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- [00:00]
Casey Grove
Support for Alaska Public Media on demand comes from Siri, an Alaska Native corporation with operations and investments spanning five continents, 45 states and two US territories.
- [00:19]
Jeremy Zedek
If at all possible, help the residents dewater, dehumidify, dry out their house.
- [00:26]
Casey Grove
Northwest Arctic communities enter the next stage of storm and flood recovery. From Alaska Public Media, this is statewide news on Alaska News nightly for Tuesday, October 28th. Good evening. I'm Casey Grove. Also tonight, the state cuts back on school bond debt reimbursements.
- [00:42]
Jeremy Zedek
Somebody's paying that school bond.
- [00:44]
Yvonne Crumry
If the state's not, then that means we are.
- [00:47]
Casey Grove
Those stories and more tonight on Alaska News Nightly. The state of Alaska is transitioning. Hundreds of people evacuated to Anchorage from western Alaska to get them out of mass shelters and into hotel rooms. Jeremy Zedek, a spokesperson for the state's emergency response, says the goal is to get everyone moved by the end of the week.
- [01:15]
Jeremy Zedek
We realize that having people in those big group settings in the congregate shelters is not ideal and people can't stay in that environment for a prolonged period of time. So we're glad to be moving.
- [01:30]
Casey Grove
There were more than 300 people sleeping on cots at the mass shelters at the Alaska Airlines center and the Eagan center as of yesterday. Zedek says the state is doing everything it can to keep families together as they move into hotel rooms around the city. While in the hotels, people will continue to receive three meals a day, plus other support, including busing to schools and medical and behavioral health services. Zedek says the hotel stays are only temporary. He hopes some people will be able to move back to their communities soon. The state and partner organizations are racing to fix up homes in western Alaska before it gets too cold. But he says it's not going to be possible for everyone to return. Some people's houses were completely destroyed.
- [02:13]
Jeremy Zedek
Our preference is really to put people back in their community or at least put them back into the region that they're from. But if we can't do that, we have to find safe housing over the winter.
- [02:26]
Casey Grove
Zedek says the Alaska Housing Finance Corporation is working to find temporary housing around the state. It's been almost three weeks since a storm caused major flooding and erosion damage to infrastructure in Kotzebue and other Northwest Arctic communities. And that was before the remnants of Typhoon Ha Long made their way through the region. As KOTZ's Desiree Hagan reports officials are entering the next phase of recovery efforts.
- [03:02]
Desiree Hagan
Kelly Hamilton is the emergency manager for the Northwest Arctic Borough. He says more than 150 homes in Kotzebue have already been assessed for damage following an October 8th flooding event and the remnants of Typhoon Halong a few days later. Last October, a similar flooding event hit the region, too. This year, Hamilton says the borough had a better game plan to start repairs.
- [03:25]
Jeremy Zedek
Immediately if at all possible. Help the residents dewater, dehumidify, dry out their house, put new insulation in, you know, new plywood under the floor and get things buttoned up for winter.
- [03:40]
Desiree Hagan
Hamilton says many of the homes that needed repairs last year have to go through the same process this year, too, tearing out and replacing damaged flooring and insulation. Temperatures in Kotzebue are already below freezing this week in the low teens and twenties, making these repairs more challenging. Governor Dunleavy declared a disaster for the region, which was later amended to include damage from Typhoon Ha Long. But Hamilton says it's a tight timeline to get relief.
- [04:09]
Jeremy Zedek
The residents need a dry place to live and winter's on the way. Otherwise they're just living on an ice block.
- [04:16]
Desiree Hagan
Hamilton says there has been a coordinated response effort between the borough and multiple local, state and even national agencies to assess the damage. Hamilton says the borough's village public safety program also helped. But now about a dozen of the borough's VPSOs are deployed in the Yukon Kuskokwim Delta to assist in emergency response efforts there. Hamilton says Kotzebue wasn't the only community in the Northwest Arctic to experience damage. In the community of Kivalina, over 280 residents sheltered in the school during the night of the storm. Several returned home to flood damage. Jeremy Zedek is a public information officer with the Alaska Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management.
