Kevin Gullufsen

JDHS boys suffer first-round knockout at state

A run at the soccer state championship wasn’t in the cards for the Juneau-Douglas High School boys this year. The Crimson Bears did everything they… Continue reading

Though eliminated, boys soccer goes out on top

They didn’t win the state tournament this year, but they did go out on top. The Juneau-Douglas High School boys soccer team notched their final… Continue reading

In this June 2013 file photo, Justin McKoy, left, and Peter Cross of the U.S. Forest Service move old boardwalk boards from the Auke Nu Trail. The crew is replacing boardwalk with gravel and building new bridges on the trail that leads to the John Muir Cabin. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire file)

With fires burning budget, USFS sources charity funds

From 2004 to 2014, the Forest Service lost 46 percent of its funding for recreation funds for Alaska’s two national forests, the Tongass and Chugach.… Continue reading

In this June 2013 file photo, Justin McKoy, left, and Peter Cross of the U.S. Forest Service move old boardwalk boards from the Auke Nu Trail. The crew is replacing boardwalk with gravel and building new bridges on the trail that leads to the John Muir Cabin. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire file)
Survivors, friends and family visit the Funter Bay internment camp where of hundreds of Aleutian and Pribiloff Island Alaska Natives were held during WWII. Commemorating the 75th anniversary of the internment, the group installed a “healing cross” at the grave site of those who perished during their years of internment. (Kevin Gullufsen | Juneau Empire)

Retracing the Wartorn Path to Funter Bay

Seventy-five years ago, the U.S. government sent 885 Alaska Natives from the Aleutian and Pribilof Islands to internment camps in Southeast Alaska. Left to virtually… Continue reading

Survivors, friends and family visit the Funter Bay internment camp where of hundreds of Aleutian and Pribiloff Island Alaska Natives were held during WWII. Commemorating the 75th anniversary of the internment, the group installed a “healing cross” at the grave site of those who perished during their years of internment. (Kevin Gullufsen | Juneau Empire)
Above and Beyond Alaska tour guides Ben Hines, left, and Sarah Galvin, middle, talk with tourists Miguel Faur and Maria Isabel Ramos in the Mendenhall Glacier ice caves on Wednesday. (Kevin Gullufsen | Juneau Empire)

Treading on Blue Ice

We pulled our 20-foot canoe onto a rocky beach about 100 yards from the western edge of the Mendenhall Glacier. Our tour guide, Above and… Continue reading

Above and Beyond Alaska tour guides Ben Hines, left, and Sarah Galvin, middle, talk with tourists Miguel Faur and Maria Isabel Ramos in the Mendenhall Glacier ice caves on Wednesday. (Kevin Gullufsen | Juneau Empire)
U.S.S. Commanding Officer Colby Sherwood speaks at the laying of the wreath for the U.S.S. Juneau. The vessel’s 1942 sinking was commemorated Wednesday in downtown Juneau. (Kevin Gullufsen | Juneau Empire)

A Tragic Namesake: Navy remembers USS Juneau for ultimate sacrifice

Seventy-five years after sinking in the Battle of Guadalcanal, the U.S.S. Juneau still affects how the Navy operates. When the ship went down in 1942,… Continue reading

U.S.S. Commanding Officer Colby Sherwood speaks at the laying of the wreath for the U.S.S. Juneau. The vessel’s 1942 sinking was commemorated Wednesday in downtown Juneau. (Kevin Gullufsen | Juneau Empire)
Are whales affected by boat boom?

Are whales affected by boat boom?

The water in front of Jay Beedle’s remote beachfront property often looks like a classroom poster of Southeast Alaska marine life: humpback whales bubblenet feed,… Continue reading

Are whales affected by boat boom?
Cheyenne Girmscheid points out damage to her family’s home after a drunk driver crashed into her sister’s bedroom Friday evening. (Kevin Gullufsen | Juneau Empire)

Drunk driver crashes bedroom during prom prep

Friday night was a special evening for 18-year-old Shelby Girmscheid. Just not in the way she expected. Like many teenagers across the country, Girmscheid was… Continue reading

Cheyenne Girmscheid points out damage to her family’s home after a drunk driver crashed into her sister’s bedroom Friday evening. (Kevin Gullufsen | Juneau Empire)
The City of Juneau Pipe Band arrive at the Blessing of the Fleet on Saturday, May 6, at the Commercial Fishermen’s Memorial. (Kevin Gullufsen | Juneau Empire)

Blessing honors those lost at sea

Juneau ranked 41st in the U.S. for seafood production by weight in 2016, with the town’s 396 commercial permit holders pulling down 16.7 million pounds… Continue reading

The City of Juneau Pipe Band arrive at the Blessing of the Fleet on Saturday, May 6, at the Commercial Fishermen’s Memorial. (Kevin Gullufsen | Juneau Empire)
Blame the glacier? One popular video posits that glacier rebound is responsible for more earthquakes. Here, the entrance to the Mendenhall Glacier ice caves is seen in May 2015. (Emily Russo Miller | Juneau Empire File)

Earthquakes caused by melting glaciers?

