Alaska
Alaska mine value tops $4 billion in 2023
At a value of $1.5 billion, zinc held onto its throne as the most valuable metal produced in Alaska during 2023. With production forecasts and price trends headed in opposite directions for zinc and gold, however, the gleaming precious metal that drew fortune-seekers North at the turn of the 20th century could soon regain the crown as the most valued metal produced in the 49th State.
According to preliminary calculations completed by Alaska’s Division of Geological & Geophysical Surveys (DGGS), the total value of metals produced at Alaska mines was approximately $3.76 billion during 2023. When you include sand and gravel mining for the construction sector, that value bumps up to around $4.1 billion, according to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).
When you add in the coal produced for in-state power plants, the total value of all the materials extracted from Alaska mining operations during 2023 comes in at around $4.25 billion.
In addition to a solid year of production from Alaska’s one coal, seven hardrock metal, and 145 placer gold mines, mineral exploration spending continued to be strong across the Far North State remained strong during 2023.
Dave Szumigala, a mineral resources geologist at DGGS, informed attendees of an Alaska mining sector overview at the AME Roundup mining convention that roughly $230 million was spent at around 50 mineral exploration projects across the state last year.
According to preliminary data compiled by DGGS, nearly half of the 2023 mineral exploration spending was invested in discovering and expanding gold deposits, making the precious metal the top mineral commodity sought in Alaska.
Polymetallic volcanogenic massive sulfide deposits, such as those being mined at Hecla Mining Company’s Greens Creek Mine on the Southeast Panhandle and Ambler Metals’ Arctic mine project in Northwest Alaska, were also popular exploration targets in the state last year.
While the exploration for new sources of the minerals and metals needed for the lithium-ion batteries powering electric vehicles has not yet been as pronounced in Alaska as many of the other mining jurisdictions around the world, the search for graphite, nickel, and cobalt accounted for roughly 8% of exploration spending last year. Battery mineral exploration spending is expected to continue to rise as current projects expand and new projects emerge over the next couple of years.
Globally significant zinc output
Due in large part to the high-grade deposits at Teck Resources Ltd.’s Red Dog Mine in Northwest Alaska, zinc continues to be the top commodity mined in the state.
During 2023, Red Dog produced 539,800 metric tons (1.19 billion pounds) of zinc, which accounts for 4.5% of the 12 billion metric tons of all the zinc mined on Earth last year.
When you add in the 47,000 metric tons (103.6 million lb) produced as a byproduct at the Greens Creek silver mine, Alaska operations accounted for around 5% of the global supply of zinc, a metal considered critical to the U.S.
Alaska’s share of the global zinc supply, however, could begin to slip as ore grades decline at the 35-year-old Red Dog Mine over the coming years.
“Over the next three years, production is expected to decrease due to declining grades at Red Dog,” Teck Resources CFO Crystal Prystai informed analysts and investors on Feb. 22.
Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority
Red Dog delivered concentrates containing 155,300 metric tons of zinc and 25,400 metric tons of lead to the Delong Mountain Transportation System port during the fourth quarter of 2023.
While the 2024 zinc output at Red Dog is expected to remain on par with 2023 levels, Teck is forecasting a roughly 30% drop to around 382,500 metric tons (843 million lb) by 2027.
As of the beginning of 2023, Red Dog hosted 38.5 million metric tons of proven and probable reserves averaging 12.4% (4.03 million metric tons) of zinc, 3.6% (670,000 metric tons) of lead, and 66.2 grams per metric ton (81.9 million oz) silver.
This is enough ore to keep Red Dog in operation until 2031.
Teck’s Aktigiruq, Anarraaq, and Lik deposits on state lands roughly 10 miles northwest of the current Red Dog operations could provide future supplies of high-grade ore to the Red Dog mill.
Aktigiruq and Anarraaq are large deposits on lands held by Teck with grades on par with what is currently being mined at Red Dog.
Lik, which is being explored under a 50-50 partnership with Solitario Zinc Corp., hosts 17.6 million metric tons of potentially open-pit mineable indicated resource averaging 8.1% zinc, 2.7% lead, and 50.1 grams per metric ton silver; plus 2.8 million metric tons of inferred resource at 8.6% zinc, 2.7% lead, and 38.9 g/t silver.
Combined, these deposits have the potential to provide the Red Dog mill with ore for several more decades at current production rates.
To ensure Red Dog remains a globally significant source of zinc, Teck is carrying out extensive exploration across the district.
Nearly 1 million oz gold per year
Falling zinc output from Red Dog opens the door for gold to be crowned as the most valuable metal mined in Alaska. Thanks to strong prices and rising production profiles at Alaska’s largest gold mines, this precious metal could take the throne before zinc production falls.
During 2023, Alaska’s hardrock and placer mines produced approximately 728,000 oz of gold in 2023. At the $1,940/oz average price during 2023, this puts the value of the gold produced in the state at around $1.4 billion, which is only a touch under the value of zinc produced at Red Dog and Greens Creek.
