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- [00:00]
Patrick Gilchrist
Support for Alaska Public Media on Demand.
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David Langford
Comes from Siri, an Alaska Native corporation.
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Casey Grove
With operations and investments spanning five continents.
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Jack Peterson
45 states and two U.S. territories.
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David Langford
What we would like to get to is that there are no disparities based on race.
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Casey Grove
A review of the COVID 19 pandemic's impacts in Alaska found significant racial disparities. From Alaska Public Media, this is statewide news on Alaska News nightly for Friday, December 12th. Good evening. I'm Casey Grove. Also tonight, the federal government shutdown is over, but its effects on fishery management are lingering.
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David Langford
We're not able to get new stock.
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Interviewer (possibly Hope McKinney or Avery Elphelt)
Assessments from our federal authors because they were on furlough.
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Casey Grove
Those stories and more tonight on Alaska News Nightly. A new report from the state health department reviews the COVID 19 pandemic in Alaska, looking back at the spread of the virus, the state's response, the efficacy of vaccines and gaps in pandemic preparedness. As KUEC's Patrick Gilchrist reports, it also documents significant racial disparities in key public health metrics.
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Patrick Gilchrist
About 1 in 500 Alaskans died of COVID 19 between 2020 and 2023. That's according to an epidemiology bulletin the state Department of health released on December 9th. And the 33 page document says there were substantial racial disparities in rates of COVID 19 hospitalization and mortality in Alaska early in the pandemic. For instance, age adjusted mortality rates in the state were about three and a half times higher for Asian and Pacific Islander people compared to white people, according to the bulletin. The disparity during that period from June 2020 to January 2021 was greatest among American Indian and Alaska Native people whose age adjusted mortality rate was 5 and a half times higher than that of white people.
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David Langford
It matters because at the end of the day, what we would like to get to is that there are no disparities based on race.
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Patrick Gilchrist
Jacqueline Bergstrom is the executive director of health services for Tanana Chiefs Conference. That's a non profit tribal organization based in Fairbanks that aims to advance the health and social service needs of its 42 members, 37 of which are federally recognized tribes. Bergstrom read the state Bulletin and said the results didn't come as a surprise since officials were also tracking data during the pandemic. Other studies have also observed similar disparities nationally, but she says the report's comprehensive look back at COVID 19 in Alaska makes it a useful resource because when.
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David Langford
We were in it, we were in it right? And we were tracking real time.
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Patrick Gilchrist
The magnitude of the racial disparities for hospitalization and mortality rates in Alaska fluctuated in the different phases of COVID 19 analyzed in the Bulletin, but it says the disproportionate impacts continued for the entirety of the pandemic in Alaska. The Bulletin concluded by saying more research is needed to grasp the underlying social and structural issues. Bergstrom also says the causes behind the disparities are numerous and complex. But she says limited access to running water in some parts of Alaska is one example that impacts people's ability to take preventative measures like hand washing. According to the state Division of water, more than 3,300 homes in Alaska don't have modern plumbing, and a study during the pandemic linked limited water resources with increased risk for COVID 19 in Alaska villages. Bergstrom says the new report offers more evidence that improving those resources would be a boon to public health.
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David Langford
Just seeing this data, it's another really important factor where we can show and say, hey, we need to get water and sanitation to our rural communities because we've seen some of the impacts during.
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Jack Peterson
The COVID 19 pandemic as well.
- [04:21]
Patrick Gilchrist
Through a Department of Health spokesperson, the state Section of Epidemiology declined an interview request about the Bulletin. In an email, health Officials wrote that Covid 19amplified pre existing inequities and that contributing factors likely include housing conditions, limited access to timely or specialty health care, and higher prevalence of underlying medical conditions associated with severe COVID 19. In Fairbanks, I'm Patrick Gilchrist.
- [04:49]
Casey Grove
The North Pacific Fishery Management Council met last week in Anchorage to set harvest limits for the nation's largest fishery. That's the Bering Sea pollock fishery. But as the Alaska Desk's Theo Greenlee reports, the government shutdown earlier this year created unprecedented challenges.
