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How it started, how it’s going: In November, Gov. Newsom called a special session to ‘Trump-proof’ California. It’s a cautionary tale for Anchorage.

Suzanne Downing
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How it started, how it’s going: In November, Gov. Newsom called a special session to ‘Trump-proof’ California. It’s a cautionary tale for Anchorage.

After the election of Donald Trump as president, California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who is the Democrat leader in the failed never-Trump movement, immediately convened a special session to ask for $25 million to fight the Trump Administration.

Newsom has made a name for himself as the head of the resistance against Trump and although many thought he should replace Joe Biden this year as president, his political hands were tied. He has been a strong possibility to run for president in 2028.

Newsom said in November he needed the money to protect “California values,” which include being a sanctuary state for illegal immigrants and the child gender mutilation industry.

Newsom is now battling to preserve his political future, but he has not been helped by the slow federal government.

It wasn’t until late Wednesday that the Biden Administration announced it would send additional firefighting personnel and capabilities to California to assist in battling the series of out-of-control wildfires. When those assets will arrive is uncertain, but wind-driven fire weather is expected to remain until Friday in Southern California, where the footprint of the fires are small, but are many and are in urban areas that now look like war zones.

Newsom is being blamed for focusing on the wrong things, and not being ready for the fires, which have destroyed hundreds of homes and killed five people in the past week.

“Governor Gavin Newscum refused to sign the water restoration declaration put before him that would have allowed millions of gallons of water, from excess rain and snow melt from the North, to flow daily into many parts of California, including the areas that are currently burning in a virtually apocalyptic way,” Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social, the social media platform he started after the old Twitter management kicked him off of that platform.

Newsom says Trump mischaracterizes the complex water system in California. But as the leader of the anti-Trump movement, he and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass appear to be ineffective leaders and are fighting battles on two fronts: The disaster response and the political fallout for them both.

“Fire is spreading rapidly for 3 days — ZERO CONTAINMENT. Nobody has ever seen such failed numbers before! Gross incompetence by Gavin Newscum and Karen Bass….And Biden’s FEMA has no money — all wasted on the Green New Scam! L.A. is a total wipeout!!!” Trump posted on Thursday morning on Truth Social.

The left-leaning Los Angeles Times categorizes that as false, but in fact, the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 authorized the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Recovery and Emergency Act to provide financial assistance for costs associated with low-carbon construction materials and net-zero energy projects. FEMA’s 2022-2026 Strategic Plan includes “whole of community in climate resilience” and encourages states to build climate-resilient communities. This is a vast expansion of the original Stafford Act, signed into law in 1988 and designed to provide a framework for the federal government to offer financial assistance to state and local governments when dealing with major disasters. It allows the president to declare emergencies and major disasters and to provide federal aid in situations like hurricanes, floods, earthquakes, fires, and other natural events, essentially supplementing state and local efforts to save lives and protect property.

Hundreds if not thousands of structures have burned and over 100,000 Los Angeles residents have been ordered to evacuate while their neighborhoods burn out of control. Opportunistic looters have snuck into the burned-out wealthier neighborhoods to take advantage of the evacuation, and only two have been arrested for looting.

With entire communities in the Los Angeles County area burned to the ground, Mayor Bass and Gov. Newsom have just watched as their political futures were also torched by the city and state governments’ inability to prioritize what is the first role of government: To protect citizens.

It’s a cautionary tale for the leaders in Anchorage, where hillside residents face some of the same conditions, with dry weather and high winds combining at times to create wildfire conditions. While the mayor and Assembly of the city focus on equity and diversity, crime has spun out of control in the city and never discuss hardening the hillside surrounding Anchorage against fires, which are increasingly started in homeless encampments that migrate from one greenbelt to another.

Just as in Pacific Palisades, the canyon neighborhood that burned in greater Los Angeles, many areas of the hillside in Anchorage have winding and narrow roads with limited access and no fire hydrants. The mayor and the Assembly of Anchorage, meanwhile, have made it their priority to remove the dam on the Eklutna River that serves as a reservoir for Anchorage’s water supply.

Homeless camp fire sends flames skyward along Chester Greenbelt

L.A. Fire Dept emphasized equity and now city burns under first female-LGBTQ command
L.A. on fire: Hydrants stolen, mayor cut fire service budget, and left for Ghana on taxpayer dime

L.A. on fire: Hydrants stolen, mayor cut fire service budget, and left for Ghana on taxpayer dime

SENIOR CONTRIBUTOR
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L.A. on fire: Hydrants stolen, mayor cut fire service budget, and left for Ghana on taxpayer dime

By KENNETH SCHRUPP | THE CENTER SQUARE and MUST READ ALASKA

 Hundreds of fire hydrants were stolen from the ground for scrap metal in advance of the blazes raging across Los Angeles, highlighting the local government’s challenges in maintaining basic order and infrastructure. 

“These fire hydrant thefts are yet another sign of how crime is out of control in Los Angeles County,” said Los Angeles District Attorney Nathan Hochman to The Center Square before his November election. “Thieves know they’ll face little or no consequences if they are caught, so they’re willing to risk the public’s safety for a small profit.”

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, who has been away on a taxpayer-funded trip to Africa as a member of a Biden administration delegation, recently cut the fire department’s budget by $17.6 million. 

Upon her arrival back in the United States, Sky News asked Bass whether she regrets cutting the fire department’s budget, and if she feels she owes citizens an apology for being absent as the city burned. 

Bass ignored the questions, her eyes glued to the ground as she proceeded through the airport. 

Days before Bass left for Ghana, the National Weather Service’s Los Angeles Bureau warned of “extreme fire weather conditions.” 

