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Alaska Legislature OKs 18-year-olds serving alcohol in some venues

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Alaska Legislature OKs 18-year-olds serving alcohol in some venues


Rep. Zack Fields, D-Anchorage, speaks in support of a measure that would allow 18- to 20-year-olds to serve alcohol in some venues on Wednesday, April 2, 2025 (Sean Maguire/ADN).

JUNEAU — The Alaska Legislature on Wednesday approved a measure that would allow 18-year-olds to serve alcohol in some venues.

The Legislature passed an almost-identical version of the bill last year. It was approved by lawmakers after the constitutional deadline for the end of the legislative session. Gov. Mike Dunleavy vetoed the bill, along with four others, arguing that they could face legal challenges.

Senate Bill 15 would allow 18- to 20-year-olds to serve alcohol under supervision in restaurants, breweries and hotels, but not bars or liquor stores. Currently, Alaskans must be 21 or older to serve alcohol in those venues.

The measure also adds a warning wherever alcohol is sold of its risks of causing cancer.

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Supporters of the measure said lowering the age limit to serve alcohol would help address some of the Alaska hospitality industry’s labor challenges. Anchorage Democratic Rep. Zack Fields said the policy change would help the industry for the upcoming summer tourism season.

“For young adults who are attending college outside of Alaska, this bill increases the likelihood that they can return and work during the summer season and get really good-paying jobs,” he said before Wednesday’s final vote.

Anchorage independent Rep. Alyse Galvin supported the bill and said she worked in restaurants during college. She said being unable to serve alcohol meant she earned less money.

The House passed the measure Wednesday on a 32-8 vote. All eight no votes were by minority Republicans. They did not explain their opposition during floor debates. The Senate passed the measure unanimously in February.

Wasilla GOP Rep. Cathy Tilton voted against the measure. She said after the floor session that she supported a right to work, but she was concerned about introducing younger Alaskans to alcohol, considering the state’s high rates of addiction and abuse.

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Only three U.S. states — Alaska, Utah and Nevada — require alcohol servers to be at least 21 years old.

Sarah Oates, president of the Alaska Cabaret, Hotel, Restaurant and Retailers Association, or CHARR, said that Alaska’s age limit has caused labor challenges for the hospitality industry.

“Employers struggle to promote or retain quality employees who are 18-20 years of age because they are prohibited from serving alcohol or supervising other employees who serve or sell alcohol,” she said. “Alaska is not competitive in this space, and our industry is experiencing an outmigration of young workers.”

The measure also requires new language to be added to warning signs wherever alcohol is sold. Currently, those signs say that drinking alcohol “during pregnancy can cause birth defects.”

SB 15 would require an additional warning about cancer risks, stating on signs that “alcohol use can cause cancer, including breast and colon cancers.”

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Former U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy in January called for cancer risk warnings to be added to alcoholic beverages. Adopting Murthy’s advisory nationally would require a measure passed by Congress.

Anchorage Democratic Rep. Andrew Gray, a physician assistant, supported adding the cancer warning signs last year. On Wednesday, Gray said he drinks alcohol, and that he isn’t trying to demonize alcohol.

“Rather, I just want Alaskans to make informed decisions about their health,” he said.

The Legislature has now approved two of five vetoed bills passed last year after the constitutional deadline for the end of the session. In February, lawmakers again approved a $75 million bonding package for a new cruise ship dock in Seward.

After Wednesday’s vote, SB 15 now advances to the governor’s desk for his consideration.

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Yundt Served: Formal Charges Submitted to Alaska Republican Party, Asks for Party Sanction and Censure of Senator Rob Yundt

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Yundt Served: Formal Charges Submitted to Alaska Republican Party, Asks for Party Sanction and Censure of Senator Rob Yundt


Sen. Rob Yundt

On January 3, 2026, Districts 27 and 28 of the Alaska Republican Party received formal charges against Senator Rob Yundt pursuant to Article VII of the Alaska Republican Party Rules.

According to the Alaska Republican Party Rules: “Any candidate or elected official may be sanctioned or censured for any of the following
reasons:
(a) Failure to follow the Party Platform.
(b) Engagement in any activities prohibited by or contrary to these rules or RNC Rules.
(c) Failure to carry out or perform the duties of their office.
(d) Engaging in prohibited discrimination.
(e) Forming a majority caucus in which non-Republicans are at least 1/3 or more of the
coalition.
(f) Engaging in other activities that may be reasonably assessed as bringing dishonor to
the ARP, such as commission of a serious crime.”

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Party Rules require the signatures of at least 3 registered Republican constituents for official charges to be filed. The formal charges were signed by registered Republican voters and District N constitutions Jerad McClure, Thomas W. Oels, Janice M. Norman, and Manda Gershon.

Yundt is charged with “failure to adhere and uphold the Alaska Republican Party Platform” and “engaging in conduct contrary to the principles and priorities of the Alaska Republican Party Rules.” The constituents request: “Senator Rob Yundt be provided proper notice of the charges and a full and fair opportunity to respond; and that, upon a finding by the required two-thirds (2/3) vote of the District Committees that the charges are valid, the Committees impose the maximum sanctions authorized under Article VII.”

If the Party finds Yundt guilty of the charges, Yundt may be disciplined with formal censure by the Alaska Republican Party, declaration of ineligibility for Party endorsement, withdrawal of political support, prohibition from participating in certain Party activities, and official and public declaration that Yundt’s conduct and voting record contradict the Party’s values and priorities.

