With just a day to go before President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin arrive in Anchorage for a high-stakes meeting on the war in Ukraine, left-leaning activist groups are ramping up protest plans across the city, and sharing tactical advice to avoid being identified.
On social media pages, organizers are urging participants to conceal their identities. One post reads: “Federal government employees especially might want to consider wearing a hat or mask or sunglasses.” The 50501 Anchorage group posted: “Fellow Alaskans! If you plan to protest this week PLEASE remember, do not take photos of yourself OR others and post them. This is DANGEROUS. Please remember to bring some sort of sunglasses and mouth cover in case people ARE filming and you do not want to be filmed.”
Other posts point to heightened awareness of law enforcement monitoring. Ivan Hodes, a prominent figure in the protest movement, wrote: “We must assume that various law enforcement agencies are reading this… Come peacefully and come correct: we shall overcome.”
Events are planned throughout the next two days:
Thursday, Aug. 14, 4:30 pm — Seward Highway at Midtown Mall.
Friday, Aug. 15, morning — At both Boniface and Government Hill gates to Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson (JBER).
Friday, noon — 510 L Street, across the Senate offices.
Friday, various times — MLK Memorial at Delaney Park, where protesters say they will “unfurl one of the largest Ukrainian flags in the world” beginning around 1:30 pm.
The summit itself will take place at JBER. Both the US and Russian delegations are being housed at the University of Alaska Anchorage. Due to the height of Alaska’s tourism season and limited hotel space, federal officials requested the university’s facilities for the delegates.
The Trump–Putin meeting marks the most significant political gathering in Anchorage in years, and the protests, some openly encouraging anonymity and masks, are expected to be among the largest the city has seen in history.
Additional protests are being organized in other Alaska communities. At least one pro-Trump rally is planned for Friday in Anchorage.
Senate Democrat Minority Leader Chuck Schumer is reported to be trying to coax former Rep. Mary Peltola into the 2026 US Senate race in Alaska, hoping her candidacy will force Republicans to spend heavily to defend Sen. Dan Sullivan’s seat. Axios wrote about it this week, hilariously calling the report a “Scoop,” but offered weak analysis.
Research shows the Democratic National Committee doubts Peltola can win, but she might be useful in some way in 2026.
Peltola, the last Democrat to win a statewide race in Alaska and one of just two to do so this century, remains a marquee name for the party in the Last Frontier. Her 2022 special election victory, powered by ranked-choice voting and Republican infighting, briefly made her a rising star in Democratic circles. But she fizzled in 2024 to now-Rep. Nick Begich III. Democrats still have an uphill climb in the state.
Schumer’s recruitment push comes as Democrats navigate a daunting Senate map. While popular Republican governors in New Hampshire and Georgia have taken a pass on challenging incumbent Democrats, Schumer has secured big names in other key states — former Sen. Sherrod Brown in Ohio and former Gov. Roy Cooper in North Carolina.
For Schumer, putting Alaska in play is less about flipping it blue than forcing the GOP to spread its war chest thinner. Earlier this year, a Schumer-linked PAC poured over $600,000 into digital ads attacking Sullivan over the GOP’s tax and spending cuts.
Despite the interest in Peltola, the Democratic National Committee’s own fundraising appeals doesn’t even mention Alaska, instead highlighting the need to defend Jon Ossoff’s tight Georgia seat, hold Democratic ground in Michigan, Minnesota, and New Hampshire, and target Republican-held seats in Maine, Ohio, Texas, and North Carolina. Alaska is not on the list.
Democrats’ fundraising pitch avoids mentioning Alaska as a state that is flippable.
This is the Democratic Party using Peltola. They want to keep Sullivan busy and tie up Republican resources, but they’re not betting the farm on Alaska flipping to Peltola. She’s a political decoy, convenient foil, or useful idiot to the Democrats.
With Sullivan entering his third campaign and enjoying solid approval ratings, Democrats know a real upset would require a political earthquake. But sometimes the goal isn’t to win — it’s to make the other side spend like they might lose.