- [05:01]
Jeremy Zedek
The Alaska organized militia, including Alaska National Guard members, deployed eight people to Kivalina to work with the Northwest Arctic Borough in order to make repairs to home and conduct inspections there.
- [05:17]
Desiree Hagan
Officials say Kivalina also received assistance from the nearby Red Dog Mine, which was able to transport water, non perishable food items and diapers to the community via helicopter. Zedek says many Kivalina residents have already applied for individual assistance for financial help. He says the community of Deering also had erosion near their health clinic. Emergency officials are working with the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium on Kotzebue sewage lagoon, which had just undergone repairs.
- [05:48]
Jeremy Zedek
Those repairs were just completed about a week before the storm from last year's storm. It lost a lot of gravel around the lagoon. A lot of the work that was done.
- [06:00]
Desiree Hagan
Angelica Stobbs is a public information officer with the Alaska Department of Transportation. She says there was significant slope erosion in Kotzebue, especially along Ted Stevens Way. Stobbs says the road is closed because of the severity of the erosion and repairs are ongoing.
- [06:20]
Jeremy Zedek
We're working on the repairs between the bridges and we're working as fast as we can, but yeah, we just saw a lot of erosion.
- [06:28]
Desiree Hagan
Matt Bergin is a Kotzebue resident and says his home experienced damages from the flooding. He spoke at a recent Kotzebue City Council meeting and said Kotzebue's flooding last year was a wake up call. Bergen thinks there still needs to be more of an effort for long term planning.
- [06:46]
Jeremy Zedek
Seems like there's plenty of money to respond to emergencies and fix things like we're doing now. It seems harder to get the money for preventive measures before disasters happen.
- [06:58]
Desiree Hagan
Emergency officials say residents have until December 9th to apply for individual assistance online in Kotzebue, I'm Desiree Hagan.
- [07:07]
Casey Grove
John Boyle, commissioner of the Alaska Department of Natural Resources, abruptly resigned his position on Friday. The Alaska Beacon reports that governor Mike Dunleavy announced the appointment of Boyle's deputy, John Crowther, as acting head of the agency, which regulates Alaska's agriculture, mining, oil and gas. The governor's office declined Monday to answer questions about the resignation. Boyle's departure follows those of Revenue Commissioner Adam Crum and Attorney General Treg Taylor. Both are now Republican candidates for governor, and their resignations were announced in advance. Unlike Boyle's departure, Boyle could not be reached for comment on Monday. The departing commissioner has extensive experience in the oil industry. Before joining Dunleavy's cabinet in 2023, he was a lobbyist for BP and oil. Search still to come on Alaska News Nightly Juneau businesses are trying to fill the Halloween supplies gap Left by joann Fabrics.
- [08:06]
Desiree Hagan
We have hats, prosthetics that you put.
- [08:09]
Jeremy Zedek
On with latex blood, lots of blood.
- [08:12]
Casey Grove
That's ahead. Stay with us. Alaska State troopers are looking for a North Pole man connected to a fatal shooting during a party early Saturday morning in Fairbanks. KUAC's Tim Ellis reports Local law enforcement.
- [08:25]
Tim Ellis
Was worried about the threats of further violence in the aftermath of the shooting, so as a precaution they assigned several officers to spend the day at two district schools in response to online threats, troopers spoke. Spokesperson Austin McDaniel says the agency hopes the public will help them locate 18 year old Darius Morgan, who witnesses claim had a handgun at the party off Farmer's Loop Road.
- [08:48]
Jeremy Zedek
Darius Morgan has an active felony warrant for his arrest and is also a person of interest for a violent crime that occurred in the Fairbanks area over.
