ASSOCIATED PRESS

WASHINGTON — For-mer National Secu-rity Adviser Michael Flynn is in discus-sions with the House and Senate intelli-gence committees on

receiving immunity from “unfair prose-cution” in exchange for agreeing to be

T H E V O I C E O F I N T E R I O R A L A S K A

Friday, Mar 31 • 7:30 pm • Big Dipper

Saturday, Apr 1 • 7:30 pm • Big DipperIce Dogs vs Kenai River Brown Bears

RAVN ALASKA CUP

Jersey Auction all weekend!

Final regular season games of the year!

Come support the Dogs in their Final Playoff Push!

Tickets available at Eielson Community Center, Ft. Wainwright- ASYMCA, Play It Again Sports, Sport King, Fairbanks

Community Museum, Gene’s Chrysler

F12517638

Weekend sponsored by

SOURDOUGH JACK:

“I’d likely sink in a pool, and that’s not anchor-aged.”

The weather.

Cloudy. Highs in the

upper 30s to lower

40s. East winds to

10 mph. Tonight:

Cloudy. Lows in the

upper teens to lower

20s. Light winds.

High today .............. 41

Low tonight ............ 19

WEATHER » A5

GOODMORNING

Classified » C1-5 | Comics » C6 | Dear Abby » B4 | Faith » B3 | Markets » D4 | Obituaries » A3 | Opinion » A6 INSIDE

• • •

• • •

7-year-old who won $1,000 in ice fishing derby won’t divulge his bait formula. » B1Inside Today

Aurora forecast.

Auroral activity will

be high. Weather per-

mitting, highly active

auroral displays will be

visible overhead from

Utqiagvik to Bethel, Dil-

lingham and Ketchikan.

This information is provided

by aurora forecasters at

the Geophysical Institute

at the University of Alaska

Fairbanks. For more infor-

mation about the aurora,

visit http://www.gi.alaska.

edu/AuroraForecast

BEAR TRAPIce Dogs beat Kenai

River in series

opener at Big Dipper

SPORTS

Page D1

One dollar newsminer.comFRIDAY, MARCH 31, 2017

Deadline midnight to apply for dividendBy Matt BuxtonMBUXTON@NEWSMINER.COM

If you’re not one of the more than a half million Alaskans who have filed for a 2017 permanent fund div-idend, today is the last day to apply.

Applications can be submitted online by midnight, in person at the Fairbanks Permanent Fund Divi-dend office by 4 p.m., or by mail if postmarked today.

People are eligible to receive the dividend if they were Alaska resi-dents for the full 2016 calendar year and were not outside the state for more than 180 days, among a hand-ful of other requirements.

The total for the dividend this

year likely will be up to state law-makers. As they struggle to close the state’s multi-billion dollar budget gap, the earnings from the Alaska Permanent Fund have entered the discussion as a possible solution.

Last year, Gov. Bill Walker pushed for such a plan, and the Senate

passed it before it ultimately faltered in the House. The plan would have set dividends to $1,000. Walker ulti-mately stepped in and vetoed half the money for dividends, reducing them to $1,020 from their expected amount of $2,042.

A similar plan is before legisla-tors this year and has passed the Senate. The proposal, like last year’s, would reduce dividends to a guaranteed $1,000 per year for the next three years.

More than 523,000 Alaskans have applied for the dividend, according to the state Permanent Fund Divi-dend Division.

MAIDEN VOYAGESRight: A Remotely Operated underwater Vehicle cruises through the water Thursday morning at the UAF Patty Center pool.

Above: Teacher Raeann Edwards, right, watches as Jacob Odom works the controls as sixth-graders in the Extended Learning Program class at University Park Elementary School launch their ROVs on Thursday at the UAF Patty Center pool. Built using PVC pipe, electric motors, weights and flotations, the ROVs were put to different tasks such as diving and retrieving items. Check out the video at newsminer.com.Left: ROVs are set out for testing. ERIC ENGMAN/

NEWS-MINER PHOTOS

Where to applyIn person:Fairbanks PFD office,510 Second Ave., Suite 100Hours: 10 a.m.-4 p.m.Phone: 451-2820Online: https://pfd.alaska.gov

By Matt BuxtonMBUXTON

@NEWSMINER.COM

The Legislature is discussing plans that would use some of the earnings from the Alaska Permanent Fund to close part of the state’s multi- billion dollar budget gap, but other pro-posals are also on the

table for new things to do with your dividend.

A handful of legisla-tors, who happen to be mostly from the Inte-rior, have offered bills that would allow Alas-kans to voluntarily put their dividends to use in new ways.

Here’s a summary of those proposals.

Need any help spending it? Lawmakers have a few ideas

RUSSIA » A3

DEADLINE » A5 DIVVY » A5

Board approves ‘best case scenario’ education budget for next school yearBy Amanda BohmanABOHMAN

@NEWSMINER.COM

T h e s c h o o l b o a r d approved a $245 mil-lion spending plan for the 2017-18 school year Thursday, but no one is certain the plan will be put into effect.

The board is waiting for decisions by the Legisla-ture and the Fairbanks

North Star Borough Assembly on education funding and will adjust the budget when those revenues are known.

“This is the best-case scenario,” school board member Thomas Bar-tels said. “If we walk away with this, I will lead you all into the streets and dance. I wouldn’t hold our breath.”

The budget Bartels is

talking about dancing over adds office assis-tants, principals, social workers and English language teachers and tutors. Three more grade schools would get full-day kindergarten. Each e l e m e n t a r y s t u d e n t would have access to a computer or tablet.

But it cuts 17 teaching

SCHOOLS » A3

Ex-Trump aide seeks immunity for Russia testimony

Michael Flynn.AP FILE PHOTO