Alaska News Nightly: Wednesday, December 10, 2025

Summary

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Alaska News Nightly: December 10, 2025

Podcast: Alaska News Nightly – Alaska Public Media

Host: Casey Grove
Air Date: December 10, 2025

Episode Overview

This episode covers significant statewide issues:

• Governor Dunleavy's plans for Alaska's fiscal crisis and budget
• The abrupt closure of Anchorage childcare programs
• Relief and recovery efforts following the Matanuska Susitna windstorm
• Legal updates in a high-profile Juneau sexual assault trial
• Highlights from the Pacific Marine Expo with a focus on Alaska’s fisheries
• Ongoing recovery in Western Alaska post-typhoon
• Environmental initiatives in Juneau schools
• Community efforts at growing fruit in the Kodiak Archipelago

Throughout, the hosts and reporters maintain a tone of thoughtful concern and pragmatic optimism about the challenges Alaskans face.

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Key Segments & Insights

1. Governor Dunleavy to Introduce State Fiscal Plan

Timestamps: 00:06–03:47
Speakers: Governor Mike Dunleavy, Casey Grove, Eric Stone

• Governor Dunleavy announced plans to introduce a new fiscal plan before the legislative session, aiming to address Alaska’s enduring financial crisis.
• He noted that the coming years will require tough decisions:

  "Next three, four, five years are going to be tough. We're going to have to make some tough decisions and that's why we will roll out in a fiscal plan solutions for the next five years." – Governor Dunleavy [01:07]

• Oil price volatility and structural deficits continue to challenge the state, with previous cost-cutting and use of permanent fund earnings failing to close the gap.
• Dunleavy is optimistic about future revenue from new oil/gas development and pipeline projects:

  "...with increased oil in the pipeline, your permanent fund corpus growing, the gas line... should deliver anywhere between 700 to a billion, 700 million to a billion dollars a year, I think the next five years." – Governor Dunleavy [01:39]

• He declined to share specifics or whether a sales tax may be included:

  "You're just going to have to wait a couple more weeks and we'll have that entire fiscal plan laid out so you guys can take a look at it and people in Alaska take a look at it." – Governor Dunleavy [02:39]

• Dunleavy’s past attempts for long-term fiscal reform have struggled amid legislative divisions; his proposed budget will be unveiled by December 15.

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2. Anchorage Childcare Crisis Intensifies After Boys and Girls Clubs Closure

Timestamps: 03:47–08:44
Speakers: Casey Grove, Wesley Early, Susan Anderson (President, Boys & Girls Clubs of Southcentral Alaska), Trevor Storrs (Alaska Children’s Trust), Stephanie Bergland (Thread, AK childcare referral)

• Two Anchorage after-school childcare programs will close on December 24, ending all Boys and Girls Clubs programs statewide and putting over 100 children and staff at risk.
• Financial difficulties—including delayed reimbursements, rising costs, and a decline in donations—led to this closure:

  "The pressures have been accumulating over multiple years and... resulted in a financial gap that we can't close." – Susan Anderson [04:22]

• The loss exacerbates an existing childcare shortage, with Anchorage already having lost a quarter of its providers in recent years.
• Anderson highlighted the fundamental problems of affordability:

  "One of the challenges about child care is you cannot charge families and caregivers the actual cost of what it costs to run childcare." – Susan Anderson [05:57]

• Thread Alaska is helping families and displaced staff find alternatives, though there are few open spaces, especially for infants.
• Advocates call for systemic change and increased funding, including possible city-level taxation and implementation of recommendations from the statewide childcare commission:

  "It's really just a small pour in a very large bucket..." – Trevor Storrs [07:22]
  "...there has been some progress, but it's just not fast enough or enough at this moment." – Susan Anderson [07:48]

• Boys & Girls Clubs will shrink to minimal operations, aiming to preserve a foundation for eventual rebuilding.