The United States has taken custody of 26 fugitives from Mexico, including high-ranking members of the Sinaloa Cartel, Cártel de Jalisco Nueva Generación, and Cártel del Noreste, in an operation targeting cartel leaders, violent enforcers, and human smugglers. The charges span drug trafficking, kidnapping, murder, money laundering, and firearms violations.
Among them is Jose Carlos Guzman Bernal, who is charged in the District of Alaska and faces up to life imprisonment if convicted. Federal prosecutors allege that Guzman Bernal played a significant role in trafficking fentanyl and other dangerous drugs into Alaska, contributing to the state’s growing overdose crisis.
“Today is the latest example of the Trump administration’s historic efforts to dismantle cartels and foreign terrorist organizations,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi. “These 26 men have all played a role in bringing violence and drugs to American shores — under this Department of Justice, they will face severe consequences for their crimes against this country.”
The fugitives include leaders and enforcers for cartels designated as Foreign Terrorist Organizations and Specially Designated Global Terrorists. U.S. officials say they are collectively responsible for importing tons of cocaine, methamphetamine, fentanyl, and heroin into the United States.
Other notable defendants include:
Abigael Gonzalez Valencia (“Cuini”) – leader of Los Cuinis, accused of moving multi-ton cocaine shipments from South America into the U.S.
Kevin Gil Acosta & Martin Zazueta Perez – Sinaloa Cartel security bosses for the Chapitos faction, charged with protecting fentanyl labs and attacking Mexican officials with military-grade weapons.
Abdul Karim Conteh – accused of leading a global human smuggling network that brought thousands of migrants from the Middle East, Africa, and Asia into the U.S. via Mexico.
Luis Raul Castro Valenzuela (“Chacho”) – charged with kidnapping and holding hostage a U.S. citizen.
Juan Carlos Felix Gastelum (“El Chavo Félix”) – alleged operator of methamphetamine “super labs” in Sinaloa and Durango.
Roberto Salazar – wanted in the 2008 killing of Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Deputy Juan Escalante.
Pablo Edwin Huerta Nuno (“Flaquito”) – Tijuana Plaza boss accused of supplying thousands of kilograms of methamphetamine, fentanyl, and cocaine to Southern California.
Officials say the custody transfers were made in close coordination with Mexico’s National Security team, marking one of the most significant joint anti-cartel actions in recent years.
Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy is scheduled to meet with President Donald Trump on Friday when Air Force One lands at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage.
Dunleavy is expected to join in private discussions before Trump’s schedule with Russian President Vladimir Putin gets underway.
The Trump-Putin summit, drawing worldwide attention, comes amid ongoing debates over the war in Ukraine and the US role.
The White House has not released details of Trump’s full itinerary, but temporary flight restrictions have been announced by the Federal Aviation Administration during the visit. Local law enforcement and federal agencies have been coordinating security efforts for the past few days, as media and protesters are expected to converge on the city.
Trump’s choice of Anchorage as the meeting site is viewed by some analysts as symbolic, due to Alaska’s strategic location next to Russia’s far east. The visit also comes just months after Trump secured re-election with a 54.5% majority in Alaska, reinforcing his strong political foothold in the state.
While specifics of the Dunleavy-Trump meeting remain undisclosed, the governor has previously expressed strong support for the president’s economic and resource development policies, particularly in energy and natural resource sectors critical to Alaska’s economy.
May 9 was World War II Victory Day in Europe, and one of the decisive factors leading to the victory of the world’s peace-seeking nations was the effective cooperation of the countries of the anti-Hitler coalition.
Today, after the passage of 80 years, it is vital once again to recall this unique episode, when the Allied countries, despite sharply divergent governing structures and ideologies, managed to reach agreement on a shared global imperative — to present a unified front against the powers that promulgated fascism and militarism.
A great example of the war cooperation between two great nations is the wartime Lend-Lease Agreement between the United States and the Soviet Union, signed in Washington, D.C., on June 11, 1942, that allowed the two countries to provide mutual assistance in fighting a war against aggression. One of the unique examples of such cooperation was the establishment of the Alaska–Siberia Air Route (ALSIB), on which approximately 8,000 combat and transport aircraft were delivered from the United States of America to the Soviet–German warfronts between September 1942 and October 1945.
