Interior

A few dozen University of Alaska Fairbanks students, faculty and their dogs gathered in a frozen parking lot on campus in late February. It might’ve looked like a tailgate party — if not for the signs in their hands.

Many in the crowd, like undergraduate anthropology student Hazel Probst, were there to protest the University of Alaska Board of Regents’ decision last month to scrub all references to DEI from the university’s website and other publications.

“There are so many people out here dancing and just having fun and holding hope,” Probst said. “It’s empowering.”

UAF is in the process of rolling back its diversity, equity, and inclusion programs to comply with recent executive orders signed by President Donald Trump. Administrators say that’s to safeguard the flow of federal dollars to UAF research programs. Meanwhile, the federal government has announced investigations into some universities for noncompliance, while others have lost funding altogether.

That’s left some faculty and students waiting for the other shoe to drop.

UAF’s research dreams in the balance

Probst said she understands the university system’s desire to protect its federal funding, but she wishes administrators hadn’t capitulated so quickly.

“We need to continue to uphold the diversity and equity inclusion rules that the University has had for many years,” she said.” I think we need to wait. And once we are punished for continuing to uphold our DEI laws, then we can take action in court.”

But the University of Alaska system isn’t willing to accept that risk. UAF Chancellor Dan White said the university is committed to maintaining an inclusive, non-discriminatory environment. But he affirmed the Board of Regents’ decision.

“The motion came out and said: we support free speech,” said White. “We support these longstanding values of academic freedom, and we’ll continue to do so. But in our institutional websites, let’s take those words: ‘DEI,’ off of our website, and let’s think about, ‘Now, how do we understand belonging for all students?’”

Federal dollars make up more than a quarter of UAF’s total operating revenue. The biggest portion of that pot of money — about 28% — comes from the National Science Foundation,, which is bracing for steep cuts in the Trump administration’s forthcoming budget.

White said that could throw UAF’s goal of becoming a top-tier research institution into jeopardy.

“If the National Science Foundation’s budget were cut, that would have an impact on us,” he said. “But what we can do is focus on things we can control. And what we can control is continuing to recruit students, continuing to seek the funding that’s important for research.”

Faculty divided on how to move forward

Carl Tape is a seismologist at the university’s Geophysical Institute. A lot of his funding comes from federal sources, including NSF and the Department of Defense. None of that funding has been interrupted, and Tape hopes it stays that way. Through it all, he said he’s mostly just trying to keep his head down.

“It’s really upsetting a lot of people,” Tape said. “I can understand that. But it’s like a family. I have students that I’m responsible for, and first and foremost, I have to figure out how to secure funding for them and for myself.”

Tape said equity practices are important, but most of his graduate students are federally funded. And he said any shakeup that could cause the federal government to cut funding would be catastrophic for their future employment and ongoing research.

But to professors in other departments, the federal shift away from DEI policies is the bigger catastrophe. Sarah McConnell, a professor in UAF’s music department, said she expects many of her students will be hurt by the change.

“A lot of what DEI does is it sets up opportunities for students to financially make those opportunities happen,” she said. “These kids who have earned the right to go to various institutions — whether it’s an assistantship or some great scholarship or something else — is going to go away because they’re removing the funding associated with any kind of DEI initiative.”

Several other UAF faculty members, who declined to be identified over concerns about their employment, echoed similar fears for students who have written diversity statements into their applications, or who have project proposals with DEI elements. Some said they worry about job security — especially those whose positions are attached to 1-year federal funding periods.

Many of them say they don’t want to be the proverbial “nail that gets hammered,” but there are internal debates happening over how and to what degree faculty members should comply with executive orders.

Chancellor White said he’s received “handfuls” of letters of concern, and that he’s trying to offer reassurance to UAF’s students and employees.

“We all have to understand that it’s a rapidly changing environment,” White said. “The Board of Regents has a responsibility to help the university move forward.”

