Alaska
Alaska’s Public Guardians are overloaded with cases, but a new court order mandates they must take on more
Kurt Falke sat in his room in a residential hotel in Anchorage, reflecting on the second guardian the state assigned him. He said he appreciates the work his guardian did behind the scenes
“I was recovering from my brain damage and I was pretty much a kid,” Falke said. “He was working with other people without me being aware of it, my counselors and all this.”
Falke’s had guardians on and off since the mid 1990s. That’s because he was homeless and struggling with substance abuse and later suffered a serious head injury. He tears up when he talks about how one of his guardians, Ezra Stone, helped him change his life for the better.
“Ezra, Ezra stone- He became my friend and I started to learn how to trust somebody because I started trusting myself,” Falke said.
Guardians are assigned to people by the courts when they aren’t able to make important decisions for themselves. That may be because of an injury, a mental disability or illness, or because of dementia. Guardians can then help with or make decisions about medical care, housing, finances, or even real estate on behalf of their clients.
But patients throughout Alaska have been denied new guardians over the past seven months. Since April, OPA stopped taking all new assignments of guardians and conservators because of a severe staffing shortage. Guardians now have 80 to 100 cases on their plate instead of the recommended 20-40.
Falke said the guardian he works with now is great at his job and cares.
“David Harper- Now, he’s a good kid. He tries real hard,” Falke said.
But he said Harper has way too many cases on his plate to be able to help everyone.
“It was about 20 then it went up to 50 then 100 and now David’s like ‘oof.’ He’s swamped,” Falke said.
James Stinson, director at OPA, co-signed a letter to the courts in April saying OPA’s staffing crisis is partially because a number of public guardians retired or resigned. Stinson said this guardianship crisis is about more than just OPA.
“It’s not just that case loads are continuing to grow,” Stinson said. “It’s also that all of the things that a public guardian depends on to provide services for their wards are becoming more and more constrained and much more scarce. And the hiring pool has changed considerably.”
Stinson said they’ve done some hiring, but it typically takes two years for guardians to be fully trained on their job. That’s because they need a vast variety of expertise to be able to help people with decisions ranging from real estate to healthcare.
Right now, guardians at OPA have two to three times what Stinson said is a typical maximum caseload. And because of the state supreme court’s order, OPA has to continue putting more cases on Guardian’s plates no matter how many they have. Stinson said that means guardians won’t be able to do their jobs well.
“Public guardians are just people and they’re people that want to do a good job, and the staffing situation we’re in is a candle burning on both ends,” Stinson said. “You can’t afford to overload your most experienced guardians to the point that they just give up and quit because they just can’t do anything because that’s disastrous. And you can’t place a bunch of cases on somebody who’s new and inexperienced, who doesn’t know how to do it either.”
He said he’s worried Guardians will get burnt out and quit, which will make the problem worse.
Corinne O’Niell, senior director of care management for Providence Alaska Medical Center, said most people have friends or family that can make decisions for them. But not everyone has that and that’s when they need an appointed guardian.
“They’re some of the most vulnerable people in Alaska because they just don’t have anybody that can step in and fill that role of a guardian,” O’Niell said.
O’Niell said that if someone can’t get a guardian after medical care, they might have to stay in the hospital for longer than needed.
“We can’t safely discharge them to the community, because we have nobody to sign their paperwork to go into a long term care facility, or an assisted living facility, or sign for their durable medical equipment, because they can’t understand those decisions and we don’t have a guardian appointed,” O’Niell said.
And she said that impacts healthcare for all Alaskans.
“Even when we tie up one bed or two beds, or five beds for long periods of time, those are beds that are then not available right to the general public to get the right care that they need at the right time,” said O’Niell.
She also said Alaskans should consider creating an advanced care directive just in case of injury or illness. She said it can help prevent the need for a guardian to make decisions for you.
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Alaska
Alaska Airlines faces heat after UFC champion Khabib Nurmagomedov gets removed from flight: 'Shame on you'
Alaska Airlines is getting called out on social media after a clip surfaced showing a famous UFC fighter get into a dispute on-board until he was escorted off his flight. The video shows Russian hall of fame athlete Khabib Nurmgomedov debating airline staff in the U.S. while he was sitting in the exit row on the plane.
