Bridget Dowd

Matt Miller has been the voice of KTOO’s morning news since 1998. Thursday, Sept. 30 was his last day hosting “Morning Edition” at the station. Reporter Bridget Dowd will be filling in as host for at least the month of October.

But before Matt stepped away, he sat down with Bridget to talk about what the job has meant to him and look back on some of his favorite memories.

Read a transcript of the conversation with minor edits for clarity.

Bridget Dowd: What’s been the hardest part of your job?

Matt Miller: It’s basically getting up at 3:20 every morning, and having to have two alarm clocks set in order to get up. When the weather’s really bad in the winter, sometimes it’s a little bit of a trek to get across the Douglas Bridge in order to get in on time before the first newscast. That’s kind of the hardest thing. It’s overturned my sleep schedule and you don’t have much of a social life because you’re going to bed at about the same time that everybody else is out having fun at night.

Bridget Dowd: What’s been the best part of your job?

Matt Miller: Best part of the job is being able to talk and connect up with the people of Juneau and bring them the stories that I think that they need to hear in order to start their day. Radio is a real powerful medium and when you’re producing stories for radio, you’re taking advantage of the listener’s own imagination to draw a picture that’s probably more indelible sometimes than perhaps television and even print.

Bridget Dowd: What has it been like to be Juneau’s first connection to what’s happening every day? Has it changed what it’s like to live here for you?

Matt Miller: It’s been fun. Like I said before, I like connecting with the Juneau audience. As a result, I’ve become a little bit more connected, since I’ve been here, to the community. I’ve stayed here a lot longer than I thought I was going to stay and I’ve kind of put down roots. So I’ve really come to appreciate the community and the people since I’ve been here and since I’ve worked here at KTOO.

Bridget Dowd: Do you have any stories from trekking to the office early in the morning or interesting things that happened during your early morning shift?

Matt Miller: There’s probably a lot of little different things that have happened — not really significant — it just kind of comes as part of the job. I remember one day, in this particular studio, which is the air studio for Morning Edition, being live on the air and because of construction that was underway at the time, a board that was behind the door fell down and essentially locked us all out of the studio while we were live on the air. So that was a little frustrating, a little bit of a panic, there’s only one door into the studio, for those who don’t know, and there’s no other way to get in here. 

One of my memories of getting to the station early in the morning, I think that really kind of sticks with me, is one night, we had a real heavy snowfall and the plow trucks had not been out. I couldn’t get my truck out of the driveway and even drive to work. So I had to put on snowshoes and just kind of hoof it into the station, you know, in a blizzard. 

Bridget Dowd: That’s a very uniquely Alaskan thing to do. What’s the strangest story you’ve covered?

Matt Miller: There was an event, several years ago, that included some people who had just kind of plopped into town. It was kind of nebulous. It wasn’t quite clear what it was they were doing, but they were soliciting donations of merchandise, from local businesses for this undefined event. There are a lot of good organizations in town for fundraising purposes that go to local businesses for this sort of thing, but the people who came into town were obviously from out of town. 

As it turned out, this merchandise was being used as prizes in order to lure people into this kind of Evangelical revival type of event, which was spearheaded by this kind of D-list community access TV Evangelist, who had come up here and that was kind of the strangest thing.

Bridget Dowd: What’s your favorite story you’ve covered? 

Matt Miller: So when I first started here at KTOO, one of the things that was kind of not really well known was a shipwreck that happened just north of Juneau, a century ago now. That was the wreck of the Princess Sophia. I did a mini documentary and a couple of features on that. 

Some other things that I’ve had an interest in and it’s really been satisfying, you know, working on stories that have an impact on Alaskans. 

One of them was about 2014 or 2015, there was something really weird that was happening in the North Pacific and Gulf of Alaska with water temperatures and there was nobody else covering it and nobody else doing stories about that at the time. It turned out to have enormous impacts on seabirds, marine mammals and whales and fin fish in the state and that of course was “the blob.” 

Other stories that are really satisfying are ones that, when it comes to the court system and the justice system in the state, where there are issues with the pandemic and trials being postponed or budget cuts and people not getting the legal aid that they need in order to pursue their own legal issues. That’s really been fun and fulfilling to do stories like that. 

Bridget Dowd: I’m gonna throw another one in here really quick because I know you’ve been sort of the natural disaster reporter around here. You seem to be the avalanche guy, the every disaster kind of guy. How did you get an interest in that and how did that start?

