A polar vortex, like the one which brought low temperatures and heavy snow falls to the East Coast in recent years, also affected his country. “We have also suffered from very severe winters because of global warming,” he said.
Strategic interests are also driving South Korea’s keen attention to the Arctic. With 97 percent of its energy coming from overseas, the country is looking at new opportunities for resource development, the ambassador said.
The potential for new shipping routes as sea ice extent shrinks is particularly important to Singapore, a country whose economic fortunes rest partially on its port near the busy Strait of Malacca.
Singapore’s Arctic Ambassador Tony Siddique touted his country’s expertise in shipping management and oil clean up. “Fifty years ago we were a fishing village,” he said. “Some countries helped us grow. Now it's payback time!”
For Ulmer, such growing global interest in the Arctic marks a triumph of sorts for the region and those who care about it.
"It's just recently that people are aware of why they should be paying attention," she said. "For the research community, for some members at the governmental level it's been clear for a long time, but getting that message out has been a challenge for us. For those of us who have cared about the Arctic for a long time ... maybe we haven't talked in terms that relate specifically to people where they live. As opposed to simply trying to tell them our story, telling them why what happens here actually affects them."
The trooper cruiser was stolen Wednesday afternoon. Joshua Watford, 38, had just been handcuffed and placed in the back seat of the troopers patrol SUV. Troopers said he had been arrested on an outstanding warrant.
A passing motorist stopped to ask the trooper a question. While they spoke, 28-year-old Amber Watford got into the driver’s seat and drove away, Troopers said.
The cruiser was found undamaged about an hour later on West Fireweed Drive in Big Lake.
Both of the Watfords and Hood were taken to Mat-Su Pretrial. Joshua Watford is being held without bail. Amber Watford was being held on $20,000 bail, plus a third-party custodian. Hood was being held on $5,000 bail, plus a third-party custodian.
Troopers didn't specify which of the Watfords was charged with which crimes, but the charges included first-degree criminal mischief, first-degree hindering prosecution, first-degree vehicle theft, two counts of third-degree escape, two counts of second-degree vehicle theft, two counts of second-degree theft and third-degree assault, troopers wrote.
“It was a neat bonus for all of us because we weren’t expecting it,” said Reggie Joule, mayor of the borough representing 11 Northwest Alaska communities.
Larry Westlake, president of the Regional Elders Council and borough Assembly, also got the presidential invite.
The three were there to welcome the first sitting U.S. president to arrive in the Arctic. They waited at the bottom of the stairs as Obama stepped onto the Kotzebue tarmac.
It was cramped inside the car, sort of like being on a small bush plane with jump seats. Obama sat elbow-to-elbow with Lukin on a bench seat. Facing them in fold-down seats were Joule and Westlake.
“I kept telling myself, 'he’s just a regular person, he’s just a regular person,' ” said Lukin.
Her butterflies settled when the president asked the group to talk about issues important to the region.
What does it take to power a village of 70 people? In Chignik Lagoon, the answer to that question has dramatically changed -- from burning diesel to flowing stream -- but the man behind the system remains the same.
“I’m the garbage man, the guy that operates the sewer system, and also the fuel man … and I do basic maintenance on all the village equipment,” explains Larry McCormick matter-of-factly.
To top his list of duties, McCormick is also the power man. A certified diesel power plant operator, he has for years planned his schedule around three-times-daily visits to the diesel plant. Now, along with two other operators, McCormick is learning the ins and outs of the new run-of-the-river hydroelectric system on Packer Creek.
Though the $5 million hydro project has been operational since this spring, the village held a ceremony on Aug. 27 to officially celebrate the shift from diesel.
The festivities began with a potluck and presentation at the school. Then the two dozen attendees drove or walked the quarter-mile to the new 480-square-foot hydro powerhouse. There, photos were taken and the ribbon was cut with the gentle humming of the water turbine in the background.
McCormick says the turbine’s whirring is nothing compared to the roar of the diesel generators. The state Department of Labor and Workforce Development said it began an investigation into Uber's business practices when the company began offering rides in Anchorage in October 2014. But the investigation never made it to a hearing because Uber pulled out of Alaska in March 2015, facing a judge's order that it operate for free and failed negotiations with the city of Anchorage.
Rhonda Gerharz, the chief investigator for the special investigations unit of the Department of Labor and Workforce Development, said that when Uber was offering rides in Anchorage, the company was operating under the assumption that its drivers were contractors and not employees.
The Department of Labor disagreed, but Uber wasn't charged with violating state laws because the company stopped operating in Alaska while the investigation was ongoing -- the matter never got to a formal hearing.