Army and Fairbanks International Airport officials say a Fort Wainwright soldier died after a motorcycle crash Saturday evening.

Airport spokesperson Angela Spear says the wreck involved two motorcyclists, both soldiers, who were riding on Van Horn Road at about 6 p.m. Saturday toward the east ramp of the airport.

"There were two motorcycles who were traveling together," Spear said. "Both of them failed to navigate a turn and lost control."

While the surviving motorcyclist suffered only minor injuries in the crash, the other soldier was taken to Fairbanks Memorial Hospital and subsequently pronounced dead.

Spear says there aren't any indications of drugs or alcohol being involved, but the victim's remains have been sent to the state medical examiner's office for an autopsy.

According to U.S. Army Alaska spokesperson John Pennell, Army officials are also investigating the events leading up to the incident.

"At this time, we don't know what caused the crash," Pennell said.

The Army will identify the deceased soldier 24 hours after next of kin have been notified.

Contact Neil Torquiano

Channel 2's Chris Klint contributed information to this story.

Friends and family of two Anchorage girls killed in a DUI-related crash Friday are planning a public memorial later this month.

Brooke McPheters and Jordyn Durr, both 15, were killed Friday evening as they walked along Dimond Boulevard.

Anchorage police say a pickup truck traveling at a high rate of speed struck the girls. Stacey Graham, 31, is charged with two counts of second-degree murder and operating under the influence. He has been hospitalized for injuries suffered in the crash. 

APD spokesperson Dani Myren says that as of Sunday, no arraignment date has been set for Graham.

Retired Air Force Master Sgt. Keith Coulter, McPheters' Junior ROTC instructor during her freshman year, says she was considered a role model by her peers.

"I'm having a hard time keeping my emotions in check," Coulter said.

According to Coulter, McPheters was active in the community, logging 400 hours as a volunteer with Children's Lunchbox.

"By far she was one of my strongest students in the volunteer efforts," Coulter said. "She was probably as much a catalyst for changing an environment and community than any other kid I've seen."

The teens' deaths are sparking outrage among those in the community who have worked to stop drunk drivers. Nancy Bidwell's 17-year-old daughter, Shelly Reed, was killed by a drunk driver in 1983. As founder of the Forget-Me-Not Mission, she's printed three books educating teens and state leaders on the devastating impact drinking and driving can have.

"It's really making a difference with the teens, and I'm almost thinking right now we need to put out an adult book, because there's too many stories with adult drunk driving, " Bidwell said.

Family and friends are making pink and black ribbons to honor the girls.  The color scheme symbolizes a parent who has lost a daughter.

Contact Adam Pinsker

A new wildfire is keeping Fairbanks-based fire crews busy.

The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner reports the Caribou Creek Fire had reached 350 acres Sunday.

The fire is on state land about 24 miles east of the Stuart Creek 2 fire that occupied crews much of the summer.

Interagency Management Team spokesman Jim Schwarber says the fire is in a full protection area. Multiple air tankers and smoke jumpers attacked the flames Sunday.

The cause of the fire is unknown but no lightning was reported in the area.

Updated 3:25 p.m., 8/12/2013

Alaska State Trooper officials have released more details connected to a 13-year-old Kodiak boy with critical injuries following an ATV accident he was involved in Saturday.

Jesus Leiva, Jr. remains in critical condition following the Saturday accident, AST spokeswoman Beth Ipsen wrote in an email.

The cause of the crash remains undetermined, though, according to Ipsen.

"(The) ATV was moved prior to AST arrival on scene and driver was incoherent due to injuries sustained," Ipsen wrote.

Ipsen also noted Leiva appeared to be wearing a helmet at the time of the crash, though troopers have yet to determine whether that helmet was buckled at the time of the accident. Leiva was discovered by troopers with his helmet "partially on his head," Ipsen wrote.

Original story:

A U.S. Coast Guard helicopter medevaced a teenage Kodiak boy after he sustained a head injury in a Saturday all-terrain-vehicle accident, according to the Coast Guard and Alaska State Troopers.

According to a Saturday AST dispatch, troopers received a report about the crash near Chiniak, in the vicinity of Roslyn Beach, just after 11 a.m.