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3. Matanuska-Susitna Disaster Declaration and Recovery

Timestamps: 08:56–10:19
Speaker: Casey Grove

• Governor Dunleavy issued a disaster declaration after a major windstorm in the Mat-Su Borough.
• The declaration will enable grants for home repair, temporary housing, and storm recovery.
• An American Red Cross shelter closed after power was largely restored; officials warn of further brief outages as cleanup continues.

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4. Legal Update: Juneau Chiropractor Sexual Assault Case

Timestamps: 10:25–12:40
Speakers: Casey Grove, Nico Ambrose (public defender), Kristen Tendi (state prosecutor)

• The retrial for Jeffrey Fultz, a chiropractor accused by 14 former patients of sexual assault during medical care, is delayed as his new defense team seeks more preparation time.
• Ambrose, the new public defender, notes the complexity and recent trial proceedings:

  "There are just so many things in this case that need to be dealt with before we can say we're ready for trial." – Nico Ambrose [11:29]

• The prosecutor argues for a speedier process to avoid further delays.
• Judge Larry Wilford sets the next hearing for February 11.

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5. Pacific Marine Expo Spotlights Alaska’s Fishing Industry

Timestamps: 12:40–17:30
Speakers: Margaret Sutherland (reporter), Liz Sparks (Alaska Net), Leilani Dunn (Bristol Bay Regional Seafood Development Corporation), Luke Peterson (Bristol Bay Fishermen Association)

• At Seattle’s Pacific Marine Expo, industry optimism is strong following a better fishing season; Bristol Bay’s booth saw increased attendance.
• Tariffs on Japanese netting are a concern, likely increasing fishermen’s costs:

  "...these fishermen have come off of a couple hard years, right? And so the price of their fish has not gone up relative to the cost that they have incurred." – Liz Sparks [14:44–14:57]

• Persistent attention is paid to market value and marketing for Bristol Bay salmon to maintain revenue:

  "We have a really solid and healthy demand and it was a good harvest year. What we're really wanting to do... is to continue that momentum." – Leilani Dunn [15:38]

• The community remains engaged with regulatory discussions and Board of Fisheries proposals.
• Educational opportunities abound at the Expo, including vessel safety and transitioning to electric infrastructure.

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6. Typhoon Ha Long Relief Fund Update in Western Alaska

Timestamps: 17:30–19:07
Speaker: Casey Grove

• The Western Alaska Disaster Relief Fund has distributed $3.3 million after Typhoon Ha Long, with funds supporting:
  • Temporary housing, home repairs
  • Emergency supplies, subsistence equipment
  • Youth well-being programs and support for displaced students.
• Fundraising and support efforts continue.

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7. Juneau School Composting Initiative

Timestamps: 19:07–22:03
Speakers: Jamie Deep (reporter), students (Talia Headings, Mabelle Boss, Aria Gribbin)

• Thunder Mountain Middle School’s environmental club “Ocean Guardians” conducted a waste audit, involving students in sorting and composting food waste.
• Students were surprised by the prevalence of plastic over food:

  "There's more plastic than actual food. I was thinking there's going to be more food..." – Talia Headings [20:11]

• They composted over 300 lbs of waste, diverting significant trash from landfills as part of a city-wide effort.
• Change met resistance, but participation grew after students experienced the process.

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8. Fruit Tree Cultivation on Kodiak Island

Timestamps: 22:03–25:21
Speakers: Davis Hovey (reporter), Joe Kewen (Port Lyons assistant farm manager), Max Lyons (Kodiak Archipelago Leadership Institute)

• Communities in the Kodiak Archipelago are experimenting with fruit tree farming in greenhouses, importing cherry and apple trees, and learning best practices.
• Max Lyons explains the long-term vision:

  "Fruit production is definitely at least for trees... we really always say for the next generation, you know, so trees are something, they live for a long time, they take a while to grow and start producing..." – Max Lyons [24:17]

• Fruit trees are seen as an investment in future food security, with apple orchards recently planted in multiple communities.

