Kodiak

EIELSON over @Valdez          53-6 @HOMER over Kenai             20-0 @SITKA over Monroe            29-28 @SOUTH over Bartlett           49-0 @WEST over Chugiak           48-7 @PALMER over Kodiak          49-7 NORTH POLE over @Juneau  46-27

Alaska State Troopers have identified the drivers involved in a fatal three-vehicle wreck near Sutton Wednesday afternoon that temporarily closed the Glenn Highway, as crash victims seek two pets that ran away after the crash. AST spokesperson Megan Peters said the crash occurred around 1 p.m. at Mile 64.5 of the Glenn. Troopers say 34-year-old Michael Jenkins, of Sutton, died as a result of the crash when he was traveling south toward Palmer in a Mercury passenger car that crossed the center line, immediately striking one vehicle and then another that tried to avoid the collision.

Patience paid off for Mary Whitaker.  She waited three hours for a quick picture with pop star Pitbull. “He was really nice.  I got to kiss him on the cheek,” said the Kodiak Island resident.   “It was really nice how he was taking pictures with everyone here.” Pitbull, whose real name is Armando Perez was greeted warmly by most of Kodiak's residents who were the subject of a prank by Boston writer David Thorpe. Last month, Thorpe led a ballot stuffing campaign through Facebook; whichever Wal-Mart got the most “likes” would host Pitbull.  Kodiak's Wal-Mart edged out a Wal-Mart in the musician's hometown of Miami, more than 5,000 miles from Alaska.

The Kodiak Launch Center has been quiet this year. Too quiet. The facility, which is considered one of the finest anywhere in the world for for "small-lift" polar launches, has -- ironically -- not seen a launch since September 2011. Part of the reason is the national economy. Another part of it is the Federal Budget Deficit. Funding for space -- like funding for many government programs in recent years -- has been cut. The operators of Kodiak will tell you that next year, the United States will drop third in the world in total launch activity.

Pitbull is coming to Kodiak sometime in the next few weeks. The 31-year-old rapper was part of a Wal-Mart contest where fans could vote on where to send him for a visit. "You got to understand that I will go anywhere in the world for my fans," Pitbull, real name Armando Cristian Perez, said in a YouTube video released Tuesday. David Thorpe, a writer for the Boston Phoenix weekly newspaper, started an internet campaign to send Pitbull to the furthest, most remote Wal-Mart in the country, and thousands of fans apparently agreed, casting more than 71,000 votes, by "liking" the Facebook page for the Kodiak Wal-Mart.

A Kodiak man turned himself in Tuesday night after allegedly threatening a family member with a knife, then causing thousands of dollars in damage to a local business and leading Alaska State Troopers on a car chase for more than half an hour. Troopers say the sequence of events began with a 911 call at 4:30 a.m. Tuesday from a woman reporting that Teddy J. Lorensen, 33, was at her home on Spruce Cape Road in violation of a domestic-violence protective order. An off-duty trooper responded to the home, where Lorensen had been making threats and damaging property.

It is one of the least visited National Parks in the United States, but what it lacks in tourists -- it makes up for in wonders. Katmai National Park is home to the greatest concentration of protected Brown Bears anywhere in the world. An estimated 2500 of the animals roam the land here and in neighboring McNeilRiver State Park. That is more Brown Bears in this one area than in all of the Lower-48 combined. The park draws 10,000 visitors to Brooks Camp, where 100 of those bears enjoy feasting on the July Salmon Runs.

The uncle of a 28-year-old man shot and killed early Saturday morning at a Kodiak home says his nephew was attempting to rescue a friend who was being held against her will. Alaska State Trooper spokesperson Tim DeSpain says Justen Nixon, 28, was killed at about 3:18 a.m. by multiple gunshot wounds at a tri-plex on Spruce Cape Road . "They were called to the residence to pick up a friend of Justen," said Justen's uncle James Nixon. "The gentleman at the residence did not want the girl to leave.

The Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center says a 2-year-old female brown bear that escaped its Seward Highway facility in April was shot and killed Wednesday evening in nearby Portage. AWCC spokesperson Ethan Tyler says Shaguyik, or "Shaggy," was shot by a renter on private property at about 7 p.m. Wednesday. Center staff subsequently verified the bear's identity with a microchip scan. “This is a tragic end to this event,” said Mike Miller, the center's executive director.

A broad upper trough remains over Alaska with a couple of lows rotating through the trough.  While the primary of these lows near Kodiak is weakening, mostly cloudy conditions are still likely for most of southern Alaska.  Another weak low is moving north toward the SE Panhandle.  To the west of the trough is a weak ridge.  East of the ridge axis over the Bering Sea and far western Alaska, dry, sunny and cool weather is expected today. Rain will fall in SE with highs in the 40s and 50s.  Isolated showers this afternoon will increase to scattered showers tonight in Southcentral.  Highs ranging from the upper 40s in PWS to low 60s. Mostly cloudy and showery with isolated thunderstorms in the Interior will keep highs in the 60s, although Fort Yukon may top out near 70. Expect 40s and 50s along the west coast with mostly sunny skies.