Alaska
The Sunday (Monday) Minefield – May 27, 2024
I hope everyone is enjoying the holiday weekend! Don’t forget about all of those who made the ultimate sacrifice for their country. This week’s Sunday Minefield is the Monday Minefield as I spent yesterday driving from Haines to Anchorage. I was there with some friends for Beerfest, which was awesome! Last week was fairly uneventful in Alaska politics due to the end of session. Legislators and staff were busy packing up and heading home from Juneau. Governor Mike Dunleavy’s (R – Alaska) Alaska Sustainable Energy Conference was held at the Dena’ina Center in Anchorage. And the June 1 filing deadline to run for the Legislature is just five days away.
A friendly message and reminder to all our readers. The Landmine is made possible by myself and a team of awesome Alaskans. I just got back from Juneau for my sixth session in a row reporting on the Legislature. We will again be providing in-depth coverage for both the primary and general elections. If you enjoy the content we provide, please consider making a one time or recurring monthly donation. You can click here to donate. We have a donation system that makes it super easy. We would really appreciate it. And thanks to everyone who has been supportive!
Finally Back from Juneau
The trip back from Haines marked my official end of session. I moved out of my Juneau apartment on May 18 and flew to Anchorage to bring all my clothes back. But I still had some equipment in my Juneau office and I needed to drive a car I bought in Juneau to Anchorage. I flew back to Juneau on Wednesday and crashed at my buddy Forrest Wolfe’s place. I spent Thursday packing up my Juneau office.
We were booked on the 7 am Friday morning ferry to Haines, so I tried to get some sleep. But I only ended up getting about four hours because we had wake up at 5 am so I could check-in and get my car in line. The ferry ride to Haines took about four hours but playing cribbage made it fly by. The ferry was packed and there were several familiar faces from the Capitol on board.
This was my second year in a row attending the Haines Beerfest. Last year I drove a buddy’s car from Anchorage to Haines, and took the ferry to Juneau after. I’m glad I was not relying on the ferry back to Juneau on Sunday because it was cancelled (see this week’s Loose Unit for more on that).
Last year I thought it wise to camp at a park in Haines where hundreds of attendees camp each year. In addition to the cold weather and rain, the boozing, drug usage, and music made that experience not great. So this year I thought better and booked a hotel room at the Aspen Hotel with my buddy Forrest Wolfe. That was a much wiser decision! Big shout out to the Aspen Hotel for being such a great place to stay. It was clean, the staff were awesome, and it didn’t cost an arm and a leg. If you plan on attending Beerfest next year, make sure to book a place in January.
We attended the Brewer’s Dinner on Friday night. Tickets for that sell out fast. This was my first time attending and it was definitely worth it. They served a five course meal and there was plenty of different beers to sample.
I also happened to meet Lee Ellis, a Republican running to replace Representative Laddie Shaw (R – Anchorage) – who is not seeking re-election. Ellis is the president of Midnight Sun Brewing and was in Haines for the Beerfest. He actually met his wife there in 2012. He ended up giving her a ride to Anchorage and they hit it off. They got married in 2016.
Two friends from Anchorage flew to Juneau on Friday night and took the Saturday morning ferry to Juneau. We all went to Beerfest on Saturday and had a great time. While it was not hot and sunny, it was not pouring rain like last year, so it felt like a win.
We all woke up and headed out of Haines around 11 am. With the exception of a delay at the Canadian border (lots of Canadians attend Beerfest so there was a long line) the drive back was uneventful. It was sunny most of the way and we saw four bears in Canada! We got back to Anchorage just before 1 am after a nearly 14 hour drive back. I look forward to not going back to Juneau until January. That is unless there is a special session… Which I think we are all hoping does not happen.
Filing Deadline Approaching
The June 1 filing deadline to run for one of 40 House or 10 Senate seats is fast approaching. A lot of incumbents remain unchallenged. All ten incumbent senators have filed for re-election, though there has been some speculation Senator Click Bishop (R – Fairbanks) may not end up running if he decides he wants to run for governor in 2026. Three incumbent representatives won’t be returning:
- Representative Jennie Armstrong (D – Anchorage) is not seeking re-election. Democrat Carolyn Hall is the only person who has filed for that seat so far.
- As referenced above, Representative Laddie Shaw is not seeking re-election.