Soviet and American pilots flew the Alaska–Siberia Air Route to deliver combat planes halfway around the world, traversing more than 12 time zones, from Great Falls, Montana, to the Russian warfronts. Much of the route lay over remote and roadless wilderness where pilots made their way in stages from the safety of one hastily built airfield to the next.
Alaska served as the exchange location for transferring the planes to the Soviet Union. United States Army Air Corps pilots from the 7th Ferrying Group and Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASPs) flew combat planes from their points of manufacture in the U.S. to Great Falls, Montana, where male pilots of the 7th Ferrying Group flew them across Canada to Ladd Army Airfield, now Fort Wainwright, near Fairbanks, Alaska. From there, pilots of the USSR’s Air Force flew the planes over western Alaska and across Siberia to the warfronts.
Due to severe weather conditions, mechanical problems, and other adverse circumstances, 133 of these airplanes crashed in North America and 44 went down in Siberia along the Alaska–Siberia Air Route. During their time of service, 38 WASPs died and many more were wounded in the line of duty in the United States while delivering planes to Great Falls.
In the process of transferring aircraft in Alaska, Soviets and Americans get acquainted, and many became sincere friends, carrying on in friendship for the rest of their lives what had begun as a purely strategic alliance. The friendship and cooperation between the two nations during this period of history is now little remembered in the wake of 45 years of ill will fostered during the Cold War (1946 to 1991), and recent resurging tensions between Russia and the United States. Yet, in many ways, our two countries continue to rediscover the benefits of cooperation, as the rebuilding of economic and social bridges continues. Today, therefore, it is important to remind Alaskans and other peace-seeking citizens of the U.S. Lend-Lease Program and Soviet-American wartime cooperation of the 1940s.
Beyond the achievement of victory in World War II, the Alaska–Siberia Lend-Lease Program established a tradition of cooperation across the Bering Strait that continues to this day in the form of various intergovernmental agreements, including the Shared Beringian Heritage Program of the U.S. National Park Service, and numerous ongoing people-to-people cultural and economic exchanges.
At the present time, both in Russia and the United States, much research has been conducted and many documentary films, books, scholarly works, and popular articles have been released that shed light on the U.S. Lend-Lease Program, including the unique Alaska–Siberia Air ferry route, which was unprecedented in world history prior to World War II and has not been duplicated since.
Undoubtedly, the program played a vital part in the defeat of Nazi Germany and its Axis powers. The architects of the hallmark Lend-Lease Agreement and Protocols and conceived the ALSIB route, deserve modern-day accolades, as do the American and Russian veterans who risked their lives to ensure the Lend-Lease deliveries were completed.
In a letter dated March 22, 2001, to Alaska U.S. Sens. Ted Stevens and Frank Murkowski in support of the construction of the WWII Alaska-Siberia Lend-Lease Memorial in Fairbanks, Stanley B. Gwizdak, Jr., then acting chairman of the Interior Veterans’ Coalition of Alaska, wrote:
“It is important, I believe, for the Russian and American people to recall and to celebrate a common heroic effort in combating a treacherous enemy during a daunting and terrible time when the outcome of that war was very much in doubt for both of us. This was not just the effort of Armies, Navies and Air Forces, but also the entire mobilization of both nations industrially, politically and spiritually. Our group still has those who remember this war….”
The heroism and cooperation of American and Soviet pilots who flew Lend-Lease combat aircraft from the United States to the Soviet Union during World War II, and of all who participated in this endeavor, will always be remembered.
At this turbulent time, humanity is waiting for next “ALSIB-like” war cooperation and unity among peace-seeking nations, standing together against brutal aggressors and terrorist organizations. Indeed, we can use another “ALSIB” as a global alliance against terrorism and regional conflicts!