So far in 2024, the price for an ounce of gold has held above $2,000. While continued strength in the price of this precious metal would bolster the value of Alaska gold output this year, it is an expected increase in the number of ounces that could unseat zinc.
The largest gold producer in Alaska, Kinross Gold Corp.’s Fort Knox Mine, could also be the biggest contributor to gold production growth in the state in 2024 and beyond.
Last year, the iconic mine about 20 miles northeast of Fairbanks produced 290,651 oz of gold, edging out the 259,573 oz produced at Northern Star Resources Ltd.’s Pogo Mine about 90 miles southeast of Alaska’s Golden Heart City.
The gold output from Fort Knox is expected to get a major boost from the much higher-grade ore being delivered from Manh Choh, a mine about 200 miles southeast of Fort Knox that is being developed under a partnership between Kinross (70%) and Contango Ore Inc. (30%).
Going into 2024, Manh Choh hosted 4.1 million metric tons of proven and probable reserves averaging 7.6 g/t (1 million oz) gold and 13.5 g/t (1.8 million oz) silver, which is an order of magnitude higher gold grade than the ore currently being fed into the Kinross Alaska Mill at Fort Knox.
Kinross reports that the development of Manh Choh is essentially complete, and ore is being trucked the roughly 250 road-miles to Fort Knox.
“In Alaska, construction of the Manh Choh project is essentially complete and is on budget and on schedule for initial high-grade production in the second half of the year,” said Kinross Gold President and CEO Paul Rollinson.
With the higher-grade ore from Manh Choh, the annual production at Fort Knox is expected to increase to nearly half a million oz over the coming five years.
While not as steep a rise, Northern Star is anticipating more gold output from Pogo.
Since completing an expansion of the Pogo mill to 1.3 million metric tons per year in 2022, Northern Star has been working to ramp up the annual gold production at the high-grade underground mine to 300,000 oz.
Reaching this gold production target is premised on feeding ore through the mill at around its nameplate capacity of 325,000 metric tons per quarter and improving the grade of ore being processed.
Aside from the first three months of 2023, which was impacted by a six-week shutdown of the mill for repairs, the mill at Pogo ran near or above its nameplate capacity during 2023.
“So, lifting that average grade up is where we’re going to get that uplift in the revenue,” Northern Star Resources Managing Director Stuart Tonkin told analysts and investors during a Jan. 23 call.
The expected increases in gold production at Fort Knox and Pogo, along with steady output from the Kensington, Greens Creek, Dawson, and roughly 145 placer mines, could elevate Alaska’s gold output to the realm of 1 million oz per year by 2025.
Alaska Division of Geological & Geophysical Surveys
North America’s largest silver mine
While the roughly $381.4 million of silver recovered at Alaska mines during 2023 pales in comparison to the value of zinc and gold produced in the state, the Greens Creek Mine near Juneau is the largest primary silver mine in North America and one of the biggest in the world.
“Greens Creek is a premier silver mine,” said Hecla Mining President and CEO Phillips Baker, Jr. “It’s actually the 11th largest in the world, and I just want to congratulate the team on delivering excellent and consistent results and giving it a great future, because this is truly a world-class asset.”
This world-class mine about 20 miles south of Alaska’s capital accounted for 9.7 million of the approximately 16.3 million oz of silver produced in the state last year. The balance was produced as a byproduct at Red Dog.
The silver-forward Greens Creek and zinc-forward Red Dog mines also produced a combined 113,000 metric tons (249 million lb) of lead as a byproduct last year. Roughly 93.5 million metric tons (206.1 million lb) of this lead was recovered at Red Dog, with the balance coming from Greens Creek.
Going into 2024, Greens Creek hosted 10.02 million tons of proven and probable reserves averaging 10.05 ounces per ton (105.2 million oz) silver, 0.09 oz/t (881,000 oz) gold, 6.6% (1.32 billion lb) zinc, and 2.5% (501.2 million lb) lead.
This is enough to keep North America’s largest producing silver mine in operation for roughly 14 years at 2023 mill throughput rates – and Hecla keeps finding more ore.
“When Greens Creek started, the mine had a mine plan of seven years and now 37 years later, the mine plan is 14 years,” Baker informed investors and analysts on Feb. 15. “This past year’s underground exploration had good success in seven of the eight zones drilled with four of those zones in the fourth quarter.”
In addition to adding underground silver reserves, Hecla is revisiting the critical minerals potential it has been stockpiling on the surface over the past 37 years.
In addition to silver, zinc, lead, and gold, Greens Creek ore is enriched with at least seven critical minerals – antimony, arsenic, barite, bismuth, gallium, germanium, and indium.
During a Nov. 8 keynote presentation at the Alaska Miners Association convention in Anchorage, Baker said the tailings at Greens Creek contain an estimated $3 billion worth of metals, including “lots of critical minerals that you don’t really think of” during initial mining.