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Theo Greenlee
Members of the North Pacific Fishery Management Council, which oversees federal fisheries off Alaska's coast, recommend keeping next year's catch limits for the sprawling Bering Sea pollock fishery about the same as this year. Managing the nation's largest commercial fishery is never simple, but as Councilmember Anne Vanderhoeven said during the meeting, this year had unprecedented challenges.
- [05:29]
David Langford
Because of the lapse in federal funding and the subsequent government shutdown, updated stock assessments are not available for 2025.
- [05:38]
Theo Greenlee
Without those assessments, the council had to rely on older data and partial updates. Fisheries biologist Diana Stram runs the Groundfish Plan team, which presents annual reports to the council. She says the team had to cancel its meeting last month when the federal government shut down for over six weeks, and that was going to be a problem because it meant the organization recommending catch limits could be doing it without the most recent information. Here's Stram last week presenting to the.
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Interviewer (possibly Hope McKinney or Avery Elphelt)
Council, we're not able to get new stock assessments from our federal authors because they were on furlough and did not have the time to complete those new assessments.
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David Langford
And we don't have a Grandfish Plan team report as a result because the team didn't meet to review those assessments.
- [06:25]
Theo Greenlee
It's the latest hurdle for federal fisheries managers since the start of President Trump's second term. Layoffs at the national oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Alaska Fisheries Science center started earlier this year. Many of those workers help with surveys that help determine how fisheries should open. The credit cards used to purchase supplies for summer research trips were frozen just as the boats were gearing up, and the council itself saw dramatic budget reductions, leading to its last meeting being moved online. Still, at the council meeting this month, NOAA scientists emphasized that last year's assessment models were strong and built on decades of survey work. They told the council that projections from last year were reliable enough to guide 2026 limits. Despite the disruptions, council members said the process held together well enough to set this year's recommendations. But they acknowledged that Alaska's largest fishery is increasingly vulnerable to forces far outside the water. In Unalaska, I'm Theo Greenlee.
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Casey Grove
Federal funding for libraries and museums has been reinstated nine months after the Trump administration sought to eliminate the agency that provides the money. The initial move sparked concern around Alaska, where dozens of tribes and villages rely on federal dollars to pay library staff and offer programming. At the time, a handful of libraries reported grant cancellations, but the US Agency, known as the Institute of Museum and Library Services, said in early December that all federal grants had been restored. The move came after a Rhode Island District court judge ruled that the funding cancellation was unlawful. Some libraries in Alaska that lost funding have received notice that it's been reinstated, but in at least two cases that happened months before the recent ruling. The Tuzzy Consortium library in Utqiagvik saw a major grant cancellation earlier this year but received a reinstatement notice in July. It said the agency had determined the grant was in line with the agency's priorities and the president's agenda. The library in the native village of Klukwan, outside of Haines, lost the bulk of its funding in the spring. Klukwan Library co director Jamie Katzick said in an email that both of the library's two grants have now been restored. Katzick did not say when the funding was restored, but a school library newsletter published in August announced new hours and upcoming events. It said that was possible because the library had received a new grant and another had been reinstated. The dollars will provide funding for staff hours and community programming, Katzik said, adding that the library is currently reworking its budget but plans to be open five or six days each week. Still to come on Alaska News Nightly, a Sitka man shares his love for nutcrackers. And no, we're not talking about the ballet.
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Jack Peterson
I look for ones that look like they could have left off of the children's books that I used to read.
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Casey Grove
That's ahead. Stay with us. An effort to decide whether to change the municipality of Anchorage's official seal has been marred by technical manipulation and misinformation, according to city leaders. Anchorage officials put out a Web survey late last month for members of the public to weigh in on five proposed seals, including one that has no changes. But Anchorage IT staff say over 2,100 responses were logged in just under an hour earlier this week, leading officials to believe they were fraudulent. The responses used variations of the exact same language and were in support of not changing the seal at all. Eagle river assembly member Jared Gerker asked the city's chief information security officer, John Randulik, about the legitimacy of the comments.
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David Langford
So it's possible, not plausible, but it.
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Casey Grove
Is possible that these are more that these are possibly to be legitimate survey responses. Statistically it would. It's improbable, I would say, that random people wrote the same comment and thought, you know, like, it doesn't look like a legitimate result. Right.
