Eric Sowl

2 weeks ago | alaskasnewssource.com | Joey Klecka |Eric Sowl

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - The first king salmon of the summer fishing season in Ship Creek was reeled in Monday morning. The honor went to Anchorage fisherman Sacha Merkushev, who hooked a fish weighing in at 9.75 pounds and measuring at 29 inches exactly, according to the Bait Shack on Facebook.

3 weeks ago | alaskasnewssource.com | Eric Sowl

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - There’s a lot of anticipation surrounding this year’s salmon runs in Anchorage’s Ship Creek. Last year, the king and silver salmon fisheries had to be closed early because of low numbers of returning fish. The fish from Ship Creek are used to create brood stock that seeds many fisheries in Southcentral Alaska. The low salmon returns at Ship Creek can impact all of those runs. Little is known about what happens to salmon once they head out into the ocean.

1 month ago | alaskasnewssource.com | Eric Sowl

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - A historic solid gold railroad spike is now on display at the Anchorage Museum. The golden spike was used by President Warren Harding in a ceremony on July 15, 1923, in the City of Nenana, marking the completion of the Alaska Railroad. The city of Anchorage had the spike made by the Mayer Brother Jewelers in Seattle. It was a “thank you” gift to Col. Frederick Mears, an engineer on the construction of the Alaska Railroad from 1915 to 1923.

1 month ago | alaskasnewssource.com | Eric Sowl

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - As a kid, Marie Pearl Zellmer Robinson of Ketchikan would entertain her siblings with her ability to fit objects into her mouth. It was childhood fun that was eventually forgotten — until she saw a video of the female world record holder for the world’s tallest mouth. Since Robinson could fit a stack of five Jenga blocks into her mouth, she knew she could beat the record. The average person can open their mouth between 1.4 inches and 2.2 inches.

1 month ago | alaskasnewssource.com | Eric Sowl

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - It takes time and energy to change a name on a map. Michael Livingston, an Anchorage-based historian, knows about the work firsthand. Last April, he began the process of trying to remove two offensive names from Alaskan geography. He was shocked when he made his discovery while examining a map of Little Kiska Island in the Aleutians. Left over from World War II were the place names Nazi Creek and Nip Hill.