Alaska

Gov. Dunleavy promised a fiscal plan. Alaska lawmakers aren’t so sure.

Published

9 months ago

May 22, 2025

Gov. Dunleavy promised a fiscal plan. Alaska lawmakers aren’t so sure.

Rep. Andy Josephson, D-Anchorage, packs papers into a box in his office at the Alaska State Capitol in Juneau on Wednesday. Josephson said he planned to take the ferry to Haines and drive home to Anchorage this week. The Alaska Legislature adjourned on Tuesday. (Marc Lester / ADN)

JUNEAU — On what would have been the 121st day of the first regular session of Alaska’s 34th Legislature, the co-chair of the House Finance Committee was wearing a Hawaiian shirt and piling paperwork into boxes.

Lawmakers had successfully adjourned on Tuesday, a day ahead of the constitutional deadline for the end of the first regular session, surprising even themselves after last year’s session ended one hour after the constitutional deadline.

“Yesterday was odd because we adjourned at 2 in the afternoon, and people started celebrating, but it’s like — ‘Wow, it’s daylight,’” Rep. Andy Josephson, D-Anchorage, said from his office Wednesday.

Lawmakers attributed their efficient passage of the budget and the relatively peaceful end of the session in part to the fact that the House and Senate are led by ideologically aligned majorities — something that hasn’t happened since 2016.

“We meet regularly and pretty much are in agreement. So that’s been one of the greatest things this whole session, I think, is the closeness we‘ve had with the House majority,” said Senate President Gary Stevens.

Hanna Davis, of Juneau, a page, wipes down desks on the floor of the Alaska House at the Alaska State Capitol in Juneau on Wednesday. (Marc Lester / ADN)

The broad agreement between the House and Senate — which allowed legislators to pass a budget plan and adjourn around 1:30 p.m. Tuesday — stands in contrast to lawmakers’ deepening divisions with Gov. Mike Dunleavy.

Dunleavy’s discord with the Legislature was in stark relief when lawmakers overrode his veto of an education bill Tuesday morning, just hours before adjourning. It was the first time in more than 15 years that lawmakers had mustered the votes to override a governor’s veto.

The fissure between lawmakers and the executive extends beyond education policy, and it has increasingly been playing out openly in the halls of the Capitol, after several years in which Dunleavy repeatedly vetoed bipartisan bills and budget items and left lawmakers to debate contentious plans to address Alaska’s ongoing fiscal crisis without his involvement.

Now in his seventh and penultimate year as governor, Dunleavy is calling lawmakers to work with his administration on a fiscal plan based on a legislative package that he will introduce in the coming months.

“I’ve said to the Legislature, not just this year, but years past, let’s get together and put together a long-term, sustainable approach to fiscals, sideboards, growing the economy in Alaska, competing with other states for investments, and I’m going to actually put together a package for that in the coming year,” Dunleavy said in a press conference Monday.

Gov. Mike Dunleavy speaks to reporters during a news conference at the Alaska State Capitol on Monday. (Marc Lester / ADN)

Dunleavy did not immediately provide details on what elements his fiscal plan would include. The announcement was met with some skepticism by legislative leaders, who said they wanted assurances from the governor that he would be directly involved in the talks.

“The administration has failed to invest early on, politically and intellectually, in overall fiscal policy,” said Josephson. “As a consequence, we‘re just standing in place.”

Dunleavy has not agreed to an interview with the Daily News, despite dozens of requests, since 2022. He declined another request Wednesday.

Dunleavy’s new call for a fiscal working group comes after lawmakers convened one in 2021 that failed to yield significant legislative changes.

To pay for basic state services that Alaskans have come to expect — like schools, troopers, roads and prisons — and still pay an annual Permanent Fund dividend, would require hundreds of millions of dollars more in dependable annual revenue than the state is currently bringing in, lawmakers have said.

Sen. Lyman Hoffman, a Bethel Democrat who has served in the Legislature for more than 38 years, said in February that Alaska is “probably facing its largest fiscal problem in 30 years.”

After the House adjourned for the legislative session, Nellie Unangiq Jimmie, D-Toksook Bay, posed for photos with colleagues and danced outside the Alaska State Capitol on Tuesday. (Marc Lester / ADN)

In response, the Senate majority took the lead this year in advancing three revenue measures that they say will help begin to address the state‘s structural deficit — one to tax online enterprises, most of which are based outside the state; one to impose corporate income tax on privately held oil companies; and one to reduce the per-barrel oil tax credits. Only the first was adopted by the Legislature this year, while the other two are poised for consideration when lawmakers reconvene in January.

