Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins announced Friday a slate of presidential appointments for key Farm Service Agency and Rural Development state director roles.
They include Eric Koan, the new director of Rural Development for Alaska. Koan, of Wasilla, is a graduate of Michigan State University with an Agribusiness Management degree. He was subsequently hired by USDA Rural Development, starting in Michigan and then transferring to Alaska. He retired in 2019 but is coming back out of retirement to work for the Trump Administration.
“When America’s farming communities prosper, the entire nation thrives. This new group of USDA appointees will ensure President Trump’s America First agenda is a reality in rural areas across the country. I am grateful for the leadership of these new state directors and look forward to their work reorienting the agency to put Farmers First again,” said Secretary Rollins.
Rural Development state directors focus on finding ways to empower rural America and unleash economic prosperity.
Under the Biden Administration, the Alaska role was held by Julia Hnilicka. Jerry Ward was the RD director under Trump 1.
The Alaska Democratic Party has appointed Jenny-Marie Stryker as its new executive director, succeeding Lindsay Kavanaugh, who had served in the role since 2019. Kavanaugh left in January for a job with an Anchorage-based public employee union, APEA-AFT.
Stryker has a background in political organizing, communications, and journalism. She previously worked as the political director for the Alaska Center (for the Environment), and worked on campaigns for the Ship Creek Group, a leftist political consulting firm based in Anchorage.
Stryker was a briefly an intern reporter at the Chilkat Valley News in Haines. She came to Alaska in 2017 with a leftist program run by former Rep. Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins, a Democrat in Sitka.
Her appointment marks a new chapter for the party following the departure of Kavanaugh, who faced legal issues in July 2022. Kavanaugh was arrested near Soldotna and charged with three misdemeanors: driving under the influence (DUI), refusing a chemical breath test, and fifth-degree criminal mischief for unplugging Alaska State Trooper equipment during her arrest. She was detained at the Wildwood pretrial facility in Kenai and later released. Prosecutors dismissed two charges, and she pled guilty to refusing a breath test.
At the time, then-party chair Mike Wenstrup expressed disappointment but supported Kavanaugh, praising her performance and expressing confidence in her continued leadership.
Before Kavanaugh, the party had Jay Parmley as its executive director. Parmley served from 2016 to 2019. His hiring in 2016 sparked controversy because Parmley had been accused of sexual harassment by another male staffer while he was executive director of the North Carolina Democratic Party in 2012. Parmley resigned and took the job in Alaska. In a 2012 story by The Daily Caller, a reported claim from an ex-girlfriend, possibly a former student, alleged that Parmley infected her with HIV.
The current party chair, Eric Croft has voiced strong support for Stryker.
The Environmental Protection Agency announced on Friday a major workforce restructuring that will reduce staffing to levels not seen since the Reagan Administration. The agency says the reorganization will improve operational efficiency and save taxpayers over $300 million annually by the next fiscal year, 2026.
This phase of restructuring impacts several key areas of the agency, including the Office of the Administrator, Office of Air and Radiation, Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention, and Office of Water. The changes are part of a broader effort to implement President Trump’s Executive Order titled “Implementing the President’s ‘Department of Government Efficiency’ Workforce Optimization Initiative,” which aims to transform the federal bureaucracy and reduce costs.
The current EPA workforce of permanent employees is over 17,000.
“With these organizational improvements, we recommit to fulfilling all of our statutory obligations and exceptionally delivering on EPA’s core mission of protecting human health and the environment,” said EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin. “This reorganization will bring much needed efficiencies to incorporate science into our rulemakings and sharply focus our work on providing the cleanest air, land, and water for our communities. It will also save at least $300 million annually for the American people.”
The EPA will establish several new offices as part of the restructuring:
Office of State Air Partnerships within the Office of Air and Radiation, designed to improve collaboration with state, local, and tribal air permitting agencies.
Office of Clean Air Programs, which will focus on aligning statutory obligations with technical expertise for improved transparency and consistency in air regulations.
Office of Applied Science and Environmental Solutions (OASES) under the Office of the Administrator, which will integrate scientific research directly into regulatory decision-making.