Alexander Dolitsky was born and raised in Kiev in the former Soviet Union. He received an M.A. in history from Kiev Pedagogical Institute, Ukraine in 1976; an M.A. in anthropology and archaeology from Brown University in 1983; and enrolled in the Ph.D. program in anthropology at Bryn Mawr College from 1983 to 1985, where he was also lecturer in the Russian Center. In the USSR, he was a social studies teacher for three years and an archaeologist for five years for the Ukrainian Academy of Sciences. In 1978, he settled in the United States. Dolitsky visited Alaska for the first time in 1981, while conducting field research for graduate school at Brown. He then settled first in Sitka in 1985 and then in Juneau in 1986. From 1985 to 1987, he was U.S. Forest Service archaeologist and social scientist. He was an Adjunct Assistant Professor of Russian Studies at the University of Alaska Southeast from 1985 to 1999; Social Studies Instructor at the Alyeska Central School, Alaska Department of Education and Yukon-Koyukuk School District from 1988 to 2006; and Director of the Alaska-Siberia Research Center from 1990 to 2022. From 2006 to 2010, Alexander Dolitsky served as a Delegate of the Russian Federation in the United States for the Russian Compatriots program. He has done 30 field studies in various areas of the former Soviet Union (including Siberia), Central Asia, South America, Eastern Europe and the United States (including Alaska). Dolitsky was a lecturer on the World Discoverer, Spirit of Oceanus, and Clipper Odyssey vessels in the Arctic and Sub-Arctic regions. He was a Project Manager for the WWII Alaska-Siberia Lend Lease Memorial, which was erected in Fairbanks in 2006. Dolitsky has published extensively in the fields of anthropology, history, archaeology and ethnography. His more recent publications include Fairy Tales and Myths of the Bering Strait Chukchi, Ancient Tales of Kamchatka, Tales and Legends of the Yupik Eskimos of Siberia, Old Russia in Modern America: Living Traditions of the Russian Old Believers in Alaska, Allies in Wartime: The Alaska-Siberia Airway During World War II, Spirit of the Siberian Tiger: Folktales of the Russian Far East, Living Wisdom of the Russian Far East: Tales and Legends from Chukotka and Alaska, and Pipeline to Russia: The Alaska-Siberia Air Route in World War II.
As Anchorage prepares for a high-profile meeting between President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, the Mayor’s Office is making no visible moves to clear downtown streets of the vagrants, public inebriates, and encampments that have plagued the city’s core.
On Wednesday, Municipal Manager Becky Pearson sent a note to all city employees addressing preparations for the visit, but notably she omitted any mention of a cleanup effort to present Anchorage in its best light for the national and international media expected to descend on the city.
“We know that Joint Base Elmendorf Richardson (JBER) is the likely location for a Friday visit… We are collaborating closely with JBER, the Governor’s office, the Anchorage School District, UAA and others,” the memo said, before thanking municipal staff for “significant extra time” spent on the effort.
The message reassured employees that most activity would be wrapped up by Friday evening, with no anticipated disruptions to city services, schools, or transportation. It also directed all media inquiries to the Mayor’s Office.
Conspicuously absent from the internal communication was any directive to spruce up downtown streets, where panhandlers, public intoxication, and homeless encampments have become entrenched.
In years past, large-scale events or visits from dignitaries have prompted visible cleanups and enforcement sweeps, but those efforts appear absent this week.
With world media focusing its lenses on Anchorage, some residents question whether the city is missing a chance to improve its image.
Here’s what the Must Read Alaska photo crew saw early Wednesday morning:
Midtown vagrant camps
In Town Square Park, vagrants and their stolen shopping carts have moved to the other side of the toilets. Borealis Broadband camera.
Anchorage police are searching for a man caught on camera after vandals smashed windows — including historic stained glass — at Holy Family Cathedral late Tuesday night.
Surveillance footage shows the suspect walking near the downtown church shortly before 1 am on Wednesday. He gathered bricks from a planter outside Covenant House, located across the street, before hurling them through the cathedral’s windows.
The attack left shattered glass across the church grounds and damaged sections of stained glass that have been part of the landmark Catholic cathedral for years.
Must Read Alaska has obtained images from security cameras in hopes the public can help identify the suspect. In the footage, he is seen wearing a dark hoodie with a Nike logo, dark pants, and carrying a backpack.
