Alaska News Nightly: Tuesday, November 25, 2025

Podcast: Alaska News Nightly — Alaska Public Media
Air Date: November 26, 2025
Host: Casey Grove

Episode Overview

This edition of Alaska News Nightly provides a comprehensive update on significant issues across the state of Alaska, touching on topics from proposed expansive offshore drilling plans, community responses in the wake of a devastating storm, ongoing disputes in utilities and education contracts, positive economic news from the fisheries sector, and a story about the power of music in schools. The episode features field reporting, expert commentary, and direct voices from the community for a balanced, on-the-ground perspective.

1. Proposed Major Offshore Drilling Expansion in Alaska

Segment Start: [00:24]

Key Points

• The Proposal: The U.S. Interior Department, under the Trump administration, has released a draft plan for a massive expansion of offshore drilling in federal waters off Alaska—excluding only Bristol Bay. This covers the Bering Sea, Gulf of Alaska, the Arctic (including Chukchi and Beaufort seas), and the "High Arctic."
• Senator Response: In an unusual twist, both Alaska Senators Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan are urging the Interior Department to narrow its focus to Cook Inlet and exclude other sensitive areas from the final plan.
  • Quote (Liz Ruskin, 01:31): “It’s pretty much everywhere. All of the federal waters off Alaska except for Bristol Bay.”
  • Murkowski (via Ruskin, 02:39): “…development in some of our waters, especially the offshore Arctic and the Bering Strait, should not be in the final version of this five year plan…”
• Industry Interest Unclear: Interest from oil companies is uncertain; previous efforts, such as Shell’s high-profile attempt in the Chukchi and Beaufort, ended in costly failure.
  • Shell’s “cautionary tale” (Ruskin, 03:13): “Shell threw in the towel after drilling one dis well. So no company wants to repeat that.”
• Process Ahead: Any progress is likely to be slow and dependent on regulatory steps, potential lawsuits, and shifting federal priorities.
  • Sports Analogy (Ruskin, 04:23): “Each administration has four years to move the ball down the field … until they get tackled by an environmental lawsuit. Eventually, it’ll be the other team’s turn.”

2. Western Alaska Storm Evacuees Receive Traditional Foods

Segment Start: [05:12]

Key Points

• Ongoing Displacement: Hundreds remain in Anchorage hotels after losing homes in a major western Alaska storm (remnants of Typhoon Halon).
• Subsistence Food Delivery: Alaska Native Heritage Center, with other groups, is providing traditional foods (fish, moose, muktak, herring eggs) to evacuees—crucial for cultural and emotional sustenance during Thanksgiving.
  • Stephanie Hanover (Recipient, 05:41): Receives a welcome bag of traditional foods.
  • Anon (Evacuee, 06:12): "It's good to have native food, subsistence to share with my family. Yes, yes."
• Challenges and Joys: Recipients are grateful but note some gaps, like missing condiments (seal oil) and utensils.
  • Elizabeth Smith, 07:39: “Herring eggs, but I’ll need oil … I’ll keep [the donations] in my mini fridge maybe until Thanksgiving Day.”
• Wider Support: Heritage Center also organizes potlucks and is planning more support events.
• How to Help: Listeners encouraged to contact the Alaska Native Heritage Center to donate or receive food packs.

3. Legal and Utility Disputes in Juneau’s Power Sector

Segment Start: [10:28]

Key Points

• AEL&P Appeal: Alaska Electric Light & Power is appealing a regulatory order to let Juneau Hydropower connect new hydroelectric capacity (Sweetheart Lake project) to their grid.
• Disputed Issues:
  • Requirement to reserve 8.5 megawatts capacity “without compensation.”
    • Alec Mesdeg, AEL&P CEO, 12:00: Fears additional upgrade costs.
  • Approval of an interconnection design that AEL&P thinks sets a “bad precedent” for utility safety and reliability.
    • Mesdeg, 12:20: “…any entity who disputes the utility’s position … can simply insist their project will die if the commission does not order the utility to accommodate their every wish.”
• Hydro’s Response: Duff Mitchell, Juneau Hydropower, calls the case “frivolous” and says they’re moving ahead regardless.
  • Mitchell, 13:04: “Basically their case is … we got our butt kicked in the hockey game, five to zero, and now we’re a sore loser and we’re blaming the ref.”
• Regulatory Commission: No comment at this stage.

4. Juneau Teachers’ Union and School District Negotiation Standoff

Segment Start: [13:35]

Key Points

• Contract Dispute: After nine months of negotiations and a federal mediation process interrupted by shutdowns, the district unilaterally announced arbitration, surprising the teachers’ union.
  • Kelly Harvey, Teacher, 14:31: “It is not fair, it is not right, and you all have the power to solve this.”
• Union Position: Union feels arbitration is premature, proposes higher salary and health insurance increases compared to the district’s modest offer.
  • Union Offer:
    • 8% salary increase year one, 9% year two
    • District health contributions up $25 first year, $271 more second year
  • District Offer:
    • 3% salary increase (1 year), $10/month health insurance bump, 200 fewer prep minutes for middle school teachers
• Emotional Statements: Teachers perform a silent walkout in protest.
• Financial Concerns: Superintendent Frank Hauser argues union’s proposal would cost $12 million over two years, compared to district’s $1.84 million for one year.
  • Hauser, 17:09: “We have spent almost 100 hours negotiating and the time has come to schedule an advisory arbitration…”
• Potential for Strike: Union prefers not to strike, but leaves the door open if arbitration fails.

