Alaska News Nightly: Wednesday, January 7, 2025

Summary

Alaska News Nightly: Wednesday, January 7, 2025

Podcast: Alaska News Nightly – Alaska Public Media
Host: Casey Grove
Air Date: January 8, 2026

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Episode Overview

This episode provides comprehensive statewide coverage on the evolving impacts of climate change in Alaska, major snowfall events and their ripple effects, economic and population shifts, unique weather challenges, and community-driven solutions. Segments focus on how Anchorage is reworking its climate response, avalanche risk in Southeast Alaska, significant regional weather events, labor market outlooks, a large philanthropic donation, and practical advice for aurora watchers.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Anchorage Updates Its Climate Action Plan

(00:19 - 06:00)

• Context: Anchorage is experiencing warmer winters and unpredictable precipitation due to climate change.
• Details:
  • City officials are revamping the existing Climate Action Plan, expanding it into broader energy and resilience planning.
  • Increased snowfall in mid-winter, but rainier and less snowy shoulder seasons complicate city services.
  • Departments like Solid Waste Services must adapt to new realities (e.g., more freeze-thaw cycles, riskier roads, changing design needs for infrastructure).
  • Wildfire mitigation is now a focus, with firebreak efforts and coordinated emergency response.
  • Anchorage prepares to deal with external weather events – more people coming in from western Alaska during storms.
• Notable Quotes:
  • “You have to have the capacity to respond to events that you may not be able to predict. You may not know when they're going to happen, but you have to be ready for them.” – Wesley Early (00:19, 05:31)
  • “Anchorage is warmer than it used to be... More snow in the core winter months, but less in the shoulder months. And we get more rain in those months.” – Brian Brettschneider, Climate Researcher (01:54)
• Memorable moment:
  • Description of Stuckagain Heights firebreak/egress improvements to protect against wildfire evacuation (04:20).

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2. Dangerous Avalanche Conditions in Haines Area

(06:00 - 10:39)

• Context: Record snowfall in late December has made Haines and surrounding areas highly avalanche-prone.
• Details:
  • The Haines Avalanche Center urges locals and visitors to avoid risky slopes (>30 degrees).
  • Meteorologist and avalanche expert Jeff Moskowitz gives a vivid, in-the-snow explanation of the unstable, "sugar" snow layer causing deep concern.
  • Severe avalanches remain possible due to the weak layer beneath recent accumulations.
  • Avalanche warnings have been in effect since December 27.
  • Funding cuts reduce avalanche center resources, translating to less staff and public information.
• Notable Quotes:
  • “We have about a meter of really strong snow just sitting over this sugar.” – Jeff Moskowitz (07:17)
  • “Otherwise, it’s a little bit like a ticking time bomb.” – Jeff Moskowitz (09:24)
  • “What we don’t want is that... an accident sparks the public interest in supporting the avalanche center. We just need to maintain the services...” – Jeff Moskowitz (09:58)
• Memorable moment:
  • On-the-ground snow pit test showing collapsing layers, simulating an avalanche trigger (07:28).

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3. Southeast Alaska Faces Job Losses and Population Decline

(10:52 - 13:43)

• Context: Economic forecasts point to shrinking job numbers and population in Southeast Alaska, driven by federal job cuts and outmigration.
• Details:
  • The Alaska Department of Labor projects a net loss of about 100 federal jobs in 2026; 300 lost in 2025.
  • Southeast Alaska’s population could drop by 17% by 2050 (about 12,000 people).
  • Job growth persists mostly in cruise tourism and mining.
  • Positive statewide outlook: a projected 1% increase in overall jobs, led by oil, gas, healthcare, construction, and transportation.
• Notable Quotes:
  • “We don’t yet have a really good handle on what our federal job numbers will be, but they’re not growing for the first time in a long time. They’re almost certain to fall.” – Dan Robinson, Labor Economist (11:48)
  • “Kind of fundamentally what’s a challenge for Southeast is our negative net migration, so more people wanting to leave than move here.” – Dan Robinson (12:37)
• Memorable moment:
  • Overview of cruise tourism as a persistent economic bright spot despite other declines.

