and luxury hotels, diverting funds that could have supported community needs.

Forest Dino Olimau, a petition sponsor, criticized the allocation of public resources:

“Those public funds could have been spent to support residents instead.” [02:54]

Despite responses from officials claiming transparency and standard practices, the petition process requires residents to collect signatures by mid-May, potentially leading to an election within 90 days. The controversy underscores concerns over fiscal responsibility and ethical governance within the borough.

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3. Delta Junction Secures Emergency Medical Services

Timestamp: [05:21] – [09:22]

Delta Junction faced a critical challenge when its sole private ambulance service, Delta Medical Transport (DMT), terminated its contract due to the exhaustion of emergency COVID relief funds. After intense community and official negotiations, the city partnered with the nonprofit Rural Alaska Emergency Services to sustain emergency medical services over 260 miles of interior Alaska roads.

Pete Hallgren explained the new funding mechanism:

“The next year of service will cost about $1.3 million, and any deductions from a patient's insurer don't count towards that total.” [06:03]

Rebecca Gibron highlighted the city’s financial constraints:

“The city of Delta Junction cannot afford a million dollar a year project.” [06:56]

The solution involves contributions from Rural Alaska Emergency Services, community fundraising, and potential grants from the state’s Department of Health. Although this partnership provides a temporary fix, it reflects the broader challenges rural communities face in maintaining reliable EMS services without stable funding sources.

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4. Ongoing Uncertainty Over Juneau’s Telephone Hill Redevelopment

Timestamp: [09:34] – [13:29]

More than a year after the Juneau Assembly approved the demolition of the historic Telephone Hill neighborhoods to build over 100 new housing units, residents remain in limbo due to stalled project progress. Joe Carson, a long-term resident, expressed anxiety over potential eviction without clear timelines:

“I don't know if I could be evicted this summer or I could be here forever. I don't know.” [09:55]

Developer Johnson and Carr submitted a proposal outlining plans for mixed-income housing, including affordable units and market-rate condominiums. However, Mayor Beth Weldon voiced concerns that mandating affordability could deter developers:

“We should just let an outright bidding war happen and get as much money we can from the Telephone Hill it's prime real estate.” [12:14]

City officials caution that without concrete plans and timelines, the redevelopment remains uncertain, leaving residents like Carson without viable alternatives amidst Juneau’s severe housing shortage.

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5. Anchorage Daily News Appoints New Editor Vicki Ho

Timestamp: [13:42] – [19:13]

The Anchorage Daily News announced Vicki Ho as its new editor, succeeding the retiring David Heulin. Ho, who joined the paper in 2015 and ascended through various editorial roles, shared her vision for revitalizing the publication:

“I think this is such a great opportunity for a reset in some ways... how we can do work that is still very impactful, how we can do work that is reflective of the community.” [17:38]

Addressing challenges faced by mainstream news outlets, Ho emphasized the importance of trust and community connection in combating misinformation:

“Trust is just so core to what we do as journalists and how we serve our communities.” [16:23]

Her strategy involves leveraging the newspaper's strengths to provide high-quality, community-focused journalism, aiming to enhance the media landscape across Alaska.

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6. Kowalungan Tribe Considers Posthumous Membership for Benny Benson

Timestamp: [19:13] – [21:12]

The Kowalungan Tribe of Unalaska is deliberating granting posthumous tribal membership to Benny Benson, the designer of the Alaska state flag. Historically misconstrued as Alutik, recent research by historians, including Mike Livingston, confirms Benson’s Unanga heritage linked to the Aleutians.

Shy Shaishnikov, Tribal Council President, explained the significance:

“It's important to document Benson's Unanga heritage to correct errors in the historical record.” [19:50]

This potential recognition would mark the first instance of the tribe extending membership to a deceased individual, honoring Benson’s cultural and historical contributions.

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7. Synergy Step Team's Unique Performance at Bethel’s Chamai Festival

Timestamp: [21:12] – [25:44]

The Synergy Step Team introduced step dancing to Bethel’s Chamai Festival, blending African American step dance traditions with Alaskan cultural elements. Kasha Smith, the group’s leader, detailed the fusion of rhythms inspired by local wildlife:

“We used whale, raven, bear and otter as a way to create different sounds and to kind of mimic the different motions.” [23:31]

Participants engaged in workshops that integrated animal-inspired movements, culminating in a vibrant performance that celebrated cultural heritage and community engagement. Young attendees like 14-year-old Rhianna Brettane expressed enthusiasm for the empowering experience:

“Alive. Yeah, alive. Just like you feel the beats and rhythms. It's like you're vibrant and free and it's just like nice.” [23:52]

The initiative underscores the festival’s role in fostering cultural expression and intergenerational participation through innovative artistic endeavors.

