Following the Memorandum of Understanding signed Feb. 9 by Yukon’s Premier Ranj Pillai and Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy, much-needed upgrades on the north Alaska Highway will begin in 2025 and continue until the end of the project in 2027.
In February 2024, the Yukon and Alaska submitted a joint application for U.S. government funding under the Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) discretionary grant program.
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Construction and upgrades will be funded by a $31.125M USD (approximately $42.6M CAD) investment by the State of Alaska through the Statewide Transportation Improvement Program (STIP). This funding will help to ensure safe and efficient travel for Yukoners and Alaskans along a major northern route.
The highway serves as the primary land link between southeast Alaska and the rest of the United States and connects many rural communities in the Yukon including Haines Junction, Destruction Bay, Burwash Landing and Beaver Creek. This roadway also links the traditional territories of the Champagne and Aishihik, Kluane, and White River First Nations.
This agreement commits Alaska’s Department of Transportation and Public Facilities and the Yukon’s Department of Highways and Public Works to work together to restore sections of the Alaska Highway in the Yukon.
The project will target a portion of the north Alaska highway, spanning approximately 222.5 kilometers from Destruction Bay to the Canada/US border. This section faces a range of road maintenance and safety challenges due to thawing permafrost. Restoration efforts will involve resurfacing, repairing the road underneath the surface and culverts. It will also include improvement to the drainage to make sure the road can be used safely at its intended speed.
“This partnership showcases the importance of working in collaboration towards a shared goal for northerners.” Premier Ranj Pillai said in a prepared statement.
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The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (also called the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law) has specific language that allows portions of the Alaska Highway in Canada to compete for and receive US federal grant funding for its reconstruction
In the same statement Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy said, “This success in the STIP application underscores the importance of maintaining a safe and efficient passage for all visitors to the North, and we look forward to an exciting construction season ahead.”
STIP is separate from RAISE funding and work can proceed without the latter.
Minister of Highways and Public works in Yukon, Nils Clarke expressed his gratitude to Alaska for contributing to the project.
The funding allocated under this program will help mitigate the effects of thawing permafrost on this essential roadway. This contribution showcases both our governments’ recognition of the importance of this road link, as well as our commitment to keep the north Alaska highway safe for all road travelers,” said Clarke
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Gretchen Wehmhoff is the publisher of the The Skagway News. She believes Skagway deserves a newspaper. It’s a special place filled with great people.
Nick Mavar, ‘Deadliest Catch’ veteran, dies in Alaska
Nick Mavar, a longtime deckhand on the Discovery Channel reality series Deadliest Catch, has passed away at the age of 59.
According to the Bristol Bay Borough Police Department in Alaska, Mavar died of natural causes on June 13 in a boat yard in Naknek.
He was a fixture on the show, appearing in 98 episodes across 17 seasons, and also featured in several spin-off specials.
Mavar’s family has been informed of his passing.
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Mavar left the show in December 2020 following the discovery of a malignant tumour when his appendix burst while production.
Sig Hansen, the owner of the boat, would eventually face a $1 million lawsuit from him for “failure to have an adequate plan in place” in the case of a medical emergency during the stringent COVID-19 quarantine.
Mavar faced two near-fatal incidents while filming the show. In the first incident, a hook struck him in the face during a storm, breaking his nose. Nine years later, he suffered an appendicitis attack, which was allegedly delayed due to production protocols.
Hansen, his family member, initially sued the hospital but later redirected the lawsuit to Original Productions Inc., the show’s production company, holding them responsible for the delayed care.
After over 15 years on the show, Mavar spent his final days captaining his salmon boat in Bristol Bay. Fans have taken to social media to pay tribute to his memory.
RVs are parked in the lot at Alaska Motor Home, an RV rental company, on Friday, June 14, 2024 in Anchorage. The state announced it was suing the company on Thursday, alleging that the company engaged in deceptive business practices. (Loren Holmes / ADN)
An Anchorage motor home rental business closed abruptly Friday, leaving hundreds of visitors outthousands of dollars and scrambling for replacements at the peak of Alaska’s summer tourism season.
The shutdown came a day after the state filed a civil lawsuit accusing the business, Alaska Motor Home Inc., of deceptive practices.
The state claims the company illegally charged customers for deposits before they picked up RVs, overcharged for taxes, and forged at least one customer’s signature, according to a complaint filed Thursday in Anchorage Superior Court.
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The complaint names owner Peter Harkovitch and his son, Cole Harkovitch, as defendants along with the business.
The company decided to close without intending to refund customers, yet was still accepting reservations and payments through July, the complaint said.
An Alaska Department of Law spokesman said officials believe there are hundreds of victims in the case, given the company’s anticipated fleet of 60 motor homes this summer.
Other RV companies in Anchorage this week reported a deluge of calls from visitors looking for last-minute rentals. Great Alaskan Holidays received about a hundred inquiries from Alaska Motor Home customers, according to marketing director Bob Johnson.
“It started yesterday morning as soon as we opened, and it has only probably within the last hour began to settle down,” Johnson said Friday afternoon, adding all requests have been accommodated.
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At Alaska Motor Home’s offices in South Anchorage on West 64th Avenue near C Street on Friday, two longtime employees expressed sadness over the sudden closing. One cleaned RVs still being returned by customers — the employees said they expected more to be returned through the month — while another said he was shuttling customers to cruise ships or the airport to catch flights home to the Lower 48.
