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12/23/14 - Spending in U.S. Senate race in Alaska totals $60 million

Reports to the Federal Elections Commission show Sen. Mark Begich spent $10 million in  his campaign to retain his seat. Senator-elect Dan Sullivan spend $7.6 million. With PAC spending added in, the total spent on the race was $60 million.

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Late onset of winter cold in Bethel sets a record

Bethel's warm weather has set a record. At one minute before midnight Dec. 21, the temperature dropped to one below zero Fahrenheit for the first time this winter. That's the latest date for temperatures to get that low since record-keeping for Bethel began in 1923.

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New book, "A Dangerous Idea," documents crucial role of Alaska Native Brotherhood in land claims, civil rights

"A Dangerous Idea" by Juneau author Peter Metcalf examines the the Alaska Native Brotherhood's fight to secure Native rights and land claims before, during, and after statehood. As KTOO's Lisa Phu reports, the recently published book explores an often overlooked chapter in Alaska's story.

As storyteller Ishmael Hope explains, the book recounts a conversation between two prominent ANB leaders in 1923.

Tsimpshian Peter Simpson asked William Paul, Sr., who was the first Tlingit attorney, "Willie, who owns the land?"

"We do," Paul replied.

"Then fight for it," Simpson told Paul.

The ANB launched a claims case in the U.S. Court of Claims just five years after Alaska Natives were granted citizenship. The Court's ruling acknowledged Tlingit and Haida ownership of lands in Southeast Alaska and in 1968 awarded the Central Council of Tlingit and Haida $7.2  million for lands taken. The case laid the legal groundwork for the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act of 1971, and the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act of 1981.