Hecla is currently studying the viability of transporting these tailings contained within a dry-stack storage facility on Admiralty Island to an off-site location for reprocessing.
In addition to offering a domestic source of critical minerals, this idea would lessen Green Creek’s environmental footprint on the Southeast Alaska island where the world-class silver mine is located.
Interior Alaska energy mine
Alaska’s oldest continuously operating mine does not produce gold, zinc, or silver. Instead, this operation about 115 miles south of Fairbanks provides the coal that keeps the lights and heat on during the long, cold, and dark winter nights in the state’s Interior region.
Established in 1943 to provide coal to U.S. military installations in Interior Alaska, Usibelli Coal Mine (UCM) has grown into a family-owned enterprise that delivers roughly 1 million tons of fuel to six Interior Alaska power plants.
Usibelli Coal Mine
Usibelli Coal Mine delivers roughly 1 million tons of fuel to six Interior Alaska powerplants per year.
One of these things that Usibelli is most proud of is the exceptional safety record of the more than 100 workers that deliver this coal.
In early September, UCM celebrated 1,000 consecutive days without a lost time accident.
“This achievement reflects our commitment to safety as a core value and the foundation of our company culture,” said Usibelli Coal Mine President Joe Usibelli Jr. “Every team member is accountable for their safety and the safety of their fellow coal miners.”
Like many other coal deposits around the nation, the coal seams on UCM’s properties are enriched with rare earths, germanium, and other critical minerals.
Looking for value-added opportunities, UCM is investigating the potential to recover these critical minerals from materials above and between the coal seams, coal that is not of high enough quality for power generation, and ash from a power plant at the mouth of the mine.
Whether producing coal or exploring the Interior Alaska project’s critical minerals potential, UCM is continuously investing in advanced technologies and best practices to ensure its operations align with the highest environmental standards.
“Beyond our commitment to safety, we also recognize our responsibility to the environment and the communities we serve,” said Joe Usibelli Jr. “We strive to leave a positive legacy for future generations.”
Exploring next-gen Alaska mines
The next generation of Alaska mines will likely be the product of some of the roughly 50 mineral exploration projects in the state.
According to data compiled by DGGS, roughly $230 million was invested in exploring for gold, silver, zinc, copper, graphite, nickel, cobalt, platinum group metals, rare earth elements, and other minerals during 2023.
Alaska Division of Geological & Geophysical Surveys
While this level of exploration spending is not as high as what was invested in the state 10 to 15 years ago, it is still robust, especially considering that two of the largest mineral exploration projects in recent years scaled back 2023 spending.
The $9.2 million program carried out last year by Ambler Metals, a 50-50 joint venture between Trilogy Metals Inc. and South32 Ltd., is less than a third the size of the $28.5 million exploration program in 2022.
One of the main reasons for the lower spending from Ambler Metals is from awaiting the U.S. Bureau of Land Management’s decision on the permits for a 211-mile road that would connect its Upper Kobuk Mineral Projects in the Ambler Mining District to Alaska’s highway system and the markets beyond.
BLM pulled previously approved permits for the Ambler Road to ensure that Alaska Native tribes have been properly consulted and impacts to subsistence activities have been thoroughly evaluated. In October, the federal agency published findings of the more thorough review in the form of a supplement environmental impact statement (SEIS).
The federal land manager expects to publish a final SEIS and record of decision on the reevaluated Ambler Road later this year.
Arctic, the first UKMP project slated to become a mine, is expected to produce 1.93 billion lb of copper, 2.24 billion lb of zinc, 334.8 million lb of lead, 423,000 ounces of gold, and 36 million oz of silver over an initial 13 years of mining.
The only resource drilling in the Ambler District this year was carried out on Valhalla Metals Inc.’s Sun zinc-copper-silver-gold project alongside the route of the proposed Ambler Road.
“If the Biden Administration wants critical metals, we know where to find them!” said Valhalla Metals Chairman Rick Van Nieuwenhuyse.
The other big mineral exploration project to dial back exploration spending in 2023 was Donlin Gold LLC – a 50-50 joint venture between Novagold Resources Inc. and Barrick Gold Corp.
The $34 million program completed by Donlin Gold in 2023 was nearly half the $64 million program carried out the year before. The main reason for this reduction is the smaller scope of work needed to complete an updated feasibility study for the 40-million-oz gold project in Southwest Alaska.
The previous feasibility study, completed in 2011, detailed plans for a mine at Donlin that would produce more than 1 million oz of gold annually over an initial 25 years of mining.
A growing interest in Alaska’s potential to supply minerals and metals needed for the lithium-ion batteries powering EVs helped offset much of the reduced spending by Ambler Metals and Donlin Gold.
Graphite One Inc.
