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- [00:07]
Senator Gary Stevens
How can you or your department or anyone in the administration argue against birthright citizenship?
- [00:16]
Casey Grove
State lawmakers ask pointed questions to Governor Dunleavy's pick for attorney general. From Alaska Public Media, this is statewide news on Alaska News nightly for Friday, May 1st. That's right, it's May. I'm Casey Grove. Also tonight, a western Alaska legislator voices frustration about cuts to home heating assistance.
- [00:34]
Representative Neil Foster
When folks start to look at programs to get rid of and things to reduce, it's the things that hit low income people the most.
- [00:42]
Casey Grove
Those stories and more tonight on Alaska News Nightly. Legislators grilled governor Mike Dunleavy's pick for attorney general during a series of contentious confirmation hearings this week. Attorney General designee Stephen Cox appeared before two Senate committees ahead of a confirmation vote expected in the coming weeks. Cox is a former US Attorney whom President Trump appointed during his first term to prosecute federal crimes in the Eastern District of Texas in 2020. Before Dunleavy appointed him last August to fill a vacancy left by gubernatorial candidate Treg Taylor, Cox was the chief legal officer for Bristol Bay Industrial, a subsidiary of the Regional Native Corporation. Cox told lawmakers he'd focused on a few key areas in his nine months in office resource development, consumer protection and his top priorities, domestic violence and sexual assault. I've spent much of my career in law enforcement settings where the stakes are real, decisions affect liberty, public safety and public trust. That experience shapes how I approach this office. Lawmakers, though, raised deep concerns over a number of controversial choices Cox has made in his short tenure as attorney general. Some questioned the Department of Law's advice to comply with the federal Justice Department request for confidential voter information, which sparked a lawsuit from civil rights groups. Other lawmakers questioned the large number of so called amicus briefs the state has joined since Cox was appointed by the Dunleavy administration. Senate President Gary Stevens, a Kodiak Republican, got a little choked up while asking Cox why he'd signed on to a brief in support of Trump's executive order sharply restricting birthright citizenship. Stevens said his own ancestors were immigrants.
- [02:25]
Senator Gary Stevens
I just, it baffles me that people argue against that. It just baffles me. How can you or your department or anyone in the administration argue against birthright citizenship? It's in our Constitution. It's a moral issue. I'd appreciate your honest answer.
- [02:47]
Casey Grove
Cox said he'd given it a lot of thought. He echoed the Trump administration's position. My view of the constitution under the 14th amendment is that it is not simply birth on the territory, that you also have to be not subject to the foreign jurisdiction and that there has to be some kind of allegiance. Cox said the questions were tough but fair. He's due for another confirmation hearing Monday afternoon in front of the House Judiciary Committee. Well, the higher prices climb, the better the outlook for Alaska's oil dependent budget. But it also hits regular Alaskans through their utilities, groceries and fuel. You know, the cost of living. One legislator from western Alaska says that pain has an outsized impact on his constituents and that's shaping his priorities as lawmakers head into their final budget negotiations. K and O M's Ben Townsend reports.
- [03:43]
Ben Townsend
It's no secret the state of Alaska depends on oil production for a big chunk of its budget. So when oil prices spiked after the United States and Israel attacked Iran in late February, on its face, that was a good thing for the state's budget.
- [03:57]
Representative Neil Foster
But I would rather have low oil prices because it impacts our constituents so greatly.
- [04:06]
Ben Townsend
This is Democratic State Representative Neil Foster. He, he represents most of the Seward Peninsula in western Alaska.
- [04:13]
Representative Neil Foster
You know, for somebody who makes 200,000 a year, energy costs are a small portion of their income. Somebody making $20,000 a year, that's a huge so it impacts our district tremendously.
- [04:24]
Ben Townsend
Number one, excluding his hometown of Nome, over one in five people in Foster's district are living at or below the poverty line, according to census data. That's over twice the statewide average. And even if the spike in global energy prices is short lived, few fuel buyers in western Alaska may be stuck paying for fuel with prices inflated by the war for an entire year. That's because most communities in western Alaska get just one or two big fuel deliveries a year because of sea ice and economies of scale. By buying and shipping in bulk, resale prices within those communities are essentially locked in until the next delivery. Fifteen communities in the region buy their fuel through the Nordensound Economic Development Corporation's bulk fuel program. The Gnome based nonprofit's chief operating officer, Tyler Rhodes, says by buying together, the program is able to pass along savings to customers. The exact price NSEDC pays for fuel depends on fuel prices the month its massive delivery tanker is loaded this year. Rhodes expects the ship to be loaded up in May and then get underway toward the Bering Strait. Rhodes says trying to wait until prices are lower isn't really an option. But villages running low on fuel after a long and historically cold winter can't wait. Back down in Juneau, Representative Foster feels a sense of urgency, too. Foster, who co chairs the House Finance Committee, worked with his caucus to add $17 million to the House's version of the budget for the dormant Alaska Heating Assistance Program. To Foster's frustration, the Senate cut the funding three weeks later.