Were Monday’s earthquakes caused by climate change? At least one internet personality seems to think so. In a video viewed 92,000 times since Monday, Youtuber… Continue reading

Blame the glacier? One popular video posits that glacier rebound is responsible for more earthquakes. Here, the entrance to the Mendenhall Glacier ice caves is seen in May 2015. (Emily Russo Miller | Juneau Empire File)
Eddie Petrie, left, talk with Mike Walters, right, as Jason Cameron and Alan Gordon, listen during Coeur’s Kensington Mine Rescue team practice at Savikko Park on Tuesday, May 2, 2017. The Kensington team and one from Hecla’s Green Creek Mine will compete next week at the Central Mine Rescue Competition in Kellogg, Idaho. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)

Mine rescue crews train for competition

Dominic Hoy had an important message for Alan Gordon, who was deep in an imaginary mine. “Alan, listen carefully … it’s not fully sealed, so… Continue reading

Eddie Petrie, left, talk with Mike Walters, right, as Jason Cameron and Alan Gordon, listen during Coeur’s Kensington Mine Rescue team practice at Savikko Park on Tuesday, May 2, 2017. The Kensington team and one from Hecla’s Green Creek Mine will compete next week at the Central Mine Rescue Competition in Kellogg, Idaho. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)
Philip Richards, research supervisor for the Department of Fish & Game, talks about the declining king salmon stocks in Southeast Alaska on Tuesday, April 25, 2017. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)

What’s causing the Taku king salmon’s decline?

Facing a forecasted second-straight year of record low salmon returns and the closure of the first two months of summer fishing, Juneau’s fishermen want answers.… Continue reading

Philip Richards, research supervisor for the Department of Fish & Game, talks about the declining king salmon stocks in Southeast Alaska on Tuesday, April 25, 2017. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)
A rehabilitated Pacific harbor seal looks back at people during its release at the Auke Recreation Beach on August 27, 2014. After toxic levels of mercury were found in an Admiralty Island harbor seal in 2015, conservationists and subsistence hunters are still wondering if a Juneau-based mine is to blame. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire File)

Angoon seal hunters still solving mercury mystery

After toxic levels of mercury were found in an Admiralty Island harbor seal in 2015, conservationists and subsistence hunters are still wondering if a Juneau-based… Continue reading

A rehabilitated Pacific harbor seal looks back at people during its release at the Auke Recreation Beach on August 27, 2014. After toxic levels of mercury were found in an Admiralty Island harbor seal in 2015, conservationists and subsistence hunters are still wondering if a Juneau-based mine is to blame. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire File)
A homeless couple walks along South Franklin Street after sleeping in a business doorway for the night on Monday, March 13, 2017. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)

Where can a chronic inebriate sleep?

Juneau now has the highest rate of homelessness in the state, according to a new report. Data released April 14 shows that at least 215… Continue reading

A homeless couple walks along South Franklin Street after sleeping in a business doorway for the night on Monday, March 13, 2017. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)
The Hillbilly Honeys perform at Folk Fest in 2016. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire File)

Folk Fest: Where to listen, play and dance this week

The 43rd annual Alaska Folk Festival kicks off Monday. The festival runs April 3-9 and will showcase more than 450 musicians performing a range of… Continue reading

The Hillbilly Honeys perform at Folk Fest in 2016. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire File)
Kristen Hemlock, mother to 5-year-old Mason Varner, cries as she reaches to hug Riley John, 14, at a ceremony to recognize John at Yaakoosge Daakahidi Alternative High School on Friday, March 31, 2017. John, with help from friend Seth Gerrin, 16, rescued Varner from Gold Creek on Thursday.

Gold Creek hero honored

Iosefa Riley John, who goes by Riley, was awarded by the Juneau Police Department on Friday for his bravery in saving 5-year-old Mason Varner from… Continue reading

Kristen Hemlock, mother to 5-year-old Mason Varner, cries as she reaches to hug Riley John, 14, at a ceremony to recognize John at Yaakoosge Daakahidi Alternative High School on Friday, March 31, 2017. John, with help from friend Seth Gerrin, 16, rescued Varner from Gold Creek on Thursday.
Iosefa Riley John (Photo courtesy John’s family)

Gold Creek Hero: Teen rescues 5-year-old from drowning

Quick thinking and uncommon bravery averted a tragedy Wednesday at a downtown municipal park as a fearless 14-year-old saved 5-year-old Mason Varner from drowning. Early… Continue reading

Iosefa Riley John (Photo courtesy John’s family)
Mongolian Parliamentarian Group Leader Saranchimeg Batsukh asks Mayor Ken Koelsch a question during their visit to City Hall on Tuesday, March 28, 2017. The purpose of the visit is to expose officials of emerging democracies to civic processes in the U.S. Juneau’s Rotary clubs hosted the Mongolians during the two-day visit. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)

Mongolian delegation shares the wisdom of the steppes

After the fall of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s, Mongolia has increasingly embraced Western political ideology. Positioned between post-communist and communist superpowers in… Continue reading

Mongolian Parliamentarian Group Leader Saranchimeg Batsukh asks Mayor Ken Koelsch a question during their visit to City Hall on Tuesday, March 28, 2017. The purpose of the visit is to expose officials of emerging democracies to civic processes in the U.S. Juneau’s Rotary clubs hosted the Mongolians during the two-day visit. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)
Juneau-Douglas High School is seen on April 27, 2015. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire File)

Cuts loom over school budget

Legislators in the Alaska Senate say they want to cut a “nickel” from state education funds, but losing that change could decimate the Juneau School… Continue reading

Juneau-Douglas High School is seen on April 27, 2015. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire File)
Owner Dong Lee talks on Monday, March 27, 2017, about his new Korea Garden restaurant that opened on Front Street. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)

New downtown restaurants dish up Korean, Hawaiian fare

Clamoring for Korean food? Has your voice gone croaky demanding poke? Your calls have been heard, as this week two longtime Alaska restaurateurs are looking… Continue reading

Owner Dong Lee talks on Monday, March 27, 2017, about his new Korea Garden restaurant that opened on Front Street. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)