But Dunleavy has said he will oppose those stand-alone revenue measures, despite the fact that his own revenue commissioner told lawmakers in 2021 that he would support those measures as part of a broader fiscal plan. (The governor’s office has since disavowed the commissioner’s statements.)

Leaders in the House and Senate say they are open to hearing what the governor is proposing, but Dunleavy’s ideas — coming in the final year of his governorship — may be too little, too late for lawmakers who have for months been asking Dunleavy to be more involved in their fiscal negotiations.

“This is his legacy at stake,” said Sen. Bill Wielechowski, an Anchorage Democrat who has taken the lead in crafting some of the Senate‘s revenue proposals.

Dunleavy “is on the verge of being, categorically, without question, the worst governor in the history of our state,” Wielechowski added. “If he wants that to be his legacy, that’s his choice. If he wants his legacy to be that he ran on a full PFD and now the PFD is on the verge of disappearing, and he ran as the education governor and now our schools are in shambles, that will be his legacy. It is up to him how he wants to approach the upcoming vetoes and his last year in office.”

Dunleavy began his tenure as governor promising Alaskans that he would deliver statutory dividends by slashing funding for state services. Facing unprecedented pushback, Dunleavy changed tack, calling instead for a fiscal plan predicated on new revenue measures and sideboards on how that revenue could be used.

Dunleavy called several special sessions in 2021 that yielded minimal results. At the time, Dunleavy unveiled a new dividend formula, which he has since abandoned. In 2023, Dunleavy decided against calling lawmakers into a special session amid divisions between the House and Senate leadership.

Sen. Mike Cronk, R-Tok/Northway, packs a suitcoat into a bin in his office at the Alaska State Capitol in Juneau on Wednesday. (Marc Lester / ADN)

During his tenure, Dunleavy repeatedly backed off the revenue measures he promised. A plan to create a statewide lottery was abandoned early in his tenure. A statewide sales tax was promised in 2023 but never materialized. A carbon sequestration measure was introduced in 2023, but has not yet yielded the billions of dollars in revenue that Dunleavy initially touted.

Dunleavy began this year by introducing a 10-year plan that projected $12 billion in new state debt by 2035, starting with a $1.5 billion deficit for the coming fiscal year. Asked in December about his vision for balancing the budget in the long term, Dunleavy made no indication that a fiscal plan would be introduced by his administration. Instead, he said he would look to the Legislature for ideas.

In the following months, Senate majority members doubled down on their efforts to both balance the coming year’s budget and to introduce revenue measures that they thought could be palatable to the governor.

“The Senate has been working quite a bit on revenue issues,” said Stevens. “The hope is that as time passes, there‘ll be support for additional revenue that solves a lot of the problems we are facing right now.”

The three revenue measures ultimately introduced in the Senate were taken from a list presented by Dunleavy’s former Revenue Commissioner Lucinda Mahoney in August 2021.

That list included reducing the per-barrel tax credit; requiring all oil and gas companies to pay corporate income tax (eliminating a loophole that exempts Hilcorp from the tax); implementing a statewide sales tax; establishing legalized gambling in Alaska; implementing a tax on businesses that operate online, also called the “internet tax bill”; monetizing carbon offsets; and increasing motor fuel taxes, among other ideas.

“If the Legislature supports these measures, these are revenue measures that the governor supports as well,” Mahoney told lawmakers in August 2021. She resigned a year later, and Dunleavy has since distanced himself from some of the proposals, including the sales tax idea.

Dunleavy spokesperson Jeff Turner said earlier this year in an email that Mahoney “misspoke when she said the governor is willing to introduce a tax credit bill. That was not the governor’s plan.”

That has left lawmakers with limited willingness to take on politically risky revenue proposals — knowing that their efforts could be thwarted by Dunleavy’s veto pen.

“Unless the governor personally gets involved, but more importantly, puts political capital into making some hard choice, the whole thing will be for naught,” House Speaker Bryce Edgmon said Tuesday, shortly after the House adjourned.

House Speaker Bryce Edgmon answers questions after the House adjourned on Tuesday. (Marc Lester / ADN)

Dunleavy on Monday promised to heed lawmakers’ request that he be actively involved in fiscal plan negotiations, but he also made light of the idea that his presence was necessary.

