Zoe Grueskin, KTOO

As the partial government shutdown enters its second month, more people than usual are stopping by the food bank in Juneau.

Darren Adams is the manager of Southeast Alaska Food Bank. He said the shutdown took a lot of people by surprise.

“There have been some individuals who have told me they never thought they’d be in this position,” he said.

On Monday he will open the food bank beyond its regular hours. Between noon and 4 p.m., he’s inviting federal workers to come by and take home up to 50 pounds of food. All they need to show is federal identification.

Adams said the longer the shutdown lasts, the greater the need becomes.

“A lot of people think, okay I can make a week’s worth of groceries stretch for ten days if I need to, but you can’t make a week’s worth of groceries stretch for a month,” he said.

He added that since the shutdown began, he’s heard from more people in Juneau who want to volunteer their time — including federal workers on furlough.

Adams said he will continue to open the food bank to federal workers every Monday until the government is reopened.

Note: Several organizations in Juneau provide food and support for those in need. Some of those resources are listed here.

Alaska’s attorney general and two of the state’s congressional lawmakers are calling on a federal appeals court to uphold the Indian Child Welfare Act, or ICWA.

The 1978 law is designed to keep Native American and Alaska Native children with family members or within Native communities if they are up for adoption or removed from their home by state welfare agencies.

Last year, the law was struck down by a U.S. district court judge in Texas. The judge ruled it unconstitutional, saying it discriminates against non-Native Americans. That ruling is currently being appealed.

Alaska attorney general Kevin Clarkson joined attorneys general from 20 other states in filing a brief on Monday in support of the law.

On Wednesday, Alaska Republicans Sen. Lisa Murkowski and Rep. Don Young co-signed a similar brief, along with five congressional colleagues. Both briefs state ICWA is constitutional and an important tool to protect Native rights.

In this newscast:

• The Alaska House chose Nome Democratic Representative Neal Foster as its temporary speaker today, then swore in Rep. Sharon Jackson. No other action was taken on the third day of the session.
• Despite the partial government shutdown, some U.S. Forest Service staffers are still working on a plan for a large timber sale in Southeast Alaska. Those who oppose the logging are worried their concerns aren’t visible enough during the shutdown.
• A new Blood Bank of Alaska location celebrated its grand opening today in Juneau. It’s the first permanent center in the region in years.
• Sen. Murkowski, Rep. Don Young, and Alaska’s attorney general filed briefs calling on a federal appeals court to uphold the Indian Child Welfare Act.
• The U.S. Postal Service has scrapped a pilot program that was supposed to make bypass mail and non-priority mail deliveries to the North Slope hubs of Deadhorse and Utqiagvik. It’s unclear why the program was canceled.

In this newscast:

• Gov. Dunleavy announced he wants to pay back Alaskans the amounts cut from permanent fund dividends the last three years–over the next three years.
• The cruise industry is asking the court to block Juneau’s collection of the $8 per passenger fee and to define how the city can–and can’t–spend it.
• University of Alaska Southeast students working on becoming teachers don’t need to worry about the University of Alaska Anchorage losing accreditation at its school of education. But UAS education dean says the decision could hurt statewide efforts to recruit more future teachers.
• The combined teams of Juneau-Douglas: Yadaa.at Kalé, Thunder Mountain and Yaakoosge Daakahidi high schools will compete under a new mascot: the Huskies.

University of Alaska Southeast students working on becoming teachers don’t need to worry about the University of Alaska Anchorage losing accreditation at its school of education.

That’s the word from Steve Atwater, executive dean of the Alaska College of Education at UAS. Atwater helps coordinate University of Alaska education programs across the state, but he has no decision-making authority at UAA or the University of Alaska Fairbanks.

“Each of the three UAs — Fairbanks, Anchorage and Juneau — they all have independent accreditation, and so what happened at Anchorage, at UAA, does not impact UAS directly,” said Atwater.

However, Atwater said UAS could feel indirect impacts. The Alaska Department of Education and Early Development announced Tuesday that it will continue to recognize teaching license recommendations from UAA for students who earn teaching degrees this spring or summer. But UAA students with farther to go may choose to transfer to Juneau or Fairbanks to finish their teaching degrees.

And as part of the same university system, Atwater said what happens at one school can make everyone look bad.

“This is kind of a dent in the fender, the UAA dent,” he said. “It’s not something the system wants at all, so it’s something that we’re all gonna have to react to.”

Specifically, Atwater said it could hurt statewide efforts to recruit more people to become teachers.

But while he calls it a setback, he said, “It’s not gonna knock us off the rails. We’re gonna keep going and keep pushing forward.”

UAS is in the middle of the same accreditation process that ended in disappointment for UAA last week. According to Atwater, the Alaska College of Education at UAS will submit a self-study to the accrediting organization, the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation, next month, and evaluators will visit the Juneau campus in November.

Atwater expects a final decision in March 2020. He said he’s confident the college will earn the accreditation. Its current accreditation, through an older program, is good until summer 2020.

In this newscast:

• On first day of the legislative session, uncertainty continues in the Alaska House. Senate nominates Cathy Giessel to lead chamber.
• Sen. Lisa Murkowski says she sees progress at the U.S. Capitol toward ending the partial government shutdown.
• Juneauites weigh in on homelessness, public safety on walking tours with Blueprint Downtown.
• The city of Fairbanks and the Fairbanks North Star Borough will collect more than $1 million in taxes on marijuana for 2018.
• Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s administration plans to replace the public safety member on the board regulating Alaska’s legal marijuana industry.
• A rodeo cow named Betsy has evaded capture for six weeks on the trails of Anchorage.