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Support for Alaska Public Media on demand comes from Siri, an Alaska native corporation with operations and investments spanning five continents, 45 states and two US territories.
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That effectively.
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Makes you a war criminal.
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Senator Lisa Murkowski responds to new revelations about military strikes in Venezuela. From Alaska Public Media. This is statewide news on Alaska. Welcome to Alaska News nightly for Thursday, December 4th. Good evening. I'm Casey Grove. Also tonight, alumni and former staff are raising concerns about student mental health at Mount Edgecumbe boarding school in Sitka. And I'm asking you, as the only governing body at Mount Edgecumbe to step up before another crisis occurs. Those stories and more tonight on Alaska News Night.
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US Senator Lisa Murkowski said she was deeply troubled by a Washington Post report alleging that the military launched a second strike on September 2nd to kill survivors clinging to the wreckage of their suspected drug boat.
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That effectively.
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Makes you a war criminal.
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I mean, there are rules of war.
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We don't do that.
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The White House and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth confirmed this week that there was a second strike, though they say it was legal and dispute key parts of the Post's story. Hegseth says he watched the first strike live and then left the room.
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I did not personally see survivors, but I stand because the thing was on fire. It was exploded in fire smoke.
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You can't see anything.
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You got digital. This is called the fog of war.
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He and President Trump say they stand by the commander of the operation. Admiral Frank Bradley, was at the Capitol today to brief a select group of Congress members, which did not include the Alaska delegation. Murkowski says what she's heard reaffirms the need for more information.
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I have heard from two different individuals who viewed that same video that they viewed it differently.
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Several Republicans watched the video in a closed door briefing and emerged confident the strikes were legal and justified. But one House Democrat called the footage one of the most disturbing things I've ever seen in my public service. Murkowski was critical of the strikes from the start. She voted with Democrats in October on a measure that would have curtailed military attacks on suspected drug boats without congressional approval. She also crossed the aisle to vote on a similar War Powers Resolution last month. The strikes, she says, have now killed more than 80 people without trials.
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I have questioned the legality and I wanted to know specifically.
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What'S the end goal here.
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Senator Dan Sullivan declined an interview request this week, but his office sent a statement saying he's seeking more information.
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The Alaska National Guard office announced Tuesday that Gov. Mike Dunleavy has approved a U.S. defense Department request for Alaska National Guard service members to assist the U.S. immigration and Customs Enforcement or ICE office in Anchorage with administrative support, the Alaska Beacon reports. The Guard says five service members will assist with administrative and logistical duties at the Anchorage ICE office for up to a year, the statement from the Guard said. Their mission includes a wide range of duties from vehicle fleet management and safety compliance to office support and processing purchase orders. Grant Robinson, Dunleavy's deputy press secretary, confirmed the governor approved the request. Robinson did not say whether the National Guard would provide further assistance with immigration enforcement actions.
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A federal heating assistance program used by thousands of Alaskans will continue uninterrupted, according to state officials. That's after there were concerns about delays in distributing financial relief during the government shutdown earlier this year. The Alaska Department of Health said in an email Thursday that the federal Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program continued issuing benefits throughout the government shutdown. The program subsidizes energy bills for thousands of low income Alaskans, many of whom live in rural and tribal communities. It also helps residents weatherize their homes for winter. The federal government shutdown began on October 1st and lasted for over a month. Funding for the program usually comes in at the beginning of November. Last month, advocates worried about a possible gap or delay for residents relying on that assistance heading into winter. A spokeswoman with the state Department of Health said that it had sufficient carryover funds to keep the program running before the new funding was released. She said that as a result, there were no interruptions or gaps in heating assistance. Senator Lisa Murkowski's office announced Tuesday that approximately $3.7 billion in delayed federal funding for the heating assistance program has been released across the country since the shutdown ended. She welcomed the news in a statement saying that affordable energy is a lifeline in Alaska as harsh winters can be unforgiving across the state, end quote. Murkowski said that funding includes over $19 million for Alaska and 13 tribal entities in the state.
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Alumni and former staff members at Mount Edgecumbe High School are raising serious concerns about safety and student support at the state run boarding school in Sitka that serves Alaska Native students from villages across the state. As KCAW's Catherine Rose reports, some think budget cuts are to blame. But first, a note for listeners. The following story mentions suicidal ideation.
