The overnight eruption of Mount Redoubt spewed ash up to 60,000 feet in the air, snarling air travel Monday and stranding small groups of people in remote, sparsely populated parts of the state.

Alaska Airlines on Monday canceled passenger flights in and out of Fairbanks, Bethell, Prudhoe Bay, Nome, Kotzebue and Barrow due to continued volcanic ash caused by Monday’s eruption of Mount Redoubt.

An animal rights group wants Alaska State Troopers to open a criminal investigation into the deaths this year of five Iditarod dogs, including two on the team of a musher who says they froze to death.

The circus isn’t coming to town until tomorrow – blame the volcano.

Lawmakers are slow getting back to work at the state Capitol because of flight cancellations due to the eruption of Alaska’s Mount Redoubt volcano.

Alaska’s Mount Redoubt volcano erupted five times overnight, sending an ash plume more than 9 miles (15 kilometers) into the air in the volcano’s first emission in nearly 20 years.

Sunday evening’s 2009 Gold Medal Mighty B-bracket matchup between Kake and Huna ANB packed the Juneau-Douglas High School gymnasium for an opening day overtime barn burner with Huna outlasting Kake 94-85.

There were no early tournament jitters for the two-time defending champion Kake Oldtimers as they pounded Angoon ANS 105-59 on opening day during the 63rd Gold Medal Basketball Tournament.

Recently I saw Sen. Johnny Ellis, D-Anchorage, speak at a rally in Juneau. He joined the Key Campaign in the group’s 22nd annual advocacy demonstration on the Capitol steps.

Two hundred years ago, ships sailed around the world. There were no navigational sytstems. They relied upon pilots with a basic knowledge of celestial navigation. On the main masts, lookouts watched for reefs, rocks and possible dangers. In command were individuals who had weathered storms at sea and had survived dangerous situations. Some of the old sailing ships ended up as shipwrecks or disappeared at sea. Others made voyages around the world and returned home successfully. They were acclaimed and honored.