A Juneau man pleaded guilty today to producing child pornography. William Steadman, 35, a registered sex offender, met a pre-pubescent boy in Juneau and enticed him to engage in sexually explicit conduct. He faces a minimum sentence of 25 years.
Steadman documented the conduct and posted the content on the dark web. Steadman first came to the attention of law enforcement when he distributed his newly produced child sexual abuse material (CSAM) online.
According to the Department of Justice, Steadman attempted to obscure his identify from law enforcement by using the dark web, but tips from law enforcement, a cryptocurrency payment for additional CSAM material, and analysis of his online statements led to his identification and arrest.
A residential search resulted in the discovery of over 4,000 images and videos of CSAM on his devices.
Steadman pleaded guilty to one count of production of child pornography. He is scheduled to be sentenced on a later date and faces a mandatory‑minimum penalty of 25 years in prison and a maximum penalty of 50 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Matthew R. Galeotti, Head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Michael J. Heyman for the District of Alaska and Glen Peterson, U.S. Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Secret Service’s Seattle Field Office made the announcement.
The Secret Service’s Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force investigated the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Mac Caille Petursson, Jack Schmidt, and William Reed for the District of Alaska and Trial Attorney McKenzie Hightower of the Justice Department’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS) are prosecuting the case.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims.
In recent weeks, committees in the Alaska Legislature have been hearing some critical bills from the Senate Republican caucus, particularly those tied to fiscal policy, and we’re hopeful to keep the momentum going. As we push forward, we must not lose sight of why these measures matter. This isn’t just about stretching dollars or getting the most bang for our buck—though fiscal responsibility is key. It’s about something bigger: the health of Alaska’s private economy, which extends far beyond the walls of the Capitol.
Our state has faced its share of economic turbulence in recent years—Covid, volatility in the oil industry, and more. Yet these ups and downs mask a deeper, more persistent problem. Alaska’s job market peaked in 2012 and has been sliding ever since. Our state’s GDP peaked then as well. Yes, we’ve seen some modest job growth recently, but too many of those positions are filled by out-of-state workers. Why? We’re failing to build an economy that gives Alaskans enough hope to stay, invest, and raise families here.
A chance encounter a few weeks before Christmas drove this home for me. Driving south from Prudhoe Bay, I stopped to help a man with his truck on the Haul Road. His rig had Montana listed as home, and I asked what brought him so far north. He told me he’d lived here for most of his life, driving that same road for 20 years, until 2020 hit. Between Covid and the state’s economic struggles, he left for Montana.
Now he’s back temporarily, lured by good pay, but he’s not staying. His wife and kids remain down south. He doesn’t see a long-term future here—and that’s the crux of our problem. We don’t give either people or business hope that Alaska is anything more than a short-term bet.
Alaska’s government spending lies at the heart of this challenge. We’ve got to get a handle on our spending. Any one piece of spending is easily justifiable, whether it’s education, Medicaid, or capital projects. But the problem is that the aggregate is overburdening us. We are going to have to start prioritizing our spending based on the results in the rest of the economy–not just prioritizing our spending based on what is popular politically at the time.
This raises tough but necessary questions: How do we measure the success of our spending’s impact on the economy rather than just by how much we pour in? What signals are we sending to businesses considering investment here—are we partners or predators waiting to pounce when the state’s coffers run dry?
Talk of “new revenue” is swirling, but let’s be clear: That’s a tax, plain and simple, pulling more from an already strained private sector. If we don’t refocus on fostering a thriving private economy, there won’t be anything left to tax. We’ve spent a decade talking about the importance of maintaining government services. What’s the point of services if we have no one left to serve?
The stakes are high. People are leaving Alaska, and government services mean little if there’s no population to benefit from them. To secure Alaska’s future, we must prioritize results over rhetoric, economic vitality over short-term wins. The private sector isn’t just a resource to tap—it’s the foundation of our prosperity. Let’s start acting like it.
Senator Myers represents Alaska Senate District Q, which includes Chatanika, Fox, Two Rivers, North Pole, Eielson Air Force Base, Salcha, Anderson, Clear, Cantwell and Healy.