The U.S. Department of Defense is investing $37.5 million for the exploration and other work needed to finalize a feasibility study for establishing a mine at the Graphite Creek project in western Alaska.
In July, the U.S. Department of Defense awarded Graphite One Inc. $37.5 million to help complete a feasibility study for an advanced graphite material supply chain that will begin at the Graphite Creek project about 35 miles north of Nome, Alaska.
“This Department of Defense grant underscores our confidence in our strategy to build a 100% U.S.-based advanced graphite supply chain – from mining to refining to recycling,” said Graphite One CEO Anthony Huston. “The World Bank Group reports that the production of minerals, including graphite, could increase by nearly 500% by 2050, to meet the growing demand for clean energy technologies.”
While graphite is the single largest ingredient in the lithium batteries for electric vehicles and renewable energy storage, it is not the only critical energy metal being sought in Alaska.
At least two new exploration companies – Alaska Energy Metals Inc. and KoBold Metals scoured promising projects in Alaska’s Wrangellia Terrane for deposits enriched with nickel, cobalt, copper, and other metals critical to the energy transition.
“Alaska Energy Metals is positioning itself to supply domestic markets with a source of critical and strategic metals,” Alaska Energy Metals President and CEO Greg Beischer said upon the early 2023 launch of AEM.
Author Bio
Shane Lasley, Publisher
Over his more than 16 years of covering mining and mineral exploration, Shane has become renowned for his ability to report on the sector in a way that is technically sound enough to inform industry insiders while being easy to understand by a wider audience.
Alaska
Before he rose to fame and sparked controversy, L. Ron Hubbard was a seafaring radio host in Alaska
Last week, this column covered the curious path of hard-boiled crime writer Dashiell Hammett, who was near 50, sickly, a celebrity and a Communist Party member when he went from Hollywood fame to Army enlistment to his posting in remote Adak. Of course, Hammett was far from the only celebrated author with ties or at least a significant visit to Alaska. From Jack London to freshly minted Pulitzer winner Tessa Hulls, Alaska has lured and inspired numerous writers. Next week’s column will cover two particularly diverse examples: Shel Silverstein and Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn. And this week is yet another disparate character, L. Ron Hubbard.
When Lafayette “you may call him L” Ron Hubbard (1911-1986) washed ashore at Ketchikan on Aug. 31, 1940, he was a generally well-regarded author of pulp magazine tales. Today, he is overwhelmingly recognized as the inventor/founder of Scientology, and of shakier reputation. But 1940 Hubbard was years away from Xenu and his volcano, “Dianetics” (1950), the science-fiction novel “Battlefield Earth” (1982), and the maligned film adaptation starring Scientologist John Travolta that bombed in 2000, long may its memory fade.
Back then, he was best known for his prolific writing and numerous pseudonyms. During the 1930s, a heyday of Wild West, detective and other pulpy genre adventure magazines, it seemed like every other issue contained a Hubbard story. His official biographies make outlandish claims that he wrote more than 7 million words during the decade, but the actual output of around 160 articles published from 1933 to 1941 still represents a rather fevered pace.
Hubbard was sailing around Alaska as part of what he grandiosely referred to as the Alaskan Radio Experimental Expedition, though he indeed carried the prestigious Explorer’s Club flag, a distinction typically reserved for scientific expeditions. And Hubbard accordingly claimed he was testing various instruments and methods of radio position finding.
In 2018, the Church of Scientology held an awards banquet for 70 of their most significant benefactors at the Cape Fox Lodge in Ketchikan, part of their pattern to hold events in places where Hubbard visited, worked, or lived. Per the church, Hubbard “came up to study the Tlingit Indian tribes, and send back a finding of the research of the tribes and the ethnological factors of the Indians here.”
Back in 1940, The Ketchikan Chronicle offered a humbler description of his arrival and intentions. “Capt. L. Ron Hubbard, author and world traveler, arrived in Ketchikan in company with his wife aboard the vest pocket yacht, Magician. His purpose in coming to Alaska was two-fold, one to win a bet and another to gather material for a novel of Alaska salmon fishing.” The bet was whether the 27-foot Magician, which Hubbard nicknamed the Maggie, would survive the voyage north. The further reality was a shot engine and empty pockets, meaning a large part of a winter stranded in Ketchikan.
Russell Miller’s critical 1987 biography, “Bare-Faced Messiah,” notes Hubbard’s friends called the voyage “Ron and Polly’s trip.” Miller also quotes Hubbard’s Aunt Marnie: “Ron dreamed up the trip as a way of outfitting the Maggie. His brain was always working and when he was trying to figure out how he could afford to outfit the boat he wrote letters to all these different manufacturers of instruments and equipment offering to test them out.”
Suffice to say, accounts vary. No matter, there is little reason to believe Hubbard and his wife spent months in Ketchikan except for the need to earn enough money for boat repairs and subsequent escape. But a dashing young author, near enough a celebrity as far as locals thought, stood out around town. The 29-year-old writer soon found work with the KGBU, now KTKN, radio station, an announcer and as the host of his own program, “Mail Buoy.” It would be more accurate to say that the station eagerly offered him a position and hoped he would never leave.
