At Icy Strait Point, visitors can spot whales and eagles while supporting a small Alaska community.

Icy Strait Point in Hoonah, Alaska, offers a rare kind of cruise stop — one where nature, culture, and community take center stage. It was also specifically developed with tourists in mind.

Built on Huna Tlingit land near Hoonah, this privately owned destination was designed to spread visitors across 23,000 acres of wilderness rather than overwhelm the town. The result is a place where travelers can see bald eagles, sea lions, and crashing waves instead of traffic and tour buses.

Beyond its dramatic scenery, Icy Strait Point generates about $20 million in annual economic impact for a community of roughly 900 people, supporting hundreds of jobs, making it a model for how tourism can benefit residents while preserving Alaska’s character.

Why it matters

Located on Huna Tlingit land, Icy Strait Point shows how tourism can support small communities while preserving their identity. Places like this reflect a broader American story of stewardship, self-determination, and economic opportunity.

Dozens of bright yellow jets once operated by Spirit Airlines are now sitting idle in the Arizona desert after being repossessed by leasing companies, according to aviation officials.

The aircraft are currently parked in a storage field following the shutdown of operations involving the planes. Industry experts say the jets were not owned directly by Spirit Airlines, but instead leased through outside companies that quickly moved to reclaim the aircraft.

One aviation contractor involved in the process said crews had only a matter of hours to coordinate the recovery effort and relocate the planes.

That process included hiring former Spirit pilots who had suddenly found themselves out of work to help ferry the aircraft to storage facilities in Arizona.

“The reason I’m empathetic to all this is because I’ve been in the same situation four or five times,” one aviation worker said. “I was with airlines that closed their doors overnight. I woke up the next morning not having a job. I’m worried about how I’m going to make my mortgage, how I can pay for health care. I have little kids.”

Officials say the future of the aircraft remains uncertain. Depending on what the leasing companies decide, the planes could eventually return to service with another airline, be dismantled for parts, or scrapped altogether.

Spirit Airlines has not announced whether the aircraft could return to operations.

Rep. Buddy Carter, R-Ga., joins ‘Mornings with Maria’ to discuss the Trump administration’s crackdown on Medicaid fraud, Republicans’ push for new immigration enforcement funding and President Donald Trump’s latest trade negotiations with China.