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When the Alaska State Board of Education and early development met on December 3rd, several Mount Edgecum High School alumni as well as current and former staff said that budget and staffing cuts over the past year were putting students at risk. Several said that over 40 students have withdrawn their enrollment so far this year. Tanya Kitka is a member of the school's Alumni Advisory board. She said conditions at the school, like limited recreation opportunities and quote, excessively restrictive dorm culture are negatively impacting students and parents are worried. Parents in general feel left out or not included in the changes that have been made and have a general mistrust of those in charge to where they don't know who to who else to go to when their very real concerns don't seem like they're being addressed sufficiently. They're worried for their children and so far the only recourse seems to be to pull their kids out of school. Kristin Homer is a nurse practitioner who manages the school's health center, but she said she was speaking as an individual. She said budget cuts this year resulted in staff resignations and turnover, including the loss of a mental health services position three days prior to the arrival of students. In August, the superintendent chose to move the behavioral and mental health services coordinator position over to an academic counselor position. This left a huge gap in the dorms. There was no licensed mental health provider in the dorms, no female mental health provider in the dorms. This position was responsible for providing counseling, case management, suicide prevention and substance use programming. Homer said that from November 12th to the 26th, eight students were hospitalized for suicidal ideation. That information was a bright red flag to Alumni Advisory Board member Dorothy Chase of Bethel. It's really concerning to me to hear that there are more issues and occurrences regarding suicidal ideation. One number, one person. That number is should be alarming to begin with. Alaska Natives have the highest rate with suicide. All of this should be taken seriously. Mount Edgam High School has two principals, an academic principal and a residential principal who oversees the dorms. Andrew Frisky worked in the latter role and as the school's activities director for just over 20 years. He said his retirement last summer was spurred by major concerns about understaffing and student safety. And he said just four of his 14 person staff from last year remain at the school. He echoed alumni testimony and urged the board to take action by forming an ad hoc committee to investigate. Give the group the authority to ask.
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Hard questions and bring real transparency forward with this, with this committee and get the, get the full picture. Because I do feel that folks that make decisions are not getting the full picture of what's happening at Mount Edgecombe. I care deeply for the school. I raised my kids there. Like I said, I worked there for over 20 years. And I'm asking you as the only.
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Governing body at Mount Edgecumbe to step up before another crisis occurs. At the end of the meeting, the board's chair, Sally Stockhausen, responded to the comments. She said the state's Commissioner of Education, Dina Bishop, should get involved. I would like to ask Commissioner Bishop and related members of the department to gather some more information regarding the concerns that we heard today, as well as more information regarding the ad hoc and to come back to us in January at our January meeting so that we can see what needs to be done. KCAW reached out to Mount Edgecam High School Superintendent David Langford, who is new this year, for comment. Reporting in Sitka, I'm Kathryn Rose.
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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.
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Still to come on Alaska News Nightly, after months of waiting, one of Bethel's hottest spots is bubbling with activity again. It was kind of surprising how people would be like getting upset. Chill. It's just a hot tub. That's ahead. Stay with us.
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Alaska sees the largest seasonal employment swing of any state, according to new data from the state Department of Labor and Workforce Development. The gap between the lowest and highest employment months is about 14% in the state, or a difference of nearly 44,000 jobs. The next closest state is Montana at 6%. State economist Dan Robinson says tourism, seafood processing and construction are especially seasonal industries and that they bring thousands of workers to communities around the state.
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There's some big economic activity that occurs seasonally that just really blows things up in the summer.
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Alaska's employment is far less seasonal than it used to be. In the 1970s, the difference between the highest and lowest months was over 40%, according to the report. That's more than twice the current level. That difference was largely tied to building the Trans Alaska Pipeline and a wave of construction brought by the state's oil boom. The state's seasonality has been relatively stable since the early 1990s, Robinson says. Some of the state's most rural areas see the biggest seasonal differences. For example, in the Bristol Bay Borough, employment skyrockets in the summer months from just under 500 jobs to almost 4,000, according to the study. That's an increase of over 650%. They're small enough to not have very.
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Big industries elsewhere, the support type industries. But they're interesting and unusual for rural areas in the country because either fishing or tourism are kind of massive draws.
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The Denali Borough and Skagway are also extremely seasonal, which the report attributes to tourism. The state's largest city, Anchorage, sees the smallest swings at 6%. The report says that seasonal employment swings are also likely tied to Alaska having the largest gross migration rate. That's the number of people moving to and from the state each year. Between 1990 and 2018, Alaska's gross migration rate was almost 13%. Robinson says about 20% of workers don't stay in the state long enough to claim residency.
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There are things that excite people to come here, both as a tourist and then to live here. The possibility of living here is kind of a big adventure, but we also have strong push factors.
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Those push factors, Robinson says, are a comparative lack of entertainment and, of course, the long winters.
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Local businesses are the heart of a community, but they can also be the most vulnerable in an economic downturn. In Anchorage, Rage City Vintage is closing its doors after a significant drop in sales. As Alaska Public Media's Hannah Flor reports, that's a loss for the many people who attend regular events. At the Spenard storefront.
