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- [00:00]
Casey Grove
Support for Alaska Public Media on Demand comes from Siri, an Alaska Native corporation with operations and investments spanning five continents.
- [00:09]
Nate Adams
45 states and two US territories.
- [00:19]
Jim Lotzfeld
The problem with money in this race is there's going to be so much of it that most people will shoot their TVs and their computers.
- [00:27]
Casey Grove
Millions of dollars have already poured into Alaska's U.S. senate race. From Alaska Public Media, this is statewide news on Alaska News nightly for Monday, February 2nd. Good evening. I'm Casey Grove. Also tonight, Anchorage school district officials weigh hundreds of layoffs to meet a massive budget shortfall.
- [00:44]
Jarrett Bryant
We'll be the leanest that we've been in over 15 years and probably even leaner than that.
- [00:50]
Casey Grove
Those stories and more tonight on Alaska News Nightly.
- [00:59]
Avery Elfelt
Hi, I'm Avery Elfelt, a reporter with the Alaska Desk. That's a joint reporting effort from Alaska Public Media, khns, where I work in Hanes, and other public radio stations in Anchorage, Fairbanks and the Aleutians. It allows us to connect you with the issues happening in communities all across the state. You can hear our stories during the morning news on Alaska News Nightly or online@alaskapublic.org the Alaska Desk is only possible with the support of grants and listeners like you. Thank you.
- [01:30]
Casey Grove
We're only one month into election year 2026, and it's already clear that the incumbents in Alaska's federal races have a lot of money to defend their seats. U.S. senator Dan Sullivan raised nearly $7.5 million last year, according to his latest campaign finance report. Campaign spokesperson Nate Adams says Sullivan will have the resources needed to win re election.
- [01:53]
Nate Adams
We're feeling incredibly strong about where our campaign is. Our fundraising is on track and our.
- [01:59]
Casey Grove
Support continues to grow. The campaign of Democratic challenger Mary Peltola is also touting its fundraising success. Peltola has only been in the race for a few weeks and hasn't had to disclose her contributions yet. But her campaign says she raked in $1.5 million on the first day after she announced the campaign declined in interview request. Campaign consultant Jim Lotzfeld, who is not working for any of the federal campaigns this year, says Sullivan's $7.5 million actually doesn't give him much of a head start.
- [02:29]
Jim Lotzfeld
Mary Potola is in the middle of a money bomb and she will raise every bit of that and more and I think ultimately outspend Dan Sullivan.
- [02:41]
Casey Grove
Lotsfeld says the U.S. senate race is so far anyway a referendum on how people feel about President Trump. And he says money only goes so far.
- [02:50]
Jim Lotzfeld
The problem with money in this race is there's going to be so much of it that most people will shoot their TVs and their computers and I'm not sure how it's going to all get spent in a way that actually is effective.
- [03:04]
Casey Grove
In the U.S. house race, Congressman Nick Begich's campaign raised more than $3 million last year. Paul Smith, a consultant to the Beggar campaign, says that's an Alaska record for a non election year.
- [03:16]
Paul Smith
We feel really good about it and are proud of the start that he.
- [03:19]
Casey Grove
Has to this election cycle. On the fundraising side, Democratic challenger Matt Schultz, an Anchorage pastor, filed to run against Begich in October. He reported contributions of $300,000 by year's end. Schultz's campaign manager, My Lin McNicholas, says it's a good foundation with contributions from more than 2,000 people. And she says Schultz set a fundraising record too.
- [03:41]
Wesley Early
Yep, so it was the most that any first time candidate has raised in an off year for for this seat in Alaska.
- [03:53]
Casey Grove
An independent candidate is also running for US House fisherman and retired educator Bill Hill. He has not had to file a campaign finance report yet, but his team says he's raised, like schultz, more than $300,000. Anchorage School District officials are proposing to cut more than 500 staff positions to close a massive budget gap next school year. As Alaska Public Media's Wesley early reports, the proposal also includes larger class sizes, the elimination of many school sports and other cutbacks.