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Conclusion

The April 4th episode of Alaska News Nightly covered a diverse array of stories reflecting Alaska's dynamic social, political, and cultural landscape. From critical healthcare funding issues and local government accountability to transformative community projects and enriching cultural expressions, the program provided listeners with a thorough understanding of the challenges and initiatives shaping the state.

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For those who missed the episode, catch up at alaskapublic.org or your preferred podcast platform.

Transcript

[Wesley Early]

Support for Alaska Public Media on demand comes from Siri, an Alaska Native corporation.

[Pete Hallgren]

With operations and investments spanning five continents.

[Wesley Early]

45 states and two US territories.

[Rebecca Gibron]

The city has the money to be able to do one year, but we don't have the money to make it sustainable. That's the problem.

[Wesley Early]

Delta Junction struggles to keep its only ambulance service from Alaska Public Media. This is statewide news on Alaska News Nightly for Fresh Friday, April 4th. Good evening. I'm Wesley Early. Also tonight, a delay in plans to demolish an old Juno neighborhood for new housing leaves current tenants in limbo.

[Rebecca Gibron]

I don't know if I could be evicted this summer or I could be here forever. I don't know. I have not heard from the city. Nobody has.

[Wesley Early]

Those stories and more tonight on Alaska News Nightly. The Trump administration has frozen a million dollars in funding for Planned Parenthood in Alaska. That's according to Rebecca Gibron, CEO of Alaska's regional Planned Parenthood Alliance. She says programs in 12 states are impacted by the freeze. The funds are through the federal Title 10 program. It covers family planning and preventive reproductive health care for low income families and it cannot be used for abortions. Gibberon says if the funds aren't restored, health care for Alaskans will suffer.

[Rebecca Gibron]

We're talking about cancers going undiagnosed. We are talking about people not having access to annual wellness exams. Sexually transmitted infection rates will spike.

[Pete Hallgren]

So this is a program that absolutely must be protected at all costs.

[Wesley Early]

According to reporting from Politico, the administration froze funds for possible civil rights violations. Those relate to diversity, equity and inclusion, or DEI initiatives and and to taxpayer subsidized care for undocumented immigrants. Gibron says Planned Parenthood will operate as normal in the state for now. The two centers see about 5,600 patients in person in the state per year. Gibran says about half their patients use Title 10 funds. There's only one other provider in the state that uses Title 10 funds, Kachemak Bay Family Planning Clinic in Kenai. Gibron says Planned Parenthood is examining legal options and will push back.

[Rebecca Gibron]

There are not other providers who will be able to absorb the number of.

[Pete Hallgren]

Patients with low income who are in.

[Rebecca Gibron]

Need of sexual and reproductive health care. So we are going to fight this every step of the way until these funds get released.

[Wesley Early]

Gibran says Planned Parenthood was notified two days before they were supposed to receive the funds that the money wouldn't be available. Meanwhile, the North Slope borough clerk has issued a recall petition for the borough mayor. It comes after months of efforts from residents over what they say were, quote, lavish travel expenses by the mayor and his family. The Alaska Desk's Alena Neidsen reports.

[Alena Neidsen]

The North Slope Borough clerk issued the recall petition for Mayor Josiah Al Akhsarak Patkatak last month after several applications and a legal complaint from a group of residents. They say the mayor needs to be recalled because he used borrow funds to pay for his family's travel. Former assembly president and a petition sponsor, Forest Dino Olimau, says those public funds could have been spent to support residents instead.

[Rebecca Gibron]

It may not be much to those.

[Wesley Early]

That already have, but it certainly is a lot to those that don't have anything to begin with.

