Print article A highly contagious germ had existed since the beginning of recorded history. In mummified pharoahs’ bones, evidence of tuberculosis was found. It lived in droplets of breath. After a patient passed, the germ could live 24 hours in the corpse. You didn’t need to do anything special to acquire it. Then there came the Poliomyelitis virus. It existed somewhat passively until it spread widely in the first half of the 20th century and became a frightful, paralyzing killer in the 1950s, especially among children. Before knowing how it spread, people would even avoid filling their tires at a gas station in highly infected areas. They feared they would bring polio home with them in their tires. Swimming pools, ponds, movie theaters and schools were closed. Strict isolation became a way of life. It turned out it was in feces.
4:26 Matanuska-Susitna Borough which covers about 25,000 square miles north of Anchorage submitted a bid to host the 2024 Arctic Winter Games.
The Arctic Winter Games happen every two years. It’s a multi-sport event and Indigenous cultural celebration involving communities and participants from around the Circumpolar North.
And this is the Matanuska-Susitna Borough’s first real shot at hosting the convention. The borough’s purchasing officer Russ Kraft says the borough has bid on previous games, but never made it this far into the process.
“We re hoping that at the end of March, first of April we’ll receive notification from the international committee that our bid has been accepted,” Kraft said. “Once that happens, we have to work out a few details in terms of the contract that is signed between the borough and the international committee to go ahead and get moving forward.”
Tim Ellis/KUAC
The Arctic Winter Games ended Saturday, a week after they began here in Fairbanks. Most of the 2,000 athletes that came here from circumpolar nations left that night, along with the 3,000-some staff, family, fans and others who came along for the show.
It was a stunning weeklong show of hundreds of competitive and cultural events that combined such games as hockey and basketball with traditional indigenous contests such as the high-kick and knuckle-hop.
Team Alaska’s athletes were the top medal-winners of the nine contingents that competed in the Games, winning190 medals total, 67 of which were gold. Team Yamal, from Russia, was second with 134 total, 55 gold; followed by Team Alberta North with 125 total, 42 gold.