“I’ll be in the room. I’m willing to come in with a package, but there‘s also got to be agreement on sideboards, which is difficult for some folks,” Dunleavy said. Then he added, “I’m not the 61st legislator — Big Daddy, or whatever they want to call somebody — I am an executive. I’ve got a state to run. It’s a big state, so I can’t be here all the time.”

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Alaska

Alaska Sports Scoreboard: Feb. 28, 2026

Published

40 minutes ago

March 1, 2026

Press Room

High school

Basketball

Girls

Monday

Kenai Central 63, Nikiski 33

Colony 68, Grace Christian 46

Tuesday

South 33, East 22

Service 62, Dimond 47

Redington 47, Houston 17

Wasilla 60, Mountain City Christian Academy 44

Kenai Central 54, Homer 27

Bartlett 53, Chugiak 29

Mt. Edgecumbe 59, Sitka 50

Wednesday

Shishmaref 82, Aniguiin 34

Shaktoolik 73, Anthony Andrews 25

Savoonga 61, White Mountain 56

Glennallen 68, Nenana 26

Seward 72, Houston 8

Service 65, South 26

Brevig Mission 65, Koyuk Malimiut 47

Chief Ivan Blunka 67, Manokotak 30

Thursday

White Mountain 76, Anthony Andrews 50

Hoonah 44, Skagway 21

Koyuk Malimiut 53, Aniguiin 51

Nunamiut 74, Kali 17

Glennallen 25, Delta 20

Birchwood Christian 42, Nanwalek 24

Ninilchik 33, Lumen Christi 30

Dimond 59, Chugiak 54

Shaktoolik 57, Savoonga 24

Colony 43, Mountain City Christian 41

Alak 67, Meade River 66

Lathrop 42, West Valley 34

Seward 78, Nikiski 32

Grace Christian 56, Soldotna 41

Kenai Central 56, Houston 10

Wasilla 72, Palmer 27

Bristol Bay 55, Chief Ivan Blunka 30

Nome-Beltz 33, Bethel 24

Scammon Bay 46, Ignatius Beans 28

Aniak 83, Akiachak 45

Shishmaref 53, Brevig Mission 51

Metlakatla 64, Haines 21

Friday

Chief Ivan Blunka 68, Togiak 38

Meade River 80, Nuiqsut Trapper 34

Nunamiut 68, Alak 50

Cook Inlet Academy 33, Birchwood Christian 32

Meade River 71, Kali 46

Kalskag 62, Akiachak 47

Hoonah 39, Kake 37

Soldotna 36, Palmer 23

Delta 54, Valdez 45

Unalakleet 61, Chevak 45

Minto 46, Hutchison 26

West 71, Bartlett 65

Seward 63, Homer 19

North Pole 61, West Valley 25

Newhalen 78, Chief Ivan Blunka 40

Birchwood Christian 43, Nanwalek 28

Bethel 42, Nome-Beltz 35

Aniak 65, Tuluksak 50

Scammon Bay 49, St. Mary’s 38

Monroe Catholic 84, Galena 42

Ketchikan 57, Redington 24

Meade River 69, Alak 62

Fort Yukon 60, Jimmy Huntington 19

Grace Christian 50, Kenai Central 45

Shaktoolik 44, Shishmaref 34

Wrangell 44, Petersburg 31

Saturday

Unalakleet 41, Chevak 37

Meade River 54, Nunamiut 51

Monroe Catholic 68, Galena 32

Newhalen 32, Bristol Bay 26

Cook Inlet Academy 65, Birchwood Christian 32

Soldotna 55, Palmer 42

Nunamiut 48, Meade River 46

Boys

Sunday

SISD 51, Yakutat 18

Monday

Eagle River 54, Birchwood Christian 52