[Alena Neidsen]

The borough assembly voted in December to allow officials to receive compensation for bringing their family on business trips. The prior code allowed for travel with family but did not specify whether family travel costs would be covered. However, Patkatak had received compensation for taking his wife and children on at least 15 trips across the state and country and as well as overseas before the code changed. Those travel expenses amounted to tens of thousands of dollars and included flying first class and staying at luxury hotels. Patkatak did not respond to calls and emails asking for comment. Angela Cox is the borough's director of government and external affairs and the mayor's cousin. She responded to questions about petitioners concerns last month via email and said that former mayors also traveled on business with their families. A recall petition was also issued for Assembly President Crawford Pottkatak, who is the mayor's father. Petition authors said that when Crawford Potkatak voted to approve the ordinance allowing compensation for officials family travel, he did not disclose his personal interest in protecting his son. Crawford Putkatak said in a phone call Thursday that traveling with family has been a common practice for borough officials. He also said that the assembly voted to simply clarify the code.

[Wesley Early]

We've been very open. We disclosed through the process who we are and the fact that our people, the voters of the North Slope Borough, voted to put us in these positions.

[Alena Neidsen]

The clerk said she issued the petition on March 21, though the group say they only received it this week. Not all the complaints included in their initial application made it into the final version. Residents have until mid May to collect signatures. After that, the petition would be submitted to the assembly and an election would be scheduled within 90 days. In Anchorage, I'm Alena Nydin.

[Wesley Early]

The interior community of Delta Junction is getting its ambulance service back. That's after the area's only private ambulance company ended its contract with the city earlier this year, leading to a fight between residents and officials over potential solutions that lasted for months. As Shelby Herbert reports for the Alaska Desk, the city's struggle to retain emergency medical services mirrors what, unfortunately, other rural communities are experiencing.

[Pete Hallgren]

Delta Junction City Council decided last week that it will partner with a nonprofit organization to fund emergency medical services on about 260 miles of interior Alaska roads. Here's City Council member Pete Hallgren.

[Rebecca Gibron]

The city has the money to be able to do one year, but we don't have the money to make it sustainable. That's the problem.

[Pete Hallgren]

The city used emergency Covid relief funds to pay for ambulance services for the last two years. But the city's ambulance contractor, Delta Medical Transport, or dmt, walked away in January when the relief funds dried up. Now that Delta Junction has found a temporary way forward, DMT is back at the table. But the city's funding model is a little bit different this time around. Here's how it works. The next year of service will cost about $1.3 million, and any deductions from a patient's insurer don't count towards that total. But the non profit organization Rural Alaska Emergency Services will put up about a tenth of the cost and try to raise even more money from community members. Delta Junction will also try to pay for the service with grants from the state's Department of Health. The worst case scenario, according to Hallgren, is if the city has to foot the entire bill.

[Rebecca Gibron]

The city of Delta Junction cannot afford a million dollar a year project. We tried to live like a family, namely spend less than you take in. So we overestimate our expenses, we underestimate our income, and generally it's worked out.

[Pete Hallgren]

For now, it's good news for Delta Junction, but it highlights the unique challenges to operating EMS services in remote parts of the country. A 2019 National Rural Health association study points to a multi pronged problem. Most rural EMS agencies across the country are funded by a hodgepodge of grants, local tax dollars and community fundraising. Think golf tournaments and bake sales. That patchwork of funding doesn't usually provide a revenue stream that can reliably maintain equipment, software or people. Most rural EMS services are also highly dependent on volunteers, which can be hard to recruit and retain. Like Delta Junction, there's a cluster of communities in South Central that is also paying for those expensive ambulance runs with the help of a nonprofit. Well, actually the entire EMS network for the Copper River Basin is a nonprofit. Matthew Lorenz heads Copper river ems, which also survives off grants and community donations. And they're pretty much all volunteer. But with no municipal support, it can be a stretch.

[Wesley Early]

We know we have to be independent, and so we have to live within our means. There's no tax base or future tax base or anything like that that we can fall back on and say we want to expand our services or we need more money from you.

[Pete Hallgren]

Loren says they run three aging ambulances over 400 miles of road that are often poorly maintained and icy. And in order to keep people on the fringes of their coverage area safe when help is so far away, they push basic first aid classes. It might not be the perfect answer, but back in Delta Junction, several residents told City Council that they're satisfied with the solution. So far, the city's nonprofit partner has raised almost $5,000 in donations per month. Still, Delta Junction City Council says they're heading into uncharted waters. They say they're treating this agreement as an experiment and hope to find a more permanent solution before the year's end. Reporting in Fairbanks, I'm Shelby Herbert.

