Capital Chat

Join UAS at out Open House. Participate in a raffle and a chance to win a tuition waiver. Check in at the Egan Library. Learn how to a degree program or sign up for a class. Meet with Financial Aid staff and learn how to pay for college at our Scholar Fair. Explore Campus and meet faculty. Open to all! High school students are especially encouraged to attend.

Details

•  Presented By: University of Alaska Southeast
•  Dates: October 25, 2025
•  Location: University of Alaska Southeast
•  Time: 11:00 AM to 3:00 PM
•  Price: FREE

The forum is Saturday, October 25th from 11am to 1pm at Centennial Hall. There will be a healthy lunch and guest presenter Dr. Prakash Vishnu, who will speak about "The State of the Art of Oncology Care." Dr. Vishnu works at Bartlett Medical Oncology Center and Fred Hutch Oncology Center.

The lunch and presentation begin at 11:30am.  Doors open at 11 AM to see exhibits by local health providers.

This event is free to the public, with donations gratefully accepted.

The health forum will also be streamed on the Cancer Connection Facebook page for those who cannot attend in person.

Tour haunted locations around Juneau's historic downtown. Visit AmericanGhostwalks.com to book your adventure.

Featured on the TV series The Alaska Triangle and Portals to Hell, the Alaskan Hotel isn't just the oldest operating hotel in Juneau—it's also the most haunted. One chilling event occurred in Room 315, where in 2007, a Navy sailor specifically requested a haunted room and got more than he bargained for. After arguing loudly with an unseen presence, the sailor desperately scrawled "Help!" on the wall in his own blood and leaped from the third-story window. What could have compelled him to such extremes? Eerie echoes of that fateful night still resound and some have even been captured on security cameras.

Expect to hear surprising stories about a variety of local paranormal happenings. Known for its Gold Rush history, Mendenhall Glacier, and Tongass National Forest, Juneau is built on a hidden foundation of supernatural tales. Firsthand accounts from local residents, curious legends passed down through generations, and modern eyewitness reports of ghosts, cryptids, UFOs, and inexplicable occurrences make this storied Alaskan destination a supernatural hotspot.

The Trail Mix Dinner and Auction are coming up November 22nd and Centennial Hall. Visit trailmixinc.org/auction for tickets. 

Mission

The mission of Trail Mix, Inc. is to be the steward of a safe and enjoyable Juneau Trail System by bringing people and resources together for trail planning, building, maintenance and activities.

GRATITUDE

We acknowledge with gratitude that we live, work, and recreate on the lands of the Áak’w Kwáan and T’aaku Kwáan on Dzantikʼi Héeni, part of Lingít Aaní, and near the ancestral home of the X̱aadas and Ts’msyen peoples. We honor the enduring stewardship these Indigenous communities model— rooted in respect, nurture, reciprocity, balance, and harmony with the Tongass. For the relentless care extended to this land, sustaining it since time immemorial, we say thank you and gunalchéesh.

HISTORY

Trail Mix, Inc. began in 1993 as a group of volunteers who wanted to improve and maintain the many miles of trail in Juneau. Much of Juneau’s hiking trails cross between land owned by local, state, and federal entities. This mosaic of land management can create issues for trails that cross over multiple jurisdictions. In 1992, the City and Borough of Juneau recognized that a third-party group was needed to coordinate and execute the improvements and maintenance of our trail system. One year later, Trail Mix was born.

Earl's Haunted Garage is a family Halloween tradition in Juneau. Geneva Earl joins us to talk about this year's display at 9420 Berners Ave near the airport. The Earls Family Halloween Haunted House has always been about helping and supporting the community we live in and the families in need. They give hours and unpaid time for the hope of support matched by the community. The Earls Family uses all food donations to give back to our home community, they donate time, sweat and family deliberations over decorations to make this charitable event come to life every year. Donations being accepted for Cure for Cade and the Food Bank again this year.

Occupational Therapist Anna Mattox joins us to talk about the Reach Infant Learning Program.

The brain develops rapidly during the first three years of life. Early intervention can change a child’s developmental path. REACH’s Infant Learning Program provides services in your home and other areas your child is familiar with like daycares and playgrounds. The program believes relationships are the foundation for supporting early development. Relationship-based services focus on enhancing the caregiver-child relationship in order to support the child as they move through development levels. Working with REACH, parents are given the tools to support their child’s development. Working as a team, REACH and family members find what’s best to support the family.

Quinn from Eagle Crest joins Capital Chat to discuss this years Haunted House Fundraiser.

