Alaska Sends 3,000 Letters Asking Voters to Verify Their Citizenship ahead of this Year’s Elections

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The state has sent more than 3,000 letters to Alaska voters asking them to verify their citizenship ahead of the Aug. 18 primary, a number a top state elections official said is unusually high. . .

Alaska Division of Elections Director Carol Beecher told state lawmakers during a hearing this week that it appears “a lot of old data was picked up somehow” when the division conducted voter roll maintenance that compares its list with information held by the Division of Motor Vehicles. The process usually yields about 200 names for further review, she said.

Beecher estimated during Wednesday’s hearing that the number of letters sent was around 3,500, but a Division of Elections spokesperson, Steve Kirch, on Thursday said the total was 3,048. (Read more from “Alaska Sends 3,000 Letters Asking Voters to Verify Their Citizenship ahead of this Year’s Elections” HERE)

Supreme Court to Hear from Alaskan Bush Pilot Whose Plane was Confiscated over a Six-Pack of Beer

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The Supreme Court agreed Monday to hear an appeal from an Alaskan bush pilot whose plane was seized by authorities after they discovered it was bound for a remote, dry village with beer on board.

The appeal from the 82-year-old pilot, Kenneth Jouppi, could have national implications if the 6-3 conservative court limits the ability of state and local governments to rely on asset forfeiture. Jouppi claims that the taking of his $95,000 Cessna for what amounted to a six-pack of beer violated the 8th Amendment’s bar on excessive fines.

The Supreme Court is likely to hear oral arguments in the case later this year or early next — and hand down a decision by next summer.

“The Excessive Fines Clause of the Constitution was built for cases like this,” said Sam Gedge, a senior attorney at the Institute for Justice, which is representing the pilot. “As government agencies increasingly exploit fines and forfeitures to pad their budgets, it’s vital that the Supreme Court make clear that the Excessive Fines Clause is a meaningful check on government overreach.” (Read more from “Supreme Court to Hear from Alaskan Bush Pilot Whose Plane was Confiscated over a Six-Pack of Beer” HERE)

‘Imposter’ Candidate Can Appear On Ballot Ahead Of Alaska Senate Primary, State Supreme Court Rules

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“Decoy Dan” can appear on Alaska’s primary ballot, according to an 11th-hour ruling that saved the campaign of a Senate candidate accused of being a political con man.

On Monday, the Alaska Supreme Court upheld a lower court’s ruling that Daniel J. Sullivan should not have been decertified by the state’s top election official, who found the “Republican” is running merely to “confuse or mislead and to thereby compromise the ballot’s fairness or neutrality.”

Sullivan, who admitted to working with a political strategist who is “a known longtime supporter of Democratic candidates,” is challenging Alaska’s incumbent senator — who happens to also be named Dan Sullivan. He also unsuccessfully sought to use the middle initial “S.” on the ballot, which would have matched Sen. Sullivan’s middle initial. He claimed that was a mistake.

“That you chose the occasion of your declaration of candidacy for U.S. Senate to seek ballot access under a name you have not used in your interactions with the [Election] Division suggests — and in combination with the additional facts I outline in this letter leads me to conclude — that you are seeking to confuse yourself with another candidate in the race, the incumbent Senator Dan Sullivan, rather than distinguish yourself from him,” Alaska Director of Elections Carol Beecher wrote last week in a stinging rebuke.

“Decoy Dan,” as his critics call him, had never been affiliated with Alaska’s GOP. That changed just two days before he filed his declaration of candidacy, the Election Division’s records show. And his campaign website, curiously, looks a lot like the senator’s, Beecher wrote. Beecher noted Dan J. Sullivan’s ties to Amber Lee, “an Alaska Democratic consultant who has previously supported [former Rep. Mary Peltola, D-Alaska],” Fox News reported. (Read more from “‘Imposter’ Candidate Can Appear On Ballot Ahead Of Alaska Senate Primary, State Supreme Court Rules” HERE)

US Coast Guard Helicopter Crashes In Alaska, Search And Rescue Underway

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A search and rescue operation is underway after a U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) helicopter crashed Monday in Sitka, Alaska, authorities said.

“The U.S. Coast Guard is actively responding to a reported crash involving a Coast Guard MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter that occurred today in Sitka, Alaska,” the USCG Arctic District said in a statement. “First responders and search and rescue assets are currently responding. The safety, well-being, and rescue of our crew members is our absolute, immediate priority.”

“The cause of the incident is not yet known. A formal investigation will be conducted to determine the circumstances surrounding the event,” they added.