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Notable Quotes & Moments

• Budget and PFD:
  "We are determined to help solve this long standing issue of how do you deal with balancing the budget and not just on the backs of the PFD or the CBR..."
  – Governor Dunleavy [03:04]

• Childcare Affordability:
  "You cannot charge families and caregivers the actual cost of what it costs to run childcare."
  – Susan Anderson [05:57]

• Market Resilience in Fisheries:
  "We're trying really hard to keep [costs] down... these fishermen have come off of a couple hard years, right?"
  – Liz Sparks [14:44]

• Environmental Education:
  "It's a bit gross, but it's also kind of fun."
  – Aria Gribbin, student [21:47]

• Long-Term Community Farming:
  "Fruit production is... for the next generation... trees are something, they live for a long time, they take a while to grow and start producing."
  – Max Lyons [24:17]

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Additional Context

Throughout the episode, there is a focus on community resilience amid economic and environmental challenges. The episode provides a window into how statewide decisions and local initiatives — in budgeting, fisheries, childcare, and environmental stewardship — intersect with daily life across Alaska.

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Listen to the full episode and more stories at alaskapublic.org.

Transcript

[Governor Mike Dunleavy]

We are determined to help solve this long standing issue of how do you deal with balancing the budget and not just on the backs of the pfd.

[Casey Grove]

Governor Dunleavy says he'll introduce a fiscal plan to help solve the state's financial woes. From Alaska Public Media, this is statewide news on Alaska News nightly for Wednesday, December 10th. Good evening. I'm Casey Grove. Also tonight, Anchorage families scramble to find childcare after the Boys and Girls Club is forced to end two after school programs.

[Susan Anderson]

The pressures have been accumulating over multiple years and it resulted in a financial gap that we can't close.

[Casey Grove]

Governor Mike Dunleavy says he will roll out a new plan to stabilize Alaska's tumultuous state finances ahead of next month's legislative session. As Alaska Public Media's Eric Stone reports, the upcoming session provides Dunleavy his last chance to address an issue that has vexed his seven years in office.

[Eric Stone]

Dunleavy says relief isn't exactly around the corner.

[Governor Mike Dunleavy]

Next three, four, five years are going to be tough. We're going to have to make some tough decisions and that's why we will roll out in a fiscal plan solutions for the next five years.

[Eric Stone]

The state's fiscal issues are structural. Since oil prices collapsed in the mid 2010s, Alaska has spent more money than it has taken in as despite years of aggressive cost cutting and a 2018 to tap permanent fund earnings to fund state services. Dunleavy said at his annual holiday open house he expects revenue from new oil and gas development and the state's investments to eventually ease the state's budget pressure.

[Governor Mike Dunleavy]

After that, with increased oil in the pipeline, your permanent fund corpus growing the gas line, which should deliver anywhere between 700 to a billion, 700 million to a billion dollars a year. I think the next five years.

We'Re going to have to be real careful and we're going to have to have in place things that will pay for government.

[Eric Stone]

The Republican governor declined to reveal even the broad strokes of his plan, saying he plans to hold news conferences in the coming weeks to discuss it. Prior efforts by Dunleavy and the legislature to come to an agreement on a long term fiscal plan, though, have failed. Dunleavy's early plans for deep cuts led to an effort to recall him. More recently, he's backed attempts to cap state spending and constitutionalize the permanent fund dividend. A prior Dunleavy revenue commissioner floated a few tax proposals during talks with the legislative committee in 2021, but Dunleavy has since distanced himself from those ideas. Alaska is the only state without a sales or income tax. But Dunleavy was non committal when asked directly whether his plan would include a sales tax.

[Governor Mike Dunleavy]

You're just going to have to just wait a couple more weeks and we'll have that entire fiscal plan laid out so you guys can take a look at it and people in Alaska take a look at it.

[Eric Stone]

In recent years, Dunleavy has proposed budgets with large deficits that require spending from savings. His most recent budget would have drained about half of the savings in the state's $3 billion rainy day fund, the Constitutional Budget Reserve, or CBR. Still, Dunleavy says he wants to find a sustainable fiscal path forward for the state.

[Governor Mike Dunleavy]

We are determined to help solve this long standing issue of how do you deal with balancing the budget and not just on the backs of the PFD or the cbr, but what other methods are we going to employ to be able to do that?

