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- [00:00]
Benjamin Nance
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.
- [00:19]
Kevin McCabe
We could have maybe at least had a debate instead of just a coronation.
- [00:24]
Casey Grove
State House Republicans elected a new leader, but some are saying the process was unfair. From Alaska Public Media, this is statewide news on Alaska News nightly for Tuesday, December 2nd. Good evening. I'm Casey Grove. Also tonight, some southeast tribes say they want to be consulted about Canadian mining projects.
- [00:42]
Kevin McCabe
It's not the two different countries any more than it's two different rivers or two different watersheds.
- [00:48]
Casey Grove
Those stories and more tonight on Alaska News Nightly. Republicans in the Alaska House have a new leader. Palmer. Representative Delaina Johnson replaced Anchorage Representative Mia Costello as minority leader on Saturday after a hastily called vote. And some members of the caucus are crying foul. Alaska Public Media state government reporter Eric Stone is here to break down a turbulent week for House Republicans. So, Eric, what happened over the Thanksgiving holiday?
- [01:24]
Eric Stone
Well, Casey, the story starts a little before that. In mid November, a couple of Republican lawmakers approached Mia Costello. One of those was Delena Johnson. She was a little hesitant to talk exactly about how that meeting went, but she told me she did not go into it looking to force Costello out. But shortly after that meeting, Costello stepped down as minority leader, and here's what she told me about why.
- [01:44]
Kevin McCabe
I stepped aside because it was clear that I was not able to unite the caucus, and I felt that it was time for somebody else to give it a shot that everyone could unite behind.
- [01:58]
Eric Stone
That, of course, left the House Minority caucus without a leader. And it's a pretty big task to unite a pretty ideologically diverse Republican caucus. They've struggled with some internal divisions, like, you know, some are staunch allies of Governor Mike Dunleavy. Some have voted on several occasions to override the governor's vetoes. But into that vacuum stepped Delaina Johnson. On Saturday, she called a caucus meeting over Zoom, basically just to talk about the way forward. By the end of it, though, there was a vote and Johnson won. She was the new minority leader. Now, Johnson says she wasn't planning to call a vote, but she says the subject sort of came up organically on that Zoom call on Saturday night. So the caucus went ahead and voted. Here's how she put it.
- [02:37]
Kevin McCabe
You know, I'm looking at it thinking, well, if the votes don't change and they're not going to change, well, let's. Let's just take the vote now, and then we can just start moving along.
- [02:49]
Eric Stone
But, you know, here's the thing. Casey, not everybody was there. In fact, six Republicans were absent. Basically just the most conservative members. Folks like Big lake representative Kevin McCabe, Homer representative Sarah Vance, Anchorage Representative Jamie Allard, and Fairbanks Representative Frank Tomashevsky.
- [03:05]
Casey Grove
Not to mention two districts that don't have any representatives right now at all.
- [03:09]
Eric Stone
That's right, yeah. After Representatives Kathy Tilton and George Rauscher got kicked across the Capitol to the Senate to replace Senators Mike Schauer and Shelley Hughes, they're both running in the gubernatorial race. Two districts don't have anyone in the House, at least not yet. And all of that is, you know, a major sticking point for conservatives like McCabe, not least because McCabe would actually like to be minority leader himself.
- [03:30]
Kevin McCabe
If I had been there, I was also in the running, there were some folks that were supporting me. We could have maybe at least had a debate instead of just a coronation.
- [03:39]
Eric Stone
Of course, you know, you hear McCabe alluding to this here, it might not have changed the outcome of the vote. Doesn't sound like to me that McCabe had the votes to lead the House Republicans. But he says the decision to hold the vote without telling the caucus it was coming robbed him and some of the other conservatives of the chance to make their case and, you know, maybe change some minds. Johnson says she wanted to have the vote sooner rather than later, actually, in part because of those two vacancies.
- [04:03]
Kevin McCabe
There's some desire to have some leadership as we move to the next month because we have two new members that we're going to have to interview, and then we will have to go through a many reorganization process for our new members, shuffling around committees and assigning committees.
