Alaska
Alaska Senate bill would lower age of consent for therapy to 16
Alaskans ages 16 and 17 would be able to consent to talk therapy under a bill introduced in the state Senate in February that would lower the age of consent from 18.
A parent or guardian would still need to consent to any medications.
Anchorage Republican Sen. Cathy Giessel, an advanced practice registered nurse, sponsored Senate Bill 90. She screens Anchorage children and teens for mental health issues and said only a third of parents typically consent when their kid requests therapy.
“I believe that students have a real understanding of their need for assistance, their need for counseling, their desire to talk to someone about the struggles they’re having,” Giessel said.
Typically, she said, major mental health challenges start around age 14, and when kids are struggling, they sometimes turn to harmful coping strategies like using nicotine, alcohol or drugs.
“By helping them early, we can head off more advanced issues later in their teen years, or even adult years,” Giessel said.
Most states allow minors to consent to mental health care. Several allow kids to consent at age 14, and two states at age 12.
Critics of the bill worry that therapists working with younger children will encourage them to identify as transgender, without parental knowledge. But peer-reviewed research has shown that kids do not identify as transgender because of so-called “social contagion.”
Meanwhile, experts say the United States is in the midst of a youth mental health crisis. Giessel said she sees that in her work, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Prior to COVID, I rarely had a student share significant anxiety, depression or even suicidal ideation,” she said. “During and after COVID, it has increased significantly more, and I think it’s a reflection, really, of what’s going on in our society. But I also think that parents are becoming less and less engaged with their kids.”
Parents and guardians are still the best people to talk to their kids about mental health struggles, and the bill is designed to include them, Giessel said. As written in the bill, therapists would be required to notify parents and guardians of the therapy after five sessions, unless the therapist and youth decide it’s unsafe or will threaten their care.
The bill is expected to head to the Senate Health and Social Services Committee within the next two weeks, where there will be an opportunity for public comment, Giessel said.
HB 281 mirrors legislation in other states due to shortage of pennies resulting from Trump administration’s halt in production
Suzanne Cohen says she hasn’t had trouble coming up with enough pennies when making cash purchases. But since the copper coins are no longer being minted she doesn’t object if future purchases are rounded off to the nearest nickel.
“If they’ve gotten rid of it it seems like it’s only a matter of time, so this is probably the right thing to do eventually,” she said during the noon hour on Monday at Rainbow Foods.
A hour earlier and a block away at the Alaska State Capitol, a bill was introduced rounding cash purchases to the nearest five-cent sum by Rep. Dan Saddler, R-Eagle River. House Bill 281 is similar to legislation introduced in other states following the Trump administration’s decision last year to stop making new pennies.
“After the U.S. Treasury decided last fall to stop minting pennies, they’re disappearing from circulation faster than they expected,” Saddler stated in an email to the Juneau Independent on Monday. “As pennies get more scarce, we should make sure businesses can’t round transactions up or down to their advantage. My HB 281 simply sets consistent, fair standards for how cash transactions should be rounded to the nearest nickel, to protect Alaska consumers and businesses.”
Practically applied, it means a shopper handing $2 to a cashier would get no change back from a $1.98 purchase, but a nickel back from a $1.97 purchase.
“If the total ends in one cent, two cents, six cents, or seven cents, the total is rounded down to the nearest amount divisible by five cents; (2) if the total ends in three cents, four cents, eight cents, or nine cents, the total is rounded up to the nearest amount divisible by five cents,” the text of HB 281 states.
Dyoni Smith, a section manager at Rainbow Foods who was working at one of the registers on Monday, said there hasn’t been a noticeable shortage of pennies yet either at the store or for the cash purchases she still makes regularly.
“We have a few people who actually pay to the penny with cash,” she said. “And then we have some, like one guy who comes in and he’ll pay cash, and he’ll put the remainder in the donation jar. And then another guy who comes in and sometimes he’ll pay to the penny — sometimes he’ll get change out of the change jar. So there’s quite a few people who I see who use cash.”
President Donald Trump last February ordered the U.S. Treasury Department to stop minting new pennies — something long discussed by other policymakers since the coins cost more to make than they are worth. The U.S. Mint reported that a penny cost about 3.7 cents to make in fiscal 2024, up from 3.1 cents the previous year.
Among the factors to be considered in states implementing rounding laws are possible legal challenges, impacts to retailers and what happened when Canada stopped distributing its penny in 2012, according to a policy summary by the National Conference of State Legislatures. But generally the organization states such laws are worth supporting.
“While states may approach this issue differently due to their own unique circumstances, there is a growing consensus among retailers, economists, and other stakeholders, recognizing symmetrical rounding, (up or down) to the nearest nickel, as the fairest method to all parties when applying to cash transaction,” the policy summary notes.
• Contact Mark Sabbatini at editor@juneauindependent.com or (907) 957-2306.
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) – The Transportation Security Administration has begun accepting Alaska Mobile ID’s at security checkpoints in the Anchorage and Juneau airports. The digital ID’s, which were introduced in the state about a year ago, are just starting to catch on, according to Lauren Whiteside, Division Operations Manager for the Alaskan DMV.
Whiteside said the Division has been working closely with partners for months to prepare Alaska’s Mobile IDs for use at TSA checkpoints in both airports.
“This is a really modernized movement that we are really excited to be a part of,” Whiteside said.
The IDs are obtained through an app that can be downloaded for free. The DMV website has links to the app stores as well as other information on how to obtain a mobile ID.
Whiteside said there are lots of advantages to having your state approved identification on your phone. At the airport, she said, it’s convenience.
“You know sometimes you have your kids with you, sometimes you are balancing carry-on luggage, and if you can do all of your check-ins just using your phone, that’s really appealing to people.”
But Whiteside said the main appeal is privacy. No information can be shared from a mobile ID without the user’s consent, and people can select how much information they wish to share depending on the circumstances.
“I can opt to send everything, which you would likely always want to do with law enforcement, but you have all these options on what you choose to send and what you don’t choose to send,” she said.
Whiteside said it’s important to remember that mobile IDs don’t replace physical IDs, instead, they’re considered a companion to a regular ID and people will need to carry both in case a physical ID is requested.
Although TSA acceptance is limited to just the Anchorage and Juneau airports, Whiteside said she fully expects the program will expand to other airports and other industries.
“As time goes on it’s going to become more and more common, so we recommend anyone who wants to have it- it is not a requirement -but anyone who wants it, we encourage you to go ahead and download,” she said.
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ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) – As the run-up to the 2026 Iditarod continues, two of Alaska’s most prestigious sled dog races saw their winners cross the finish lines Sunday.
The 2026 Knik 200 went to Eddie Burke Jr., who also won the race in 2023. The former Iditarod Rookie of the Year finished in 20 hours, 18 minutes and 51 seconds, nearly a full hour faster than his closest competition.
Meanwhile, out in western Alaska, 2019 Iditarod winner Pete Kaiser continued his dominance in the Kuskokwim 300 with his 10th career win at the event. The victory breaks a tie with Jeff King for the most Kuskokwim 300 wins in a career.
The two races do not normally fall on the same weekend, but the Knik 200 had been postponed three weeks due to poor trail conditions.
You can find full results for both the Knik 200 and Kuskokwim 300 here.
The 2026 running of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race begins on March 8, one day after the ceremonial start.
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Copyright 2026 KTUU. All rights reserved.
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