This disturbing news is reverberating through the Capitol now. A staffer for Wasilla Sen. Rauscher, Craig Valdez, has been arrested on sex trafficking and child exploitation charges. The FBI is asking for more information, and for other victims to come forward. alaskapublic.org/news/public-...

Sen. Dan Sullivan defended his support for the SAVE Act and related federal legislation at his annual Alaska Legislature address, facing protests from critics who say the bill could harm Alaskan voters and suppress voting rights. thealaskacurrent.com/2026/02/20/s...

🧵 The Senate Judiciary Committee is underway with a hearing on the disproportionate incarceration of Alaska Natives in the state's prison system. #akleg Watch: www.ktoo.org/video/gavel/... Docs: www.akleg.gov/basis/Meetin...

Valdez works for Sen. George Rauscher. #akleg

tlingit chef edith johnson knocked it out the park tonight for the mount edgecumbe students! they got baked salmon with spruce tip béarnaise sauce, rosemary parmesan potatoes, roasted carrots, herring egg salad, beef stew, frybread, and sitka huckleberry/mixed berries strudel pies 🤤

Thursdays.

There’s a vigil for Sonia Espinoza Arriaga and her 3 children, the Soldotna family detained by ICE & deported to Tijuana w/o due process & despite being legal asylum seekers & w/ a work permit. Vigil: Mon, 2/23, 5 - 6 pm at St John’s 💒 on O’Malley

Latest from the Memo: Sullivan, verb: to weave partisan grievance into the blame game #akleg

News of the violent capture of Sonia Arriaga and her three children swept the state on Tuesday, but on Wednesday, it was apparently news to the state's junior senator. #akleg

LET'S GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO EAGLES HAMBURGERS AND CRIPPLINGLY EXPENSIVE HEALTHCARE USA #1

fuckin grim

The wife of a U.S. citizen in Alaska has been deported to Mexico with her two youngest children while her 18-year-old son is being held at the Anchorage jail, reflecting a shift to harsher tactics in the state by federal immigration authorities. www.adn.com/alaska-news/...

At least we have a pretty good state song! [through clenched teeth, while looking at the state budget]: Eight stars of gold on a field of blue, Alaska's flag, may it mean to youuuuu #akleg

Sometimes I'm kinda bummed that I can't pay attention to every minute of every day in the #akleg, but then there are days like this...

The House is hearing HB 289, the supplemental appropriate bill, on the floor right now. Before they even got through introduction of bills there was an at ease. Saddler and Allard had a conversation and Allard dismissed Saddler with her hand. Kind of weird. www.ktoo.org/video/gavel/...

So, can we go back to calling it the Alaska Native Science and Engineering Program? Or is it still gonna be the AN Science and Engineering Program?

Alaska U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan earlier today: "I'm a strong supporter of Marco Rubio's tenure as Secretary of State." #akleg

here you go

Good on Galvin that she got this question in.

Next up, Sen. Sullivan is supposed to have a press avail with Juneau reporters. Presumably to chide them for not reading the handouts and reporting on how great Trump is. #akleg Watch: www.ktoo.org/video/gavel/...

#akleg Dan Sullivan owned shares in an Atlantic farmed salmon company.

#akleg Dan Sullivan in front of my sign, "Hey Dan Sullivan! Extrajudicial killings are bad, actually."

Alaska U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan is set to give his annual address to the Alaska Legislature shortly. Follow along this 🧵 for my smart-ass coverage. Looks like the notoriously tough-crowd-adverse Republican is getting a welcoming party. #akleg Watch: www.ktoo.org/video/gavel/...

The Senate is underway with SB146, which would make the beleaguered state boarding school, Mt. Edgecumbe High School, eligible for the rural school funding system. Sen. Stedman says it ensures the school isn't "the third wheel in a two-wheel system." #akleg Watch: www.ktoo.org/video/gavel/...