U.S. taxpayers have shelled out tens of thousands of dollars in recent years to the U.S. Department of Agriculture for research on LGBT issues, the kind of funding now under scrutiny by the Trump administration.
The research relies on conducting interviews – in one case for $373 per Zoom call – to explore a researcher’s hypothesis of widespread discrimination.
For instance, one taxpayer-funded research grant studied “queer farmers quality of life in Pennsylvania,” federal records show, one of several grants of its kind.
The Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Projects – a federally funded research arm of the U.S. Department of Agriculture – paid $14,997 for the 2018 grant.
While this grant is relatively small, there are others, and critics argue the spending is a distraction from helping farmers and lowering food prices, which soared during the Biden administration alongside this kind of research funding.
The aforementioned 2018 queer farmers grant went to Pennsylvania State University for a project titled: “Sexuality and Sustainable Agriculture: Examining Queer Farmers’ Quality of Life in Pennsylvania.”
The grant proposal says the topic is “woefully understudied.”
“The deeply entrenched assumption of heteronormativity in farming has excluded queer farmers from full inclusion and benefits from agriculture, even within sustainable agriculture,” the grant’s proposal abstract said.
The graduate student who assisted with the project, Michaela Hoffelmeyer, presented the findings to the Rural Sociological Society Annual Meeting in Richmond, Virginia.
Her research highlighted some of the challenges faced by queer farmers, reporting that “findings suggest that transgender, non-binary, and women farmers faced additional hurdles” but create support networks to overcome those challenges.
Hoffelmeyer has since gone on to join the faculty at the University of Wisconsin, where she has become a voice in the media and public policy on LGBT issues.
Hoffelmeyer says on the university website that she applies “feminist, queer, and labor theories” in her research to “inform agricultural programming and policy on how to make shifts to support viability, well-being, and sustainability.”
The faculty advisor for Hoffelmeyer’s project, Penn State University Assistant Professor Kathleen Sexsmith, oversaw another taxpayer-funded project along the same lines.
Latinx Gender Identities
Sexsmith’s 2021-2024 grant for $14,923 was awarded during the Biden administration and was titled: “Farming as a Latinx: Analyzing how ethnic and gender identities shape Latino/a participation in sustainable agriculture in Pennsylvania.”
The grant proposal points to the shift from white farmer in the U.S. to Hispanic farmers because of immigration and takes a moment to consider Hispanic masculinity.
“How do rural Latin American masculinities become reproduced or reshaped in the U.S. as they establish themselves as sustainable farmers, and how does is it impact the ability of women and men to meet sustainable agriculture goals?” the grant’s proposal abstract reads.
The researcher conducted 40 interviews over Zoom, averaging about 45 minutes, putting the taxpayer cost at about $373 per Zoom call.
“Initially, the project aimed to interview farmers directly, but due to the difficulties in accessing this hard-to-reach population, the focus shifted to institutional perspectives,” the report said.
The researcher said in the final report that Hispanic farmers suffer from systemic discrimination.
Queer Farmers’ Relationships
Another $15,000 grant in the federal database is titled: “Gender, Sexuality, and Social Sustainability: Exploring Queer Farmers’ Relationships, Ethics, and Practices in the Midwest.”
That 2022 grant went to the University of Notre Dame in response to a grant proposal promising to develop “a more comprehensive understanding of queer farmers’ experiences.”
The proposal for that grant posited that “we still have much to learn about the specific ways that narratives which posit heterosexuality and cisgender identities as ‘normal’ continue to uphold hegemonic power dynamics within alternative agriculture.”
The research’s final report said “findings show that queer farmers often struggle to find safe, supportive work or learning opportunities as a result of how other farmers, customers, and community members perceive their gender or sexuality, and even though many queer farmers having family connections to farming, they struggle to secure access to land because their family’s agricultural or social values don’t align with theirs.”
The faculty advisors for all three projects did not respond to a request for comment or declined to comment to The Center Square.
President Donald Trump signed an executive order upon taking office banning federal funding for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion projects, initiating a purge within the federal government.