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4. Historic Anchorage Snowstorms and Cold Snap in the Interior

(13:43 - 18:24)

• Context: Weather extremes hit both Anchorage and Fairbanks.
• Details:
  • Anchorage received 19 inches of snow in two days – a January record and the fifth biggest two-day snow event ever.
  • This comes after last year’s rain and ice, highlighting volatility.
  • Fairbanks recently endured its coldest December since 1980, with lows plunging to -50°F.
  • Daily life has been disrupted: dead car batteries, slow trash pickup, delayed fireworks, and heavy demand for heating fuel.
  • Hopeful forecast: incoming systems are expected to raise temperatures and bring more snow, ending the deep freeze.
• Notable Quotes:
  • “This is the highest two-day snow total for Anchorage in January on record...” – Brandon Lawson, NWS Meteorologist (13:43)
  • “It usually takes three technicians... They’re just virtually a ton brick that we’re towing into the shop.” – Jason Roberts, Metropolitan Garage Manager, on dead cars (17:55)
• Memorable moments:
  • Description of long lines for heating fuel (15:06).
  • Dead hybrid cars plagued by sensor failures in extreme cold (17:25).

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5. Juneau’s Flood Solution: Massive Lake Tap Project

(18:24 - 21:22)

• Context: Recurring glacial outburst floods threaten Juneau’s Mendenhall Valley.
• Details:
  • The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers plans to drill a drainage tunnel (“lake tap”) from Suicide Basin to prevent catastrophic floods.
  • Several alternatives were considered; the tunnel is fastest, least disruptive, and likely most cost-effective.
  • The project could take up to six years and cost $613 million to $1 billion.
  • Next steps: technical report, design, environmental review, and federal funding request.
• Notable Quotes:
  • “Just think about Suicide basin as a proverbial bathtub, and what the lake tap is, is just leaving the drain open.” – Denise Koch, City & Borough of Juneau (19:14)
  • “Reduce risk the most while being able to be constructed the most quickly for the lowest amount of cost...” – Denise Koch (20:10)
• Memorable moment:
  • Explanation of the “lake tap” as a giant bathtub drain (19:14).

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6. Alaska Pacific University Receives $18 Million Gift

(21:22 - 22:48)

• Context: Philanthropist Mackenzie Scott donates a transformative $18 million to APU.
• Details:
  • The one-time gift equals 70% of APU’s annual budget and will nearly double its endowment, benefiting students directly.
  • The money comes with “no strings attached.”
  • Immediate use: invest and sustainably fund university operations.
• Notable Quotes:
  • “To have somebody like McKinsey Scott and her team recognize that, it’s just really... validating and we're excited about what's next for us.” – Janelle Vanass, APU President (21:22)
  • “You don’t apply. She has a team that... does their own quiet research... and they choose us.” – Janelle Vanass (21:54)

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7. Aurora Hunting: Tips from Experts

(22:48 - 26:17)

• Context: As part of the “Alaska Survival Kit” series, the show shares practical advice for watching the northern lights.
• Details/Tips:
  1. Check the Aurora Forecast: Use UAF’s simple prediction website to plan outings (23:45).
  2. Stay Out Longer: Good shows require patience and possibly enduring late nights and cold.
  3. Dress Very Warmly: Proper attire can make viewing enjoyable and safe.
  4. Use a Camera: Cameras often catch more vivid aurora than the naked eye.
• Notable Quotes:
  • “The last load was the antlers, and he had them on his pack. Now I remember him walking along in front of me, antlers silhouetted in the aurora light.” – Ned Roselle (23:01)
  • “You have to be ready to be out... from at least 11pm to 4am.” – Carl Johnson, Alaska Photo Treks (25:26)
  • “Just give yourself a little bit of time and dress appropriately and you can get out and enjoy it.” – Carl Johnson (25:44)
  • “Just work on practicing those [camera] settings and photographing the aurora, and you're going to find that it definitely changes the experience.” – Carl Johnson (26:10)
• Memorable moment:
  • Ned Roselle’s story of seeing antlers silhouetted in the aurora after a caribou hunt (23:01).