Eaglecrest is not your average community ski area. We have a 1620′ vertical drop, 640+ acres, impressive backcountry access, and hardly a lift line. Powder lasts longer here! There are no roads into Juneau, Alaska— you have to live here, fly, or ferry to experience this powder paradise. Untracked snow, ridge hikes, and breathtaking views are more common than lift lines.

What we lack in luxury, we make up for in charm, solitude, and affordability; there’s no need to rush at Eaglecrest. Fixed-grip double chairlifts bring you up, and the snow is waiting at the top!

Adult lift tickets are only $75— for additional savings, check out our Multi-Visit Cards, Boarding Pass Deal, and season pass agreements.

Registration is now open for the Juneau Nordic Ski Club season. Visit jnski.org for more information.

The Juneau Nordic Ski Club (JNSC) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization run almost entirely by dedicated volunteers. The mission of the JNSC is to enhance, develop and promote Nordic skiing in Juneau. JNSC puts more people on skis more often on more kilometers through youth development, trail development and trail maintenance in the Juneau area.

Through various land management agreements, the JNSC grooms trails on public lands during winter in multiple locations around Juneau. The JNSC regularly grooms Montana Creek Road, the Mendenhall Campground and Lake (when ice and snow conditions are safe). Additional ‘pop up’ locations are established when snow cover allows, such as Pioneer Road, Amalga Meadows, and Salmon Creek road. Additionally, through agreements with the CBJ Eaglecrest Ski Area, JNSC periodically grooms Eaglecrest trails in the early and late season and under low snow conditions to extend the season. All grooming takes place using JNSC operated snow machines and grooming attachments, operated by the volunteer groomer corps and is snow cover dependent. 

The JNSC also runs the Youth Development Program which is responsible for the Juneau Nordic Ski Team (JNST) High School and Middle School racing groups as well as the Junior Nordic development program for first through fifth grades. The program’s popularity has grown and it now employs three part time coordinators to share the responsibilities of organizing the age appropriate programs and also organizing and developing the numerous coaches for these groups. Annual fundraisers help to fund scholarships for skiing as well as the seasonal coordinators positions.

Because of grooming equipment improvements in recent years, the JNSC has been able to groom trails an average of over 100 days per season. The equipment stable includes two snow machines, two rollers, two ginzu groomers/track setters, and an older  backup/reserve setup. 

All operations are funded by memberships in JNSC and additional generous donations from individuals, businesses and grants. The JNSC membership, grants and donations are efficiently maximized for equipment purchases, repairs, transporting, fueling, insurance costs, a seasonal Business Manager for club accounting and administrative functions, Youth Program coordinators, and incidentals such as mailings, website updates, and meeting costs.

The Board meets the first Tuesday of each month. If you would like to attend the meeting please email [email protected] to confirm your interest and the meeting location and time. 

Today on Capital Chat: Buy a Brick fundraiser for the Dzantik'i Heeni Playground Project* with JSD Director of Operations, Kristy Germain (will have a flyer and purchasing website launched in time for the show!)

*The Dzantik'i Heeni Playground will serve students of the Dzantik'i Heeni campus—including Montessori Borealis Public School, Yaakoosgé Daakahídi High School, and Juneau Community Charter School— who currently do not have access to a playground designed for elementary-aged children. It will also provide a new public playground for the Lemon Creek/Switzer neighborhood.

Evening at Egan, the annual UAS lecture series held each fall which welcomes the Juneau community to engage with leading scholars and experts as they delve into diverse topics, from the role of art in society to climate change, sparking thought-provoking conversations.

Lectures will be in-person and live-streamed from the  Egan Library  on the Juneau Campus. Lectures are free and open to the public.  All lectures begin at 7 p.m. Lectures are recorded at the speaker's discretion, available for viewing on the UAS YouTube Channel.

Fall 2025 lectures will be available in person at the Egan library or lecture hall, and streamed live via Zoom.

Fall 2025 Lecture Dates (tentative)

• Vu Pham; Sea Rose Ashes - A Filmmaker’s Meditations on Memory, Identity, Trauma, and Violence - Friday, September 19, 7:00 pm
• Eran Hood & Jason Amundson; Researching the Mendenhall Outburst Flood: 2025 and Beyond - Friday, October 10, 7:00 pm
• Kevin White; Living on the edge: the ecology of mountain goats and avalanches - Friday, October 24, 7:00 pm
• Logan Berner; Arctic Ecosystems in a Warming World - Friday, November 14, 7:00 pm
• WinterFire: Creative Showcase - Friday, December 12, 7:00 pm