Anchorage sees first snowfall, and downtown building gets new tenant

Plus: 9-man football is a ‘good thing for Alaska football’ following a promising inaugural season ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ Email not displaying correctly? [View the web version]( Today's sponsor: Support independent reporting on what Alaskans care about most. [Subscribe today.]( Good afternoon. It’s Thursday, October 12. In today's newsletter: - Oil and gas company Santos will [move its Alaska headquarters to downtown Anchorage]( from Midtown next year, a move advocates say will help revitalize the city’s business district. - Anchorage’s [first official snowfall of the season]( tapered off early this morning and isn’t likely to last long, with the forecast calling for rising temperatures and rain to end the week. - A 22-year-old man [died Wednesday]( when his skiff ran into the back of a large barge being towed on the Kuskokwim River, Alaska State Troopers said. Tens of millions in the Americas will have front-row seats for a rare solar eclipse on Saturday. The celestial showstopper — called [the “ring of fire”]( — will yield a partial eclipse across much of the Western Hemisphere, including in Anchorage. As the moon lines up precisely between Earth and the sun, it will blot out all but the sun’s outer rim, creating a bright, blazing border around the moon for as much as five minutes. Anchorage weather It's overcast today after the city's first snowfall overnight. There's a high of 40 degrees and a chance for scattered rain showers. Rain is likely overnight and precipitation is set to continue through the weekend and into next week. Here’s what else is making headlines in Alaska today. — Megan Pacer, mpacer@adn.com [Company behind giant oil project will be main tenant in renovated downtown Anchorage building →]( Santos will occupy most of the former Key Bank Plaza building, and is planning $13.4 million in improvements to seven of its nine floors. Advocates for Anchorage's downtown say the move will be a shot in the arm for the city’s core business district, which has languished during the pandemic. ADVERTISEMENT [Rain forecast to follow Anchorage’s first official snow of the season →]( Oct. 16 is the average day for Anchorage’s first snowfall, so while today’s snow was a few days early, it’s not unusual, a member of the National Weather Service said. [Boater dies when skiff strikes barge on Kuskokwim River →]( Authorities were working to determine if there was a second person aboard the skiff and a search is ongoing. At least three people have died [this week in boating accidents]( in Southwest Alaska. [9-man football is a ‘good thing for Alaska football’ following a promising inaugural season →]( Coaches and administrators from smaller communities around the Last Frontier believe 9-man football is here to stay — and hope it could spur a football revival among small schools. [SPONSORED: How business leaders are tackling Alaska’s child care crisis →]( Presented by thread: In Anchorage, the number of licensed child care providers is at its lowest in more than 20 years. Community leaders like entrepreneur Jasmin Smith are advocating to bridge the gap alongside organizations like thread. ADVERTISEMENT More from the ADN [Social media is awash in misinformation about Israel-Gaza war, but Musk’s X is the most egregious →]( [NASA’s first asteroid samples are ‘a bounty’ of extraterrestrial material →]( Alaska gardening: [How to prep your yard and garden for winter? Choose your own adventure. →]( [With support for Scalise as House speaker in limbo, some Republicans look for alternatives →]( [Social Security benefits will increase by 3.2% in 2024 as inflation moderates →]( The ADN relies on readers like you. [Get digital access to the ADN for as low as $1.99 for the first month]( and help us cover the news that matters most here in Alaska. [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Instagram]( [Click here to unsubscribe and manage your email subscriptions.]( Anchorage Daily News, 300 W 31st Ave, Anchorage, AK 99503, United States