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Sen. Bill Wielechowski (D-Anchorage) is chair of the rules committee in the Alaska State Senate. He discusses the upcoming legislative special session called by Governor Mike Dunleavy to begin at 10 am, on Saturday, August 2. Sen Wielechowski explains the way special sessions generally work, why this one is different, and discusses frankly the political gamesmanship given that overrides of the Governor's vetoes must be taken up within the first 5 days of the legislature reconvening. We discuss the budget line item veto of education funding but also Senate Bill 183 which helps the legislature's auditor better assess the oil and gas tax revenue for our state. This bill was widely seen as a transparency bill and Governor Dunleavy's veto of SB 183 raises red flags. 

Here is a link to the Alaska Beacon's article by reporter James Brooks about the veto of SB 183. 

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 Gabe Rottman is the Vice President of Policy for the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press. A practicing attorney with a focus on the novel issues at the intersection of press freedom, newsgathering, and technology, Gabe is the perfect person to discuss the media environment in America today and what resources are available to journalists who, through the course of just doing their jobs, could find themselves in the crosshairs of the government.

From 2012 to 2015, Rottman served as the lead federal legislative and regulatory counsel at the American Civil Liberties Union on open government, press freedom and the First Amendment. While at the ACLU, Rottman directed federal advocacy on the Espionage Act and its implications for journalist source protection. After the ACLU, he opened PEN America's Washington, D.C., office and served as its first Washington director. 

The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press was started by journalists and lawyers in 1970 to provide legal representation to reporters. RCFP remains the leading provider of free legal services to journalists and newsrooms across the US. To contact the organization, visit RCFP.org. 

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Former editor of the Anchorage Daily News Pat Dougherty worked at that paper for 34 years. Born in 1950 as the eldest son of an Air Force pilot father, Pat never found a long term home till he landed in Anchorage in 1975 to take a job as a sports reporter at the Anchorage Times. Once transferring over to the ADN in 1980, he worked his way up the ranks and was the editor of the series that won the 1989 Pulitzer Prize. The ADN has won the Pulitzer Prize Gold Medal for Public Service three times. Only three papers in the history of the awards have won more.- But, Dougherty fears that the ADN's best days are behind it -- as is true for most legacy newspapers in our country. We discuss the current media environment in Alaska including the influence of blogs like Must Read Alaska & its founder Suzanne Downing, and The Alaska Landmine and its founder Jeff Landfield, as well as other more traditional news outlets like Alaska Public Media and the Alaska Beacon. 

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This interview was originally published in March of 2023.

Anchorage born Representative Genevieve Mina talks about growing up as part of a unique family business and how those experiences helped her when challenged with her own childhood trauma.  She also touches on forging her own professional path against cultural norms.  

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This episode originally aired in March of 2023.

Will Stapp tells of his childhood being raised by his grandparents, going to war in Iraq and moving to Alaska to raise a family and ultimately become a member of the Alaska House of Representatives.

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Journalist Tom Hewitt is the former opinions editor of the Anchorage Daily News from 2018 to 2024. He previously was editorial page editor of the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner and news director of KTVF and KXDF in Fairbanks. He is currently special assistant to Fairbanks North Star Borough Mayor Grier Hopkins. 

This interview is part of a series regarding the media landscape in Alaska in 2025.

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Dr. Mara Kimmel is the Executive Director of the ACLU of Alaska and former first lady of Anchorage. Prior to taking the helm of the ACLU of Alaska, She had a long career in Alaska public policy focused on rights and justice in northern communities. She has served on the faculty at the Seattle University School of Law, the University of Alaska Anchorage and Alaska Pacific University.

Most relevant to our conversation today, Dr. Kimmel worked for over a decade as an immigration attorney and as an advocate for tribal subsistence rights. In her role as first lady of Anchorage, as wife to Mayor Ethan Berkowitz, she led the development of Welcoming and Resilience initiatives at the Municipality of Anchorage. 

She serves on the national board of directors for Welcoming America, the regional advisory board for the Anti-Defamation League, and is a board member and co-founder of the Alaska Institute for Justice. Mara received her law degree from the University of Minnesota School of Law and her Master’s degree in Natural Resource Management at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. She earned her PhD in Environmental Science and Policy from Central European University in Budapest in 2014.  

To listen to the Alaska State House Judiciary Committee hearing on ICE detainees in DOC custody, click here.

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Rose O’Hara-Jolley is the Alaska State Director for Planned Parenthood Alliance Advocates. Planned Parenthood is a network of 600 health clinics across the country -- Alaska has two (one in Fairbanks and one in Anchorage) --  that provide reproductive and sexual health care including birth control, sexually transmitted infection testing and treatment, cancer screenings, well-woman exams and mental health care.  Planned Parenthood is the only provider of abortions in Alaska. Planned Parenthood Alliance Advocates is separate from the health care clinics; it is an advocacy organization tasked with keeping the Planned Parenthood clinics open and accessible. As head of that organization, Rose directs all of their advocacy including legislative lobbying, electoral engagement, endorsed candidate programming, local organizing, and youth leadership development. 

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 JJ Harrier is the 2025 chair of the Anchorage Pride Parade. After a childhood in Girdwood, he traveled around the lower 48 and Europe trying to find himself ultimately ending up homeless on the streets of Portland in his early 30s. His mother got him into rehab in Alaska and from there his life took a different direction. JJ is the former Vice President of Marketing for the Anchorage Chamber of Commerce, the former Director of Development for Alaska Addiction Rehabilitation Services at Nugent’s Ranch, and is currently the Director of Development at Denali Family Services.

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Alaska State House Representative for Downtown Anchorage Zack Fields explains the budget reconciliation bill recently passed in the US House by a single vote. That bill is now in the US Senate, where if it is not substantially amended, it would adversely affect Alaska in many ways. One is cutting funding for SNAP – which is the federal food stamp program.  About 70,000 Alaskans receive SNAP benefits. The bill would also significantly affect Medicaid – which is government health insurance for low-income people and families. About 250,000 Alaskans are enrolled in Medicaid. The bill offers significant tax cuts that primarily benefit the ultra wealthy. Ultimately, if the 2025 budget reconciliation bill passes as is, it would massively increase the federal deficit which is already alarmingly high and has contributed to a reduction in America’s credit rating. 

To listen to Rep. Zack Field's previous episode on the podcast (where we discuss him and his life), click here.