Longtime Ketchikan historian June Allen (1929-2016) recalled the opening to the show in a 2005 SitNews article. “Station owner Jimmy Britton’s well-remembered and breathless, asthmatic voice grandly intoned over the airwaves: ‘KGBU brings you the Mail Buoy, a program especially designed for Alaskan boatmen. It is the hope of this station that the exchange of information regarding the sea and ships will be found of benefit to those who wish to brush up on their calling, to those who wish to study the fine art of fighting the sea, and to those old-timers who can help the world to remember how to make all things shipshape and Bristol-fashion by keeping close tally on the data contained in this presentation.’” After describing the host, Britton declared, “Here now is Captain Hubbard,” followed by four bells and a jingle.
True to concept, the show was focused on practical maritime matters, with episodes on “Handling Your Hull” and “Anchors.” Other episodes answered listener questions, such as the “crackling and hissing” static heard on radio broadcasts, which he blamed on older radios and interference from electrical appliances. As might be expected, Hubbard was smooth on air, quick with a story and instantly a popular listen.
He also later claimed that he utilized his radio expertise to assist the FBI in tracking down a Nazi saboteur. No official records have been found to verify this tale, but Hubbard did write a short story inspired by his time in Ketchikan. In “Chee-Chalker,” first published in 1947, a tenderfoot FBI agent unravels a string of murders and uncovers a heroin smuggling ring, while entangling himself with a halibut heiress, as one does. A “chee chalker” is Hubbard’s version of a “cheechako.”
Years later, Hubbard said of notoriously vice-ridden Ketchikan, “They have there in Ketchikan, the only stream in the world where the fish and the fisherman go up to spawn. It’s a red-light district. It stretches up around the curve, a very beautiful stream. But the buildings have trap doors — most of Ketchikan is built over water. The fishermen — it’s mostly fishermen that come in there with any money — wear rather heavy rubber boots, and water gets into these boots rather quickly, and they go down rather fast. But when the police do find a fisherman drowned or floating there in the straits without anything in his pockets, they look him over very carefully and say, ‘Hmmm! Suicide!’”
During his radio broadcasts, Hubbard always found a chance to mention that he and his wife were stuck in Ketchikan because Regal Company of Bremerton, Washington, made a defective crankshaft and refused to replace it. Over and over, it was Regal Company’s fault. And when a new crankshaft arrived that December, he was believed it was only due to his on-air admonishments. Regardless, the Hubbards left as soon as the engine was fixed and arrived back in the Lower 48 on Dec. 27, 1940.
In addition to the gifted crankshaft, he also borrowed money around town, for living and repair expenses. Most notably, he owed First National Bank $265, about $6,000 in 2025 money. When World War II began, Hubbard went in the Naval Reserve. The bank thus tracked him down via the Navy. He agreed to pay the interest on the principal but claimed hardships prevented him from paying more. In an Oct. 29, 1942 letter, he wrote, “You are again informed that the reason of non-payment of this note is the sharp decrease in pay which I was willing to take to help my country. Until this war is ended and I can resume my former profession I can make only small and irregular payments.” It is unclear when or if the debt was settled.
There was one last relevant intersection of Hubbard and Alaska. Per an official proclamation by Alaska Gov. Steve Cowper, March 13, 1989 was to be L. Ron Hubbard Day — that is, until interrupted by then-Daily News reporter, and now novelist, Stan Jones. In a scathing article, Jones recounted the many allegations, scandals and lawsuits regarding Scientology, including the claim by Hubbard’s own son that his father created the religion “off the top of his head while he was under the influence of drugs,” the latter from an interview originally published in Christianity Today. “Hubbard Day” was quickly canceled, with the governor deciding he “does not identify” with the church or Hubbard.
Cowper’s press secretary, David Ramseur, told Jones, “Those proclamations come through the press office and I approve them. The governor does not sign off on proclamations unless they’re of enormous consequence. Or of more significant consequence than this.” Ramseur additionally noted that such proclamations were signed by a pen. Therefore, Cowper never actually saw the Hubbard Day proclamation and knew nothing about it. Jones asked Ramseur how much research was conducted before the declaration was approved, to which the press secretary replied, “Not much.”
A Daily News editorial stated, “If anybody in the governor’s press office had known the difference between scientology and Shinola, L. Ron wouldn’t have got a minute, let alone a day.” That said, it continued, “Gov. Cowper could do Alaskans a favor by tossing all those proclamations in his shredder and declaring Monday ‘No More Proclamations Day.’ The governor — and for that matter the legislature — has proclaimed enough.”