- [08:56]
Tim Ellis
The weekend, according to a charging document. A trooper investigator said if Morgan had a gun, that would violate probation conditions that prohibit him from possessing a weapon after he was convicted of robbery last year. So the investigator asked the court to issue a warrant for Morgan's arrest. Fairbanks Police Department spokesperson Teal Soden says area police responded to online threats of retaliatory violence at the two schools with what they called an increased presence.
- [09:25]
Jeremy Zedek
This weekend we were made aware of reports circulating on social media that suggested possible threats towards Lathrop High School and Ryan Middle School. After following up on these reports, we've not identified any specific or credible threats to directed towards students or staff.
- [09:41]
Tim Ellis
Soden says police presence at the schools was increased out of an abundance of caution.
- [09:47]
Jeremy Zedek
The Fairbanks Police Department takes all reports of threats or school violence very seriously. We work closely with other law enforcement agencies and the Fairbanks North Starborough School District to assess and respond to any potential risks.
- [10:00]
Tim Ellis
Social media posts suggested friends of the victim planned to take revenge against Morgan and possibly his friends. McDaniel declined to say whether Morgan or the victim were Lathrop students. He says there's a lot of concern over the shooting and rumors of retaliation, but he added, police can't say much right now because of the ongoing investigation.
- [10:19]
Jeremy Zedek
We understand there's a lot of requests from the public for more information about the incident that occurred this weekend in an effort to not influence witness statements. As we continue to interview witnesses from the incident, we are not releasing additional information at this time. Our number one priority is right now locating Darius Morgan.
- [10:36]
Tim Ellis
A Fairbanks North Starborough School District spokesperson did not immediately respond to phone calls and emails Monday afternoon. McDaniel says anyone with information about Darius Morgan's location should call the Alaska State Troopers at 907-451-5100. He advises anyone who sees the suspect not to approach him, but to call 911 immediately. For KUAC news, I'm Tim Elliot.
- [11:13]
Casey Grove
The state of Alaska cut its payments to districts and municipalities for school construction and renovation projects by roughly 25 to 30% this year. The city of Dillingham, the Lake and Peninsula borough, along with 15 other municipalities and school districts across the state, are now trying to account for the unexpected expense. KDLG's Margaret Sutherland reports.
- [11:35]
Margaret Sutherland
The payments are part of the state's school bond debt reimbursement program, which started in the 1970s. The local governments borrowed money to pay for new or improved school facilities, and the state committed to help repay the debt over time. In 2015, the Alaska Legislature paused funding for new projects for 10 years. That moratorium expired July 1, but the state kept paying for pre moratorium debt, like the $15 million bond Dillingham voters approved in 2008 to pay for repairs to Dillingham City School District facilities. Anita Fuller is the finance director for the city of Dillingham.
- [12:13]
Jeremy Zedek
The state said, listen, we'll help support you.
- [12:16]
Yvonne Crumry
You go out and get the bond.
- [12:18]
Jeremy Zedek
We'Re going to reimburse you for 70% of that bond.
- [12:22]
Margaret Sutherland
Fuller says in normal years, the city pays the remaining 30% primarily with local tax revenue. This year, the state cut its help with the debt by $231,000, roughly 30% of its commitment.
- [12:36]
Jeremy Zedek
That's a huge chunk of money because that's 231,000 that we just lost because somebody's paying that school bond.
- [12:48]
Yvonne Crumry
If the state's not, then that means we are all.
- [12:52]
Margaret Sutherland
17 districts and municipalities in the program face the same roughly 30% cut, though the dollar amount looks different for each. The Lake and Peninsula Borough is facing a roughly $250,000 cut, according to district officials. That's roughly 8.5% of the lake and Peninsula Borough's total education budget for the year. Reimbursement recipients found out about the cut in late June. After municipalities and districts approved budgets for the next fiscal year. The Lake and Peninsula Bureau officials say they will have to revise the budget by shifting money away from other commitments or draining their reserves. Dillingham's City Council introduced a revised budget that accounts for the lost money. At a special meeting earlier this month. Various departments experienced cuts, though Fuller says that can't all be attributed to the loss in bond reimbursement because there were other budget changes to account for. But she says the cut pulls from the finite amount of money available for all departments.