The USCG Arctic, headquartered in Juneau, Alaska, is responsible for the Alaskan maritime region and polar waters. They cover nearly 4 million square miles and 47,000 miles of shoreline. (Read more from “US Coast Guard Helicopter Crashes In Alaska, Search And Rescue Underway” HERE)

Alaska Officials Investigating ‘Decoy’ Senate Candidate Over Alleged Voter Confusion Scheme

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Alaska Lieutenant Gov. Nancy Dahlstrom has launched an investigation into Daniel James Sullivan Jr., an Alaska resident who is running against Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan, over concerns that his candidacy would confuse voters and undermine the election.

Dahlstrom penned a letter to Sullivan on Monday saying the Division of Elections will determine whether or not his campaign was launched in “good faith” or if he is just trying to sow confusion ahead of the August primary. Sullivan, who earned the nickname “Decoy Dan,” notably changed his party affiliation to Republican right before running for office, raising suspicions about his motivations.

“The Division of Elections has a fundamental obligation to protect the integrity of Alaska’s elections and ensure voters are not deceived about the identity of the candidates on their ballot,” Dahlstrom said in a statement Monday.

“Serious allegations have been raised concerning this filing in the race for U.S. Senate, and the people of Alaska deserve a thorough and transparent investigation to ensure that the election is carried out properly and without deception,” Dahlstrom continued.

Dahlstrom said there are “credible allegations” that Sullivan had deliberately entered the race to muddy the waters. (Read more from “Alaska Officials Investigating ‘Decoy’ Senate Candidate Over Alleged Voter Confusion Scheme” HERE)

Photo credit: Gage Skidmore via Flickr

Alaska Senate Passes Bill to Allow Safe Haven Baby Boxes

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The Alaska Senate passed a bill that would allow devices designed to prevent infant abandonment in the state.

The Alaska Senate advanced the bill, which would legalize Safe Haven Baby Boxes, on an 18-2 vote. Sens. Bert Stedman, a Sitka Republican, and Löki Tobin, an Anchorage Democrat, voted no, the Alaska Beacon reported on Tuesday.

Safe Haven Baby Boxes were created to deter parents from abandoning their newborns, potentially leaving them to die. Baby boxes are temperature-controlled incubators often built into exterior walls of fire stations, police stations, and hospitals, and can be accessed from inside. At-risk mothers can safely and legally place their newborns inside. Then, the outside door locks, and mothers have time to get away before an alarm goes off, alerting first responders or hospital staff inside.

The baby is then quickly removed and sent to a hospital for a wellness check. From there, the baby is usually placed into state custody and often quickly adopted.

Alaska has had its Safe Haven law since 2008, which allows for the in-person surrender of newborns up to 21 days old to fire stations, hospitals, and police officers. (Read more from “Alaska Senate Passes Bill to Allow Safe Haven Baby Boxes” HERE)

Photo credit: Flickr

Lisa Murkowski Joins Democrats, Votes for Abortion in VA Facilities

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The U.S. Senate squashed an effort Wednesday by Democratic lawmakers to overturn the Department of Veterans Affairs’ ban on abortions or abortion counseling for VA patients.

In a 50-48 vote, the Senate rejected a proposal by Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, to reinstate VA coverage of abortions. . .

The VA finalized a rule Dec. 31 that prohibits the procedure at VA medical centers unless the veteran’s life is at risk. The new policy overturned a policy implemented in September 2022 that allowed the VA to provide the procedure or cover the cost in cases of rape, incest or endangerment of the life or health of the mother. . .

Between September 2022 and August 2025, the VA had covered or provided abortions to roughly 100 veterans and 40 CHAMPVA patients, according to data provided by the VA.

Blumenthal’s proposal would have opened debate on whether to repeal the VA’s ban. The vote fell nearly unanimously along party lines, with 50 Republicans voting no and two Republicans, Sen. Susan Collins of Maine and Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, joining 46 Democrats voting yes. (Read more from “Lisa Murkowski Joins Democrats, Votes for Abortion in VA Facilities” HERE)

Alaska Air Guard Evacuates Hundreds from Western Alaska

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The Alaska Air National Guard C-17 evacuated over 300 civilians from the remote western coast of Alaska to emergency shelters in Anchorage, the latest in the military response to massive flooding caused by Typhoon Halong over the weekend. The crew flew the evacuation from Bethel, the only town along the impacted coast with a runway large enough to handle heavy cargo jets.

Many onboard had been rescued in recent days by Alaska Army and Air Guard teams, Coast Guard and state rescue workers who spent the previous several days finding and moving civilians from surrounding towns where homes and buildings had been left destroyed or uninhabitable by flood waters.