- [06:00]
Representative Neil Foster
When folks start to look at programs to get rid of and things to reduce, it's the things that hit low income people the most. And it's just made me so angry.
- [06:10]
Ben Townsend
The state run program was defunded in 2015, Foster says. For a family of five, it provided over $4,000 a year. And he says unlike other assistance programs focused on heating oil, it could be used to buy propane to cook with or gas for four wheelers. At the time, the state program supplemented the federal Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, which is still going but is restricted to very income Alaskans. Foster says he sees the writing on the wall this summer. With resellers prices almost certain to jump once they factor in their costs.
- [06:43]
Representative Neil Foster
If there's going to be any pain, I would rather see that at the state level. That does mean reduced services. But you know, again, if we're going to cut somewhere, I think we should cut oil tax credits. You know, that's where it should be coming from, not everyday.
- [06:58]
Ben Townsend
Alaskans legislators are aiming to send their final budget to the governor by the end of the regular session May 20. With reporting from Juneau, I'm Ben Townsend in Nome.
- [07:09]
Casey Grove
Forecasters are warning of a heightened risk of avalanches in south central Alaska this weekend. The Chugach National Forest Avalanche center today issued warnings for parts of the Anchorage hillside, Turnagan Arm and the Kenai Peninsula, in effect through Sunday. The forecasters say people traveling in the mountains as well as on trails below need to be cautious. The center's acting director, Andrew Schauer, says an atmospheric river event could bring as much as 2ft of snow to higher elevations around Girdwood and Anchorage and up to 5ft near Portage and Seward.
- [07:41]
Andrew Schauer
The weight of a person on top of that weak snowpack could be all that's needed to trigger a really big avalanche.
- [07:48]
Casey Grove
The storm is set to subside by tonight, but Schauer advises people not to travel in avalanche terrain through the weekend. To the north in Hatcher Pass, forecasters have seen a string of avalanches. Tim Rogers, lead forecaster for the local avalanche center, says the snowpack in the area roughly doubled in the past two weeks.
- [08:06]
Andrew Schauer
We got up to 4ft of snow over that, probably several inches of snow water equivalent, and that created new avalanches as well as overloading buried weak layers from a season long stale snowpack that was like extremely weak and faceted.
- [08:23]
Casey Grove
On Wednesday, Rogers and two other forecasters found themselves caught in an avalanche after unintentionally triggering a slide by moving too close to a cornice overhanging a ridge. The avalanche ran 400 to 600ft and carried two skiers. The forecasters reported no injuries and all of their gear was accounted for. Schauer, with the Chugach center, says the start of spring is a particularly dangerous time for avalanches as warmer weather and rain weakens the snowpack further. He says that creates an elevated risk for backcountry mountain travelers and those on seemingly mellower trails below. A recent video on social media showed an avalanche running over a dirt trail near Portage as a family hiked nearby.
- [09:05]
Andrew Schauer
You know, we had that avalanche incident last weekend that involved five hikers on Peak 3. They're in a near miss out in the Byron Valley near Portage. But there's all these hiking trails that are melting out that are exposed to major avalanche threat, and this is the time of year when those accidents happen.
- [09:23]
Casey Grove
He advises people to check their local avalanche warning center's website before planning any travel through the backcountry. Still to come on Alaska News Nightly, how to avoid injury as you transition from winter to summer activities.
- [09:40]
Sarah Hisstand
For sure, people often come in being like, it's not working for me to go off the couch anymore. I'm gonna need to, like, put a little bit more effort in.