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Patrick Gilchrist
But we can't prove it.
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Casey Grove
But we can prove it.
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Patrick Gilchrist
Okay, got it.
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Casey Grove
Okay, thank you. Assembly Chair Chris Constance says another batch of survey results in support of not changing the seal cited concerns over the cost of implementing it. Constance says a local media outlet described the change as costing the city money, leading members of the public to oppose changing it. But Constance says the legal language around changing the seal actually says it would be phased in over time at very little cost. When you need new letterhead, you will add the new letterhead and you'll print it when it's time. When you need new business cards because you've used all your business cards. When we buy a new snowplow, we will add it to the new snowplow.
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David Langford
But we're not going to send the fleet back in for paint jobs.
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Casey Grove
The five seal options all contain a prominent anchor in the center using a yellow and blue color palette. Some options include a traditional or simplified Denina quillwork design or a ship in the background signifying explorer James Cook's search for the Northwest Passage. The assembly is set to select one of the options during its next meeting, and that's on Tuesday night. At a State Board of Education meeting earlier this month, alumni and former staff from Mount Edgecumbe High School raised concerns about safety and student support at the state run boarding school in Sitka. Dozens of students have withdrawn since the start of the school year and the administration is still working to fill a number of vacant positions. KCAW's Hope McKinney sat down on Wednesday with Superintendent David Langford, who joined the administration in July to discuss the claims and a warning to listeners. This story mentions suicide.
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David Langford
We take all concerns very seriously and especially accusations about student health. I will tell you that the report that was made to the State Board of Education and signed by a number of individuals, none of them contacted me to actually find out the real data and the real story. So where they got their information I have no idea, but because it didn't come from myself or the any administrators here.
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Interviewer (possibly Hope McKinney or Avery Elphelt)
Yeah, and so you, you talked about that people hadn't consulted with you over what you called the real data and real story. Several speakers at that meeting said over 40 students have withdrawn enrollment so far this year. Is that number accurate? Is this unusual? Can you speak to that?
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David Langford
No, that number is not accurate. It's actually 43 students and that's just to date, but compared to total number of students Last year is 72, 2023 is 57, 2022 is 69, 2021 is 9 was 91 and 2020 was 94 and those are Covid years, so expected a lot more. Traditionally we have approximately 20 students that don't return after Christmas. I don't know of any yet that have said they're not returning, but that usually happens every single year. So I expect that 43 number to go up, but it's definitely not double and it's in line with all the previous data actually.
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Interviewer (possibly Hope McKinney or Avery Elphelt)
So a nurse practitioner at the school also said that eight students were hospitalized for suicidal ideation between mid and late November. Is that number unusual?
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David Langford
That number is not unusual. We don't track that specific item. So all I can go on is I interviewed dorm staff that had been there for as long as 17 years and they said that's not an unusual number, that they've often had eight students within a week identify. I don't know where she is getting that number or how she got the authorization to release that number, but we do have students with suicide ideation. I was just on a meeting with superintendents across the state this week. And all of them identified the same problem. So it's not a Mount Edgecombe problem, It's a state problem. Mount Edgecombe gets a cross section of students throughout the whole state. So it's not unusual that we would get students that have suicide ideation. Every one of those is taken extremely seriously. And every student is evaluated by a psychologist. We have to get a clean report from the psychologist to readmit them back into the dormitory. And then we meet administrators to decide, are they safe to be in our dormitory? Because just because the psychologist says they can come back doesn't necessarily mean that they're safe to be in a dormitory where we have one to 80 aids to students. So sometimes we decide, no, we really can't support them. And in that case, then we work to move them on to higher treatment facilities.
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Interviewer (possibly Hope McKinney or Avery Elphelt)
Okay, so just to clarify, it sounds like the number of students who've withdrawn enrollment this year, the number of students who've been hospitalized with suicidal ideation, Those numbers aren't out of the ordinary.
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David Langford
No, and I'm sure there's people that would disagree with me on that. But, you know, recently, probably, maybe, we had an increased number of suicide ideation in a single period of time. And that just means we jump into gear and. And everybody helps. In a strange way, I actually looked at it, look at that as a positive thing because it means more students have confidence, our wellness staff and counselors, that they're reporting that they have those thoughts and need help. And I would look at that as. As very positive that we can get them the help that they need right away. So.
