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.
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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.
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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.
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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
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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.
The first Jesuit missionaries in Alaska sailed up the Yukon River in 1887. By the turn of the 20th century, the religious order of the Catholic Church had as many as 50 Jesuits in the state.
Now, only two remain. And by the end of June, there will be none.
The Jesuits’ nearly 140 years in the state was honored at an event at Bethel’s Immaculate Conception Church on June 16. A procession of priests wearing long white gowns with red hems walked down the aisle to open the event. The Bishop of the Diocese of Fairbanks, Stephen Maekawa, thumped the ground with a shimmering silver staff known as a clozier as he approached the altar.
Bishop of the Diocese of Fairbanks, Steven Maekawa, walks toward the altar at the Immaculate Conception Church in Bethel.
“My brothers and sisters, we gather together to celebrate this wonderful and blessed occasion to acknowledge the love of God and the work of God through the 139 year mission of the Society of Jesus of the Jesuit fathers,” Maekawa said to open the event.
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A traditional Catholic mass followed, with readings in both English and Yup’ik. During the sermon, Maekawa acknowledged the vastness of the Fairbanks diocese, and the tremendous amount of work done by the Jesuits to establish it.
“All of the 46 churches of the Diocese of Fairbanks that we currently have were established by either the Jesuit fathers or by direction of a Jesuit bishop,” Maekawa said. “We have a long history of the Society of Jesus’ presence and ministry here in all of Alaska.”
The Jesuits are an order within the Catholic Church, akin to the Dominicans or Franciscans. They have a reputation for taking on some of the Catholic Church’s most remote assignments.
That missionary spirit brought the Jesuits to the Yukon River in 1887, where they built churches, schools, and ministries. Without their work, Catholicism may not have taken root in huge swaths of Alaska, particularly among Alaska Native communities.
The Immaculate Conception Church in Bethel.
But the Jesuits leave a complicated legacy. Their methods of converting Native people to the religion, particularly in the first half of the 20th century, created generational traumas still felt to this day.
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Fr. Sean Carroll is the provincial of the Jesuits West Province, which oversees Alaska and nine other states.
Fr. Sean Carroll, provincial of the Jesuits West Province, speaks at an event recognizing nearly 140 years of Jesuit service in Alaska.
“Thank you for all that you have taught us about who Jesus is and how to love and serve Him wholeheartedly,” Carroll said. “I also thank you for your patience with us. For there have been times when we have sinned and when we have hurt you.”
Missionaries, including the Jesuits, forcefully converted and assimilated Alaska Native people into Western culture and religion. Students at Jesuit-run boarding schools were forced to abandon their Native languages and physically punished when caught speaking languages other than English. Native dancing and drumming were also banned.
The Jesuits West Province maintains a list of 150 Jesuits with credible claims of sexual abuse against minors or vulnerable adults. A quarter of the accused Jesuits served in Alaska at some point in time.
“I ask for your forgiveness for all that we have done that was not rooted in Christ and love for Him, and for when we did not value your culture nor recognize the presence of God in you,” Carroll said.
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Carroll gave the order to withdraw from the state last spring. A big issue was the recruitment of Jesuits willing to travel and serve in remote villages. He told the congregation that the Jesuits’ work would continue, just without a permanent presence.
Fr. Rich Magner, one of the two remaining Jesuit priests in Alaska, attends a ceremony in Bethel.
Fr. Rich Magner is one of the two remaining Jesuit priests in Alaska. His last day serving Chevak, Hooper Bay, and Scammon Bay is June 30.
“We all always knew coming in, or should have known, that we’re not going to be here forever. It’s going to be mission accomplished at some point,” Magner said. “And then we hand it off to the diocese that we’ve helped create, and so that’s a good feeling.”
Magner’s next stop is a Clinical Pastoral Education residency in Tacoma, Washington.
The other remaining priest, Fr. Tom Provinsal, first came to Alaska in 1968 to teach. A fond memory, he said, was meeting Elders that practiced traditional subsistence lifestyles.
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“Some of the grandmothers, their fingers were just all bent with arthritis and stuff like that, you know, their whole lives they’ve been working out in the cold and the wet, doing food, sewing, all that kind of stuff,” Provinsal said. “I’d say I just feel very privileged to have come when I did come and to see that.”
Provinsal returned in 1975 as a priest and has served in the region ever since. After moving away, he plans to take a five month sabbatical. What happens next, he said, is in God’s hands.
Two lines formed in the aisle for communion at the end of the mass. After taking communion, Bethel’s Parish Administrator Susan Murphy gave a final thank you.
“It’s difficult to say goodbye to people who have been a part of our lives for so long,” Murphy said. “We know that you have done what was yours to do, and have taught us to do what is ours to do. We are grateful.”
Jesuit priests form a row along the altar of Bethel’s Immaculate Conception Church as members of the congregation lift their arms and pray.
Dominic Hunt, a Yup’ik deacon that flew in from Emmonak for the event, led the congregation through a final prayer.
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“Bless them with your wisdom, that they may be a word of hope, a world in need. We ask this through Christ, our Lord. Amen,” Hunt said.
About 70 people posed for a photo on the altar – priests, deacons, parishioners, Elders and children — many of them smiling, some standing quietly.
The photo doesn’t tell the whole story. But it’s a moment when gratitude, grief, and memory all shared the same room.
Bishop of the Diocese of Fairbanks, Steven Maekawa, stands in the middle of a crowd waiting to take a photo at Bethel’s Immaculate Conception Church.
JUNEAU, Alaska (KTUU) – The Supreme Court of Alaska will be taking up the case of the State of Alaska, Division of Elections v. Daniel J. Sullivan, Jr.
The oral arguments will be held Monday at 10 a.m. via Zoom, according to an order and opening notice.
The document also specifies that a decision is expected to be made before noon on Tuesday.
According to documents from the Division of Elections, the state must start printing ballots at noon on the same day.
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This comes after an Anchorage Superior Court Judge ordered Dan J. Sullivan on to the ballot Friday.
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