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Timestamps for Major Segments

• Climate adaptation in Anchorage: 00:19 – 06:00
• Avalanche risks in Haines: 06:00 – 10:39
• Southeast Alaska job outlook & population: 10:52 – 13:43
• Anchorage snowstorm & Fairbanks cold snap: 13:43 – 18:24
• Juneau’s “lake tap” flood solution: 18:24 – 21:22
• APU receives Mackenzie Scott gift: 21:22 – 22:48
• Aurora viewing tips: 22:48 – 26:17

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Tone and Language

The episode is serious yet accessible, blending scientific explanation with community voices and relatable anecdotes. The reporting style brings local expertise and Alaska’s challenges to the fore, while providing advice and optimism amidst adversity.

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Notable Quotes (with timestamps & speakers)

• “You have to have the capacity to respond to events that you may not be able to predict. You may not know when they're going to happen, but you have to be ready for them.” — Wesley Early (00:19, 05:31)
• "Anchorage is warmer than it used to be... we get more snow in the core winter months, December, January, February, but then less snow in the shoulder months... more rain in those months." — Brian Brettschneider (01:54)
• "Otherwise, it's a little bit like a ticking time bomb." – Jeff Moskowitz (09:24)
• "Kind of fundamentally what's a challenge for Southeast Region is our negative net migration, so more people wanting to leave the region than move here." – Dan Robinson (12:37)
• "We just live with it and you just deal with it and move on." — Ben Schabel, Fairbanks resident, on enduring cold snaps (15:35)
• "Just think about Suicide basin as a proverbial bathtub, and what the lake tap is, is just leaving the drain open." — Denise Koch (19:14)
• "To have somebody like McKinsey Scott and her team recognize that, it’s just really... validating and we're excited about what's next for us." — Janelle Vanass (21:22)
• "Give yourself a little bit of time and dress appropriately and you can get out and enjoy it." — Carl Johnson (25:44)

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This episode paints a vivid picture of Alaskan life amidst climate adaptation, extreme weather, economic shifts, and the perennial awe of the aurora, all grounded in community expertise and ongoing resilience.

Transcript

[Wesley Early]

Support for Alaska Public Media on Demand.

[Theo Greenlee]

Comes from Siri, an Alaska Native corporation with operations and investments spanning five continents, 45 states and two US territories.

[Wesley Early]

You have to have the capacity to respond to events that you may not be able to predict. You may not know when they're going to happen, but you have to be ready for them.

[Theo Greenlee]

As Alaska's climate changes, Anchorage is adapting its plans to respond and prepare. From Alaska. Welcome to Public Media. This is statewide news on Alaska News nightly for Wednesday, January 7th. Good evening. I'm Casey Grove. Also tonight, outmigration and the loss of many federal jobs drove employment numbers down last year in Southeast, a trend that's expected to continue for the first time.

[Casey Grove]

In a long time. They're almost certain to fall.

[Theo Greenlee]

Those stories and more tonight on Alaska News Nightly. I'm Theo Greenlee, a reporter with the Alaska Desk. That's a joint reporting effort from Alaska Public Media and kucb, where I work in Unalaska and other public radio stations in Anchorage, Fairbanks, Haines and the Aleutians. It allows us to connect you with the issues happening in communities all across the state. You can hear our stories during the Morning News Alaska News Nightly or [e-mail] the Alaska Desk is only possible with the support of grants and listeners like you. Thank you. Alaska is warming faster than any other state due to climate change. And in Anchorage, that means winter looks and feels different than it did decades ago. As Alaska Public Media's Wesley early reports, city officials are revamping a climate action plan to address the service and infrastructure needs a warmer winter could require.

[Brian Brettschneider]

If you've lived in Anchorage for a while and think winter used to feel different, you're not crazy, says Anchorage based climate researcher Brian Brettschneider.

[Theo Greenlee]

Anchorage is warmer than it used to be and we get actually more snow in the core winter months, December, January, February, but then less snow in the shoulder months, October, November, March and April. And we get more rain in those months.

[Brian Brettschneider]

Seven years ago, Brettschneider was part of a team of climate investigators helping to develop the city's climate action plan under former Mayor Ethan Berkowitz. He says the shift in Anchorage's winter patterns has created what he calls the worst of both worlds for city services.