"On scene investigation determined a 13 year old male of Kodiak, was injured while operating a 4-wheeled ATV on a trail system connected to Roslyn Beach," troopers wrote. "Further investigation at this time indicates the teen was wearing a helmet at the time of the accident."

AST spokesperson Beth Ipsen says the boy, who lost control of the ATV and crashed, was in bad shape immediately after the incident.

"He suffered critical injuries, but it appears he was going to recover from them," Ipsen said.

Troopers thanked a number of people who transported troopers and Kodiak medics to the scene, as well as assisting them in providing emergency medical care for the boy.

After being treated by medics, the boy was flown to Providence Kodiak Island Medical Center by an Air Station Kodiak HH-60 Jayhawk helicopter. In a Coast Guard statement on the crash, the boy's condition was described as stable when he was transferred to PKIMC.

The Coast Guard, which coordinated with troopers during the pickup, was called for assistance by the Kodiak Police Department.

"Our close partnerships with other agencies are a critical part of operations in Alaska," said Lt. j.g. Theodore Borny, a search and rescue controller at the Coast Guard's 17th District command center. "It is very common for us to share a case or assist another agency when someone's life is on the line."

Troopers are continuing to investigate the cause of the crash. Members of the boy's family were present at the time of the incident.

Channel 2's Josh Staab contributed to this report.

Contact Chris Klint

The Kodiak Fisheries Research Center is preparing to say goodbye to thousands of red king crab hatchlings.

The center in about three weeks will release 13,000 tiny red king crabs, the first time Alaska king crab raised in hatchery will be introduced into the wild.

The Kodiak Daily Mirror reports the Alaska King Crab Research, Rehabilitation and Biology Program grew out of a 2006 symposium that focused on ways to rebuild Kodiak's crab fishery.

Kodiak fishermen in 1966 caught 94.4 million pounds of crab but the species has diminished locally. There's been no commercial king crab fishery since 1983.

Kodiak research center lab director Bob Foy says the hatchlings will be taken to a location off Old Harbor and released.

Divers will monitor the stocking site weekly.

An invasive species has been discovered in Sitka, but biologists don't expect the insect to cause the same harm to alders in southeast Alaska as it did farther north.

The Daily Sitka Sentinel says the green alder sawfly is native to Europe, East Asia and North Africa.

The insect was first positively identified in Alaska in 2009. The Cooperative Extension Service says that by that time, the sawfly was actively defoliating thin-leaf alders along riverbeds in Anchorage, Seward, Kenai and in the Matanuska-Susitna area.

The extension service was notified about the local presence of the green alder sawfly after Michelle Putz with the U.S. Forest Service noticed one of her red alder trees didn't look healthy. The tree was covered with hundreds of the pale-green caterpillar-like insects.

A Kenai Superior Court judge has sentenced a Soldotna man convicted of child pornography to 17 years in prison with five years suspended.

Judge Carl Bauman on Thursday also sentenced 42-year-old Kevin Patterson to seven years probation.

Patterson was convicted of seven counts of possessing of child pornography in January.

The Peninsula Clarion reports Patterson in 2005 was convicted of similar charges in Minnesota. He moved to Alaska and was a registered sex offender.

A probation officer in April 2009 reported probation violations and that Patterson appeared to be accessing the Internet. He was charged in January 2010 with child porn possession but could not be found in Alaska.

He was arrested in December 2010 in Mexico City.

Updated Aug. 12 at 6 p.m.

The FBI on Monday released a timeline of serial killer Israel Keyes' suspected travels, detailing a 15-year international trail of murders, robberies and sexual assaults.

A spokesman said the bureau is releasing the information in the hopes of learning more from the public about Keyes' involvement in other unsolved crimes around the country.

"We have a comprehensive timeline, we can identify where he's traveled to," said Deirdre Fike, the FBI agent in charge of the case, in an interview with Channel 2.

Before committing suicide in December, Keyes admitted to  raping and killing Anchorage barista Samantha Koenig in February 2012 and to attempting to ransom her corpse.

But a statement from the FBI's Anchorage office suggests Keyes could have been involved in other unsolved homicides.

Investigators now blame Keyes for 11 homicides, up from a previous estimate of eight. The total includes the brutal murders of Vermont couple Bill and Lorraine Currier.

Among the revelations in Monday's timeline are new insights into Keyes' methods, which he discussed with investigators before.

