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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 U.S. territories.
- [00:19]
Senator Lisa Murkowski
That's not how due process, that's not how justice for all works around this country.
- [00:25]
Casey Grove
Senator Lisa Murkowski criticizes the indictment of the former FBI director from Alaska Public Media. This is statewide news on Alaska News nightly for Tuesday, October 7th. Good evening. I'm Casey Grove. Also tonight, state officials found the first case in Alaska of a beetle that spoils honey.
- [00:42]
Liz Ruskin
The hope is that this can be contained and eradicated with cooperation from beekeepers in that area.
- [00:48]
Casey Grove
Those stories and more tonight on Alaska News Nightly. Senator Lisa Murkowski talked about the federal government's shutdown, President Trump's use of executive power, and took questions from callers across the state on Talk OF Alaska today. Alaska Public Media Washington correspondent Liz Ruskin joins us now. And Liz, I assume our senior senator doesn't know when the shutdown will end.
- [01:19]
Liz Ruskin
No, she doesn't. And she had no real update to provide on that. But she says there's some good on honest talk, that's how she put it going on among members of the Senate and House. And she also said that furloughed employees deserve back pay when the shutdown ends. That became a bit of an issue today.
- [01:41]
Casey Grove
So Murkowski is one of the few Republicans willing to criticize the president. Did she demonstrate that again on TALK OF Alaska today?
- [01:49]
Liz Ruskin
Yep, she did. She was unequivocal in her answer about the prosecution of former FBI Director James Cohen Comey. She said it's wrong, just plain and simple wrong. She said it appeared to her that when the U.S. attorney for Eastern Virginia didn't think there was a case to bring, that Trump got rid of that guy and installed a different prosecutor who gave him the indictment he wanted. Here's how she put it.
- [02:18]
Senator Lisa Murkowski
That's not how due process, that's not how justice for all works around this country. And so when you have a campaign of political retribution as the commander in chief, as the president of this country, that is not right. It is not who we are, not.
- [02:41]
Liz Ruskin
On this issue especially. But she said that other Republicans are kind of walking a line to avoid criticizing President Trump and Casey in a different setting. It was after a recent interview she told me it's kind of easier for her because everyone already knows that she's a critic so she can say what she wants.
- [03:02]
Casey Grove
Well, what did she say about Trump's deployment of the military, the Texas National Guard, to police Chicago and other US Cities?
- [03:09]
Liz Ruskin
She said she has problems with deploying the military to fight crime, but I was really struck by the way she said it, so. And I'll admit that maybe my ear is a little bit too much attuned to the Murkowski scale, but I think she seemed much more careful in her response. Have a listen.
- [03:33]
Senator Lisa Murkowski
I have concerns again about bringing in our military without the. Without the consent, without the agreement of a governor, and really taking over the role of law enforcement at the direction of the president.
- [03:56]
Casey Grove
Yeah, I see what you mean. She does sound kind of hesitant. I mean, she's saying she has concerns. She sees it as a problem. That hesitancy, though. What do you make of that?
- [04:05]
Liz Ruskin
Murkowski is a careful talker anyway, and I think maybe we might just be hearing that she's getting familiar with the subject matter, you know, the use of military to police cities and fight crime. And, you know, compared to the Comey question, she's on much more familiar ground with the Comey situation. She made a really strong statement a week ago in writing condemning the White House pressure in that case. So maybe she's still formulating her answer on the urban deployments. They are just getting underway in Chicago. And here's another theory. You know, she is a moderate deep in her bones. It comes naturally to her, and you just never know when that moderation impulse is going to pop up.
- [04:53]
Casey Grove
All right, Liz, lastly, her budget reconciliation vote this summer, that's the one Trump calls the big, beautiful bill. Republicans needed her vote and she gave it to them. It seemed like everyone who dislikes that bill or dislikes Trump, though, was mad at her over that.
- [05:08]
Liz Ruskin
Yeah, she said she's not sorry she voted for it, even though the bill cuts a trillion dollars from Medicaid and makes other changes she doesn't like. She says she shaped the bill as best she could.
- [05:20]
Casey Grove
Well, did Murkowski take any heat during Talk of Alaska over that?
- [05:24]
Liz Ruskin
It wasn't about that specific question, but, yeah, a caller suggested she was all talk and needed to grow a backbone. She said she has one and noted that she's one of the very few Republicans who has pushed back and said, you know, called out President Trump on things that she thinks are unlawful.
- [05:46]
Casey Grove
All right. And of course, if listeners want to find the full recording of Talk of Alaska, that's at our website, alaskapublic.org we were joined just now by Alaska Public Media Washington correspondent Liz Ruskin. Liz, thanks for being here.