[Theo Greenlee]

We get more demand on services and infrastructure due to greater snowfall in the core winter for now. But then we have different demands than we historically have had in the shoulder season with more rain, more freezing rain, more freeze thaw cycles.

[Brian Brettschneider]

Anchorage's climate action plan didn't get a lot of attention under former Mayor Dave Bronson. While some departments still worked on it, the administration did not issue the annual progress reports the city had committed to doing, and links to the plan disappeared from the city's website. Now, Under Mayor Suzanne LaFrance, the Climate Action Plan is being rebranded and expanded into a broader energy and resilience planning effort.

[Avery Elfelt]

Climate change fits into the discussion, I think, in almost every layer of how our municipal departments respond to the needs of citizens.

[Brian Brettschneider]

That's Rochelle Johnson, energy and sustainability manager for the city's Solid Waste Services Department. Like other departments, Johnson says addressing climate change and solid waste is a two pronged effort. One is being energy efficient and reducing the department's carbon footprint. The other is adapting to changes already occurring due to a warming climate.

[Avery Elfelt]

You can look at it in terms of the infrastructure that we're developing and maintaining as a city, too, that needs to be much more resilient and be designed and sort of built out and maintained with different conditions than it has been in the past.

[Brian Brettschneider]

For instance, more freeze, freezing rain could mean icier roads and a greater need for sanding, while heavier snow months could require more coordination with state officials to clear roads for anchored school buses. And planning for climate change goes beyond winter. Nolan Claude, a policy advisor for La France, says another growing concern is wildfire mitigation as anchored summers become drier and warmer. In the past, the city focused on identifying evacuation routes, but that's changed a bit in recent years.

[Wesley Early]

If anyone who's been up to the Stuck again Heights Road, there was a big fuel clearing effort around the road that also provides egress, you know, so emergency people can get out of there, you know, to clear the trees so that, so that there's a fire break there to protect that, that access and egress.

[Brian Brettschneider]

Even weather events outside of Anchorage could have an impact on the city's infrastructure needs. Clauda says.

[Wesley Early]

Are there more sort of winter storms even in other parts of the state like we saw with western Alaska, that that lead to people being evacuated to Anchorage? How do we deal with that?

[Brian Brettschneider]

As quickly as Anchorage is warming, rural Alaska is heating up at an even faster rate. Brett Schneider, the cl, says that will likely lead to more severe events like the western Alaska storms in October that displaced hundreds.

[Theo Greenlee]

There's a lot of research that suggests that climate extremes are increasing, right, because of the changes in the temperature of the ocean, the changes in the temperature of the atmosphere, the distribution of sea ice, that we do expect there to be a greater frequency of these events in the aggregate overall.

[Brian Brettschneider]

Claudus says revamping the climate Action Plan is about acknowledging that some weather patterns have become less predictable and the city has to be prepared.

[Wesley Early]

You have to have the capacity to respond to events that you may not be able to predict, you may not know when they're going to happen, but.

[Brian Brettschneider]

You have to be ready for them, claude says. In addition to addressing climate change, another big focus of the rebranded energy and resilience planning effort is looking into the city's energy needs as the region faces a natural gas shortage. In Anchorage, I'm Wesley early.

[Theo Greenlee]

Snow slammed the Upper Lynn Canal in late December, marking one of the area's top snowiest periods in more than two decades. As Avery Elfelt reports for the Alaska Desk, avalanche professionals are now warning locals and visitors alike to stay out of risky terrain until conditions improve.

[Avery Elfelt]

Jeff Moskowitz is standing waist deep in snow, his skis planted nearby. As the director of the Haines Avalanche Center, Moskowitz is constantly monitoring avalanche risk in the area. That included earlier this week.

[Casey Grove]

It's Tuesday, January 6th, and we're standing in the middle of the parade grounds at Fort Seward and temperatures have risen significantly over the last like, day and a half.

[Avery Elfelt]

He's digging a pit to assess the snowpack, which he says is highly avalanche prone after a storm buried the area and more than three feet of powder over the holidays. Moskowitz points out layers of snow stacked on top of each other. There's a fresh, somewhat fluffy layer on top from earlier this month. Below that, there's a three foot deep layer that's more compact from the late December storm. Then there's a feeble layer of snow just inches from the ground that crumbles like sugar as Moskowitz runs his hand through it. That snow was here before the big storm and during a fierce cold snap earlier this winter.

