A 64-year-old man was charged with assault after arresting officers say he brandished a shotgun and put his neighbors in fear of their lives.

Alaska State Troopers say James Juliussen of Eagle River was arrested near his cabin in the Susitna Valley.

Troopers say Juliussen late Friday night was upset because a woman and children were shooting fireworks off a community dock on the Kashwitna River north of Willow.

Troopers spokeswoman Beth Ipsen says Juliussen carried a shotgun and told them "enough is enough with the fireworks."

The Anchorage Daily News reports he is charged with third-degree assault.

Alaska State Troopers say they have seized home-brewed alcohol and marijuana at a home in Ambler.

Troopers say they acted on a tip Friday and obtained a search warrant for the home.

Spokeswoman Beth Ipsen tells the Anchorage Daily News that investigators found at least of gallon of the home-brewed alcohol and a small marijuana growing operation.

Two Ambler residents, 42-year-old Charles Penn, and 29-year-old Denise Williams, were charged with manufacturing alcohol in a local option area and jailed in Kotzebue.

Ambler is on the Kobuk River about 138 miles northeast of Kotzebue.

The Southeast Alaska community of Kake is trying to save its historic Keku Cannery.

The cannery was named one of the nation's most endangered historic places earlier this year by the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Gary Williams, the executive director of the Organized Village of Kake, fears the building will collapse. He says if it comes down, it would be a disaster, with asbestos getting into clam beds and affecting subsistence fishing.

The Juneau Empire reports the tribe has worked with the Alaska State Historic Preservation Office and an engineering firm to get a structural assessment of the building.

At a minimum Williams hopes to see the building stabilized.

The cannery closed more than 30 years ago and is filled with old machinery and vehicles.

Proposed new regulations would require abortion providers to certify that women suffered from certain life-threatening conditions that made the abortion medically necessary.

The proposed change comes just months after new regulations took effect for abortion payment conditions. The state Department of Health and Social Services last year backed off language that critics said would have further restricted the definition of a "medically necessary" abortion for purpose of payment under the Medicaid program. Current regulations require an abortion provider to certify that the abortion was merely medically necessary.

The new proposal contains language similar to a bill proposed during the last legislative session, which sought to define "medically necessary."

A provider would have to certify an abortion was medically necessary to avoid serious risk to the physical health of a woman.

The Kodiak Island Borough's longtime mayor is not seeking re-election.

Mayor Jerome Selby tells the Kodiak Daily Mirror that 24 years in the position is enough and he let pass last week's deadline for registering for municipal office.

Selby over nearly a quarter of a century helped develop the Kodiak Fisheries Research Center on Near Island and oversaw, fishing legislation, replacement of local schools, a new hospital and an extended care facility.

Municipal elections are scheduled for Oct. 1 and unless there's a write-in candidate, the next Kodiak Borough mayor will be former Assemblyman Jerrol Friend. He's running unopposed for the three-year term.

Assembly and school board seats are also on the ballot.

Members of air forces from Japan and South Korea are participating with U.S. counterparts in military combat training at Eielson Air Force Base outside Fairbanks.

The two-week exercises in the Delta Junction area run through Friday.

Lt. Col. Tom Pagano tells the Fairbanks Daily News-Minor that it's the first time Japanese and South Korea air forces have jointly trained in Alaska or anywhere. Pagano is commander of the 353rd Combat Training Squadron that plans the Red Flag Alaska training exercise.

Two other military exercises scheduled earlier this year in Alaska were canceled because of budget cuts.

Pagano says that seeing two major U. S. allies practicing together is likely to be a highlight of this month's exercises, which began Aug. 9.

Cool weather and intermittent rain is easing fire conditions in interior Alaska.

The Alaska Interagency Coordination Center says fire engines patrolling the Richardson Highway for flames from the Mississippi Fire have been released.

The human-caused fire began May 30. As of Monday it had burned 118 square miles and last week sent smoke into Delta Junction about 100 miles south of Fairbanks.

Cooler weather is expected to continue over several days.

Firefighters have completed burnouts west of the Whitestone Farms community. Bulldozers Monday were assigned to improve a winter road as other firefighters broke down hoses laid down to protect structures.