[Eric Stone]

Whether lawmakers will be receptive is an open question. Democrat Heavy bipartisan coalitions control both the state House and Senate, and even some minority Republicans crossed over to override Dunleavy's vetoes repeatedly this year. Dunleavy's budget proposal is likely to offer some clues about the governor's fiscal plan. He has until December 15th to unveil it. Reporting in Juneau, I'm Eric Stone.

[Casey Grove]

The Boys and Girls Clubs of South Central Alaska announced last night they will abruptly close two Anchorage childcare programs in two weeks, laying off all of the staff and sending dozens of families scrambling to find alternative care. As Alaska Public Media's Wesley early reports, the closures bring an end to all of the organization's programs statewide.

[Governor Mike Dunleavy]

Boys and Girls Clubs of South Central Alaska President Susan Anderson says the decision to close the programs comes after a series of financial woes, ranging from delayed reimbursements and changes in funding streams to rising costs and a decline in donations.

[Susan Anderson]

The pressures have been accumulating over multiple years and, you know, it resulted in a financial gap that we can't, you know, we can't close. Under the current model, the organization will.

[Governor Mike Dunleavy]

Shut down its after school care program at Turnagain elementary and the Woodland Park Child development center on December 24th and layoff program staff two days later. Anderson says over 100 children will be impacted by the closures.

[Susan Anderson]

We have about.

80 children in the Child Care Development center and about 30 in the Turnigan Elementary.

[Governor Mike Dunleavy]

Despite its name, the Boys and Girls Clubs of South Central Alaska actually operated club programs around the state, from southwest towns like Sandpoint to northern communities like Kotzebue to southeast villages like Klawack and Saxman in October. The organization had already paused its clubhouse and athletic programs across the state while it attempted to fill its financial gap. But Anderson says the pause is now permanent. It's a blow to the child care sector. Anchorage already faced a long standing child care crisis with rising costs, long wait lists and the loss of a quarter of providers in recent years, according to child care advocates.

[Susan Anderson]

The announcement is very sad.

[Governor Mike Dunleavy]

Trevor Storrs is president and CEO of the advocacy group Alaska Children's Trust.

[Susan Anderson]

It was only a few months ago another very child care center closed here in Anchorage and others are feeling this pressure.

[Governor Mike Dunleavy]

Anderson says the decision to close the programs wasn't an easy one for the board and she understands the impact this will have on families.

[Susan Anderson]

It's an incredible loss and it's an incredibly difficult thing because we that is one of the challenges about child care is you cannot charge families and caregivers the actual cost of what it costs to run childcare.

[Governor Mike Dunleavy]

The Woodland park program served children starting at six weeks old and the Turnagan program served kids starting at age 5. Staff are directing their parents to Thread, Alaska's primary child care referral organization. Thread CEO Stephanie Bergland says families should reach out as soon as they can to find replacement care since programs, especially for infant care, are in high demand.

[Susan Anderson]

We know that it's a challenge for families to find the care that works for them right now, especially with kind of their top choice in mind. But we know that there are some spots available. We know that there's not a lot, but there are some spaces available in our community.

[Governor Mike Dunleavy]

Bergland added that Thread is also available to support childcare staff who will soon lose their jobs.

[Susan Anderson]

We encourage them to also visit Thread's website. We post job opportunities in the field and can also talk with them if they're interested in starting their own business of caring.

[Governor Mike Dunleavy]

Storrs with Alaska Children's Trust says the closure spotlight how critical childcare is for many people in Anchorage. The city recently began distributing marijuana taxes to specifically fund childcare initiatives, but Storr says the $5 million it generates annually isn't enough.

[Susan Anderson]

It's really just a small pour in a very large bucket. Hence why we're also equally happy to see the conversation about if the city does a tax, how that money could be put towards one of the most essential.

Services that families need in our economy, needs which is child care.

[Governor Mike Dunleavy]

Anderson says she hopes that the child care sector receives attention at the state level as well.

