← Alaska News Nightly - Alaska Public Media
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- [00:00]
Alex DeMarbonne
Support for Alaska Public Media on Demand.
- [00:03]
Casey Grove
Comes from Siri, an Alaska Native corporation with operations and investments spanning five continents, 45 states and two US territories. Alaskans are going to pay.
- [00:20]
Bill Hill
It's disingenuous to think that we are not going to pay for this tax.
- [00:24]
Casey Grove
One way or the other. Lawmakers fail to override the governor's veto of a bill that would have generated revenue for the state. And from Alaska Public Media, this is statewide news on Alaska News nightly for Thursday, January 22nd. Good evening. I'm Casey Grove. Also tonight, a new entry to the US House race says Don Young is his inspiration.
- [00:43]
Bill Hill
That's kind of who I hope to, in some respect mold myself after you know, what's good for Alaskan spurs.
- [00:49]
Casey Grove
Those stories and more tonight on Alaska News Nightly. I'm Theo Greenlee, a reporter with the Alaska Desk. That's a joint reporting effort from Alaska Public Media and kucb, where I work in Unalaska and other public radio stations in Anchorage, Fairbanks, Haines 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 Alaska News Nightly or online@alaskapublic.com the Alaska Desk is only possible with the support of grants and listeners like you. Thank you. Alaska lawmakers today failed to override Governor Mike Dunleavy's veto of a bill that backers said would have modernized Alaska's corporate income tax system. Lawmakers fell 10 votes short of the 3/4 majority they needed. Senate Bill 113 would have expanded the state's corporate income tax to capture revenue from companies that sell to Alaskans over the Internet but might not have a physical presence in the state. Some Republicans who voted against the override said they were concerned that the bill could increase costs for Alaskans that included Big Lake Republican Representative Kevin McCabe. Alaskans are going to pay.
- [02:04]
Bill Hill
It's disingenuous to think that we are not going to pay for this tax.
- [02:08]
Casey Grove
One way or the other. Supporters of the override rejected McCabe's characterization. They said the change would simply give Alaska a share of similar taxes companies already pay in other states. Senator Bill Wielechowski, an Anchorage Democrat, said the idea that the bill would raise consumer costs was wildly inaccurate. He pointed to an academic research paper that found similar tax changes had no effect on retail prices. Wielikowski contrasted the bill against Governor Mike Dunleavy's stated plans to introduce a temporary sales tax as part of a larger fiscal plan. How dare we go to Alaskans and say we want to tax you, we.
- [02:44]
Bill Hill
Want to take your dividend before.
- [02:47]
Casey Grove
We'Re going to tax collect revenue from tech billionaires.
- [02:51]
Tim Ellis
Really?
- [02:51]
Teal Soden
Is that where we're going with this?
- [02:53]
Casey Grove
House Speaker Bryce Edgman, a Dillingham independent, says the lengthy debate on the House floor about the override previewed upcoming debates on the governor's forthcoming fiscal plan. I think it's also an illustration of how difficult it is to pass revenue measures in a state that really hasn't had to entertain revenue measures, significant revenue measures, for a long time. Some Republican lawmakers who voted against the override said they supported the idea in concept. Fairbanks Republican Representative Will Stapp said he planned to introduce a new version for lawmakers to consider this session. The federal government is reviewing the business program that benefits Alaska Native corporations and tribes. In a video posted on X last week, US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said his department will review the 8 business development program. That program falls under the federal Small Business Administration and supports businesses owned by socially disadvantaged individuals or tribes. That includes Alaska Native corporations. Hegseth said in the video that the 8 program promotes diversity, equity and inclusion framework and race based contracting.
- [04:07]
Bill Hill
We're actually taking a sledgehammer to the oldest DEI program in the federal government.
- [04:13]
Casey Grove
In the 8 program, the federal government sets aside contracting opportunities for disadvantaged small businesses. Tribal entities can have multiple companies in the program, while individuals can only have one. Alaska Native corporations rely heavily on federal contracts often received through the 8 program. Data from the Federal Reserve bank of Minneapolis shows that it is their primary source of revenue and most of those contracts come from the US Department of Defense. Quinton Carroll is the executive director of the Native American Contractors association and originally from Utqiagavik.
- [04:48]
Bill Hill
Native participation in the SBA 8 program is not a DEI initiative.