- Representative Ben Carpenter (R – Nikiski) is challenging Senator Jesse Bjorkman (R- Nikiski). I predict Carpenter wins that race.
I have heard rumblings that a few incumbent representatives who have filed for office are planning a last minute bait-and-switch. Recall that in 2022 then-Senator Tom Begich told no one of his plan to essentially give now-Senator Löki Tobin (D – Anchorage) his seat. Tobin had worked for Begich, so the scheme was not hard to pull off. Tobin filed right before the filing deadline and then Begich withdrew. It sounds like a few House members are planning to do something similar. I have never agreed with this, regardless of who is doing it. It treats the seat like it belongs to the person and not the people living in the district. It gives the ordained ones an unfair advantage over others who may otherwise run.
Stay tuned for a Landmine article after June 1 that breaks down all the races and looks at how both bodies may end up organizing next year.
Other Happenings
A few people sent me the Alaska Watchman article claiming a National Park Service (NPS) employee had told some people to remove the American Flag from their truck in the park. I saw hundreds of people sharing the story and attacking the NPS superintendent. I found the whole thing far fetched and ignored it, figuring it was fabricated. I mean how in the hell would the NPS tell someone to remove an American Flag? It made no sense. Low and behold the NPS put out this statement yesterday. Sadly, even Senator Dan Sullivan (R – Alaska) was duped by this. Social media can be a really toxic sometimes.
This Week’s Loose Unit
The Alaska Watchman were definitely in the running for this week’s designee. I mean that flag story was fucking loose. But they got beat out due to a development late in the week. This week’s Loose Unit is the Alaska Marine Highway System (AMHS), specifically the vessel LeConte. During the Haines Beerfest, the AMHS quietly put out a notice saying the LeConte would be out of service until May 29. This is the ferry that was supposed to take a ton of people and cars back to Juneau on Sunday afternoon.
It doesn’t get much looser than hundreds of people getting trapped in Haines during one of the busiest summer weekends. For the people who did not have to take a car back, many ended up buying a plane ticket back at the cost of $200-$250. Those with cars dealing with a nightmare. One person told me they were able to get on a day cruise to get back, which cost $165 per ticket. But her car is stuck in Haines until at least June 7. Her car was put on a waitlist and they can’t even guarantee when her will get back to her. Maximum loose. Another ferry is leaving Haines tonight but I hear it’s pretty full. Imagine the people who bought a ferry ticket months ago and ended up getting stranded in Haines. It’s really too bad the AMHS has become such an unreliable joke. Shame on all of those who have contributed to this.
If you have a nomination for this week’s Loose Unit, or if you have any political news, stories or gossip (or any old pics of politicians or public officials) please email me at jeff@alaskalandmine.com.
Alaska
Before he rose to fame and sparked controversy, L. Ron Hubbard was a seafaring radio host in Alaska
Last week, this column covered the curious path of hard-boiled crime writer Dashiell Hammett, who was near 50, sickly, a celebrity and a Communist Party member when he went from Hollywood fame to Army enlistment to his posting in remote Adak. Of course, Hammett was far from the only celebrated author with ties or at least a significant visit to Alaska. From Jack London to freshly minted Pulitzer winner Tessa Hulls, Alaska has lured and inspired numerous writers. Next week’s column will cover two particularly diverse examples: Shel Silverstein and Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn. And this week is yet another disparate character, L. Ron Hubbard.
When Lafayette “you may call him L” Ron Hubbard (1911-1986) washed ashore at Ketchikan on Aug. 31, 1940, he was a generally well-regarded author of pulp magazine tales. Today, he is overwhelmingly recognized as the inventor/founder of Scientology, and of shakier reputation. But 1940 Hubbard was years away from Xenu and his volcano, “Dianetics” (1950), the science-fiction novel “Battlefield Earth” (1982), and the maligned film adaptation starring Scientologist John Travolta that bombed in 2000, long may its memory fade.
Back then, he was best known for his prolific writing and numerous pseudonyms. During the 1930s, a heyday of Wild West, detective and other pulpy genre adventure magazines, it seemed like every other issue contained a Hubbard story. His official biographies make outlandish claims that he wrote more than 7 million words during the decade, but the actual output of around 160 articles published from 1933 to 1941 still represents a rather fevered pace.
