Alaska

Opinion: Thanks to Alaska lawmakers for supporting public education

Published

10 months ago

May 22, 2025

Opinion: Thanks to Alaska lawmakers for supporting public education

Votes are displayed as a joint session of the Alaska Legislature overrode a veto by Gov. Mike Dunleavy on the education bill on May 20. (Marc Lester / ADN)

Dear members of the Alaska Legislature,

On behalf of the Anchorage School District, we offer our heartfelt thanks for your leadership in overriding the governor’s veto of House Bill 57.

We deeply appreciate and commend the bipartisan action — a powerful, united stand that reflects not only a shared commitment to sound education policy, but also to protecting Alaska’s students, supporting their future, and upholding the strength of our public schools. Your willingness to rise above partisanship in service of our students is leadership at its best.

Securing the 46 votes needed to override the veto was no small feat. Each of you came together to make a resounding commitment to public education. We are grateful for this historic vote — a result of more than a year of conversation, advocacy, and careful negotiation. The $700 increase to the Base Student Allocation represents the largest permanent increase in Alaska’s history, accompanied by high-impact policy reforms that were thoughtfully shaped with input from educators and communities across the state. This legislation is much more than a funding bill — it’s a promise to Alaska’s students, and we are profoundly thankful to the legislators who worked across party lines to make it a reality.

[News coverage: Alaska lawmakers override Dunleavy’s veto of education bill]

We are also deeply grateful to the students, families, educators and community members who raised their voices in support of the override. Their advocacy was essential in moving this legislation forward and ensuring lawmakers heard the collective call for change.

Because of your leadership, ASD has started the process of restoring critical services and hiring teachers for the next school year. Though the threat of a veto to the education appropriation still looms, ASD is committed to moving forward, albeit cautiously, in service of our students and families. We understand that the decisions ahead will be difficult. As you work to develop and implement the sustainable, long-term fiscal plan our state urgently needs — one that ensures funding for the essential services Alaskans rely on — your commitment to bold action gives us hope.

We are proud to stand with you in support of strong, stable, and fully funded public education across Alaska.

Jharrett Bryantt is superintendent of the Anchorage School District.

Carl Jacobs is president of the Anchorage School Board.

• • •

The views expressed here are the writer’s and are not necessarily endorsed by the Anchorage Daily News, which welcomes a broad range of viewpoints. To submit a piece for consideration, email commentary(at)adn.com. Send submissions shorter than 200 words to letters@adn.com or click here to submit via any web browser. Read our full guidelines for letters and commentaries here.

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Alaska

Alaska accepts ballots that arrive after Election Day. This case could end that.

Published

10 hours ago

March 24, 2026

Press Room

Alaska accepts ballots that arrive after Election Day. This case could end that.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court appears poised to rule in favor of the Republican National Committee that all ballots must be received on Election Day to be counted.

In a case argued Monday, the RNC challenges a Mississipi law that allows ballots postmarked on or before Election Day to arrive up to five days later.

Alaska accepts postmarked ballots that arrive up to 10 days after Election Day – 15 days if mailed from overseas. And, for Alaska, the implications of the Supreme Court ruling could extend beyond mailed ballots.

The RNC case could be consequential for the midterm elections, when control of Congress is at stake. While people of both parties vote by mail, more permissive rules for it are perceived to help Democrats, especially since President Trump rails against the practice.

U.S. Solicitor General John Sauer argued that counting ballots that arrive late violates the federal law that sets the Tuesday following the first Monday of November as Election Day for the whole country.

“All ballots have to be received and the ballot box has to close on Election Day,” he said.

In Alaska’s last general election, more than 50,000 ballots arrived by mail. The Division of Elections couldn’t immediately say how many of those arrived in the 10 days after Election Day but it appears to be many thousand.

Sometimes, even Alaska ballots cast in person on Election Day aren’t received the same day. The village of Atqasuk , on the North Slope, tried to phone in its 2024 election results but couldn’t get through to the Division of Elections. The mailed ballots arrived nine days later.

Alaska Attorney General Stephen Cox cited the Atqasuk episode in a friend-of-court brief he filed in the Mississippi case.

“Alaska asks this Court to consider how its rule here will apply in all States—including Alaska, where ‘receiving’ a ballot isn’t always as simple as walking to a precinct or driving a few hours to pick up a ballot box,” he wrote.

Pat Redmond, co-president of the Alaska League of Women Voters, said Alaska has a secure process for mailed ballots. She believes the current deadline is fair and allows remote places necessary time to deliver their ballots.

“Not every place has electronic transmission,” said Redmond, who has also served as an election worker. If all ballots have to be in on Election Day “then those people, their ballots don’t count, and that’s disenfranchising people.”

Attorney Scott Stewart, defending Mississippi’s ballot deadline, told the justices that it’s wrong for the Trump administration to suggest that late-arriving ballots are subject to fraud.

“Obviously, they’ve sounded the anti-fraud theme,” Stewart said. “They haven’t cited a single example of fraud from post-Election Day ballot receipts.”

Late-counted ballots have swung several statewide contests in Alaska.

•The 2020 ballot measure creating Alaska’s ranked choice voting system and open primaries was losing on election night but ultimately won.

•Post-Election Day counts gave Sen. Lisa Murkowski the lead over challenger Kelly Tshibaka in 2022, and Murkowski’s lead grew further after second- and third-choice votes were tallied.

•In 2024, a measure to repeal ranked choice voting was ahead on election night but narrowly lost in later counts.

Late-counted ballots typically include an unknown number of ballots that arrived before Election Day, too. Still, despite no evidence of wrongdoing, supporters of the losing campaign have sometimes alleged fraud.

The Supreme Court is expected to issue a ruling in the Mississippi case this summer. An attorney for the Republican National Committee told the justices a June ruling would allow states to change their ballot rules in time for the November election.

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Alaska

Polar bear undergoes root canal at Alaska Zoo

Published

22 hours ago

March 23, 2026

Press Room

Polar bear undergoes root canal at Alaska Zoo

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (InvestigateTV) — Staff at the Alaska Zoo performed a root canal on one of its polar bears after the bear broke a canine tooth.

Kova, 4, shares an enclosure with another polar bear named Cranbeary. The two have toys, treats and a large pool where Kova likes to take her morning swim.

Curator Sam Lavin noticed something was wrong when Kova’s behavior changed.

“Kova is a very interactive and busy bear and she just seemed kind of off. She was pawing at her mouth a little bit,” Lavin said.

Lavin suspected a tooth issue and asked Kova to open her mouth for a closer look.

“We could see that she had broken one of her canines and there’s any number of ways she could have done that,” Lavin said.

An X-ray confirmed the diagnosis. Zoo staff consulted with a veterinary specialist outside Alaska, sent the X-rays and received advice on how to proceed.

“We went with a local doctor to do the work,” Lavin said.

An endodontist who normally operates on humans was part of the large team that performed the root canal on the fully sedated 450-pound bear.

“Everybody knew ahead of time what their role was and what to do and where to be and it was so well planned out and everybody worked so well together,” Lavin said.

The procedure went smoothly.

“She feels so much better,” Lavin said.

The zoo said Kova quickly recovered and is back with her playmate Cranbeary.