Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s State of the State Address to the Legislature on Tuesday was upbeat and marked by several themes, including progress and economic growth in Alaska, infrastructure and business expansion, public safety, education, and most of all optimism for the future.
Dunleavy noticeably has a cold, evidenced by his hoarse voice, his stuffy nose and clearing of his throat throughout his 24-page speech. Nevertheless, the speech was upbeat.
He acknowledged that he is in his seventh year as governor, but he said, using football metaphor, “And I have no intention of running out the clock and taking a knee with the time I have left.”
“What is our State of the State,” he asked. It’s heading in the right direction, he answered, and then went into an inventory of positive outcomes for Alaska that have occurred this past year and throughout his administration.
Here are some of the main points of his speech:
The population of the state has not only stabilized, but has grown from about 734,000 in 2020 to more than 741,000 in 2024. A combination of immigration plus births has helped raise the population to the highest level since 2017, he said.
Alaska is projected to add another 5,300 jobs in 2025, which would break the all-time high reached in 2015.
Jobs grew at a faster rate than the US for each of the past two years.
Wage growth was 6.4% while the rest of the country averaged 5.5%.
Assets managed by the Department of Revenue grew by nearly $600 million in 2024, the best performance in 10 years.
The Alaska Permanent Fund has grown by nearly $16 billion since 2020, and is projected to reach the $100 billion milestone by 2031.
The state investment bank, known as AIDEA, grew its net income to a record high of $66 million in 2024 and has paid the State nearly half a billion in dividends since 1997.
Five new cargo carriers moved into Anchorage the last year, and cargo activity grew by nearly 5% in that time. In addition, Delta and United Airlines announced plans to expand their operations in Alaska, and WestJet will begin its first ever service between Anchorage and Calgary this summer.
The Red Dog mine received approval from the federal government for its permit to build a road to an additional find that will extend the life of the mine.
Graphite One mine construction could begin by 2027 and the mine could be producing as early as 2029.
During Dixon Diversion construction, estimates are for 3,250 jobs with a total economic output estimated at $584 million dollars.
During SSQ construction, an estimated 460 jobs will be created with a total economic output of $96 million.
During HVDC construction it’s estimated that 1,470 jobs should result in a total economic output of $332 million.
When Dunleavy took office there were just 382 budgeted State and Wildlife Troopers positions. Today, the state has 411 positions, and he is requesting an additional five troopers in his budget proposal to and to reopen the shuttered Trapper Creek post. There are 77 Village Public Safety Officers serving rural Alaska as first responders, the highest number the state has had since 2014.
“My proposed budget asks for funding for five more positions,” Dunleavy said.
Overall crime rate is down 37% since 2018. Property crime is down 42%. Violent crime is down 17%.
Felony sexual assault is down 27%.
In the last academic year, according to assessments used by school districts across the nation, the percentage of Alaskan students who met early literacy benchmarks grew from 41% to 57%. Among kindergarten students, proficiency rates rose from 24% at the beginning of the year to 60% by the end of the year. According to national data released last June, Alaska students outpaced the national growth in kindergarten, first, and second grades.
In fall 2023, research from Harvard University concluded that Alaska’s charter schools are the best performing charter schools in the nation.
Over six budgets, his administration has held operating spending growth to just 8% since 2019.
Ten years ago, in the 2014 Revenue forecast, North Slope production was predicted to be just 314,000 barrels per day by 2024.
The Department of Interior estimates the state could see as much as $2 billion per year in revenue if ANWR is fully developed.
In a few years, because of this investment on the Slope, Alaska may be reporting overall production of over 650,000 barrels per day, he said. The current production is about 480,000 barrels per day.
He reminded legislators that 20% of the income from the Alaska LNG Project will be devoted to rural energy projects.
He said he was excited about Alaska’s future because of Donald Trump as president. He said that Trump singled out Alaska for the first batch of his executive orders. No other state got that kind of attention, he said.
Dunleavy said Alaska was sanctioned more than Iran and North Korea by the prior administration of Joe Biden.
He ended on a note of optimism:
“I’m an optimist because I believe in the people of Alaska, and the great things we can accomplish together. The people are the reason I’ve stayed here for more than 40 years … The people are the reason I chose to serve. I’d like to believe that’s the same reason all of us are here to serve as well. There’s no doubt we’re going to have our differences over the next few months.