Reasons for the charges are based on Yundt’s active support of House Bill 57, Senate Bill 113, and Senate Bill 92. Constituents who filed the charges argue that HB 57 opposes the Alaska Republican Party Platform by “expanding government surveillance and dramatically increasing education spending;” that SB 113 opposes the Party’s Platform by “impos[ing] new tax burdens on Alaskan consumers and small businesses;” and that SB 92 opposes the Party by “proposing a targeted 9.2% tax on major private-sector energy producer supplying natural gas to Southcentral Alaska.” Although the filed charges state that SB 92 proposes a 9.2% tax, the bill actually proposes a 9.4% tax on income from oil and gas production and transportation.

Many Alaskan conservatives have expressed frustration with Senator Yundt’s legislative decisions. Some, like Marcy Sowers, consider Yundt more like “a tax-loving social justice warrior” than a conservative.

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Pilot of Alaska flight that lost door plug over Portland sues Boeing, claims company blamed him

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Pilot of Alaska flight that lost door plug over Portland sues Boeing, claims company blamed him


The Alaska Airlines captain who piloted the Boeing 737 Max that lost a door plug over Portland two years ago is suing the plane’s manufacturer, alleging that the company has tried to shift blame to him to shield its own negligence.

The $10 million suit — filed in Multnomah County Circuit Court on Tuesday on behalf of captain Brandon Fisher — stems from the dramatic Jan. 5, 2024 mid-air depressurization of Flight 1282, when a door plug in the 26th row flew off six minutes after take off, creating a 2-by-4-foot hole in the plane that forced Fisher and co-pilot Emily Wiprud to perform an emergency landing back at PDX.

None of the 171 passengers or six crew members on board was seriously injured, but some aviation medical experts said that the consequences could have been “catastrophic” had the incident happened at a higher altitude.

Leani Benitez-Cardona, NTSB aerospace engineer, and Matthew Fox, NTSB chief technical advisor for materials, unpacking the door plug Sunday from Alaska Airlines flight 1282, a Boeing 737-9 MAX, in the materials laboratory at NTSB headquarters in Washington, D.C.NTSB

Fisher’s lawsuit is the latest in a series filed against Boeing, including dozens from Flight 1282 passengers. It also names Spirit AeroSystems, a subcontractor that worked on the plane.

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The lawsuit blames the incident on quality control issues with the door plug. It argues that Boeing caught five misinstalled rivets in the panel, and that Spirit employees painted over the rivets instead of reinstalling them correctly. Boeing inspectors caught the discrepancy again, the complaint alleges, but when employees finally reopened the panel to fix the rivets, they didn’t reattach four bolts that secured the door panel.

The complaint’s allegations that Boeing employees failed to secure the bolts is in line with a National Transportation Safety Board investigation that came to the conclusion that the bolts hadn’t been replaced.



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FIRST ALERT: Heavy snow incoming to Southcentral, Southeast, and Southwest Alaska

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FIRST ALERT: Heavy snow incoming to Southcentral, Southeast, and Southwest Alaska


ANCHORAGE, AK (Alaska’s News Source) – A large winter storm is not only bringing heavy snowfall, but warmer temperatures are approaching! The most impacted areas will include Southcentral, Southeast, and Southwest Alaska, with close to a foot of snow accumulation likely through Tuesday afternoon.

Anchorage will receive a trace of snow overnight and into the early morning hours with about 1 to 3 inches of snow by early Monday afternoon. Close to 5 inches of snow will fall across the Kenai Peninsula and Copper River Basin by Monday afternoon before Tuesday morning brings closer to a foot of snow accumulation across the region. Anchorage and Mat-Su snow totals by Tuesday morning will likely reach 8 to 10 inches.

www.alaskasnewssource.com/weather/alerts/

Juneau will most likely get the heaviest rounds of snow from this storm system with close to a foot of snow likely to accumulate by Monday afternoon with even more snow Tuesday morning. Across Southeast, snow total will vary but Sitka and Ketchikan will receive near 3 to 7 inches. Brace for a few days of heavy snowfall with wind gusts up to 30 miles per hour. Rapid snow accumulation will add hazard to roads and rooftops so be vigilant and weather aware.

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Download the free Alaska’s News Source Weather App.

This storm is already making landfall from the Kuskokwim Delta to Bristol Bay. Expect 8 to 16 inches of snow by Monday night as the heaviest rounds will pass over late Monday morning. Wind gusts up to 40 miles per hour will add blizzard-like conditions with reduced visibility. The Aleutian Chain is bracing for high winds as the gusts up to 70 miles per hour are likely tomorrow. Light rain will pass through as a result of residual moisture of the tail-end of this storm.

The Interior will remain mostly dry tomorrow with mostly cloudy skies stretching over the Brooks Range and into the North Slope. Overnight lows are still quite chilly, sitting near 50 and 60 below zero. Coldest temperatures of the season were record Sunday morning at -50 degrees in Fairbanks, being the coldest temperature since February 2024 which was also -50 degrees. Light snow is possible Tuesday, but otherwise, very calm and quiet weather remains across central and northern Alaska.

Send us your weather photos and videos here!

24/7 Alaska Weather: Get access to live radar, satellite, weather cameras, current conditions, and the latest weather forecast here. Also available through the Alaska’s News Source streaming app available on Apple TV, Roku, and Amazon Fire TV.

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