The center says the temporary flight restriction has been lifted over the 136-square-mile Stuart Creek 2 fire on military training land 25 miles east of North Pole.

For the past nine days, nearly 7,000 anglers have been scouring Resurrection Bay for a $10,000 salmon. Rich Taro found it and won Seward's 58th Silver Salmon Derby.

"I knew it was big when I caught it," Taro said laughing. "After I found out it may be a winner, well then it was time for a round of drinks."

The salmon Taro caught turned out to be the third largest salmon ever reeled in at the derby, tipping the scale at 21.25 lbs. Taro may have caught the biggest, but according to the Seward Chamber of Commerce, the coho salmon are getting bigger.

Over the past three years both the total number of pounds of salmon caught in the derby and the average size of the fish have increased dramtically. This year there were 7,000 pounds of additionally caught salmon compared to 2012, and the average size of the salmon was almost one pound heavier.

"Coho are really heavily reliant on the ocean conditions that are taking place in the summer," Dept. Fish and Game Biologist Dan Bosch said. "The fish that went to the ocean last year obviously had some really good conditions. I would say it's warmer conditions but I don't know for sure."

Dan Bosch says two factors limit coho salmon: the conditions of when the smolt first arrive in the ocean and if they can survive their first winter.

To secure the longevity of the derby, Seward's Chamber of Commerce makes an annual investment on coho salmon smolt. At the Trail Lakes Hatchery 30 miles north of Seward, it costs about 50 cents per salmon smolt. This year the Chamber bought 50,000 smolt or $25,000 worth.

"If you were to remove those enhanced salmon from the system, the amount of fish returning to resurrection bay would be reduced and the derby would be affected dramatically," Trail Lakes Hatchery's Gary Fandrei said.

The Chamber says the bigger the fish, the larger the derby crowd and with the way things are going now, next year Seward could reel in a big return on both.

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Anchorage police are searching for a man who has felony warrants for first-degree burglary and sexual assault.

27-year-old Jonathan William Nelson has been accused of assaulting someone he knew and not wanted in connection with the armed sexual assaults in July, according to police public information officer Anita Shell.

Nelson is described as 6' tall, 200 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes. Police say he has full-sleeve tattoos on both arms.

If you have information on his whereabouts, then call police at 786-8900 or to remain anonymous, then call Crime Stoppers at 561-STOP.

Contact Neil Torquiano

If you prefer to use maple almond or chocolate hazelnut butter, then check the brand for a food recall.

State health officials say the Justin's brand is recalling certain lots of maple almond or chocolate hazelnut butter for possible metallic fragments.

"While no metal has been found in individual jars, Justin's initiated this voluntary recall out of caution," Kimberly Stryker, FSS Manager with the State Dept. of Health and Social Services, said in a statement.

The affected products were in 16 oz glass jars with the "Best By" date located on the label of the jar between the UPC bar code and the nutrition facts panel.

The products were sold in Alaska and there were not illnesses or injuries reported in Alaska or elsewhere,

Customers with concerns can contact the company at 303-449-9559 or comments@justins.com, or visit www.justins.com for more information.

Contact Neil Torquiano

The start of the new school year is kicking off all over the state, but for teachers in rural Alaska, research shows the odds are high they might not come back after one year.   

It's the million dollar question in Alaska's rural education. How do you keep teachers teaching in village schools with not so ideal situations?  

The reasons most want to leave has nothing to do with the job, according to a study by the Center for Alaska Education Policy Research at the University of Alaska Anchorage.

For 64% of Alaska's newest teaching crop, coming to Alaska is an experience of a lifetime.

"A lot of the folks come out for the Alaska adventure," said Brad Allen, the superintendent of the Kuspuk School District.

The Yupiit and Kuspuk school districts see multiple certified staff leave every school year, compared to urban districts in the state.   

"We find when a new teacher in their first year they are really struggling with the curriculum, with getting to know the students, getting to know the area," said Kim Langton, the superintendent of the Yupiit School District. "It's difficult for various reasons to retain our best teachers over a longer period of time."

"If they are not married, it's looking for other opportunities in terms of the spouse or dating," said Allen.