Hubbard was sailing around Alaska as part of what he grandiosely referred to as the Alaskan Radio Experimental Expedition, though he indeed carried the prestigious Explorer’s Club flag, a distinction typically reserved for scientific expeditions. And Hubbard accordingly claimed he was testing various instruments and methods of radio position finding.
In 2018, the Church of Scientology held an awards banquet for 70 of their most significant benefactors at the Cape Fox Lodge in Ketchikan, part of their pattern to hold events in places where Hubbard visited, worked, or lived. Per the church, Hubbard “came up to study the Tlingit Indian tribes, and send back a finding of the research of the tribes and the ethnological factors of the Indians here.”
Back in 1940, The Ketchikan Chronicle offered a humbler description of his arrival and intentions. “Capt. L. Ron Hubbard, author and world traveler, arrived in Ketchikan in company with his wife aboard the vest pocket yacht, Magician. His purpose in coming to Alaska was two-fold, one to win a bet and another to gather material for a novel of Alaska salmon fishing.” The bet was whether the 27-foot Magician, which Hubbard nicknamed the Maggie, would survive the voyage north. The further reality was a shot engine and empty pockets, meaning a large part of a winter stranded in Ketchikan.
Russell Miller’s critical 1987 biography, “Bare-Faced Messiah,” notes Hubbard’s friends called the voyage “Ron and Polly’s trip.” Miller also quotes Hubbard’s Aunt Marnie: “Ron dreamed up the trip as a way of outfitting the Maggie. His brain was always working and when he was trying to figure out how he could afford to outfit the boat he wrote letters to all these different manufacturers of instruments and equipment offering to test them out.”
Suffice to say, accounts vary. No matter, there is little reason to believe Hubbard and his wife spent months in Ketchikan except for the need to earn enough money for boat repairs and subsequent escape. But a dashing young author, near enough a celebrity as far as locals thought, stood out around town. The 29-year-old writer soon found work with the KGBU, now KTKN, radio station, an announcer and as the host of his own program, “Mail Buoy.” It would be more accurate to say that the station eagerly offered him a position and hoped he would never leave.
Longtime Ketchikan historian June Allen (1929-2016) recalled the opening to the show in a 2005 SitNews article. “Station owner Jimmy Britton’s well-remembered and breathless, asthmatic voice grandly intoned over the airwaves: ‘KGBU brings you the Mail Buoy, a program especially designed for Alaskan boatmen. It is the hope of this station that the exchange of information regarding the sea and ships will be found of benefit to those who wish to brush up on their calling, to those who wish to study the fine art of fighting the sea, and to those old-timers who can help the world to remember how to make all things shipshape and Bristol-fashion by keeping close tally on the data contained in this presentation.’” After describing the host, Britton declared, “Here now is Captain Hubbard,” followed by four bells and a jingle.
True to concept, the show was focused on practical maritime matters, with episodes on “Handling Your Hull” and “Anchors.” Other episodes answered listener questions, such as the “crackling and hissing” static heard on radio broadcasts, which he blamed on older radios and interference from electrical appliances. As might be expected, Hubbard was smooth on air, quick with a story and instantly a popular listen.
He also later claimed that he utilized his radio expertise to assist the FBI in tracking down a Nazi saboteur. No official records have been found to verify this tale, but Hubbard did write a short story inspired by his time in Ketchikan. In “Chee-Chalker,” first published in 1947, a tenderfoot FBI agent unravels a string of murders and uncovers a heroin smuggling ring, while entangling himself with a halibut heiress, as one does. A “chee chalker” is Hubbard’s version of a “cheechako.”
Years later, Hubbard said of notoriously vice-ridden Ketchikan, “They have there in Ketchikan, the only stream in the world where the fish and the fisherman go up to spawn. It’s a red-light district. It stretches up around the curve, a very beautiful stream. But the buildings have trap doors — most of Ketchikan is built over water. The fishermen — it’s mostly fishermen that come in there with any money — wear rather heavy rubber boots, and water gets into these boots rather quickly, and they go down rather fast. But when the police do find a fisherman drowned or floating there in the straits without anything in his pockets, they look him over very carefully and say, ‘Hmmm! Suicide!’”