[Wesley Early]

Still to come on Alaska News Nightly, an Anchorage group brings step dancing to Bethel's Chamai Festival.

[Rebecca Gibron]

You feel the beats and rhythms like you're vibrant and free, and it's just like, nice. It's really nice.

[Wesley Early]

That's ahead. Stay with us. It's been more than a year since the Juneau assembly voted to move forward with a plan to demolish the downtown Telephone Hill neighborhoods, historic homes and add more than 100 new housing units. But since then, not much movement on the project has happened, which residents living there say has left them in limbo. KTO's Clarice Larson has more.

[Rebecca Gibron]

Joe Carson rents an apartment on Telephone Hill. He's been living there for two decades, since the city and borough of Juneau took over ownership of the neighborhood's land about two years ago. He's been checking his mailbox for an eviction notice. So far, nothing's come. I don't know if I could be evicted this summer or I could be here forever. I don't know. I have not heard from the city. Nobody has. The neighborhood is on roughly 4 acres of land on a hill that straddles the state office building downtown. The city took it over from the state in 2023, which had owned it since the 80s. It was originally intended to build a new capital complex there, but that obviously never happened. Last year, the Juneau assembly voted to redevelop the neighborhood to build denser housing there. Members said the decision was in response to Juneau's severe lack of housing. But Carson says that same severe lack of housing is exactly why he and Many of his neighbors haven't looked for another place despite knowing the city's plan. I don't really have a plan B to tell you the truth. Given what the housing is, if I wasn't living here, I'm not sure what I would do because I mean this is not a good time to find yourself without housing in Juneau, that's for sure. Another Telephone Hill resident, Morgan Duffsith, says she's stressed about finding a new place and also worries that the new units built won't be affordable for most residents. There's a lot of, a lot of different things you could do with this other than turn it into condos. Last year the city put out a request for interest for developers who might want to take on the project. The deadline to reply was in late February and only one developer responded. It was a Washington and Idaho based developer called Johnson and Carr. In its response to the city, the company says it wants to take on the project in spite of significant economic obstacles. It outlined a plan to build, quote, no less than some combination of 40 affordable units for all income groups, modest priced single level housing for seniors and likely market rate for sale condominiums. Here's Tyler Carr with the company.

[Wesley Early]

It does take collaboration with the city to figure out the different financing vehicles that are available for different depths of affordability. So not to be vague, but that's at this level it's it still has to be widely bracketed until we get further collaboration from the city and market analysis.

[Rebecca Gibron]

Last year, the assembly agreed to set a goal for the project to offer about a fifth of the new units at below market rent. But there are no actual mandated requirements in place yet. Those, if any, are likely to be discussed by the assembly later down the line. Though some members, like Mayor Beth Weldon have said they worry that adding additional requirements might discourage developers from doing the project. This is her speaking on the topic this fall. My personal feeling is we should just let an outright bidding war happen and get as much money we can from the Telephone Hill it's prime real estate. We would get prime costs and if.

[Wesley Early]

We go the route of getting the most bang for the buck, then we.

[Rebecca Gibron]

Don'T have to do any put any money into doing any project development or.

[Wesley Early]

Any landscaping or anything like that.

[Rebecca Gibron]

City officials have warned that if the assembly wants to mandate affordability requirements as part of the development, they can expect to have to pay for it. According to City Manager Katie Kester, the project still has quite a few steps to go before breaking ground.

[Pete Hallgren]

Telephone Hill will be redeveloped.

[Rebecca Gibron]

However, we're you know, not evicting anyone.

[Pete Hallgren]

Without having real solid timelines and a plan for what that development looks like. So I know that there's some uncertainty in that.

[Rebecca Gibron]

She says the residents there should be looking for other places to live. In the meantime, the assembly will likely get an update on the project in the coming months and decide on how to move forward with redevelopment in Juneau. I'm Clarice Larson.

[Wesley Early]

Alaska's largest newspaper has a new leader. The Anchorage Daily News announced this week that Vicki Ho would be stepping into the editor role following the retirement of longtime editor David Heulin. Ho has worked at the paper since 2015 in various editorial roles, most recently as the managing editor. She says she got her start in journalism in college working for the University of Texas Daily Texan student newspaper.

