Seven out of 10 Alaska adults are overweight or obese, and large percentages of adults in the state have chronic conditions like high blood pressure and high cholesterol that are linked to the leading causes of death, according to a new report released by the state Department of Health.
The 2024 Alaska Chronic Disease Facts summary, published by the department’s Division of Public Health, also showed that 33% of Alaska high school students were overweight or obese.
Large percentages of adults and teenagers are sedentary, according to the report. Among adults, 22% engaged in no regular, and among high school students, 82% failed to have the recommended 60 minutes of daily physical activity, the report said.
The report is based mostly on statistics from 2022, a year in which COVID-19 was the fourth-leading cause of death, after cancer, heart disease and unintentional injuries.
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The annual chronic disease report does not show trends, though trends are monitored by the department in other reporting projects.
“It’s really meant as a snapshot,” said Andrea Fenaughty, a department public health scientist. Additionally, the report is meant to educate the public, she said. “Sometimes people don’t really know what chronic disease is, so it’s a way of getting that message out.”
Along with obesity, common chronic conditions in Alaska listed in the report include high blood pressure, high cholesterol, arthritis and asthma. Chronic diseases to which they are linked – diseases that last for long periods – include heart disease, stroke, cancer, diabetes and liver disease.
In all, seven of the top 10 causes of death in Alaska are linked to chronic conditions, Fenaughty said.
While cancer is Alaska’s leading cause of death, large percentages of Alaskans have missed the recommended screenings to detect the disease and treat it early.
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Among women aged 40 and older, 40% had failed to get a mammogram in the prior two years. Among adults aged 50 to 75, 44% had failed to get recommended colorectal cancer screenings.
Cancer causes about a fifth of Alaska’s deaths, the report said. The most common causes of cancer deaths in Alaska as of 2022 were lung cancer, colorectal cancer, pancreatic cancer and prostate cancer, the report said. The most commonly diagnosed cancers in Alaska, as of 2020, were breast cancer, lung cancer, prostate cancer and colorectal cancer, the report said. Those four cancers represent about half of Alaska’s cancer cases, the report said.
Most of the statistics are similar to those in the chronic disease report issued by the division last year, which reflected data from 2021 and earlier.
However, there were a few signs of improvement.
Among high school students, the report said that 17% regularly use electronic cigarettes, also known as vapes, down from the 26% level in the previous report. Among adults without diabetes, 27% had not gotten the recommended blood-sugar tests within the prior three years, as recommended. That is significantly lower than the 54% who had missed those recommended tests in 2020, as reported in last year’s chronic disease brief.
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The report concludes with some recommendations, including for individuals to make lifestyle changes to ward off the chronic conditions linked to poor health and fatal diseases. To help people do that, the Division of Public Health has a program, Fresh Start, that provides guidance and coaching.
Reflecting Alaska’s aging population, a new part of the Fresh Start program concerns dementia, Fenaughty said.
“Right now, it’s largely focused on awareness of dementia and the fact that there are really lots of things you could do to reduce your chances of getting dementia. People don’t often think of it as being preventable,” she said.
Additionally, the Division of Public Health has a Play Every Day program that encourages fitness and healthy habits among youth.
The report also recommends some community actions and policies to help people pursue healthier lifestyles and habits. In sum, said the report: “Make the healthy choice the easier choice.” Examples of helpful policies listed by the report are tobacco-free workplaces, easier access to safe places to walk and otherwise exercise, good physical education programs at schools and disease-prevention programs at workplaces.
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Reducing chronic health problems through public policy is a long-term effort, Fenaughty said. She pointed to decades of tobacco-cessation policies that led to current smoking rates being much lower than they were in the past.
“It did take a couple of decades, and something like that involves all kinds of people at the community level, at the statewide level, all different partners,” she said.
Alaska study sees mixed results on links between kelp farms and CO2 levels
Published 5:30 am Thursday, June 18, 2026
A study into the amount of CO2 absorbed at a pair of Alaska kelp farms is throwing some cold water on hopes that seaweed could be an answer to climate change.
Alaska kelp farms, which have been viewed as a potential boon for reducing local carbon-dioxide levels, have surprisingly murky effects on atmospheric CO2 removal, according to a new study.
A University of Alaska Fairbanks-led project measured the amount of CO2 that was emitted and absorbed at two kelp farms in the Gulf of Alaska during the 2023-2024 growing season. The outcome was mixed — one farm slightly reduced carbon dioxide in the local environment while the other added more to it.
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Marine carbon dioxide removal (mCDR) has been touted as a potential strategy to reduce atmospheric carbon dioxide levels, with the ocean serving as a sink for human-produced CO2.
The study, which was recently published in the journal Ocean Science, is the first to measure mCDR in Alaska waters. It focused on kelp farms, which can draw down CO2 through the process of photosynthesis.
“It’s easy to jump on the bandwagon that seaweed is going to change the world, but ultimately we want to be honest to the public,” said Amanda Kelley, an associate professor at UAF’s College of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences and a contributor to the study.
“Really, it’s very nuanced, and there are a lot of factors that affect kelp’s ability to do that.”