During his radio broadcasts, Hubbard always found a chance to mention that he and his wife were stuck in Ketchikan because Regal Company of Bremerton, Washington, made a defective crankshaft and refused to replace it. Over and over, it was Regal Company’s fault. And when a new crankshaft arrived that December, he was believed it was only due to his on-air admonishments. Regardless, the Hubbards left as soon as the engine was fixed and arrived back in the Lower 48 on Dec. 27, 1940.
In addition to the gifted crankshaft, he also borrowed money around town, for living and repair expenses. Most notably, he owed First National Bank $265, about $6,000 in 2025 money. When World War II began, Hubbard went in the Naval Reserve. The bank thus tracked him down via the Navy. He agreed to pay the interest on the principal but claimed hardships prevented him from paying more. In an Oct. 29, 1942 letter, he wrote, “You are again informed that the reason of non-payment of this note is the sharp decrease in pay which I was willing to take to help my country. Until this war is ended and I can resume my former profession I can make only small and irregular payments.” It is unclear when or if the debt was settled.
There was one last relevant intersection of Hubbard and Alaska. Per an official proclamation by Alaska Gov. Steve Cowper, March 13, 1989 was to be L. Ron Hubbard Day — that is, until interrupted by then-Daily News reporter, and now novelist, Stan Jones. In a scathing article, Jones recounted the many allegations, scandals and lawsuits regarding Scientology, including the claim by Hubbard’s own son that his father created the religion “off the top of his head while he was under the influence of drugs,” the latter from an interview originally published in Christianity Today. “Hubbard Day” was quickly canceled, with the governor deciding he “does not identify” with the church or Hubbard.
Cowper’s press secretary, David Ramseur, told Jones, “Those proclamations come through the press office and I approve them. The governor does not sign off on proclamations unless they’re of enormous consequence. Or of more significant consequence than this.” Ramseur additionally noted that such proclamations were signed by a pen. Therefore, Cowper never actually saw the Hubbard Day proclamation and knew nothing about it. Jones asked Ramseur how much research was conducted before the declaration was approved, to which the press secretary replied, “Not much.”
A Daily News editorial stated, “If anybody in the governor’s press office had known the difference between scientology and Shinola, L. Ron wouldn’t have got a minute, let alone a day.” That said, it continued, “Gov. Cowper could do Alaskans a favor by tossing all those proclamations in his shredder and declaring Monday ‘No More Proclamations Day.’ The governor — and for that matter the legislature — has proclaimed enough.”
Anchorage Mayor Tom Fink‘s press office was more familiar with Scientology or more diligent in their research. They also received the suggestion for a “Hubbard Day” but rejected it out of hand. Fink aide Yvonne Alford told the Daily News, “Part of it, of course, is the controversy that surrounds the Church of Scientology and, further, Dianetics is a commercial enterprise. We do read the information that comes in for proclamations.”
Sometimes, usually, it is for the best that the future is unknown. At the least, it would have complicated matters for the denizens of a small fishing and lumber town to know where their local radio host would go, what he would become. Had he wanted to stay, he would have been welcomed, but greater fortunes awaited. His stint in Ketchikan was relatively brief and of little import, particularly compared to the self-created tumult of the decades that followed. Yet, he never forgot Alaska. References to his time in the north abound in his official biographies, and his Ketchikan tenure is an appreciated aspect of his personal journey. All to say, it proves that the immensity and grandeur of Alaska affects us all, affects every sort of person.
Key sources:
Allen, June. “L. Ron Hubbard’s Alaska Adventure.” SitNews, January 19, 2005.
“Church of Scientology meets in SE.” Sitka Sentinel, April 27, 2018, 6.
Jones, Stan. “Governor Gives Day to L. Ron Hubbard.” Anchorage Daily News, March 9, 1989, A1, A14.
Miller, Russell. Bare-Faced Messiah: The True Story of L. Ron Hubbard.
Persily, Larry. “Scientologists Refute Reports.” Anchorage Daily News, March 14, 1989, B1, B3.
“Whereas and Therefore.” Anchorage Daily News, March 10, 1989, B4.