[Casey Grove]

So really we just have this. We have about a meter of really strong snow just sitting over this sugar.

[Avery Elfelt]

That sugar like layer is what could collapse under the weight of more precipitation, snow machines or humans, triggering an avalanche. Moskowitz simulates that effect by running a few tests. In one of them, he drags a saw through the weak layer near the bottom of the pit. The snow piled on top shifts and then collapses.

[Wesley Early]

There you go. Yeah.

[Avery Elfelt]

The situation prompted the center to start warning locals and visitors about extreme avalanche risk in the haines area starting Dec. 27. Moskowitz says the guidance for now is to avoid avalanche terrain entirely. That means staying off slopes greater than 30 degrees and not traveling beneath them.

[Casey Grove]

You know, being very cautious and basically just using patience and resisting the temptation to get into steeper terrain until there's more confidence in that this instability is going away.

[Avery Elfelt]

The warning comes after a historic period of snowfall in Haines and southeast Alaska more broadly. National Weather Service data shows the late December storm dumped at least 44 inches of snow in Haines. That makes it one of the snowiest five day periods since 2001, says Juneau based meteorologist Edward Liske.

[Casey Grove]

The event from end of December definitely was a more more significant event because it was definitely one of the higher snowfalls you've gotten in five days pretty much out of all your time there that the station's been there.

[Avery Elfelt]

But there were also some accounts of closer to 6 or 7ft of snow that same period, according to local reports sent out by the federal agency. The deluge has stopped for now, but Moskowitz says the avalanche situation may get worse before it gets better. As temperatures rise and the top layer of snow consolidates into a heav thicker slab, new precipitation or other conditions could trigger a natural avalanche cycle wiping that weak layer out, Moskowitz says.

[Casey Grove]

Otherwise, it's a little bit like a ticking time bomb.

[Avery Elfelt]

The Haines Avalanche center is a non profit that provides the only avalanche information in the Chilkat Valley, which is world renowned for its pristine backcountry terrain. Moskowitz emphasized the importance of donations, grants and borough funding to make that work possible. The borough, for its part, did not set aside any nonprofit funding for fiscal year 2026, which runs through June. Less funding, Moskowitz says, has real implications, mainly less staff time. That means less information to help the public make their own decisions about recreating in the backcountry.

[Casey Grove]

What we don't want is that, you know, there's an accident that sparks, you know, the public interest in supporting the avalanche center. We just need to maintain the services we provide and just keep it going year after year after year.

[Avery Elfelt]

Funding aside, Moskowitz urged those who do recreate in the backcountry to pay close attention to their surroundings and to send in their observations. He says every bit of information helps think details about a human triggered or natural avalanche, a report that the sun peeked out one day, or the insight that feathery crystals have formed on the snow's surface. Reporting in Haines, I'm Avery Elfelt.

[Theo Greenlee]

Still to come on Alaska News Nightly, seasoned Aurora hunters share their tips for catching a glimpse of the northern lights.

[Casey Grove]

Give yourself a little bit of time and dress appropriately and you can get out and enjoy it.

[Theo Greenlee]

That's ahead. Stay with us. I'm Theo Greenlee, a reporter with the Alaska Desk. That's a joint reporting effort from Alaska Public Media and kucb, where I work in Unalaska and other public radio stations in Anchorage, Fairbanks, Haines and the Aleutians. It allows us to connect you with the issues happening in communities all across the state. You can hear our stories during The Morning News, Alaska News nightly or online at AlaskaPublic.org the Alaska Desk is only possible with the support of grants and listeners like you. Thank you. A drop in new and existing jobs is forecast in southeast Alaska this year due to federal layoffs, funding cuts and steady population decline in the region. That's according to a recent report released by the Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development. Economist Dan Robinson heads the state's Labor Research Department. He says the region is expected to lose about 100 jobs this year, including in the federal sector.

[Casey Grove]

We don't yet have a really good handle on what our federal job numbers will be, but they're not growing for the first time in a long time. They're almost certain to fall, robinson says.

