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State Supreme Court prepares for vacancy as Alaska’s Chief Justice set to retire

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State Supreme Court prepares for vacancy as Alaska’s Chief Justice set to retire


ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) – The Alaska Judicial Council is accepting applications to serve as a justice on the Alaska Supreme Court after it announced Friday that Chief Justice Peter Maassen will retire in January 2025.

The vacancy will open when Chief Justice Maassen turns 70. The Alaska Constitution establishes that a state Supreme Court justice can stay on the bench until they reach 70 years of age.

“We will miss working with him,” Alaska Court System Public Information Officer Rebecca Koford said. “He’s been a wonderful presence. I haven’t met anyone who disliked working with him. He’s very professional. At the same time, he’s a very witty person, and his presence will be missed.”

Koford said she worked with Chief Justice Maassen at the Anchorage Youth Court, and describes him as a calm and even-tempered person, along with being thorough and thoughtful.

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“Everyone that has worked with him is going to miss having him there,” Koford said. “I’m sure that whoever takes his place will also be a wonderfully competent justice, and I look forward to working with them as well.”

Maassen serves as the administrative head of the judicial branch of government, presides over Supreme Court arguments, appoints presiding judges for Alaska’s judicial districts and serves as the chair of the Alaska Judicial Council.

“The Chief Justice has additional duties, because they are also the administrative head of the court,” Koford said. “They oversee the administration, which includes things varied from HR to our information services, to my job as a public information officer, public outreach across the board, or the administration of the courts.”

The Alaska Judicial Council, established by the Alaska Constitution, comprises seven members who screen applications for all state judges including those from the Appellate, Superior, District and Supreme Courts.

“Being a judge is a hard job, and attorneys in this state think very long and hard about whether they’re even going to put their name in,” said Susanne DiPietro, executive director of the Alaska Judicial Council. “That’s part of the reason why we have a lengthy application period, because it’s a heavy decision to put your name in for this very public process.”

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“People take it very seriously before they put their names in, and during the process,” she said. “It’s a hard and very rewarding job.”

The Judicial Council will spend the next several weeks receiving, vetting and investigating applications and applicants before sending a survey to all members of the Alaska Bar Association. Then, they’ll ask anyone with direct professional experience with the candidate to give information about their qualifications. There will be interviews, a public hearing and nominations. Final names are sent to the governor for a final appointment.

After being appointed as a state judge, public evaluations on a judge’s performances happen every couple of years when there’s a retention election. The public votes whether or not a state-appointed judge should remain on the bench. There are 19 judges up for retention this November.

“The process needs to be thorough, and it is a thorough process, because these are very important positions,” DiPietro said. “They’re tough positions, and you want to know as much as possible about each person who applies, to be able to gauge whether you think they’re going to be able to handle the intellectual and emotional challenges of the position.”

Maassen was born and raised in western Michigan, and got his law degree from the University of Michigan in 1980 after attending Hope College and Wayne State University Law School. Maassen and his wife Kay Gouwens arrived in Alaska in 1981. Chief Justice Maassen spent most of his legal career as a private practice attorney in Anchorage before being selected by the governor to serve on the high court in 2012. He was elected to the Chief Justice position in Febuary of 2023.

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Dozens of vehicle accidents reported, Anchorage after-school activities canceled, as snowfall buries Southcentral Alaska

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Dozens of vehicle accidents reported, Anchorage after-school activities canceled, as snowfall buries Southcentral Alaska


ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) – Up to a foot of snow has fallen in areas across Southcentral as of Tuesday, with more expected into Wednesday morning.

All sports and after-school activities — except high school basketball and hockey activities — were canceled Tuesday for the Anchorage School District. The decision was made to allow crews to clear school parking lots and manage traffic for snow removal, district officials said.

“These efforts are critical to ensuring schools can safely remain open [Wednesday],” ASD said in a statement.

The Anchorage Police Department’s accident count for the past two days shows there have been 55 car accidents since Monday, as of 9:45 a.m. Tuesday. In addition, there have been 86 vehicles in distress reported by the department.

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Snow measuring up to 17 inches deep in Anchorage, Alaska, on Jan. 6, 2026.(Alaska’s News Source)

The snowfall — which has brought up to 13 inches along areas of Turnagain Arm and 12 inches in Wasilla — is expected to continue Tuesday, according to latest forecast models. Numerous winter weather alerts are in effect, and inland areas of Southcentral could see winds up to 25 mph, with coastal areas potentially seeing winds over 45 mph.

Up to a foot or more of snow has fallen across Southcentral Alaska, with more snow expected...
Up to a foot or more of snow has fallen across Southcentral Alaska, with more snow expected through the day.(Alaska’s News Source)

Some areas of Southcentral could see more than 20 inches of snowfall by Wednesday, with the Anchorage and Eagle River Hillsides, as well as the foothills of the Talkeetna Mountain, among the areas seeing the most snowfall.

