Alaska Man Monday: Charity, Owls, and Suspicious Circumstances

Our first item this week is something of an eyebrow-raiser. Ever run across something that makes you suspicious? That hinky feeling that something just isn’t quite right?

Well, this is suspicious.

On 04/06/2025 at approximately 1740 hours, Alaska State Troopers in Fairbanks received a report of suspicious circumstances in the North Pole area. The circumstances were indeed suspicious, and the investigation is ongoing.

That’s it. That’s all there is. And yes, that’s suspicious. Seriously, you have to love how these Alaska state cops worded this report, a marvel of brevity: “Circumstances were indeed suspicious.” Fine, fine. The investigation is ongoing. Fine, fine. But hey – you guys are paid by the taxpayers, and sooner or later, think we might be treated to a little more detail?

Alaska Man score: 3.5 of 5 moose nuggets. Brevity is great, but I think you guys overdid it a little.

Now, these kids make Alaska proud.

Two Anchorage teens are trying to encourage more young people to get involved with philanthropy– giving their time and money to benefit society as a whole. Youth Philanthropists Alaska, or YPA, aims to teach kids aged 12-17 the power of investing in local charities.
The group plans to meet twice a year. Each kid who attends will donate $10, creating a prize pool of at least $1,000. Three charities give presentations about why their charity is deserving. Then, kids vote on which charity receives the funds. Corporate sponsors match the prize pool– doubling the impact.
Alaska Public Media’s Ava White spoke with eighth grader Liam Cuddy and ninth grader Adam Kaufman who started the group. They had their first meeting last week and raised more than $2000 for Covenant House Alaska. Cuddy says he’s excited by the early success.

This is how charity efforts should be done: Voluntarily, by the community, organized by well-meaning people devoting their own time and money to the effort. It’s to these Alaskan kids’ credit that they understand that.

Alaska Man score: 5 moose nuggets for these great, generous, kind-spirited kids.

Now, on to an owl story. Great horned owls live almost everywhere in North, Central, and South America – including in Alaska. And they are cool – flying tigers. The northernmost expanse of their vast, vast range is, unsurprisingly, in Alaska.

Reader Todd Mackinaw recently admired how the great horned owl can thrive from the Brooks Range in Alaska all the way to Uruguay in South America.
The knee-high owl, known for its “plumicorns” — tufts above its ears that resemble horns — haunts every forested bit of Alaska.
Right about now, in early April, many female great horned owls are sitting on nests they have borrowed from other large birds — no owls build their own nest) Or they are warming eggs atop witches’ brooms — dense tangles of spruce branches caused by a fungus.

They do well because they’ll eat almost anything – including small dogs and cats.

One reason great horned owls may range so far is that they will eat anything they can grab. A few years ago, a teenage neighbor of ours shoved a great horned owl off his 7-pound dog in the driveway. The dog recovered with just a puncture wound to its neck.

I can attest from observation that these big owls will prey on skunks, they being the only predator I know of that will. The odoriferous musk doesn’t seem to bother them.

Alaska Man score: 5 moose nuggets, because owls are cool.

Now, then – a few comments on the rural lifestyle.

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