[Theo Greenlee]

The Trump administration's continuous push to shrink the federal workforce and reduce government spending will counter job growth in the Southeast region. According to preliminary data, the department estimates Alaska lost about 300 federal jobs in 2025 and more cuts are expected this year. Robinson says those cuts, paired with southeast Alaska's steadily declining birth rates and outmigration, will likely put major constraints on the region's economy. A previous report by the Department found Southeast Alaska's overall population is projected to drop by about 17% by 2050, or roughly 12,000 people.

[Casey Grove]

Kind of fundamentally what's a challenge for Southeast Region is our negative net migration, so more people wanting to leave the region than move here.

[Theo Greenlee]

Cruise ship, tourism and mining continue to be bright spots for southeast Alaska jobs and its economy. Last year, Juneau welcomed just under 1.7 million cruise ship passengers and new and proposed docks are anticipated to open up more job opportunities. The state overall is expected to experience a 1% growth of an additional 3,000 jobs this year. Most of that is made up of jobs in oil and gas, healthcare, construction and transportation. According to the report, A winter storm this week dropped a record breaking amount of snow on Alaska's largest city. Brandon Lawson is a meteorologist with the National Weather Service. He says over 19 inches of snow accumulated in Anchorage from Sunday evening through Tuesday.

[Casey Grove]

This is the highest two day snow total for Anchorage in January on record, and it is the fifth highest on record ever for Anchorage for any two day snow event.

[Theo Greenlee]

Forecasters were originally expecting storm totals of up to a foot for Anchorage. The snow was fluffy, reducing visibility on roadways as cars kicked up the powder. It's a starkly different picture than the same time last year when a warm weather pattern dominated Anchorage, bringing rain and subsequent icy roads. Now a cold weather advisory is in effect through 4pm tomorrow for Anchorage, the Lower Mat? Su Borough and parts of the Kenai Peninsula. Temperatures are forecast to dip as low as 35 below. Lawson says the cooler temperatures had moved into the area by this morning.

[Casey Grove]

It's going to continue through tonight and then all of a sudden we turn our attention right back to this next system coming in Friday through the weekend.

[Theo Greenlee]

That system is expected to bring warmer temperatures, highs in the teens along with more snow this weekend, meteorologists say. Interior Alaska is set to come out of a historic cold snap this weekend. As KUAC's Patrick Gilchrist reports, Sverbanksons have been dealing with dead car batteries, uncollected trash and other cold weather problems during the month long freeze.

[Wesley Early]

Fairbanks area resident Ben Schabel sat in his truck around noon on Tuesday at the back of a long line of vehicles. It wrapped around the lot of the sourdough fuel bulk plant and and spilled into a side street. This is 50 times more cars than.

[Casey Grove]

I've ever seen here.

[Wesley Early]

Schauble was there to fill up a tank with heating fuel before heading into work. It's his typical way of getting fuel, he says. And despite the atypical wait time, he wasn't concerned.

[Casey Grove]

It's Fairbanks. We just live with it and you.

[Wesley Early]

Just deal with it and move on. Fairbanks logged the coldest December since 1980 last month with an average low of about 23 degrees below zero, according to the National Weather Service. Persistent northerly winds due to a stubborn high pressure system in the Bering Sea helped cause the intense cold which continued into the new year. The Fairbanks International Airport recorded 50 degrees below zero on Sunday, the lowest temperature it's recorded this winter. Fairbanks got a bit of a break from the deep cold already this week with the arrival of some cloud cover. That's according to Evan Kutta, the science and operations officer at the National Weather Service office in Fairbanks.

[Casey Grove]

Anytime there aren't clouds, we lose heat to space freely, so we're able to get really cold. And Fairbanks is situated in a valley location so the cold dense air sinks down to the bottom of the valley.

[Wesley Early]

Temperatures approaching 40 below are predicted late this week, but Kata says a low pressure system moving through the Bering Sea is set to show the extreme temperatures the door heading into the weekend, and.

[Casey Grove]

That'S resulting in more southerly winds aloft and more moisture and cloud cover streaming north from the Gulf of Alaska. So it's going to be a more persistently warm pattern with more frequent snow chances.