Military and state rescue forces had rescued at least 51 people in those remote villages over the weekend, officials said.

The storm received little attention outside the state, but left a trail of devastation through several coastal villages whose populations are mostly Alaskan natives. The flooding has torn buildings, including some homes, from their foundations and floated them away.

The rescues have taken place in the communities of Kipnuk and Kwigillingok, an Alaska National Guard news release says. At least one person has been killed by the storm and two are missing, the Associated Press is reporting. (Read more from “Alaska Air Guard Evacuates Hundreds from Western Alaska” HERE)

Photo credit: Alaska Air National Guard photo by Staff Sgt. Joseph Moon

Typhoon-Devastated Alaska Facing Hardships More Severe Than Most Americans Will Ever Comprehend

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By Alternet. Remnants of a powerful typhoon swept into Western Alaska’s Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta on Oct. 12, 2025, producing a storm surge that flooded villages as far as 60 miles up the river. The water pushed homes off their foundations and set some afloat with people inside, officials said. More than 50 people had to be rescued in Kipnuk and Kwigillingok, hundreds were displaced in the region, and at least one person died.

Typhoon Halong was an unusual storm, likely fueled by the Pacific’s near-record warm surface temperatures this fall. Its timing means recovery will be even more difficult than usual for these hard-hit communities, as Alaska meteorologist Rick Thoman of the University Alaska Fairbanks explains.

Disasters in remote Alaska are not like disasters anywhere in the lower 48 states, he explains. While East Coast homeowners recovering from a nor’easter that flooded parts of New Jersey and other states the same weekend can run to Home Depot for supplies or drive to a hotel if their home floods, none of that exists in remote Native villages. . .

People are going to have really difficult decisions to make. Do they leave the community for the winter and hope to rebuild next summer?

There likely isn’t much available housing in the region, with the flooding so widespread on top of a housing shortage. Do displaced people go to Anchorage? Cities are expensive.

There is no easy answer. (Read more from “Typhoon-Devastated Alaska Facing Hardships More Severe Than Most Americans Will Ever Comprehend” HERE)

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Videos, Photos Show Devastating Aftermath of Typhoon in Alaska

By Men’s Journal. Hurricane-force winds have devastated swaths of western Alaska and decimated at least two towns amid intense flooding that has killed at least two people.

According to multiple reports, remnants of Typhoon Halong raised water levels 4 to 6 feet above normal high tide levels, and dozens of people needed to be rescued across the region, including some waiting for help on rooftops. Families along the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta have been displaced due to the powerful storm that triggered major coastal flooding.

Video taken in Bethel, Alaska, shows boats being swept away. Another video shows how the typhoon, which packed more than 100 MPH winds and previously ravaged Japan, brought catastrophic flooding to the coastal villages of Yup’ik, with homes being swept away and destroyed.

At this moment, authorities continue to work on how many exactly are accounted for, but at least one woman was found dead, and at least two people are missing.

U.S. Coast Guard Captain Christopher Culpepper described the situation in the villages of Kipnuk and Kwigillingok as “absolute devastation,” per The Associated Press. About 380 people live in Kwigillingok, an Alaska Native community.

(Read more from “Videos, Photos Show Devastating Aftermath of Typhoon in Alaska” HERE)

Houston-Based Company Makes LNG History in Alaska

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Texas-based companies continue to lead the U.S. in oil and natural gas production – including in Alaska.

A Houston-based company has helped make history by completing the first liquified natural gas (LNG) delivery from Alaska’s North Slope beyond the arctic region this month.

Houston-based Harvest Midstream and Alaska’s Interior Gas Utility (IGU) have completed the first delivery of LNG via pipeline from Alaska’s North Slope to Fairbanks, making the delivery the first commercial sale of North Slope gas to communities beyond the Arctic region in U.S. history.

“For the first time in history, North Slope gas isn’t just staying on the Slope — it’s reaching beyond to power Alaska’s future,” Harvest CEO Jason Rebrook said. “This project unlocks clean, reliable energy for Interior families and businesses and shows what’s possible when we work together to build Alaska’s energy security.”

Harvest’s North Slope LNG facility near Deadhorse, Alaska, will produce up to 150,000 gallons a day, triple the capacity of IGU’s current plant. Deliveries are projected to surpass 8 million cubic feet of natural gas a day as IGU expands its infrastructure and converts customers over to natural gas service, it says. (Read more from “Houston-Based Company Makes LNG History in Alaska” HERE)

Photo credit: Flickr