Matt Miller: I don’t know if one particular event started that or one particular story started that. I do remember several years ago that Capital City Fire Rescue put on a one day crash course firefighting training for members of the media and the assembly. I took part in that and that kind of spawned a whole bunch of different stories and kind of solidified the connection to emergency services and disasters, if you will. That kind of evolved eventually into, like you said, avalanches and, you know, search dog training and that sort of thing.

Bridget Dowd: Is there anything else that you want to say to the people who’ve been listening to you for so long?

Matt Miller: Just thanks for listening. Keep listening to KTOO. We have a crack team here in the news department who are probably not only best in Southeast, but probably the best in the entire state. Even if I’m gone, they will continue to bring you the news and information that you need. Just keep listening and I’ll be around in town for a while at least anyways.

Bridget Dowd: All right, well, thank you for sitting down and talking to me and I know a lot of people are going to miss you. So best of luck and in anything you do next.

Matt Miller: Thank you. Thank you very much.

Many Juneau voters have been calling the city with one question: Can I change my vote? 

That could be due to Will Muldoon’s late bid for school board or newfound information about other candidates. Either way, once a ballot is sent through the mail, brought to a vote center, or tucked in a drop box, Juneau City Clerk Beth McEwen said, there’s no going back.  

At that point, the ballot has been cast. 

“If you have not already mailed it in or dropped it in a dropbox, you can bring it to one of the vote centers and spoil it,” McEwen said. “They’ll issue you a new replacement ballot and you can vote [with] the new ballot.”

McEwen said she didn’t have an exact number, but elections officials have fielded this question a lot recently, both over the phone and in person.

“And we’re telling ‘em the same information,” she said. “When you sign the voter certification, you’re saying ‘I’m not gonna vote in any other way in this election,’ so once you’ve actually cast your vote, then that’s your one vote.”

There has also been some confusion about dropping off ballots at the Mendenhall Valley Public Library vote center.

“We just want to clarify that it is the voter center they’re dropping their ballot off [at],” McEwen said “Don’t drop it in the book drop, don’t drop it in the mailbox of the library because it’s not the library conducting the election. It’s the vote center that’s located in the library.” 

Voters dropping off a ballot outside of vote center hours can use the Auke Bay-Statter Harbor drop box or the Douglas Library dropbox. Both of those are open 24/7 until 8 p.m. on Oct. 5.

Updated post by Bridget Dowd– 11:00 p.m.

During a special meeting Wednesday night, Juneau’s assembly voted to extend the city’s COVID-19 mitigation strategies until March 2022. The current measures are set to expire on Oct. 31.

Prior to voting, assembly members listened to two and a half hours of public testimony and sifted through hundreds of emails from residents.

Most of the comments given during the meeting were opposed to extending the measures. But city officials said when combining the testimony at the meeting with written feedback and one-on-one conversations with residents, there was more support than opposition.

The comments from most of the people who spoke at the public hearing were focused on masking. The assembly clarified multiple times that they were not passing a mask mandate, just keeping the same guidelines the city already uses to determine the community’s risk level and what their response should be at each one.

Initially, the measures were going to be extended until June 2022, but many residents who testified said that time period felt too long. Even with the new date of March 1, the assembly can choose to toss the policy at any time.

Wednesday’s vote also allows for a penalty to be enforced when people don’t comply with mask mandates. That means violators could be subject to a $25 fine.

After some debate about whether or not to keep the penalty, the assembly passed the ordinance without objection.

Original post by Rashah McChesney — 2:40 p.m.

The Juneau Assembly is holding a special meeting on Wednesday to talk about extending its emergency measures designed to combat the spread of COVID-19, and about putting a penalty in place for violating those measures.

The city’s emergency measures include community risk levels that trigger limits on gathering sizes, requirements for masks and restrictions on businesses that sell food and alcohol, gyms and personal services.

City officials are considering extending them through June 1, 2022. Currently, they’re set to expire at the end of October.

Cities all over the state are grappling over the balance between slowing the spread of the Delta variant of COVID-19 and easing pressure on the state’s overwhelmed hospital system. Anchorage’s Assembly held a similar public hearing on Tuesday that drew crowds of people to comment on a potential mask mandate.

In Juneau, the meeting will be held in City Hall Assembly Chambers at 6:00 p.m. on Wednesday. However, because indoor gatherings are limited to 20 people and Assembly members and staff will be present — just seven people will be allowed to be physically present in the room. Masks are required.