[Wesley Early]

Still, warm is relative. The weather service forecasts a high of 10 below on Saturday, but that'll be a relief of sorts for many folks in the interior. The extreme weather has affected life in many ways, from delayed garbage pickup to the postponement of a popular New Year's Eve fireworks show at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. And cars have had their share of problems, too.

[Theo Greenlee]

It's been really busy.

[Wesley Early]

That's Jason Roberts, the operations manager of Metropolitan Garage. He says they're seeing plenty of dead car batteries, and Roberts also says they're seeing hybrid vehicles with sensors that only read to 40 below. He says when one of those cars does a systems check and gets no reading back, it won't even try to start. Roberts says that means the shop's lot is packed with vehicles that can't power themselves and that it's been a long, cold slog to fix them up or thaw them out.

[Casey Grove]

It really affects the space we have, and everything's dead, so we have to tow it in. It usually takes three technicians. We have an atv, we have a.

[Theo Greenlee]

Bobcat that we use.

[Casey Grove]

They're just virtually a ton brick that we're towing into the shop.

[Wesley Early]

Kutta with the weather service says for now, there doesn't appear to be another cold snap on the horizon. But it is interior Alaska, and Kutta says while there's not currently a sign of prolonged bitter cold returning, that doesn't mean it won't happen in Fairbanks.

[Theo Greenlee]

I'm Patrick Gilchrist, and a quick note to listeners. Metropolitan Garage is a current financial supporter of KUAC. The U.S. army Corps of Engineers has landed on a solution to put an end to glacial outburst floods that have grown more destructive in Juneau's Mendenhall Valley neighborhoods over the past few summers. The agency will pursue something called a lake tap. It's essentially a tunnel through the mountain on the east side of the glacier that's meant to steadily drain suicide basins so it can't fill to the point of bursting and send some 16 billion gallons of water through the valley. Denise Koch is the director of engineering and public works at the City and Borough of Juneau. She explains it like I just think about Suicide basin as a proverbial bathtub, and what the lake tap is is.

[Casey Grove]

Just leaving the drain open.

[Theo Greenlee]

She said the drain will empty the water from suicide Basin into Mendenhall Lake somewhere between the face of Mendenhall Glacier and Nugget Falls. The decision came last month after a three day closed door meeting the Army Corps held with federal agencies, local officials and researchers in Juneau. The main task was to discuss five options to prevent homes from flooding in the future. The Forest Service, the city and Tlingit and Haida announced that they support the lake tap option, aligning with many of the public comments the Army Corps received. Besides a lake tap, the options discussed at the meeting included a dam at the outlet of Mendenhall Lake, a permanent levy, a bypass channel through the Mendenhall river floodplain and relocating impacted residents from the valley. Koch says the group weighed the options based on risk to downstream residents, how quickly they could be built and the overall cost. Ultimately, a lake tap was seen to.

[Casey Grove]

Reduce risk the most while being able to be constructed the most quickly for the lowest amount of cost, with the least complex and least costly operation and maintenance.

[Theo Greenlee]

Koch says the tunnel could take as long as six years to excavate, assuming the process goes slowly, and it could cost somewhere between $613 million and $1 billion. But she says those estimates are very rough at this stage. The Army Corps aims to finish its technical report for the lake tap in May that will include a preliminary design, a more detailed cost estimate and a draft environmental review. There will be another public comment period once it's complete, and the Army Corps will need to request authorization and funding from Congress to make it happen. Billionaire philanthropist Mackenzie Scott's foundation has donated $18 million to Alaska Pacific University. APU President Janelle Vanass says it's a transformational contribution to the university.

[Casey Grove]

APU is heading in a really exciting direction and to have somebody like McKinsey Scott and her team recognize that, it's just really we're just so grateful for that and just think it's really validating and we're excited about what's next for us.

[Theo Greenlee]

Mackenzie Scott became one of the wealthiest women in the world through her divorce from Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. She's known for making massive gifts with no strings attached. Vinass says APU never applied to Scott's foundation yield giving for a grant because that's not how it works.

[Casey Grove]

You don't apply. She has a team that kind of does their own quiet research is what they call it, and they find organizations that they want to support and they choose us.