[Vicki Ho]

It was really close to what a professional working newsroom is like. We had nightly deadlines. I remember having to send pages to the printers. We printed through the Austin American Statesman at the time. Sending pages to the printers in the middle of the night, you know, you're there until 1am 2am brutal. Brutal hours, but maybe brutal. Pretty well oriented to a college student's lifestyle. And that work just kind of stuck with me, the impact of that and just that sense of mission and the pressure of trying to serve our audiences every day. So I applied to different jobs, and I was eventually hired as a copy editor and page designer at a daily newspaper in northwest Colorado. It's called the Steamboat Pilot and Today in Steamboat Springs. And I learned a lot in that job. So I was there for about three and a half years and kind of worked my way up to being the evening editor there. And when I was ready to move on to another news organization, I thought, you know, what kinds of things do I want in my life? What kind of place do I really want to work in? What kind of newsroom environment? What are the journalistic ambitions that might be drawing me to another place? I saw an opening at the Anchorage Daily News. The newspaper was looking for a copy editor and page designer. So I thought, I'll give this a shot. I've never been to Alaska before. I've never been to Anchorage before. And it's really worked out. My job here has evolved so much from working on the evening copy desk to being the night homepage editor, then the deputy editor online, then managing editor and now finally editor, which is kind of a wild journey.

[Wesley Early]

And I know that now for mainstream news outlets like the Anchorage Daily News, there's kind of a two pronged challenge. You mentioned that Financially, it's not as viable. It's harder to get people to support. But also, you're competing with news outlets that are less independent, maybe more politically motivated. Sometimes people just who have misinformation. How do you foresee working through that in your new role?

[Vicki Ho]

I try to think of people and where people are getting their information from and why. If they're not getting information from us or from Alaska Public Media or Alaska's news source, or if they're turning to other sources of news, I'm really interested in why. And I think part of it is that our information landscape is so fragmented. I think that a core part of this speaks to trust, and maybe there are people in our community who don't feel seen or heard or they feel dismissed. I think that trust is just so core to what we do as journalists and how we serve our communities. And, you know, in most cases, I don't think I would ever just write someone off for feeling a particular way or believing a certain thing. I think that our beliefs and where we turn to for information and how we treat each other, that that's all coming from a place of, you know, what we care about, what we're afraid of, what we're worried about, what our concerns are. I just want to know those people, people a little bit more, and I want to know where they're coming from, and I want to understand them.

[Wesley Early]

And so, I guess as you take on this new role, what is your vision for the future of the Anchorage Daily News?

[Vicki Ho]

I think for the adn, there is such a long history of really high quality, impactful journalism. And, you know, it's a news organization that, you know, we've. We've been around for a long time. I think this is such a great opportunity for a reset in some ways, and not like blowing the thing up and rebuilding it, but, you know, really taking stock of where we are and what we're doing and how we want to move forward with the journalism that we're doing, how we can do work that is still very impactful, how we can do work that is reflective of the community, how we can do work that resonates with our communities and serves them. We're long past the time where a news organization can be everything to everybody. And I think all of us just need to figure out, what can we do well, what can we do that others aren't as well equipped to do and just lean into our strengths? I think more journalism in Alaska is only a good thing. And I can get really excited when I think about how can we all work together to improve the news landscape and media landscape around the state?

[Wesley Early]

That was Anchorage Daily News editor Vicki Ho. The Kowalungan tribe of Unalaska is thinking about recognizing an important figure in Alaska history in a unique way. Benny Benson, the designer of the Alaska state flag, is being considered for posthumous tribal membership. A group of historians published a paper in 2022 explaining that the decades old understanding of Benson's heritage as Alutik isn't right. The Alutik are an Alaska Native ethnic group centered on the Alaska Peninsula, but evidence shows Benson was actually Unanga with family from the Aleutians. Here's Kualungan Tribal Council president and Interim administrator shy Shaishnikov.

[Rebecca Gibron]

So the request to enroll him as.

[Vicki Ho]

A tribal member, we we did have.

[Rebecca Gibron]

Someone submit that enrollment form on his.