The video of the incident, which reportedly took place at Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas on Saturday, shows an employee telling the 36-year-old mixed martial artist he either has to switch seats or get off the plane. “They’re not comfortable with you sitting in the exit row,” the worker added.
“It’s not fair,” said Nurmgomedov, who was reportedly flying to Los Angeles, to which the worker replied, “It is fair. Yes, it is.”
Nurmgomedov explained that when he was checking in for the flight, he was asked he if knew English, to which he said he did. The airline worker responded, “I understand that, but it’s also off of their judgement. I’m not going to do this back-and-forth. I will call a supervisor.”
The employee reiterated the athlete could either take a different seat on the plane, or staff could “go ahead and escort” him off the flight. She asked “which one are we doing?” and then replied to Nurmgomedov saying they were going to have to rebook him on a different flight.
Across social media, people have been calling out Alaska Airlines asking why they had him removed from the plane. Many called for others to boycott the airline, and some claimed the staff were profiling Nurmgomedov, who is Muslim.
“Why did you remove Khabib from your plane? His fans need to know! I hope he sues you,” an Instagram user wrote on the airline’s most recent post.
“Are you aware of who Khabib is? His legacy surpasses that of the entire airline,” another chimed in.
“Shame on you, Alaska Airline. We all boycotting them,” a TikTok user added.
“What is the reason!? Because they don’t feel comfortable he’s sitting by a window?” another questioned.
Neither Nurmgomedov or Alaska Airlines have yet commented on the situation.
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) – With a storm approaching and high winds in the forecast for a portion of Southcentral Alaska, experts recommend preparing for potential power outages and taking safety precautions.
Experts with the State of Alaska, Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management recommended taking the initiative early in case of power outages due to strong weather.
Julie Hasquet with Chugach Electric in Anchorage said Saturday the utility company has 24/7 operators in case of outages.
“We watch the weather forecast, and absolutely, if there are power outages, we will send crews out into the field to respond,” Hasquet said.
She echoed others, saying it’s best to prepare prior to a storm and not need supplies rather than the other way around.
“With the winds that are forecast for tonight and perhaps into Sunday, people should just be ready that it could be some challenging times, and to be aware and cautious and kind of have your radar up,” Hasquet said.
For the latest weather updates and alerts, download the Alaska’s Weather Source app.
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Copyright 2025 KTUU. All rights reserved.
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) – More than 100 music professionals and music makers from Anchorage and across the state signed up to visit ‘The Nave’ in Spenard on Saturday for the annual Alaska Music Summit.
Organized by MusicAlaska and the Alaska Independent Musicians Initiative, the event began at 10 a.m. and invited anyone with interest or involvement in the music industry.
“The musicians did the work, right,” Marian Call, MusicAlaska program director said. “The DJ’s who are getting people out, the music teachers working at home who have tons of students a week for $80 an hour, that is real activity, real economic activity and real cultural activity that makes Alaska what it is.”
Many of the attendees on Saturday were not just musicians but venue owners, audio engineers, promoters and more, hence why organizers prefer to use the term “music makers.”
The theme for the summit was “Level Up Together” a focus on upgrading professionalism within the musicmaking space. Topics included things like studio production, promotion, stagecraft, music education policy.
“We’re kind of invisible if we don’t stand up for ourselves and say, ‘Hey, we’re doing amazing stuff,‘” Call said.
On Sunday, participants in the summit will be holding “office hours” at the Organic Oasis in Spenard. It is a time for music professionals to network, ask questions and share ideas on music and music making.
“You could add us to the list of Alaskan cultural pride,” Call said. “You could add us to your conception of being Alaskan. That being Alaskan means you wear Carhartts, and you have the great earrings by the local artisan, and you know how to do the hand geography and also you listen to Alaskan music proudly.”
The event runs through Sunday and will also be hosted in February in Juneau and Fairbanks.
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Copyright 2025 KTUU. All rights reserved.
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