Alaska News Nightly: Monday, December 8, 2025

Host: Wesley Early, Alaska Public Media
Release Date: December 9, 2025

Episode Overview

This episode centers on extreme weather events and their wide-ranging effects in Alaska, as well as updates on teacher retention, public safety, infrastructure, fisheries, and climate trends. Key stories include widespread hurricane-force winds in the Matanuska-Susitna Borough, a significant earthquake in Juneau, new education data showing increased turnover among educators, state initiatives to improve behavioral health services via telehealth, and insights into evolving winter weather patterns in Anchorage.

Key Segments & Highlights

1. Hurricane-Force Winds Hit the Matanuska-Susitna Borough

Timestamps: 00:19–06:28

• Widespread Outages: Thousands lost power across the Mat-Su as result of hurricane-force katabatic winds, with sustained gusts between 40–100 mph, damaging property and infrastructure.

  • [01:21] Carson Jones, National Weather Service meteorologist:

    "It creates kind of this siphon effect...the really cold, dense air in the Copper River basin is funneled and channeled down the mountainous Gua Valley...what's called a katabatic wind."

• School Closures: Most local schools closed with power outages expected to persist; temperatures predicted to plummet below zero after winds subside.

• On-the-Ground Impact: Reporter Amy Bouchat, herself a Mat-Su resident, describes the experience:

  • [02:26] Amy Bouchat:

    "It sounds like a freight train coming at your house all the time. It is grating on the nervous system and it often can make your house shake."

  • [03:21] Amy observed crews out fixing lines, flipped dumpsters, destroyed fences and signs, and even a trailer overturned on the highway.

• Unknown Extent of Damage & Emergency Response: The full scope won’t be clear until power is restored.

  • [03:51] Bouchat:

    "...so many people are without power that folks have maybe gone to a hotel or staying with friends...or are at an emergency shelter set up by the American Red Cross."

• Emergency Shelter Details: The Menard Sports Complex in Wasilla is serving as a shelter; as of Sunday, 12 overnight guests and dozens stopping in daily. Notably, pets in crates are now allowed alongside their owners—a policy change from previous years.

2. Juneau Earthquake Shakes Southeast Alaska

Timestamps: 06:41–07:13

• Magnitude 7 Quake: Struck near Yakutat at 11:41 am, shaking houses in Juneau, Haines, Whitehorse, and more.
• No Major Damage Reported and no tsunami danger, per National Weather Service.

3. Teacher & Principal Turnover in Alaska

Timestamps: 07:13–09:42

• Rising Rates: New data from the Institute of Social and Economic Research (ICER) reveals teacher and principal turnover continues to rise post-pandemic.

  • [07:49] Dana DeFeo, ICER:

    "We're seeing just a fairly steady, consistent upward trend. And...we're going to see this pattern no matter how we splice the data."

• Regional Differences: In 2024, 17% of teachers and 27% of principals statewide left their districts. Rural and urban schools face differing dynamics; urban teacher turnover reached 30% in 2024.

  • [08:20] DeFeo:

    “Educator turnover is not a monolith. It looks different in different places. It looks different in different contexts.”

• Ongoing State Response: Initiatives like apprenticeship and principal training programs underway at University of Alaska campuses. Plans for forthcoming surveys to dig into why staff are leaving.

  • [09:26] DeFeo:

    "What we can see pretty clearly is who stays and who goes. We can do that very accurately." "What we don't know all the time is why, why they make those choices."

4. Fisheries & Environmental Policy Updates

Timestamps: 09:57–11:56

• Bering Sea Pollock Quotas: 2026 quotas remain flat at 1.4 million metric tons, despite decline in older fish. Gulf of Alaska groundfish, including pollock and Pacific cod, see sharp quota cuts due to low abundance.
• State Infrastructure Contract: Alaska agrees to pay Juneau Hydropower $1.3 million to prepare infrastructure for a yet-to-be-confirmed ferry terminal at Cascade Point, due to long equipment lead times.
  • [11:56] Christopher Goins, DOT regional director:

    "If they live up to their part of the bargain, we would be responsible to pay for that."

5. State Launches Telehealth for Alaskans with Disabilities

Timestamps: 12:55–14:35

• New Behavioral Health Service: Free, 24/7 telehealth for Medicaid-eligible Alaskans with intellectual and developmental disabilities, provided by clinicians outside Alaska.

  • [13:17] Pamela Burton, Division of Senior & Disability Services:

    "The availability of providers...is really slim in the state and in some areas, particularly the more rural areas, there's no providers at all."

• Intent & Anticipated Outcomes: Program designed to reduce crisis situations and ER visits by providing counseling, crisis intervention, and long-term support.