Since then, Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency have been combing through federal spending records, exposing controversial taxpayer-funded projects, many of which the Trump administration has since terminated.
Musk and the Trump administration have faced legal challenges to these cuts, but the administration’s cost-cutting momentum has been fueled by examples of all kinds of controversial federal spending, particularly on DEI and LGBT issues.
The USDA said in a news release in February that it had “begun a comprehensive review of contracts, personnel, and employee trainings and DEI programs.
“In many cases, programs funded by the Biden administration focused on DEI initiatives that are contrary to the values of millions of American taxpayers,” USDA added.
As Southcentral Alaskans face a possible natural gas shortage as soon as 2027, there may be a relief valve.
Furie Operating Alaska announced Monday it has renewed its lease agreement with Hilcorp Jack-Up Rig Company, LLC, a subsidiary of Hilcorp Alaska, to use the Spartan-151 jack-up rig for the 2025 drilling season.
The agreement signals an expansion of natural gas production in Cook Inlet, with a $40 million drilling program from Furie in 2025.
Furie plans to begin drilling up to two new natural gas wells as early as mid-April, and will use the only jack-up rig in Alaska.
“Furie recently increased the number of wells that can be drilled from our platform, and now, with the help of Hilcorp’s jack-up rig, we will drill this spring,” said John Hendrix, president and CEO of Furie. “We committed last year that if we received royalty relief, we would drill, and we drilled in 2024. The Department of Natural Resources approved our royalty relief application on Feb. 3, 2025, and we have committed to a $40 million drilling program for this year alone.”
The drilling program could bring additional natural gas online for the Railbelt Alaskans before winter sets in this year. Hendrix emphasized Furie’s commitment is to get the natural gas available for local use.
In support of the summer drilling campaign, Furie is collaborating with several Alaskan companies, including Fairweather LLC, Cook Inlet Tug & Barge, Maritime Helicopters, CISPRI, Pollard Wireline Services, Petrotechnical Resources of Alaska, and Weaver Brothers Inc.
Furie, the second-largest operator in Cook Inlet and the only 100% Alaska-owned oil and gas company in the state, produces about 7% of the region’s total natural gas supply. The company and its parent company HEX Cook Inlet, LLC are headquartered in Anchorage.
Hilcorp purchased the Spartan-151 rig in May 2024 to ensure it remained in Alaska amid a critical period for of shortages.
The Spartan-151 can drill to depths of 25,000 feet and operate in water depths of up to 151 feet. During the 2024 drilling season, Hilcorp made the rig available to Furie to successfully drill a new gas well in the Kitchen Lights unit.
Alzheimer’s disease and related dementia disorders disproportionately affect older individuals, and the number of residents entering the Alaska Pioneer Homes with these illnesses continues to rise. In fact, approximately 58% of Alaska Pioneer Home residents live with some form of dementia, making memory care a core component of the services provided. These are some of our most vulnerable citizens deserving of dignity, not manipulation.
Yet, Assemblyman Daniel Volland, on the Anchorage ballot for reelection, has taken a “charitable” approach not out of compassion, but out of campaign calculation.
In a tight race, he’s shown himself to be a predatory opportunist, exploiting residents with cognitive decline to harvest votes for personal political gain. Assemblyman Chris Constant was right there beside him, seizing the same photo and political opportunity after the recent fire at the Pioneer Home.
Here are just a few of the campaign photos they posted on social media, documenting that they were campaigning, rather than giving actual charity, inside a government facility:
Let’s be honest, when have either of them ever visited these facilities before, donated goods, or offered their services?
The timing is no coincidence. While it’s heartening that the residents received supplies, it’s despicable that what motivated Volland and Constant wasn’t kindness, it was votes.
Moreover, such activities may run afoul of Alaska’s legal standards. According to Alaska Statute 39.52.120(b)(6), public officers are prohibited from using state resources for partisan political purposes, which includes benefiting a candidate or political party.
While this statute specifically addresses public officers, the ethical principle extends to all candidates: campaigning on government property, such as state-run facilities like the Alaska Pioneer Homes, is inappropriate and potentially unlawful.