- [04:53]
Casey Grove
Carroll says the program fulfills long standing federal trust and treaty obligations to tribes, Alaska Native corporations and Native Hawaiian organizations, end quote. Hegseth ordered a line by line review of sole source eight contracts that are over $20 million. He said in the social media video that the department will get rid of contracts that don't make the country's military more lethal. Hegseth also said the department will make sure that the businesses getting a contract are the ones actually doing the work. He claimed that often small businesses receive the contract, take a fee and pass it to a giant consulting firm. However, Carroll, with the Native American Contractors association says Native federal contractors have been partners of the Department of Defense. He added that Native contractors also support the elimination of fraud and waste within the program. The eight program has faced scrutiny from other directions as well. President Trump signed an executive order in April directing rewriting of federal contracting regulations. The Small Business Administration and the Treasury Department have both been investigating the program as well. In south central Alaska, two major utilities are expanding their natural gas storage, according to recent reporting by the Anchorage Daily News. This comes as the region faces an impending natural gas shortage and a need to import supplies in the coming years. Alaska Public Media's Ava White spoke with Anchorage Daily News reporter Alex DeMarbonne, who wrote the story and says it if completed, the expansion will buy breathing room for utilities.
- [06:25]
Alex DeMarbonne
They're expected to run out of gas from Hilcorp or their contract is supposed to end for gas supply in the coming years. As that date comes, then the storage kind of gives them a little extra time. Who knows how long, maybe a few months, maybe a year here and there. It will always come in handy even after the gas supply gets really short. So it will always provide some breathing room, meaning some extra months at least of getting us the gas that we need to heat and power our homes. But it doesn't solve or change the long term picture that we'll probably have to import gas, liquefied natural gas, starting in, you know, maybe next year or in two years.
- [07:09]
Tim Ellis
And NStar said in its petition that they need this storage to meet customer demand. So what happens if this project doesn't happen, the expansion project?
- [07:20]
Alex DeMarbonne
It will just mean we'll have some increasingly tight times for gas. If you remember two years ago when we were getting near this point where we were almost officially being asked to turn down our thermostats or reduce our power use in order to conserve gas. And unofficially, leaders were just kind of saying that Alaskans should be careful. This was during a cold stretch exactly two years ago, just about something like that could happen. It would be more common, in which maybe it would be in winter, it'd be really cold, we might have some equipment problems or who knows, in order to produce the gas, there might be some issues doing that. And so then it might just be a return to what we saw in 2024 where people get really concerned and maybe we would actually be asked to reduce our heat, turn it down to 62, which is really cold, if you've ever done that in your house, or to reduce our power use.
- [08:18]
Tim Ellis
I really struggle to wrap my head around the natural gas situation because we've been warned for so long that this was gonna happen and this is such a populous part of the state, so backing up a little bit. Why do you think we ended up in this situation.
- [08:35]
Alex DeMarbonne
With the overall large picture gas shortage, I think we did just because it's been decades that Cook Inlet has been producing gas and it was once a big dominant gas producer, but eventually the fields have just begun to run dry. Maybe there could have been some kind of long term planning and there was in some sense, I believe, but that's generally not what happens in a capitalist society, right? I mean, oil companies are going to try to produce what they can as profitably as possible, which means sometimes using a lot of it. So ConocoPhillips even used to export gas. We had so much of it that they would export it overseas for decades as liquid gas to Japan. And so it was just that we used up our gas over time without any real long term plan for what we would do today. And unfortunately that's just kind of the way the world works in general.
- [09:32]
Tim Ellis
Maybe what does it mean to store natural gas?
- [09:36]
Alex DeMarbonne
It's kind of cool in my opinion. So basically, Cook Inlet has basically underground reservoirs or caverns, right, that were once filled with, with gas, that were producing gas for many decades. And some still are, of course, but then some of these have been depleted of their gas. And so they're just these empty caverns now in which utilities can inject gas in order to store it down there. Some of them are under the city of Kenai. It's a neat concept to think that, you know, some of the heat and power that we're making are coming from gas that's being stored in these caverns.
- [10:12]
Tim Ellis
As someone that like reports on this and has a family here, you live here, you're invested in this place. How concerned are you about the natural gas situation?
- [10:23]
Alex DeMarbonne
Well, maybe not as concerned as I was a couple of years ago. I think that we can import gas and it looks like the costs may not be like devastating. They will certainly push up our bills and even this gas storage is going to push up our bills next to 150 a year roughly for Instar's gas storage facility. You know, my Last bill was $380 for the cold snap for my heating bill. So $12 on top of that doesn't sound like a whole lot, but it's just another little piece of inflation that we have been experiencing for a long time. So again, not crazy, not ideal, just another chunk of money we're going to have to pay. But I guess maybe we'll eat out a little less or who knows, maybe we'll make more money by then.
