ADN Politics

ADN Politics returns next week!

After decades of protests, lobbying, lawsuits and bureaucratic twists and turns, the federal government has killed the Pebble mine. Well, maybe. At the very least, this week’s decision by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency marks a major turning point for the controversial mine proposal. In this episode, host Elizabeth Harball discusses what’s ahead for the mine and the Bristol Bay salmon fis...

Gears have started to turn in the Alaska Legislature. A Republican-led majority came together in the House after a small group of independent and Democratic lawmakers from rural Alaska agreed to cross the aisle.  In this episode, host Elizabeth Harball talks to ADN reporters Sean Maguire and Iris Samuels about what the Republican-led House means for this year’s legislative agenda, a surprise in th...

Anchorage Mayor Dave Bronson has been no stranger to controversy in the year-and-a-half since he took office. But last week, the former municipal manager sent a letter to the mayor and other city officials that landed like a bomb in the middle of city politics. It contained a list of accusations against the mayor and his close associates, ranging from unethical behavior to outright illegal acts. H...

The Alaska Legislature gavels in next week, and we’re beginning to get a picture of what the upcoming session in Juneau will be like.  Some issues — like who’s in charge in the Senate — have been largely resolved. Other questions — like organization in the House and what the Legislature will be able to accomplish this session — remain unsettled.  In this episode, host Elizabeth Harball talks to AD...

Anchorage Republican Cathy Giessel is returning to the Alaska Legislature in January as Senate Majority Leader as part of a 17-member majority made up of Republicans and Democrats. In this episode, Giessel talks about what she would like the Legislature to accomplish this year, the governor’s $3900 PFD proposal, ranked choice voting, the future of the Alaska Republican party and more. For more loc...

To state the obvious, it snowed a lot over the past week or so in Anchorage. Yes, it’s Alaska, and yes, it’s December. But many of the city’s roads have been a mess, and Anchorage residents have been asking: Does it have to be this bad? Host Elizabeth Harball talks to ADN reporter Zachariah Hughes about how snow plowing gets done in Anchorage, how city leaders are handling the latest series of sto...

The votes are counted, the choices ranked, and the 2022 election results now mostly in the books. Though a couple of legislative races are being recounted, Alaskans have a pretty clear picture of who they’re sending to Washington and Juneau, and what that means for state politics going forward. For more local and state news, subscribe to the Anchorage Daily News today. This episode of ADN Politics...

Nationally, in the midterm elections, a predicted “red wave” of GOP victories didn’t materialize. Results aren’t yet finalized in Alaska, but with some notable exceptions, it’s fair to say Republicans aren’t in a position to win all the races they’d hoped to win.  Host Elizabeth Harball talks to ADN reporters Iris Samuels and Sean Maguire  about where election results stand and how GOP leaders are...

Much remains up in the air after election day in Alaska. But as vote counts started to roll in, some clear storylines emerged  — a ballot measure to hold a constitutional convention was soundly defeated, Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy appeared to have the votes to retain office, Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski was in a good position to fend off her Trump-backed challenger and Rep. Mary Peltola, a De...

Election day is almost here — not that anyone in Alaska needs reminding, with campaign texts, mailers and signs everywhere you look.  In this episode of ADN Politics, reporters Iris Samuels and Sean Maguire lay out what to watch for in the last few days before the election: What can we learn from last-minute campaign moves? When can Alaskans expect to see who won? How is voter turnout looking so f...

Election day is Nov. 8, Alaskans have started casting ballots, and things are moving fast in the races for U.S. House, U.S. Senate and the governor’s office. The last week has seen cross-party endorsements, in-party rebukes, a series of debates, rulings on campaign finance complaints, a lightsaber snafu and much more. Anchorage Daily News politics reporter Iris Samuels joins host Elizabeth Harball...

The Anchorage School District announced this week it is considering shutting down six elementary schools — the result of a budget crisis hitting not just Anchorage, but school districts across the state. In this episode, host Elizabeth Harball talks to Daily News education reporter Morgan Krakow and politics reporter Sean Maguire about decisions behind Anchorage’s school closure proposal, and the...

Former President Donald Trump wants to exert his influence in Alaska this November, with endorsements for several Republican candidates: U.S. House candidate and former Gov. Sarah Palin, U.S. Senate candidate Kelly Tshibaka and Gov. Mike Dunleavy.  But with just weeks to go before the November election day, Tshibaka is facing a multimillion-dollar ad campaign against her from  a major GOP group, a...

The ongoing homelessness crisis in Alaska’s biggest city has hit another turning point — or a U-turn. In a highly controversial move this summer, Anchorage’s mayor shut down the sports arena the city had been using as a mass homeless shelter since the start of the pandemic, and bused people there to a campground with very limited services.  But on Oct. 1, with temperatures dropping and winter appr...

There’s a yes-no question on the November ballot that has the potential to make big changes in Alaska. It could change how judges are appointed, how education is funded and how the state decides the amount of the Permanent Fund dividend. And it could lead to an abortion ban in Alaska. The question: “Shall there be a constitutional convention?” In this episode, host Elizabeth Harball talks to ADN r...

The Inflation Reduction Act, signed into law this summer by President Joe Biden, is one of the most significant actions the U.S. government has ever taken to address climate change. It could also lead to more mining in Alaska. In this episode, host Elizabeth Harball is joined by ADN reporter Alex DeMarban, who dug into how the Inflation Reduction Act incentivizes mining for so-called critical mine...

Nearly every seat in the Alaska Legislature is up for election in November, and there’s a lot at stake. On this episode, host Elizabeth Harball is joined by ADN politics reporter Sean Maguire to talk about how legislative races are shaping up so far, and what that could mean as the state continues to grapple with issues including the budget, abortion, education funding and the future of ranked cho...

On this episode, host Elizabeth Harball is joined by Mary Peltola, recently elected as Alaska’s lone member of the U.S. House of Representatives. Peltola talked from her hometown of Bethel, during a brief visit before heading to Washington, D.C. to be sworn in to fill the term of the late Rep. Don Young. In this interview, Peltola discusses her background, bipartisanship, issues including abortion...

In a major political upset, Democrat Mary Peltola this week beat  Republican former Gov. Sarah Palin to be Alaska’s next representative in the U.S. House. Who is Mary Peltola? How did she win? How did the Republican candidates lose? And what does Peltola’s victory mean in the lead-up to the general election in November?  On this episode, host Elizabeth Harball is joined by Anchorage Daily News rep...

How did a crisis with homelessness come to dominate local politics in Alaska’s largest city?  On this episode, ADN reporters Emily Goodykoontz and Michelle Theriault Boots explain the major policy changes in Anchorage that have kept homelessness in the headlines. From a pandemic emergency shelter in the Sullivan Arena to the Centennial Campground and scattered site facilities inside hotels, we dis...

After months of campaigning, lots of national attention and more than a few surprises — Alaskans went to the polls on Aug. 16 in the state’s first regular primary election since the passage of an elections overhaul passed in 2020. We’re unpacking what happened and what it means between now and November with ADN politics reporter Iris Samuels. The primary was as unusual as it was historic. There is...

Earlier this summer, former President Donald Trump made good on his vow to come to Alaska. Thousands of people attended a July 9th rally in Anchorage, where Trump campaigned in support of  the Republican candidates he’s endorsed – and against Senator Lisa Murkowski, one of just seven Republican senators who voted to impeach him in the wake of the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol. A year-and-a-half after...