If there’s any consensus among faculty, it’s that they’re doing their best to look after their students, who could be most vulnerable to funding cuts.

Interior Alaska’s major tribal consortium will be rejoining the Alaska Federation of Natives, two years after it withdrew.

During their annual four-day meeting in Fairbanks, the full board of directors for the Tanana Chiefs Conference voted Thursday in favor of a resolution to restore membership with AFN.

Tanana Chiefs Conference is a nonprofit tribal organization that aims to advance the health and social service needs of its 42 members, 37 of which are federally-recognized tribes. In April 2023, TCC voted to bow out of AFN, which is the largest statewide Native organization in Alaska.

Denakkanaaga brought forward Thursday’s measure. First Chief of Huslia Jack Wholecheese is on the Denakkanaaga board of directors, and he said unity will be key as looming federal cuts threaten to impact the budgets of tribes and tribal organizations in the region.

“We feel that it is important that we all collaborate and work together with other Native people to have a stronger voice during the critical time we are facing with the federal government and other entities,” Wholecheese said.

The move comes as Congress is considering major reductions in federal spending, including cuts that budget experts say will shrink Medicaid coverage.

On Wednesday, TCC Chief and Chairman Brian Ridley said Medicaid contributes about $68 million in annual revenue that the organization uses to provide health services to its members.

And while he acknowledged that TCC isn’t likely to lose all those funds, Ridley said his organization may have to pull from budget reserves to continue their level of service if Medicaid funding is significantly reduced.

“There’s no way to sugar coat it. Cuts are coming, and so we just have to be as prepared as we can be,” he said.

And it’s that kind of financial uncertainty that’s making a united front more appealing, according to Elder Peter Demoski of Nulato.

“I’m having second thoughts about my opposition to AFN all these years,” he said Thursday. “We are going to be in a financial crisis in the next few years. And I believe we’ll need the support of AFN to help us get through those difficult times.”

The decision to rejoin AFN goes beyond strength in numbers.

The resolution directs TCC staff to renew membership ahead of the annual AFN convention in October, with the goal of advancing tribal sovereignty and protecting subsistence rights.

Those goals touch on one of the reasons Tanana Chiefs Conference broke from AFN two years ago. A TCC statement from 2023 said the statewide organization hadn’t taken adequate action in response to calls to support subsistence salmon populations and traditional ways of life.

“Since then, they’ve made a huge effort to try to push subsistence on social media and other things,” Ridley said Thursday. “I want to give credit where credit is due. They have tried to make a lot of the improvements that we asked for.”

When staff at Pike’s Waterfront Lodge in Fairbanks got the news a few weeks ago that they’d host the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race for the first time since 2017, they immediately jumped into action.

“We’re already busy, but we love hosting the Iditarod,” said Michelle Davis, the lodge’s chief operating officer. “We’re so happy it’s here.”

Davis is among Interior Alaska residents who are hustling to get ready for the Iditarod next week after race organizers’ last-minute decision to push the route north due to dismal snow on part of the normal trail out of Willow. Many business owners and checkpoint volunteers along the revised route say they saw this coming, but it’s still a herculean task to get ready to welcome floods of Iditarod staff, mushers, spectators and — of course — the sled dogs.

Davis said her team comped about 40 rooms for the race’s mushers and organizers — even though they’re in the thick of tourist season for aurora viewing, and are almost completely booked out. On a recent afternoon, she walked through one of Pike’s few remaining vacant rooms, which could very soon be occupied by members of the Iditarod crowd. This one has a full view of the lodge’s live reindeer pen.

“We kind of wanted it to feel like a cabin — but not a cabin,” Davis said. “Like, more luxury, you know? And you open the window and you see reindeer! And then you can walk out your room and you can be right outside with the reindeer.”

Pike’s Lodge is a pet-friendly resort, but the reindeer room invite doesn’t extend to the dog teams. They scare the deer, so many of them will be kept at a nearby church.

It’s an exciting time, Davis said — especially for her international employees.