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Chloe Yu holds.
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Up a skirt that she says she plans to wear as a dress. I would hike it up as a strapless, still use my leather jacket. She's been digging through the piles at a clothing swap hosted by Rage City Vintage. Yu's been to a bunch of events here. She says she knows she's always welcome. That's something she says she really values as a queer person still discovering aspects of her sexual identity. During a time where we felt like it was us against the world coming here, we could always kind of leave behind our worries and responsibilities at the door and just be ourselves in here, yu says. Owners are loud about it being a queer space. There are signs and art on the walls. She appreciates it. Mac Tubbs co owns Rage City. She says. That's the point. They wanted to create a space for all kinds of people who don't always feel safe elsewhere. It's a space for people to find themselves, find friends, figure out how to dress sometimes how to be a person comfortable in the world. The goal of any interaction that we have with any person walking in here is to make them feel better than they did when they were outside our doors. And it's worked. Event attendance is great. Same with social media, engagement, people in store. It's all up. The problem is all that community doesn't add up to dollars. A tight margin was already built into the business model. Then sales dropped this year by roughly 40% compared to last year. Now Rage City Vintage is closing. It's not something Tubbs wants to talk about. In spite of the fact that all we want to do is like give love to the community and be a.
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Space for people we to close.
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Instead, that's just hot garbage. Kevin Berry heads the economics department at the University of Alaska, Anchorage. He says a recent report shows Alaska's economy treading water. Nationally, people on the lower end of the economic spectrum are spending less. Berry says that's coupled with the effects of the recent government shutdown and increased prices due to tariffs.
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One of the natural responses people have is to start precautionarily saving to put away a little bit more, not go out quite as much, maybe not buy a vintage T shirt as frequently, he says.
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When people pull back, that often really affects small local businesses. That's important for a couple reasons. Small businesses add character to communities and they serve as a kind of test case trying out new things, exploring whether there's a demand.
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I think that dynamism is really important for an economy like Anchorage, where, you know, part of what we're selling to potential people who would visit or move here is that it's a unique and fun and interesting place to live.
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Emma Hill owns Rage City with Tubbs. She says the store is really a community space trying to survive as a retail space. We have really fun events and we have an amazing community and we get these sweet compliments and comments all the time about how people feel so safe and seen and because of all of that, I regret nothing. Hill says. For groups that have been marginalized like queer communities, there's so much value in finding your people to lean on. But but she says it doesn't stop there. All the events at Rage City are alcohol free. Hill stopped drinking nearly a decade ago and struggled to find sober spaces herself. The events are also family friendly. Kids of all ages regularly perform and open mic nights in this space. It's so much more than just a space for queerness. It's a space for vulnerability and where that's not just accepted, it's celebrated. Like for Chloe Kavanaugh, who is dropping off clothes at the Swap, she says it's felt healing to spend time in the store playing around with her style. It was really hard to express myself through clothing for a long time and like even just wearing a baseball hat felt like scary at the time as like a queer kid who hadn't come out. Hill and Tubbs helped her explore her androgyny, hyping her up to try on things she wouldn't have felt comfortable in before, hill says. That work of building community, supporting each other, it'll go on even without the store. It's going to still be community focused and it's still going to be us showing up for this amazing community that we call home in whatever way that we can. They're just not quite sure what that looks like yet. In Anchorage, I'm Hannah Fluor.
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Nome's only overnight shelter opened over a decade ago. Since then, the shelter opens up each winter and this year is slated to be its longest season ever. Canom's Wally Rana has the story.
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Nome Emergency Shelter Team, or nest, opened its doors at a local church for.
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The season on October 1st.
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It's slated to be open every night.
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8Pm to 8am until mid May. The Nome Community center runs the overnight shelter. Executive director Kimberly Bishop says it's never.
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Had a season run that long before.
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She says the community they serve requested the extension. Nest began as a volunteer run grassroots.
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Effort over 15 years ago. It was started because of several people who froze in the wintertime.
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The Nome Community center took it on seven years ago.
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It was hard to sustain as a volunteer operation. They didn't have the staffing capacity and funding and so Noemi Community center has a habit of taking things on as the community needs. The shelter offers hot food, but Bishop says staff is limited and the shelter could use volunteers to help cook. We look for help to provide cooked meals so that our clients can have a warm meal when they come in at night. Bishop says that Nest and Noam Community center staff also help clients sign up.
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For Social Security benefits, apply for jobs and access other services.
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There's also those that want to go through treatment that would like to work towards sobriety, so we help connect them with that.
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Nest works in partnership with the day.