House Judiciary will be holding a hearing on the detainment of children by ICE in AK on Monday Feb 23rd, 1-3pm. Immigration experts & ICE officials are invited to explain what is happening. Check out ADN report of a 5-year-old detained in Soldotna: www.adn.com/alaska-news/... #akleg

This local Wolfdog joined an Olympic ski event and triggered the finish-line camera. This is Nazgul. He snuck into a cross-country skiing sprint this morning and raced the homestretch with some competitors before being escorted home. 14/10 someone get him a medal

we used to live in a society where fruitcake-based humor was peak

it's like a peek into my newsletter drafts:

After last year’s tense Q&A with Dan Sullivan, the senator is reportedly limiting questions following this year’s legislative address to one per caucus — drawing frustration from lawmakers who want answers as he heads toward a challenge from Mary Peltola. thealaskacurrent.com/2026/02/18/a...

Sometimes I gotta remember that just getting up, having some coffee and hammering out a newsletter ain't that hard after all: Anyway, my latest from the Memo: Sullivan's safe space, sales tax dumped and PFD panic #akleg

There's a Dan Sullivan event next door. Wanted to welcome him to the neighborhood.

The current person in charge of ICE's procurement for detention is a GEO Group executive who ran the company's immigration detention portfolio. He was granted an "ethics waiver" from DHS allowing him to hand out contracts to GEO in his new role.

🧵 The Senate Majority's weekly presser is underway. This follows Senate Resources' reworking of the governor's tax bill. Eliminating the sales tax, sunsets and various contingencies. #akleg Watch along: www.ktoo.org/video/gavel/...

relatable

A mandatory read for all Alaskans and anyone interested in the fight to save public education in this country. What has happened at Mt Edgecumbe is appalling. Kudos to @matt.akmemo.com for covering this story so well. www.akmemo.com/states-penny...

Turns out the Dunleavy/Dahlstrom administration is falling over itself to make it harder to vote in Alaska. #akleg #akgov

related to the view among the professional commentariat that only students at ivys and boutique liberal arts colleges actually matter

In the latest Trail Blazers column, ultra-endurance athlete Tracie Curry talks about how her education and love of northern environments shaped her path — from the classroom to extreme races in Alaska’s wilderness.

The Senate Finance Committee is underway with its hearing on Mt. Edgecumbe High School. The committee led a junket to the boarding school last week after learning 25% of the student body left, with Sen. Hoffman calling the condition of the building "deplorable." 🧵 #akleg

From rural Alaska to the Super Bowl stage: UAF alumna Rose Crelli performed as a violinist in Bad Bunny’s halftime show, reflecting on the journey that began with seven-hour drives for lessons.

The House is taking up a resolution to extend the Typhoon Halong disaster declaration. Rep. Jimmie, D-Toksook Bay, is getting choked up as she talks about the impacts on her region. "We are Yupik. ... We know storms, we know water, we know loss." Watch: www.ktoo.org/video/gavel/... #akleg

The House Education Committee is holding a hearing on growing problems with Mt. Edgecumbe High School, the state-run boarding school, where about 25% of the student body has left recently. Rep. Himschoot starts off by saying they're acting as school board. #akleg 📺: www.ktoo.org/video/gavel/...

oops www.matsusentinel.com/mat-su-super... #akleg #Alaska

Public comments overwhelmingly oppose the proposed Cascade Point ferry terminal north of Juneau, with residents and community leaders calling it costly, poorly justified and more likely to benefit mining interests than everyday ferry riders.

Alaska Dept of Corrections officials report in a budget update hearing with a House Finance subcommittee this morning that as a result of closing a housing unit at the max-security Spring Creek prison in Seward, 2 weeks ago a "large fight" broke out involving 48 inmates and costing over $200k

After a full day of hearings, Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s omnibus tax bill faced widespread skepticism from lawmakers, local governments and the public. thealaskacurrent.com/2026/02/09/d...

🧵🧵 The House Finance Committee is already underway with a hearing on the state's Medicaid rate review study, which looks at how the state's reimbursement rates, etc., under Medicaid are or are not keeping up with costs. (I'm watching on a 15-minute delay) #akleg www.ktoo.org/video/gavel/...

this owns

Latest from the memo breaks down one of the most thorough demolitions I've ever witnessed happen to a bill in a single legislative day: Legislators, local governments and Alaskans pan Dunleavy's silly sales tax pitch #akleg

Olympics Postponed After Torchbearer Gets Held Up At Deli Counter