[Susan Anderson]

We really need to look at those suggestions that came out of the statewide commission because that had, you know, amazing professionals who work in childcare and they had some really good suggestions and some of them have been implemented. So there has been some progress, but it's just not fast enough or enough at this moment.

[Governor Mike Dunleavy]

Moving forward, Anderson says the Boys and Girls Clubs of South Central Alaska will operate at a reduced capacity with the board and a small administrative staff.

[Susan Anderson]

The board has had to make a very painful decision now to try and preserve a foundation on which, you know, we can, we can build a stronger, you know, model in the future.

[Governor Mike Dunleavy]

She says she's grateful to all of the staff and families who helped make the organization a safe place for people to leave their children for more than 60 years. Reporting in Anchorage, I'm Wesley Early.

[Casey Grove]

Still to come on Alaska News Nightly, a Juneau Middle school's environmental club takes their classmates on a tour of their own trash.

[Susan Anderson]

There's more plastic than actual food. I was thinking there's going to be more food.

[Casey Grove]

That's ahead. Stay with us. Governor Mike Dunleavy on Tuesday issued a disaster declaration for the Matanuska Susitna Borough to provide aid for individuals and local governments affected by the recent three day windstorm. The Matsu Sentinel reports that officials requested the declaration, which provides grants to individuals and families to make home repairs, secure temporary housing or address other needs caused by the weekend storm, according to a state news release sent today. The statement says details on how much money might be available or how individuals can apply will be provided in the coming days. An American Red Cross emergency shelter at the Curtis D. Menard Memorial Sports Complex in Wasilla closed this morning, hours after power was restored to all homes and businesses in the region. Red Cross officials said an average of 17 people stayed in the shelter each night and that volunteers helped more than 50 people and provided more than 200 meals and snacks during operations. Officials with Mat Newska Electric association said some areas might experience brief power outages this week as crews work to fully remove trees from power lines. Winds are expected to return to the Mat Su this evening with gusts of up to 60mph forecast through the weekend, according to the National Weather Service.

Foreign.

Three months after a trial against a former Juno chiropractor accused of sexual assault ended in mistrial, the new defense team is asking for more time to review the case before a second trial. 14 former patients accused Jeffrey Fultz of sexual assault under the guise of medical care. They say the incidents took place during medical appointments between 2014 and 2020 while he was employed at Southeast Alaska Regional Health Consortium in Juneau in September. His trial ended in a hung jury on 14 counts of felony sexual assault and two not guilty verdicts. One of the 14 counts has since been dismissed. The state is attempting to retry the remaining charges that are eligible to be considered again. The court assigned Fultz a public defender in October. That's Juneau's Nico Ambrose. Private attorney James Christie represented Fultz for the last two years and through the trial this summer. Ambrose appeared in court Wednesday for the first time since taking over Fultz's representation. Ambrose requested the next hearing date in April, which will mark five years since Foltz's initial arrest.

[Susan Anderson]

There are just so many things in this case that need to be dealt with before we can say we're ready.

[Casey Grove]

For trial, ambrose says. He has to review trial proceedings, which lasted six weeks this summer and has not yet received transcripts from the trial. Ambrose is Fultz's third defense attorney since his 2021 arrest. Earlier this year, the Alaska Supreme Court issued a ruling that would limit delays in old cases, and while this case falls into that window, Ambrose says he doesn't think it was written with a case like this in mind.

[Susan Anderson]

This case has not sat around for.

[Casey Grove]

Five years waiting to go to trial. It has gone to trial. State Prosecutor Kristen Tendi disagrees with scheduling the next hearing so far out and says the case has taken years. Regardless of the recent trial, some of the alleged crimes happened more than a decade ago.

[Susan Anderson]

We have seen how this case can drag out and can be dragged out, tendi says.

[Casey Grove]

The court needs to set a new trial date and should schedule a hearing in February. Ambrose says having hearings sooner than April, six months after he was assigned to the case, would be a waste of the court's time. Judge Larry Wilford scheduled the next hearing for the case on February 11.

