Sen. Bill Wielechowski takes a selfie with Sen. Löki Tobin, Sen. Kelly Merrick, and Sen. Cathy Giessel before the start of a legislative town hall on Saturday, April 5, 2025 at the University of Alaska Anchorage. (Loren Holmes / ADN)
Twenty state legislators convened in Anchorage on Saturday for an annual town hall that brings together the delegation representing the state’s biggest city.
Like last year, the town hall was used by education advocates to call for what they say is a desperately needed increase in the state’s education budget, which has not kept up with inflation for years. But speakers at the two-hour meeting had a new addition to their plea: To make education funding possible, impose more taxes.
A third of the Alaska Legislature — including Democrats, Republicans and independents representing every neighborhood of Anchorage — listened to request after request for an increase to the Base Student Allocation, along with laments from students who fear the elimination of beloved theater and sports programs.
Lawmakers on both sides of the political aisle, along with Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy, a Republican, have said some amount of education funding increase would be needed this year. But they have also pointed to the state’s dwindling revenue — which comes primarily from oil taxes and Permanent Fund earnings — to reason that an increase that meets the demands of school districts may not be viable this year.
Advertisement
Several Anchorage residents who attended the town hall on Saturday had a ready reply: “Tax me.”
West High English teacher Brian Lyke rallies the crowd before the start of a legislative town hall on Saturday, April 5, 2025 at the University of Alaska Anchorage. Lyke, who was recently given notice that his position had been eliminated, was the director of a well-received West High production of “Hadestown.” (Loren Holmes / ADN)
Alaska had a state income tax until 1980, when booming revenue from the oil industry compelled the state’s political leaders to eliminate it. Oil revenue is no longer booming, but political appetite to reinstate a personal income tax — or any new taxes, for that matter — has been slim.
Lawmakers in the Senate this year have floated several ideas that would increase taxes on Alaska’s oil industry and other corporations, but have stopped short of introducing any personal taxes. Republicans in the House last month largely rejected ideas for new taxes on the resource industry. Dunleavy has shown no interest in introducing or signing off on new taxes, ever since he promised in 2023 to introduce a statewide sales tax — and then never did.
[Anchorage School District ‘displacements’ could shutter or shrink 5 high school choir programs]
“I hear some of you are not wanting to tax the people and industries that can afford to contribute — no statewide income tax, no S-corp tax, corporate oil breaks still in place,” Rozlyn Grady-Wyche, an education graduate student, told lawmakers during the town hall. “You have options, you have power. What’s missing is the will.”
“We need a revenue plan — a fair, equitable one that asks for more from those with more,” Grady-Wyche added.
Advertisement
The question of whether — and how — to establish new revenue has long been treated with hesitancy by state lawmakers, amid fears of backlash from voters. But speakers during the packed-to-the-gills town hall meeting often elicited loud cheers and applause from the crowd when they spoke about the prospect of new taxes as a tool to afford new education spending.
“There’s an old adage in business — I don’t know if anybody knows it — revenue fixes everything,” said Ben Kellie, an entrepreneur and former SpaceX engineer who lives in West Anchorage.
“Amen!” someone shouted from the crowd, as others and clapped.
Business owner Ben Kellie advocates for increasing and diversifying state revenue during a legislative town hall on Saturday, April 5, 2025 at the University of Alaska Anchorage. (Loren Holmes / ADN)
“It’s not enough to throw your hands up and say you can’t do it. Figure it out. Do your jobs,” Kellie said.
Nick Moe, representing thread, a child care nonprofit, told lawmakers that critical child care funding is “at risk if we do not find new revenue and a solution to this budget crisis.”
“The thread board has taken the unprecedented step of supporting new and diverse revenue as a way to fund essential searches, so that’s my message: Please pass new revenue. Pass it now,” said Moe.
Advertisement
Moe said he’s “heard eight good revenue ideas” in the Capitol in Juneau.
“I think you should pass them all,” he said.
People hold up signs designed with a tombstone, denoting programs that are targets for cuts absent an increase in education funding, during a legislative town hall on Saturday, April 5, 2025 at the University of Alaska Anchorage. (Loren Holmes / ADN)
Pat Higgins, a member of the Anchorage School Board, excoriated lawmakers for refusing to levy taxes that would allow the state to more easily send the district the funding it says it needs.
“You make up the decisions on where the funds are going to come from. You decide the oil taxes. You decide corporate taxes. I’m willing to pay an income tax. I’m willing to pay a sales tax,” said Higgins.
“I demand to be taxed. Tax me now,” said Erin Dougherty Lynch, an attorney who lives in South Anchorage. “It is patriotic to pay taxes.”
Alaska study sees mixed results on links between kelp farms and CO2 levels
Published 5:30 am Thursday, June 18, 2026
A study into the amount of CO2 absorbed at a pair of Alaska kelp farms is throwing some cold water on hopes that seaweed could be an answer to climate change.
Alaska kelp farms, which have been viewed as a potential boon for reducing local carbon-dioxide levels, have surprisingly murky effects on atmospheric CO2 removal, according to a new study.
A University of Alaska Fairbanks-led project measured the amount of CO2 that was emitted and absorbed at two kelp farms in the Gulf of Alaska during the 2023-2024 growing season. The outcome was mixed — one farm slightly reduced carbon dioxide in the local environment while the other added more to it.
Advertisement
Marine carbon dioxide removal (mCDR) has been touted as a potential strategy to reduce atmospheric carbon dioxide levels, with the ocean serving as a sink for human-produced CO2.
The study, which was recently published in the journal Ocean Science, is the first to measure mCDR in Alaska waters. It focused on kelp farms, which can draw down CO2 through the process of photosynthesis.