- [13:52]
Jeremy Zedek
That takes all that money from our general fund, so money that was going in there to help us with the.
- [13:58]
Yvonne Crumry
Library or the senior center or the school.
- [14:01]
Margaret Sutherland
The proposed reduction to the bond reimbursement program originated in the Senate Finance Committee last session. Bristol Bay representative and House Speaker Bryce Edmond says the legislature had to cut costs for several projects to balance the budget and avoid dipping into the state's savings account the constitutional budget reserve. The total cost for the state to fully fund the 17 school system statewide is roughly $47 million a year and the reduction cut roughly $12 million of that.
- [14:31]
Casey Grove
When you start, you know, looking at the finances of a small first class community like the city of Dillingham, you know that reduction actually is quite meaningful to their bottom line. And I would also point out that it also, you know, it signifies how tight. The budget really is getting down in Juneau with costs increasing at every turn.
- [14:53]
Margaret Sutherland
This isn't the first time lawmakers have shorted the reimbursement program. In 2019, the governor cut the program and left districts to shoulder the majority of the debt payment from 2020 through 2022. Then in 2023, they backpaid districts and municipalities for those three years. Edgman says that it is possible that will happen with this reduction as well. He says funding next year and possible retroactive payments depend on state revenue, especially the price of oil. Alaska's oil prices are currently lower than what lawmakers budgeted for, and that makes.
- [15:27]
Casey Grove
Me a little bit nervous in terms of what our budget situation is going to look like. My hope is next year we can come back and fully fund this bond debt reimbursement program.
- [15:37]
Margaret Sutherland
The reduction in funding coincides with the expiration of the 10 year moratorium of the program. Organizations have been calling for the state to lift the moratorium and reopen the bond debt reimbursement program for years. Carol Treem is the government affairs manager for the Alaska Municipal League.
- [15:55]
Jeremy Zedek
There's this pent up need for money to build school infrastructure or repair school infrastructure that hasn't been addressed since the moratorium.
- [16:06]
Margaret Sutherland
On the other hand, there's skepticism about the program's viability. Tram says the fluctuation in state funding makes the program risky for communities, so.
- [16:16]
Jeremy Zedek
It'S hard for them to say, you know, I feel confident that if we go out and we bond for a new school building or fixing school buildings, that the state will honor its obligation to repay that debt.
- [16:30]
Margaret Sutherland
But she says the need may be great enough for districts to take that risk. Reporting from KDLG in Dillingham, I'm Margaret Sutherland.
- [16:40]
Casey Grove
Storm impacted communities on the Kuskokwim Delta coast and upriver we'll have additional opportunity to harvest moose, according to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. Philip Perry, fish and games management coordinator in Bethel, says the department wanted to do what it could to help while still keeping the moose population healthy.
- [16:59]
Jeremy Zedek
You know, we look at what the moose population is, what could be harvested if there's more additional harvest that could happen this year. And that's where we came up with 100 permits.
- [17:11]
Casey Grove
The hundred permits are for a portion of unit 18 beginning at the mouth of the Kuskokwim river and extending up toward Kalskag. Many residents in the area reported significant losses to subsistence food stores due to the storm, and Fish and Games cited the threat of food insecurity going into the winter as part of the reason for the extension, but Perry says many of the people who suffered flood damage have evacuated out of the region. Perry says extending the hunt is in part meant to allow people to lend a hand. He says he's received calls from people across the region asking to hunt an extra moose to gift to storm impacted families.
- [17:48]
Jeremy Zedek
You shoot an extra moose this year, I know there's some infrastructure to get a hold of people and be able to give meat that may be able to get distributed to some of the other places where people are going to be this winter.