“I always let all our staff come out and watch a couple of the races when they’re working,” she said. “So, it’s going to be great for them to experience something they wouldn’t have been able to.”

She said getting the lodge into the global spotlight at the starting line will be great for business. That sentiment was echoed in the public sector by Fairbanks Mayor Grier Hopkins.

“It means a lot to host the biggest sled dog race left in Alaska, and we’re a big, strong supporter of our state sport,” he said. “I think our economy is ready and excited to have the influx in winter and build on our strong winter tourism as we’ve seen in recent years.”

Scott McCrea is the president of a local tourism marketing nonprofit, Explore Fairbanks. He said the logistics of having the start in Fairbanks with only two weeks’ notice is a bit tricky, since March is the city’s biggest month for tourism. But the fact that the race is on the small-side this year — 33 mushers, as opposed to more than 70 in previous years — could make it more manageable.

McCrea said his organization is already reflecting on the possibility that the city will host the Iditarod with greater frequency, as the climate demands.

“We’re seeing here how the winters in Alaska are changing,” he said. “So it just probably won’t be the last time that we’ll have it here. And if that’s the case, we will proudly embrace it being here, and just kind of do what we do as Fairbanksans and try to make it the best possible.”

Further out on the trail, Galena is scrambling to get its race checkpoint ready. The town of just under 500 wasn’t supposed to be on the trail either this year — it usually only hosts the race every other year.

Tim Bodony, Galena’s checkpoint manager, said he’s getting lodging squared away at the community center, where mushers will sleep on cots gifted by the Red Cross to shelter people displaced by Yukon River floods in 2013. The dogs will bed down in the snow that covers a frozen lake nearby.

There’s also the food. Bodony said he expects residents to rally to cook for the mushers, as they’ve done in the past.

“We have to practice hospitality out here,” he said. “That’s the way of the trail. You got people coming in with no ability to just simply go out to a restaurant, and they’re reliant on us for that. And it gives Galena a good name.”

Bodony has a very specific set of instructions for his neighbors-turned-Iditarod-cooks: keep it hardy, keep it simple.

“Keep it comfort food-style,” he said. “Don’t get too spicy. That’s not going to go well. Mushers tend to want something that sticks to the ribs and is warm. Volunteers too. Once you’ve been outside all day, you just want something comforting to heat you up, and then you want to go to bed.”

The 2025 Iditarod will hold its parade-like ceremonial start in Anchorage on Saturday, March 1, at 10 a.m. Then, the race officially starts at Pike’s Waterfront Lodge in Fairbanks, on Monday, March 3, at 11 a.m. Lodge staff encourage spectators to arrive early to find parking and good spots to view the starting line.

A couple dozen Fairbanksans sang songs and rallied on a main street corner this week, in an impromptu protest marking three years since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The Monday crowd at Geist Road and University Avenue waved Ukrainian and American flags and carried anti-Russian banners and signs.

Women had sunflowers in their headpieces wrapped in yellow and blue ribbons over their coats.

Sveta Yamin-Pasternak says Alaskans need to take note of what’s happening in Ukraine because they have much in common.

“And I think especially it is relevant for all of us as Alaskans because we truly do share the same values with Ukraine,” Yamin-Pasternak said. “We’re also, unfortunately, currently sharing a hostile neighbor.”

She held a banner that said: “Solidarity Alaska and Ukraine, many great values, one bad neighbor in common.” Ryan Tinsley held up the other end.

“You have a full-on assault against Western democracy, led in part by Putin and his misinformation,” Tinsley said. “So, I think there is more and more in common with the fight in Ukraine, and with the West and Europe — you know, Western Europe and the U.S.”

Stacy Fritz has joined a small group on this street corner several times in the last three years. She’s hoping for peace, but she doesn’t think it will come through President Trump.