- [04:31]
Jim Lotzfeld
Anchorage School District Superintendent Jarrett Bryant says next school year's budget is going to be tight.
- [04:37]
Jarrett Bryant
We are laying off dozens of employees in departments across the district. We'll be the leanest that we've been in over 15 years and probably even leaner than that. And we still were forced to increase class sizes by four. That speaks more to the volume of this deficit and the impact of our reduced purchasing power due to flat funding.
- [04:58]
Jim Lotzfeld
More than anything, Bryant says the district must make major cuts to close a projected $90 million budget deficit for the 2026-27 school year, which he attributes to years of flat state funding. He says that deficit takes into account the $700 increase to the state's per student funding formula, called the base student, that the Alaska Legislature approved last year.
- [05:21]
Jarrett Bryant
When the BSA is flat for 10 years, the impact for ASD was that we had lost purchasing power by about $1,800 per student prior to the BSA increase. Post the BSA increase, we're still behind about $1,400 per student than where we were back in 2011.
- [05:38]
Jim Lotzfeld
Still, Bryant says the district has improved student outcomes including the highest graduation rate since the pandemic, a 5% increase in math scores and an increase in the number of students taking Advanced placement. Despite the gains, he says it doesn't look like the district will be receiving much more state funding in the near future.
- [05:57]
Jarrett Bryant
It looks like the Legislature is signaling that they have their own revenue issues at the state level and for that reason school districts are being very cautious and we're planning our budget around the new BSA.
- [06:10]
Jim Lotzfeld
The district's proposed budget comes to about $601 million. The staff eliminations would include more than 300 teaching jobs and 70 special services positions such as special education teachers, English langu learner instructors and teachers for students who are deaf or blind. Plus, the budget would lay off 25 nurses and make cuts to administration. On top of that, the proposal would cut the Ignite gifted program for elementary schoolers. It would also eliminate all middle school sports and many high school sports, including hockey, tennis, gymnastics, volleyball, esports, swimming and diving, skiing, wrestling, soccer and riflery. Bryant says many of those sports programs have received support from community members and he's hopeful the district will be able to outsource more of that.
- [06:56]
Jarrett Bryant
I would love to speak more with community organizations to figure out a way that we can come together and potentially outsource more sports.
- [07:03]
Jim Lotzfeld
The budget comes less than a week after Anchorage assembly members approved putting an $11.8 million one time education tax levy on the April ballot for voters to decide on. Bryant has committed to using all of that money for teaching positions. He says the funding would pay for more than 80 teachers and would help to blun the forecasted class size increases.
- [07:23]
Jarrett Bryant
If that levy passes, that's the equivalent of a minus 2 ptr. So if that levy passes, then the net increase is a plus two instead of a plus four.
- [07:33]
Jim Lotzfeld
The proposed budget next goes to the Anchorage School Board. The board has a work session scheduled for Tuesday on the proposal and will vote on it later this month. In Anchorage, I'm Wesley Early.
- [07:46]
Casey Grove
Still to come on Alaska News Nightly, new public art is coming to downtown Juneau.
- [07:51]
Wesley Early
I want us and Juneau to appreciate it all winter long, especially when it's dark and you know, we need some brightness and some beauty.
- [07:57]
Casey Grove
That's ahead. Stay with us.
- [07:59]
Avery Elfelt
Hi, I'm Avery Elphelt, a reporter with the Alaska Desk. That's a joint reporting effort from Alaska Public Media, khns, where I work in Haines, and other public radio stations in Anchorage, Fairbanks and the Aleutians. It allows us to connect you with the issues happening in communities all across the state. You can hear our stories during the morning news on Alaska News Nightly or online@alaskapublic.org the Alaska Desk is only possible with the support of grants and listeners like you. Thank you.
