Statue of US Sen. Ted Stevens unveiled at Anchorage airport

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) – A life-size bronze statue of former U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens was unveiled at the Alaska airport that also bears his name.

The Anchorage Daily News reports the 631-pound statue uncovered Saturday at the Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport shows the longtime Republican senator with a welcoming disposition as he’s seated on a bench.

The Ted Stevens Foundation oversaw the privately funded project, which was sculpted by Joan Bugbee Jackson, of Cordova.

Foundation executive director Karina Waller says she hopes the statue’s high-traffic location will capture attention and spur people to learn more about Stevens.

Stevens died in a plane crash near Dillingham in western Alaska in 2010. He served in the Senate for 40 years.

Information from: Anchorage Daily News, http://www.adn.com