He did not know his victims prior to their abductions, he frequented prostitutes, and there was no apparent rhyme or reason behind any of the crimes, said Fike. He also traveled thousands of miles to plan and execute brutal attacks.

"Sometimes he would fly into one area, rent a car and drive a thousand miles to where the crime was actually committed, so there are some challenges in investigating crimes of that nature," Fike said.

Channel 2's Austin Baird and Adam Pinsker contributed to this report. This is a developing story. Please check KTUU.com and watch Channel 2 newscasts for updates.

Contact Chris Klint

An Anchorage bull rider remains in serious condition after being stomped Friday night at a Rodeo Alaska event.

22-year-old Andrew Bischoff suffered multiple injuries after being bucked off by a bull named Frostbite at the "Beauty and the Beast" rodeo at the Chamberlain Equestrian Center.

Photographer John Gomes captured video of the disturbing incident, and a clip can be viewed at his website.

The rodeo crew came to the rescue protecting the unconscious Bischoff while bull fighter R.P. Morrison cleared his mouth and nose of mud and manure, so he could breathe.

"He was drowning in the mud," Linda Bischoff, Andrew's mother, said. "They were afraid he broke his neck or back. They didn't know, so they turned him and R.P. was pulling mud and manure it was rainy as well out of his nose and mouth and he gurgled and began breathing: and so he saved his life."

The bull rider suffered a face fracture and will have surgery in two weeks and has liver lacerations. Andrew's mother said the three man crew saved her son's life and believes his injuries could have been much worse.

"Andrew just wants to give a shout out to those bull fighters they save his life and then they had a fundraiser last night (Sunday) to help pay for his medical bills and he is so appreciative of that," Linda Bischoff said.

Editor's Note: KTUU's Maria Downey contributed to this story.


Contact Neil Torquiano

The Anchorage School District will soon open its doors for the 2013-14 calendar and on Monday, ASD welcomed 218 new teachers with a special orientation.

Fresh faces like Ash'shan'ta' Swisher are getting ready for the upcoming school set to begin on Aug. 21.

"I thought okay, let's try this, i've always wanted to come since i was twelve to Alaska," said Swisher, who moved from Colorado to be a special education teacher at Clark Middle School. "Being in a job anyway will be uncertain to begin with, you never know what could happen."

Longevity is a question mark these days at ASD, especially in light of budget woes, that threaten to slash teacher jobs. Over the past few years, a more than $20 million dollar budget shortfall has resulted in cuts to school programs and staff.

"We could be facing the same situation and that really puts it in the hands of the legislature," said Andy Holleman, President of the Anchorage Education Association. "If they adjust the BSA [base student allocation] for inflation than we can do this because obviously the district and the new hires isn't expanding their employee pool."

According to AEA, teacher numbers are down this year and if things continue, recruitment of new ones will be a challenge if they fear their jobs would go first.

"Going out and taking on a $200,000 mortgage when your not sure you are going to have a job the following fall probably not the smartest thing to do," said Holleman.

District officials say they lose 9% of their teachers annually and if cuts are made, specific content areas like counseling would be the initial target.

"We lose to retirement, we lose to spouses moving," said Rob Donohue-Boyer, who is the executive director for ASD's Human Resources. "We hire a large number of elementary, even if I'm hired this year, if there were layoffs in that particular area, I'm probably not going to be impacted."

Even with the 218 hires, the district says it is still looking to fill 30 to 35 more certified teacher jobs mostly in special education or related services areas.

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A dispute over small spaces has generated big concerns with a union representing state employees crying foul over a move to redesign employee work spaces.

The Alaska State Employees Association says the State of Alaska should have consulted with the union before replacing existing work spaces in state offices with new six by eight cubicles. The redesign work has already taken place, such as state offices in the Atwood Building.

"We at least need to sit down and have a discussion on it and work out some agreement, some arrangement and have some negotiations on it," said ASEA's Executive Director Jim Duncan.

The new cubicles will save over $125 million over the next 20 years by reducing lease space, according to the State Dept. of Administration. The state also said the new design will give more employees natural light over the old floor plans.

Local 52, a union representing 82 hundred state employees, says the work space is smaller and offers no privacy for calls that are sensitive in nature. Separate quiet rooms have been built with this in mind, but the union says it won't work.

