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Mike Dunleavy vetoes Alaska birth control measure

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Mike Dunleavy vetoes Alaska birth control measure


Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy has vetoed a bill expanding access to birth control.

The bill, which passed with overwhelming bipartisan support in the state legislature, would have required insurance companies to cover up to a year’s supply of birth control at once.

It had been designed to improve access in rural communities where medical resources are scarce.

Dunleavy’s veto stunned policymakers, especially given the legislative backing the bill had received by his fellow Republicans.

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HB 17 passed with overwhelming support in a 29-11 vote in the Republican-controlled House and a 16-3 vote in the Senate, led by a bipartisan coalition.

This news arrives on the same day as separate legal development with contrasting consequences, where a Superior Court judge struck down a decades-old law restricting who can perform abortions.

Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy gestures while speaking with reporters on May 1, 2024, in Juneau, Alaska. Dunleavy’s office stated that contraceptives are already widely available and that mandating a year’s supply was unnecessary and bad…


AP Photo/Becky Bohrer, File

Women in Alaska often have to travel long distances for reproductive care.

Proponents argue that the bill would help ensure access to contraception in Alaska’s more dispersed locales, which are often only accessible by plane or boat.

There are only four Planned Parenthood clinics in the country’s largest state by land area.

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The Governor’s office defended the veto, stating that birth control is already “widely available” and that compelling insurance companies to offer a full year’s supply is “bad policy.”

His spokesperson, Jeff Turner, emphasized that the governor believed current access to contraceptives in the state is adequate.

Democratic State Rep. Ashley Carrick, who sponsored the bill, expressed disappointment, calling the veto “deeply disappointing” and saying it continues to leave significant barriers for rural residents.

“There is simply no justifiable reason to veto a bill that would ensure every person in Alaska, no matter where they live, has access to essential medication, like birth control,” she added.

Newsweek has contacted Gov. Dunleavy’s office for comment.

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Planned Parenthood Exterior Alaska Birth Control
Planned Parenthood signage is displayed outside of a health care clinic in Inglewood, California on May 16, 2023. There are only four Planned Parenthood clinics in Alaska, the country’s largest state.

PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images

On the same day, Alaska Superior Court Judge Josie Garton struck down a long-standing law that required only doctors licensed by the state medical board to perform abortions.

Planned Parenthood Great Northwest, Hawaii, Alaska, Indiana, Kentucky sued over the law in 2019, saying advanced practice clinicians—which include advanced practice registered nurses and physician assistants—should also be allowed to perform medication or aspiration abortions.

Judge Garton found the law unconstitutional, ruling that it violated patients’ rights to privacy and equal protection under Alaska’s state constitution.

Garton noted that the restrictions placed undue burdens on low-income residents and those in isolated areas, who often face significant challenges in accessing abortion services.

In her ruling, Garton emphasized that there was “no medical reason” for abortion to be regulated more strictly than other forms of reproductive health care.

This will serve to expand the pool of health care providers who can perform abortion services in Alaska.

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This article includes reporting from The Associated Press



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Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport busy with holiday travelers

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Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport busy with holiday travelers


ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) -Many of the people arriving to and departing from Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport Sunday agreed that Anchorage’s main airport isn’t as tough to navigate as most right now.

On Dec. 22, three days out from both Hanukkah and Christmas, travelers at the airport were lined up, checking in, waiting for baggage, or going through security; all of those, demanding a wait. However, several travelers told Alaska’s News Source about their experiences and what they were expecting during their flights.

Matt Howard departed from Raleigh-Durham International Airport in North Carolina around 5 a.m. “It was the busiest I’ve ever seen it,” Howard said. He estimated he touched down in Anchorage around 6 p.m., adding Ted Stevens was much “less frantic” than the other airports he was at, but thought the evening time frame might have been a contributing factor.

Flying in from Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in Atlanta, Georgia, Kimberly Lamar said she visits her mother in Alaska at least once a year.

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“It was pretty overwhelming, trying to get through from Atlanta,” she said. “Then I got to Seattle; it was hard to get through to the gates of Seattle. And finally, this is the easiest airport I’ve actually been in all day.”

Born and raised in Alaska, Gideon Mahoney was traveling to Colorado where he recently relocated. “I’m actually really surprised, right now it’s easy and we were a little late, so…” Mahoney said, glancing at the line for security.

Growing up in Alaska, Mahoney said flying into Denver International Airport can be overwhelming at times.

“We’re working on figuring out how to deal with that,” he said. “We’re getting it.”

As for travelers who haven’t left just yet, Lamar’s advice was aligned with a prepared statement from Alaska Airlines: both said arriving early is the key for holiday travels.

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“If you’re flying, make sure you leave early because those lines are crucial,” Lamar said.