“His first effort to make peace excluded the Ukrainians. That’s the opposite of a sincere good effort to make peace,” Fritz said. “And today he refused to go along with the UN resolution condemning Russia for illegally invading Ukraine.  Sure, everybody wants the war to end. There’s a simple, simple way to do that.  Russia and Putin can get out of Ukraine.”

Katerina Vrebecka  commented on recent statements made by Trump about Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky.

“Zelensky is offering to step down from his position if Ukraine will be part of NATO, which is showing the whole world that he’s not a dictator, but he is the true president who actually cares about his country and the true peace,” Vrebecka said.

Vrebecka is a dual citizen of the United States and the Czech Republic, which she said gives her perspective on Russian occupation.

“Because we were occupied by the Soviet Union for over 20 years, so that’s one of the reasons why I’m here — to support Ukraine, because I know how it feels,” she said. “I lived under the occupied country just for a little bit, but I know it from my parents and of course from the history.”

She joined in signing a traditional Ukrainian song that has become symbolic for resistance against Russia after it was sung on a main square in Kiev a few days after the invasion, on Feb. 24th, 2022.

Musician Paul Krejci played a small accordion.

“I am half Czech myself. My father was a Czech refugee who escaped from (the) Soviet Union,” Krejci said. “And I learned a lot about the importance of fighting for a cause.”

Krejci said music is a way to build solidarity, and show where one is standing on an issue. He feels betrayed by a major reversal of U.S policy toward Ukraine, as Trump bargains for Ukraine’s rare earth minerals. Last week, he withdrew weapons and financial support for Ukraine’s fight against the Russian invasion.

“I think many people who have grandfathers, grandparents who fought in World War II would be, just — find this revolting,” he said. “It’s traitorous, I would say. And to have someone who is the President of the United States leading this cause? It is something that is a sucker punch to those who have fought for freedom for this country since its birth.”

He started up another song, and was joined by Marianne Babij. She’s Ukrainian-American, born in Chicago after her parents fled Russian occupation 90 years ago.

“I feel, frankly, terrified and, and impotent. That’s why it was so good to sing that song and I’m still kind of choked up about it, honestly,” Babij said. “I’m here to support my ancestors and their fight for democracy.”

This story originally aired on “Marketplace” on Jan. 23, 2025.

While biking near their rented home in Fairbanks, Alaska, Justine Schmidt and her partner, Josh Paul, stumbled upon a plot of land that spoke to them. 

At that point, it had only a roughed-in driveway, but Schmidt and Paul saw it as the perfect location for their future home.

Schmidt and Paul, who both work at the University of Fairbanks, purchased the land in May of 2021. Though they both lacked construction experience at the time, they decided to design and build a house themselves. 

“Josh is a very good researcher,” said Schmidt. “He spent many, many hours on YouTube University, learning how to do all the things.”

By sticking to a simple design, they managed to build a livable home in about two and a half years. 

Overall, Schmidt said the project cost around $200,000. That’s significantly lower than the median home price in Fairbanks, which is around $290,000, according to Redfin. 

“It was essentially both of us having part-time jobs — like at least 20 hours a week for two years, on top of our normal jobs, so that definitely cost something,” said Schmidt. “But we definitely could not have gotten this house on the market here in Fairbanks for that much money.”

You can listen to Schmidt’s full story here or read an edited transcript below:

Justine Schmidt: I’ve lived here about six years. It’s a lovely, cold place. Me and my partner, Josh, saw this property up for sale on a bike ride once, and we were like, “You know, that’s a great spot.” It’s at the end of a dead-end road. It goes right up against state land that there’s a bunch of trails on.

It was pandemic time, so we had a bunch of, you know, pent-up energy and had saved some money, you know. So, we were like, “This is a great idea.”

We built and designed and did the whole thing from the ground up, starting with cutting down all the trees and stacking all the firewood that we’re still using. We started in 2021 and we moved in last fall.

