Alaska
Muskox near Nome homes raise safety concerns
As muskox migrate into Nome city limits, the community finds itself increasingly concerned about safety implications arising from their presence.
Muskox have been spotted in various areas around the community, including the elementary school, between houses during early hours and in Icy View neighborhoods. Muskox have been reported to kill or antagonize animals and continue to prevent visitors at the cemetery due to absence of fencing.
Muskox disappeared in Alaska by the beginning of the 1900s but were bred in the Bering Strait Region in the 1970s. According to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, the population has grown from 750 muskox in the 1970s to more than 4,000 today.
This year, the bag limit in the 22C game management unit is offering 30 permits for the inner and outer Nome areas. The classified Tier II hunt increased from nine permits to 30 permits in 2023. Sarah Germain, a wildlife biologist with Fish and Game, said this should help control the muskox population in town.
“Hopefully, now that there’s a cow season, folks may be encouraged to harvest a muskox in the fall time in the month of August, September and October when there is still muskox in and around town,” Germain said. “And we’ll have to assess and see if that does help the nuisance muskox situation.”
Germain said muskox have been coming into town since 2007 and said that the change in distribution is unclear.
“Since that time, we’ve periodically gotten calls about dog and human conflicts with muskox,” she said. “I don’t really know that I’d say that it’s increased over time.”
She said residents have used tactics to help deter the animals off personal property, and some are more effective than others.
“Fish and Game staff have learned a lot about getting muskox out of an area through time, but it seems like you could yell, you could try to use sirens, there’s water guns,” she said. “Folks have tried various things, but all those things are temporary compared to a fence.”
In December, state Court Services Officer Curtis Worland was killed by a muskox he was trying to haze off his property’s dog lot near Nome.
Sarah Swartz, a Nome resident since 2006, remembers when she first moved to Nome and recalls driving down Beam Road to view muskox, but a personal encounter six years later has changed her perspective forever.
“Back in 2012, my dog, in that short time of folding my laundry, he did get gored,” Swartz said. “And that was very, very traumatizing because this big animal who had just attacked my dog was angry and he wouldn’t move. And I couldn’t find my dogs.”
The increasing presence of muskox in town prompted Swartz to adapt her daily routines around muskox, specifically around her home. She said she goes outside every morning to make sure there are no muskox hiding, so she can safely leave her house.
Fish and Game advises residents living in muskox country to clear brush around their homes to improve visibility and reduce potential encounters with muskox. But Swartz said not all Nome residents have the financial means or tools to clear brush or build a fence.
“That takes a tremendous amount of time and money because of resources and stuff that I have to use,” she said. “I really don’t feel like we should be paying for it.”
Swartz said she can’t find a management plan for muskox in the Seward Peninsula, but has found plans for other Arctic regions, including Greenland. She said there’s enough land in the region for the muskox to be moved and recommends a muskox farm.
“It’d be great for tourism, and it would be safer for the community and everybody else,” Swartz said. “We could actually get to a point where we could have a higher population and end up having some of those animals harvested for food and it can go to communities in need.”
Nome police didn’t immediately answer a request for comment Friday.
Germain said that Fish and Game will be performing a muskox survey around the Seward Peninsula next spring that will assess the results of the new bag and cow limits. Limits will be reevaluated for the next hunting season based on those results.
Alaska
Federal funds will help DOT study wildlife crashes on Glenn Highway
New federal funds will help Alaska’s Department of Transportation develop a plan to reduce vehicle collisions with wildlife on one of the state’s busiest highways.
The U.S. Transportation Department gave the state a $626,659 grant in December to conduct a wildlife-vehicle collision study along the Glenn Highway corridor stretching between Anchorage’s Airport Heights neighborhood to the Glenn-Parks Highway interchange.
Over 30,000 residents drive the highway each way daily.
Mark Eisenman, the Anchorage area planner for the department, hopes the study will help generate new ideas to reduce wildlife crashes on the Glenn Highway.
“That’s one of the things we’re hoping to get out of this is to also have the study look at what’s been done, not just nationwide, but maybe worldwide,” Eisenman said. “Maybe where the best spot for a wildlife crossing would be, or is a wildlife crossing even the right mitigation strategy for these crashes?”
Eisenman said the most common wildlife collisions are with moose. There were nine fatal moose-vehicle crashes on the highway between 2018 and 2023. DOT estimates Alaska experiences about 765 animal-vehicle collisions annually.
In the late 1980s, DOT lengthened and raised a downtown Anchorage bridge to allow moose and wildlife to pass underneath, instead of on the roadway. But Eisenman said it wasn’t built tall enough for the moose to comfortably pass through, so many avoid it.
DOT also installed fencing along high-risk areas of the highway in an effort to prevent moose from traveling onto the highway.