"We have districts where 20, 30, even 50% of the teachers are leaving every year," said Diane Hirshberg, who is the director of the Center for Alaska Education Policy Research and says those numbers are tough to fill in remote parts of the Alaska.

She says the data shows when you don't have a consistent teacher, then you get no investment from the community, which also makes it hard to convince new teachers to stick around. 

"The students and the parents don't have faith that those teachers are coming back again, the year after, you have a disconnect," said Hirshberg. "You got teachers who are going to be frustrated, because then they see parents and students as not being concerned about school."

The Kuspuk School District is trying to change the turnover rate by offering their teachers a competitive pay scale, more professional development training and longevity awards.

"Having a staff member get to know the kids, the community, gets to know the school district, our curriculum, everything with it and that level of consistency is crucial," said Allen.

Little things rural districts say could improve classrooms with renewed efforts to keep them around in Alaska's schools long enough to make an impact on Alaska's students. 

"If we can keep two, three and more years, we really see an upswing in their ability to reach and teach our children," said Langton.

There are several state programs that are designed to recruit and get people teacher certified. However, the Center for Alaska Education Policy Research says the problem remains a funding issue and not enough people to fill the number of teachers who leave annually. 

To read the brief on 2013 Alaska Educator Supply, Demand and Turnover, click here.

Contact Corey Allen-Young

Anchorage police made nearly three dozen DUI arrests over the first weekend since announcing a renewed focus on impaired driving, as enhanced patrols continue in town to spot distracted drivers.

In a Monday statement, Anchorage Police Department spokesperson Jennifer Castro says police arrested 34 people for driving under the influence from Thursday through Sunday, with five additional officers on patrol through the Labor Day weekend funded by a grant through the Alaska Highway Safety Office. That total compares to 21 DUI arrests made during the previous weekend.

APD also had additional backup in the form of citizens from the APD Citizens Academy Alumni Association, who have been staffing a volunteer program announced at a Friday rally to spot impaired motorists and inform officers of their locations.

"Having an extra set of eyes for Anchorage Patrol Officers proved to be valuable; dispatch received approximately 16 calls of suspicious impaired drivers and an additional 15 calls related to other problems or disturbances observed by Alumni volunteer patrols," Castro wrote. "One volunteer call led police to a DUI arrest on Friday evening."

APD spokesperson Anita Shell says the Alumni volunteers have been deployed in pairs during nightly shifts, with one person driving and another person spotting dangerous activity, to avoid adding distracted drivers to local streets.

"We had 40 people out, so two per car -- 20 additional cars," Shell said.

The weekend rise in DUI arrests was marred by a fatal car crash in Midtown early Saturday, in which 34-year-old Stephen Christopher Kenny died when his Ford F-150 pickup truck went up an embankment and crashed through a wooden fence. Police believe alcohol was involved in the crash.

"Enforcement is a big piece but it's not the only piece," APD Chief Mark Mew said. "There's prevention, there's education, there's treatment, there are a lot of other things that would go into a holistic solution to this problem. The police department right now is looking at what it can do fast and what we can do fast is arrest people."

Chief Mew says it's a start and there's room for improvement but the big thing is finding a solution to Anchorage's drunk driving problem.

"Certainly, the police have a responsibility there, but individuals have ultimate responsibility for their behavior and the responsibility goes to them," Chief Mew said. "I think the community has the responsibility to take a look at the alcohol consumption in this town and decide if that's what they feel is acceptable. We all have a piece of this."

Editor's Note: KTUU's Garrett Turner contributed to this story.

Contact Chris Klint

Dramatic security improvements are beginning to take shape for the Anchorage School District.

On Monday, school board members authorized $6.4 million in state funds to focus on several key areas of concern.

"We're working on alarm issues, internal communication issues, surveillance issues and front door control issues," said ASD Chief Operating Officer Mike Abbott.

The money will buy video surveillance equipment for 16 elementary schools that don't have it, and pay for upgrades to intercom systems in 31 of ASD's buildings.  The entrances to several elementary schools will be remodeled to allow office staff to monitor people trying to enter the school.