In the Office of Water, regulatory and scientific functions will be more closely aligned, and issues such as cybersecurity, emergency response, and water reuse will be elevated to receive increased resources.
OCSPP will gain over 130 experts in scientific, technical, bioinformatics, and IT fields to address significant backlogs in chemical and pesticide reviews. These include more than 500 new chemicals under review and over 12,000 overdue pesticide decisions. The agency notes that the reorganization will help advance its PFAS testing strategy and better utilize computational tools and artificial intelligence in future reviews.
Earlier this year, EPA began a Reduction in Force as part of the elimination of its Environmental Justice (EJ) and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) offices. Approximately 280 employees were separated, while 175 were reassigned to other offices performing mission-essential functions.
The agency says this is one part of a broader realignment effort and that, once complete, EPA’s overall staffing will reflect the scale it maintained in the 1980s.
House Bill 57 introduces targeted reforms to Alaska’s public education system, including suggested smaller class sizes, increased vocational funding, and reading incentive grants.
However, these measures fail to address the foundational problems plaguing Alaska’s education system: poor academic outcomes, systemic inefficiencies, and top-heavy bureaucratic control.
In 2024, Alaska ranked 51st in fourth-grade reading proficiency with only 22% of students meeting grade-level standards. Eighth-grade reading scores also declined, underscoring systemic instructional failure. Despite HB 57’s attempt to incentivize reading improvements, it does not fundamentally reform curriculum standards, instructional delivery, or the accountability structure that has allowed these deficiencies to persist.
Alaska spends over $20,000 per student, among the highest in the U.S., yet ranks 46th in return on investment. HB 57 increases expenditures with no structural accountability, continuing a pattern of high costs with poor outcomes.
In other words, the Legislature is caving, as it always does, under the NEA-Alaska’s pressure techniques.
This inefficiency is compounded by central administrative bloat and state-directed mandates that limit local responsiveness. Nothing is really changed, just let’s throw more money at the problem.
HB 57 maintains the existing centralized education framework, merely adjusting administrative processes and metrics. It does not empower local districts with meaningful autonomy or give parents greater control over their children’s education. Power continues to reside in DEED and school district hegemonies. Neither have a history of any success in education nor educate children. Reporting reforms and modest charter school updates fall short of enabling flexible, locally driven innovation. Alaska’s education system requires structural reform, not superficial adjustment. Lipstick on a pig or in this case shellac on moose pellets to make a swizzle stick.
Real improvement depends on restoring local control, enforcing academic accountability, and redirecting funding to classrooms and students rather than bureaucracy. Without these changes, HB 57 risks becoming another costly policy with minimal long-term benefit.
The time for bold, systemic correction is now. If HB 57 passes and is fully implemented, Alaska’s public education system may experience modest financial stabilization and program restoration over the next five years, particularly through the $700 BSA increase and targeted incentives like reading proficiency grants. However, without deeper structural reforms—such as curriculum improvements, teacher support, and meaningful local control—academic outcomes will likely remain stagnant, and systemic inefficiencies will persist.
HB 57 may provide short-term relief, but without bold, accountability-driven changes, Alaska risks continuing its pattern of high spending with low educational return.
I’m open to the opportunity of discussing these reforms (review my MRAK opinions especially on the Alaska Education Reform and Local Act), but my concerns are the Legislature has already made up its mind. The sad part is this will impact future Alaskans with no productive future.
On April 30 — Fentanyl Awareness Day — Alaska State Troopers arrested 45-year-old Sean Mobley of Wasilla, on charges connected to the November death of 16-year-old Alena Toennis. Mobley is charged with Murder in the Second Degree, Manslaughter, and Misconduct Involving a Controlled Substance in the First Degree.
That controlled substance was fentanyl.
According to a statement released by the Alaska State Troopers, the months-long investigation conducted by the Alaska Bureau of Investigation determined that Mobley provided fentanyl to Toennis and later abandoned her on a trail in Wasilla while she was experiencing an overdose. Toennis died as a result of the fentanyl overdose.