5. Cook Inlet Sockeye Salmon Fishery Sees Historic Value Boost

Segment Start: [17:59]

Key Points

• Harvest Doubling: Value of Cook Inlet’s commercial sockeye fishery nearly doubled to over $40 million, mainly from sockeye.
  • Colton Lipka, Fish & Game Biologist, 18:25: “The most meaningful reason for the large jump in value is the large jump in harvest.”
• Record Runs: Predicted run: under 7 million; actual: over 12 million. Commercial harvest about a third of that.
• Fleet Distribution: Drift fleet responsible for most catch (over 3.5 million), while all setnet fleets combined caught ~180,000.
• Prixes Stable: Price per pound stable at $1.70, significantly up from lows during 2020.
  • Lipka, 19:40: “It was a good price per pound this year right about where it has been, and you just add on to that one of the larger harvests … you generate a pretty solid ex-vessel value.”

6. Instrument Loan Program Lifts Anchorage High School Orchestra

Segment Start: [21:03]

Key Points

• The Project: Anchorage Symphony violist Christian Johnson loans two violins and a viola to top students at West Anchorage High to inspire and empower talented players.
• Background: Johnson’s own transformation by a quality instrument in school inspired the project.
  • Johnson, 23:05: “Man, I wish there was a way that students could have a decent instrument that wouldn't necessarily break the bank...”
• Impact: The presence of higher-caliber instruments lifts the entire orchestra’s confidence and quality.
  • Gabrielle Whitfield, Orchestra Director, 21:46: “It was like Christian unearthed these incredible artifacts and now they can use them every day. And so it's just really magical…”
  • Raziel Onoffe Alvarado, Student, 24:04: “In this violin, it sounds a lot stronger, a lot more clear.”
  • Whitfield, 25:04: “When you've got somebody who's able to just be more expressive on their instrument and have a bigger presence, it makes everyone's presence bigger because we're all connected.”
• Looking Forward: Hope to expand the program into a larger foundation, reach more students, and further transform music education in Anchorage.

Notable Quotes & Moments

Offshore Drilling

• “It’s pretty much everywhere. All of the federal waters off Alaska except for Bristol Bay.”
  — Liz Ruskin, [01:31]

• “Shell threw in the towel after drilling one dis well. So no company wants to repeat that.”
  — Liz Ruskin, [03:38]

• “Each administration has four years to move the ball down the field... until they get tackled by an environmental lawsuit.”
  — Liz Ruskin, [04:23]

Food Aid for Evacuees

• “It's good to have native food, subsistence to share with my family. Yes, yes.”
  — Evacuee, [06:12]

• “Herring eggs, but I’ll need oil.”
  — Elizabeth Smith, [07:39]

Utility Dispute

• “Basically their case is ... we got our butt kicked in the hockey game, five to zero, and now we’re a sore loser and we’re blaming the ref.”
  — Duff Mitchell, Juneau Hydropower, [13:04]

Teachers’ Contract

• “It is not fair, it is not right, and you all have the power to solve this.”
  — Kelly Harvey, [14:31]

• “We have spent almost 100 hours negotiating and the time has come to schedule an advisory arbitration as required by Alaska statute...”
  — Superintendent Frank Hauser, [17:09]

Orchestra Program

• “It was like Christian unearthed these incredible artifacts and now they can use them every day. And so it’s just really magical...”
  — Gabrielle Whitfield, [22:14]

• “In this violin, it sounds a lot stronger, a lot more clear.”
  — Raziel Onoffe Alvarado, [24:04]

• “When you've got somebody who's able to just be more expressive on their instrument and have a bigger presence, it makes everyone's presence bigger because we're all connected.”
  — Gabrielle Whitfield, [25:04]

Timestamps for Important Segments

| Segment | Timestamp | |-----------------------------------------------------|-------------| | Offshore Drilling Plan | 00:24–05:02 | | Western Alaska Storm Evacuees & Subsistence Food | 05:12–08:42 | | Kotlik Manslaughter Sentencing | 08:55–10:28 | | Juneau Utilities Dispute | 10:28–13:35 | | JSD Teachers’ Contract Negotiation Standoff | 13:35–17:59 | | Cook Inlet Salmon Fishery News | 17:59–21:03 | | Instrument Loan Program at West High (Anchorage) | 21:03–25:51 |

Tone & Storytelling

The episode balances urgent policy and legal issues (offshore drilling, educational union contracts, utility battles) with community resilience stories (evacuee food aid, student musicians) and economic bright spots (salmon fishery surge). The language is accessible, earnest, and community-oriented, giving voice to both officials and ordinary Alaskans.

This summary captures the entire range of topics and perspectives presented in the November 25, 2025 edition of Alaska News Nightly, distilling for the listener the key themes, pulse points, and voices shaping the state’s present and future.