  • [14:03] Burton:

    "Those individuals do tend to have a higher rate of crises, emergency room visits and hospitalizations. And then in Alaska, those barriers are further compounded by geography."

6. Haines Receives Road Safety Study Funding

Timestamps: 14:48–17:17

• Infrastructure Grant: Haines and Chilkoot Indian Association secured ~$200,000 in federal funds to develop a local transportation safety action plan.
• Community Engagement: Over 200 residents have given traffic safety feedback; more input is sought through local surveys before year’s end.
  • [16:47] Nils Andreasen, Alaska Municipal League:

    “Every dollar that’s coming from the federal or state level is reducing the burden on local taxpayers for having to make similar kinds of investments.”

7. Anchorage Sales Tax Debate

Timestamps: 17:17–18:34

• Proposed 3% Sales Tax: Mayor Suzanne LaFrance is seeking Assembly support to put a city-wide sales tax on the ballot—a contentious proposal with vocal opposition.

  • [17:47] Theo Ransome, opposing:

    “For many village residents, Anchorage is not a place of convenience. It is a lifeline, and a sales tax makes that lifeline more expensive.”

  • [18:08] Jason Norris, supporting:

    “If we're going to maintain our infrastructure, much less expand it, and if we're going to maintain services, the money has to come from somewhere and it's certainly not coming from the state.”

• Decision Delayed: Public hearing continued, vote postponed to January 13.

8. Return of Alaska State Troopers TV Show

Timestamps: 18:34–19:51

• Recruitment Tool: New documentary series returns to A&E Jan 7, spotlighting daily challenges of state troopers; state receives no compensation but aims to boost recruitment.
  • [19:13] Austin McDaniel, Troopers’ spokesperson:

    “We're hoping to increase the number of qualified applicants that are interested in becoming state troopers.”

  • [19:41] McDaniel:

    “We hope Alaskans will see that it'll be a point of pride for the work that their law enforcement officers do to keep them safe every day.”

9. Ask a Climatologist: Anchorage’s Winter Outlook

Timestamps: 20:12–25:32

• Less Snow, More Ice: Warmer temperatures are turning expected snow into rain, leading to icy road conditions and more frequent school closures.

  • [20:32] Brian Brettschneider, NWS:

    “October normally gets about 5 inches of snow...this year we didn't really have any. I think we may have had 1/10 of an inch.”

• Uncertain Winter Predictions: Mixed climate signals make it hard to forecast, but likely a dry stretch ahead with potential cold snap.

  • [21:18] Brettschneider:

    “Last winter was really, really unusual...four months, really the heart of the winter with no snow...As far as this winter...the safe bet is it's probably going to be at or warmer than normal and near normal precipitation.”

• Impact of Chinook & Freezing Rain Events:

  “Most of the time our icy conditions are a result of, of a Chinook bringing in warm air and kind of melting the snow and then it refreezing...We should expect more of the freezing rain events. We should probably expect a similar number of Chinook events moving forward.”

• Near-term Outlook:

  “Over the next two weeks or so it's actually looking quite dry...we are expecting kind of an extended cold snap.”

Noteworthy Quotes & Moments

• [02:26] Amy Bouchat on the winds:

  “It sounds like a freight train coming at your house all the time. It is grating on the nervous system...”

• [08:20] Dana DeFeo on nuanced educator turnover:

  “Educator turnover is not a monolith. It looks different in different places. It looks different in different contexts.”

• [13:17] Pamela Burton on lack of behavioral health providers:

  “...in some areas, particularly the more rural areas, there's no providers at all.”

• [17:47] Theo Ransome, on the sales tax burden:

  “For many village residents, Anchorage is not a place of convenience. It is a lifeline, and a sales tax makes that lifeline more expensive.”

Summary Table of Timestamps for Major Segments

| Time | Segment | |------------|------------------------------------------------------------------| | 00:19–06:28| Hurricane-force winds in Mat-Su, outages and emergency response | | 06:41–07:13| Juneau earthquake | | 07:13–09:42| Teacher and principal turnover | | 09:57–11:56| Fisheries management, pollock quotas, state infrastructure deal | | 12:55–14:35| Telehealth for Alaskans with disabilities | | 14:48–17:17| Haines transportation safety planning | | 17:17–18:34| Anchorage sales tax proposal debate | | 18:34–19:51| 'Alaska State Troopers' TV show relaunch | | 20:12–25:32| Anchorage winter weather and climate analysis |

Conclusion

This episode provides a comprehensive snapshot of issues affecting Alaskans—nature’s volatility, challenges in public system staffing, adaptations in infrastructure and healthcare, ongoing civic debates, and powerful personal accounts of climate and community resilience. It captures both the unique challenges Alaska faces and the resourcefulness with which its communities respond.