This underscores the troubling nature of Volland and Constant’s actions, suggesting not only a lapse in moral judgment but also a disregard for the ethical boundaries designed to protect vulnerable populations from political exploitation.
Our seniors, especially those battling dementia, deserve better than to be used as pawns in political games. It’s imperative that we hold our candidates to the highest ethical standards and ensure that the sanctity of our elder care institutions remains uncompromised by political ambition.
PROPOSITION NO. 1: CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS FOR THE ANCHORAGE SCHOOL DISTRICT BONDS
PROPOSITION NO. 2: ANCHORAGE ROADS AND DRAINAGE SERVICE AREA ROADS AND STORM DRAINAGE BONDS
PROPOSITION NO. 3: ANCHORAGE PARKS AND RECREATION SERVICE AREA CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT BONDS
PROPOSITION NO. 4: ANCHORAGE METROPOLITAN POLICE SERVICE AREA BONDS
PROPOSITION NO. 5: AREAWIDE PUBLIC SAFETY CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT BONDS
PROPOSITION NO. 6: SENIOR CENTER AND LIBRARIES CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROJECT BONDS
PROPOSITION NO. 7: ANCHORAGE FIRE SERVICE AREA FIRE PROTECTION BONDS
PROPOSITION NO. 8: GIRDWOOD VALLEY SERVICE AREA BONDS
PROPOSITION NO. 9: CHUGACH STATE PARK ACCESS SERVICE AREA BONDS
PROPOSITION NO. 10: ANCHORAGE ROADS AND DRAINAGE SERVICE AREA SNOW-RESPONSE AND FLEET VEHICLE SPECIAL TAX LEVY
PROPOSITION NO. 11: ANCHORAGE METROPOLITAN POLICE SERVICE AREA POLICE VEHICLE SPECIAL TAX LEVY
PROPOSITION NO. 12: CHUGIAK, BIRCHWOOD, EAGLE RIVER RURAL ROAD SERVICE AREA (CBERRRSA) MILL RATE ADJUSTMENT
PROPOSITION NO. 13: APPROVING DE-ANNEXATION OF LOT 2 HUISINGH SUBDIVISION, ACCORDING TO PLAT 77-258, THEREOF, FROM THE TOTEM LIMITED ROAD SERVICE AREA (LRSA) AND AMENDING THE TOTEM LRSA BOUNDARIES IN ANCHORAGE MUNICIPAL CODE SECTION 27.30.700, EFFECTIVE RETROACTIVE TO JANUARY 1, 2025.
PROPOSITION NO. 14: APPROVING DE-ANNEXATION OF LOTS 1 & 16 BLOCK 2 ELMORE SUBDIVISION, ACCORDING TO PLAT P-635, THEREOF, FROM THE BIRCH TREE/ELMORE LIMITED ROAD SERVICE AREA (LRSA) AND AMENDING THE BIRCH TREE/ELMORE LRSA BOUNDARIES IN ANCHORAGE MUNICIPAL CODE SECTION 27.30.700, EFFECTIVE RETROACTIVE TO JANUARY 1, 2025.
PROPOSITION NO. 15: APPROVING ANNEXATION OF LOTS 6-18 BLOCK 2, AND LOTS 9-13 BLOCK 3, EQUESTRIAN HEIGHTS SUBDIVISION, ACCORDING TO PLAT 87-14, THEREOF, INTO THE BIRCH TREE/ELMORE LIMITED ROAD SERVICE AREA (LRSA) AND AMEND THE BIRCH TREE/ELMORE LRSA BOUNDARIES IN ANCHORAGE MUNICIPAL CODE SECTION 27.30.700, EFFECTIVE RETROACTIVE TO JANUARY 1, 2025.