- [11:10]
Casey Grove
That was Anchorage Daily News reporter Alex DeMarbonne. Talking to Alaska Public Media's Ava White. Find the full story about expanding gas storage in south central alaska@adn.com. Still to come on Alaska News Nightly, how a familiar crime fighting dog formed a lasting relationship with the Skagway Police.
- [11:32]
Bill Hill
Let's get together and help me pick up fight out of crime.
- [11:36]
Casey Grove
That's ahead. Stay with us.
- [11:38]
Melinda Munson
I'm Shelby Herbert, a reporter with the Alaska Desk. That's a joint reporting effort from Alaska.
- [11:43]
Hope McKinney
Public Media and kuac, where I work in Fairbanks, and other public radio stations in Anchorage, Haines and the Illusions.
- [11:51]
Melinda Munson
It allows us to connect to the issues happening in communities all across the state. You can hear our stories during The Morning News Alaska news nightly or online at AlaskaPublic.org the Alaska Desk is only possible with the support of grants and listeners like you. Thank you.
- [12:09]
Casey Grove
A 29 year old Fairbanks man is being held at Fairbanks Correctional center on a charge of first degree murder for the fatal shooting of his grandmother, KUAC's Tim Ellis reports.
- [12:19]
Teal Soden
According to a Fairbanks Police Department news release, officers found the body of 87 year old Velma Kuntz Tuesday at an apartment on 22nd Avenue on the city's south side. Her grandson, Brian Davenport, is charged in connection with her death. Police say they initially went to the residence after they got a 911 call just after 3pm Tuesday from Davenport. Police say he gave the address to the dispatcher but didn't answer questions, according to a charging document. Police sent an officer to check out the 911 caller and found Davenport pacing back and forth in the roadway in front of the apartment building. The officer talked with him, then transported him to Fairbanks Memorial Hospital for a mental health evaluation due to his reckless behavior, according to the court documents. About a half hour later, police returned to the residence on 22nd after getting the call about shots fire there. Coutts husband told the detective that he and a neighbor found his wife's body when they got back from a trip to the store. The husband said he found his.38 caliber pistol outside as he was walking back into the building. The officer who transported Davenport then went back to his hospital room, according to the charging documents, and police spokesperson Teal Soden says he then admitted he'd killed.
- [13:38]
Tim Ellis
Someone and so he was transported to fpd where detectives questioned him after reading him his rights. He did admit to stealing his grandfather's handgun and to shooting his grandmother in.
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Teal Soden
The back of the head, soden said. Davenport told investigators that he initially had intended to shoot someone else, but then.
- [14:00]
Tim Ellis
Changed his mind and killed his grandmother instead during the interview. He did acknowledge that and he understood that killing someone is wrong, but he compared his decision to pulling the plug.
- [14:13]
Teal Soden
On a person, soden said. Police then arrested Davenport for first degree murder and brought him to Fairbanks Correctional Center. He's being held there now on a $2.5 million bail. In Delta Junction, I'm Tim Ellis.
- [14:28]
Casey Grove
An unknown amount of fuel has spilled from a fishing vessel that ran aground near St. George island earlier this month. The fishing vessel Arctic sea ran aground January 5th on the northwest side of the Pribilof Island. The US Coast Guard rescued all nine crew members. Now, a salvage team and the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation are responding to the subsequent spill. A report from the state released Tuesday says a layer of sheen extended about 7 miles and 200 yards offshore. A salvage vessel with Resolve Marine, an international marine salvage company, arrived at the Arctic Sea on Saturday. Salvors boarded the boat, finding the bow mostly submerged and decks almost awash. Teams placed rat traps and accessed various tanks, most of which contained a mixture of diesel and water. The Department of Environmental Conservation says the spill puts various resources at risk. The highest concern is for the sea lion and seal rookeries nearby. The area is also in the range of the threatened Stellers eider and the endangered short tailed albatross. The island is home to many seabirds, including the largest colony of murres in Alaska, according to the report. St. George is a rat free island and if rodents reached the island, they would present a serious threat to nesting birds. The Coast Guard confirmed The vessel had 50,000 gallons of fuel and about 2,000 gallons of lube oil and hydraulic fluid on board at the time of the grounding. The vessel also had about 11,000 pounds of Tanner crab in its tanks. The Department of Environmental Conservation says the salvage vessel was unable to get close enough to start pumping off fuel due to poor weather conditions. It suspended operations and returned to Dutch Harbor Monday to stand by for a better weather window. The state agency says Bering Sea winter storms could pause salvage operations until the spring. It will continue to monitor response actions and review further plans. Alaska Congressman Nick Begich has a new challenger. Bill Hill, a Bristol Bay fisherman and retired teacher and school administrator, has filed to run for Alaska's sole U.S. house seat as an independent candidate. Hill cites the late Alaska Congressman Don Young as an inspiration.