The investigation began on Nov. 15, when the Alaska State Troopers were notified at 7:21 am that a female was found deceased on a powerline trail in Wasilla. Evidence at the scene suggested her death was suspicious, and the Alaska Bureau of Investigation assumed responsibility for the case. Her body was sent to the State Medical Examiner’s Office.
On Nov. 18, the body was positively identified as Alena Toennis, and her next of kin were notified. The following day, the Alaska State Troopers provided an update indicating that there were no traumatic injuries found during the autopsy. Investigators spoke with all involved individuals, including the person last seen with Toennis.
At the time, troopers stated that they believed the incident was isolated and not random, and they were not requesting assistance from the public. They also noted that forensic and toxicology results would be crucial to charging determinations.
On April 30, troopers arrested Mobley, who has been remanded to the Mat-Su Pretrial Facility. The case is being prosecuted by the Alaska Office of Special Prosecutions within the Alaska Department of Law.
A legislative resolution voicing strong support for the long-envisioned Alaska Liquefied Natural Gas (AKLNG) Project cleared a key hurdle this week, passing the House Resources Committee with overwhelming backing, save for one dissenting vote from Anchorage Democrat Rep. Zack Fields, who described the hopes for the project as “delusional” during the committee hearing.
Fields said he doesn’t want to give the world the impression that the project is actually going to move forward and he worries that the resolution makes the Legislature look “delusional.”
Here’s what Fields, former union labor organizer who is endorsed by the major labor unions in Alaska, said:
House Joint Resolution 18, which now moves to the House floor, is a formal appeal to President Donald Trump, Interior Secretary Douglas Burgum, and Congress, urging federal agencies to take all necessary steps to expedite the AKLNG Project, and calling it essential to Alaska’s economic future, American energy independence, and national security.
According tothe resolution, the AKLNG Project has moved from concept to credible investment thanks to recent developments in permitting, financing discussions, and rising international interest.
Proponents cite President Trump’s second-term executive order “Unleashing Alaska’s Extraordinary Resource Potential” signed on his first day in office, and his recent remarks before Congress as signs of high-level federal commitment. Just this week he met with Gov. Mike Dunleavy, and the expected topic was the gasline.
“This isn’t just good for Alaska — it’s vital for America,” the sponsor statement reads, arguing that the project would create thousands of jobs, generate billions in revenue, and bolster U.S. strategic influence in global energy markets. “It provides energy independence, strengthens national security by offering our allies alternatives to adversarial energy sources, and reinforces the U.S. as a reliable energy exporter on the Pacific stage.”
Despite Fields’ objections, the resolution is expected to garner broad bipartisan support on the House floor and among Alaska’s congressional delegation. Backers like Gov. Mike Dunleavy say federal momentum, particularly under the Trump administration, has brought the project closer to realization than ever before.
Commenting on the proceedings, Brett Huber, speaking on behalf of Power the Future, said he was glad to see the resolution pass the committee with such strong support, but he detected a note of partisanship from Rep. Fields.
“The Alaska gasline should be a no-brainer for anyone who cares about jobs, energy security, and common sense,” said Huber. “It’s disappointing — but sadly not surprising — that Rep. Fields would rather grandstand than support a project that benefits every Alaskan. Apparently, asking him to rise above partisanship is a bridge too far.”
The sponsors of the resolution are House Minority Leader Rep. Mia Costello and Representatives George Rauscher, Cathy Tilton, Bill Elam, Kevin McCabe, Frank Tomaszewski, Rebecca Schwanke, Chuck Kopp, Julie Coulombe, and Dan Saddler.
HEX Cook Inlet LLC and the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority inked the loan documents that will advance a $40 million drilling program in the Cook Inlet. The agreement supports a broader $50 million revolving line of credit for Furie Operating Alaska, LLC, operator of the Kitchen Lights Unit and a wholly owned subsidiary of HEX Cook Inlet.