- [04:21]
Eric Stone
Governor Mike Dunleavy appoints the replacement representatives, but they are subject to a confirmation vote by the House Republicans. And Tilton's elevation to the Senate, along with Costello stepping aside, left the caucus without any leadership because Tilton was the minority whip, the number two in the caucus. In any case, Johnson says she would be happy to, in the future, hold more discussions and votes about caucus leadership.
- [04:41]
Casey Grove
So the Republican caucus has a new leader, but do we have any sense now for how the legislative session will go this year?
- [04:49]
Eric Stone
So it's a little harder to say what the impact will be there. If you ask McCabe, the leadership transition is a move, you know, towards the center for the Republican minority. Here's what he had to say.
- [04:58]
Kevin McCabe
There is a push from inside our caucus to do that, mainly because they think it will allow them the ability to elect representatives, more moderate representatives that are least Republican in name from Anchorage. I think that's a mistake. But yes, there is a push to drive us to a more centrist position.
- [05:22]
Eric Stone
Now, Johnson, for her part, rejects that view. She does not see this whole transition as a move towards the center. She says she's excited about the work ahead. She calls this a rough patch, but she's hoping the House minority can push some Republican priorities forward, forward this session.
- [05:35]
Kevin McCabe
There's a lot of different things out there. We got the movement on the gas line on the national front. We have a lot of eyes on Alaska. And I hope and I want our House minority, our Republican minority has opportunity to really be a part of the solution on a number of those things.
- [05:55]
Eric Stone
But here's the thing, Kasey. This whole thing might not be over. I asked McCabe whether the move has him considering whether he might leave the minority caucus. Here's what he said to that you.
- [06:05]
Kevin McCabe
Just never know what's gonna in the Legislature.
- [06:08]
Casey Grove
Eric, I've got to say, that doesn't sound like a no.
- [06:11]
Eric Stone
You know, it does not. So there might be some more turbulence ahead.
- [06:15]
Casey Grove
All right. Well, we will stay tuned. That was Alaska Public Media state government reporter Eric Stone. Eric, thanks for joining us.
- [06:21]
Eric Stone
Thank you for having me.
- [06:32]
Casey Grove
Governor Mike Dunleavy announced Friday that John Crowther is his nominee to be commissioner of the Alaska Department of Natural Resources. That's after the previous commissioner, John Boyle, resigned abruptly in October. The Alaska Beacon reports that Crowther has been the acting commissioner since Boyle's departure. Dunleavy said in his announcement last week that he will ask the Legislature to confirm Crowther as the Commissioner Once the 2026 legislative session gets underway in January. Crowther is a department veteran, having joined DNR in 2012. Before stepping into the acting commissioner role, he served as deputy commissioner, managing the department's oil and gas project permitting and geological survey divisions. After his first years working for DNR. Crowther served from late 2017 to 2019 as Alaska's director of state and federal relations under then Governor Bill Walker. From January 2019 to January 2021, he served as a U.S. senate Natural Resources Committee aide to Senator Lisa Murkowski. After that, he returned to dnr. In a statement from the governor's office, Crowther said he was honored and humbled to accept the nomination. Still to come on Alaska News Nightly, this time of year, Juneau's public market is more than just a place to shop.
- [07:48]
Eric Stone
Growing up here, you know everybody, so.
- [07:51]
Alex Solomon
It'S like a family reunion.
