e’re going dark!”

From center stage, Kristinne Daquis calls out the next item on her checklist, testing the lights before a preview of Dead Man’s Cell Phone. The play is the season’s first full production by the UAA Theater & Dance Department, and it is also the last. Ever.

“The overwhelming message of the piece,” says director Brian Cook, is that “things happen in our lives—we lose our jobs, programs close down—but life continues. We’re resilient people, and we move on. We find a way to recover.” Cook is also the department chair, but he’s moving to Colorado because his job is disappearing.

hether it’s the lure of the northern lights, the chance to catch a king salmon, or the opportunity to view bears in the wild, Alaska attracts a significant number of visitors each year. Of more than a million people who visited in 2022, about 10 percent of the total was made up of international travelers. Those tourists may be seeking experiences that differ from what in-state or domestic travelers want to see in Alaska, so destinations statewide have adapted to that global clientele.

arlier this year, my family and I had the honor of piloting an educational and cultural exchange between UAA and ten Houses of Wisdom (Ngôi Nhà Trí Tuệ) in rural Ngheệ Nghe An and Hà Tĩnh provinces in north-central Vietnam. Based in schools, community centers, churches, apartment buildings, and private homes, Houses of Wisdom promote lifelong learning in disadvantaged communities and provide spaces for local people to share knowledge and wisdom across generations.

Houses of Wisdom do so through libraries and classes on a range of subjects including traditional music and dance, agricultural methods, electrical safety, sewing, swimming, cooking, personal finance, and anger management. Many also include small museums about the history of their village, traditional knowledge such as medicinal plants, and local points of pride. English language clubs are especially popular.

here’s nothing quite like waking up in a beautiful, secluded Alaska lodge and looking out the window to see reindeer wandering outside the window. This view is especially surprising considering that this location, known as The Grove, started out as a private farm about seven miles outside of Talkeetna before opening to guests.

Farming in Alaska can be a tough row to hoe, literally. According to the US National Agricultural Statistics Service, barely more than 1,000 farms generated at least $1,000 in revenue as of 2021, the fewest of any state. To supplement their income, farmers have given their land a second life as tourist destinations, wedding venues, product-tasting sites, and more. Not only does this benefit the farms, but locals and visitors get to spend memorable moments on some of the state’s most beautiful homesteads.

hile the COVID-19 pandemic forced thousands of companies to permanently close, many new businesses are still opening around the country. Fortunately, there are ample funding opportunities available to help entrepreneurs finance their endeavors—if they apply the right strategies.

A staggering 5.4 million new business applications were filed in 2021, topping the 4.4 million record set in 2020, according to the US Census Bureau. And in October 2022 alone, there were 432,834 business applications—an increase of 1.2 percent compared to September 2022. These applications—which represent filings for tax identification, not the total number of business startups—were mainly in the industries of mining; manufacturing; transportation and warehousing; health and social services; arts, entertainment, recreation, accommodation, and food services; and educational services.

oworking spaces in the Anchorage area are an attractive and expanding option for entrepreneurs, business travelers, and others who don’t want to invest in real estate but need a physical base to do work.

Whether the single employee of an entrepreneurial start-up, the solo Alaska-based employee for an Outside company, or the remote worker who occasionally craves the familiarity of a well-equipped office space, coworking spaces set the stage for camaraderie, collaboration, and community.

In a coworking arrangement, people from different professions and companies share what’s typically a multi-use office space featuring an array of configurations and varying levels of privacy. Clients enjoy cost savings by not owning or leasing their own space, and they benefit from access to business basics like high-speed internet, printers and scanners, and even kitchen space, complimentary beverages, and parcel acceptance services.

he Alaska Chamber is a statewide organization that represents the business community’s interests throughout Alaska. While many Alaskans can likely imagine what their local chamber of commerce works on and advocates for, clear differences exist between these valuable organizations and ours. Local community chambers focus almost solely on businesses located within their geographical location or those with potential to impact their local business community. At the Alaska Chamber, we advocate for businesses throughout the state, providing a unified voice on issues affecting the statewide business community. We also offer resources and networking opportunities to our members, helping them to grow and succeed in the 49th State.

glass of rhubarb wine inspired Bill Fry’s journey into wine making in the mid-’90s. Impressed by his friend’s homemade wine, Fry set out to create his own combinations with any available fruit: raspberries, blueberries, kiwi, rhubarb, and more. Positive feedback from friends and family encouraged his hobby, and soon he outgrew his kitchen creations. In 2003, Bear Creek Winery and Lodging opened in Homer.