Cole Harkovitch removed his name from the business in May, leaving his father as the sole officer, according to a state corporations database. Cole Harkovitch declined to comment when contacted by the Daily News at the business Friday, saying that “we’re still trying to hash things out. I’m just one of the people caught in the crossfire.”
In a letter to the state Department of Law Wednesday, an attorney representing the company said it was ceasing operations Friday because it was “impossible” to stay in business due to several factors, including the fact that Peter Harkovitch is incarcerated. The letter also references issues with cash reserves, restricted access to computer records, and financing for 20 new motor homes.
“As you are well aware, there will be numerous complaints filed with your office,” attorney Terry Draeger wrote. He was out of state and could not be reached for comment Friday.
Alaska Motor Home, an RV rental company, photographed Friday in Anchorage. (Loren Holmes / ADN)
This is the second time the state has filed suit against Alaska Motor Home on charges of unfair practices. The state sued the company and owners in 2019, citing similar problems.
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A judge in 2021 ordered a $110,000 fine but as of this week, the company had paid only half, state law officials said Friday. Customer complaints about Alaska Motor Home date back at least as far as 2014, when the company accused the Better Business Bureau of harassment, prompting a wave of criticism.
The state’s complaint also accuses 66-year-old Peter Harkovitch of “a history of using Alaska Motor Home’s assets as his personal assets” to pay for his mortgage, credit card bills, pool cleaning services as well as ATM withdrawals in Florida, Las Vegas, Spain, Italy and other locations. His wife was also able to pull money out of the company’s account, according to the state’s complaint.
Peter Harkovitch is currently incarcerated at Pinellas County Jail in Florida, according to online records. He is charged with aggravated battery, threatening a public servant and criminal mischief, according to online records. Harkovitch is accused of assaulting a family member in March, leaving them in critical condition, according to a complaint filed in that case. He is also accused of destroying the apartment where they lived and urinating on a police officer, according to a sworn affidavit.
The complaint against Alaska Motor Home names a number of customers reporting issues ranging from large fees put on credit cards without authorization to contracts promising insurance the company did not offer and charging taxes above the tax rate.
Peter Harkovitch sent a woman from Utah threatening messages and eventually asked for an “unconscionable” amount of more than $20,000 after a damages dispute, the complaint said. The woman was unable to recoup $7,500 in credit card charges because someone forged her signature on two receipts, it said.
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Another customer making his first trip to Alaska this summer told state consumer officials on Tuesday that he prepaid $3,700 for an RV rental and left several messages but no one returned his calls, according to the complaint.
Reynolds Holiman, a Florida engineer who owns property in Homer, said in an interview Friday that he paid $1,840 to drive a new RV from Indiana to Alaska. But in March, Alaska Motor Home put an unauthorized $2,500 deposit on his credit card, Holiman said. Then a few days before the trip was supposed to start in mid-May, he said, the business said the RV was no longer available. He asked for a refund.
Holiman said he had received about $1,400 and the attorney general’s office told him Thursday that the $2,500 deposit was illegal. He said he’s glad to have at least some of the money back.
“Fraud is a strong word, but if they charged me $2,500 they weren’t due yet for a motor home they weren’t paid for yet, that almost sounds like fraud,” Holiman said.
A temporary restraining order requested by the state asks a judge to require Alaska Motor Home to notify customers about the closure, halt new reservations, and preserve company assets and records.
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State officials encourage anyone who made reservations with Alaska Motor Home via credit card to check their eligibility for a chargeback and file a consumer complaint.
FAIRBANKS, Alaska (KTVF) – Among the wide world of vegetables, a popular one to grow in the Alaskan Interior is rhubarb.
Glen Risse, Co-Owner of Risse Greenhouse, said, “Rhubarb is something we enjoy growing, and our customers can’t get enough of. We grow a variety called the Canadian Red, which gives you red stalks and makes your pies much prettier than the green stalks.”
These particular rhubarbs are grown using a technique called separation. “They develop plants underground, and we separate them and put them in pots, and over time, they develop much larger plants,” said Risse.
Separation can be done using a shovel, as long as some of the main stalk is in each half. “We’re going to cut this plant right in half. So, attached to the bottom of this plant are these big, long, brown, underground stems, and what you can do… if you just remove some of the larger leaves so the plant isn’t trying to support a bunch up top, this is a great start right here. You put that in the ground, and it will grow.”
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While rhubarbs can be planted year round, spring is the best season to separate them.
Risse noted that the leaves on rhubarb are poisonous. “It also is a high consumer of a minor element called molybdenum, so if you can, what’s best is to take your leaves and tear them up and put them back around the base of your plants. This will ensure that you have the molybdenum you need for your plants to grow healthy.”
When picking rhubarb, Risse recommends going all the way down to the bottom of the stalk for a clean grab. “You don’t want to snap it off in the middle, because that will give you a place where the plant could rot.”
Seed pots, meanwhile, can be torn out from the bottom as well and reintroduced into the soil.
While the color of the rhubarb doesn’t affect its flavor, many prefer a red tint for aesthetic reasons when making rhubarb pie. “If your rhubarb isn’t as red as you like, you can take and get a little bit of some ash out of your wood stove and sprinkle it around the base of your plant. That potash will change the PH and your rhubarb will turn red,” Risse advised.
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He added, however, that too much ash can kill the plant.
Risse recommends planting individual rhubarb plants about three feet apart, and cutting rhubarb about an inch away from the leaf.
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