- [07:53]
Casey Grove
That's ahead. Stay with us. A Kayana man faces misdemeanor assault charges after allegedly hitting two village public safety officers and a family member, according to charging documents. Two VPSOs responded after multiple calls from the family member asking for help on Saturday evening. Charging documents say 21 year old Dustin Gooden got into a physical altercation with the Vpsos after they tried to speak with him. Both VPSOs say they wrestled Gooden and advised him numerous times that he was under arrest. Officers claim Gooden struck them multiple times. One officer also said he hit Gooden with a closed fist during the altercation. Gooden was then transported to Kayanna's health clinic for his injuries, where a nurse gave him medication to calm him down. According to the police report. Gooden faces three misdemeanor assault charges, plus additional charges for resisting arrest and violating previous conditions of release. Gooden's attorney entered a plea of not guilty on Monday and could not be reached for comment. His next court date is set for January 29 at the Kotzebue Courthouse. A group of Southeast Alaska tribes filed A judicial review Nov. 19 over several transboundary mining projects in British Columbia. The judicial review asks the British Columbia Supreme Court to require the province to consult with Alaska tribes on mining projects in the Taku, Stikine and Yunuk watersheds. The group, Southeast Alaska Indigenous Transboundary Commission, represents 14 Alaska Native tribes that depend on those rivers and are downstream from the mines. Guy Archibald is the commission's executive director. He says these mining projects are massive and would leave industrial scale impacts. He says they'd affect watersheds on both sides of the border.
- [09:46]
Kevin McCabe
It's not the two different countries any.
- [09:48]
Casey Grove
More than it's two different rivers or two different watersheds.
- [09:52]
Kevin McCabe
It's industrial mining wherever it's at.
- [09:57]
Casey Grove
The judicial review comes after the Southeast Alaska tribes and environmental groups sent about 30,000 messages to B.C. lawmakers. They called for a halt to mining projects that affect rivers shared by Alaska and Canada. John Gaylis is a lawyer in Victoria, B.C. representing the tribes.
- [10:14]
Kevin McCabe
We're seeking procedural rights and one of those procedural rights is consultation before, you.
- [10:22]
Casey Grove
Know, before decisions are made that could irreparably harm the substantive rights. Substantive law establishes what is right and not right. Procedural rights, on the other hand, outline the rules that everyone must follow. The Tribal Commission wishes to enforce those outlines so that Alaska tribes must be consulted too, gaylis says. Right now it's more of a one way flow of information from the province. I think the tribes are looking for.
- [10:46]
Kevin McCabe
Is a seat at that table.
- [10:50]
Rebecca Garrett
Not.
- [10:51]
Casey Grove
Being sitting over at the kids table. British Columbia's Environmental Assessment Office said in an email that, quote, the B.C. government takes its obligations to consult with first nations who may be impacted by a proposed project very seriously, including with tribes in the US End quote. But they said that if there is a credible assertion of aboriginal rights under the Canadian constitution with the U.S. tribes. The office said they were unable to provide further comment due to the matter being litigated. Gaylis says the B.C. government is not fulfilling that duty. He says they're pushing for an early court date, but B.C. courts are backed up. He says if delays are significant, they'll call for an injunction. The idea of building a road to connect the Yukon and Kuskokwim rivers has been studied for decades, and the corridor it would pass through has been traversed for centuries. As KYUK's Evan Erickson reports, a new program spearheaded by the state Transportation Department could finally make the link between Alaska's two longest waterways a reality.
- [11:52]
Rebecca Garrett
A vast expanse of land separates the Yukon and Kuskokwim rivers where they meet the Bering sea. But roughly 150 miles inland, where the Portage Mountains rise up from the tundra, the rivers come within a few dozen miles of each other. This is where the state of Alaska is revisiting a concept that has been discussed and attempted since long before statehood, establishing a reliable corridor for travel, trade and commerce between Alaska's two longest waterways.
- [12:18]
Kevin McCabe
It's a big project and it impacts a lot of people. It could potentially impact a lot of people.
- [12:23]
Rebecca Garrett
That's Rebecca Garrett, project manager for the Alaska Department of Transportation's Frontier Roads program. She says the program is a means of capturing federal transportation funding that can benefit remote Alaska communities. The program's first project, the Yukon Kuskokwim Frontier Road, currently has around $7 million to fund. The study of five proposed pathways ranging in length from 30 to 45 miles. Each would serve to link the middle Kuskokwim river to a slough that branches off the lower Yukon River a short distance below Holy Cross.
- [12:54]
Kevin McCabe
I think it was an opportunity to explore a large project in rural Alaska where surface transportation could potentially help reduce the cost of living or take away some barriers that people have to getting freight and supplies. Maybe open up opportunity for development.
