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Sockeye salmon smolt being raised by Cook Inlet Aquaculture Association at the Trail Lakes Hatchery, ultimately destined for Shell Lake in the Matanuska-Susitna Valley, swim in their tank on Friday, April 20, 2018 near Moose Pass, Alaska. Pacific salmon raised in hatcheries are usually exposed to predetermined sets of hot and cold water cycles before they hatch, leading to dark and light rings on their inner ear bone, called an otolith, that biologists can later read to track where the salmon came from when it returns as an adult. Staff at Trail Lakes Hatchery raise all the association’s sockeye salmon, which are hatched, imprinted and distributed to the organization’s various operations across Cook Inlet, from China Poot Lake in Lower Cook Inlet to Shell Lake. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)

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A look into how salmon hatcheries mark their fish

Editor’s note: This is the first part of a three-story series about the operations of Alaska’s salmon hatcheries…

Pink salmon mill in the shallows of Resurrection Creek near its confluence with Cook Inlet on Sunday, Aug. 13, 2017 in Hope, Alaska. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion, file)

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Groups war for voters on salmon initiative

As voters try to decide whether to support or go against a ballot measure related to salmon streams…

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Mead Treadwell joins governor’s race at last minute

Republican voters in Alaska get to choose their gubernatorial candidate from among a former senator, a prominent businessman…

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Poor salmon runs result in low harvests, disaster request

Poor salmon returns across the Gulf of Alaska are putting commercial fishing catches far behind the average and…

Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner gives a thumbs up outside the Supreme Court, Wednesday, June 27, 2018 in Washington. From left are, Liberty Justice Center’s Director of Litigation Jacob Huebert, plaintiff Mark Janus, Rauner, and Liberty Justice Center founder and chairman John Tillman. The Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that government workers can’t be forced to contribute to labor unions that represent them in collective bargaining, dealing a serious financial blow to organized labor. (AP Photo | Andrew Harnik)

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Alaska unions clobbered by Supreme Court decision

Alaska’s public-sector unions warned Wednesday that a new ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court will have significant effects…

Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski speaks at the Juneau Chamber of Commerce’s weekly luncheon at the Moose Lodge on Thursday, June 1, 2017.

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Alaska cities, boroughs see more cash from Department of the Interior

The Department of the Interior will send more than $32.3 million to local governments across Alaska as part…

Sockeye salmon caught in a set gillnet wait to be set to the a processor on July 11, 2016 near Kenai, Alaska. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion, file)

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Tariffs ding commercial fishing industry

Fishermen and seafood harvesters may take a major trade hit with the announcement of new tariffs from China,…

The Housing First Project in September 2017. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire File)

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Juneau program makes strides in helping homeless population

Emergency services use has decreased since housing project went up.

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Alaska House starts voting on rollback of criminal justice reform

As voting began Saturday morning on floor amendments to Senate Bill 54, members of the Alaska House of…

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Alaska mayors again plead for Legislature to fix deficit

For the past two years, mayors across Alaska have pleaded for the Alaska Legislature to do something —…

Gov. Bill Walker walks into the Cabinet Room to present his compromise plan to the House Minority. (Courtesy photo/Office of the Governor)

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House cool to Walker compromise

In a bid to avoid a state-spanning government shutdown, Gov. Bill Walker on Monday proposed a compromise to…

Several Alaska state representatives gather around Rep. Lance Pruitt, seated, during a break in a House floor session on Wednesday, May 17, 2017, in Juneau, Alaska. Shown are, from left, Reps. Tammie Wilson, Steve Thompson, Jennifer Johnston, Pruitt and Chuck Kopp. (AP Photo/Becky Bohrer)

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Alaska lawmakers face special session on budget, fiscal fix

JUNEAU — Alaska legislators are set to convene a special session called by Gov. Bill Walker to complete…

Several Alaska state representatives gather in front of state House Speaker Bryce Edgmon during a break in a House floor session on Wednesday, May 17, 2017, in Juneau, Alaska. (AP Photo/Becky Bohrer)

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With deadline near, Alaska Legislature eyes taking more time

JUNEAU — Wednesday marked a constitutional deadline for Alaska lawmakers to end their regular session. But with a…

State Rep. David Eastman, a Republican freshman from Wasilla, is seen during the introduction of the newly-elected house speaker at the Alaska Legislature in Juneau on Jan. 17, 2017. (Mark Thiessen | The Associated Press File)

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Wasilla Republican asks Alaska Legislature to criminalize abortion

Wasilla Republican David Eastman has proposed a measure making abortion illegal in the state of Alaska. On Monday,…

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Big issues unresolved as Alaska legislative deadline looms

JUNEAU — Alaska legislators face a looming constitutional deadline for completing their work, but they remain at odds…

Gov. Bill Walker leaves the gallery of the Alaska House of Representatives with his legislative liaison Darwin Peterson, center, and Communication Director Grace Jang after watching the House passed its version of Senate Bill 26 on Wednesday. (Michael Penn/Juneau Empire)

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Alaska House approves Permanent Fund plan — with strings attached

For the first time in state history, the Alaska Legislature has chosen to spend the Alaska Permanent Fund…

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Agencies: Alaska laws may limit health care competition

JUNEAU — Two federal agencies have recommended that Alaska repeal laws that the agencies say may limit competition…

Pat Foley, Senior Vice President of Alaska Operations for North Slope oil producer Caelus Energy, speaks on the oil industry's importance to Alaska's fiscal recovery during a talk on Wednesday, April 5 at the Kenai Chamber of Commerce and Visitor's Center. "We're all in the oil business," Foley told his audience, speaking of oil's central place in Alaska's economy. (Ben Boettger/Peninsula Clarion)

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Caelus seeks to invest locals in Smith Bay oil

Under Alaska’s current oil tax and incentive program, the state “is really a co-investor” in oil and gas…

Rep. Gabrielle LeDoux, R-Anchorage, speaks in the House chambers on Wednesday, April 5, 2017. Rep. LeDoux is sponsoring HB 200 that would establish a top two nonpartisan open primary election system for elective state executive and state and national legislative offices. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)

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Alaska lawmaker wants primary elections to be more like California

The chairwoman of the powerful House Rules Committee believes she has a plan to drive Alaska politics toward…

Trump revokes Alaska refuge rule; change may be symbolic

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Trump revokes Alaska refuge rule; change may be symbolic

ANCHORAGE — The state of Alaska’s toolkit for increasing moose and caribou numbers includes killing wolf pups in…