High School
Soccer
Girls
Monday
West 1, Eagle River 1
Dimond 10, Bartlett 0
Chugiak 1, Service 1
Tuesday
Grace Christian 10, Redington 3
Soldotna 2, Homer 0
Lathrop 1, West Valley 0
Wednesday
Dimond 10, East 0
South Anchorage 5, Service 1
West 5, Bartlett 0
Chugiak 10, Eagle River 0
Monroe Catholic 10, Hutchison 0
Thursday
Palmer 4, Houston 1
Kenai Central 2, Grace Christian 1
Soldotna 2, Juneau-Douglas 1
Wasilla 2, Lathrop 1
Friday
Soldotna 2, Ketchikan 1
Kenai Central 3, Palmer 0
Wasilla 2, West Valley 1
Service 3, Bartlett 0
South 15, East 0
Colony 5, Lathrop 0
Saturday
Soldotna 3, Ketchikan 2
Wasilla 6, North Pole 0
Kenai Central 12, Houston 1
Boys
Monday
Dimond 8, Bartlett 1
West 11, Eagle River 1
Service 3, Chugiak 2
Tuesday
Grace Christian 7, Redington 2
Soldotna 1, Homer 0
West Valley 9, Lathrop 0
Wednesday
Monroe Catholic 2, Hutchison 1
Dimond 2, East 2
Service 1, South 0
Chugiak 7, Eagle River 0
West 7, Bartlett 2
Thursday
Redington 9, Nikiski 0
Kenai Central 2, Grace Christian 0
Palmer 4, Houston 0
Wasilla 1, Lathrop 0
Juneau-Douglas 3, Soldotna 0
Friday
Grace Christian 7, Nikiski 1
Soldotna 1, Ketchikan 0
West Valley 5, Wasilla 0
Service 5, Bartlett 0
Colony 3, Lathrop 0
Saturday
Colony 3, West Valley 1
Palmer 13, Nikiski 0
Kenai Central 3, Houston 0
Ketchikan 3, Soldotna 2
• • •
Softball
Monday
Dimond 8, Service 5
Soldotna 17, Homer 5
South 7, Dimond 6
Tuesday
Palmer 4, Houston 3
Soldotna 13, Kenai Central 0
North Pole 11, Lathrop 1
Wednesday
Palmer 13, Redington 5
South 2, Chugiak 0
North Pole 11, Hutchison 10
Thursday
Soldotna 9, Homer 6
Chugiak 2, Kenai Central 1
Bartlett 13, Kenai Central 7
South 6, Colony 0
Service 2, West 0
Lathrop 9, Monroe Catholic 4
Dimond 6, East 5
Friday
Soldotna 5, Kenai Central 2
Bartlett 18, Homer 0
Dimond 12, Juneau-Douglas 0
Sitka 13, Ketchikan 5
Colony 10, Service 5
West Valley 18, North Pole 3
Dimond 8, West 5
East 7, Colony 0
Juneau-Douglas 13, Service 3
Saturday
Colony 11, Service 0
East 3, Dimond 2
Colony 16, West 5
South 8, Colony 5
• • •
Baseball
Monday
Grace Christian 13, Redington 12
Soldotna 17, Homer 7
South 14, Wasilla 2
Eagle River 9, Chugiak 5
East 3, Bartlett 0
Tuesday
Colony 17, Houston 0
Chugiak 4, West 3
West Valley 6, Monroe Catholic 2
Wednesday
Palmer 14, Redington 3
Colony 5, Chugiak 3
Service 16, South 9
Eagle River 3, West 2
Thursday
North Pole 9, Monroe Catholic 2
Chugiak 16, East 0
Service 15, Bartlett 3
Kodiak 14, Houston 12
Wasilla 16, Colony 4
South 7, Dimond 4
Friday
Redington 12, Delta 6
Service 3, Eagle River 1
West Valley 12, North Pole 2
Homer 12, Kenai Central 7
Palmer 15, Kodiak 5
Sitka 3, Ketchikan 2
Wasilla 10, East 0
Saturday
Redington 7, Delta 6
Chugiak 13, South 3
Eagle River 9, Bartlett 2
Palmer 11, Houston 1
Soldotna 7, Kenai Central 4
West 9, Dimond 8
Sitka 24, Ketchikan 0
• • •
Track and field
Anchorage Invite
Girls team scores
1. Dimond 27; 2. Mountain City Christian Academy 16; 2. Chugiak 16; 4. East 14; 5. Service 10; 6. Homer 8; 6. Kenai Central 8; 8. South Anchorage 6; 9. Soldotna 5; 10. Eagle River 4; 11. Seward 3
Boys team scores
1. Chugiak 25; 2. East 20; 2. South 20; 4. Bartlett 18; 5. West 10; 6. Kodiak 7; 7. Dimond 6; 8. Mountain City Christian Academy 5; 9. Eagle River 3; 10. Service 2; 11. Soldotna 1
