Fairbanks

Welcome to Fairbanks everyone! OK, well maybe not everyone, hopefully some of you will be out on Big Lake tomorrow morning to witness the start of the race, but I'll welcome you here anyway. I'm at the Marriott Spring Hill Suites, which sits right on the river in downtown Fairbanks, where the Iron Dog racers will finish the race. Fairbanks, you say -- isn't it cold there? Well, thankfully for me, the weather is nothing like what it was last week when Sports guy Charlie Sokaitis was up here for the Yukon Quest (Think constant 40 below zero)

Saturday, Aug. 16, 2008 A busy Fairbanks street got caught in the crossfire of feuding gang members Friday. Fairbanks police say at least three vehicles began shooting at each other Friday afternoon catching two bystander vehicles in the crossfire and forcing a bicyclist to dive for cover. Police say one of the vehicles that was hit had a two-month-old baby in the back seat. Officers took seven people in for questioning and are still searching for others.

by The Associated Press Monday, March 1, 2010 FAIRBANKS, Alaska -- A committee in Fairbanks will meet to review whether fluoride in local drinking water is a good idea. The city of Fairbanks has been putting fluoride in the public water supply for 50 years but critics have frequently complained to city council members about its long-term health effects. Supporters said fluoride in drinking water is a time-tested way to combat tooth decay. Councilman Jerry Cleworth says city leaders aren't sure who to believe.

by The Associated Press Saturday, February 20, 2010 FAIRBANKS, Alaska -- An agreement has been reached on a new route for railroad tracks in Fairbanks, the latest step in the long process to reroute the railroad. The Fairbanks News-Miner reports that the Alaska Railroad Corp. and a private railroad safety group agreed on a route that would move the track south toward the Tanana River. Up next, the Fairbanks North Star Borough Assembly will consider asking the state Legislature for $10 million to conduct an environmental impact study.

by The Associated Press Monday, April 5, 2010 FAIRBANKS, Alaska -- The Fairbanks North Star Borough is taking steps to improve a trail popular with skiers, snowmobilers and four-wheelers. The borough is using geotextile fabric and gravel to harden a one-mile section of trail in the Isberg Recreation Area. The area is in the Cripple Creek subdivision 10 miles south of Fairbanks. The condition of the path has deteriorated with increasing ATV traffic and no maintenance.

by The Associated Press Sunday, February 7, 2010 FAIRBANKS, Alaska -- A jury has convicted a Fairbanks businessman of tax evasion following a five-day federal trial. Roger Lee Shoffstall was found guilty of a single count of felony tax evasion after two days of deliberations. The 59-year-old owns Summit Telephone and Telegraph Company of Alaska, which provides rural telephone service north of Fairbanks. Prosecutors presented evidence that Shoffstall failed to pay income taxes between 1996 and 2003.

by The Associated Press Tuesday, March 9, 2010 FAIRBANKS, Alaska -- A Fairbanks police officer has shot and killed a man who pointed a handgun at him. The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner reports the officer early Tuesday morning spotted a vehicle reported stolen and attempted make a stop. Two people were inside. The car pulled over and the driver fled on foot. Deputy Chief Brad Johnson says the passenger tried to run but fell down, pulled a handgun and pointed it at the officer.

Firefighters in Fairbanks were battling two wildfires this afternoon and this evening that have burned hundreds of acres and caused concern across the city. The first fire burned a four-block area south of Fairbanks, near 23rd Avenue and Gillam Street. The AK. Division of of Foresty says it is now under control, but burned some out-buildings. A second fire about 15 miles north of downtown Fairbanks was burning Friday evening at a rapid rate, according to officials. Pete Buist, a spokesman for the Division of Forestry, said "nothing is in imminent danger there have been no official evacuations, but there have been some people who are voluntarily leaving.

by Channel 2 News staff Saturday, April 17, 2010 ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- State troopers say a Fairbanks man wanted for first-degree murder was arrested early Saturday morning in Fairview. Authorities had been searching for David Pfalmer, 26, in connection with the shooting death of Bryan Richardson, 20, outside Ivory Jack's Bar and Restaurant near Fairbanks. Pfalmer has been booked into the Anchorage jail.

by The Associated Press Saturday, July 3, 2010 FAIRBANKS, Alaska -- IMAX has its second screen in Alaska, and Fairbanks film fans are flocking to it. The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner reports that a local multiscreen theater has been selling out of IMAX tickets since Tuesday, when the screen went into operation. The state's first IMAX screen was in Anchorage. The paper says IMAX tickets for adults are $17.25, a $6 premium above the price for shows at regular screens.

The 2013 Alaska track & field championships are wrapping up Saturday, May 18th in Fairbanks.  A couple impressive winners were Wasilla's Peggy Mathis, the girl's 100 meter dash champion with a time of 13.06 seconds.  Colony's Audrey Michaelson claimed the 1600m in a time of 5:10.94.  Also, Dimond's Anastasia Lavern-Tosi taking the discus throw with a launch of 120-10.  For the boy's, Palmer's Connor Looney won the high jump with a...