- [18:02]
Casey Grove
Permits will be issued online@hunt.alaska.gov starting at 9am on November 5th. All Alaska residents are eligible to participate if they have not harvested a Moose since July 1st of this year and possess a valid Alaska resident hunting license. The extended season will run until January 19th. The bag limit is one moose. Proxy hunting is allowed for the hunt. The proposed Alaska natural gas pipeline project picked up another non binding agreement last week. This time the letter of support comes from Tokyo Gas Co. One of Japan's largest energy utilities. It's the fifth acquired for the project since Glenfarn, a private energy asset developer, took over majority project ownership earlier this year. If it's built, the Alaska LNG project will move natural gas from the North Slope through a roughly 800 mile pipeline to Nikiski to be liquefied and shipped overseas. Adam Prestage is the project president with Glenn Farn. He told KDLL radio last month that preliminary agreements, though non binding, are a necessary first step toward agreements that are binding. But he says that can take a while.
- [19:17]
Jeremy Zedek
Typically an LNG project, an LNG contract like this can take, you know, 12, 18, 24 months to go from initial concept to being a binding agreement.
- [19:29]
Casey Grove
Glenn Farne celebrated the preliminary Tokyo Gas agreement in a press release for pushing the project over the halfway mark of its LNG export capacity. Glenn Farn estimates it needs binding commitments for 5 million more tons of liquefied natural gas to fund the full $44 billion project. The Tokyo Gas announcement comes on the heels of a town hall Glenn Farn held in Nikiski earlier this month to promote the project. Glenn Farn is eyeing the end of this year to decide whether to move forward with project development or not. Juneau plans to expand its temporary levy along the Mendenhall river, in part by using money originally intended for a new arts and culture center. An ordinance passed unanimously at last night's assembly meeting will allow the city to help protect more homes and businesses from annual glacial outburst flooding by pulling $5 million from the proposed Capitol Civic Center. The current levee is made of Hesco barriers, steel and mesh baskets filled with sand. It protected hundreds of homes from flooding by a slim margin during the record breaking glacial outburst flood in August. Deputy City Manager Robert Barr said at the meeting that $4 million of the reallocation will go toward phase two of the levee project.
- [20:42]
Jeremy Zedek
These funds would contribute toward ongoing overall protection costs like site preparation, armoring, environmental installation and legal for Hesco barrier installation along the Mendenhall river that do not currently have barriers.
- [20:56]
Casey Grove
Phase two would expand the levee both upstream and downstream so it would stretch from Back Loop Bridge to just before Juneau International Airport. The city estimates the expansion would cost $19 million to build. The other $1 million pulled from the Capital Civic center will be used to repair and maintain the existing stretch of Hesco barriers, which leaked, slumped and lost sand during the flood. The Capitol Civic center is a proposed project that would replace the current Juneau Arts and Culture Center. Juneau voters rejected a ballot proposition to fund the new Civic center in 2019. The city appropriated funds to a slightly altered version of the project anyway. Barr said those funds were meant to be a match for a federal or state grant, which has not materialized. The assembly will discuss how to fund the rest of the Hesco barrier expansion at a special assembly meeting on Thursday. And Months after joann fabric stores closed in Alaska, the gap in craft supplies is being put to the test at a crucial creative time of the year. Halloween. Kto Svon Crumry spoke with a drag artist, a costumer and a mom in Juneau about how they've adapted to make costumes for the holiday.
- [22:06]
Yvonne Crumry
Normally, this time of year, Juno's largest craft store will be full of plastic pumpkins, skeletons, ghosts and, of course, fabric. But instead, the former joann fabrics in the Nugget Mall sits dark and empty, a spooky reality, say local costume makers. Elizabeth Bauer makes her five year old daughter's Halloween costume every year, and usually she wants to be something a bit unusual.
- [22:28]
Jeremy Zedek
Last year she knew for months she wanted to be a white bat, and so it's like you can't find a.
