Curious Juneau

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In Juneau, quirky people, untold stories and little mysteries are as abundant as the rain. For the things about Juneau you can’t Google, why not work with a KTOO reporter to satisfy your curiosity?

KTOO Public Media


    • Jul 24, 2023 LATEST EPISODE
    • infrequent NEW EPISODES
    • 27 EPISODES


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    Latest episodes from Curious Juneau

    Curious Juneau: Why does Alaska's Capitol building have a ground floor?

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 24, 2023


    When Americans walk into a multi-story building, they'd usually say they're on the first floor. Not in the lobby of Alaska's Capitol building.

    Curious Juneau: What caused the jumble of fallen trees near the ferry terminal?

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 19, 2023


    The fan of fallen trees on the west side of Auke Nu Cove may be evidence of one of Juneau's weirdest wind phenomena.

    Curious Juneau: Why does that speed limit sign say 19 ½ mph?

    Play Episode Listen Later May 4, 2023


    Studies show drivers remember fewer details about routes they're more familiar with. Around Juneau and in other parts of the U.S., experimenting with speed limits can improve road safety.

    What happened to Juneau's Taco Bell?

    Play Episode Listen Later May 3, 2022


    In the late '90s Juneau had two Taco Bells. But by the early 2000s they were both gone.

    Why are some of Juneau's street lights glowing purple?

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 24, 2022


    Some Juneau residents have noticed street lights with a purple glow popping up around town. A KTOO listener asked why.

    Is there an Indigenous name for this cloud formation in Juneau?

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 28, 2021


    A Curious Juneau listener wrote in saying they'd witnessed a snake-like cloud forming along the Gastineau Channel and wondered if there are any Lingít stories or a Lingít name for this cloud feature.

    Was there really a gun range in the basement of Harborview Elementary School?

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 6, 2021


    The short answer is yes. It was there for decades, and there are plenty of people still around in Juneau who remember it.

    Is there gold in them thar beaches?

    Play Episode Listen Later May 29, 2019


    One Curious Juneau listener has noticed janky-looking rafts and unnatural pits proliferating in recent years at his go-to fishing spot. So we asked one of the raft owners what they’re up to.

    Does Juneau really have the smallest Costco in the world?

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 28, 2019


    Sure it's small, but is it the smallest? When inside, do you shop clockwise or counterclockwise? And what's up with ToshCo in Gustavus?

    Volunteers get thumbs up on spruced-up peace sign redesign

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 21, 2019


    The plan is for volunteers this summer to prune some encroaching vegetation, and to plant spruce seedlings in the footprint of the peace sign. Eventually, they expect the spruce will outgrow and contrast with the existing alders on the hillside.

    Curious Juneau: Why do Norah Jones tickets cost over $500?

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 14, 2019


    Professional ticket reselling is rare for events in Juneau. A longtime local event organizer says the nine-time Grammy Award winner's upcoming concert in Juneau has caused the biggest stir she can think of.

    How a mischievous Home Depot surveyor turned this hill into guerrilla art

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 11, 2019


    Theodolites, semaphore, trigonometry and some "Big Lebowski" references — everything you wanted to know about the peace sign and a few things you didn't.

    What happened to the downtown bells?

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 4, 2018


    They've been gone for about four years. The system was originally installed by a private downtown bank in the 1960s.

    Did Wyatt Earp really leave his gun in Juneau?

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 7, 2018


    How did the Red Dog Saloon come to have an antique Smith & Wesson No. 3 mounted behind the bar — and did it really belong to Wyatt Earp? Curious Juneau tries to find out.

    What’s the deal with Juneau’s barefoot guy?

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 20, 2018


    Xtratufs, Bogs, Muck Boots -- comfortable, waterproof footwear is pretty much a necessity here in Juneau. But not for the local some know as “the barefoot guy.”

    Juneau’s recorded wind speed blows away Coast Guard retiree

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 13, 2018


    In this Curious Juneau, John Hollis asks: What’s the highest wind speed recorded in Juneau? The answer will blow away this Coast Guard retiree.

    community local alaska coast guard retirees juneau juneau alaska blows away wind speed john hollis
    Yes, there really is a doll museum in Juneau and it’s filled with little treasures

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 1, 2018


    Tucked away in the second floor of the Triangle Building in downtown Juneau, there’s a museum filled with snapshots of history – but in this museum, they’re made out of wood, cloth and plastic.

    Does Juneau really have a Florida federal building’s pelicans?

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 23, 2018


    A common story goes that there was a shipping mix up. Somewhere in Florida, there's a federal building with our eagle statue, and our federal building got their pelicans. Is it true?

    community local alaska pelicans juneau federal building juneau alaska
    Juneau’s concrete blocks spark tall tales about their origins 

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 9, 2018


    Tall tales abound in regards to the giant blocks near Lemon Creek. The stories behind the mysterious blocks are almost too good to be true: Ancient monoliths, hatches for alien space craft, White Alice -- even cow graves. But nothing is really, so to speak, concrete.

    Juneau’s forgotten pedestrian tunnel carries water, power through Telephone Hill

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 3, 2018


    In the mid-1970s the city and power company jointly built a 350-foot tunnel under Telephone Hill. It still carries water and power underground but its use as a pedestrian short cut was short-lived.

    Mysterious pink pond prompts a question and a quest

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 20, 2017


    A hydrologist's marker dye is unlikely, but there are a variety of biological processes that could be responsible for discoloration of the pond that's located about 4 miles down the Herbert Glacier trail.

    Long ago, Patsy Ann left her mark on historic Juneau, but where?

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 11, 2017


    The children's book, “Patsy Ann of Alaska: the true story of a dog" says the bull terrier, Patsy Ann, pushed her paw prints into sidewalk cement. But do they actually exist?

    Even with nowhere to go, Juneau car thieves are a growing problem

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 6, 2017


    Juneau isn't on the road system, but yet car thefts in the de facto island city -- are on the rise. In fact, 2017 has already surpassed the number of stolen motor vehicles reported in recent years -- and more than doubled since 2014.

    What’s the history of the Quonset huts on Atlin Drive?

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 24, 2017


    If you’ve driven on Mendenhall Loop Road, you may have seen the huts. The rusted steel half-circles look a bit like mini-airplane hangars.

    Racial disparity led to ban of death penalty in territorial Alaska

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 11, 2017


    “The fact is that after 1902, all of the people who were executed in Alaska were either racial minorities or ethnic minorities,” said attorney Averil Lerman. The last three men executed in the territory were an Alaska Native and two black men.

    Where did the Birdman of Alcatraz commit his first murder?

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 11, 2017


    Many people are familiar with the story of Robert Stroud, one of the country’s most famous inmates of the last century, and how he spent over half his life in solitary confinement and gained fame for his careful study of birds and bird diseases. But many people probably don't know that Stroud was initially sent to prison for a murder he committed just a few short blocks away from the present-day Alaska State Capitol in downtown Juneau.

    Why isn’t Gastineau Channel navigable all the way through?

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 21, 2017


    Curious Juneau examines why Gastineau Channel isn't maintained as a through waterway. Instead most vessels have to take the long way around Douglas Island.

    community local alaska juneau gastineau juneau alaska

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