If you’re walking around Unalaska, it’s almost impossible not to find stuff left over from World War II. Usually, it’s just building material or maybe the occasional shell. But what happens if you encounter something explosive?

KUCB’s Alexandra Gutierrez has this story about the recent discovery of a grenade and how public safety is handling it.

While plenty of Unalaskans were outside this weekend enjoying the sunny weather, some people were a little more intense about it. Sixteen runners and cyclists toured the island’s roads on Sunday for the 3rd Annual Bobby Johnson Summer Bay Classic.

At 13 miles, the race is Unalaska’s longest and arguably the most challenging. Competitors start at the PCR and then run or bike through town, up through Overland Pass, down to Summer Bay, and then back to town again. This year, seven people biked the course, and nine people ran it.

A lava dome continues to grow in Mount Cleveland’s crater.

The Alaska Volcano Observatory raised Cleveland’s aviation color code to orange last Wednesday, and the volcano’s lava flow has grown 30 feet in the past week. Because there is no seismic monitoring equipment on the Aleutian volcano, AVO’s advisory is based on satellite data.

Last week, AVO geophysicist Dave Schneider told the Alaska Public Radio Network that the observatory would like to have better data on Cleveland, but that it would be “an extremely costly operation” to install and maintain monitoring equipment.

The Dutch Harbor Fisherman is here to stay. The Calista Native corporation has found buyers in Nome for the paper, plus four more holdings of Alaska Newspapers Incorporated. The corporation's board decided to cease publication this month.  

Ben Mathison has more from Nome radio station KNOM.

A drunk-driving accident earlier this month took out Unalaska’s one major traffic stop.

 Cole Corbett, 30, allegedly ran into one of the runway stop arms on Ballyhoo Road last Saturday after veering off the road. While he and his passenger were not injured, the crash did result in serious property damage. The Department of Transportation estimates that repairs to the stop arms will cost $50,000.

Twenty years ago, a big group of Unalaskans were able to travel to Petropavalask-Kamchatsky to bring the communities closer as sister cities. Now, a Russian airline has decided to revive a flight from Alaska to Kamchatka, which could make fostering that relationship easier.

KUCB's Alexandra Gutierrez has more.

The Bering Sea pollock fleet continues to struggle with chum bycatch, but impact on subsistence fishing in western Alaska appears to be limited.

KUCB's Alexandra Gutierrez has more.

The summer construction season means busy times for the Department of Public Works, as a presentation at last night’s city council meeting made clear. 

The bulk of the meeting was devoted to an update on capital projects. Public Works Director Nancy Peterson announced that the city had completed three different projects since the last update. The powerhouse expansion project, the third phase of the Geographic Information System – or GIS – project, and the East Point road blow project have all been wrapped up. Now, the city is busy with other work. The installation of a third engine at the powerhouse began on July 12, and construction at the new 8-plex on Loop Road continues, despite some delays due to the discovery of contaminated materials and excess water on the property. Work on the Illulaq Lake and Delta Way Drainage projects is already factoring in contaminated materials.

Last week, a scientific panel put together by the states of Alaska and Washington quietly released a draft report on the management of Steller sea lions, an issue that’s been at the center of controversy in the Aleutian region for years.

The document is a critique of the National Marine Fisheries Service 2010 biological opinion on the endangered western stock, who have continued to see their population shrink and their birth rates decline. That BiOp determined that the commercial fishing fleet was likely creating competition for food, and it led to the closures of the Atka mackerel and Pacific cod fisheries in the western Aleutians. It also resulted in an outcry from the fishing industry and litigation from the State of Alaska and others.