Colony 69, Grace Christian 64

Kenai Central 68, Nikiski 30

Tuesday

Susitna Valley 48, Lumen Christi 46

Dimond 54, Service 47

South 50, East 46

Houston 53, Redington 40

Wasilla 63, Mountain City Christian Academy 50

Kenai Central 74, Homer 47

Chugiak 66, Bartlett 45

Wednesday

SISD 59, Yakutat 17

Shishmaref 85, Savoonga 45

Hydaburg 58, Hoonah 51

Shaktoolik 103, Martin L Olson 49

Skagway 68, Gustavus 24

Davis-Romoth 108, Kobuk 31

Klawock 68, SISD 27

Glennallen 61, Nenana 57

Gambell 46, James C Isabell 31

South 63, Service 60

Seward 81, Houston 73

Bristol Bay 80, Chief Ivan Blunka 61

Mt. Edgecumbe 68, Sitka 59

Scammon Bay 79, Ignatius Beans 34

Brevig Mission 73, Aniguiin 67

Thursday

Savoonga 69, James C Isabell 61

Hoonah 64, Yakutat 45

Alak 88, Meade River 38

Shaktoolik 110, Brevig Mission 30

Chief Ivan Blunka 62, Tanalian 39

Nunamiut 66, Kali 48

Davis-Romoth 91, Buckland 45

Ninilchik 83, Lumen Christi 38

Monroe Catholic 43, North Pole 42

King Cove 57, Bristol Bay 41

Metlakatla 52, Haines 46

Nome-Beltz 62, Bethel 45

Skagway 79, Angoon 30

Birchwood Christian 69, Nanwalek 63

Dimond 60, Chugiak 57

Colony 75, Mountain City Christian Academy 49

Wasilla 66, Palmer 40

Klawock 63, Hydaburg 49

Shishmaref 58, Gambell 47

Grace Christian 63, Soldotna 52

Seward 66, Nikiski 51

Kenai Central 61, Houston 48

Nuiqsut Trapper 64, Alak 51

West Valley 51, Lathrop 44

Akiachak 83, Akiak 64

Scammon Bay 62, Marshall 54

Friday

Hoonah 71, SISD 38

Hydaburg 61, Kake 50

Chief Ivan Blunka 73, Bristol Bay 68

Kali 63, Meade River 45

Nunamiut 80, Nuiqsut Trapper 62

Service 58, East 50

Angoon 61, Hoonah 56

Cook Inlet Academy 73, Birchwood Christian 34

King Cove 75, Newhalen 39

Petersburg 53, Wrangell 20

Skagway 46, Klawock 43

Metlakatla 50, Haines 42

Nome-Beltz 71, Bethel 43

Juneau-Douglas 67, Tri-Valley 45

Wasilla 73, Chugiak 43

West 83, Bartlett 36

Colony 73, Kodiak 32

Delta 62, Valdez 54

West Valley 72, North Pole 46

Palmer 57, Soldotna 47

Nenana 55, Cordova 53

Chief Ivan Blunka 63, Manokotak 48

Scammon Bay 67, St. Mary’s 54

Unalakleet 87, Chevak 64

Shaktoolik 73, Shishmaref 54

Saturday

Unalakleet 95, Chevak 44

Cook Inlet Academy 95, Birchwood Christian 50

South 73, Eagle River 35

Palmer 45, Soldotna 40

• • •

College

Hockey

Friday

UAF 2, UAA 0

Saturday

UAA vs. UAF (Late)

• • •

Women’s basketball

Thursday

UAA 79, Western Oregon 58

Saint Martin’s 99, UAF 59

Saturday

Western Oregon 73, UAF 58

UAA vs. Saint Martin’s (Late)

• • •

Men’s basketball

Thursday

Saint Martin’s 77, UAF 65

UAA 80, Western Oregon 59

Saturday

UAF 82, Western Oregon 74

UAA vs. Saint Martin’s (Late)

• • •

NAHL

Friday

Anchorage Wolverines 5, Chippewa Steel 4

Saturday

Anchorage Wolverines vs. Chippewa Steel (Late)