See a spelling or grammar error? Report it to web@ktuu.com



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Hydroponics provide year-round growing for Alaska farmers

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Hydroponics provide year-round growing for Alaska farmers


On a recent December afternoon, Soldotna farmer Taylor Lewis preps for a day of harvesting crops. She walks to a tray filled with ripe lettuce and snips a head of it by the stem.

It’s just one of about 900 plants that Taylor and her mother-in-law Jayme Lewis will harvest and process this week – despite freezing temperatures and slushy snow outside. That’s because the duo works for Edgy Veggie, an indoor farm that grows produce year round.

“In the summer, a lot of our business drops off because folks are gardening at home. But in the winter, they’re not, because it costs money to heat your greenhouse,” Jayme said. “It costs a lot of money to heat your greenhouse.”

The company is a hydroponic farm, meaning they grow plants without soil. Hydroponic systems recycle and reuse nutrient-filled water, which minimizes waste. Specially made lighting and climate controlled conditions make it possible for Edgy Veggie to grow indoors during the winter months.

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Climate controlled grow rooms like this one at Edgy Veggie in Soldotna make it possible to harvest greens and herbs year-round.

Around Thanksgiving, the company harvested 150 pounds of lettuce, enough to make about 800 salads. That took two days and was one of their biggest hauls of the year. Although not a typical harvest for the company, Jayme says she does see an uptick in business during the winter when Alaska’s produce is almost exclusively shipped up from the Lower 48.

“If you go to the grocery store and pick up a head of lettuce right now, by the time you get it home it will be wilted,” Jayme said. “That’s sad. Literally, that’s sad.”

Jayme says some local restaurants have sourced their vegetables from Edgy Veggie because they last longer and are fresher than grocery store produce.

Nestled between two train cars-turned-restaurants on the other side of town, Henry Krull walks inside his shipping container farm. He points to a wall that’s growing hundreds of bunches of butter lettuce.

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Krull is the owner of fresh365, another Kenai Peninsula based hydroponic farm. Just like Edgy Veggie, the farm operates entirely indoors.

“The advantage of growing indoors, in a container like we have, is that we can control the environment,” Krull said. “We can grow no matter what’s going on outside. It can be 30 below outside, but it’s always 70 degrees or so inside.”

fresh365 also sees an uptick in direct-to-consumer sales in the winter. Otherwise, most of their sales go to other businesses, like local restaurants.

Lettuce sprouts, like these seen at Edgy Veggie in Soldotna, are placed in a specially designed watering system and grown without soil.

Lettuce sprouts, like these seen at Edgy Veggie in Soldotna, are placed in a specially designed watering system and grown without soil.

And while indoor farming means fresh, local produce year-round for Alaskans, it faces a number of challenges. Krull says growing in a hydroponic setting is much more expensive than traditional farming methods. So, to offset his farm’s energy costs, he installed solar panels, which were partially funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Energy for America Program, or REAP.

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But, Krull says the property doesn’t get much sunlight in the winter.

“The sun is a very valuable commodity, it’s valuable for not only producing electricity, but it helps to lower the energy costs,” he said. “And the energy costs of the farm containers we have is actually very, very high, because we can’t take advantage of the sun.”

Edgy Veggie, on the other hand, doesn’t even have solar panels. Jayme says their energy costs are high year round.

“Electricity, especially, is outrageous,” she said. “I wish that the state had some sort of option with the electric companies to help support farming. We’re providing a service to the community, honestly. We’re trying to, but it might run us out of business.”

Other challenges to hydroponics include faulty pumps and timers, ventilation issues and water leaks. Like traditional farming, hydroponic farmers say it’s backbreaking work.

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fresh365 owner Henry Krull says the hydroponic farm recently started growing mushrooms, like

fresh365 owner Henry Krull holds a box of lion’s mane. The hydroponic farm recently started growing mushrooms alongside its greens and herbs.

But, for farmers like Taylor Lewis, offering fresh and local produce year round is a labor of love.

“Being able to supply our community with anything fresh is great,” Taylor said. “What we have as options in the grocery store – it’s not cutting it.”

“These belong in every community,” Krull said. “We’ve been able to prove that as a business model, it works. You can make a profit doing it, you can provide a good service to your community, and I think we can really do good for our community by providing something that is not readily available on a year-round basis.”

According to the U.S Department of Agriculture, only 5% of food Alaskans consume is grown locally. The state also has very short growing seasons.

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Nature: Northern Lights above Alaska

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Nature: Northern Lights above Alaska


Nature: Northern Lights above Alaska – CBS News

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We leave you this Sunday morning in the spirit of Christmas, with the northern lights in skies above Alaska. Videographer: Michael Clark.

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