The state says no one is immune to the changes, even the administration.

"Hopefully, it's for the betterment of the employee and so this had nothing to do with bargaining and as a matter of fact the employees that have been affected, we've gotten positive results from," said Curtis Thayer, the Deputy Commissioner of the Alaska Department of Administration.

The ASEA says it is collecting petitions of concern from employees to send a message to the administration.

The state recently rejected a grievance filed by the union, so the next step will be arbitration. The state says the changes will take place over the next 10 years by using existing budgets.

Contact Dan Carpenter

A remote village in northern Alaska has finally begun to fill its water storage tanks again, after going all winter with dwindling reserves.
   
Crews at the Kivalina water plant began pumping water round-the-clock on Friday.
   
Kivalina city manager Janet Mitchell says locals continue to hope that a trend of high temperatures continues to allow the tank filling.
   
The Inupiat Eskimo community of 400 fell into its water crisis after the local water-supply pipeline was damaged by late-summer storms last year before its water tanks could be filled.
   
Before winter set in, the village's three-mile water supply pipeline was temporarily repaired to collect some water from the Wulik River, but not enough, before winter freeze-up arrived.
   
Kivalina is located 83 miles north of the Arctic Circle.

The old Bethel police station building has been dismantled and moved.

KYUK says the building was removed in parts last week and taken to the Bethel dump.

Police moved to their new location in June.

The old building served as the police station for more than 40 years.

Army officials have identified a Fort Wainwright soldier who was killed Saturday night in a motorcycle crash near the Fairbanks International Airport.

U.S. Army Alaska spokesperson John Pennell says Staff Sgt. Jason Dean Calman, 32, died shortly after the wreck.

Airport officials had said Calman and another soldier -- whose name Pennell didn't have Tuesday -- were riding on separate motorcycles near the airport's east ramp when they failed to make a turn and crashed, causing only minor injuries to the other soldier.

"Initial reports indicate (Calman) lost control of his motorcycle and was thrown from the vehicle when it left the road at the intersection of Van Horn Road and University Avenue just before 6 p.m.," Pennell wrote in a Tuesday statement. "He lost consciousness while being transported to the hospital and was pronounced dead at Fairbanks Memorial Hospital at 6:15 p.m."

Calman, an infantryman with B Company, 1st Battalion, 5th Infantry Regiment at Fort Wainwright's 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, joined the Army in 2001 and arrived at Fort Wainwright in February 2011. He served two tours of duty in Afghanistan and one in Iraq.

Pennell says Calman's death is under investigation by the Army.

"Officials said Calman was wearing all the required personal protective equipment at the time of the crash," Pennell wrote. "He had a Motorcycle Safety Foundation card, was the motorcycle mentor for his unit and participated in the battalion's Motorcycle Mentorship ride Aug. 9."

Calman's next of kin have been notified. A memorial for him is being planned at Fort Wainwright.

Contact Chris Klint

Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson officials are telling Anchorage residents to expect increased aircraft noise as an Air Force training exercise takes place in the state over the next 10 days.

According to a statement from the base, JBER and Eielson Air Force Base in Fairbanks are hosting Red Flag Alaska, including an exercise which began Monday and will end Aug. 23.

JBER spokesperson Staff Sgt. William Banton says much of the base's noise will come from transports, like C-17 Globemaster III jets or propeller-driven C-130 Hercules aircraft, rather than fighters. In most cases, the earliest takeoffs should occur at about 5 a.m.

"It should be during the normal hours of daily operation," Banton said. "It shouldn't be overnight."

Banton says some flight patterns over the city may have been shifted by runway work on base last month, which has since been completed.

This month's exercise, Alaska's first this year after budget cuts canceled two previously planned exercises, includes pilots from South Korea, Japan and several U.S. states. At least six types of aircraft will be flown during this year's training.

Anchorage residents can submit noise complaints by calling 552-JETS or visiting JBER's website.

Contact Chris Klint

The driver in a Friday South Anchorage crash that killed two 15-year-old girls walking on a bike path has been arrested by Anchorage police, after his release from a local hospital.

APD spokesperson Dani Myren says Stacey Graham was taken into custody Monday evening and remanded to the Anchorage Jail.

