Merrill Foto News Fotos from the Past
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Merrill and the rest of Lincoln County are digging out after two waves of snow pounded the area into the New Year. Snow moved into the area early Monday morning and piled up to nearly a foot by the time the storm had ended. Fierce winds then caused blowing and drifting leaving many roads impassable. Schools were called off, and many businesses closed or worked with skeleton crews. Local factories all went back to work after the holiday weekend only to close up and send their workers home by 8:00 AM. Merrill firemen reported they put chains on all the city trucks but could not promise making a run into the rural area with impassable roads. Crews started early Monday morning and then went back out late Monday night after a quick rest. Merchants reported selling out quickly on toboggans, shovels, and tire chains.
Print article Longtime Alaska journalist Rosemary Shinohara died of complications from the coronavirus on Dec. 13 in Anchorage. She was 73. Born in Cordova, Shinohara later moved to Anchorage with her family. She went on to study journalism at Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington, her daughter Michi Shinohara said. There, she met Vincent Shinohara, an exchange student from Japan. They later married. After a stop in the Midwest, the couple moved back to Anchorage and Shinohara embarked on a career that spanned more than 40 years as a reporter and editor documenting Alaska, mostly at the Anchorage Daily News. Her first byline in the newspaper, in 1971: “Girl’s State to Meet in College, Glennallen.”