- [13:13]
Rebecca Garrett
Garrett says the project to build a 24 foot wide gravel road is only funded through the environmental analysis stage, but the construction could begin as early as 2028. She says the project remains full of unknowns like the total cost of the project, where the road would be built, whether it would be open year round, and what the maintenance costs might be. Last spring, state transportation officials traveled to nine communities to gauge interest in the project. According to notes published online, multiple Yukon and Kuskokwim communities showed openness to potential job training and employment from building the road, but some communities said they would prefer smaller local road projects. They also expressed concerns about impacts to subsistence, both environmental and from increased access for outside hunters and fishing guides. Multiple communities questioned the ultimate purpose of the road and how it would reduce the cost of living, and these questions are nothing new. The maps the state has been using to solicit feedback for the proposed road come from a nearly decade long feasibility study conducted by regional tribal consortium the association of Village Council Presidents. The study was initially requested in 2011 by the Kuskokwim river community of Calskag. All but one of the proposed corridors in that study terminate in Upper Kalskag on the Yukon side. All end at a point dozens of miles from the nearest communities of Holy Cross and Russian Mission. AVCP estimated the upper end of the project cost at $150 million. The AVCP led study was ultimately unable to determine the preferred corridor for the road. AVCP did not respond to a request for comment regarding reasons its involvement in the project abruptly ended. But in the last report it published, AVCP concluded that the project would likely not be developed for many years and that the plan hinged on opportunities that would come from event construction of the proposed Trans Alaska Natural Gas pipeline. A film produced by AVCP in 2013 to promote the YK corridor spelled out the hopes for natural gas.
- [15:06]
Benjamin Nance
A natural gas line in the corridor.
- [15:08]
Casey Grove
Could bring a new fuel source to the Kuskokwim communities.
- [15:11]
Benjamin Nance
It would encourage mining and other industrial.
- [15:14]
Casey Grove
Ventures as well as provide a supply.
- [15:16]
Benjamin Nance
Of fuel for homes and power generation.
- [15:18]
Rebecca Garrett
But the future of natural gas in Alaska remains uncertain, and with the state now at the helm of the proposed road, many of the same questions remain. One major issue is whether four communities that would have access to the corridor on the Yukon side, Grayling, Anvik, Shageluk and Holy Cross would even consider supporting the project. In 2018, the so called Gash communities signed a tribal resolution in opposition to the road. Tribal officials in all four communities did not respond to requests for comment regarding their current position on the project. On the Kuskokwim side, there is at least some support. The native village of Kalskeg responded by email to say the tribe supports the project as long as wetlands along the road are protected, but did not comment on specific pros and cons of the project. Matt Sweetser, owner of barge operator Ruby Marine, grew up on the Middle Yukon river and has been running barges on the river and its major tributaries for 45 years. He says he's aware of the proposed corridor but has never really understood the reasoning behind it. From a freight perspective, I'm not quite.
- [16:17]
Kevin McCabe
Clear how handling it and then trucking it for the 45 miles or so would actually result in cheaper freight for either river system. That just doesn't seem to be logical to me.
- [16:30]
Rebecca Garrett
Additionally, Sweetser says he can't see how a fuel delivery system requiring tank farms on either end of the road would pencil out. He says one problem is that the economics of fuel delivery have changed with the use of foreign flag tanker vessels in the Bering Sea in recent years.
- [16:44]
Kevin McCabe
They transfer fuel from those tankers to into the hubs Bethel and Nome and Cots, and some of it comes into the lower Yukon. But that fuel is by orders of magnitude the most efficiently delivered fuel in Alaska.
- [16:58]
Rebecca Garrett
With so many unknowns, the state isn't in a position to say precisely how the Yukon Kuskokwim Frontier Road would benefit communities. Garrett, with the Frontier Roads program, stresses that the process of surveying and analyzing has just begun. In Bethel, I'm Evan Erickson The Anchorage.