- [06:00]
Liz Ruskin
Thank you, Casey.
- [06:10]
Casey Grove
A Washington state jury awarded nearly $17 million to the family of a man who died in a 2019 airplane crash on Alaska's Runway last week after a six week trial and about three days of deliberation at a Kent, Washington courthouse, jurors found Pen Air liable for the death of David oltman of Washington, KUCB's Maggie Nelson reports.
- [06:32]
Maggie Nelson
The Texas space firm representing Altman's family says the case marks the nation's first fatal commercial airline crash trial in more than a quarter of a century. Pen Air's Saab 2000 airplane with about 40 passengers including 38 year old Oltman, landed in Unalaska almost exactly six years ago. It overran the short Runway and slid into ballast rocks overhanging the harbor. Shrapnel from a propeller flew into the cabin, fatally wounding Altman. Nine others were injured. Altman was traveling from his home in Wenatchee, Washington to Unalaska and purchased his flights through Alaska Airlines after a two year investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board. Investigators found faulty wiring, lax oversight by regulators and inexperienced crew to blame. Specifically, officials said the probable cause of the accident was bad wiring of an anti skid brake system that likely sent the plane over the Runway and happened during a previous overhaul. According to the report. Pentair's flight crew knew there was a significant tailwind present at the time and a landing in the opposite direction of the flight crew's approach that day would have favored the wind pattern. Now, a jury says the company that provided the overhaul and crossed wired the brakes is partially responsible for the incident. But Pen Air is mostly at fault and owes the family for that negligence. Reporting for kucb, I'm Maggie Nelson.
- [07:53]
Casey Grove
Sexually transmitted infections declined in Alaska between 2023 and 2024, according to the latest statistics. The Alaska Beacon reports that the Alaska Division of Public Health's annual infectious disease report found that rates of chlamydia and gonorrhea dropped in 2024, though rates of syphilis rose by around 50 cases. Congenital syphilis, which is the disease passed from mothers to newborn babies, dropped from 10 cases in 2023 to seven last year, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Rates of sexually transmitted infections are declining at the national level as well. A preliminary report from the CDC found that the combined number of cases of chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis dropped by about 9% from 2023 rates, representing the third year in a row of declines. Still to come on Alaska News Nightly, with winter coming quickly, Akiak is racing to restore its power plant.
- [08:52]
Community Member / Local Resident
We're paying like maybe $65 or more per day for gas.
- [08:58]
Casey Grove
That's ahead. Stay with us. Searchers on Friday recovered the body of one of three heli skiers killed in an avalanche near Girdwood in March. That's according to a written statement today from the Alaska State Troopers, whose helicopter flew volunteers with the Alaska Mountain Rescue Group and Girdwood Volunteer Fire Department to the accident site near the west fork of the twenty Mile River. Troopers say they found the man's body caught in a log jam in the river, which flowed under the avalanche debris. Troopers have not released the man's name pending further confirmation of his identity, but say his next of kin has been notified. Two others remain on the mountain. The avalanche caught and buried the three men March 4 while they were on a guided heli skiing trip with Chugach powder guides. Troopers say efforts to recover the two other men will continue. The community of Akiak is still without reliable power more than two weeks after a mechanical failure halted operations at the city's power plant. As KYUK's Evan Erickson reports, a meeting held Monday in the Lower Kuskokwim river community highlighted a critical need to resolve equipment issues before winter sets in.
- [10:12]
Evan Erickson
For weeks, Akiak has managed to get by without use of its municipal power plant. The school and water treatment plant are running on backup generators. But for those relying on personal generators to keep the lights on and power freezers full of subsistence foods, the costs are high.
- [10:27]
Community Member / Local Resident
We're paying like maybe $65 or more per day for gas so we' we don't lose our food. You know, food that we just stored for the winter.
- [10:39]
Evan Erickson
Akiak Mayor Olinka Jones shared details about the situation on the ground as part of an emergency phone in meeting held on Monday. Representatives from the Alaska Energy Authority also joined the call. The state run corporation has been providing assistance to Akiak during the power crisis. AEA says a new generator engine is set to be shipped from Wasilla and could be powered up as early as next weekend. But getting Akiak's main generator back up and running is only one part of the solution. AEA rural programs manager Chris McConnell explained that two additional generator engines housed at the power plant are also in need of repairs. At least one of them will be needed during the colder months in order.
- [11:18]
Community Member / Local Resident
To carry the load of the community's demand through the winter. You're going to need another engine to be operational, McConnell says.