Anyone with information is urged to contact the Anchorage Police Department at (907) 786-8900 or submit tips anonymously through Crime Stoppers at (907) 561-STOP.
Holy Family Cathedral, a central place of worship for Anchorage’s Catholic community, has endured past incidents of vandalism, but parish members say this attack is especially painful because of the damage to its irreplaceable stained glass.
Church-goers downtown report that they are routinely interrupted during services by deranged street vagrants coming inside the sanctuary and yelling or otherwise causing disturbances, and that priests have been attacked routinely by street people in downtown Anchorage.
A Kenai jury has found 37-year-old Nathaniel E. Erfurth guilty of 24 counts of Sexual Abuse of a Minor in the Second Degree and four counts of Unlawful Exploitation of a Minor in the First Degree.
Erfurth, a former Soldotna High School teacher, now faces a presumptive sentencing range of five to 15 years for each conviction. The jury further found that his sexual abuse of a minor offenses were the “most serious” within the statutory range, opening the possibility for enhanced sentencing.
According to prosecutors, Erfurth developed a parental-type relationship with the victim while she was a student, then used his position of authority and trust to initiate sexual penetration and solicit lewd photographs and videos. The pair communicated via the encrypted messaging app Signal, where Erfurth requested explicit material from the victim.
The Kenai District Attorney’s Office prosecuted the case, with District Attorney Daniel Strigle leading the effort alongside paralegals Julie Craig and Crystal Locke, and law office assistants Patrick Pilatti and Aaron Barba. Alaska State Troopers led the investigation, with Investigator Samuel Webber as the primary investigator.
The trial lasted nearly a month. Prosecutors credited the former student’s testimony and the jury’s time and attention in securing the convictions.
Must Read Alaska has reported on the case since Erfurth’s March 2023 arrest. At the time, he was serving as president of the Kenai Peninsula Education Association, the local teachers’ union. Following his arrest on initial charges of sexual abuse of a minor, the KPEA quickly elected a new president.
In pretrial motions, Erfurth challenged elements of the state’s evidence, including digital communications and investigative methods, but the court allowed key materials to be presented to the jury.
Erfurth’s arrest sent shockwaves through the Kenai education community, as he had been a prominent figure both in the classroom and in organized labor for educators.
Anchorage is bracing for two days of high-profile demonstrations this week, as political groups take to the streets ahead of and during President Donald Trump’s visit to Alaska.
On Thursday, anti-Trump organizations, led by the Outside-based 50501 group, along with Stand Up Alaska, Alaska Forward, and Alaska March On, will rally along the Seward Highway at the Midtown Mall from 4:30 to 5:30 pm. The event is billed as “Alaska Stands with Ukraine,” described by organizers as a peaceful protest in solidarity with the Eastern European nation.
The 50501 group, a prominent anti-Trump organization, has been publicly praised by US Sen. Lisa Murkowski. Earlier this year, she told public broadcasting listeners: “I think that type of engagement is important and people shouldn’t feel discouraged because, ‘well, I haven’t seen anything change since the last week that I went to go protest.’ Keep the engagement up.” Murkowski has in recent months encouraged Alaskans to protest Trump directly.
The next day, pro-Trump Alaskans plan to claim the same Midtown Mall location. A “President Trump Rally” will be held on Friday, Aug. 15, from 11 am to 1 pm, at the same corner. Supporters are being urged to bring Trump signs, American flags, and “Alaska Republican pride” to show the former president that “Alaska stands strong with him and with our conservative values.” Organizers say they want Midtown Anchorage “filled with a sea of red, white, and blue.”
Meanwhile, another large-scale anti-Trump demonstration is being organized for Friday at the Delaney Park Strip, near the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial. That protest is expected to draw one of the largest turnouts Anchorage has seen against Trump.
With rival demonstrations planned back-to-back — and on the same day as Trump’s Alaska events — Anchorage can expect a politically charged weekend that will spotlight the patriotic Alaskans and the ones who hate Trump and everything he does.