• • •
NAHL
Friday
Anchorage Wolverines 4, Wisconsin Windigo 2
Saturday
Anchorage Wolverines v. Wisconsin Windigo (late)
• • •
2025 Love a Nurse Run 5k
Male Overall Results
1: Wesley McQuillin, Anchorage, AK 16:10; 2: Robert Pires, JBER, AK 17:13; 3: Jeremy Fairbanks, Anchorage, AK 18:38; 4: Collin Christiansen, Palmer, AK 19:04; 5: Avi Dashow, Anchorage, AK 21:42; 6: Jason Dashow, Anchorage, AK 22:53; 7: Joel Manalo, Anchorage, AK 24:01; 8: Corbyn Navas, Anchorage, AK 24:11; 9: Darren Essman, Palmer, AK 24:33; 10: Luiz Santos, Hortolândia, N/A 24:58; 11: Hunter Kluckman, Anchorage, AK 25:19; 12: Jeremiah Hassemer, Anchorage, AK 25:20; 13: Matt Skinner, Anchorage, AK 25:33; 14: Tim Haugan, Eagle River, AK 26:43; 15: Mark Jacobsen, Anchorage, AK 27:02; 16: Joash Marquez, Anchorage, AK 29:31; 17: Michael Perkins, Anchorage, AK 30:13; 18: Ronald Regacho, Anchorage, AK 31:27; 19: Oleg Glebov, Anchorage, AK 31:52; 20: Joe Milton, Anchorage, AK 32:12
Female Overall Results
1: Michelle Isaev, Anchorage, AK 21:10; 2: Andrea Resende, Anchorage, AK 22:25; 3: Andrea Ayers, Wasilla, AK 24:10; 4: Lydia Ortiz, Palmer, AK 24:41; 5: Izzy Dashow, Anchorage, AK 25:25; 6: Elayna Tunney, Anchorage, AK 26:49; 7: Janet Johnston, Anchorage, AK 26:52; 8: Yoe Isbell, Eagle River, AK 27:10; 9: Stephanie Hill, Anchorage, AK 27:11; 10: Sara Lopez, Anchorage, AK 27:48; 11: Deanna March, Anchorage, AK 28:05; 12: Kathy Jacobsen, Anchorage, AK 28:15; 13: Charlene Nidoy, Anchorage, AK 28:20; 14: Cecelia Ortiz, Palmer, AK 28:29; 15: Jenny Justinger, JBER, AK 28:35; 16: Kate McQuillin, Anchorage, AK 28:42; 17: Lindsay Wingerter, Eagle River, AK 30:14; 18: Ruby Wingerter, Eagle River, AK 30:29; 19: Johnna Lovelace, Anchorage, AK 31:08; 20: Sarah Oloughlin, Anchorage, AK 31:10
• • •
2025 UAA Turnagain Arm Trail Run
8 Mile Run
Female
1. Anna Dalton, 49:12,3; 2. Sophie Wright, 50:48,2; 3. Mariah Graham, 53:41,2; 4. Shauna Severson, 54:04,1; 5. Ana Jager, Ana, 56:48,7; 6. Eva Marley-Jester, 58:25,5; 7. Mariah Brashar, 58:31,4; 8. Lauren Spinelli, 58:37,9; 9. Alison Matthews, 59:20,9; 10. Sabrina Farmer, 59:32,2
Male
1. William McGovern, 42:09,7; 2. Zack Bursell, 43:05,8; 3. Lars Arneson, 43:45,3; 4. Chad Trammell, 43:54,2; 5. Cody Priest, 45:06,2; 6. Joshua Taylor, 45:37,0; 7. Nolan Gerlach, 46:14,0; 8. Eric Vilce, 47:50,4; 9. Connor Marth, 48:11,9; 10. Franklin Dekker, 48:20,9
4 Mile Run
Female
1. Calista Zuber, 25:00,0; 2. Jillian Gavalya, 26:29,1; 3. Sadie Benter, 29:47,0; 4. Emily Stewart, 29:59,4; 5. Elisabeth Angeles, 30:24,5; 6. Rachel James, 31:27,8; 7. Gwyneth Gavalya, 31:48,3; 8. Josie Hale, 32:23,4; 9. AddieAnn Randall, 32:52,0; 10. Kristyn Turney, 33:14,0
Male
1. Thale Randall, 23:06,0; 2. Nash Paprocki, 26:18,0; 3. Agustin Inostroza, 29:15,8; 4. Brad Benter, 30:08,8; 5. Remington Roach, 31:47,9; 6. Finn Hamilton-Iverson, 34:10,4; 7. Zachary Burgess, 35:45,9; 8. Randy Sandvik, 37:51,9; 9. Matthew Sandvik, 38:32,0; 10. Derek Webster, 41:08,9
Our country carries a complicated legacy of using education as both a tool for assimilation and a privilege reserved for the affluent.