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Interviewer (possibly Hope McKinney or Avery Elphelt)
Well, thank you so much. Is there anything else that I should have asked you or you'd like to share?
- [16:54]
David Langford
You know, it's. Everybody has fears. I have fears every day of students that need help, and are we getting them right help, and are we identifying students, etc. And I would say everybody on the staff, both in the dormitory and academic building, is totally focused on just that. And we've had multiple meetings on prevention techniques and basically preventing our students from getting access to, you know, any kind of over the counter drugs or anything else that could encourage suicide, that kind of thing. So. And we have a really good relationships with entities around the state that students need to be placed in a higher level of care. We work directly with them and transport them. And so we do everything possible to support kids that have that suicide ideation.
- [17:46]
Casey Grove
That was Mount Edgecumbe High School Superintendent David Langford speaking with KCAW's Hope McKinney. If you or someone you know is struggling with emotional distress or suicidal thoughts. You can call or text 988 to reach the Suicide Crisis Line for 24 hour support or contact the Alaska Care Line at 1-877-266-4357. The Fairbank's NorthStar Borough wants to continue swapping out vehicles in its public transit fleet with new buses that run on compressed natural gas, or cng. And late last week the borough announced it received another grant from the Federal Transit Administration to contribute to the ongoing project. The grant is worth a little more than $3 million and comes from a program meant to help state and local governments purchase or lease emissions transit vehicles. The borough has been working to phase out the diesel and gasoline buses and vans in its Metropolitan Area Commuter system fleet for years. Borough Mayor Greger Hopkins says the initiative, which has repeatedly drawn federal support, has a few advantages locally. This is an opportunity to both get.
- [18:54]
David Langford
New buses at a very good match.
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Casey Grove
In partnership with the federal government and provide better service to the community as well as clean our air and lower our operating costs. The effort dates back to at least 2019. That's when the Borough assembly passed a resolution to support switching the diesel and gasoline fleet over to CNG vehicles. The first three CNG buses hit borough routes this spring. Hopkins says they're performing well in the interior's cold climate so far, and he says he's heard good things from drivers. In my conversations with our borough drivers.
- [19:25]
David Langford
They love these new buses.
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Casey Grove
They're like driving a new car when you take one that's off the lot instead of driving your old beater with a heater. Borough Transportation Director Michelle Denton said by email Monday that the system's fleet still includes 13 diesel powered buses and two gasoline powered vans. The Borough Assembly's finance committee in March approved spending about $4.3 million to purchase another five CNG buses, which cost a little less than $900,000 a piece of with the help of local matches. That contract was funded by other awards and the borough had gotten from the Federal Transit Administration in previous years. Denton said she expects those five buses to arrive in late summer or early fall. Well, nutcrackers have become a staple Christmas decoration across the world, but for one Sitkin, they're more than that. They represent a fulfilled childhood dream. KCAW's Ryan Cotter reports on how his collection of over 130 nutcrackers began, as well as how some of the purest Christmas joy might come from cracking a nut.
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Jack Peterson
There's kind of sort of two main displays I would say, and then a bunch of like little smaller ones that are peppered around the restaurant.
- [20:36]
Interviewer (possibly Hope McKinney or Avery Elphelt)
As a well known prop designer for community theater productions in Sitka, Jack Peterson is no stranger to construction. He holds up one of his proudest works, a wooden nutcracker adorned in a blue marching band uniform.
- [20:52]
Jack Peterson
As an artist, I do get very particular about, like, not just like the visual aesthetics, but also like how things feel, how they sound and stuff. And I love how this one feels when it cracks a nut. For being the first nutcracker that I kept myself, I am very proud of the construction.
- [21:07]
Interviewer (possibly Hope McKinney or Avery Elphelt)
Reaching into a basket of walnuts, Peterson plucks one out and places it into the nutcracker's mouth, preparing it for a satisfying crack.
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Jack Peterson
See if I can get that nut in there. Three, two, one. And there we go. Yeah. Oh, I will have to get a broom for that.