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



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Yundt Served: Formal Charges Submitted to Alaska Republican Party, Asks for Party Sanction and Censure of Senator Rob Yundt

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Yundt Served: Formal Charges Submitted to Alaska Republican Party, Asks for Party Sanction and Censure of Senator Rob Yundt


Sen. Rob Yundt

On January 3, 2026, Districts 27 and 28 of the Alaska Republican Party received formal charges against Senator Rob Yundt pursuant to Article VII of the Alaska Republican Party Rules.

According to the Alaska Republican Party Rules: “Any candidate or elected official may be sanctioned or censured for any of the following
reasons:
(a) Failure to follow the Party Platform.
(b) Engagement in any activities prohibited by or contrary to these rules or RNC Rules.
(c) Failure to carry out or perform the duties of their office.
(d) Engaging in prohibited discrimination.
(e) Forming a majority caucus in which non-Republicans are at least 1/3 or more of the
coalition.
(f) Engaging in other activities that may be reasonably assessed as bringing dishonor to
the ARP, such as commission of a serious crime.”

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Party Rules require the signatures of at least 3 registered Republican constituents for official charges to be filed. The formal charges were signed by registered Republican voters and District N constitutions Jerad McClure, Thomas W. Oels, Janice M. Norman, and Manda Gershon.

Yundt is charged with “failure to adhere and uphold the Alaska Republican Party Platform” and “engaging in conduct contrary to the principles and priorities of the Alaska Republican Party Rules.” The constituents request: “Senator Rob Yundt be provided proper notice of the charges and a full and fair opportunity to respond; and that, upon a finding by the required two-thirds (2/3) vote of the District Committees that the charges are valid, the Committees impose the maximum sanctions authorized under Article VII.”

If the Party finds Yundt guilty of the charges, Yundt may be disciplined with formal censure by the Alaska Republican Party, declaration of ineligibility for Party endorsement, withdrawal of political support, prohibition from participating in certain Party activities, and official and public declaration that Yundt’s conduct and voting record contradict the Party’s values and priorities.

Reasons for the charges are based on Yundt’s active support of House Bill 57, Senate Bill 113, and Senate Bill 92. Constituents who filed the charges argue that HB 57 opposes the Alaska Republican Party Platform by “expanding government surveillance and dramatically increasing education spending;” that SB 113 opposes the Party’s Platform by “impos[ing] new tax burdens on Alaskan consumers and small businesses;” and that SB 92 opposes the Party by “proposing a targeted 9.2% tax on major private-sector energy producer supplying natural gas to Southcentral Alaska.” Although the filed charges state that SB 92 proposes a 9.2% tax, the bill actually proposes a 9.4% tax on income from oil and gas production and transportation.

Many Alaskan conservatives have expressed frustration with Senator Yundt’s legislative decisions. Some, like Marcy Sowers, consider Yundt more like “a tax-loving social justice warrior” than a conservative.

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Pilot of Alaska flight that lost door plug over Portland sues Boeing, claims company blamed him

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Pilot of Alaska flight that lost door plug over Portland sues Boeing, claims company blamed him


The Alaska Airlines captain who piloted the Boeing 737 Max that lost a door plug over Portland two years ago is suing the plane’s manufacturer, alleging that the company has tried to shift blame to him to shield its own negligence.

The $10 million suit — filed in Multnomah County Circuit Court on Tuesday on behalf of captain Brandon Fisher — stems from the dramatic Jan. 5, 2024 mid-air depressurization of Flight 1282, when a door plug in the 26th row flew off six minutes after take off, creating a 2-by-4-foot hole in the plane that forced Fisher and co-pilot Emily Wiprud to perform an emergency landing back at PDX.

None of the 171 passengers or six crew members on board was seriously injured, but some aviation medical experts said that the consequences could have been “catastrophic” had the incident happened at a higher altitude.

Leani Benitez-Cardona, NTSB aerospace engineer, and Matthew Fox, NTSB chief technical advisor for materials, unpacking the door plug Sunday from Alaska Airlines flight 1282, a Boeing 737-9 MAX, in the materials laboratory at NTSB headquarters in Washington, D.C.NTSB

Fisher’s lawsuit is the latest in a series filed against Boeing, including dozens from Flight 1282 passengers. It also names Spirit AeroSystems, a subcontractor that worked on the plane.

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The lawsuit blames the incident on quality control issues with the door plug. It argues that Boeing caught five misinstalled rivets in the panel, and that Spirit employees painted over the rivets instead of reinstalling them correctly. Boeing inspectors caught the discrepancy again, the complaint alleges, but when employees finally reopened the panel to fix the rivets, they didn’t reattach four bolts that secured the door panel.

The complaint’s allegations that Boeing employees failed to secure the bolts is in line with a National Transportation Safety Board investigation that came to the conclusion that the bolts hadn’t been replaced.



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