When our state’s constitutional delegates established the right to a public education, it was a time when many children were still being sent to regional boarding schools, where their cultural identities were often stripped away. This history reminds us of the importance of working tirelessly to create a quality education system accessible to all children — a mission that remains one of the most significant endeavors for policymakers and everyone who cares about the future.
At its heart, education is about empowering children to realize their fullest potential and become valued members of our communities. Public education serves as a lifeline, ensuring that every child, no matter their circumstances, has an equal chance to pursue their dreams. It’s about leveling the playing field so that where a child lives or their family’s financial situation doesn’t determine their future.
We champion public schools because our kids have the right to learn to read. The ability to read is not just an academic skill; it’s a crucial stepping stone to future opportunities — negotiating contracts, finding good jobs or even buying a home. If children struggle to understand the written word, they face daunting barriers that can hinder their aspirations.
Investing in our neighborhood schools is a commitment to the well-being of our children. Schools are often safe havens where kids can find support, meals, and a sense of belonging. They serve as gathering places in our communities, providing shelter during crises, nurturing family connections, and celebrating joys or mourning losses together.
Public schools are not businesses, and treating them as such overlooks the diverse needs our children bring with them every day. Education is about creating opportunities, and when a child arrives hungry or grappling with challenges at home, we must respond with compassion and understanding. Learning becomes nearly impossible in the face of unmet basic needs.
If there’s one area we should refuse to compromise, it’s our commitment to our children’s education. Cuts to school funding only undermine what we strive to provide for their future. Our public schools are not failing; they are starving for the necessary resources to thrive. For over a decade, Alaska has failed to sufficiently invest in education, and the effects are painfully clear. Many schools are in disrepair, with children learning in classrooms plagued by black mold and in gyms that are physically unsafe. Teachers, who care deeply about their students, find themselves trying to educate in conditions that compromise their health and well-being. It’s no surprise that we’re witnessing increasing rates of absenteeism and a troubling rise in classrooms without certified teachers.
We tell our kids that actions speak louder than words, and for far too long, our state’s lack of investment in public schools has sent a disheartening message.
[Deena Bishop: Why Alaska education funding and policy need to go hand in hand]
Instead of using national assessment scores against students, we should view these assessments as a constructive tool — one that helps us understand where support is needed most. Our responsibility is to invest in the resources that will improve learning environments, not to deprive schools of what they need to be effective.
It is simply wrong and deeply unfair to keep the critical funding needed to support our students hostage to political agendas.
Every child deserves access to a safe and supportive public school, staffed by committed educators who want to make a difference in their lives. By ensuring stable and predictable funding, we can address immediate needs, like fixing broken windows and repairing non-functioning toilets, while also helping our communities retain the talented teachers who impact our children’s lives.
Alaskans clearly want more funding for schools, and as elected officials in Juneau, we must prioritize the support our public education system needs. Our children’s futures depend on it.
Sen. Löki Gale Tobin is the chair of the Alaska Senate Education Committee and is a Ph.D. student studying culturally responsive education at the University of Alaska Fairbanks.
• • •
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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News1 week agoAre Politicians Too Old? California Democrats Want to Debate an Age Cap.
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World1 week ago‘Don’t see a major war with India, but have to be ready’: Pakistan ex-NSA
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News1 week ago
Stock market today: Dow, S&P 500, Nasdaq futures jump amid jobs report beat, hopes for US-China talks