Alaska

A national storytelling nonprofit is launching its winter and spring season in Anchorage this week, with Alaska voices helping to kick off a series centered on the idea of the American Dream.

The Moth is an organization that promotes the art of storytelling through education, performance and other efforts. The Moth’s Mainstage show comes to the Atwood Concert Hall in Anchorage on February fourth. The Anchorage performance is presented by the Anchorage Concert Association. The event will feature and features Alaska storytellers Na Mee and Polly Napiq Andrews.

Na Mee is a writer and teaching artist from Juneau. She said being invited to share the stage in her home state feels especially meaningful.

“I just feel honored to be one of the Alaskan storytellers for this particular show,” Na Mee said. “I love that The Moth reaches out to local storytellers, so people from the community are represented on stage, sharing their experiences from their viewpoint as Alaskans.”

While the story Na Mee will tell takes place out of state, she says it is deeply shaped by the Alaska experience.

“The story doesn’t take place in Alaska, but it’s grounded in the fact that we are from Alaska,” she said. “I think it especially speaks to fellow Alaskans and parents who may have taken their kids outside of Alaska, and what that might feel like.”

For Na Mee, storytelling itself is a cultural practice, not just a performance.

“Our family doesn’t really sit around talking about how we feel. At dinner, we tell stories. That’s how we transfer what we know about the world and how we feel about it,” she said.

The show’s director, Michelle Jalowski, says her focus is less on forcing a theme and more on curating voices that naturally resonate.

“When I’m curating a show, I try to put together the most compelling stories that represent a diverse group of voices. Finding local storytellers is always my favorite part, and Alaska has been good to us,” she said.

Anchorage storyteller Polly Napiq Andrews brings a background in trauma healing and cultural storytelling. She says story is central to identity in Indigenous communities.

“Story is one of the centerpiece values of who we are as Indigenous people,” she said. “We share stories to teach the younger generation who we are, where we come from, and how we live in community.”

Andrews said the idea of the American Dream, for her, is rooted in healing.

“The American Dream means healing and living a good life. It’s about breaking cycles of trauma and passing on healthier ways of living to our children, so they can have a better life than we did,” she said.

In Anchorage, those stories will open the season for a national tour, offering audiences a chance to sit together and listen to what dreaming looks like now.

The Moth Mainstage comes to the Atwood Concert Hall for one show, at 7:30 p.m. on Feb. 4, presented by the Anchorage Concert Association.

Alaska’s state ferry system is at risk of a partial or total shutdown this summer due to the failure of the federal government to issue a key annual grant.

“Currently right now, we have a shortfall in our budget,” said Dom Pannone, director of program administration and management for the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities, to members of the Senate Finance Committee during a Monday morning hearing.

Money from the Federal Transit Administration’s rural ferry program pays for almost half of the Alaska Marine Highway System’s operating expenses, but the administration failed to open its annual grant process in fiscal year 2025, which ended Sept. 30.

The ferry system’s budget runs according to the calendar year. Last spring, the Alaska Legislature and Gov. Mike Dunleavy budgeted $171 million for the 2026 ferry budget. Of that, almost $78 million was supposed to come from the rural ferry program.

Without that money, the system could be forced to tie up its ships in midsummer, at the peak of the state’s annual tourist season.

“Right now, we have a federal chaos problem,” said Sen. Jesse Kiehl, D-Juneau and a member of the Senate Finance Committee.

Ryan Anderson, commissioner of the state DOT, said his agency is “looking at several options” to prevent a shutdown of the ferry system.

If a federal grant isn’t delivered, DOT would make significant changes to the summer ferry schedule, which is slated to begin in May.

Anderson said the state could “dispose of the Matanuska,” the state’s oldest active ferry, which has been tied up dockside as a “hotel ship” because of maintenance costs.

The ferry Kennicott, coming out of drydock, or the Columbia, another old mainline ferry, could be tied up as a hotel ship instead of the Matanuska, he said.

On Monday, neither DOT officials nor state legislators could say why the Federal Transit Administration has failed to make grants available.

“What is going on in Washington, D.C.? That’s always a tough thing to work with,” Anderson said.