Fishermen, seafood processors, small business owners and others from across the country gathered in Seattle last month for this year's Pacific Marine Expo, the largest annual commercial marine trade show on the West Coast. Among the more than 350 exhibitors that filled loom and field, Alaska's fisheries loomed large and Bristol Bay showed up in full force. KDLG's Margaret Sutherland traveled to Seattle to attend the event and has this story.

[Margaret Sutherland]

Inside what's called the Alaska hall at Seattle's Lumen Field, attendees mill between booths, collecting information, making purchases and swapping business cards and stories while catching up during the off season. Alaska Net is a Dillingham based business that sells nets and hydraulics to fishermen statewide. It's positioned front and center at the entrance of the hall. Owner Liz Sparks, a second generation operator, first came to the expo with her dad in the late 90s. She took over the family business about five years ago and says the annual event remains one of her favorites.

[Susan Anderson]

We get a lot out of it, just the connection with everybody getting to see our customers in the off seasons. During the off season I really enjoy getting to see all of our customers with their families and when they come through expo, we get to meet everyone and see everyone is pretty fun.

[Margaret Sutherland]

Behind Sparks, sample nets in various mesh sizes and colors hang on the booth wall, each suited for different fishing styles and operations. During the busy summer season in Bristol Bay, Sparks sees many of her local customers in person, but the expo gives her a chance to reconnect with customers from across the state. Sparks says the new tariffs on imported goods are top of her mind going into next season. Alaskanet sources their web from Japan In September, the Trump administration imposed a baseline 15% tariff on nearly all Japanese imports. Sparks says the tariffs will inevitably force prices up, but she says she's been talking with fishermen about how to keep their individual costs down.

[Susan Anderson]

We're trying really hard to keep them down and really our intention with that is these fishermen have come off of a couple hard years, right?

[Margaret Sutherland]

And so the price of their fish.

[Susan Anderson]

Has not gone up relative to the.

[Margaret Sutherland]

Cost that they have incurred. The economics of the bay this year were stronger than the past several years. According to the Alaska Department of Fish and Games Season summary, the total value of the sockeye sold by fishermen this summer was up slightly from last year and also just above the 20 year average. That is the talk of the excellent expo too. The marketing group Bristol Bay Regional Seafood Development Corporation works to market salmon in stores and restaurants across the country. Leilani Dunn is the group's executive director and is at one of the expo booths this year. She says it's important to keep the price up through strong marketing and good product quality.

[Susan Anderson]

Leading into 2026. We have a really solid and healthy demand and it was a good harvest year. What we're really wanting to do to prepare for 2026 is to continue that.

[Margaret Sutherland]

Momentum beyond business and banking. The expo also buzzes with talk about next month's Board of Fisheries meeting for the Bristol Bay watershed. Luke Peterson is the president of the Bristol Bay Fishermen association and will attend the Board of Fisheries meeting to lobby for commercial fishermen. He says he is gauging for fishermen's positions on the 62 proposals up for board consideration.

[Governor Mike Dunleavy]

That's one of the main reasons I'm here at Expo is to get membership input.

[Margaret Sutherland]

He says the turnout from Bristol Bay fishermen at the Expo is larger than he's seen in recent years, and he equates that to a better fishing season this past summer.

[Governor Mike Dunleavy]

This expo has been really great.

[Casey Grove]

There's been a lot more people than the last two years, so we're feeling like the general trend in Bristol Bay.

[Governor Mike Dunleavy]

And fisheries is going back up.

[Casey Grove]

It's going the right direction. So I'm excited that the price is.

[Governor Mike Dunleavy]

Moving up again and just everything's optimistic.

[Margaret Sutherland]

This year's Expo also includes educational events like daily vessel stability workshops put on by the Alaska Marine Safety Education association and panel discussions on topics ranging from Alaska fisheries data to the transition to a electric vessels and shoreline infrastructure, to name just a few. The expo wrapped up after three days when the more than 5,000 attendees returned to their various home ports across the state and the country to prepare for their upcoming seasons in Bristol Bay. Fishermen will start gathering come spring for another season on the water. Reporting from Lumen Field in Seattle, I'm Margaret Sutherland.