- [08:30]
Casey Grove
An Alaska man is charged with helping a Honduran woman and her daughter enter the United States illegally. Court records show agents arrested 43 year old Douglas Eugene Price on Sunday in Anchorage. According to the charging document, which originates from the US District Court for Southern Texas, agents caught the daughter near Hidalgo, Texas on January 16 after she had crossed the Rio Grande river by herself from Mexico. The daughter allegedly told agents that she and her mother were trying to get to Price in Chugiak, Alaska, and that Price had paid human smugglers to help them. The charges say agents caught the mother six days later while she was crossing the river. The mother allegedly told them she had met Price about four years earlier while they were working on remodeling a hotel and that she also worked as his housekeeper and babysitter. She said Price sent the smugglers $5,000 from an account for his business, Black Bear Construction. The woman said she planned to pay back the money by working for Price when she got to Alaska. The charges against Price note that he is a registered sex offender, but do not explain why that fact is included. A spokesperson for the U.S. attorney's office in the Southern Texas District said it was a basic fact that prosecutors felt was relevant to the case as a whole. Calls to Black Bear Construction went unanswered today. Price did not have an attorney listed in court records, which show he is set to make an initial court appearance on Thursday. A Superior Court judge accepted a sentence last week for a Fairbanks youth pastor convicted of a felony child sex abuse charge last year. 47 year old David Duffett pleaded guilty in August to a reduced count of attempted second degree sexual abuse of a minor. That was in exchange for an agreed upon sentence of six years to serve and 15 years of probation. He must also register as a sex offender for 15 years upon release. Duffett was charged in 2023 for having repeated sexual encounters with a 16 year old girl in 2008. He was 29 and working as a youth pastor at Bible Baptist Church in Fairbanks, which the victim attended. State Prosecutor Caitlin Pearson noted Duffett does not have a criminal history, but she says the sentence reflects the seriousness of the crime and will act as a deterrent for the defendant in the future.
- [10:57]
Wesley Early
He was in a position of power. He was a youth pastor and the person that he preyed upon was one of the very people in those youth groups in church, and she had to suffer in silence for years and finally was brave enough to come forward.
- [11:10]
Casey Grove
The age of sexual consent In Alaska is 16 years old in many cases, but not when someone is in a position of authority over another. In that case, it changes to 18. Defense Attorney Bill Satterberg did not argue against the prison sentence for Duffett, but he says his client initially believed the sexual encounters with the victim were legal because she was 16.
- [11:31]
Paul Smith
But the point is, obviously that's not the law. And the law has been set up to protect minors. And people need to know that people in supervisory positions, whether they're counselors, teachers, employers.
- [11:42]
Casey Grove
A bill currently in the state legislature proposes raising the age of consent from 16 to 18, with some exceptions based on the relative age of two people. The bill passed the House last year and has been sent to the Senate for consideration. A representative of the victim read a statement in court saying Duffett used his charisma and position in the church to deceive and manipulate her. In brief remarks during the hearing, Duffett apologized for the pain he caused the victim and her family, as well as his own family and friends. The victim is also suing Duffett and Bible Baptist Church in a separate case. That lawsuit, which was filed in early January, claims the church has created an environment that allows men in power to abuse church members. The US Forest Service is moving forward with a plan to harvest over 5,000 acres of trees in the Tongass National Forest just east of Ketchikan. A majority of that is going to be old growth trees, which some people worry will be devastating to the forest, KRBD's Sydney Dafinet reports.
- [12:44]
Sydney Dauphine
The Forest Service released the final environmental impact statement for the South Rivilla project earlier this month. The project site, which surrounds Carroll Inlet on both sides, is around 41,000 acres in total. It would allow for the harvest of over 4,000 acres of old growth timber and over 1,000 acres of young growth timber. Kathy Tai, a district ranger with the Forest Service, says the clear cut will allow for more than logging. It will also create new recreation opportunities.
- [13:14]
Wesley Early
So it's actually, it's not just focused on timber. It actually clears a lot of activities that help us meet our multiple use mandate as an agency.
- [13:25]
Sydney Dauphine
The project includes construction of new trails, a cabin, boat launches and outhouses. It also includes the construction of parking spaces and 14 miles of new road. Environmental groups have been pushing back on large scale old growth logging for decades. For years, up until Trump was reelected, the Forest Service was steering away from large scale old growth logging. The focus was instead on young growth sales, which has less of a negative cultural and environmental impact. The Ketchikan area plans were originally introduced in 2016 under the first Trump administration, but were shelved in 2020 with a change in administration and a temporary hold put on projects. But with another administration change came a new executive order and new direction from the Department of Agriculture to restart and increase timber production.