- [09:48]
Casey Grove
That's ahead. Stay with us. An Alaska woman is accusing the Alaska Department of Public Safety to Alaska State Troopers and the A and E television network of compromising her safety as a confidential informant. The Alaska Beacon reports that the woman is suing under the name Jane Doe. She says she received death threats after an arrest that was filmed and later aired on the Alaska State Troopers reality show. Andy Television Network aired nine episodes of the rebooted Alaska State Troopers show between January and March. According to the complaint, Jane Doe assisted troopers as a confidential informant in 2025, which led to an arrest. The woman told a trooper that she objected to a and filming the arrest. Court documents say troopers relayed Doe's objection to the film crew, who filmed the arrest anyway. In the lawsuit, Jane Doe's attorneys claim that the crew filmed the episode in a way that could reveal her identity and involvement. They say after the episode aired, Jane Doe received hostile communications and death threats. Austin McDaniel, communications director for the Department of Public Safety, told the Alaska Beacon by email Wednesday that the department had not been formally served with the lawsuit yet and would respond in court. McDaniel said, quote, we take the safety of all Alaskans extremely seriously and reject any suggestion that DPS personnel would knowingly endanger anyone's life. End quote. Representative Justin Ruffridge took time out on the House floor Wednesday to call attention to the death of Kelly Hunt, the 19 year old from Shaktulik who went missing in January and was found dead last week in Anchorage.
- [11:24]
Representative Justin Ruffridge
If Kelly had not been a young Alaska Native woman from a small community, would her story have unfolded the same way, or would the response have been faster, louder and more sustained?
- [11:38]
Casey Grove
Just before her disappearance, Hunt was planning to attend the Alaska Christian College. The school is in the Soldotna Republicans district and serves many rural Native students. Roughridge told lawmakers that Kelly Hunt's story is not an isolated case that far too often when Native women go missing in Anchorage, it's too late to come to their rescue.
- [11:57]
Representative Justin Ruffridge
The gap between a family's urgency and the system's pace is too great, and in some cases the system is silent altogether.
- [12:07]
Casey Grove
Refridge says it's troubling that it took a protest at a state basketball championship in March to draw attention to Kelly Hunt's disappearance.
- [12:23]
Representative Justin Ruffridge
When communities and family members feel like they have to stop the state basketball tournament just to make sure that people remember that Kelly is missing, then something's not working the way that it should.
- [12:36]
Casey Grove
Roughridge told lawmakers that Kelly Hunt's case and those of many others demonstrates that the state is not a safe place for Alaska Native women and is a call to action for the Legislature to do more to address this problem. A national nonprofit is appealing the dismissal of a federal lawsuit against the Alaska Office of Children's Services. Judge Sharon Gleason dismissed the federal class action lawsuit in March. The lawsuit was filed by the nonprofit A Better Childhood. It alleged foster children in state custody are at risk of harm because of systemic problems and that the state violated federal law laws including the Americans with Disabilities Act. Attorneys for the organization pointed to high caseloads for caseworkers and inadequate systems for hiring and training. In her dismissal, Gleason wrote that attorneys from A Better Childhood did not prove that the foster youth whose stories were presented at trial were actually harmed or at serious risk of harm. Marshall Lowry, the attorney who led the lawsuit against ocs, said they're appealing because the dismissal, as she said, focuses on the wrong issues and departs from long standing precedent. Lowery says Gleason's decision is based on a narrow and incorrect interpretation of the law about whether the children have legal standing to bring the case. She says the organization hopes to correct that legal error on appeal to the ninth Circuit. Tracy Dompiling, who heads the state's Department of Family and Community Services, emailed a statement that said the nonprofit was not able to show in court that the state is violating the federal rights of foster children. That short and sweet season, called summer, is right around the corner, and for many Alaskans, summer means activity. Hiking, running, fishing, paddling, you name it. But jump into the action too quickly and you might be sidelined with an injury. So for our Alaska Survival Kit series, Alaska Public Media's Annie Feit went on a very personal quest to find out how to avoid that fate.
- [14:44]
Annie Feit
Can already feel a little twinge in my left knee. Even a short neighborhood run these days is a reminder that I turned 50 last year. And as if on cue, the physical complaints started piling up not very far into the surroundings. So as I eyed the transition to even more running this summer, along with hiking, backpacking and other activities, I realized I needed help.
- [15:08]
Sarah Hisstand
There is a thing that happens with age.
- [15:10]
Annie Feit
Sarah Hisstand is a personal trainer in Anchorage.
- [15:13]
Sarah Hisstand
Start to realize that like, oh, I can't just do the things that I want to do without any thought ahead of time or training. And yeah, for sure, people often come in being like, it's not working for me to go off the couch anymore. I am going to need to put a little bit more effort in beforehand.