Anchorage Mayor Tom Fink‘s press office was more familiar with Scientology or more diligent in their research. They also received the suggestion for a “Hubbard Day” but rejected it out of hand. Fink aide Yvonne Alford told the Daily News, “Part of it, of course, is the controversy that surrounds the Church of Scientology and, further, Dianetics is a commercial enterprise. We do read the information that comes in for proclamations.”
Sometimes, usually, it is for the best that the future is unknown. At the least, it would have complicated matters for the denizens of a small fishing and lumber town to know where their local radio host would go, what he would become. Had he wanted to stay, he would have been welcomed, but greater fortunes awaited. His stint in Ketchikan was relatively brief and of little import, particularly compared to the self-created tumult of the decades that followed. Yet, he never forgot Alaska. References to his time in the north abound in his official biographies, and his Ketchikan tenure is an appreciated aspect of his personal journey. All to say, it proves that the immensity and grandeur of Alaska affects us all, affects every sort of person.
Key sources:
Allen, June. “L. Ron Hubbard’s Alaska Adventure.” SitNews, January 19, 2005.
“Church of Scientology meets in SE.” Sitka Sentinel, April 27, 2018, 6.
Jones, Stan. “Governor Gives Day to L. Ron Hubbard.” Anchorage Daily News, March 9, 1989, A1, A14.
Miller, Russell. Bare-Faced Messiah: The True Story of L. Ron Hubbard.
Persily, Larry. “Scientologists Refute Reports.” Anchorage Daily News, March 14, 1989, B1, B3.
“Whereas and Therefore.” Anchorage Daily News, March 10, 1989, B4.
High School
Soccer
Girls
Monday
West 1, Eagle River 1
Dimond 10, Bartlett 0
Chugiak 1, Service 1
Tuesday
Grace Christian 10, Redington 3
Soldotna 2, Homer 0
Lathrop 1, West Valley 0
Wednesday
Dimond 10, East 0
South Anchorage 5, Service 1
West 5, Bartlett 0
Chugiak 10, Eagle River 0
Monroe Catholic 10, Hutchison 0
Thursday
Palmer 4, Houston 1
Kenai Central 2, Grace Christian 1
Soldotna 2, Juneau-Douglas 1
Wasilla 2, Lathrop 1
Friday
Soldotna 2, Ketchikan 1
Kenai Central 3, Palmer 0
Wasilla 2, West Valley 1
Service 3, Bartlett 0
South 15, East 0
Colony 5, Lathrop 0
Saturday
Soldotna 3, Ketchikan 2
Wasilla 6, North Pole 0
Kenai Central 12, Houston 1
Boys
Monday
Dimond 8, Bartlett 1
West 11, Eagle River 1
Service 3, Chugiak 2
Tuesday
Grace Christian 7, Redington 2
Soldotna 1, Homer 0
West Valley 9, Lathrop 0
Wednesday
Monroe Catholic 2, Hutchison 1
Dimond 2, East 2
Service 1, South 0
Chugiak 7, Eagle River 0
West 7, Bartlett 2
Thursday
Redington 9, Nikiski 0
Kenai Central 2, Grace Christian 0
Palmer 4, Houston 0
Wasilla 1, Lathrop 0
Juneau-Douglas 3, Soldotna 0
Friday
Grace Christian 7, Nikiski 1
Soldotna 1, Ketchikan 0
West Valley 5, Wasilla 0
Service 5, Bartlett 0
Colony 3, Lathrop 0
Saturday
Colony 3, West Valley 1
Palmer 13, Nikiski 0
Kenai Central 3, Houston 0
Ketchikan 3, Soldotna 2
• • •
Softball
Monday
Dimond 8, Service 5
Soldotna 17, Homer 5
South 7, Dimond 6
Tuesday
Palmer 4, Houston 3
Soldotna 13, Kenai Central 0
North Pole 11, Lathrop 1
Wednesday
Palmer 13, Redington 5
South 2, Chugiak 0
North Pole 11, Hutchison 10
Thursday
Soldotna 9, Homer 6
Chugiak 2, Kenai Central 1
Bartlett 13, Kenai Central 7
South 6, Colony 0
Service 2, West 0
Lathrop 9, Monroe Catholic 4
Dimond 6, East 5
Friday
Soldotna 5, Kenai Central 2
Bartlett 18, Homer 0
Dimond 12, Juneau-Douglas 0
Sitka 13, Ketchikan 5
Colony 10, Service 5
West Valley 18, North Pole 3
Dimond 8, West 5
East 7, Colony 0
Juneau-Douglas 13, Service 3
Saturday
Colony 11, Service 0
East 3, Dimond 2
Colony 16, West 5
South 8, Colony 5
• • •
Baseball
Monday
Grace Christian 13, Redington 12
Soldotna 17, Homer 7
South 14, Wasilla 2
Eagle River 9, Chugiak 5
East 3, Bartlett 0
Tuesday
Colony 17, Houston 0
Chugiak 4, West 3
West Valley 6, Monroe Catholic 2
Wednesday
Palmer 14, Redington 3
Colony 5, Chugiak 3
Service 16, South 9
Eagle River 3, West 2
Thursday
North Pole 9, Monroe Catholic 2
Chugiak 16, East 0
Service 15, Bartlett 3
Kodiak 14, Houston 12
Wasilla 16, Colony 4
South 7, Dimond 4
Friday
Redington 12, Delta 6
Service 3, Eagle River 1
West Valley 12, North Pole 2