- [11:27]
Evan Erickson
Parts and labor for replacing a single diesel generator engine like those in Akiak can run around $120,000, he says. Coming up with a strategy to avoid a similar situation in the future is critical.
- [11:39]
Community Member / Local Resident
Our concern it is Alaska Energy Authority and concern for all of the community's well being and health is that you have a new engine that you're going to be getting this weekend. Is there a plan to ensure that it's being properly maintained and what is the plan to get a second engine back online and properly maintained?
- [12:03]
Evan Erickson
Power issues are not new for Akiak. In 2024, the community lost power twice due to mechanical issues, a five day outage in the spring followed by a summer outage that lasted nearly two months. For now, the community is finding ways to get by. Donlon Gold and the association of Village Council Presidents are both providing financial relief for fuel costs. The regional and local Alaska Native Corporations and state Emergency Operations center are also providing support. But as pointed out in Monday's call, overall fuel levels in the community need to be monitored closely as dozens of smaller, less efficient generators burn through it. Additional obstacles remain. One community member reported that propane, which can be used to power cooking stoves, was out of stock at the local village corporation store as of Monday. The caller also said as many as 20 households in the community of roughly 450 people were still without generators. With winter just around the corner, time is ticking for both a short term solution and a longer term strategy for addressing Akiak's power woes. In Bethel, I'm Evan Erickson.
- [13:07]
Casey Grove
State officials have made the first known detection of an economically significant pest of honeybees in Alaska. It's called the small hive beetle, according to a pest alert published in late September. A pest expert hopes a coordinated effort from beekeepers will get the situation under control. But as KUAC's Patrick Gilchrist reports, a master beekeeper in Fairbanks isn't sure that'll be enough.
- [13:30]
Patrick Gilchrist
Staff with the Alaska Division of Agriculture discovered the pest during an inspection at an apiary in the Copper river census area this August. Alex Weninger is an integrated pest management technician with the University of Alaska Fairbanks Cooperative Extension Service. She says the beetles larvae feed on brooding or the immature bees within a hive. Weninger says the larvae also eat honey and cause it to ferment and spoil due to yeast and other microbes that are on their bodies.
- [14:01]
Liz Ruskin
The hive ends up with a foul smell. It can make the honey really slimy as it's fermenting and so that honey.
- [14:08]
Community Member / Local Resident
Is no longer marketable.
- [14:10]
Patrick Gilchrist
Small hive beetles reach about a quarter inch in length, the alert says. Adults, which can fly, are ovular and brown or black in color, with club shaped antennae the beetles originate from sub Saharan Africa and were introduced to the United States in the late 1990s. The apiary in the Copper river region had imported bee packages from Mississippi. That's according to both the pest alert and a press release from the Alaska Department of Natural Resources. Lisa Hay owns Happy Creek Farm near Fairbanks, and she's a master beekeeper. Hay says it's disappointing that the small hive beetle made its way to Alaska. She fears it will now pass from colony to colony, moving on to other parts of the state.
- [14:56]
Community Member / Local Resident
Somebody's boxes of bees had small hive beetles in them, and whoever got them did not know what to look for or they would have noticed it and they should have noticed it.
- [15:06]
Patrick Gilchrist
Hay says beekeeping is technical and that practitioners need sufficient background knowledge to do it successfully and responsibly.
- [15:15]
Community Member / Local Resident
Many beekeepers don't know what they're doing. They don't take a class. They might watch some stuff online, and I tell them when they ask me that it's easier to get a puppy or to have a child.
- [15:27]
Patrick Gilchrist
Alaska law requires that imported bees are accompanied by a health certificate stating that the bees come from an apiary apparently free of bee diseases. The certificate must be signed by an inspector deemed qualified by the Alaska Division of Agriculture. State regulations also say the person importing the bees must send the division a copy of the health certificate within 72 hours of the bee's arrival. Lorraine Henry, director of communications for the Alaska Department of Natural Resources, said by email that the apiary in Copper river did not submit a health certificate on time, sending it only after state officials made a formal request. The certificate, reviewed by kuac, notes that small hive beetles are endemic in Mississippi, but does not say that the B package was free of them. Henry declined to name the apiary and said Division of Agriculture staff are looking into options to limit the risk of this happening in the future. With the help of attentive beekeepers, Weninger, the pest management technician, is hopeful Alaska can stop the pest in its tracks. For one. Although beetles can overwinter in honey bee hives, she says Alaska's cold winters and short summers may hamper the reproduction and development of the beetles. They thrive in higher temperatures and can't survive at 10 degrees Fahrenheit or lower for more than 24 hours. Between that and the detection only happening at a single apiary, Weninger says there's a chance to stem the spread now, she says beekeepers across the state should be aware of the situation, and the people in the Copper river region should be particularly careful at this point.