- [14:16]
Wesley Early
Since this project was so close to being completed previously, you know, we had all of our resource specialists review those changes and sort of pick up where we left off.
- [14:29]
Sydney Dauphine
Part of developing the plan involves an interdisciplinary review where resource specialists with the federal agency study the site and evaluate risks.
- [14:38]
Wesley Early
It's a long process, partly because we have all of these different resources working together. And then in addition, there's a lot of what we call best management practices that go into, you know, how far away from a stream you have to, like, fuel equipment, you know, to protect resources.
- [14:57]
Sydney Dauphine
But critics say that old growth logging projects of this scale will be devastating. Betsy Burdett is the owner of Southeast Exposure Outdoor Adventure Center, a kayaking and ziplining tour company in Ketchikan. She says she's seen logging projects of this size before, but she doesn't see it as responsible development.
- [15:17]
Casey Grove
It's just a question of how many people can this land support. I mean, in a healthy way, as we take care of our waters and our forests and so on, what's the breaking point and how can we do it responsibly?
- [15:33]
Sydney Dauphine
She says she's seen people leave the island because they didn't like what was happening to the forests in the height of the timber industry. Nathan Newcomer from the Southeast Alaska Conservation Council says there are better ways to go about logging.
- [15:48]
Paul Smith
I mean, our organization works with small mill operators that are just like mom and pop shops, like two people that work there and they might go grab one or two old growth trees every once in a while. Or a tribe, for example, they might want to go chop down one old growth tree to build a canoe or carve a totem pole, like there's appropriate ways to do this.
- [16:05]
Sydney Dauphine
He says the project will harm animal populations like those native to the Tongass and the region's world class salmon runs. Old growth projects affect carbon sequestration and long standing ecosystems. Newcomer says the South Ruvilla project will affect southeast Alaskans who live a subsistence lifestyle, and it will come at a cost to taxpayers who will likely have to pay for a lot of the project.
- [16:31]
Paul Smith
The average person in Alaska understands that that's not our economy. It's not based on large scale timber production. It might have been at one point decades ago, but we've moved on. So to go back to that again, I asked the question, who's asking for this? Who's getting the benefit out of this? It certainly isn't the majority of Alaskans.
- [16:49]
Sydney Dauphine
In Southeast Newcomers suspects this project might be a bellwether for other large scale old growth projects to come in Southeast, particularly if important conservation laws get repealed. There's a 45 day objection period that follows of the release of the final Environmental impact Statement that ends on March 8th. The final environmental impact statement can be found on the Forest Service website. Reporting in Ketchikan, I'm Sydney Dauphine.
- [17:18]
Casey Grove
Sitka will receive $10 million for a new wastewater disinfection system. Municipal Administrator John Leach made the announcement at the Sitka assembly meeting last week. He said US Senator Lisa Murkowski secured the money for Sitka as part of an appropriations bill that passed the House and Senate earlier last month. Our support is definitely going to reduce the financial impact on Sitka's ratepayers who would otherwise have to bear the cost.
- [17:44]
Nate Adams
Of getting us in compliance with a federal mandate.
- [17:46]
Casey Grove
Sitka is one of nine communities in Alaska that has long held a waiver allowing it to opt out of a federal requirement to disinfect its wastewater twice before it's discharged into the ocean. Alaska tightened its water quality standards for bacteria nearly a decade ago. In response, in late 2024, the US Environmental Protection Agency reissued a stricter wastewater discharge permit to Sitka and several other Southeast Alaska communities to meet the updated standards. Sitka has five years from that date to comply. Over the past few years, the assembly has been raising wastewater rates at a higher level than other utilities to pay for the upgrades. Last year, the city budgeted nearly $8 million for the project. In a press release from mid January, Murkowski said the new wastewater disinfection system will help modernize Sitka's wastewater treatment facility and improve water quality. Murkowski was also able to secure investments for 18 other Alaska communities for projects she said were requested and prioritized by local governments and organizations. It could be several months until the money is available, according to Leach. Once the bill is enacted, he said, the funds will be directed to the appropriate agencies. New research finds that as air temperatures rise with climate change, the water that flows through wetlands is warming, too. As Avery Elfelt reports for the Alaska dusk, that could spell trouble for Pacific salmon and other species across coastal Alaska.
