Alaska
Alaska Supreme Court rules against Soldotna in annexation case
Alaska’s highest court ruled against the City of Soldotna on Friday in the city’s long standing annexation case. The decision sends the city back to the drawing board in its efforts to bring more central Kenai Peninsula residents into Soldotna’s boundaries.
Soldotna City manager Janette Bower says Alaska Supreme Court’s ruling is disappointing.
“It’s, you know, not the decision we wanted, but you know, of course, we’re going to always respect the Supreme Court and then we’ll review to see what other options may be available to us and whether we will continue to pursue the annexation,” she said.
The Friday ruling caps more than five years of work by the city to annex about two-and-a-half acres of land in Ridgeway, Funny River and Kalifornsky into Soldotna city limits. And it has implications beyond Soldotna — it sets a new precedent for how the Alaska Local Boundary Commission can advance those types of petitions.
“No other municipality has had to, basically, take the decision to a vote,” she said. “ … It’s usually done, you know, by unanimous decision by LBC. So This is, you know, uncharted territory, and part of the reason why we did appeal is because it could have an effect on other municipalities in the state.”
The ruling’s rooted in a 2020 decision by the Alaska Local Boundary Commission to send the city’s proposal to voters amid opposition from residents living in the areas proposed for annexation.
The city says annexing the properties will allow the city to grow and more equitably distribute the cost of city services like road maintenance among properties that benefit from them. But property owners who oppose annexation say they intentionally chose to live outside city limits, so they wouldn’t be subject to Soldotna’s laws.
On a 3-2 vote, local boundary commissioners amended Soldotna’s petition. The amendment made annexation contingent on approval by voters in the city and in the areas proposed for annexation. That’s instead of making it contingent on approval by state lawmakers. It was the first time the commission amended a petition in that manner.
The city wanted the decision to go to the Alaska Legislature. So it appealed the commission’s decision, as well as the superior court ruling that affirmed the commission vote.
Throughout the appeal, Soldotna’s lawyers have argued that the commission acted outside its authority, that the decision was inconsistent and that the underlying regulation was invalid. Here’s Bower again.
“Our argument is, and continues to be – as it states in the decision that we argued – that the commission’s constitutional obligation is to make decisions about municipal boundaries apart from the political process and local self interest,” she said.
In Friday’s ruling, though, the Alaska Supreme Court said the Local Boundary Commission “acted within its statutory grant of authority and had a reasonable basis for converting the petition.”
It will ultimately fall to Soldotna City Council members to decide how the city should move forward. That could include submitting a new annexation petition.
“What are we going to do next?” Bower said. “I can’t tell you what we’re doing next, because we don’t know, you know, just a few hours into the decision, we’re not quite sure of what that will look like, but we’ll be putting that all together for a report to the council and making a decision.”
A full history of Soldotna’s annexation efforts is available on the city’s website at soldotna.org/government/annexation.
Alaska
Dozens of vehicle accidents reported, Anchorage after-school activities canceled, as snowfall buries Southcentral Alaska
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) – Up to a foot of snow has fallen in areas across Southcentral as of Tuesday, with more expected into Wednesday morning.
All sports and after-school activities — except high school basketball and hockey activities — were canceled Tuesday for the Anchorage School District. The decision was made to allow crews to clear school parking lots and manage traffic for snow removal, district officials said.
“These efforts are critical to ensuring schools can safely remain open [Wednesday],” ASD said in a statement.
The Anchorage Police Department’s accident count for the past two days shows there have been 55 car accidents since Monday, as of 9:45 a.m. Tuesday. In addition, there have been 86 vehicles in distress reported by the department.
The snowfall — which has brought up to 13 inches along areas of Turnagain Arm and 12 inches in Wasilla — is expected to continue Tuesday, according to latest forecast models. Numerous winter weather alerts are in effect, and inland areas of Southcentral could see winds up to 25 mph, with coastal areas potentially seeing winds over 45 mph.
Some areas of Southcentral could see more than 20 inches of snowfall by Wednesday, with the Anchorage and Eagle River Hillsides, as well as the foothills of the Talkeetna Mountain, among the areas seeing the most snowfall.
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Alaska
Yundt Served: Formal Charges Submitted to Alaska Republican Party, Asks for Party Sanction and Censure of Senator 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.”
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.
Related
Alaska
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.
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.
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.
Despite these internal issues, Fisher claims Boeing deliberately shifted blame towards him and his first officer.
Lawyers for Boeing in an earlier lawsuit wrote that the company wasn’t responsible for the incident because the plane had been “improperly maintained or misused by persons and/or entities other than Boeing.”
Fisher’s complaint alleges that the company’s statement was intended to “paint him as the scapegoat for Boeing’s numerous failures.”
“Instead of praising Captain Fisher’s bravery, Boeing inexplicably impugned the reputations of the pilots,” the lawsuit says.
As a result, Fisher has been scrutinized for his role in the incident, the lawsuit alleges, and named in two lawsuits by passengers.
Spokespeople for Boeing and Spirit AeroSystems declined to comment on the lawsuit.
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