- [17:08]
Liz Ruskin
Though the hope is that this can be contained and eradicated with cooperation from.
- [17:12]
Community Member / Local Resident
Beekeepers in that area.
- [17:14]
Patrick Gilchrist
Hay, the master beekeeper, is less optimistic. She says she also hopes the state can get a handle on it, but that the beetle may have already reached other apiaries that haven't been inspected.
- [17:26]
Community Member / Local Resident
It's a small disaster that's going to become a big disaster.
- [17:30]
Patrick Gilchrist
According to the pest alert, if a beekeeper notices a small hive beetle, they should capture it, preserve it and notify the Division of Agriculture before taking further action. In Fairbanks, I'm Patrick Gilchrist.
- [17:44]
Casey Grove
The Petersburg Borough assembly passed a resolution last month calling on state and federal authorities to help deal with rising sea otter populations. Petersburg now joins other Southeast communities in asking for Stronger Otter Management. KFSK's Taylor Heckard has more.
- [18:00]
Taylor Heckard
The Petersburg resolution urges authorities and stakeholders to collaborate in creating a sea otter management plan. It also asked the federal government to loosen regulations for how Alaska Native subsistence hunters can use harvested sea otters. Multiple assembly members voiced their support, including Rob Schwartz.
- [18:17]
Casey Grove
I crabbed commercially for 35 years, and.
- [18:20]
Community Member / Local Resident
One of the reasons I got out.
- [18:21]
Casey Grove
Is because of the we know we've seen this over the decades, the exponential increase in the population of the sea otters.
- [18:31]
Taylor Heckard
Sea otter populations have been booming ever since they were reintroduced to southeast Alaska in the 60s. Though sea otters consume a lot of shellfish, putting them at odds with fishermen, proponents for sea otter management say they're causing trouble for the local economy and ecology because they're depleting the shellfish resource and taking harvest from fisheries. While this resolution doesn't change state or federal law, it asks for disaster assistance for crab and dive fisheries in southeast. Wrangel and Haynes have also passed similar resolutions. Both Mayor Mark Jensen and Vice Mayor Donna Marsh offered to recuse themselves for potential conflicts of interest. Jensen currently holds a commercial Dungeness crab permit, and Marsh's husband is a commercial crabber. But the assembly allowed both Jensen and Marsh to vote on the resolution Marsh proposed to broaden who could legally take sea otters. Currently, sea otters are federally protected and can only be hunted by people who are one quarter Alaska Native or an enrolled member of a coastal tribe.
- [19:32]
Senator Lisa Murkowski
I would like to amend this motion this resolution to include that sea otters may be taken by any Alaskan resident.
- [19:40]
Liz Ruskin
Meaning it doesn't have to be specific.
- [19:42]
Senator Lisa Murkowski
To Alaskan Native residents.
- [19:45]
Taylor Heckard
The resolution with the added amendment pass 4 to 1 with Assemblymember J. Stanton Gregor opposed. He said he could not support the new amendment.
- [19:53]
Casey Grove
I'm definitely in favor of this resolution. I think action is needed on a variety of levels involving the seater population, but as far as I can tell, this resolution, if we include that amendment, would be in violation of federal law from the Marine Mammal Protection Act.
- [20:09]
Taylor Heckard
The amended version of the resolution says the assembly would support regulations that would allow sea otters to be taken by any Alaska resident with a valid hunting license. This resolution is not legally binding. Instead, it's a request for federal and state authorities to take action. For kfsk, I'm Taylor Heckert.
- [20:29]
Casey Grove
An Alaska researcher has been honored with an award from the national nonprofit association of zoos and aquariums. Dr. John Fraser of the Alaska Sea Life center in Seward received the Devra Kleiman Scientific Advancement Award last month. The honor has historically gone to biologists for work in animal breeding, genetics or species recovery. Fraser is a psychologist who helped establish the field of conservation psychology. He says the discipline studies how people connect with nature and how human behavior influences conservation. I was really excited to see the.
- [21:03]
Liz Ruskin
Field drawing attention to the social sciences as central to a sustainable future, fraser says.
- [21:09]
Casey Grove
The award is a personal milestone. He worked directly with Devra Kleiman, the award's namesake, early in his career. Over the years, his research has mapped symptoms in conservationists similar to post traumatic stress disorder, which he links to witnessing environmental decline.