- [21:31]
Interviewer (possibly Hope McKinney or Avery Elphelt)
This nutcracker is the first of three that Peterson has made. They are part of his large nutcracker collection, which features over 130 nutcrackers. Since the beginning of the month, the majority of the nutcrackers in Peterson's collection have been displayed at Wildflower Cafe and Bakery, where he serves as a year round line cook. The nutcrackers are spread out across the restaurant in an array of sizes and materials, some made from various kinds of wood and others from relatively unconventional materials like iron and brass. Their uniforms are adorned in details marking their country of origin from Germany to Russia. Wreaths of fake pine boughs and Christmas lights wrap around the room, a playful reminder to patrons that the holiday season is upon us. While many of them are displayed out in the open by a wildflower's entrance, some of the nutcrackers have more cheeky hiding spots.
- [22:34]
Jack Peterson
I do like hiding the nutcrackers really high up on shelves, especially for kids who like to look around and stuff. I got one hiding up there. I won't say where that is for the listeners, so they'll have to come in and find it themselves. I have, you know, nutcrackers hiding in the rafters in the bathroom by the salt shakers. There it is a wonderful little game of I Spy for people who want to come in and look around.
- [23:00]
Interviewer (possibly Hope McKinney or Avery Elphelt)
Peterson's fascination with nutcrackers began when he was around three years old when he saw a local production of the iconic ballet, you guessed it, the Nutcracker.
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Jack Peterson
I mean, it was just like something magical. I like the ideas of toys and dolls and things coming to life when we don't see them and stuff.
- [23:19]
Interviewer (possibly Hope McKinney or Avery Elphelt)
While Many young audience members who attend the yearly production often walk away inspired to become ballerinas. The show took Peterson's imagination in a different direction.
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Jack Peterson
This may seem silly, but I remember being a kid and wishing that I could crack a nut with a nutcracker and having, you know, daydreams of some whimsical drosselmeyer figure of my own to, like, shove and be like, hello, young boy. Would you like to crack a nut?
- [23:51]
Interviewer (possibly Hope McKinney or Avery Elphelt)
As his admiration for nutcrackers persisted over time, Peterson began the work of collecting them to fulfill his childhood dream.
- [24:00]
Jack Peterson
Eventually, when I became an adult with adult money, but not in the adult responsibility, I started looking online, reaching out, and started researching, like, nutcrackers that could actually crack nuts. And one thing led to another, and we are now here.
- [24:16]
Interviewer (possibly Hope McKinney or Avery Elphelt)
When it comes to determining what nutcrackers to add to his collection, Peterson is drawn to those that have unique designs that resonate with his inner child.
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Jack Peterson
But I really love finding the ones that are homemade. Like, they're ones that individual people made or, you know, smaller crafters or some, like, older oddities. I look for ones that look like they could have leapt off of the children's books that I used to read as a kid, because, I don't know, there's just something really magical about that.
- [24:48]
Interviewer (possibly Hope McKinney or Avery Elphelt)
And it is that very magic that Peterson wishes to share with the community through displaying his collection at Wildflower.
- [24:56]
Jack Peterson
I love sharing my collection with people, and I specifically love being able to share nutcrackers that actually crack nuts because it's a very mundane thing, but it's also not something that the average person gets to do in a lifetime. And it's a bit of holiday magic to be silly.
- [25:15]
Interviewer (possibly Hope McKinney or Avery Elphelt)
Peterson's nutcrackers will continue to be displayed up until Christmas before being packed away once more as Wildflower begins renovations in January. In the meantime, Peterson hopes his collection can spread some Christmas cheer and that he can maybe even help some folks crack a nut for the very first time, just like the nutcracking mentor he dreamed of having as a child. In Sitka, I'm Bryan Cotter.
- [25:53]
Casey Grove
Well, that's all for this edition of Alaska News Nightly. We had reports tonight from Patrick Gilchrist and Fairbanks, Theo Greenlee in Unalaska, Avery Elphelt and Haynes Wesley early in anchorage, and Hope McKinney and Ryan Cotter in Sitka. If you want to send us a news tip, question or comment, email us@newsalaskapublic.org Our audio engineer is Crystal Hyde. Madeline Rose is our producer, and I'm Casey Grove. Have a great weekend. Weekend. This is statewide news on Alaska Public Media.