Alaska

Opinion: No one wants debt, and Alaska students are proving it

Published

1 month ago

January 27, 2026

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Opinion: No one wants debt, and Alaska students are proving it

The University of Alaska Anchorage. (Bill Roth / ADN)

No one wants debt. This was the top finding of students and parents recently surveyed by the Education Trust of Alaska.

The Trust commissioned focus groups and a survey of current University of Alaska students and parents of University of Alaska students and eighth graders to gain a better understanding of existing awareness about the Alaska Performance Scholarship, Alaska 529 and University of Alaska scholarships; their college planning strategies; and motivations for attending the University of Alaska. Respondents in each group were clear: No one wants debt. They also shared that planning is overwhelming when the future seems so uncertain. Those who chose the University of Alaska were satisfied with their decision. Here’s a further, more detailed analysis:

Confusion and uncertainty can lead to decision paralysis: Investing in a 529 plan early can help alleviate future debt. However, awareness about how funds can be used, uncertainty about their child’s interest in future education after high school and the inability to save enough are barriers to planning or saving in advance. Many parent respondents said they avoid investing because they don’t think it will yield enough to cover the costs of education and training. Parents are worried about the portability of 529 accounts if their child attends an out-of-state school, doesn’t go to college or pursues a trade.

The truth about modern 529 plans: 529 accounts have become increasingly flexible; now, qualifying expenses include trades, apprenticeships, vocational training, college, professional credentialing and more. Every dollar saved is $2 they won’t have to pay back later, including interest, so any amount saved can help reduce future debt. 529s can be used at most colleges and universities nationally. Any earnings grow federal tax-free and as long as the funds are used for the qualifying expenses, they remain tax-free. If the account has unused funds, a solution is available thanks to recently enacted legislation that allows for rollovers into Roth IRA accounts. Most families don’t save for the full cost of attendance in- or out-of-state. Participants in Alaska’s state-sponsored Alaska 529 education savings plan have an average account balance of just over $17,000. Investing in a 529 plan early can help alleviate future debt, but it is not a standalone option for financing education.

Current University of Alaska students expressed satisfaction with their decision to attend UA: Students who chose to attend a school in the University of Alaska system were primarily responsible for covering the costs of their college education and debt avoidance was a major factor. The UA students were blown away by the diverse academic opportunities available to them in-state. Some respondents had applied to and were accepted to schools Outside. When they compared the costs of attending an out-of-state school with the options available in-state, it became clear that the financially prudent and responsible choice for them was to attend an in-state school. Students attending UA found that it was not only affordable but also that they had additional money on the table through the Alaska Performance Scholarship because they had taken eligible classes in high school, met the minimum GPA requirement and completed the FAFSA. Survey respondents indicated that they didn’t realize there were so many scholarship options in Alaska. They wished they had paid attention to information about Alaska scholarships earlier in high school. The real financial pie has many pieces. At UA, that might include a 529 plan, federal aid, the Alaska Performance Scholarship, the UA Scholars Award and other scholarships available to students from all academic and economic backgrounds.

Parents face pressures, information gaps and conflicting emotions in their efforts to support their students: In the survey, parents of eighth graders and current UA students said they want to help their child succeed, want to avoid debt but expect the student to pay their own way for education and training after high school. Parents of current UA students felt a strong sense of pride in Alaska and hoped that their child would live and work in Alaska after college. During the college search process, they felt some peer pressure to send their child out of state but felt satisfied with their child’s decision to attend an in-state school. They wished they had learned earlier, in eighth grade, about Alaska-based scholarships so they could have helped coach their child on high school course selection. When they were shown the Alaska Performance Scholarship planning worksheet available at acpe.alaska.gov, most didn’t recall seeing it before but thought it was the perfect planning tool.

Parents of eighth graders found the prospect of college planning, including the courses required to attain the Alaska Performance Scholarship and the requirements of the UA Scholars Award, to be overwhelming. They did not feel ready to learn about these scholarship programs or college planning. Parents were primarily focused on helping their middle schooler navigate the early teenage years, feel connected to activities and manage the stressors of middle school. They also expressed uncertainty about traditional college pathways, leaning more toward vocational training and trades.

The bottom line: Planning is key; however, it can be overwhelming, leading to decision paralysis. Seeking information and support starting in junior high and throughout high school is key to setting a student up for future success. Avoiding debt is doable. The numerous financial tools available in Alaska can help our kids start strong, debt-free and equipped with the training and education needed to secure fulfilling Alaska jobs.

Lael M. Oldmixon is the executive director of the Education Trust of Alaska.

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Alaska

Over $150K worth of drugs seized from man in Juneau, police say

Published

5 hours ago

February 27, 2026

Press Room

Over 0K worth of drugs seized from man in Juneau, police say

JUNEAU, Alaska (KTUU) – An Alaska drug task force seized roughly $162,000 worth of controlled substances during an operation in Juneau Thursday, according to the Juneau Police Department.

Around 3 p.m. Thursday, investigators with the Southeast Alaska Cities Against Drugs (SEACAD) approached 50-year-old Juneau resident Jermiah Pond in the Nugget Mall parking lot while he was sitting in his car, according to JPD.