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Shelter run by Nomes Regional Hospital.
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People without houses seek shelter there during.
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The day and come to Nest at night. At the November 10th city council meeting.
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Councilman Mark Johnson sent in comments calling for a dedicated police presence at Nest.
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To address, quote, rising concern of the.
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Nest customers disrupting the local residential neighborhood. End quote. Bishop acknowledges that the shelter draws some mixed opinions, but she says that isolated incidents aren't indicative of the work they do.
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I think a lot of people don't think about that aspect of it, so there's a lot of biases and you know, they've had a bad experience with one individual or whatnot. There tend to be some negativity towards what we're doing, she says. The intention behind the shelter is to.
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Help the community by providing a safe.
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Space in the wintertime. Rural Alaska is just challenging itself with the remote portion of it, lack of access to things, the higher cost of living here. And then, you know, there's different reasons that we have each of our programs. You can connect with nest by calling 907-443-5259 and Noam.
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I'm Wally Rana.
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One of the most popular hangout spots in Bethel that would be the hot tub at the UConn Kuskokwim Fitness center has finally reopened. KYUK's Samantha Watson took a dip last week to talk to residents about what they missed while it was out of commission.
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And are you a Jets person or not a Jets person? I like the timer because it kind of keeps me honest. Susan Sukrum sits in the hot tub of the UConn Kuskokwim Fitness Center. She's brought her book to Settle into an anthology with all three Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy books and has the whole tub to herself. But up until recently, this post workout ritual was put on pause. I think I did come a little bit less.
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Without that motivating thought of.
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Taking a relaxing dip afterward. Since July, the hot tub in Bethel's fitness center had been out of commission. There was an issue with its pump and like with any beloved relative, people had been calling, sending Facebook messages and stopping by in person for months to ask if it was getting better. Bethel Parks and Recreation Department staff say they even got a request from a community member to publicly share the tracking information on the missing part so that everyone could keep tabs on it. Then after four months, it was finally fixed. It was sort of a very quiet fanfare and I felt like it was deserved more of a community wide announcement and or celebration.
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I didn't know it was that big of a deal.
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David Jikuchin is the facilities manager at the fitness center. It was kind of surprising how people.
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Would be like getting upset. I'm like, chill, it's just a hot tub.
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In the months since the hot tub had been down, the rumors have flown around town about what had gone wrong. Kyuk Multimedia's Mary Kate Dolan asked Chikuchin about some of them during our interview. Wasn't it also like once the park came in, there had to be someone to like crawl into the inner workings of the hot tub to? I don't know where I heard that.
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No, no one had to crawl into.
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In actuality, what Happened is a classic tale in rural Alaska. The broken part first had to be identified, then they had to pay a thousands of dollars price tag. Then it had to be shipped to Bethel from the lower 48, which always takes much longer than normal shipping times. And then there were bigger problems to solve. Typhoon Ha long hit and then that like.
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Just delayed it another like two or three weeks maybe. Now that it's back open, the hot tub and the greater fitness center have been busy. After typhoon halong displaced many residents from coastal communities to Bethel, the fitness center is offering its showers and facilities, including the hot tub, to evacuees. Chikutin says there are a lot of people using the facilities. Bethel is the only community on the Waiki Delta to have a pool and a hot tub.
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A lot of families come in and it's, it's nice, nice to see it's.
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More busy for us. But it is nice that they do.
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Have a place to come in.
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On Friday and Monday nights, community members gather in the hot tub before starting a pickup game of water polo. If we're one or two people shy of two teams, we have recruited people that never played before from just chilling in the hot tub. That's water polo regular Sunday Scott Scott says this time the moments before jumping in the pool to play are particularly important. It gives us time to socialize before we get really competitive with each other, she says. During the hot tubs outage, participation numbers suffered, but now there's been enough for two teams and time to laugh and relax against the jets. For water Polo regular and KYUK's outgoing news director, Sage Smiley, it's her last night in town before moving away. I wanted to spend my last night with the community, and the way you do that on a Friday night in Bethel, at least for me, is by playing water polo and sitting in the hot tub. From the hot tub in Bethel, I'm Samantha Watson.
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And finally tonight, a correction to a story Monday about the Milk on a Mission program. The story misidentified the Kodiak dairy operation and its milk as Grade A certified. State regulators say the dairy farmer last year opted out of that certification process and now follows rules that allow her to label her products as raw heat treated.
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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 Liz Ruskin in Washington, D.C. alyona Knighton, Ava White and Hannah Flor in Anchorage, Wally Rana in Nome and Samantha Watson in a hot tub in Bethel. 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. Good night.
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This is statewide news on Alaska Public Media.