- [19:22]
Avery Elfelt
Before juvenile salmon make their way to the sea, they grow and feed in fresh water, including wetlands like ponds and marsh. A team of researchers wanted to know more about those ecosystems and how they might fare amid rising global temperatures. Amaryllis Ady is a researcher at Virginia Tech and the co author of a report published in December. She says they found that wetland water temperatures are increasing in step with the air and could surpass livable levels for salmon before the end of the century.
- [19:51]
Wesley Early
I've never really hoped so much that I might be wrong about that.
- [19:54]
Avery Elfelt
The researchers examined nine years of data from 20 ponds near Yakutat and Cordova. AD says the first step was examining air temperatures and comparing them to what was happening underwater.
- [20:05]
Wesley Early
In that kind of observed time period. We found that there's a really strong positively correlated relationship. So as you had increasing air temperature, you had this response in water temperature where it was increasing at similar rates.
- [20:18]
Avery Elfelt
That's different from rivers and streams, which are warming at a slower rate than the air. That's because they're constantly moving and have a range of inputs, including glacial runoff and snow melt, which can act as a buffer. Wetlands, meanwhile, have more contact with the.
- [20:33]
Wesley Early
Air because it's kind of more spread out across the landscape and it's also going to be moving slower and so have more time to warm.
- [20:41]
Avery Elfelt
The next step was modeling what might happen in the future. The researchers looked at two possible scenarios. One was a future in which humans start decreasing planet warming emissions in about a decade. In that case, water temperatures would rise, but would be less likely to seriously endanger Pacific salmon. The second scenario, meanwhile, describes a future in which humans continue producing greenhouse gases at today's rate.
- [21:06]
Wesley Early
We found this like, really drastic increase in water temperatures where it was like up to 22 degrees Celsius by the end of the century.
- [21:13]
Avery Elfelt
That's about 71 degrees Fahrenheit, which is really warm for these wetland ecosystems and dangerous too. Coho salmon, for instance, stop growing around 68 degrees Fahrenheit and death becomes likely Once temperatures get just a few degrees warmer. Ady says it's possible that salmon would adapt by changing the timing of their migration or their habitat use. But if not, they won't be able.
- [21:37]
Wesley Early
To continue to grow and survive in these systems that are very economically and culturally dependent on them.
- [21:44]
Avery Elfelt
The study looked specifically at two areas, the Yakutat four lands and the Copper river delta. But Ady says the results have far reaching implications, including in southeast Alaska. She adds that other organisms, including algae and bottom dwelling invertebrates, are also temperature sensitive. That means warmer water could be felt by the entire food chain, Ranging from different fish species to migratory birds. Reporting in Hanes, I'm Avery Elphilt.
- [22:13]
Casey Grove
New public art is coming to downtown Juneau this spring. Murals will soon adorn the Marine View Building parking garage near the cruise ship docks. It's part of a project Years in the Making that teaches artists about the legal and creative sides of murals. KTO's Jamie Deep visited the artists as they worked on their murals and has this story.
- [22:36]
Nate Adams
Maddox Raspiesen washes paintbrushes in between sections of a mural he's working on at the Juno Arts and Culture Center. On a recent Sunday afternoon, the Juno Douglas High School Yada' At Kahle junior Is painting a realistic orca swimming through the tendrils of an ethereal kelp forest. Rasputin says he was painting the orca's fin and is now moving to a section of the body that's white.
- [22:57]
Avery Elfelt
I like blending on the palette or on the piece itself. So sometimes if I have like, leftover.