U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, secured almost $1 billion in the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act bill for the rural ferry program, which was written in a way to steer much of the money to Alaska.

By text after Monday’s hearing, Murkowski spokesman Joe Plesha said the Federal Transit Administration told her office it will release the FY26 ferry grants this spring but did not give a timeline.

“We are directly engaged with the FTA and working to advance the release of this grant funding as soon as possible,” Plesha said.

When Murkowski got the ferry language signed into law, it was the first time the federal government had significantly funded operational expenses for Alaska’s ferry system.

“In this particular case, it can actually pay for the operations of those (ferry) vessels,” Anderson said, noting that includes operating costs like crew and fuel. That billion dollars was to be spread across five years, and the program disbursed more than $252 million nationwide in FY22, $170 million in FY23 and $194 million in FY24.

Alaska received more than five-sixths of the total distribution in that time, something that allowed Gov. Mike Dunleavy to divert state dollars to other parts of Alaska’s annual budget.

Alaska DOT estimates that about $410 million remains available for the federal government to disburse.

In each of the three prior grant years, it took between 152 and 199 days from the time the grant application period opened to the time the grant was awarded.

That timeline means that even if federal transit officials were to open the grant process tomorrow, a decision might not be made before the start of the summer ferry schedule in May.

Dunleavy and the Legislature could extend the timeline by changing the ferry system’s budget calendar so that it starts July 1 along with all other state agencies, but if there’s still no federal money, that would just extend operations until January 2027, and then the system would face a $150 million cliff instead of a $78 million one.

Sen. Bert Stedman, R-Sitka, said that finding “backfill” money will be difficult in either case.

“Our budgets are getting tighter and taking away the flexibility the (finance) committee has to backfill some of these holes, and this particular hole could be significant, pushing $80 million,” he said.

The ferry funding issue could persist even if the federal transit authority resumes paying grants, because its ferry operations program is set to expire this year.

“What happens when that grant money is gone?” asked Sen. Mike Cronk, R-Tok.

“This year, the surface transportation reauthorization is up for renewal,” Anderson said. “This, we understand, is part of that discussion: Will the rural ferry program continue over the next subsequent four years?”

Anderson said that even if Congress renews the program, the current Alaska-favorable rules might be rewritten.

“Other states are very interested in this program as well because they have a lot of similar challenges,” he said. “Nationwide, there’s support for a program such as this. The questions that are out: How will the rules be rewritten, and how competitive will the program be? That will be the challenge.”

WASHINGTON — We’re only one month into election year 2026 and it’s already clear that the incumbents in Alaska’s federal races have a lot of money to defend their seats.

U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan raised nearly $7.5 million last year, according to his latest campaign finance report.

“We’re feeling incredibly strong about where our campaign is,” campaign spokesperson Nate Adams said. “Our fundraising is on track, and our support continues to grow.”

The campaign of Democratic challenger Mary Peltola is also touting its fundraising success. Peltola has only been in the race a few weeks and hasn’t had to disclose her contributions yet. But a Peltola campaign press release says she raked in $1.5 million on the first day after she announced. The campaign declined an interview request.

Campaign strategist Jim Lottsfeldt, who led a 2020 group that tried to unseat Sullivan, said the senator’s $7.5 million actually doesn’t give him much of a head start.

“Mary Peltola is in the middle of a money bomb, and she will raise every bit of that and more, and I think ultimately outspend Dan Sullivan,” Lottsfeldt said.

The U.S. Senate race is, so far anyway, a referendum on how people feel about President Trump, he said, and money doesn’t tell the whole story.

“The problem with money in this race is there’s going to be so much of it that most people will shoot their TVs and their computers,” he said. “And I’m not sure how it’s going to all get spent in a way that actually is effective.”

In the U.S. House race, Congressman Nick Begich’s campaign raised $3.2 million last year. Paul Smith, a consultant to the Begich campaign, said that’s an Alaska record for a U.S. House race in a non-election year.

“We feel really good about it and are proud of the start that he has to this election cycle, on the fundraising side,” Smith said.

Democratic challenger Matt Schultz, an Anchorage pastor, filed to run against Begich in October. He reported contributions of $300,000 by year’s end.