[Casey Grove]

A donation fund has distributed over $3.3 million to communities impacted by X Typhoon Ha Long. The Western Alaska Disaster Relief Fund quickly formed in the days after the storm struck Yukon Kuskokwim Delta communities, destroying homes and displacing hundreds of people from their villages. The fund is facilitated by the Alaska Community foundation and has continued to collect donations to support disaster relief. In an announcement this week, the foundation reported that $2.9 million has gone directly to tribal councils, city governments and other regional organizations in Kipna, Quigilingoc, Chifornak, Nepakiak, Nabuskiak, Nytmute, Quinhawk, Bethel and Tutuliak. The money is intended to support temporary housing and home repairs, as well as essential supplies and emergency assistance. Some funding has been used to purchase ATVs, snow machines and other winter supplies to aid in cleanup and travel between villages. Other money has gone towards replenishing subsistence food stores. Donations have also supported programs for youth well being, facilitated by the Teens Acting Against Violence program under the Tundra Women's Coalition. They've also supported displaced students in the Lower Kuskokwim School District through school supplies and clothing. The Western Alaska Disaster Relief Fund will continue to accept donations. To make a contribution, visit their [e-mail] WesternAlaska that's alaskacf.org WesternAlask.

Thunder Mountain Middle School has recently joined the growing number of schools in Juneau composting food waste before Rolling out the program, students in an environmental club led their peers through sorting out their trash and seeing how much of it can avoid the landfill. KTOO's Jamie Deep has more.

[Susan Anderson]

Ew.

[Jamie Deep]

Seventh grader Talia Headings sticks her arm deep into a trash can and seems pretty grossed out by what she finds. Dressed in aprons and blue plastic gloves, her science class sorts through the remains of lunch at Thunder Mountain Middle School. The students come across slimy yogurt, half eaten sandwiches, loose vegetables, and seemingly endless cartons of chocolate milk. They sort the trash into two separate buckets. @ the end of the class, they weigh and keep a record of the different types of waste. Thaliya's found some interesting items so far, to the disgust of her classmates. And sometimes it's hard to tell what's.

[Susan Anderson]

What. Oh, there's a chicken nugget in here, guys. Oh, no, there's.

[Jamie Deep]

Not. Talia says sorting through trash hasn't been as gross as she thought it would.

[Susan Anderson]

Be. There's more plastic than actual food. I was thinking there's going to be more food because when I've seen.

[Jamie Deep]

The trash cans, can.

[Susan Anderson]

You. There's a lot of ranch and gross stuff in.

[Jamie Deep]

It. What these students are doing is called a waste audit. All the food waste they sorted out will be composted. This effort is being led by a newly formed club at the middle school called Ocean Guardians, which teaches students to reduce waste and protect the ocean. Seventh grader Mabelle Boss helped bring the club to Thunder Mountain. She was part of the Ocean Guardians club at her former elementary school and didn't want to give it.

[Susan Anderson]

Up. When we went to middle school, we kind of thought to just bring it over and we are excited that we can do.

[Jamie Deep]

That. Mabel worked with her friends in the club to create presentations to all of the middle school science classes about what a waste audit is and what things are compostable before actually doing the audits. The students are auditing their trash while Juno is having its own reckoning with waste. Juno's landfill will likely fill up in the next decade. Composting is a way to keep food waste out of there. Mabelle says it was challenging to get some students to get on board with the waste audit and.

[Susan Anderson]

Composting. Some people are either unaware of, like, the problems that are going on, like on how fast our landfill is filling up and they aren't aware. And then other people, they just don't care for it as much or trying to make it something positive and something that we can do to help our.

[Jamie Deep]

Environment. Still Some students simply didn't want to go through trash. But Aria Gribbin, another club member, says once the audit happens, those students realize it's not that.

[Susan Anderson]

Bad. It's been a bit hectic trying to get all the classes to agree to it and not have a bunch.

[Jamie Deep]

Of kids be like, oh, I'm going.

[Susan Anderson]

To be sick tomorrow, so they don't have to do it. It's been a bit hectic trying to get.

[Casey Grove]

That. But once they did it, I.