[Theo Greenlee]

The $18 million is equivalent to about 70% of APU's annual budget. Vinaz says it will nearly double a foundation that benefits the university. The immediate plan is to leave it there, where it will help build the university's financial sustainability. She says it will help APU keep tuition costs as low as possible for students. Well, when the sun goes down in Alaska during the winter, sometimes the sky puts on its own light show, ribbons of green and purple dancing overhead. Seeing the northern lights can feel magical, but actually finding them, well, that takes a little strategy. As part of our new series Alaska Survival Kit, Alaska Public Media's Ava White has four tips to help you spot the aurora.

[Ava White]

For Ned Roselle, seeing the northern lights never gets old. He's lived in Fairbanks for four decades, so he's spotted them a lot. But one moment stands out, walking back to camp with a friend after harvesting a caribou.

[Casey Grove]

The last load was the antlers, and he had them on his pack. Now I remember him walking along in front of me, antlers silhouetted in the aurora light.

[Ava White]

I've seen the aurora plenty of times growing up in Alaska, but never like that. And that got me thinking. How can I improve my chances of catching it? Ned is a science writer for the Geophysical Institute at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. He says there's a lot of science behind the aurora, but there's a tool that makes it simple.

[Casey Grove]

We have an aurora prediction website. It's the aurora forecast, and it's just a simple graphic showing the state of Alaska and a band of green aurora.

[Ava White]

That's the first takeaway. Check the aurora forecast online. As Ned mentioned, that map will show you a band of where it may be visible. It forecasts the aurora a few weeks in advance so you can plan your outing ahead of time. But there's more to the puzzle. Dark, clear skies are equally important. And if you're an Anchorage like me, try to away from city lights. I checked the forecast on a recent Wednesday and it looked promising. I walked down the stairs of my condo at 11pm to a spot with a clear view of the sky. And I see the Little Dipper and she's pretty. But that's not what I'm out here to see. I was back inside after maybe five minutes. Ned, though, is a lot more dedicated. He says he'll sometimes even sleep outside for fun. And that's when he sees the best aurora.

[Casey Grove]

I will bring like 20 below bag and a nice inflatable pad and a bivy sack. That's like my favorite because you're warm in your bag. It's awesome.

[Ava White]

As someone still learning to love the cold, sleeping outside sounds miserable. I'm not telling you to do that. But that Leads to takeaway 2 Be prepared to stay outside longer than you want want. Carl Johnson of Alaska Photo Treks agrees. I told him about my short venture a few nights before. He laughed and said a few minutes outside is not enough.

[Casey Grove]

There are a lot of variables that impact when the aurora actually occurs. If you're going to go out aurora chasing and make an earnest effort of.

[Wesley Early]

It, you have to be ready to.

[Casey Grove]

Be out from at least an Anchorage.

[Theo Greenlee]

Area From at least 11pm to 4am.

[Ava White]

If you're not prepared to trade your night's sleep for the aurora, the best shows usually happen within an hour or two of midnight. Takeaway 3 Dress warm. When you do that, Carl says there are other advantages.

[Wesley Early]

Just give yourself a little bit of.

[Casey Grove]

Time and dress appropriately and you can get out and enjoy it, the aurora all to yourself, even from areas that are otherwise, you know, pretty popular and sometimes crowded.

[Ava White]

And the final takeaway number four Use a camera. Cameras can reveal an aurora that's too faint for the naked eye to see and often capture much brighter colors than what you can see in person. Carl suggests reading some blogs about the best camera settings.

[Casey Grove]

Just work on practicing those settings and photographing the aurora, and you're going to find that it definitely changes the experience.

[Ava White]

So the next time I go outside in the middle of the night in the bitter cold, I'll use my camera and hopefully have some better luck. In Anchorage, I'm Ava White.

[Theo Greenlee]

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 Wesley early and Ava White in Anchorage, Avery Elfelt and Haynes, Clarice Larson, Alex Solomon in Juneau, Patrick Gilchrist and Fairbanks and Liz Ruskin in Washington, D.C. if you want to send us a news tip, question or comment, email [e-mail] Our audio engineer is Crystal Hyde. Madeline Rose is our producer and I'm Casey Grove. Good night. This is statewide news on Alaska Public Media.