Hank Nuwer Alaska Yarns
My Travel Blog
By Alaska’s Columnist of the Year
Welcome. Enjoy the official story clearinghouse of Alaska author Hank Nuwer with photos by Malgorzata (Gosia) Nuwer. Scroll down to very bottom of this main page for archived stories.
Bio: University of Alaska (Fairbanks) adjunct professor Hank Nuwer
Awards: 2025 Hoosier State Press Association first-place winner for commentary, 2023 and 2024 Alaska Press Club (APC) First-Place Columnist of the Year, and 2022 Ohio SPJ First-Place Columnist of the Year.
Gosia Nuwer photographs Alaska and its wildlife. She and Hank reside in Fairbanks, Alaska, with 20 acres in remote Alaska, and a vacation cabin in Poland.
Gosia and her husband in 2025 contributed an article on Alaska back-road trips for Phi Kappa Phi’s Forum Magazine.
Contact Prof. Hank Nuwer at Hjnuwer@Alaska.edu
Know someone who has fought hazing in student groups, the military or sports? Nominate him/her/them here for a Hank Nuwer Antihazing Hero Award at Hazing Prevention Network.
2021 Airbnbdisaster
Near Darke By Hank Nuwer My wife Gosia and I returned yesterday from a working vacation in Alaska. The mountains wore a majestic white cape of snow. As we drove hairpin turns on the Kenai Peninsula, the Avis rental car belched an ominous warning noise. Gulp, a...
Feb. 1, 2023. Stuck in the driveway
This business of transitioning from cheechako to sourdough sure is challenging. On Monday I drove back from work and stuck the little Jeep in the driveway like a bug in amber. Nobody was around to help. This cheechako is fast learning that Alaska folks like...
Singing, “Let it snow, let it snow, let it stop”
Singing, “Let it snow, let it snow, let it stop” Well, it happened again. I went cheechako again and had to call AAA to rescue me out of the snow. My little Jeep Renegade lost all traction on High Grade Way. I threw on the red flashers as I waited...
Feb. 14, 2023 Delicious dishes, wishes and kisses on Valentine’s Day
Golden Heart Tales: by Hank Nuwer With my sweetheart thousands of miles away at our big house on the Indiana stateline, I had time on my hands this weekend. What better way to spend it than to look up past Valentine’s Day celebrations in the Fairbanks paper?...
Super background article on the TV show Alaska Daily: Returns March 2, 2023
Seriously, these three writers (David Hulen, Kyle Hopkins, Vicky Ho) thought of every question a viewer like me might have and answered it. Thank you, David, Kyle and Vicky. Super job. Follow the link here. It's worth your time. Below is why the show's return is...
Thar’s gold in them thar dollar stores
Christmas has come and gone. Weeks later, our family still had one gift to unwrap. Yes, I have a story to tell. But first I want to explain why the Christmas of ’52 was my most unforgettable childhood holiday. That was the year I printed a list for Santa only slightly...
Traveling on Moose Time
Nearly two weeks after finishing the drive from the Midwest to Fairbanks, I find myself marveling at the photos my wife Gosia snapped. Each turn of the Alaska Highway brought a new peak to admire. I stood beneath a couple high-risers and risked falling over backwards...
The Iceman Cometh and he be me
Like all of you, I finished tons of art projects while in grade school. After we finished, my fellow students decorated the classroom walls with their masterpieces. Unfortunately, the teacher always said, “You can take yours home.” I figured the nuns believed I lived...
Requiem for a toy soldier
This week’s Fairbanks Daily News Miner's editorial board decision to address Alaska’s poor record on keeping up with essential childhood disease vaccinations sent me back to the archives of the News-Miner from 1953 to 1955. Massive fear about the disease among the...