- [17:15]
Casey Grove
School district paused hiring for all vacant positions on Monday. In a statement, officials said the district expects to face a budget deficit of more than $77 million next school year. They say the district will likely have to significantly reduce positions to balance the budget and that a hiring freeze now will decrease the likelihood of layoffs this spring. School district spokesman MJ Timm said by email that there are roughly 200 vacancies in the district. Officials say all vacancies will be reviewed and positions deemed essential to student learning or safety can still be approved for posting. The decision comes as the district and teachers union remain locked in contract negotiations. It also comes two weeks after the Anchorage school board voted against closing two elementary schools. Tim says the hiring freeze is not related to that vote, saying we are taking this step because we must plan responsibly in the face of a very difficult fiscal reality. The school board is scheduled to address the hiring freeze and other budget solutions at its meeting tonight. A dispute involving the city of Fairbanks, its firefighters union and the local technical college is complicating a program for training paramedics. As KUAC's Patrick Gilchrist reports, a possible fix to the issue failed at a City Council meeting last week.
- [18:42]
Benjamin Nance
The possible ramifications of the dispute arose at a Fairbanks City Council meeting that was as the council considered a doomed letter of agreement that the firefighters union had already voted down. The issue centers around the way paramedic students at the University of Alaska Fairbanks Community and Technical College gain 240 hours of field training. Students in the program have been doing that with the Fairbanks Fire Department. In August, the city council and firefighters union agreed to a new contract which was the product of lengthy negotiations and federal arbitration, and that contract nixed the partnership. Benjamin Nance is the medical director for the paramedic program at the technical college. He also graduated from it in 2005. Nance says the program produces about a third of the paramedics who trained in the state.
- [19:35]
Kevin McCabe
This is bigger than the city of Fairbanks.
- [19:37]
Casey Grove
This is the state of Alaska's ability to train paramedics.
- [19:40]
Eric Stone
And the firefighters union and the city.
- [19:44]
Kevin McCabe
Of Fairbanks own this decision that was made.
- [19:47]
Casey Grove
They're going to have to defend their actions and they'll have to decide again.
- [19:51]
Kevin McCabe
What it is that they stand for.
- [19:54]
Benjamin Nance
Nance says Fairbanks Fire Department is the only agency in the interior that gets enough calls to satisfy the requirement. And he says his immediate concern is for eight currently enrolled students who need the training.
- [20:08]
Casey Grove
Their dreams here are not collective bargaining chips. Cutting these students off at the knees midway through their training is a disgusting thing to do.
- [20:18]
Benjamin Nance
The Fairbanks City Council was tasked with voting on an ordinance to enter into a letter of agreement that would re establish the partnership. But the ordinance was a non starter because union members were rejected the letter of agreement earlier this month. Nick Clark, the president of the firefighters union, says some issues have developed over the years that have fallen on deaf ears. For one, he says paramedics have sometimes gotten overloaded with training multiple students at a time, leading to safety concerns. And two, Clark says they've been left hanging without a clear training plan.
- [20:53]
Eric Stone
What our members are saying is they.
- [20:55]
Kevin McCabe
Want structure, they want communication, they want a plan, they want to know what they're doing with the students. Dan and Dow, they don't want to just show up to work and all of a sudden there's, you know, several paramedic students with no plan, you know, no preceptor training.
- [21:12]
Benjamin Nance
In a previous meeting, Clark said the Fairbanks Fire Department's recruitment efforts have benefited from the local program. City officials have also been keen to add more paramedics to the department's ranks, which with the council approving a hiring bonus earlier this year as a recruitment measure, Clark says it's ultimately not about union members disliking the program overall or not wanting to help out students.
- [21:36]
Kevin McCabe
They want to be. They know that we should be doing this and they want to be doing this. It needs to be done right instead.
- [21:44]
Benjamin Nance
Of failing the ordinance. The council voted unanimously to push the vote to mid December in hopes the city union and Technical college can use that time to find a solution. In Fairbanks, I'm Patrick Gilchrist.
- [21:59]
Casey Grove
Juneau Public Market ramped up the holiday shopping season in Alaska's capital city with hundreds of people buying handmade art, jewelry, clothes and other goods. On Saturday, KTO's Alex Solomon talked to vendors from near and far who say it's one of the most meaningful markets for them.