A probation search of the car revealed a container holding about 7.3 gross grams of a substance that tested presumptively positive for methamphetamine, as well as about 1.21 gross grams of a substance that tested presumptively positive for fentanyl.

As part of the investigation, investigators executed a search warrant at Pond’s residence, during which they found about 46.63 gross grams of ketamine, 293.56 gross grams of fentanyl, 25.84 gross grams of methamphetamine and 25.5 gross grams of MDMA.

In all, it amounted to just less than a pound of drugs worth $162,500.

Investigators also seized $102,640 in cash and multiple recreational vehicles believed to be associated with the investigation.

Pond was lodged on charges of second-degree misconduct involving a controlled substance, two counts of third-degree misconduct involving a controlled substance, five counts of fourth-degree misconduct involving a substance and an outstanding felony probation warrant.

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Alaska

Sand Point teen found 3 days after going missing in lake

Published

17 hours ago

February 27, 2026

Press Room

Sand Point teen found 3 days after going missing in lake

SAND POINT, Alaska (KTUU) – A teenage boy who was last seen Monday when the canoe he was in tipped over has been found by a dive team in a lake near Sand Point, according to a person familiar with the situation.

Alaska’s News Source confirmed with the person, who is close to the search efforts, that the dive team found 15-year-old Kaipo Kaminanga deceased Thursday in Red Cove Lake, located a short drive from the town of Sand Point on the Aleutian Island chain.

Kaminanga was last seen canoeing with three other friends on Monday when the boat tipped over.

A search and rescue operation ensued shortly after.

Alaska Dive Search Rescue and Recovery Team posted on Facebook Thursday night that they were able to “locate and recover” Kaminanga at around 5 p.m. Thursday.

“We are glad we could bring closure to his family, friends and community,” the post said.

This is a breaking news story and will be updated when more details become available.

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Alaska

Opinion: Homework for Alaska: Sales tax or income tax?

Published

1 day ago

February 26, 2026

Press Room

Opinion: Homework for Alaska: Sales tax or income tax?

iStock / Getty Images

This is a tax tutorial for gubernatorial candidates, for legislators who will report to work next year and for the Alaska public.

Think of it as homework, with more than eight months to complete the assignment that is not due until the November election. The homework is intended to inform, not settle the debate over a state sales tax or state income tax — or neither, which is the preferred option for many Alaskans.

But for those Alaskans willing to consider a tax as a personal responsibility to help fund schools, roads, public safety, child care, state troopers, prisons, foster care and everything else necessary for healthy and productive lives, someday they will need to decide on a state income tax or a state sales tax after they accept the checkbook reality that oil and Permanent Fund earnings are not enough.

This homework assignment is intended to get people thinking with facts, not emotions. Electing the right candidates will be the first test.

Alaskans have until the next election because nothing will change this year. It will take a new political alignment led by a reality-based governor to organize support in the Legislature and among the public.

But next year, maybe, with the right elected leadership, Alaskans can debate a state sales tax or personal income tax. Plus, of course, corporate taxes and oil production taxes, but those are for another school day.

One of the biggest arguments in favor of a state sales tax is that visitors would pay it. Yes, they would, but not as much as many Alaskans think.

Air travel is exempt from sales taxes. So are cruise ship tickets. That’s federal law, which means much of what tourists spend on their Alaska vacation is beyond the reach of a state sales tax.

Cutting further into potential revenues, state and federal law exempts flightseeing tours from sales tax, which is a particularly costly exemption when you think about how much visitors spend on airplane and helicopter tours.

That leaves sales tax supporters collecting from tourists on T-shirts, gifts for grandchildren, artwork, postcards, hotels, Airbnb, car rentals and restaurant meals. Still a substantial take for taxes, but far short of total tourism spending.

An argument against a state sales tax is that more than 100 cities and boroughs already depend on local sales taxes to pay for schools and other public services. Try to imagine what a state tax piled on top of a local tax would do to kill shopping in Homer, already at 7.85%, or Kodiak, Wrangell and Cordova, all at 7%, and all the other municipalities.

Supporters of an income tax say it would share the responsibility burden with nonresidents who earn income in Alaska and then return home to spend their money.

Almost one in four workers in Alaska in 2024 were nonresidents, as reported by the state Department of Labor in January. That doesn’t include federal employees, active-duty military or self-employed people.

Nonresidents earned roughly $3.8 billion, or about 17% of every dollar covered in the report.

However, many of those nonresident workers are lower-wage and seasonal, employed in the seafood processing and tourism industries, unlikely to pay much in income taxes. But a tax could be structured so that they pay something, which is fair.

Meanwhile, higher-wage workers in oil and gas, mining, construction and airlines (freight and passenger service) would pay taxes on their income earned in Alaska, which also is fair.

It comes down to what would direct more of the tax burden to nonresidents: a tax on income or on visitor spending. Wages or wasabi-crusted salmon dinners.

Larry Persily is a longtime Alaska journalist, with breaks for federal, state and municipal public policy work in Alaska and Washington, D.C. He lives in Anchorage and is publisher of the Wrangell Sentinel weekly newspaper.

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