The candidates on the ballot are:
Anchorage Assembly Candidates
District 1 – Seat L – North Anchorage
Daniel Volland
Nick Danger
Daniel George
District 2 – Seat A – Chugiak, Eagle River, JBER
Kyle Walker
David Littleton
Jared Goecker
District 3 – Seat D – West Anchorage
Kameron Perez-Verdia
Jonathan Duckworth
Amie Steen
District 4 – Seat F – Midtown Anchorage
Erin Baldwin Day
Don Smith
District 5 – Seat H – East Anchorage
Angela Frank
John Stiegele
Yarrow Silvers
District 6 – Seat J – South Anchorage, Girdwood, Turnagain Arm
Alaskans celebrate Seward’s Day, an annual state holiday commemorating the purchase of Alaska from Russia in 1867. Observed on the last Monday of March, the day honors William H. Seward, the US Secretary of State who negotiated the deal that transformed Alaska into an American district, which became a territory, and then finally a state.
On March 30, 1867, Seward finalized the purchase agreement with Russia for $7.2 million, a deal that was initially mocked as “Seward’s Folly” and “Seward’s Icebox” by critics who believed Alaska was a frozen wasteland of little value. However, the acquisition proved to be one of the most valuable land deals in US history, with Alaska later becoming a crucial economic and strategic asset.
“William Seward was mocked by the naysayers of his day for championing the purchase of Alaska, but he has been more than vindicated with time. Alaska contributes so much to America—through our people, our strategic location and our abundant natural resources. Happy Seward’s Day!,” wrote Sen. Dan Sullivan.
State government offices and some city offices close on this day. Those who work — public safety employees, for example — get double time.
In 2023, the Marxist-dominated Anchorage Assembly decided to remove Seward’s Day from the schedule of observed holidays. Ultimately, the Assembly didn’t remove it, but instead added Juneteenth and Indigenous Peoples’ Day as paid holidays for city workers, giving them a total of 12 paid holidays in addition to their personal-vacation days.
An Anchorage doctor who provides services at the Anchorage Neighborhood Health Center, a publicly funded clinic, has written to the Alaska Legislature opposing the Alaska State Medical Board’s request that legislation be passed that protects children from so-called gender affirmation treatments.
Such treatments usually start with boosting the sex-hormones of children or prescribing them hormone blockers that prevent normal puberty. Later, surgery is performed. It is in essence plastic surgery on children’s sexual reproductive organs to make them appear to be the opposite sex.
Dr. Rachel Samuelson told the Legislature that she practices this type of treatment and that it’s a positive thing for the people for whom she has cared.
The Alaska State Medical Board disagrees, and says this gender manipulation of children is bad medicine. The medical board unanimously adopted a statement urging the Alaska Legislature to outlaw chemical castration and surgical gender transition treatments for minors.
Samuelson, who works at a taxpayer-funded clinic, would not be able to perform this kind of chemistry and surgical experimentation on children, if the Legislature acts on the advice of the medical board.
Here is Samuelson’s letter to the Alaska Legislature, printed here for the benefit of parents and community members:
Dear Members of the Alaska State Legislature,
I’m Dr. Rachel Samuelson, a family medicine physician and life-long Alaskan. As a full-spectrum family medicine physician, I take care of all Alaskans, from infants to centenarians, from refugees to CEOs. I manage diabetes, heart failure, hypertension, influenza, contraception, well child checks, and so much more. Part of my job is providing gender affirming care to adults, which I have been doing since 2018. Though I do not have the training to provide gender affirming care to minors, I understand the importance of this care. I was really surprised and dismayed by the governor- appointed Alaska State Medical Board’s statement against hormonal and surgical care for minors. The board does not represent the general medical community, as they are appointed and not elected by their peers. They also have no experience whatsoever with gender affirming care. It seems to be a political move that is not rooted in science. There have been over 21 peer-reviewed studies on transgender youth, and all the following medical associations support access to transgender medical care as medically necessary and life-saving: The American Medical Association, American Psychiatric Association, American Academy of Pediatrics, and the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. We know that without appropriate and individualized evidence-based medical care (along with psychological care) for minors with gender dysphoria, people have increased rates of depression and anxiety, increased suicidal ideation and suicide attempts, and decreased self-esteem and life functioning.
In my young adult patients with gender dysphoria, I can so clearly see their lives and mental health improve with hormonal therapy. It is truly gratifying work.