Police say Graham's blood-alcohol content was three times the legal limit Friday night, when his red 2006 Toyota Tacoma pickup truck left Abbott Road and fatally injured Brooke McPheters and Jordyn Durr. Graham was seriously injured in the crash and treated for his wounds over the weekend.

"He was taken into custody last night and he should be subject to arraignment today," Myren said.

In a criminal complaint provided to Channel 2 Tuesday, APD Officer Steven Buchta says staff at the Alaska Native Medical Center, where Graham was initially taken for treatment, mentioned his blood-alcohol content to police.

"Witness accounts and roadway evidence indicate that the Toyota was south bound on Abbott in excess of the posted speed limit of 45 mph, had been driving in a reckless manner passing and tailgating other traffic, and ultimately lost control in the area of East 88th, left the roadway and struck the two pedestrians as they walked south on the west sidewalk area of Abbott," Buchta wrote. "At the time of the collision it was raining heavily, visibility was diminished and there was standing water on the roadway."

Joshua Kindred, an assistant district attorney in Anchorage, says Graham was arrested on two counts of second-degree murder and one count of DUI. Graham is scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday afternoon.

Editor's note: The road on which the collision occurred has been clarified from initial reports of Dimond Boulevard to Abbott Road, the name the road takes east of its intersection with the New Seward Highway.

Channel 2's Samantha Angaiak contributed information to this story.

Contact Chris Klint

A Fairbanks jury has convicted a man of severely beating the mother of his children.

Edward Parks V was convicted of two kidnapping counts, four counts of felony assault and witness tampering.

Prosecutors say Parks on Dec. 18, 2011, took the woman to a location in south Fairbanks and assaulted her.

They returned to their home and he bound her with belts and kicked and choked her.

Prosecutors say Parks prevented the woman from seeking medical attention until she promised not to tell what had happened.

She was eventually diagnosed with a collapsed lung and broken ribs.

Sentencing is scheduled for February. The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner reports Parks could face a sentence of more than 99 years.

A 50-year-old Kodiak man has been charged with using his car to assault a man with whom he was arguing.

Kodiak police say Boun Pramoth drove his red BMW into the other man just before 10 p.m. Sunday.

The Kodiak Daily Mirror reports police took a call of a fight in front of the Brother Francis Shelter.

Police say Pramoth threatened the other man with a knife and then got into the car and ran into him.

The car ran over the man's leg.

Kodiak Police Chief T.C. Kamai says the other man suffered injuries to his leg, ankle and knee and was taken to Providence Kodiak Island Medical Center.

Bail was set at $10,000 at arraignment Monday in Kodiak District Court.

A Fairbanks couple were rescued from the Tangle Lakes area with minor injuries Monday afternoon by Alaska Air National Guardsmen, after their floatplane flipped while making an emergency landing.

According to a Tuesday statement from Air National Guard spokesperson Kalei Rupp, the 11th Air Force's Rescue Coordination Center received a satellite notification just before 12:45 p.m. of an activated 406 MHz personal locator beacon from the region, about 19 nautical miles west of Paxson.

"Within minutes, the RCC was able to contact family members of the PLB owner and confirmed that he was out flying in that area with his wife during the time the distress signal was transmitted," Rupp wrote.

A forward-deployed HH-60 Pave Hawk helicopter left Eielson Air Force Base to look for the PLB's source, while an HC-130 Hercules search plane was launched from Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson to support the mission.

"The crew onboard the HH-60 made contact with the two victims at 2:44 p.m. and determined they needed transportation to the hospital for non-life threatening injuries," Rupp wrote.

The HH-60 crew delivered the couple to Fairbanks Memorial Hospital at about 4 p.m. Monday, where the extent of their injuries was determined.

Guard officials credit the couple's decision to inform friends and family of their location, as well as their use of a 406 MHz beacon, with contributing to their quick rescue.

"This is a perfect example of the importance of making a plan and letting friends or family know where you are going," said Senior Master Sgt. Robert Carte, the RCC's superintendent. "Because this couple let their family know where they were and had a 406 MHz personal locator beacon with them, we were able to dispatch help within minutes of first receiving the distress signal."

Neither Rupp nor National Transportation Safety Board spokesperson Clint Johnson immediately responded to calls requesting comment on the incident Tuesday afternoon.

Contact Chris Klint