- [16:50]
Bill Hill
That's kind of who I hope to, in some respect, mold myself after, you know, what's good for Alaskans first. And, you know, we need to start putting distance between between politicians that are just cozying up to billionaires and special interests, and we need people that are going to work for Alaskans.
- [17:07]
Casey Grove
A day after launching Hill's campaign announced he raised $200,000. He has retained the campaign consulting firm Ship Creek Group, the same agency that brought early success for Mary Peltola when she launched her bid for U.S. house in the 2022 special primary election. If elected, Hill is not committing to joining either the Republican or the Democratic House caucuses.
- [17:29]
Bill Hill
I think that decision needs to be done thoughtfully and that needs to be done at the appropriate time with whatever the structure of Congress looks like at that time.
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Casey Grove
Public records show he made small donations last year to New York Democratic Representative Alexandria Ocasio Cortez and independent Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, and larger ones to Democrat Les Guerra for his 2022 campaign for Alaska governor. Hill is Athabascan raised on Lake Iliamna and now lives in Naknek. But he's also lived in Anchorage, Fairbanks, and Juneau Begich, a freshman Republican, has raised more than $2 million for his re election campaign. Democrat Matt Schultz, a Presbyterian minister from Anchorage, is also campaigning for the seat. About 70 sitkins formed a whistle choir Saturday in an act of ICE resistance. The demonstration comes amid growing tensions nationwide following the recent killing of a Minnesota woman. The demonstrators blew ICE whistles, a tool that activists nationwide have turned to as a means of alerting neighbors and deterring Immigration and Customs Enforcement. KCAW's Hope McKinney reports.
- [18:40]
Hope McKinney
Dozens of Sitkins line the street downtown, blowing whistles and holding signs that read Alaska is cold enough, we don't need ICE and people should not be afraid of their governments. Governments should be afraid of their people.
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Tim Ellis
Whistles have become a symbol of resistance to ice, with people whistling in order to alert vulnerable people and to alert one another that ICE about ICE presence.
- [19:05]
Hope McKinney
Cindy Littman is one of the organizers of Sitkins for Peace and Democracy, a group that holds a weekly vigil at Sitka's main roundabout protesting everything from the war in Gaza to the actions of the Trump administration. She says a community member who doesn't usually participate in the regular protests was disturbed by what happened in Minnesota with the January 7th killing of Renee Good and with continuing ICE raids across the country. So he purchased 50 whistles to conduct the local whistle flock.
- [19:36]
Tim Ellis
We wanted to show solidarity with the people in Minnesota, but also to bring home that that could be us here and it potentially could be us here in the future.
- [19:45]
Hope McKinney
Kashi Shla Louise Brady says it is already affecting Sitkins and their friends and family. She says her son and his family live in Olympia, Washington, and she's terrified for his safety.
- [19:57]
Tim Ellis
When I started ramping up, I made sure that they had their tribal IDs, but when I hear they're not even respecting that, and it's a really helpless feeling. And I know this is just a little to bring attention to. This is affecting people who live here, and there are those of us who actually to have skin in the game. I'm obviously native. I'm obviously a person of color. I travel with my passport. I travel with my birth certificate. I travel with my certificate of Indian blood and my tribal IDs. I am really motivated to help young people.
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Hope McKinney
Brady says locals should do as much as they can to raise awareness, including calling their representatives and mobilizing.
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Tim Ellis
This is a good start, but I'm hoping that we can come together as a community more to see how we can help because there's so many people right now who are in need. It's heartbreaking, and I have a hard time talking about it because, you know, I am. I'm scared to death for my son, my grandchildren.
- [21:11]
Hope McKinney
A group of eight counter protesters line the other side of the thoroughfare, holding the American and Israeli flags, a large Trump banner in the background. Sitka resident Linda Marlin was born in Calexico, California, right along the US Mexico border. She says what happened to Renee Goode in Minneapolis is sad, but that she supports law enforcement.
- [21:33]
Tim Ellis
I support ICE 100%. I support the border patrol because my family's border Patrol, and I support the sheriff's department, my family's sheriff, and I support the police department, troopers, and our wonderful military that we have that makes us safe.
- [21:51]
Hope McKinney
After about an hour, the counter protesters end the demonstration with a prayer. On the other side of the street, an organizer collects the anti ICE demonstrators, whistles, and the group disperses for the day. But this isn't the last time they'll be at the roundabout. They have been out here every Saturday for the past two years. Their focus isn't always on ice, but they'll be here. Reporting in sitka, I'm Hope McKinney.