Additionally, as you know, Alaskans have a constitutionally protected right to privacy. We do not allow the government into our clinical exam rooms. Medical decisions need to be between the medical provider and the patient (and/or guardian if applicable). What other medical issues might the government decide they want to get involved with if we allow them into the exam room on this specific one?
I encourage you to dismiss this politically motivated statement by the Alaska State Medical Board and continue working on the other important issues making their way through the chambers of the House and Senate.“
The Anchorage Neighborhood Health Center is primarily funded through federal grants, patient fees, and private grants. As a Federally Qualified Health Center clinic, ANHC receives funding from the Health Resources and Services Administration, which provides grants to support healthcare services to those “underserved” residents, regardless of their ability to pay. This includes operational funding and sliding fee scales.
ANHC generates revenue through patient services, such as medical, dental, and behavioral health, mostly through Medicaid and Medicare.
On Jan. 28, President Donald Trump signed an executive orderer banning child sexual mutilation. Trump’s EO states that “it is the policy of the United States that it will not fund, sponsor, promote, assist, or support the so-called ‘transition’ of a child from one sex to another, and it will rigorously enforce all laws that prohibit or limit these destructive and life-altering procedures.”
The ANHC clinic is funded by the federal government and could be at risk of losing its funding due to the work being done there to “transition.” But the executive order has been challenged in court by the attorney general of Washington State, and thus it’s unknown how this will impact clinics like the one where Samuelson practices.
There is a battle brewing over the impact of the teacher-pupil ratio and its effect on students’ learning.
The Anchorage Education Association has fired the first round in the battle with its going-in position of limiting the number of students in certain grades.
In its efforts to increase membership during a district’s declining enrollment, the AEA wants its members to be “…compensated by addenda for workloads that exceed the following levels.”
If the number of students in the above classes is exceeded, then the teacher will receive $250 per student per month. So, let’s say there are 25 students in Mrs. Doe’s 3rd grade class. Mrs. Doe would receive an additional $750 each month. That would be an additional $6,750 for the year.
It doesn’t matter if Mrs. Doe is an effective classroom teacher or not. It doesn’t matter if her 25 students can read at grade level or be proficient at math at the 3rdgrade level. All that matters is the number of students in her class for her to receive the bonus.
The Anchorage teachers’ union also wants its members who are middle school and high school teachers to be paid more if they have more than a certain number of students in their classes.
But it seems as if these teachers are not as valuable as the elementary school teachers. Could it be because there are many more elementary teacher union members than secondary school union members?
Here is the compensation to be paid to secondary teachers by the district for exceeding these numbers of students:
If an algebra high school teacher has more than 28 students in his/her/they/them 5 classes, that teacher would receive $50 for each student every month exceeding that number.
So, let’s say that teacher has an average of 32 students in each class. That teacher would receive an additional $200 each month, another $1,800 in added annual pay.
Once again, it would not matter if that teacher was effective or not. It would not matter if the students were proficient in algebra.
Interestingly, there is a similar effort in the state legislature to limit the number of students per classroom. Rep. Zack Fields (D, Anchorage) has filed HB 98 to limit the pupil-teacher ratio in public schools.
Representative Fields’ bill limits class sizes except for art, library, music, computer science, vocational-tec, honors-level, or physical education. The bills states that class sizes may not exceed 24 students in K-3, 26 in grades 4-8, and 28 in grades 9-12.
But here’s the “funny” part. These limits only apply to the Anchorage School District. Here is the bill’s wording: “does not apply in a district with an average daily membership of 40,000 or fewer students”.
That would leave only the Anchorage school district.
It seems that to the bill’s author class sizes in all but one of Alaska’s K-12 schools does not matter when it comes to student achievement.
What does matter is if we have an effective teacher in every classroom.
What does matter is if students are motivated to learn which effective classroom teachers can instill.
What does matter is if parents are involved in their kids’ education by reading to them at home and monitoring their progress at school.
What does matter is if our children have an effective curriculum without instilling Diversity, Equity and Inclusion — DEI — in the lesson plans.
Classroom size matters but not as much as effective teachers, motivated students, parental involvement, and effective curricula.
David Boyle is the education writer at Must Read Alaska.