- [22:34]
Casey Grove
White bat costume anywhere.
- [22:36]
Yvonne Crumry
Bauer found white furry fabric at joann's and made wings and a headband with bat ears for her daughter. But this year, Bower is scrambling to find the materials she needs to make another unusual costume, a hybrid jaguar and parrot from her daughter's favorite cartoon. She needs to make a pink base outfit, leopard spots, wings and a tail. And she has to find all of the materials and finish sewing by Friday.
- [22:57]
Jeremy Zedek
There's not one store that you can go to and get all of those items that you're looking for for a craft project. You have to piece it together between all these different places.
- [23:08]
Yvonne Crumry
Meanwhile, in Maggie Hyde's costume closet, she holds up a blue and green dress with scalloped ribbons of different colors. This is a dress I made. The shade of the fabric she bought online is not quite right. I made it work. But these two shades were supposed to be a lot more different. They were not supposed to be the same shade, but on a website they looked very different. Hyde is a costumer. She participates in Juno's annual wearable art show, where creators show off costumes they've made themselves. And she designs outfits for Renaissance fairs, cosplay photo shoots, and of course, Halloween. She says it's a gamble to buy materials online for her creations. Shipping costs are often high. If a company even ships to Alaska. How is this whole process of shipping, of looking, and that just makes it a lot more difficult. You kind of have to adapt. Juno drag mother Gigi Monroe says she and her fellow drag performers have been doing just that, you know, for professionals.
- [24:06]
Jeremy Zedek
Like, we know how to get what we need and figure things out.
- [24:10]
Yvonne Crumry
But this year, she had to pivot from a costume idea for Juno Drag's Halloween show because she couldn't find the more niche materials anywhere. She says Joann's usually had that kind of thing. And she says the store's closing also impacts her methods. She would often go to the store with parts of an idea in mind and figure out the rest based on what fabric she could touch and see in person.
- [24:29]
Jeremy Zedek
There's a lot of designing that actually happens in the store and you don't really always have to go in knowing.
- [24:36]
Yvonne Crumry
Exactly what you need. When they first heard the bad news, Monroe and other performers went to Joanne's closing sales and stockpiled some heavy hitter supplies like rhinestone glue. Monroe says other stores in town, including Junot's two quilting shops, help fill some of the gaps. And for Juno's more casual costumers, there are still options. Kathy Buell is owner of the party store Balloons by Night Moods.
- [24:58]
Jeremy Zedek
Halloween is our biggest, busiest season for anything that is not balloon related.
- [25:03]
Yvonne Crumry
Its shelves are stocked with ready made costumes that fit infants, kids, and as many sizes for adults that Buell can find. They also have pieces that can be added to homegrown costumes.
- [25:12]
Desiree Hagan
We have makeup, we have wigs, we have hats, prosthetics that you put on with latex blood.
- [25:21]
Yvonne Crumry
Lots of blood and there's still a lot left for holiday procrastinators. She says we still have a lot.
- [25:27]
Jeremy Zedek
Of stock and the reason is is because we honestly I'm already and it's not even Halloween yet, I'm already buying for next year.
- [25:34]
Yvonne Crumry
Still, the hole left by Joanne's closure is a hard one to fill. But Gigi Monroe says there's a letter writing campaign asking national craft chain Michaels to step in. In Juneau, I'm Yvonne Crumry.
- [25:55]
Casey Grove
And that's all for this edition of Alaska News Nightly. We had reports tonight from Hannah Flor in Anchorage, Desiree Hagan in Kotzview, Tim Ellis in Delta Junction, Margaret Sutherland in Dillingham, Samantha Watson in Bethel, Ashlyn o' Hara in Kenai and Ashley, Alex Solomon and Yvonne Crummery in Juneau. Our audio engineer is Chris Hyde. Madeline Rose is our producer. And I'm Casey Grove. Good night. This is statewide news on Alaska Public Media.