FYI Fairbanks: Issue 12

There’s always something happening around Fairbanks—and we’re here to help you keep up with a little more of it.

Each week, we bring together local events, community updates, useful things to know, and stories from the people and businesses that make Fairbanks what it is. Whether you’ve lived here for decades or are still getting to know the area, we hope you find something useful, interesting, or worth sharing.

Thanks for spending a few minutes with us.

Let's get started.

With 2026 PFD payments beginning in October, now is a good time to be extra cautious about texts and emails that appear to be from myAlaska or the Permanent Fund Dividend Division.

The State of Alaska specifically warns about phishing messages asking myAlaska users to change or update their passwords. myAlaska does not send texts or emails asking you to change your password.

If you receive a message claiming there’s a problem with your account or PFD, don't click the link. Instead, close the message and go directly to the official State of Alaska PFD website to check your application through myPFD.

And as always, take a close look at where a link is actually sending you before entering your myAlaska login or banking information.

A few extra seconds of caution can save you a much bigger headache.

Check Your PFD Through the Official State Website

Support events and businesses that help make Fairbanks a great place to live, work, and play. Click images for more information.

For Kelli Boyle, finding the creative outlet that finally stuck started with something simple: fixing a broken necklace.

Kelli had always considered herself creative and had tried plenty of crafty hobbies over the years, but nothing had quite clicked. Jewelry was different. Once she tried it, she immediately fell in love with the process—and eventually turned that new passion into DUO Goods, where she creates modern jewelry using materials including antler, porcupine quills, and birch bark.

But Kelli wanted the business to reflect more than her creativity.

With a background in the nonprofit world, giving back to the community was important to her from the beginning. That idea became part of the business right down to its name: DUO stands for “Do Unto Others.” A percentage of every DUO Goods sale is donated back to community nonprofits.

Over the years, Kelli's jewelry has also become part of some pretty special moments for the people who wear it. Her pieces have been chosen for weddings, graduations, proms, and other milestones—and have even made their way into a photoshoot for Vogue Magazine.

For Kelli, knowing something she created gets to become a small part of those memories is one of the most meaningful parts of the work.

But just as important is the community surrounding the business. Kelli loves working alongside other small business owners and being part of Fairbanks' art and maker community. It's one of the things that makes building DUO Goods here especially meaningful.

Even as Fairbanks grows, Kelli says it still has the feeling of a place where people look out for one another—and where neighbors genuinely care about their community. That's a particularly fitting home for a business built around the idea of doing unto others.

Want to see Kelli's work in person? DUO Goods will be popping up at In My Element on September 26 (this Saturday!), and you'll also find Kelli at the Monroe High School Bazaar on October 17.

DUO Goods jewelry is also available at several local shops and online anytime by visiting her website.

Connect with DUO Goods:

Website || Facebook || Instagram

Tuesday September 22
Twos’ Time at the Library — 10:15-11:15am
Borough Assembly Forum — 12-1pm
Southside Community Farmers Market — 4-6:30pm
Create & Connect: Kindness Cards — 5-8pm
Pioneer Park Pickers Weekly Music Jam — 6:30-8:30pm

Thursday September 24
Guitar Recital with Jason Vieaux — 7pm

Friday September 25
Celebrate Dolly Day at the Children’s Museum — 2-5pm
The Community Center Open House — 5-9pm
Pumpkin Bouquet Sugar Cookie Decorating Class — 6pm
Stitch and Watch: Little Women — 6:45pm

Saturday September 26
Alaska Railroad's Open House — 9am
Family Matinees at the Planetarium — 10am and 11am
Fallidays at Silver Bell Square — 11am-7pm
Family Day: Baskets at Museum of the North — 12-4pm
The Great Interior Pumpkin Drop & Fly-In — 12pm
Tabletop Game Café — 12:30-4:30pm

Sunday September 27
Fallidays at Silver Bell Square — 11am-7pm
Walk & Talk: All About Seed Saving (Rescheduled) — 1-3pm
Arctic Chamber Orchestra Performs Beethoven's Eroica Symphony — 4-6pm

Monday September 28
Chess Club at Noel Wien Library — 5:30-7pm

Fairbanks is full of interesting people, opinions, and stories. Each week, we'll ask a quick question just for fun and share some responses in the next edition.

Last week, we asked when you put your winter tires on. September to early October was the practical answer, while Barbara summed up the reality pretty well: “When I remember and have the time off work to wait in line.” Sounds about right for most of us.

With snow already showing up in this week’s forecast, we have to ask:

FYI Fairbanks is built by community members, for community members.

Have an event to share? Know a business we should meet? Interested in advertising? Have an idea for a future edition? Just hit reply, we’d love to hear from you.

And if you enjoy getting local stories, events, and community updates delivered straight to your inbox, it would mean a lot if you'd forward FYI Fairbanks to a friend or neighbor so they can subscribe too.

See you around town,

Your Friends at FYI Fairbanks