[Susan Anderson]

Think they realized it's a bit gross, but it's also kind of.

[Jamie Deep]

Fun. By the end of all the audits, students sorted out over 300 pounds of food waste, and instead of going to the landfill, it was composted. Thunder Mountain joins four other schools in the district, all composting their food waste. In Juneau, I'm Jamie.

[Casey Grove]

Deep. For years, Kodiak residents and farmers have been growing small fruit trees in their greenhouses. But now that effort has spread in earnest to communities around the archipelago. KMXT's Davis Hovey recently toured the farm in the community of Port Lyons and has this.

[Jamie Deep]

Story.

Yes, we hear.

[Davis Hovey]

You. Inside one of the plastic tarped hoop houses on the Port Lyons farm, there are some common staples growing in raised beds like broccoli, rhubarb and various herbs. But in the second hoop house, there's mainly only one thing growing in the center, fruit.

[Casey Grove]

Trees. So this is a cherry tree, and the cherry trees that came with this one died, so it's the only.

[Davis Hovey]

One. Joe Kewen, the assistant farm manager, says the Port Lyons farm bought multiple cherry trees online and shipped them in from Maine months ago. But he suspects during the long journey and because of poor shipping and handling, only one.

[Casey Grove]

Survived. Next spring we'll order two more and put them here and there. And then that way that cherry tree has a pollinator because if you don't have another cherry tree, it won't produce any.

[Davis Hovey]

Fruit. Aside from the new cherry tree, the community farm in the village of Port Lyons is also growing five apple trees. Each tree stands about 5ft tall with space between each slim trunk in the middle row of the soil bed. None of them have produced fruit yet as they were just planted in the.

[Casey Grove]

Spring. They're all semi dwarf, so they won't get so big. And I think that one's a.

[Susan Anderson]

Honeycrisp.

A crab, crab apple, crab.

[Eric Stone]

Apple.

[Casey Grove]

Coastal star, and then Fuji, the one on the end of.

[Davis Hovey]

Fuji. The fruit trees are surrounded by strawberries and potters, which Kewan says will be transplanted into the garden soil. Port Lyons is not the only community focusing on fruit. Uzinki, a roughly 15 minute flight north of Kodiak, planted dozens of apple trees this year that came from a local fruit tree farmer living on a different part of the island. Max Lyons is the program director for the Kodiak Archipelago Leadership Institute, which oversees the community farms in Port Lyons and Usinki. He says both have planted more fruit trees in the last couple years as part of the larger effort to produce more locally grown food for the.

[Susan Anderson]

Future. Fruit production is definitely at least for trees. When you're planting, we really always say for the next generation, you know, so trees are something, they live for a long time, they take a while to grow and start producing. So it's something that you don't see, maybe immediate return on over time.

[Davis Hovey]

He says the fruit from those trees can provide for decades. Right now, Port Lyons, Uzinki and the community of Old harbor on the southeast side of the island all have fruit trees in various stages of growth. According to Lyons, the Cicilitic Sunrise Farm in old harbor planted 75 apple trees outdoors in the last couple years to see how an apple orchard would fare. Kodiak island does not exactly have the ideal conditions for growing fruit trees in the outdoor environment, so Lyons says the institute and the archipelago's farms have been learning about best practices from fruit tree growers on the Kenai Peninsula. Meanwhile, Lyons estimates it will likely take two to three years before there is fruit hanging on the trees at the Port Lyons farm for local residents to eat. Reporting in Port Lyons, I'm Davis.

[Casey Grove]

Hovey.

And that's all for this edition of Alaska News Nightly. If you missed any of tonight's stories, we're [e-mail] and wherever you get your podcasts. We had reports tonight from Eric Stone, Yvonne Crumry and Jamie Deep in Juneau, Wesley early in Anchorage, Samantha Watson in Bethel, Margaret Sutherland in Seattle, and Davis Hovey in Port Lyons. Our audio engineer is Crystal Hyde. Annie Feit helped produce tonight's show and I'm Casey Grove. Good night.

This is statewide news on Alaska Public Media.