People who want to weigh-in can do it in advance by emailing boroughassembly@juneau.org, by joining the meeting via Zoom, or calling 1-253-215-8782 with Webinar ID: 939 1791 5176; hit the ‘raise hand’ button online or press *9 on your phone during public comment.

Do you have thoughts about this story? Let us know.

Some Juneau residents will be able to get a COVID-19 vaccine booster as early as next week. Pfizer boosters will be available to vulnerable populations at the Juneau Public Health Center starting Tuesday. There will also be a clinic at Centennial Hall on Oct. 1-2.

Those who are eligible for the booster shot include people who are 65 and older, those in long-term care facilities, anyone 18 or older with underlying health issues and anyone 18 or older who is at an increased risk for exposure to COVID-19. Everyone who wants the booster must be at least six months out from the day they received their second dose of the Pfizer vaccine. 

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has recommended boosters for those populations. The FDA has authorized them as well. 

At the moment, people who received Moderna or Johnson & Johnson shots initially are not able to get the Pfizer booster. Juneau Emergency Manager Robert Barr said he is hopeful the CDC and FDA will provide more guidance on those manufacturers soon. 

Both booster sites will offer first or second doses of the Pfizer vaccine to people 12 years and older. Walk-ins will not be accepted, so those interested have to pre-register online.

Sign-ups are already available for boosters at Juneau Public Health and sign-ups for the Centennial Hall clinic will open Monday at noon. You can make an appointment online.

With just two weeks left before Juneau’s municipal election, a new candidate launched a write-in campaign for the city’s school board on Tuesday. So why is Will Muldoon is throwing his hat in the ring now?

This isn’t the first time Muldoon has run for school board, but it’s the first time he’s entered late as a write-in candidate.

“I know it’s pretty unconventional to launch a two-week write-in campaign,” Muldoon said. “But I think it’s worthy and I think I do have a shot of winning it if I keep at it.”

At first, he wasn’t planning to run this year.

“I had some folks reach out to me early on in the campaign trying to encourage me to run,” Muldoon said. “Then I got a lot more feedback from folks after the League of Women Voters forum and also during the last week.”

Many of those who reached out to him were concerned about some of the candidates’ stances on COVID-19 mitigation policies in schools, like wanting to get rid of the mask mandate in classrooms.

“People were just very nervous about that,” Muldoon said. “I agreed with them that masks work. I think the mitigation policies are sound. I think they’re science-based and I don’t want to see that change.”

Muldoon has lived in Juneau for 25 years and works for the State of Alaska as a data processor. He doesn’t have any children of his own, but he’s related to about a half dozen kids currently enrolled in the school district.

At 37-years-old, Muldoon has served on several other city boards. At the moment, he serves on the CBJ Aquatics Board and the Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee.

Muldoon has run for school board twice in the past, but didn’t win. He entered one of those races at just 18 years old.

“I thought that I still had an understanding of what it was like to be in the schools at that time and schools were tough for me,” Muldoon said. “I was intelligent, I understood the subject matter, but my interest wasn’t really there. I wasn’t really invested in the day to day.”

That’s when one of Muldoon’s teachers made a big difference.

“My high school government teacher was Laury Scandling and she got me set up with a service learning project where I worked with the parks and rec department to install the ‘clean up after your dog’ stations 20 years ago,” Muldoon said.

Muldoon said that experience set him on a path of civic duty and landed him an internship with the legislature.

“I think that raising good children and active community members and future leaders is something that we should all strive to be an active part of,” Muldoon said. “I think that we all have a sense of responsibility and a civic duty to step in where we can and that’s my primary driver.”

Although it will be an uphill battle to get the word out before the election on Oct. 5, Muldoon said he wouldn’t run if he didn’t think he still had a chance.

An outbreak of COVID-19 at Lemon Creek Correctional Center in Juneau shows no sign of improvement. The first case was reported on Aug. 22 and since then, 55 inmates have tested positive for the virus. As of Monday afternoon, the facility was housing 41 COVID-positive inmates.

It’s not clear how many staff members have tested positive. Kelly Goode is the Deputy Commissioner for the state’s Department of Corrections.

“Due to HIPAA, DOC does not track staff positives,” Goode said. “Since vaccinations are not mandatory they are also not tracked.”

Corrections officials say they’re offering COVID-19 vaccines to all new inmates at Lemon Creek and visitors aren’t allowed during the outbreak.  

Just over 40% of the inmates at Lemon Creek Correctional Center are fully vaccinated. 

Correction: An earlier version of this story included the acronym HIPPA, which was incorrect in the deputy commissioner’s statement. It is HIPAA, or the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act.