- [15:34]
Annie Feit
Histan says. One reason prepping for that change is so important is that winter sports in Alaska are mostly about gliding and sliding. They're relatively easy on the body, while summer involves a lot more impact. Histan offers an online fitness class called Summer Strong, specifically aimed at the transitions from winter to summer activities. She says the time to start preparing is now. And this is tip one. Just a little bit of effort can make summer more fun and hopefully injury free.
- [16:03]
Sarah Hisstand
Even just a couple sets of exercises, a couple rounds of core work, a little bit of tending to these muscles that we're going to be using makes
- [16:16]
Annie Feit
quite a big difference in the workouts his stand leads. She's trying to replicate a lot of the movements you do outdoors, but in a more controlled environment where you can build muscle memory without having to worry about where your foot is landing on a rocky trail. Another key this is tip two is to gradually ramp up your summer activity. Zuzana Rogers is a sports physical therapist and owner of Runner's Edge Alaska. She sees a lot of patients with tendon strains this time of year from trying to do too much too quickly. She says a good rule of thumb is to increase your activity level by about 10% per week.
- [16:51]
Zuzana Rogers
Everybody's body adapts if you give it a chance. So if the progression is slow and gradual and what's your symptoms the next day you're gonna be fin. If you jump in into something heroic, you're going to be sore the next day, maybe injured.
- [17:07]
Annie Feit
Roger says running is one of the highest impact summer sports, so that slow progression is especially important if you're making that transition, she says. Another important point this is tip three don't neglect your feet. In Alaska, our feet are packed into bulky snow boots in the winter or nearly immobilized in stiff ski boots and they get lazy.
- [17:28]
Zuzana Rogers
We have ton of muscles in the foot in between the bones of the toes and when they atrophy they can support, they can control what your foot is doing when the foot hits the ground. So a lot of our rehabilitation actually focuses on foot strength.
- [17:43]
Annie Feit
Both his Stand and Rogers recognize that particular Alaska phenomenon where the weather is suddenly beautiful and you want to take advantage. So you hike a little longer or run a little farther than you intended. So they advise reining yourself in, especially on your first few outings. And Histan says this is tip 4 pay attention to small cues that might be a signal to take it easy.
- [18:05]
Sarah Hisstand
They're often quiet until they're loud, and the skill is in trying to be present enough with your body to notice the micro sensations of them and respond before they get loud. And then, I mean, the consequence of that is if you do injure yourself early summer, then you're kind of screwed.
- [18:27]
Annie Feit
I do not want that to be me this summer. So on a recent weeknight, I wheeled myself off the couch and recruited my husband, Dave. Okay, ready to try one of his Stan's favorite moves, the curtsy lunge. Take your left foot behind and then you do a curtsy and then you move over, take your right foot behind, do a curtsy. Suddenly, I'm eyeing the summer with a lot more optimism. I just need to wake up my feet and keep doing these lunges. In Anchorage, I'm Annie Feit.
- [19:04]
Casey Grove
The University of Alaska system will have a new president this summer. The Board of Regents appointed Fairbanks attorney Matt Cooper to the role this morning. KTool's Jamie Deep has more.
- [19:15]
Jamie Deep
Matt Cooper formerly served as general counsel for the university. He'll succeed President Pat Pitney, who will retire later this month. Pitney said during Friday's emergency regents meeting she's pleased with the selection and called Cooper a genuine leader.
- [19:28]
Kyle Schneider
It makes my stepping down, although always difficult and bittersweet, but makes my stepping down so much easier. Knowing Matt's going to take on the mantle for the University of Alaska.
- [19:41]
Jamie Deep
Cooper has been an attorney with a private law firm since 2024. Before that, he worked for the university general Counsel office for 13 years. He spent the last four years of his tenure with the university as the top legal officer. Cooper was also a member of the Fairbanks Northstar borough Assembly from 2015 to 2022 and chaired the assembly's ethics board for two years after that, according to his resume. The Board of Regents went through a closed process to find a new president after Pitney announced her retirement last November, according to a university press release. A hiring committee vetted more than 50 applicants and recommended three finalists. Student faculty, staff and leadership representatives from each campus confidentially met with each finalist and gave feedback to the board. University of Alaska Fairbanks faculty formally opposed the non transparent process in a resolution in March. Jonathan Taylor, the university's director of public affairs, said in an interview with ktol the process balance getting stakeholder input with protecting the confidentiality of candidates.