So, there’s a fun thing about living in Alaska, especially — we’re outside of the town of Fairbanks, right? There’s very little regulation. So, there’s a lot of people, kind of like us, who have almost no experience in construction and are like, “You know what? I can do this.” And that means a couple things: One, that you can kind of build what you want, which is really cool. And then the second thing is, there’s a lot of houses that end up for sale that are really weird.

We built basically a large box. We have no, like, indoor walls and like doors, which we’re fine with because it’s just the two of us. We like the big open space. We have giant windows that are Arctic-grade, and the walls are super thick.

A little less than $200,000 is how much this house costs us to build, which, you know, housing prices are different all over the place, but we definitely could not have gotten this house on the market for that much money.

You know, I think a lot of people would come into this house, and it is not like a normal house, right? It’s all open, but it is exactly what we wanted.

I think we both feel very connected to our house, like it’s a little baby that we had. It’s our child.

This series is part of Marketplace’s “Adventures in Housing” series, because an adventure is exactly what finding and affording a place to live has become.

The U.S. Department of Energy announced last week it was dedicating $45 million toward advancing the domestic supply of critical minerals. $7.5 million of that will go to the University of Alaska Fairbanks for research into Alaska’s critical mineral potential.

Coming in the wake of China’s new export restrictions on several critical minerals, the grant is part of the federal government’s push to become more resource-independent. Critical minerals — like gallium, antimony and germanium — are essential for most modern technology components.

Grant Bromhal, a science advisor for the DOE, says half of the United States’ critical mineral supply comes from other countries. But he says all but one of the 50 different types of critical minerals are present in Alaska.

“I think Alaska has incredible potential to support these critical mineral material needs that we know are coming,” Bromhal said. “Alaska has incredible natural resources that we’re looking to help use to support this need for cleaner, more environmentally friendly materials for our defense and national security and economic and energy security.”

The university’s Institute of Northern Engineering will use the funds to build off its ongoing survey of Alaska mines and start mapping out the Pacific Northwest for critical mineral deposits.

“This is a chance to evaluate what resources we have inside the US that can be brought in,” Bromhal said. “Particularly from secondary and unconventional sources.”

Finding critical minerals in tailings

The grant will help sustain UAF research on mine tailings, which are the leftover materials that pile up during mining activity. Some tailings contain trace amounts of critical minerals that could be extracted for commercial use.

Brent Sheets, who directs the project, says his team is sending researchers all over the state to test samples for critical minerals.

“We’ll collect the samples and then take a look at it with a handheld x-ray fluorescence XRF — it’s a screening tool,” he said. “It tells us whether or not it’s worth investigating that core through more sophisticated means.”

He says the research has already yielded interesting results for several mines across Alaska. Samples from Healy’s Usibelli Coal Mine, the state’s only operating coal mine, showed exceptionally high levels of tungsten, germanium and yttrium.

And the Greens Creek Mine, near Juneau, was flagged for having the greatest potential for extracting critical minerals from tailings out of all Alaska mines. Sheets’ team estimates the value of all metals in the Greens Creek tailings pile at $2.8 billion, with most of that coming from gold and silver. The zinc alone could be worth $395 million.

Getting minerals to marketplace

Sheets says the scope of the project is much larger than just finding the minerals. His lab is also trying to solve some of the huge logistical problems that stand in the way of extracting them.

Alaska’s size and geological diversity makes it as obstacle-rich as it is opportunity-rich for mineral development. He says the state’s remoteness and extreme terrain makes getting critical minerals out of Alaska difficult.

“What can we do to get those minerals into the marketplace?” he said. “Antimony is very big right now on the list of minerals. We’re working very closely with Alaska Range Resources down in the south central part of the state, but there’s antimony right here in the Interior too.”

He says the next step is to tackle the first item on their laundry list of logistical problems. Researchers at the Institute of Northern Engineering will speak with communities and Tribes about ways to recruit employees and invest in local infrastructure to support critical mineral mining projects.

Disclosure: Usibelli Coal Mine is a corporate sponsor of KUAC.