Moose typically die in collisions, he said, and can also cause significant damage to vehicles. There are several signs along the Glenn Highway that tally fatal moose collisions, and he said they’re the primary signal to drivers to watch for wildlife.
“The big thing is, the Glenn Highway is 65 (miles per hour) for most of that stretch, and reaction time to stop when you’re going that fast for an animal jumping onto the road is almost impossible to avoid,” he said.
The city estimates 1,600 moose live in the Anchorage Bowl.
Alaska
Flight attendant sacked for twerking on the job: ‘What’s wrong with a little twerk before work’
They deemed the stunt not-safe-for-twerk.
An Alaska Airlines flight attendant who was sacked for twerking on camera has created a GoFundMe to support her while she seeks a new berth.
The crewmember, named Nelle Diala, had filmed the viral booty-shaking TikTok video on the plane while waiting two hours for the captain to arrive, A View From the Wing reported.
She captioned the clip, which also blew up on Instagram, “ghetto bih till i D-I-E, don’t let the uniform fool you.”
Diala was reportedly doing a victory dance to celebrate the end of her new hire probationary period.
Unfortunately, her jubilation was short-lived as Alaska Airlines nipped her employment in the bum just six months into her contract.
The fanny-wagging flight attendant feels that she didn’t do anything wrong.
Diala has since reposted the twerking clip with the new caption: “Can’t even be yourself anymore, without the world being so sensitive. What’s wrong with a little twerk before work, people act like they never did that before.”
The new footage was hashtagged #discriminationisreal.
The disgraced stewardess even set up a GoFundMe page to help support the so-called “wrongfully fired” flight attendant until she can land a new flight attendant gig.
“I never thought a single moment would cost me everything,” wrote the ex-crewmember. “Losing my job was devastating.”
She claimed that the gig had allowed her to meet new people and see the world, among other perks.
While air hostessing was ostensibly a “dream job,” Diala admitted that she used the income to help fund her “blossoming lingerie and dessert businesses,” which she runs under the Instagram handles @cakezncake (which doesn’t appear to have any content?) and @figure8.lingerie.
As of Wednesday morning, the crowdfunding campaign has raised just $182 of its $12,000 goal.
Diala was ripped online for twerking on the job as well as her subsequent GoFundMe efforts.
“You don’t respect the uniform, you don’t respect your job then,” declared one critic on the popular aviation-focused Instagram page The Crew Lounge. “Terms and Conditions apply.”
“‘Support for wrongly fired flight attendant??’” mocked another. “Her GoFund title says it all. She still thinks she was wrongly fired. Girl you weren’t wrongly fired. Go apply for a new job and probably stop twerking in your uniform.”
“The fact that you don’t respect your job is one thing but doing it while in uniform and at work speaks volumes,” scoffed a third. “You’re the brand ambassador and it’s not a good look.”
Alaska
As Alaska sees a spike in Flu cases — another virus is on the rise in the U.S.
FAIRBANKS, Alaska (KTUU) – Alaska has recently seen a rise in both influenza and respiratory syncytial virus, better known as RSV. Amidst the spike in both illnesses, norovirus has also been on the rise in the United States. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says it’s highly contagious and hand sanitizers don’t work well against it.
Current data for Alaska shows 449 influenza cases and 262 RSV cases for the week of Jan. 4. Influenza predominantly impacts the Kenai area, the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, and the Northwest regions of the state. RSV is also seeing significant activity in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta and Anchorage.
Both are respiratory viruses that are treatable, but norovirus — which behaves like the stomach flu according to the CDC — is seeing a surge at the national level. It “causes acute gastroenteritis, an inflammation of the stomach or intestines,” as stated on the CDC webpage.
This virus is spread through close contact with infected people and surfaces, particularly food.
“Basically any place that people aggregate in close quarters, they’re going to be especially at risk,” said Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN’s Chief Medical Correspondent.
Preventing infection is possible but does require diligence. Just using hand sanitizer “does not work well against norovirus,” according to the CDC. Instead, the CDC advises washing your hands with soap and hot water for at least 20 seconds. When preparing food or cleaning fabrics — the virus “can survive temperatures as high as 145°F,” as stated by the CDC.
According to Dr. Gupta, its proteins make it difficult to kill, leaving many cleaning methods ineffective. To ensure a given product can kill the virus, he advises checking the label to see if it claims it can kill norovirus. Gupta said you can also make your own “by mixing bleach with water, 3/4 of a cup of bleach per gallon of water.”
For fabrics, it’s best to clean with water temperatures set to hot or steam cleaning at 175°F for five minutes.
As for foods, it’s best to throw out any items that might have norovirus. As a protective measure, it’s best to cook oysters and shellfish to a temperature greater than 145°F.
Based on Alaska Department of Health data, reported COVID-19 cases are significantly lower than this time last year.
See a spelling or grammatical error? Report it to web@ktuu.com
Copyright 2025 KTVF. All rights reserved.
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