Alaska State Troopers say “foul play is suspect,” connected to the death of a Minto man Thursday morning in the village about 130 road miles from Fairbanks. A village health worker found 26-year-old Jordan Baker at a residence where Baker stayed the night but did not live there, according to troopers. Alaska State Troopers spokesperson Beth Ipsen says, “at this point, it appears to be an isolated incident and we're waiting on autopsy results to determine the cause of death.” On Thursday, state investigators drove to Minto to collect evidence and Baker's body will be flown to the Medical Examiner's office in Anchorage and testing should be done in the next few days.

On Friday, automotive minds from across the state tested their skills at the University of Alaska Anchorage in the Auto Skills Challenge. The top students from Juneau, Ketchikan, North Pole, Fairbanks, and Anchorage raced against the clock to diagnose and repair vehicles. Each team worked on their own car - all the same model, and all with the same "bugs. " The competition was designed to get young people interested in automotive repair and was sponsored by Ford and Triple A.      “Even though they may not end up in a dealership, it keeps them in the field to where we can keep your car going,” said Don Polich, AAA Automotive Dept.

A Fairbanks-based runner in the Boston Marathon who was close to the scene of two explosions near its finish line Monday says he was “definitely frightened” as the deadly incident -- which killed at least two people and injured 23 -- unfolded. Computer programmer Don Kiely says he crossed the finish line about half an hour before the blasts. He was about two blocks away from the point where the explosions occurred early Monday afternoon. “And just all of a sudden, just really this super-loud explosion -- and we all turned around and there was this huge cloud of smoke, billowing and real close to the area of the finish line,” Kiely said.

A two vehicle head-on crash Sunday afternoon took the lives of a Palmer man and a Fairbanks man on the Parks Highway, according to Alaska State Troopers. 57-year-old Roy K. Ponder, of Fairbanks, and 57-year-old David A. Kincaid, of Palmer, were killed when their vehicles crashed near mile 186.6 on the Parks Highway shortly before 4 p.m. Sunday. Troopers said Ponder was driving a Ford F450 truck with a trailer in tow with snowmachines heading northbound and Kincaid heading southbound in a Ford 550 truck with a trailer hauling a Ford 150. Both drivers were declared dead at the scene by emergency responders that came from Cantwell and Trapper Creek.

Billy Koitzsch of Anchorage completed a 2,000 mile journey from Knik to Nome to Fairbanks this past Friday, covering the Iron Dog trail on a fat tire bike.  Koitzsch, 40, took about 40 days to finish his trip across some of Alaska's most demanding and varied terrain.  Koitzsch is believed to be the first cyclist to traverse the Iron Dog trail solo.  He began his trip February 21st, traveled the southern route of the Iditarod to Nome,...

Three new military-grade tactical vehicles are being distributed to Alaska State Troopers in Southcentral Alaska and Fairbanks. AST spokesperson Beth Ipsen says the tactical response vehicles are intended for “use during situations involving a higher-than-normal degree of danger to the public or responding officers.” Troopers have been looking into acquiring tactical vehicles of their own for about 10 years, especially since the June...

Alaska State Troopers have identified a 15-year-old boy who died early Wednesday at a Fairbanks home in a possible electrical accident involving a dryer. According to AST spokesperson Beth Ipsen, Joseph Hines died at a home on Lakeview Terrace in Fairbanks, to which troopers were called at about 1 a.m. "The boy was found dead by a family member -- he was home alone," Ipsen said. While AST spokesperson Megan Peters says investigators believe Hines was electrocuted when he reached behind a dryer and touched an unprotected electrical source, Ipsen says he may have also asphyxiated based on the position he was found in. A determination won't be made on Hines' cause of death until his body undergoes an autopsy.

The Alaska State Troopers are now accepting applications for the first AST Citizen Academy in Fairbanks. The AST Citizen Academy Program promotes and enhances the public's understanding and awareness of the Troopers' role in the community. The AST program has seen success in the Mat-Su Valley and just started a session in Soldotna. Fairbanks will become the third Alaskan community to have an AST Citizen Academy. Advanced registration is required for the AST Citizen Academy. Applicants must be at least 18-years old and live in Alaska.

A cow moose was shot and killed in a Fairbanks residential neighborhood Saturday afternoon after Alaska State Troopers say it trampled a woman, inflicting minor injuries. A Tuesday AST dispatch says the woman -- 53-year-old Catherine Beck -- called Alaska Wildlife Troopers at about 1 p.m. Saturday to report she had been trampled at her home, on Palo Verde Avenue in an area north of Fairbanks International Airport. According to AST spokesperson Beth Ipsen, Beck had stepped out of her home and was headed to her car when the agitated moose approached her. “She left her house and it was right there in her yard, so it attacked her,” Ipsen said.