• • •

2026 Fur Rondy Frostbite Footrace

5K Women

1. Courtney Spann, Anchorage, AK 26:05; 2. Racheal Kerr, Alakanuk, AK 26:07; 3. Anne-Marie Meyer, Yakima, WA 27:06; 4. Riann Anderson, Anchorage, AK 27:09; 5. Nevaeh Dunlap, Anchorage, AK 27:47; 6. Rita McKenzie, Anchorage, AK 27:55; 7. Marta Burke, Anchorage, AK 28:08; 8. Rachel Penney, Eagle River, AK 29:24; 9. Victoria Grant, Eagle River, AK 29:33; 10. Gretchen Klein, Craig, AK 29:36; 11. Penny Wasem, Willow, AK 29:42; 12. Chantel Van Tress, JBER, AK 29:51; 13. Janet Johnston, Anchorage, AK 30:18; 14. Dianna Clemetson, Anchorage, AK 31:33; 15. Sarah Hoepfner, Anchorage, AK 32:02; 16. Ireland Hicks, Seward, AK 33:21; 17. Lilly Schoonover, Seward, AK 33:21; 18. Suzanne Smerjac, Anchorage, AK 33:32; 19. Mindy Perdue, Wasilla, AK 34:12; 20. Oxana Bystrova, Anchorage, AK 34:23; 21. Charlene Canino, Anchorage, AK 34:49; 22. Tami Todd, Wasilla, AK 34:50; 23. Kaiena Tuiloma, Anchorage, AK 34:57; 24. Meg Kurtagh, Anchorage, AK 35:05; 25. Larue Groves, Chugiak, AK 35:13; 26. Rose Van Hemert, Anchorage, AK 36:12; 27. Morgan Daniels, Crestview, FL 36:25; 28. Elle Kauppi, Anchorage, AK 37:31; 29. Miranda Gibson, Wasilla, AK 37:46; 30. Caroline Secoy, JBER, AK 37:46; 31. Jordyn McNeil, Palmer, AK 38:29; 32. Ryan Plant, Palmer, AK 38:30; 33. Samantha Williams, Anchorage, AK 39:00; 34. Wendy Heck, Willow, AK 39:33; 35. Stephanie Kesler, Anchorage, AK 43:29; 36. Denise Wright, Anchorage, AK 43:50; 37. Brie Flores, Anchorage, AK 46:14; 38. Anabell Lewis, Anchorage, AK 46:15; 39. Jessica Lose, Anchorage, AK 46:18; 40. Kaylie Bylsma, Anchorage, AK 46:18; 41. Alicyn Giannakos, Anchorage, AK 46:38; 42. Natasha Henderson, Anchorage, AK 46:39; 43. Shannon Thompson, Anchorage, AK 48:40; 44. Heather Holcomb, Palmer, AK 48:40; 45. Debora Milligan, Iron Mountain, MI 57:36; 46. Rondy McKee, Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, Mexico, 57:37

5K Men

1. James Miller, Anchorage, AK 18:28; 2. Barefoot Bogey, Woburn, MA 18:37; 3. Keaden Dunlap, Anchorage, AK 19:22; 4. Maximus Tagle-Martinez, JBER, AK 20:03; 5. Gavin Hanks, Eagle River, AK 20:59; 6. Patrick McAnally, Anchorage, AK 21:37; 7. Anthony Gomez, Anchorage, AK 22:37; 8. Christopher Hilliard, JBER, AK 23:20; 9. Terry Schimon, University Place, WA 23:37; 10. Ryan Moldenhauer, Anchorage, AK 24:12; 11. Matthew Haney, Anchorage, AK 24:24; 12. Dan Burke, Anchorage, AK 25:44; 13. Paul Chandanabhumma, Seattle, WA 25:52; 14. Woods Miller, Wasilla, AK 26:51; 15. Bill Grether, Anchorage, AK 27:10; 16. Charles Simmons, Anchorage, AK 27:15; 17. Jacob Cassianni, Anchorage, AK 27:32; 18. John Brewer, Anchorage, AK 28:09; 19. Dustin Whitcomb, Eagle River, AK 28:14; 20. Greg MacDonald, Anchorage, AK 28:28; 21. Kevin Redmond, Anchorage, AK 28:38; 22. Olin Jensen, Anchorage, AK 28:45; 23. Michael Loughlin, Anchorage, AK 29:18; 24. Daryl Schaffer, Anchorage, AK 30:30; 25. Aaron Paul, Anchorage, AK 30:37; 26. Mark Ireland, Anchorage, AK 30:37; 27. Christopher Pineda, Eagle River, AK 30:39; 28. Eric Jostsons, Anchorage, AK 31:07; 29. Justin Fitzgerald, Anchorage, AK 31:36; 30. Steve Lambert, Anchorage, AK 32:09; 31. Justin Atteberry, Anchorage, AK 32:21; 32. Matthew Beardsley, Anchorage, AK 34:07; 33. Caleb Penney, Eagle River, AK 34:21; 34. Evgenii Ivanov, Anchorage, AK 34:22; 35. Eliezer Rivera, Anchorage, AK 35:12; 36. David Massey, Anchorage, AK 35:38; 37. Zachary Todd, Wasilla, AK 35:39; 38. Ed Hills, Anchorage, AK 36:52; 39. Chucky Williams, Anchorage, AK 36:54; 40. Rick Taylor, Wasilla, AK 39:32; 41. Steven Shamburek, Anchorage, AK 43:48; 42. Dave Jones, Anchorage, AK 46:46; 43. Tom Meacham, Anchorage, AK 46:47; 44. Russell Martin, Ventura, CA 47:34; 45. David Martin, Ventura, CA 47:45; 46. Zachary Lounsberry, Palmer, AK 48:41