Josianne Haag, who led the project as a UAF doctoral student, installed sensors both inside and outside kelp farms in Windy Bay near Cordova and Kalsin Bay on Kodiak Island. From seeding to harvest, hourly data was collected on ocean chemistry, temperature, salinity and oxygen levels.
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The two sites had numerous differences, including the type of seaweed being planted, the timing of their growing seasons and the size of the farms. Also, Windy Bay’s tides are more extreme than Kalsin Bay’s.
The results were striking and varied. The farms flipped between absorbing and releasing carbon dioxide depending on the amount of sunlight and the time of day. Extreme low tides affected CO2 levels by flushing groundwater into the area, briefly raising carbon dioxide levels.
A film of marine fauna grew on some of the farm equipment in Kalsin Bay, leading to a burst of carbon dioxide production through their respiration.
Overall, the Windy Bay farm slightly reduced nearby atmospheric marine carbon dioxide levels while the Kalsin Bay farm boosted them. Measurements will continue at the farms for at least two more years, but the first season revealed that a kelp farm’s recipe for carbon intake and output is surprising and complex.
“It’s really not doing much in either direction,” Haag said. “The farms aren’t necessarily harming anything, but we shouldn’t be blowing out of proportion that they’re going to save us from climate change.”
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The study was part of the Mariculture Research and Restoration Consortium project, which is an ongoing effort to look at the impacts and benefits of mariculture in Alaska. Mar ReCon research is funded by the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Trustee Council.
By Alaska Division of Forestry & Fire Protectionon
At approximately 7:30 p.m. Wednesday evening, a fire was reported off Healy Spur Road. The Division of Forestry & Fire Protection, along with the Tri-Valley Volunteer Fire Department and Anderson Fire Department, responded to the Gagnon Coal Seam Fire (#206).
Estimated at 3 acres, the fire was burning in grass with approximately 50% of the perimeter actively burning. A five person Initial Attack squad, helicopter, and engine responded. Light rain was reported at the incident upon arrival.
There are no structures threatened, and there are no evacuations in place. This will be the last update on this incident, unless conditions change.
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This map shows the location of the Gagnon Coal Seam Fire (#206) located on the Healy Spur Road east of Usibelli on Wednesday, June 17, 2026. Click on the image to download a PDF type file to enlarge or print.
‹ DFFP is responding to the Bulchitna Fire in the Fish Lakes area of the Yentna River
Categories: Active Wildland Fire, Alaska DNR – Division of Forestry & Fire Protection (DFFP)
Tags: 2026 Alaska Fire Season, coal seam, DFFP Northern Region, Gagnon Coal Seam Fire
Anchorage police shot and killed a shoplifting suspect, who also allegedly shot two officers, during an attempted arrest at a Walmart on the city’s southside late Tuesday.
That’s according to Anchorage Police Chief Sean Case, who shared preliminary details of the incident in a press conference with news media Wednesday morning.
One officer remained hospitalized in stable condition Wednesday after the shoplifting suspect shot him in the lower body, Case said. Another officer was shot in the chest, but protective armor stopped the shots, the police chief said.
“We almost lost an officer last night, probably two, at what took place,” Case said. “This went from a simple misdemeanor arrest to a very violent act at the snap of a finger in close quarters.”
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Case described a chaotic struggle between the man – whose name police have not yet released – and three officers responding to a reported shoplifting at the Walmart store on the Old Seward Highway near Dimond Boulevard at about 10:25 p.m. Tuesday.
Walmart staff had stopped the man and brought him to a loss prevention office at the store, because they believed he had some stolen merchandise that was hidden on his person, Case said. The man was sitting in the office with Walmart employees when officers arrived, Case said.
In the small room, the officers were getting some basic information when the man tried to flee, Case said.
“The three officers and the suspect went down to the ground,” Case said. “During the struggle, the suspect fired rounds at one of the officers that hit him twice in the lower body. The suspect then fired some additional rounds that struck another officer in the chest. That round was stopped by a ballistic plate in his vest.”
Wesley Early
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Alaska Public Media
Anchorage Police Chief Sean Case discusses a police shooting with news media on June 17, 2026. The shooting occurred at a Walmart near Dimond Boulevard the night before.
Case said officers were unaware the man had a gun on him until he began firing.
The officer struck in the chest returned fire, killing the man, Case said.
“The officer that was struck in the lower body was immediately transported to a local hospital,” he said. “The other two officers that were in the room also sustained injuries, and they went to the hospital later and were cleared.”
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Case said the shooting was contained to the loss prevention office and did not spill out into the rest of the store.
Calls to Walmart went unanswered Wednesday morning. An Anchorage Reddit user who said they were at the store described employees rushing shoppers out after the shooting.
The store remained closed Wednesday as yellow tape blocked the entrance and investigators appeared to be inside analyzing the scene.
Under Anchorage Police Department policy, the names of the officers involved in the incident will be released after 72 hours. Case said the officers were part of the department’s Patrol Division.
This is the third fatal police shooting in Anchorage so far in 2026 and the fifth police shooting overall. Case said the city has seen “too much gun violence” in recent months and that the community needs to come together to address solutions.
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“The Anchorage Police Department is going to keep these conversations going even if these conversations lead to criticism on how we do and conduct our business,” Case said. “We are open for all the conversations, so that we can move forward as a community to see some of these numbers go down.”