[Wesley Early]

Behalf along with a resolution that someone is regional historian and tribal member Mike Livingston, the paper's lead author. He says it's important to document Benson's Unanga heritage to correct, quote, errors in the historical record. Livingston says, quote, I think it's important that we get the facts as best we can. End quote. Both Shashnikov and Livingston say that to their knowledge, this would be the first time the tribe grants membership to someone who's died. Benson, who was born in Chignik on the Alaska Peninsula in 1912, grew up in the Jesse Lee Home for Children in Unalaska and later in Seward. He created his winning 1927 flag design there as part of a contest for Alaska schoolchildren. Shashnikov says the tribe's enrollment committee will consider the membership request. Their recommendation will then be taken into consideration by the Tribal Council. As for when the council will vote on the membership request, Shashnikov isn't sure yet, given what she describes as the uniqueness of the case. And Step dance is an African American dance form involving stomping and clapping which shook the Chimai Dance Festival stage in Bethel with its unique percussion. As KYUK's Samantha Watson reports, the Anchorage based group Synergy Step Team found a way to involve festival goers in an Alaska flavored routine.

[Kasha Smith]

Over the course of Chamai Festival weekend, the stage became well acquainted with percussion in many forms. Chayok hand drums to accompany your hawk pounding Taiko drums from Japan. But when Synergy Step began to perform, the Chamai stage became the drumming. The four person group from Anchorage stomped the stage in rhythmic fashion, percussive slams and claps accompanied with sharp lines formed by the arms and torso. Step dance is an art form distinctly Rooted in African American history, Step has origins in the 1700s when enslaved people were banned from using drums. When slave owners discovered the instruments were being used as forms of communication, Synergy Step leader Kasha Smith says enslaved people realized the body could be used to mimic those same sounds through stomping and clapping, to continue to convey messages of freedom.

[Rebecca Gibron]

You will always have voice with, like I said, within your own body. So it's just kind of nice to have that stillness and wholeness to know that, hey, I always carry a voice and I also carry my ancestors on my back in doing it too. So it's just a really symbiotic experience all around.

[Kasha Smith]

Smith says Synergy Step was created exclusively for Chamai. Smith had been in the hip hop group Flozone that performed at the festival last year. Flozone implemented elements of step into their routine, which caught Chamai organizer Linda Kurta's attention. She asked Smith if she could return next year with a step focused routine.

[Rebecca Gibron]

We were like, absolutely. And you know, since step is a dance of freedom, I feel like every culture should celebrate that within themselves, Smith says.

[Kasha Smith]

Step compliments the Yurhaq Focus roster of performances with parallel routes of honoring and caring ancestors through dance off the stage. Synergy Step led a workshop during festival weekend. In a buzzing Bethel High School classroom, the four steppers taught festival goers a series of four step movements with an Alaska twist.

[Rebecca Gibron]

We used whale, raven, bear and otter as a way to create different sounds and to kind of mimic the different motions that the polyrhythmic sounds of step use, which are hand claps, stomps and spoken word.

[Kasha Smith]

14 year old Rhianna Brettane from Wasilla says learning the movements in the workshop gives her a big feeling.

[Rebecca Gibron]

Alive. Yeah, alive. Just like you feel the beats and rhythms. It's like you're vibrant and free and it's just like nice. It's really nice.

[Kasha Smith]

She's here with her little sister Linka, who is eight and particularly committed to being a grizzly bear. How do you feel when you're being the grizzly bear?

[Rebecca Gibron]

Happy and strong. Strong and alive. You wanna hear another one? If your sister's ready for it. Yeah. Okay.

[Kasha Smith]

After some practice, the whales, ravens, otters and bears are ready to put it.

[Rebecca Gibron]

Okay.

[Kasha Smith]

It is a percussive success. Later, the participants will be invited on stage to perform in the festival. In a flurry of animal inspired stomps, claps and growls, a drum beat of Synergy, Step and the workshop team's own making fills the room in Bethel. I'm Samantha Watson.

[Wesley Early]

And that's all for this edition of Alaska News Nightly. If you missed any of tonight's stories, we're [e-mail] and wherever you get your podcasts. We had reports tonight from Shelby Herbert and Fairbanks, Alena Nydin and Rachel Cassandra in Anchorage, Clarice Larson in Juneau, Andy Luskin in Alaska, and Samantha Watson in Bethel. If you want to send us a news tip, question or comment, email [e-mail] Our audio engineers, Chris Hyde and I'm Wesley Early. Have a great weekend.

[Rebecca Gibron]

This is statewide news on Alaska Public Media.