The financing deal is a major step forward in addressing the regional demand for natural gas and will help Southcentral Alaska close its looming supply gap. The 2025 drilling program is expected to create up to 100 jobs during peak development phases and add five permanent positions post-completion. Furie is using the Spartan-151 jack-up rig, leased from Hilcorp Jack-Up Rig Company. In mid-April, Furie announced that the Spartan-151 rig had been moved from the rig tenders dock in Nikiski to the Julius R platform in the Kitchen Lights Unit. Drilling was expected to commence as early as mid-April to address potential shortages in Southcentral Alaska by the 2025/2026 winter
“This is more than a drilling project — it’s an investment in Alaska’s energy independence, economy, and workforce,” said John Hendrix, President and CEO of HEX Cook Inlet LLC. “Finalizing this agreement allows us to move ahead confidently, knowing we’re backed by a partner that shares our vision for long-term development and local impact.”
The collaboration in in line with AIDEA’s role in facilitating responsible resource development and long-term economic growth in the state.
“AIDEA is proud to partner with HEX on this impactful project,” said Randy Ruaro, AIDEA executive director. “This investment supports not only gas production but job creation, skill development, and long-term energy reliability for communities across Southcentral Alaska.”
Furie Operating Alaska has invested over $900 million in Cook Inlet to date and significantly increased its share of the region’s gas production — up 50% between December 2024 and February 2025. With the deployment of the Spartan 151 jack-up rig, Furie continues to assert its role as a key player in Alaska’s energy sector.
Furie is the only 100% Alaskan-owned oil and gas production company in the state.
On Thursday, the House Committee on Natural Resources approved an amendment to House Bill W000821, which mandates the immediate resumption of quarterly onshore oil and gas lease sales on federal lands, aiming to revitalize domestic energy production.
The amendment, introduced by Congressman Bruce Westerman of Arkansas, requires the Secretary of the Interior to promptly resume quarterly lease sales in compliance with the Mineral Leasing Act.
It stipulates that lease sales must be conducted immediately upon completion of all legal requirements and says that each fiscal year, the secretary of Interior must conduct a minimum of four oil and gas lease sales in states with available federal lands, including Alaska, Wyoming, New Mexico, Colorado, Utah, Montana, North Dakota, Oklahoma, and Nevada.
In these sales, at least 50% of all nominated parcels that are available and eligible must be offered. If a scheduled lease sale is canceled, delayed, or results in a high percentage of unbid parcels, a replacement sale is mandated within the same fiscal year.
The amendment represents another reversal of Biden-era lockdowns in oil and gas producing states that have the vast majority of federally controlled lands.
The bill, with the approved amendment, is scheduled for further discussion in the House Committee on Natural Resources on May 6. If it advances, it will proceed to the full House for debate and a vote.
President Donald Trump signed an executive order terminating government funding of National Public Radio and the Public Broadcasting Service.
As NPR and PBS have become “woke,” according to the administration, and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, through which the outlets receive taxpayer funding, must abide by principles of impartiality, Trump directed the corporation and all agencies in the executive branch to stop funding the organizations to “the maximum extent allowed by law.”
Americans have many more news options today than in 1967, when the corporation was founded, and if tax dollars are going to go toward public broadcasting, it should be totally nonpartisan, according to the executive order.
“At the very least, Americans have the right to expect that if their tax dollars fund public broadcasting at all, they fund only fair, accurate, unbiased, and nonpartisan news coverage,” the order reads. “No media outlet has a constitutional right to taxpayer subsidies, and the Government is entitled to determine which categories of activities to subsidize.”
The administration described the outlets as “entities that receive tens of millions of dollars in taxpayer funds each year to spread radical, woke propaganda disguised as ‘news’” and listed “examples of the trash that has passed for ‘news’” at the organizations in communications it sent out Friday morning.
NPR said the Declaration of Independence contained “flaws and deeply ingrained hypocrisies” in 2021, a year before it replaced its typical Independence Day reading of the founding document with a conversation about equality, according to the administration. The administration also criticized the outlets for promoting “gender-affirming care,” featuring drag queens in children’s programs and certain views on race and “white privilege.”
The executive order will likely be challenged in court, as many of Trump’s executive orders have been so far, for breaches of executive authority.
The president has signed over 140 executive orders thus far in his second term.
