The holiday season is officially here, as the Star on the Mountain lights up again. Each year, the star on Mount Gordon Lyon at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson JBER is turned on the day after Thanksgiving and stays lit until the end of the Iditarod race.
Engineers recently upgraded the star with new LED rope lights, and for the first time in 2022, the star was powered on remotely.
The star has been a holiday tradition in Anchorage since 1958. Originally built as a 15-foot wide star atop the Site Summit gatehouse, a former U.S. Army missile site, it was too small to be seen from Anchorage. In 1960, the star was rebuilt into a much larger 117-foot version.
Over the years, the star has survived harsh weather and even avalanches. In 1989, it was rebuilt again into the massive 300-foot star that shines today.
The Alaska Rural Veterinary Outreach group is celebrating after finishing its 2024 rural clinics. The team helped over 500 pets in towns like Dillingham, Kotzebue, Togiak, Glennallen, Yakutat, and Nome, performing more than 170 surgeries.
They thanked supporters, veterinarians, technicians, and local partners for making the clinics possible and for their dedication to helping animals across rural Alaska.
In Cordova, instead of traditional holiday decorating, residents are being invited to decorate lamp posts around the city. After claiming a lamp post, people have until December 6 to add their festive decorations.
And lastly, the kindergartners at Ocean View Elementary in Anchorage spread holiday cheer with a cute Thanksgiving performance, featuring singing, dancing, and adorable turkey costumes.