Schultz campaign manager Mai Linh McNicholas, said it’s a good foundation, with contributions from more than 2,000 people. She said Schultz set a fundraising record, too.

“It’s the most that any first-time candidate has raised, in an off-year, for this seat in Alaska,” she said.

An Independent candidate is also running for U.S. House — fisherman and retired educator Bill Hill. He hasn’t had to file a campaign finance report yet but his team says he’s raised, like Schultz, more than $300,000, and he did so in his first week.

The reports show Sullivan and Begich, like most incumbents, get significant money from Political Action Committees affiliated with corporations, trade associations and political groups. About half of their 2025 contribution totals are from individuals. The rest largely came from PACs, or “other authorized committees.”

A $300 million project to build a new Coast Guard base in Juneau for the icebreaker Storis likely will not be complete until at least 2029, the service’s top admiral said in a U.S. Senate hearing last week.

The Commandant of the Coast Guard, Adm. Kevin Lunday, testified Thursday in front of the U.S. Senate’s subcommittee on Coast Guard, Maritime, and Fisheries, chaired by Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska.

During the hearing, Sullivan pushed Lunday on his timeline for work in Alaska. Congress approved almost $25 billion earlier this year for new Coast Guard construction, including hundreds of millions for work in Alaska.

In August, the Coast Guard commissioned the icebreaker Storis, a converted oilfield services ship, at a ceremony in Juneau. The Storis will be based in Juneau, the Coast Guard has said, but not until new facilities are built.

“Are we on time, on schedule?” Sullivan asked.

“We’re moving quickly to be able to execute that funding and have that pier and infrastructure there ready by 2029,” Lunday said.

The Coast Guard had previously said its target was 2028.

“They’ve talked about 2028 before with regard to Juneau and the Storis,” Sullivan said in a phone call with reporters afterward. “He did mention 2029, but part of my job is to make sure we have the money, make sure they make the decisions early, and impress them in oversight hearings like this, to get them to keep their timelines if they put them out there, but also try to move them closer in.”

Lunday was only recently confirmed to his position after President Donald Trump controversially fired Adm. Linda Fagan after the start of his term.

Sullivan said it’s only natural for a new appointee to play it safe.

“I think the default position is to be a little conservative on the timelines,” Sullivan said.

Sullivan also pressed Lunday on his plans for a series of new icebreakers the Coast Guard intends to build in coming years.

Sullivan has been campaigning to have several medium icebreakers based in Alaska in addition to the Storis. Lunday was evasive when Sullivan asked him when he would make a decision and whether he would choose Alaska.

“As (my team) develop options, one of the first ones that I want them to present among a range of options for consideration … is for homeporting of up to four icebreakers in Alaska,” Lunday said. “Although we are still pending a decision, that’s clear guidance I’ve given to the team.”

Afterward, Sullivan said he tried to pin Lunday down on the issue because he sees it as important.

“I love the Coast Guard, but I have had real issues with how slow they are,” he said.

While Lunday didn’t make a firm commitment, Sullivan said he viewed the day as “progress.” Sullivan said he wants to see the ships in Alaska because basing them here has an economic benefit that he termed “a virtuous cycle” — the ships create demand for local shipyard work and stores to sell things to the Coast Guard, members of the Coast Guard and their families.

Housing any new arrivals remains an unsolved issue, he noted. Communities throughout Alaska are experiencing critical shortages of housing and child care.

“In almost every community, housing is an issue, and it’s an issue throughout the whole state,” he said.

“This is where we need to get the state, the cities, the boroughs also, to come to the table and say, ‘Hey, we have land here that we can provide. … We have financing that we can help incentivize housing,’” Sullivan said.

He said the Coast Guard is contributing financially for housing, but that he has encouraged elected officials to look for ways to ease the issue.

The North Douglas boat launch will soon reopen to the public after being closed for more than two weeks due to damage to its parking lot. 

In mid-January, Juneau Docks and Harbors staff closed off a portion of the launch’s parking lot on North Douglas Highway that provides access to the boat ramp. That’s after they discovered a large sinkhole that developed near the entrance.

Matt Creswell, Juneau’s harbormaster, said the closure was made out of an abundance of caution. 