"To limit access until the school staff is satisfied there's a visitor they want in their building" said Abbott.

The money will not pay for additional officers or security guards, something parent Amber Craig wants for her daughter's school Mountain View Elementary.

"Always stay prepared - you have to," said Craig.  "Once you forget about it, another incident is going to happen."

Mountain View Elementary is one of the schools in line to get a new front door monitoring system.  Abbott says the security improvements will be implemented by 2014.

"We've assessed our buildings, and identified four areas where we can make significant improvements, that we believe will reduce the likelihood of attacks, reduce the severity of any attacks," said Abbott.

Contact Adam Pinsker

A trail north of Fairbanks has been closed after a bear approached a family picking berries.
   
The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner reports the Table Top Mountain Trail in the White Mountains National recreation Area has been closed. The Bureau of Land Management shuttered the trail about 45 miles northeast of Fairbanks while it investigates.
   
Officials say a large grizzly approached the family several times and wasn't scared away when the father shot several warning shots over the weekend.
   
The family, including two small children, left their camp, but the bear followed them down the trail. Authorities say the bear charged the father, who fired his last two shots at the bear. It's not known if the shots hit the bear. He reported the shooting as required.
   

Hiker Meghan Fluery, a one-year resident of the Anchorage, area says she's seen major changes along a Eklutna Lakeside bike trail near Eklutna Lake since her most recent visit.

"The water's got a lot higher than a couple weeks ago when we were out here," Fleury said. "We were out here I think two or three weekends ago, cause the water was a lot closer to the trail, maybe a foot off the trail."

Fleury isn't alone in noticing the water creeping closer to the popular lakeside path.

Alexander Roberts, the shopkeeper of Lifetime Adventures, which is a business that rents kayaks and bicycles to lake visitors, says the lake's water level is higher than normal.

Roberts says it's a pattern he has observed over the last two summers, including parts of the bike trail near mile marker 3 and mile marker 6.5, which have been washing away. Roberts says trail goers are getting off their bicycles to cross the water and it can be dangerous if people get stuck in during a current.

Roberts says the recent rainfall over the last two weeks mixed with the annual glacial melt are both contributing factors and if the water continues to wash away parts of the trail, it will be closed.

Roberts says if the trail is going to close, it will likely happen in September.

"If they're not wearing proper shoes or something like that [people] end up having to turn around," Roberts said. "Most of the people who come out here with their bikes are prepared and have good shoes where they can trudge through water and things like that."

Contact Samantha Angaiak

Residents along Anchorage's Campbell Creek area may wonder why the waterway carries an orange tint.

On Tuesday afternoon, a barrel inside of a Pacific Alaska Freightways truck tipped and began leaking on 68th Avenue near the Seward Highway.

An orange mulch dye made from woodchips was inside the barrel, according to the Anchorage Fire Department.

"It is a very harmless substance, we actually did several things when we got a location, we got the shipping papers from the driver, we actually checked the papers and the placarding that was on the barrel and then we accessed the materials safety data sheet," AFD Capt. Mark Stephens said. "We notified the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation, they've been notified of the incident and what we're doing now is basically solution through dilution."

AFD says the dye is not harmful to the environment and the heavy rains carried the dye quickly.

"It was a very visible color and it looked a lot bigger than it was but it was only 55 gallons and because of the immense amount of rainfall that we've had, it expanded," Capt. Mark Stephens said. "We did contemplate blocking the storm drains, but we wouldn't have been able to stop it, it would have just diverted it to other storm drains."

The fire department cleaned the spill up from the streets, but residents have been reporting that Campbell Creek remains orange in some areas.

Editor's Note: KTUU's Samantha Angaiak contributed to this story.


Contact Neil Torquiano

Bethel Regional High School students will finally get their celebrity visitor after winning a national education campaign earlier this year.

James Harden, an NBA star with the Houston Rockets, will visit the students Thursday, August 29.

Last spring, the Bethel Warriors won a contest called "Future Forward Challenge," by getting more than 60 percent of its seniors to complete their federal student aid paperwork, compared to the 40 percent national average.

Get Schooled, a non-profit organization, held the contest and changed the prize from a celebrity appearance to a Skye session and the Bethel Warriors launched a Twitter campaign.

