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A federal appeals court last week reversed a decision that had impeded construction of a road through the Izembek National Wildlife Refuge. The proposed road would stretch 11 miles through the wildlife refuge on the Alaska Peninsula, connecting the communities of King Cove and Cold Bay. The project has been held up in the courts since 2020, when a judge blocked a land exchange necessary for the road’s construction. But the court decided last Wednesday to reverse that judge’s decision that prevented the swap between King Cove’s Native corporation and the federal government. Supporters of the road say it will save lives. The small airport in King Cove is closed due to weather around 100 days a year, on average. Advocates say connecting King Cove to the much larger airport in Cold Bay would make emergency medical care more accessible for residents of the small community in the Aleutians East Borough.

OptimERA Inc. is currently working with Trident Seafoods to provide subsidized internet connectivity to employees from Ukraine. While the program started in Akutan, OptimERA is looking to expand to employers in Unalaska. KUCB talked with Emmett Fitch, CEO of OptimERA, Inc.

Historians announced Thursday that they’ve uncovered evidence that key details about the teenager who designed Alaska’s state flag have been wrong for more than a century.Benny Benson, a Seward boarding school resident, won the state’s flag design contest in 1927. But he was a year older than previously thought, according to Michael iqyax̂ Livingston, who works for the Aleutian Pribilof Islands Association’s community health services.“I've been working for several years with several other family tree researchers focused on Benny Benson's cultural heritage,” Livingston said. “And in the process of that research, we found what we believe were errors in his date of birth and his mother's maiden name.”

For millions of years, birds lived nearly predator free in the Aleutian Islands. The volcanic archipelago stretches westward for 1,200 miles from the Alaska Peninsula, dotting a border between the North Pacific Ocean and Bering Sea. Hundreds of bird species thrived here. But then came the rats. When a Japanese boat sank in the Western Aleutians around 1780, stowaway rats jumped ship and made it to one of the islands, wreaking havoc on the ecosystem.

Will Rodgers has stepped down from his position as interim CEO at Unalaska’s main clinic; a group of scientists wants to eradicate all rats from the Aleutians; and the United States and Russia are continuing to work together on at least one issue as tensions continue to simmer between the two countries.

Unangam Tunuu [Unangax̂ language] classes are available at the University of Alaska for the first time in two decades. Instructors Haliehana Stepetin and Moses Dirks are using traditional methods as a framework for teaching this course.

The governor’s task force to review the effect of bycatch in Alaska fisheries is working to organize against its tight timeline for submitting recommendations to state and federal policymakers. It also has to balance commercial and subsistence interests.

The Qawalangin Tribe has partnered with Aleutian Housing Authority, the City of Unalaska and other local donors to open Unalaska's first official food bank. While items like frozen meat and fish aren't very common at food banks, the Tribe is making an effort to have a variety of nutrient dense and traditional foods available to the community.

Fishermen in the Bering Sea reported spotting at least two North Pacific right whales about 80 miles from Unalaska earlier this month. Scientists say it's likely the first visual evidence of the highly endangered whales feeding in the Bering Sea in winter, and they’re urging fishing boats in the area to exercise caution.

The Museum of the Aleutians’ is working on a project Family Mosaics: Reconnecting family histories and genealogies of Unangan People of the Commander Islands and the indigenous people of south-western Alaska, funded through the National Park Service Shared Beringian Heritage Program.