“Luckily, this did happen in January instead of in the middle of the busy summer boating season,” he said. “The use is fairly minimal out at North Douglas. However, there are some die-hards that are out there quite often, and it’s used as a cabin access point as well.”

Sonny Mauricio, a spokesperson for the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities, said the damage was likely caused by erosion to a culvert pipe that runs beneath the highway, which the state maintains. The state is handling the sinkhole repairs.

He said the department plans to temporarily repair the damage and reopen the launch to the public by the end of this week. He said it’s still unclear how extensive the damage is to the area.

“We plan on going out this week to cover it with big metal plates that will stay there until the spring allows us to go out and do some more permanent repairs,” he said. 

Mauricio said the department will share details about a more permanent fix in the coming months.

The U.S. Forest Service is moving forward with a plan to harvest over 5,000 acres of trees in the Tongass National Forest, just east of Ketchikan. A majority of that will be old-growth trees, which some people worry will be devastating to the forest.

The Forest Service released the final environmental impact statement for the South Revilla project earlier this month. It would allow for the harvest of over 4,000 acres of old-growth timber, and over 1,000 acres of young growth timber. The project site, which surrounds Carroll Inlet on both sides, is around 41,000 acres in total.

Cathy Tighe, a district ranger with the Forest Service, says the cut will allow for more than logging — it will also create new recreation opportunities.

“So it’s actually it’s not just focused on timber,” she said. “It actually clears a lot of activities that help us meet our multiple-use mandate as an agency.”

The project includes construction of new trails, a cabin, boat launches and outhouses. It also includes the construction of parking spaces and 14 miles of new road.

Environmental groups have been pushing back on large-scale, old-growth logging for decades. For years, up until Trump was reelected, the Forest Service was steering away from large-scale, old-growth logging. The focus was instead on young-growth sales, which has less cultural and environmental impact.

The Ketchikan-area plans were originally introduced in 2016, under the first Trump administration, but were shelved in 2020 with the change in administrations. But with the latest administration change came a new executive order, and a new directive from the Department of Agriculture to restart and increase timber production.

“Since this project was so close to being completed previously, we had all of our resource specialists review those changes and sort of pick up where we left off.”

Part of developing the plan involves an interdisciplinary review, where resource specialists with the federal agency study the site and evaluate risks.

“It’s a long process, partly because we have all of these different resources working together,” Tighe said. “And then, in addition, there’s a lot of what we call best management practices that go into, you know, how far away from a stream you have to, like, fuel equipment to protect resources.”

But critics say that old-growth logging projects of this scale will be devastating.

Betsey Burdett is the owner of Southeast Exposure Outdoor Adventure Center, a kayaking and ziplining tour company. She says she’s seen logging projects of this size before. And she doesn’t see it as responsible development.

“It’s just a question of how many people can this land support,” she said. “What’s the breaking point, and how can we do it responsibly?”

She says she’s seen people leave the island because they didn’t like what was happening to the forests at the height of the timber industry.

Nathan Newcomer from the Southeast Alaska Conservation Council says there are better ways to go about logging.

“Our organization works with small mill operators that are just like mom-and-pop shops really, like two people that work there, and they might go grab one or two old growth trees every once in a while,” Newcomer said. “Or a tribe, for example, they might want to go chop down one old growth tree to build a canoe or carve a totem pole. There’s appropriate ways to do this.”

He says the project will harm animal populations, like those native to the Tongass, and the region’s world-class salmon runs. Old-growth projects also affect carbon sequestration and long-standing ecosystems.

Newcomer says the South Revilla project will affect Southeast Alaskans who live a subsistence lifestyle and will come at a cost to taxpayers, who will likely have to pay for a lot of the project.

“The average person in Alaska understands that that’s not our economy,” he said. “It’s not based on large scale timber production. It might have been at one point decades ago, but we’ve moved on. And so again, I ask the question, who’s asking for this? Who’s getting the benefit out of this? It certainly isn’t the majority of Alaskans in Southeast.”

Newcomer suspects this project might be a bellwether for other large scale old growth projects to come in Southeast, particularly if important conservation laws get repealed.

There is a 45-day objection period that follows the release of the final environmental impact statement. That ends on March 8. The final environmental impact statement can be found on the Forest Service website.