- [21:23]
Community Member / Local Resident
That to deal with the environment today.
- [21:25]
Casey Grove
Is to deal with grief every day, fraser says. His work highlights the need to support scientists to prevent burnout. His studies on HOPE have also shaped a national program that trains aquarium educators to talk about climate change in ways that leave visitors feeling capable. More recently, Fraser has partnered with the Anchorage based Chugach Mute Heritage Preservation Council. They created an audio tour for the Sea Life center that introduces suktun words and sugpiak stories from local elders. Fraser says learning the language is a different way to experience the relationship between people and nature. In his acceptance speech, Fraser urged his colleagues to keep investing in social science. At one of Juno's elementary schools, it's been over three years since it had a functioning library. The school's librarian has been running its collection of books out of cardboard boxes after major flooding, but the school has been able to build and modernize its library. For this school year, ktooo's Jamie Deep stopped by during recess and has more.
- [22:26]
Liz Ruskin
Dhavin Savico wears a lot of hats at Kathgou Wuhin Elementary School. In addition to teaching integrated arts, he's also the librarian, and the library looks really, really different this year. During a recent visit, Sabiko and a student demonstrate how to check out Books at the school's new library during recess.
- [22:44]
Jamie Deep
Find your name. He's got it. He scans his name and then he just scan the book and we are. We're done.
- [22:52]
Liz Ruskin
Students file in and out freely to browse the stacks. Saviko walks around and points out handmade signs marking different sections and genres, from spooky stories to historical fiction and staff pics. Sunshine streams through stained glass windows, lighting up the Everybody books section of the library. Picture books fill cubby, like, shelves on top with books filed in a traditional manner on lower shelves.
- [23:15]
Jamie Deep
It was really cool to get these new. These new bins, like you see at the public library, that are accessible for young kids. Before, it was just everything looked spines out and it was just really overcrowded.
- [23:28]
Liz Ruskin
The school closed temporarily in 2022 after flooding from burst pipes. While students could go back to the school a couple months later, the library needed more repairs. Instead of bookshelves, books sat in cardboard boxes that Savico d through as needed. The school received the final insurance reimbursement earlier this year, and about $94,000 went toward buying materials for the library. Between waiting on insurance payouts and getting supplies, it took more than three years to reopen the library.
- [23:56]
Jamie Deep
Imagine like, like three years of dread just looking at these boxes and knowing, like, you don't really have the power to do anything with them. I didn't have the shelving, we didn't have the insurance money, et cetera. And so now it's just so freeing to have this really beautiful space that I am really proud of.
- [24:15]
Liz Ruskin
Shortly after the flood, Savico turned half the library into an integrated arts classroom. Students learn different art skills and connect it with what they're learning in classes. Savico says it's built as a fluid space where students can come and go. But there was a bit of confusion when the library first reopened. He says many students didn't know how a library worked.
- [24:35]
Jamie Deep
So they'll be like, how much does this book cost? You know, and things like that. And so it's like, ah, well, at the library, books are for free. You get to check out books. So I'm really excited to give them this opportunity that they deserve.
- [24:51]
Liz Ruskin
Savico says the library can support classroom teachers by being a space for students to explore their interests. Since the Alaska Reads act passed in 2023, Savico says teachers have more focused skills to teach. While teachers can build in more flexible time in their days, Zafical says the library is a place that's well suited to support students on that front.
- [25:10]
Jamie Deep
The kids want two things. They want a choice in their education, and they want to have a voice in their education. And so this allows them, you know, choice, and then the, you know, how we work with them allows them to share what they know in their voice.
- [25:28]
Liz Ruskin
Principal Katie Koski says it was a community effort in the school to get the library back together. The previous principal helped to work out the insurance settlement. In the meantime, teachers kept classroom libraries and students would also go to the Menenha Valley Public Library nearby with their class. Koski says she's excited to see what students can do in the new space.
- [25:48]
Taylor Heckard
The library, in many ways, can be like the heart of a school.
- [25:51]
Liz Ruskin
And now that heart is beating again. In Juneau, I'm Jamie Deep.
- [26:07]
Casey Grove
And that's all for this edition of Alaska News Nightly. We had reports tonight from Liz Ruskin in Washington, D.C. maggie Nelson in Unalaska, Evan Erickson in Bethel, Patrick Gilchrist in Fairbanks, Taylor Heckard in Petersburg, Simon Lopez in Homer, and Jamie Deep in Juneau. Our audio engineers, Chris Hyde. Madeline Rose is our producer. And I'm Casey Grove. Good night.