- [20:37]
Andrew Schauer
We've seen in higher education generally there is a tendency for people who are currently in positions at other universities, whether that be other universities, presidents or chancellors or deans, to not want to participate if there's going to be a public finalist evaluation process, he says.
- [20:57]
Jamie Deep
A public process can create risk for candidates that are not selected and impact their careers in the long term. Regent Karen Perdue says the confidential feedback from university community members helped inform the board's decision.
- [21:08]
Casey Grove
One of the things that I felt was so important with the comments about Matt was pretty much a broad agreement that he's a very good listener, he's a very collaborative individual. That has been his history at the university.
- [21:25]
Jamie Deep
Cooper's starting compensation package will be close to $430,000, which is about $2,000 greater than Pitney's package for this year. Pitney's Last day is May 21st. Cooper's expected first day is August 3rd. Vice President of University Relations Michelle Rizzic will serve as the interim president. In between, In Juneau, I'm Jamie Deep
- [21:44]
Casey Grove
Community choruses don't get many opportunities to perform. Master composers work with full orchestras, but this weekend is an exception. On the Kenai Peninsula, the two conductors for the upcoming performance of Mozart's Requiem walked KBBI's Simon Lopez through some of the finer points musicians and audience members alike can appreciate.
- [22:19]
Kyle Schneider
That's 200 musicians from the Homer High School Choir, the Kenai Peninsula Community Chorus and a community orchestra all rehearsing together. Kyle Schneider waves his arms from the conductor's podium pointing to sections of the ensemble. He also serves as the director of choral activities at Homer High School and says that group has spent the school year studying the technical requirements of the work.
- [22:41]
Representative Justin Ruffridge
Large choral masterworks are a marathon and not a sprint. We have been utilizing the Mozart Requiem in its entirety throughout the entire school year, but we've been utilizing smaller portions of it as teachable tools and pieces of repertoire throughout the school year.
- [22:58]
Kyle Schneider
Their performance is expected to last about 45 minutes. Schneider is one of two people keeping time and coordinating the hundreds of musicians on stage, and Mark Robinson, his predecessor at Homer High School, is the other conductor. They'll swap in and out during the performance. Robinson, who now directs the Kenai Peninsula Community Chorus, says the accessibility of choral music allows non professional singers to perform alongside an orchestra without extensive experience.
- [23:25]
Senator Gary Stevens
Choral music provides the amateur person, the amateur singer, the opportunity to touch the great of Mozart and Beethoven and Bach and Haydn and Brahms. What a gift that we can do that because it is accessible. It takes a tremendous amount of work. It's not easy, but you don't have to be a student of music for all of your life to be able to accomplish that.
- [23:52]
Kyle Schneider
The piece originated as a sacred Mass for the dead in 18th century Austria. It has some history in Homer, too. Robinson conducted it in the months after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, when emotions were still raw. He says music provides a way to process difficult emotions.
- [24:10]
Senator Gary Stevens
What better way to process grief than to immerse yourself in beautiful music again, regardless of your faith background. It just has a powerful spiritual, emotional experience.
- [24:27]
Kyle Schneider
And Schneider says the act of performing in a large group creates a connection between the participants that's physiological.
- [24:34]
Representative Justin Ruffridge
The grand communal experience of when you're a chorus, you breathe together, Musicians all together. Eventually, as they are working through a piece of music, their heartbeats sync up.
- [24:56]
Kyle Schneider
To complement the Requiem concerts, there will be participatory memory walls in the commons. Volunteer calligraphers will help people create certificates of remembrance. Local fiber artists are also volunteering to make a blanket collage. In homer. I'm simon lopez.
- [25:27]
Casey Grove
And that's all for this edition of Alaska News Nightly. If you missed any of tonight's stories, we're online@alaskapublic.org and wherever you get your podcasts. We had reports tonight from Eric Stone, Ben Townsend and Jamie Deep in Juneau, Wesley Early, Rhonda McBride, Rachel Cassandra and Annie Feit in Anchorage and Simon Lopez in Homer. If you want to send us a news tip, question or comment, email us@newsalaskapublic.org Our audio engineers, Crystal Hyde. I'm Casey Grove. Have a great weekend.
- [26:09]
Zuzana Rogers
And.
- [26:23]
Casey Grove
This is statewide news on Alaska Public Media.