Bear Creek Winery primarily produces fruit wines, which Louis Maurer, co-owner and operations manager, admits is a niche market. Grapes are incredibly difficult to grow in Alaska outside of a high-tunnel controlled space, says Maurer. Bear Creek does import grape concentrate for wines; however, most of its wines are made with locally sourced fruits.

ccording to the Alaska Department of Transportation & Public Facilities, the 2023 construction season promises to be robust. More than 140 transportation improvement projects are scheduled for this construction season in Alaska, including airport upgrades, bike lanes, docks, roads and highways, and sidewalks in sixty-four communities. While construction zones are necessary, they often pose hazards to workers and drivers alike. Effective traffic control, signage, and other markings can be the difference between a job safely done and someone getting hurt.

eanie Gusty took a winding path from the small rural village of her childhood to selling almost $3 million worth of heavy equipment last year. But it was the path itself that helped Gusty lean into her individual strengths and set her up to be a unique asset and incredible employee.

Growing up in a tiny Kuskokwim River village, Gusty and her family participated in the traditional life of subsistence hunting, trapping, and gathering.

The residents of Stony River are Athabascan and Yupik. The 2020 census recorded thirty-nine people living there on the north bank of the Kuskokwim River, 185 miles northeast of Bethel.

e’re trained to look externally for a path forward from an early age. Go to school, get good grades, land a job, make more money, get promoted, and plan for retirement—all of it to be successful. Success is a moving target, though. Each time you reach a new milestone, success gets redefined.

Is chasing success getting us what we want?

In January 2022, Gallup reported that Americans’ happiness levels have hit record lows. The American Psychological Association found that our stress levels have been increasing since 2016, well before the pandemic. According to the Work Institute, 34 percent more people quit their job last year than the year before.

’ve been teaching work boundaries for more than a decade. I know all the stats—and still I worked right through being sick.

It was day two of a cold. I had three major deadlines that week, and while it was relatively easy to reschedule my coaching calls and client luncheons, those deliverables wouldn’t finish themselves. Sometimes there is no other day. Sometimes things can’t be rescheduled. It’s part of the gig.

Could I have slept and relaxed? Yes.

Would a delay have negatively impacted the work outcomes? Yes.

Would it have impacted my and our company’s reputation if I didn’t get those out? Maybe.

What charity or cause are you passionate about?
Stand for Salmon.

What’s the first thing you do when you get home after a long day at work?
Since I am the only person there, it’s not like a 9 to 5. It never ends: no days off, no weekends off. Always thinking about “How can I make the next pet rock?”

What vacation spot is on your bucket list?
Bikepacking in Croatia or Baja [Mexico].

If you could domesticate a wild animal, what animal would it be?
Who wouldn’t want a T. rex or something? Assume I have enough money to feed it and everything [he laughs].

ometimes it’s like a disease; you have to be creative, you can’t stop,” says Lance Lekander. He started drawing while growing up in Anchorage, and now it’s his living. He confesses to craving a 9-to-5 job with weekends off, but he can’t not be an artist. “Basically, I was destined for it,” he says.

His website, Lekander Artworks, is populated with grinning monsters, rockin’ robots, and fun-loving freaks. He sells psychedelic yoga leggings, handmade yeti dolls (resembling his logo for the award-winning hotdog stand Yeti Dogs), and a collection of digital typefaces. The mission of his “super-secret underground laboratory” is to make people say, “That’s the gol-darndest art I ever have seen!”