Homer 12, Kenai Central 7
Palmer 15, Kodiak 5
Sitka 3, Ketchikan 2
Wasilla 10, East 0
Saturday
Redington 7, Delta 6
Chugiak 13, South 3
Eagle River 9, Bartlett 2
Palmer 11, Houston 1
Soldotna 7, Kenai Central 4
West 9, Dimond 8
Sitka 24, Ketchikan 0
• • •
Track and field
Anchorage Invite
Girls team scores
1. Dimond 27; 2. Mountain City Christian Academy 16; 2. Chugiak 16; 4. East 14; 5. Service 10; 6. Homer 8; 6. Kenai Central 8; 8. South Anchorage 6; 9. Soldotna 5; 10. Eagle River 4; 11. Seward 3
Boys team scores
1. Chugiak 25; 2. East 20; 2. South 20; 4. Bartlett 18; 5. West 10; 6. Kodiak 7; 7. Dimond 6; 8. Mountain City Christian Academy 5; 9. Eagle River 3; 10. Service 2; 11. Soldotna 1
• • •
NAHL
Friday
Anchorage Wolverines 4, Wisconsin Windigo 2
Saturday
Anchorage Wolverines v. Wisconsin Windigo (late)
• • •
2025 Love a Nurse Run 5k
Male Overall Results
1: Wesley McQuillin, Anchorage, AK 16:10; 2: Robert Pires, JBER, AK 17:13; 3: Jeremy Fairbanks, Anchorage, AK 18:38; 4: Collin Christiansen, Palmer, AK 19:04; 5: Avi Dashow, Anchorage, AK 21:42; 6: Jason Dashow, Anchorage, AK 22:53; 7: Joel Manalo, Anchorage, AK 24:01; 8: Corbyn Navas, Anchorage, AK 24:11; 9: Darren Essman, Palmer, AK 24:33; 10: Luiz Santos, Hortolândia, N/A 24:58; 11: Hunter Kluckman, Anchorage, AK 25:19; 12: Jeremiah Hassemer, Anchorage, AK 25:20; 13: Matt Skinner, Anchorage, AK 25:33; 14: Tim Haugan, Eagle River, AK 26:43; 15: Mark Jacobsen, Anchorage, AK 27:02; 16: Joash Marquez, Anchorage, AK 29:31; 17: Michael Perkins, Anchorage, AK 30:13; 18: Ronald Regacho, Anchorage, AK 31:27; 19: Oleg Glebov, Anchorage, AK 31:52; 20: Joe Milton, Anchorage, AK 32:12
Female Overall Results
1: Michelle Isaev, Anchorage, AK 21:10; 2: Andrea Resende, Anchorage, AK 22:25; 3: Andrea Ayers, Wasilla, AK 24:10; 4: Lydia Ortiz, Palmer, AK 24:41; 5: Izzy Dashow, Anchorage, AK 25:25; 6: Elayna Tunney, Anchorage, AK 26:49; 7: Janet Johnston, Anchorage, AK 26:52; 8: Yoe Isbell, Eagle River, AK 27:10; 9: Stephanie Hill, Anchorage, AK 27:11; 10: Sara Lopez, Anchorage, AK 27:48; 11: Deanna March, Anchorage, AK 28:05; 12: Kathy Jacobsen, Anchorage, AK 28:15; 13: Charlene Nidoy, Anchorage, AK 28:20; 14: Cecelia Ortiz, Palmer, AK 28:29; 15: Jenny Justinger, JBER, AK 28:35; 16: Kate McQuillin, Anchorage, AK 28:42; 17: Lindsay Wingerter, Eagle River, AK 30:14; 18: Ruby Wingerter, Eagle River, AK 30:29; 19: Johnna Lovelace, Anchorage, AK 31:08; 20: Sarah Oloughlin, Anchorage, AK 31:10
• • •
2025 UAA Turnagain Arm Trail Run
8 Mile Run
Female
1. Anna Dalton, 49:12,3; 2. Sophie Wright, 50:48,2; 3. Mariah Graham, 53:41,2; 4. Shauna Severson, 54:04,1; 5. Ana Jager, Ana, 56:48,7; 6. Eva Marley-Jester, 58:25,5; 7. Mariah Brashar, 58:31,4; 8. Lauren Spinelli, 58:37,9; 9. Alison Matthews, 59:20,9; 10. Sabrina Farmer, 59:32,2
Male
1. William McGovern, 42:09,7; 2. Zack Bursell, 43:05,8; 3. Lars Arneson, 43:45,3; 4. Chad Trammell, 43:54,2; 5. Cody Priest, 45:06,2; 6. Joshua Taylor, 45:37,0; 7. Nolan Gerlach, 46:14,0; 8. Eric Vilce, 47:50,4; 9. Connor Marth, 48:11,9; 10. Franklin Dekker, 48:20,9
4 Mile Run
Female
1. Calista Zuber, 25:00,0; 2. Jillian Gavalya, 26:29,1; 3. Sadie Benter, 29:47,0; 4. Emily Stewart, 29:59,4; 5. Elisabeth Angeles, 30:24,5; 6. Rachel James, 31:27,8; 7. Gwyneth Gavalya, 31:48,3; 8. Josie Hale, 32:23,4; 9. AddieAnn Randall, 32:52,0; 10. Kristyn Turney, 33:14,0
Male
1. Thale Randall, 23:06,0; 2. Nash Paprocki, 26:18,0; 3. Agustin Inostroza, 29:15,8; 4. Brad Benter, 30:08,8; 5. Remington Roach, 31:47,9; 6. Finn Hamilton-Iverson, 34:10,4; 7. Zachary Burgess, 35:45,9; 8. Randy Sandvik, 37:51,9; 9. Matthew Sandvik, 38:32,0; 10. Derek Webster, 41:08,9
Our country carries a complicated legacy of using education as both a tool for assimilation and a privilege reserved for the affluent.
When our state’s constitutional delegates established the right to a public education, it was a time when many children were still being sent to regional boarding schools, where their cultural identities were often stripped away. This history reminds us of the importance of working tirelessly to create a quality education system accessible to all children — a mission that remains one of the most significant endeavors for policymakers and everyone who cares about the future.
