Tech billionaire Elon Musk has given $1.5 million to a group supporting the repeal of Alaska’s voting system, according to a report filed with the state Friday.

Ballot Measure 2, which will appear on the November ballot, seeks to repeal Alaska’s ranked choice voting method, along with open primaries and campaign finance laws that were themselves adopted by ballot measure in 2020.

Musk gave $1.5 million last month to the Aurora Action Network, a Wisconsin-based political action committee that has already collected contributions from numerous billionaire megadonors, including Dick Uihlein, Jeff Yass, Timothy Mellon and Hilcorp owner Jeffery Hildebrand. Aurora Action Network then gave the repeal campaign $1 million in late July.

Musk’s contribution, which make up a sizable share of the repeal campaign’s fundraising, could prove pivotal for the future of Alaska’s elections.

The ballot measure would revert Alaska to closed partisan primaries and pick-one general elections. It would also eliminate campaign finance laws that enable Alaska voters to know when big spenders like Musk give money to Alaska campaigns.

A group that opposes the ballot measure — and supports the state’s current voting system — continues to have a cash advantage, having raised over $5 million to support its campaign, also from Outside megadonors.

Judy Eledge, the chair of the repeal group who has long championed conservative causes in Alaska, thanked Musk for the contribution in a statement issued Friday.

“It’s hard to even put into words the gratitude that we feel that these titans of industry would show interest in our small state,” Eledge wrote.

This year’s ballot measure is the second attempt to repeal Alaska’s election system by putting it to the voters. A 2024 initiative that would have repealed the state’s open primaries and ranked choice voting system narrowly failed.

If you’re an oyster aficionado in Alaska or just curious about oysters, there is a new website just for you.

Alaska Sea Grant recently partnered with the Alaska Shellfish Growers Association to produce the Alaska Oyster Voyage, a site that enables people to locate oyster vendors and log the different oysters they’ve sampled from across the Last Frontier.

“We’ve got about 20 oyster farms throughout the state,” said Alaska Sea Grant shellfish mariculture specialist James Crimp, who worked on the project along with Alaska Sea Grant social media specialist Jessica Whitney. “We have more diversity among the flavors and the shapes and sizes of our oysters than maybe any other state, because our oysters range from Kodiak to Katchemak Bay to Prince William Sound and Southeast.” 

Crimp said the initial idea was to create an “Alaska Oyster Trail” similar to those produced by Sea Grants in  Maine and North Carolina, which include interactive guides to oyster farm tours, raw bars and other oyster vendors. Crimp and Whitney collaborated with the Alaska Shellfish Growers Association to develop a version customized for Alaska, which went live in early June.

Local conditions including salinity, temperature and plankton, as well as different growing methods, can have major impacts on oysters’ flavor and other characteristics. With that in mind, Crimp said people are often interested in sampling oysters from different locations. The website includes a map of places to obtain oysters in Alaska either in person or by mail, meaning it can be used to plan outings or travel or to try different varieties at home.

Another principal feature of the site is an oyster tasting log, where people can record information about Alaska oysters they’ve tried, including shell size, meat-to-shell ratio, mouthfeel, primary taste and secondary taste. The latter two categories allow participants to bring out their inner connoisseur: the options for taste include briny, sweet, umami, bright/tangy, fruity, nutty, mineral, smooth, buttery and melon.

“Filling that out encourages you to really savor the oyster tasting experience, instead of just throwing it down the hatch,” Crimp said.

There’s another reason to participate: Any time a user logs an entry and includes a photo, they receive an entry into a monthly drawing for an oyster prize basket. Four winners each month will receive an Alaska Salmon Sisters T-shirt, a shucking knife and a pocket oyster tasting guide by shellfish expert and 2026 Mariculture Conference of Alaska keynote speaker Julie Qiu. The site also invites visitors to sign up for a newsletter from the Alaska Shellfish Growers Association featuring recipes, facts and stories about Alaskan shellfish.

Crimp said the website is designed for both visitors to Alaska and residents. He noted that while oyster popularity is growing among Alaskans, many in the state are still unaware of the high-quality offerings in their own backyard. “People here know about our Alaskan salmon and halibut, and it’s great to share how good the oysters are as well.”

Alaska Sea Grant

If you passed by McKinley Tower in downtown Anchorage recently, you’ve probably seen the vibrant new mural featuring formline salmon and a white raven on a dreamy backdrop of blue waves and mountains. The piece by Juneau-based artist Crystal Worl is called “White Raven Dreams of a Salmon Return.” Worl and her crew had to battle it out through a historically rainy July to successfully install the massive artwork that was part of the Beyond the Beige grant.

Worl, who identifies as Athabascan, Filipino and Tlingit, said the piece is meant to be a welcoming sight for the residents of McKinley Assisted Living, many of whom are Alaska Native. The raven dreaming of salmon returning is based on her own family’s inability to harvest salmon at their northern fish camp due to low counts. She worries that future generations will lose connection with traditional ways of subsistence living. The piece asks the question “what are our responsibilities as stewards of this land?”

Worl will have a First Friday in Anchorage at Dos Manos for August featuring a variety of work she has been amassing for the last few years.

On this episode she discusses timing the installation perfectly with constant rain, getting her art on airplanes and ambulances and what to expect from her First Friday.