The ordinance establishing the acknowledgement passed in a tight 4-3 vote, with new Mayor Mindy O'Neall breaking a 3-3 tie.

The Fairbanks City Council voted down a paramedic-training agreement Monday with city firefighters, who say they’re overwhelmed by too many trainees. // Also Monday, the Council approved an ordinance to establish an Alaska Native land acknowledgement statement at the beginning of regular meetings. // Republican members of the state Senate on Tuesday elected Senator Mike Cronk of Tok as their new minority leader for the upcoming legislative session. // The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration released its annual Arctic climate report card Tuesday that shows continued record high temperatures in the region. // The Dunleavy administration is threatening insurance companies that are discriminating against oil and gas companies over their environmental practices.

The council postponed the vote last month in hopes a solution could be found. That didn't happen, according to the city's chief of staff.

Members of the Fairbanks North Star Borough (FNSB) Assembly have drafted an ordinance that would rebrand a historical park in the center of the Golden Heart City. It comes amid a yearslong dispute over Pioneer Park’s name.

The Fairbanks North Star Borough Assembly will consider an ordinance Thursday that would change the name of Pioneer Park back to Alaskaland. // Gov. Mike Dunleavy says he will no longer try to reform the state’s schools during next year’s legislative session. // Sen. Dan Sullivan voted with Democrats last week on legislation to extend health care subsidies that failed to get enough votes. // Two semi-tractor trailers trucks were involved in separate accidents last Friday on the Parks Highway resulting in minor injuries. // Travel industry experts say Alaska is expected to have a strong winter tourism season.

A Fairbanks mining firm announced that it struck a deal to merge with a company in British Columbia. // Celebrated Athabaskan fiddler Bill Stevens died in Fairbanks last month at the age of 92. // The Western Arctic Caribou Herd was once Alaska’s largest; state biologists say the herd is now at its lowest numbers in five decades. // Gov. Mike Dunleavy released his proposed budget, setting the stage for months of debate in his final legislative session as governor. // Alaska Native veterans have until Dec. 29 to claim 160 acres of federal land, a deadline Sen. Dan Sullivan says he’s trying to extend.

Between June 2020 and January 2021, the age-adjusted COVID-19 mortality rate among American Indian and Alaska Native people was 5.5 times higher than that of white people, the report says.

Stevens died in Fairbanks on Nov. 28 at the age of 92. He’s credited with teaching several generations of fiddlers over the years.

A Fairbanks woman faces up to 99 years in prison for fatally shooting a man in May at a campground, and a new report from the state health department reviewed the COVID-19 pandemic in Alaska.

Dan Bross and Rick Thoman talk about changes in Arctic cloudiness.