- [22:16]
Alex Solomon
Centennial hall in downtown Juneau is bustling with people shopping for holiday gifts from around 175 vendors. 1 Ceramics artist has been selling her kitchen wares at Juno Public Market for more than 40 years. Betty Bell lives in Milton, Washington, but comes up for the market and to see her daughter and grandkids. All adults now, she's always looked forward to this annual visit.
- [22:40]
Kevin McCabe
Oh, it's allowed me to get to.
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Alex Solomon
Know my grandchildren, bell says Market sales pay for her plane ticket to Juneau now that she's 91 years old. Years old. She says she sells almost exclusively at this market, but it used to make up about a quarter of her annual sales when she was throwing more clay.
- [22:55]
Kevin McCabe
Juno has embraced me and supported me over the years, and I've kind of become your local, out of town potter.
- [23:02]
Alex Solomon
That community connection is what brings many artisans back year after year. Vendors pay between $250 and $1,200 for a booth space, and many say they rake in a large portion of their annual sales to from this market alone. Carly Thayer's booth, Behring Sea Designs, features sharp lines, soft fur and colors of the ocean inspired by the coastal cliffs of Unalaska where she spent her early years. I make sea otter fur and metal.
- [23:30]
Eric Stone
Jewelry, so I've got earrings and bracelets and necklaces, some big pieces like this body piece here that was on the.
- [23:40]
Alex Solomon
Alaska Fashion Week Runway. She says that selling jewelry at Juno Public Market makes up about half of her annual sales, but she says it's about more than just the money.
- [23:50]
Eric Stone
Growing up here, you know everybody, so.
- [23:53]
Alex Solomon
It'S like a family reunion. It's fantastic.
- [23:56]
Eric Stone
We love Public Market.
- [23:58]
Alex Solomon
A woman wearing a pair of earrings she'd purchased from Thayer in the past briefly stopped by the booth.
- [24:03]
Eric Stone
It's really incredible to see her art walking around.
- [24:06]
Alex Solomon
It's Bailey McAlcan, first time as a vendor at the market. He traveled from Fairbanks to sell his earrings and sculptures made of carved walrus ivory. He says this forum, along with social.
- [24:17]
Kevin McCabe
Media, is important, especially for native people in communities where job security is hard.
- [24:23]
Alex Solomon
He's been a full time artist for six years. Beyond the income, he says it's allowed him and other Native artists to maintain a way of life where they can.
- [24:32]
Kevin McCabe
Stay in their homes rather than moving into the cities and be there for the elders and, you know, so that Uppa doesn't lose his grandchildren who pull the nets for him while they're fishing and just to keep those cultural values strong and held together.
- [24:44]
Alex Solomon
Juneau resident Peter Metcalfe started hosting Juneau public market in 1983. He says vendors make somewhere between five and $8,000 on average over the three day weekend. And he says Black Friday this year was one for the books.
- [24:59]
Kevin McCabe
A couple of my longtime vendors said they did more in two hours than they've done in all three days of previous events.
- [25:07]
Alex Solomon
He says most makers are based in Alaska and a little more than half are Juno locals.
- [25:12]
Kevin McCabe
I can't put a figure on how.
- [25:15]
Casey Grove
Important this is for Juneau's cottage industries.
- [25:18]
Kevin McCabe
But I know many people who participate. It means a lot to their annual income and it keeps them in the game.
- [25:28]
Alex Solomon
And more than that, artisans say it's a warm and welcoming space that brings the art community together during the holiday season in Juneau. I'm Alex Solomon.
- [25:48]
Casey Grove
And that's all for this edition of Alaska News Nightly. If you missed any of tonight's stories, we're online@alaskapublic.org and wherever you get your podcasts. We had reports tonight from Eric Stone and Alex Solomon in Juneau, Desiree Hagan in Kotzebue, Colette Czarnicki in Rangel, Evan Erickson in Bethel, Wesley early in Anchorage and Patrick Gilchrist in Fairbanks. If you want to send us a news tip, question or comment, email us@newslaskapublic.org 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.