- [23:03]
Lillian Egan
Like, blue in a section that I want to be more white. Yeah, it'll mess it up.
- [23:08]
Nate Adams
Rasmussen is one of 13 artists participating in a workshop to create murals in downtown Juneau. It's the first time he's worked on a large project. But art is not his only interest. Rasmussen swims competitively and works as a lifeguard. He says it's been a bit difficult to make time for the project on the weekends while balancing his other interests. He came in late that day because of a swim meet.
- [23:30]
Avery Elfelt
It's definitely a little hard because the.
- [23:32]
Lillian Egan
Swim meet lasts like, all day, so.
- [23:34]
Avery Elfelt
I have to sacrifice the finals to.
- [23:36]
Lillian Egan
Come here, but it's okay.
- [23:38]
Nate Adams
Rasmussen's project is sandwiched between two artists along the wall of the jack. Every mural has a different style. One artist is experimenting with spray paint, and another carved a massive block print for their mural. The murals vary from folk art to landscapes and wildlife. Each mural is 8ft wide and 4ft tall. Altogether, that's more than 100ft worth of new art for downtown Juneau. Desiree Erosen is at the helm of the project. She owns Picture this, a custom frame shop in downtown Juneau with a view of the concrete walls of the Marine View parking garage and the future site for the murals. She says the idea came from wanting to beautify space downtown outside of her store, and she turned it into an opportunity to teach local artists more about mur.
- [24:23]
Wesley Early
A lot of the things that are very intimidating to artists is the permit process, the legal side of it, contractual side of it, and then like, site preparation, what do you have to look for as warning signs, those kind of things. So that's how we came about this.
- [24:36]
Nate Adams
The artists don't get paid. Instead, they get education and materials, including large sheets of plywood that are treated to withstand the elements. And after a year, the murals will come down. The artists can either keep or sell their work. Errolston says she put a lot of thought into making sure the murals will last an entire year in the southeast Alaska elements. She says she wants it to be art for the community as a whole, not just something for tourists.
- [24:59]
Wesley Early
I want us in Juneau to appreciate it all winter long, especially when it's dark and, you know, we need some brightness and some beauty.
- [25:05]
Nate Adams
Errolsen has a three year contract with the Marine View owners and plans to run the workshop again next year. Lillian Egan is another artist in the workshop. They work at the Pottery Jungle as a ceramic studio assistant and have had their art featured around Juno in the past. They're painting a landscape with a little bit of fantasy added to it.
- [25:23]
Lillian Egan
I was thinking of, like, you know, what it'd be like to be up at Gold Creek and kind of like being the salmon in the river and like coming up, but also being able to be aware of the city in the backdrop and seeing the channel in the distance and stuff, but kind of seeing it from a perspective of like, this is what Juneau is.
- [25:42]
Nate Adams
They said it's been fun to do more community art and they feel the city needs more of it.
- [25:46]
Lillian Egan
It's been really cool to, like, find out that it is kind of like attainable for people even in Juneau to do community art and like, have it, like, actually support you financially in the future?
- [25:58]
Nate Adams
They want to use their newfound skills to create more art in the community.
- [26:01]
Lillian Egan
How can I apply that into ways that can help our community more? Like, I don't know, I think about our recycling center right now and like, how could I, like, maybe make a mural like this, but with recycled materials in the future? It'd be pretty cool.
- [26:15]
Nate Adams
The murals are going to be installed in late April with a celebration taking place on May 1. Reporting in Juneau, I'm Jamie Deep.
- [26:36]
Casey Grove
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 Liz Ruskin in Washington, D.C. wesley early in Anchorage, Patrick Gilchrist in Fairbanks, Sydney Dauphine in Ketchikan, Hope McKinnon, Sitka, Avery, Elfelt and Haynes and Jamie Deep in Juneau. If you want to send us a news tip, question or comment, email us@newsalaskapublic.org Our audio audio engineer is Crystal Hyde. Kirsten Dobrauth is our producer. And I'm Casey Grove. Good night. This is statewide news on Alaska Public Media.