“It’s easy to jump on the bandwagon that seaweed is going to change the world, but ultimately we want to be honest to the public,” said Amanda Kelley, an associate professor at UAF’s College of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences and a contributor to the study.
“Really, it’s very nuanced, and there are a lot of factors that affect kelp’s ability to do that.”
Josianne Haag, who led the project as a UAF doctoral student, installed sensors both inside and outside kelp farms in Windy Bay near Cordova and Kalsin Bay on Kodiak Island. From seeding to harvest, hourly data was collected on ocean chemistry, temperature, salinity and oxygen levels.
Advertisement
The two sites had numerous differences, including the type of seaweed being planted, the timing of their growing seasons and the size of the farms. Also, Windy Bay’s tides are more extreme than Kalsin Bay’s.
The results were striking and varied. The farms flipped between absorbing and releasing carbon dioxide depending on the amount of sunlight and the time of day. Extreme low tides affected CO2 levels by flushing groundwater into the area, briefly raising carbon dioxide levels.
A film of marine fauna grew on some of the farm equipment in Kalsin Bay, leading to a burst of carbon dioxide production through their respiration.
Overall, the Windy Bay farm slightly reduced nearby atmospheric marine carbon dioxide levels while the Kalsin Bay farm boosted them. Measurements will continue at the farms for at least two more years, but the first season revealed that a kelp farm’s recipe for carbon intake and output is surprising and complex.
“It’s really not doing much in either direction,” Haag said. “The farms aren’t necessarily harming anything, but we shouldn’t be blowing out of proportion that they’re going to save us from climate change.”
Advertisement
The study was part of the Mariculture Research and Restoration Consortium project, which is an ongoing effort to look at the impacts and benefits of mariculture in Alaska. Mar ReCon research is funded by the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Trustee Council.
By Alaska Division of Forestry & Fire Protectionon
At approximately 7:30 p.m. Wednesday evening, a fire was reported off Healy Spur Road. The Division of Forestry & Fire Protection, along with the Tri-Valley Volunteer Fire Department and Anderson Fire Department, responded to the Gagnon Coal Seam Fire (#206).
Estimated at 3 acres, the fire was burning in grass with approximately 50% of the perimeter actively burning. A five person Initial Attack squad, helicopter, and engine responded. Light rain was reported at the incident upon arrival.
There are no structures threatened, and there are no evacuations in place. This will be the last update on this incident, unless conditions change.
Advertisement
This map shows the location of the Gagnon Coal Seam Fire (#206) located on the Healy Spur Road east of Usibelli on Wednesday, June 17, 2026. Click on the image to download a PDF type file to enlarge or print.
‹ DFFP is responding to the Bulchitna Fire in the Fish Lakes area of the Yentna River
Categories: Active Wildland Fire, Alaska DNR – Division of Forestry & Fire Protection (DFFP)
Tags: 2026 Alaska Fire Season, coal seam, DFFP Northern Region, Gagnon Coal Seam Fire
Anchorage police shot and killed a shoplifting suspect, who also allegedly shot two officers, during an attempted arrest at a Walmart on the city’s southside late Tuesday.
That’s according to Anchorage Police Chief Sean Case, who shared preliminary details of the incident in a press conference with news media Wednesday morning.
One officer remained hospitalized in stable condition Wednesday after the shoplifting suspect shot him in the lower body, Case said. Another officer was shot in the chest, but protective armor stopped the shots, the police chief said.
“We almost lost an officer last night, probably two, at what took place,” Case said. “This went from a simple misdemeanor arrest to a very violent act at the snap of a finger in close quarters.”
Advertisement
Case described a chaotic struggle between the man – whose name police have not yet released – and three officers responding to a reported shoplifting at the Walmart store on the Old Seward Highway near Dimond Boulevard at about 10:25 p.m. Tuesday.
Walmart staff had stopped the man and brought him to a loss prevention office at the store, because they believed he had some stolen merchandise that was hidden on his person, Case said. The man was sitting in the office with Walmart employees when officers arrived, Case said.
In the small room, the officers were getting some basic information when the man tried to flee, Case said.
“The three officers and the suspect went down to the ground,” Case said. “During the struggle, the suspect fired rounds at one of the officers that hit him twice in the lower body. The suspect then fired some additional rounds that struck another officer in the chest. That round was stopped by a ballistic plate in his vest.”
Wesley Early
Advertisement
/
Alaska Public Media
Anchorage Police Chief Sean Case discusses a police shooting with news media on June 17, 2026. The shooting occurred at a Walmart near Dimond Boulevard the night before.
Case said officers were unaware the man had a gun on him until he began firing.
The officer struck in the chest returned fire, killing the man, Case said.
“The officer that was struck in the lower body was immediately transported to a local hospital,” he said. “The other two officers that were in the room also sustained injuries, and they went to the hospital later and were cleared.”
Advertisement
Case said the shooting was contained to the loss prevention office and did not spill out into the rest of the store.
Calls to Walmart went unanswered Wednesday morning. An Anchorage Reddit user who said they were at the store described employees rushing shoppers out after the shooting.
The store remained closed Wednesday as yellow tape blocked the entrance and investigators appeared to be inside analyzing the scene.
Under Anchorage Police Department policy, the names of the officers involved in the incident will be released after 72 hours. Case said the officers were part of the department’s Patrol Division.
This is the third fatal police shooting in Anchorage so far in 2026 and the fifth police shooting overall. Case said the city has seen “too much gun violence” in recent months and that the community needs to come together to address solutions.
Advertisement
“The Anchorage Police Department is going to keep these conversations going even if these conversations lead to criticism on how we do and conduct our business,” Case said. “We are open for all the conversations, so that we can move forward as a community to see some of these numbers go down.”