2.5K Women

1. Kelsey Kramer, Wilmington, NC 13:50; 2. Alannah Dunlap, Anchorage, AK 15:09; 3. Kelsea Johnson, Anchorage, AK 15:45; 4. Kirsten Kling, Anchorage, AK 16:05; 5. Miriam Hayes, Anchorage, AK 16:55; 6. Brianna Slayback, Anchorage, AK 17:04; 7. Haley Hoffman, Alexandria, VA 18:01; 8. Kathryn Hoke, Anchorage, AK 18:32; 9. Rachel Stein, Palmer, AK 18:51; 10. Shayla Harrison, Anchorage, AK 19:29; 11. Danielle Harrison, Anchorage, AK 19:30; 12. Nikki Withers, Tacoma, WA 19:32; 13. Michele Robuck, Anchorage, AK 20:20; 14. Jess Adams, Anchorage, AK 20:20; 15. Ashley Martinez, Miami, FL 20:24; 16. Laura Casanover, Houston, TX 20:31; 17. Adylaine Hacker, Eagle River, AK 21:59; 18. Mary Stutzman, Tallahassee, FL 22:59; 19. Jean Bielawski, Anchorage, AK 23:24; 20. Cheryl Parmelee, Mount Dora, FL 25:45; 21. Ruth Anderson, Anchorage, AK 26:56; 22. Morgan Withers, Tacoma, WA 27:17; 23. Terri Agee, Anchorage, AK 27:31; 24. Chyll Perry, Anchorage, AK 27:35; 25. Denice Withers, Yakima, WA 28:09; 26. Sarah Camacho, Anchorage, AK 28:20; 27. Katheryn Camacho, Anchorage, AK 28:21; 28. Brooke Whitcomb, Eagle River, AK 28:41; 29. Kristine Withers, Tacoma, WA 31:19; 30. Penny Helgeson, Anchorage, AK 33:56; 31. Kimberly Halstead, Eagle River, AK 34:02; 32. Julianna Halstead, Eagle River, AK 34:09

2.5K Men

1. Riley Howard, Anchorage, AK 10:54; 2. Julian Salao, Anchorage, AK 12:26; 3. Mitch Paisker, Anchorage, AK 16:05; 4. Kaden Bartholomew, Anchorage, AK 16:24; 5. Brandon Bartholomew, Anchorage, AK 16:25; 6. Michael Hayes, Anchorage, AK 16:30; 7. Calvin Stein, Anchorage, AK 18:51; 8. Jesse Ackerson, Anchorage, AK 19:42; 9. Clinton Hacker, Eagle River, AK 21:59; 10. Daniel Hjortstorp, Gakona, AK 22:20; 11. Atlas Hjortstorp, Gakona, AK 22:20; 12. Craig Withers, Tacoma, WA 27:18; 13. Jordan Ralph, Tacoma, WA 27:19; 14. Scott King, Anchorage, AK 28:20; 15. Shawn Withers, Yakima, WA 31:18; 16. John Ruthe, Anchorage, AK 35:53

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Alaska

Erica Totland, of Yakutat, Sentenced for Manslaughter

Published

13 hours ago

February 28, 2026

Press Room

Erica Totland, of Yakutat, Sentenced for Manslaughter

Erica Totland.Image-FB profiles

(Juneau, AK) – On Friday, February 20, 2026, Juneau Superior Court Judge Amy Mead sentenced 41-year-old Erica Totland to 14 years with 7 years suspended for Manslaughter, Assault in the Third Degree, and Driving Under the Influence. Totland will be on probation for 5 years upon her release from incarceration.

In 2025 Totland pled guilty to Manslaughter, three counts of Assault in the Third Degree, and one count of Driving Under the Influence. The convictions stem from the April 30, 2022 death of 26-year-old Anton Eriksson and injuries sustained by three passengers in Yakutat. During pre-trial litigation, Judge Mead suppressed toxicology results after finding the seizure of Totland’s blood by Yakutat Police Department without a warrant violated Totland’s rights.

At sentencing, Judge Mead rejected Totland’s request that the court find the Manslaughter was a least serious offense deserving of a lower sentence. Four Eriksson family members testified at the sentencing and discussed the impact that Totland’s actions had on their family.

Assistant Attorney General Daniel K. Shorey of the Office of Special Prosecutions prosecuted the case along with Paralegal Marley Hettinger of the Juneau District Attorney’s Office.

CONTACT: Assistant Attorney General Daniel K. Shorey, at (907) 269-6250 or daniel.shorey@alaska.gov.

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