The non-profit received enough backlash that the Warriors doubled down on celebrity kudos.

In May, Kendrick Lamaar had a Skype session with the students. Lamaar is scheduled to perform at the Alaska State Fair on the same day Harden will visit the students.

Contact Neil Torquiano

The embattled M/V Susitna is heading to the Valley, after a vote by the Mat-Su Borough Assembly to dry-dock the ferry at Port MacKenzie.

"Our mission here is really stemming our losses," said District 4 Assemblyman Steve Colligan.

The vessel has been homeless since Anchorage & Mat-Su officials scuttled a plan to transport cars and passengers from Port MacKenzie to the Port of Anchorage. The deal fell through after Anchorage officials were unable to build a landing for the ship, although the Mat-Su Borough spent several million dollars to build one at Port MacKenzie. 

The Navy paid for construction of the ferry, estimated at nearly $80 million, but borough officials have been footing the bill each month for insurance and operational costs. The ferry has to be run occasionally on a trial basis, with no one on board.

District 3 Assembly member Ron Arvin estimates the borough will save $70,000 per month dry-docking the vessel.

"There will be an outcome that gets that ferry operable," Arvin said. "That's what it was designed for -- Upper Cook Inlet operations, year round."

The borough had other options including scrapping the ship, for which it would have gained $300,000. There have also been inquiries into buying the Susitna.

"Really four interested parties, who from the information we gathered have the financial wherewithall to do it, at the prices they are proposing," said Borough Manager John Moosey.

Tuesday's decision comes with some risk. The Sustina can only be dry-docked at high tide, since doing so at any other time risks serious damage to the vessel.

"The biggest risk is we do nothing, like has been done since we've taken ownership, costing the taxpayers here in the borough about a million dollars a year," Arvin said.

The ferry is currently ported in Ketchikan, where it was built.

Contact Adam Pinsker

More than 50,000 Anchorage School District students are returning to school on a wet Wednesday, with officials welcoming kids back from the summer and commuters facing speed limits in school zones.

Schools around the district will once again have flashing lights to mark 20 mph speed zones as students arrive and depart, with the Anchorage Police Department closely monitoring drivers in those areas.

District officials are reminding parents to be sure their children regularly attend school as part of Destination 2020, ASD's initiative to boost school attendance to 90 percent in all schools by 2020.

"Really, the biggest keys are to make sure your kids are here on time every day, because when you miss school you miss out," said Creekside Park Elementary principal Theresa Owens. "And that's a push district-wide but it's the truth -- if you're not here you're not going to learn, so we want kids here every day, ready to go on time and that's going to help kids go miles."

In addition to meeting students again, Owens says the first day of school also involves familiarizing kids with school safety procedures.

"We'll practice our drills," Owens said. "Kids will know what to do in a fire drill; if there is an emergency of any kind, they will know what to do for a lockdown or a stay-put drill. And we do those kind of things on the first day of school, so kids are ready in case something were to happen."

While ASD is focused on education and safety, Superintendent Ed Graff says there's also a lot of anticipation among both students and faculty Wednesday.

"There's not many more days more exciting as the first day as school," Graff said. "So for us to welcome the kids back to see the excitement on their faces, it's a huge buildup -- the anticipation of the first day of school starting and kids getting to meet their teacher and getting to see new friends, new faces. I think that's part of the whole great school experience."

Students in grades 2 through 12 are going to class this week, with kindergarteners and first graders set to begin their school year Aug. 28.

Channel 2's Caslon Hatch contributed information to this story.

Contact Chris Klint

New robocalls from the National Republican Senatorial Committee label Democratic Sen. Mark Begich as someone "whose answer to every problem is tax increases."

Beginning Wednesday, the committee plans to call thousands of Alaska households seen as likely swing voters, asking them if they agree that Begich "isn't working for the middle class."

The committee has seen Alaska as critical to Republicans' efforts to regain control of the U.S. Senate next year.

Begich is in the midst of his first term. Republicans who have announced plans to seek his seat include Joe Miller and Lt. Gov. Mead Treadwell.

Alaska's primary isn't until next August.