At its heart, education is about empowering children to realize their fullest potential and become valued members of our communities. Public education serves as a lifeline, ensuring that every child, no matter their circumstances, has an equal chance to pursue their dreams. It’s about leveling the playing field so that where a child lives or their family’s financial situation doesn’t determine their future.
We champion public schools because our kids have the right to learn to read. The ability to read is not just an academic skill; it’s a crucial stepping stone to future opportunities — negotiating contracts, finding good jobs or even buying a home. If children struggle to understand the written word, they face daunting barriers that can hinder their aspirations.
Investing in our neighborhood schools is a commitment to the well-being of our children. Schools are often safe havens where kids can find support, meals, and a sense of belonging. They serve as gathering places in our communities, providing shelter during crises, nurturing family connections, and celebrating joys or mourning losses together.
Public schools are not businesses, and treating them as such overlooks the diverse needs our children bring with them every day. Education is about creating opportunities, and when a child arrives hungry or grappling with challenges at home, we must respond with compassion and understanding. Learning becomes nearly impossible in the face of unmet basic needs.
If there’s one area we should refuse to compromise, it’s our commitment to our children’s education. Cuts to school funding only undermine what we strive to provide for their future. Our public schools are not failing; they are starving for the necessary resources to thrive. For over a decade, Alaska has failed to sufficiently invest in education, and the effects are painfully clear. Many schools are in disrepair, with children learning in classrooms plagued by black mold and in gyms that are physically unsafe. Teachers, who care deeply about their students, find themselves trying to educate in conditions that compromise their health and well-being. It’s no surprise that we’re witnessing increasing rates of absenteeism and a troubling rise in classrooms without certified teachers.
We tell our kids that actions speak louder than words, and for far too long, our state’s lack of investment in public schools has sent a disheartening message.
[Deena Bishop: Why Alaska education funding and policy need to go hand in hand]
Instead of using national assessment scores against students, we should view these assessments as a constructive tool — one that helps us understand where support is needed most. Our responsibility is to invest in the resources that will improve learning environments, not to deprive schools of what they need to be effective.
It is simply wrong and deeply unfair to keep the critical funding needed to support our students hostage to political agendas.
Every child deserves access to a safe and supportive public school, staffed by committed educators who want to make a difference in their lives. By ensuring stable and predictable funding, we can address immediate needs, like fixing broken windows and repairing non-functioning toilets, while also helping our communities retain the talented teachers who impact our children’s lives.
Alaskans clearly want more funding for schools, and as elected officials in Juneau, we must prioritize the support our public education system needs. Our children’s futures depend on it.
Sen. Löki Gale Tobin is the chair of the Alaska Senate Education Committee and is a Ph.D. student studying culturally responsive education at the University of Alaska Fairbanks.
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The views expressed here are the writer’s and are not necessarily endorsed by the Anchorage Daily News, which welcomes a broad range of viewpoints. To submit a piece for consideration, email commentary(at)adn.com. Send submissions shorter than 200 words to letters@adn.com or click here to submit via any web browser. Read our full guidelines for letters and commentaries here.
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