- [22:26]
Casey Grove
A visit to Skagway started a surprising relationship between a famous children's hero and the Skagway Police Department. KHNS reporter Melinda Munson interviewed a former tourist who plays the dogged crime fighter, Officer McGruff.
- [22:40]
Melinda Munson
People of a certain age will recognize this voice.
- [22:44]
Bill Hill
Oh, hi, McRuff the crime dog. Let's get together and help me pick a bite out of crime.
- [22:50]
Melinda Munson
That's McGruff, the crime dog. Created in the late 70s, the bloodhound in a trench coat urged the community to report suspicious behavior to the police. McGruff taught kids how to avoid drugs and kidnappers. The owner of that voice, Sergeant Winston Cavendish of Louisiana, was one of the first McRuffs. Cavendish took a cruise to Skagway several years ago. While there, he visited the police station. Now he calls the Skagway police dispatch every so often to check in. He uses his regular voice for those phone calls. Cavendish says he helped create the concept of McGruff at a crime prevention conference. The name soon followed, and by the early 80s, Cavendish was donning the costume. McGruff became a superstar.
- [23:35]
Bill Hill
I had been squeezed, hugged, kissed. No, not me. McGruff was. I'll tell you, it was exhausting in a wonderful way, you know? And I would get off the Mardi Gras float. At one point, they would grab me and pull me into the crowd, and I'd had to fight for my life. To get back to the race, Cavendish.
- [23:56]
Melinda Munson
Traveled all over the country, visiting schools to deliver safety messages and connect with children.
- [24:02]
Bill Hill
A department would call me, and they'd say, we need McGruff in California and we need McGruff in Cincinnati, and we need one in Bowling Green, Kentucky. Can you come? Well, I did never refuse. This almost killed me. They would leave Friday night, and I'd be back Sunday night. I had a very understanding wife.
- [24:23]
Melinda Munson
One visit was to the White House. In 1984, Cavendish met President Ronald Reagan both in and out of costume. The sergeant says greeting the President in costume was a little awkward. He was at a loss for words. But Reagan jumped in.
- [24:37]
Bill Hill
Know his first words were, heel. Heel, boy, heel. He grabbed me by the other side of my head, and he's scratched my ears. And I'm the only person in the history of the United States that ever had his ears scratched by a president.
- [24:55]
Melinda Munson
But playing McGruff could sometimes be grim. Cavendish says that children felt safe around the dog character, and occasionally a child would disclose abuse. He remembers a time that that happened with a young boy in Iowa. Cavendish, or McGrath, was teaching the who do you tell program. It explains to kids that if something bad is happening, to tell a teacher or a parent or the police.
- [25:20]
Bill Hill
Remember, I'm in a McGruff costume, and he puts his arms around me and crushes me. He looked up, and he says, now I can tell. So we went to the nurse's station, and when we got there, the little boy told me a horrific story. His dad beat him every day.
- [25:41]
Melinda Munson
Cavendish says the boy showed the adults, serious wounds all over his body. The boy received help, and the father was arrested. As hard as Cavendish worked, he wasn't the only officer playing McGruff. Cavendish estimates there were nearly 7,000 other McGruffs, based on the number of costumes sold during his career. Throughout his career, Cavendish was on tv, had a radio show and a newspaper column. He says playing the McGruff character didn't make him rich, but it was a good life.
- [26:12]
Bill Hill
I'm very proud of my dog. I'm very proud of what he's represented today.
- [26:17]
Melinda Munson
Cavendish, who just turned 83, is on the advisory board for McGruff. He travels for speaking engagements and hopes to one day return to Skagway for another visit.
- [26:27]
Bill Hill
But for now, she a crime Report it to the Skagway Police Department and you can help Skagway take a fight.
- [26:36]
Melinda Munson
Out of crime and Chicago. I'm Melinda Munson.
- [26:51]
Casey Grove
And that's all for this edition of Alaska News Nightly. If you missed any of tonight's stories, we're on online@alaskapublic.org and wherever you get your podcasts. We had reports tonight from Eric Stone in Juneau, Alyona Knighton and Ava White in Anchorage, Tim Ellis in Delta Junction, Maggie Nelson in Unalaska, Liz Ruskin in Washington, D.C. hope McKinney in Sitka and Melinda Munson in Skagway. Our audio engineer is Crystal Hyde, Madeline Rose is our producer. And I'm Casey Grove. Good night. This is statewide news on Alaska Public Media.