But I believe we’re going to find more areas where we agree than we don’t. That’s because we’re Alaskans. I believe that our wins are going to be Alaska wins. When we put our minds together to create good policy, great things will happen. I’m ready to get to work, and to work together. I know you are, too. So I want to thank you again for the invitation to speak with you and our fellow Alaskans tonight. And I want to ask God bless Alaska, and I want to ask God to bless the United States of America,” he said.
Applause, applause, applause from here….
Mmmm…ahem….egghghg.
Im just expectorating my thoughts here: I hope the Governor gets better soon! Godspeed!
Crime is at an all time low, education achievement is at a historic growth, and AK is open for business!
We are truly blessed!
MAGS (Make Alaska Great Soon)!!
The legislators didn’t seem interested in what he was saying. We’ll they don’t care about what we say either. I don’t have any faith in this group of democrats and rino’s in Juneau.
Neither do I
I’ll wait and see.
I don’t believe those crime statistics apply to Anchorage, Alaska’s biggest sh*thole.
Main reason to be optimistic. He’s almost gone.
Be careful what you wish for. Sometimes the grass isn’t always greener. Sometimes it ends up being a darker shade of sh*t brown.
Since the governor mentioned state troopers, why is it that we are the only (or darn close to it) state that doesn’t have sheriff’s? The state bureaucracy dictates who will enforce the laws and we the people have no say in it, as we would to a certain extent with elected sheriff’s. Couple a few corrupt state troopers or local police with our arguably well established corrupt court system and the deck is stacked.
I agree.
Sheriff’s have autonomy from local and state politicians and traditional law enforcement.
Sheriff’s are elected, by “We the People”.
They are a bulwark against corruption in law enforcement, who are appointed by politicians, and corruption by local, state, AND federal politicians and law enforcement.
Out state needs to have a conversation about this…
That is an interesting topic. We have don’t have counties. We have judicial districts and boroughs.
Correct, but why couldn’t we just have duly elected borough sheriffs? I have nothing against state troopers or local police officers but it is important to have checks and balances in every aspect of government and I would argue that it is even more important within the law enforcement/ judicial system.
Violent crime down 17 percent? hmmm.
Could this be a case of “figures lie, and liars figure”?
I watched the speech on Gavel Alaska and was impressed with his drive to get it done. There are a lot of things to be thankful for and I hope he takes the time to get well and continues to battle the legislature to get his program through. According to Fox, Ron DeSantis is also having trouble with the Florida legislature. I have to wonder if the legislatures realize that if they can work with their governors that good things can happen. Anyway, good luck to him to get something done. For someone with a cold, he looked great. But the constant clearing of his throat and the water gave the cold condition away. Carpe Diem, Big Mike – Seize the day!
The Harvard study about charter schools that Dunleavy likes to cite has been thoroughly debunked. The study’s authors also wrote that Dunleavy’s claims about their work were incorrect. Even the ADN has noted this fact, but nothing seems to stop Dunleavy from continuing to repeat this lie as a strategy to wrest control away from local school boards and centralize power within the governor’s office.
“…thoroughly debunked” by whom? The NEA? Hahahaha!
By the disinterested looks of the two Democrats standing behind him, I think Governor Dunleavy should of finished his speech by walking around and handing a symbolic red veto pen to every majority member.
Crime is down? Kids are smarter? PFD grew? How bout a full one? Or do you still need it for greedy Government? C’mon man! it’s 2025 people see through the crap
I was not familiar with the large construction projects Dunleavy mentioned.
Apparently Dixon Diversion does not even have a funding source.
The HVDC is dependant on a grant from the department of energy. I did not see anything in the budget for matching funds. The project is supposed to be completed in 8 years by the time of the grant. Didn’t Trump just halt all grants. Did Dunleavy write a letter to Trump stressing the importance of this project. If Dunleavy does not support the project why mention it in his speech.
The only way the AEDC could ever been net positive for the State, with regard to profit or loss, would be by virtue of some VERY creative accounting. That was a line of BS. Also, the LNG project is economically not feasible and continues to be a huge leach on our state funds that would be better spent on a railroad to support Red Dog development and down to Nome to further the DOD interest in building a port there for Defense. It would open up the whole of Alaska’s Interior to mining and further mineral development.