The day before fires broke out, Bass shared a NWS warning, suggesting she may have been aware of the fire before her departure.

“There is an expected destructive and potentially life-threatening windstorm starting Tuesday morning through Wednesday afternoon,” said Bass. “Stay safe LA!”

On Wednesday, fire hydrants in Pacific Palisades lost their water pressure entirely. All water storage tanks in the area were dry. Water reservoir projects promised by the state government for years have not been built.

As of Wednesday evening the fires are zero percent contained.

Stay up with the Los Angeles Fire Department reports and maps at this link.

L.A. Fire Dept emphasized equity and now city burns under first female-LGBTQ command

Congressman Begich signs on as co-sponsor to firearm state reciprocity bill

Suzanne Downing
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Congressman Begich signs on as co-sponsor to firearm state reciprocity bill

Congressman Nick Begich III has signed on as a cosponsor of H.R. 38, the Constitutional Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act.

In Alaska, Begich said, firearms are a fundamental way of life.

“The right to protect ourselves, our families, and our communities does not fade away as you cross an imaginary line. That’s why I am proud to be an original co-sponsor of H.R. 38, and I encourage my colleagues in the House to support this important piece of legislation.”

Congressman Richard Hudson of North Carolina led over 120 of his colleagues in introducing H.R. 38. The legislation would provide nationwide reciprocity for concealed carry license holders and for residents of constitutional carry states.

Hudson introduced the bill in previous years. In December 2017, the bill passed the House with bipartisan support, yet it was not taken up in the Senate.

Rep. Hudson has repeatedly said he would continue to pursue the legislation, again in 2023, and again not being taken up in the Senate.

Then-Rep. Mary Peltola, who was voted out of office in November, chose not to co-sponsor the 2023 attempt to pass the bill and it is doubtful President Joe Biden would have signed it.

President Donald Trump, however, has committed to signing national concealed carry reciprocity legislation into law.

The bill has support of the National Rifle Association and Gun Owners of America.

“Congress has the opportunity to deliver the greatest legislative victory for the gun rights movement in a century, and President Trump has already voiced his support,” said Aidan Johnston, Gun Owners of America Director of Federal Affairs.“With all 50 states now issuing concealed carry permits, 49 states allowing nonresident carry, and 29 states with permitless or Constitutional Carry, it is simply common sense for Congress to ensure that each state’s concealed carry license is valid in every other state. We thank President Trump for his leadership on this issue and urge Congress to swiftly send Rep. Hudson’s Constitutional Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act to the President’s desk to be signed.”

“On behalf of the USCCA’s more than 850,000 members nationwide, we applaud Congressman Hudson’s continued leadership in defending the rights of responsibly-armed Americans,” said Tim Schmidt, President and Co-Founder of U.S. Concealed Carry Association. “Our Constitutional rights do not end at state lines. This legislation is critical to ensuring law-abiding gun owners’ fundamental right to defend themselves and their loved ones regardless of geography or location. The USCCA remains committed to seeing H.R. 38, the Constitutional Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act, one of the most consequential reforms for gun owners nationwide, signed into law.”

National Shooting Sports Foundation Senior Vice President and General Counsel Lawrence Keane said, “This legislation eliminates the confusing patchwork of laws surrounding concealed carry permits that vary from state-to-state, particularly with regard to states where laws make unwitting criminals out of legal permit holders for a simple mistake of a wrong traffic turn. It safeguards a state’s right to determine their own laws while protecting the Second Amendment rights of all Americans. We thank Rep. Hudson for his leadership on behalf of America’s hunters and recreational shooters.”

L.A. Fire Dept emphasized equity and now city burns under first female-LGBTQ command

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L.A. Fire Dept emphasized equity and now city burns under first female-LGBTQ command

By NICK POPE | DAILY CALLER NEWS FOUNDATION

The Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD) committed significant resources to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives before the outbreak of massive fires that devastated the Los Angeles area overnight.

The LAFD has implemented an internal “racial equity plan,” subjected employees to diversity training and is currently led by Chief Kristin Crowley, “the first female and LGBTQ Fire Chief in the LAFD” and a staunch supporter of the initiatives. As strong winds fed the wildfires on Tuesday evening, former Republican Los Angeles mayoral candidate Rick Caruso reported that some fire hydrants were running low on water as the department scrambled to mobilize firefighters.

The department’s racial equity plan, adopted in 2021, asserts that the LAFD is a better firefighting organization for focusing on the demographic characteristics of its personnel.

“The strength of any organization rests in its greatest resource—its people; and LAFD leadership cannot accomplish any of the racial equity and inclusion goals without the employees to accomplish the work and embrace the vision while being guided by competent leadership,” the LAFD racial equity plan states. “It has been concluded and realized that the more talent, skills, perspectives, insight, knowledge, and abilities acquired through racial equity and inclusion, the stronger and more effective and competitive the organization has become.”

The LAFD evidently did not have adequate personnel on hand to mount an immediate and sufficient response to the devastating fires, indicated by the rare Tuesday night call to off-duty firefighters to report their availability. Some forecasts, including those issued by the National Interagency Fire Center and the California Office for Emergency Services, warned that Southern California was at high risk for serious fires before Tuesday’s events.

In a brief with the news media Wednesday morning, officials said that the fires have claimed more than 1,000 buildings and caused serious injuries for civilians who did not evacuate hard-hit areas in time.

Shortly after taking over the top job at LAFD in 2022, Crowley made clear in a local news segment that one of her top priorities would be increasing the department’s diversity. In the interview, she suggested she does not look to meet specific demographic quotas in the department because there is “never enough” diversity.

Los Angeles County also posted an October 2024 video touting a one-day DEI planning event hosted by the Anti-Racism, Diversity and Inclusion Initiative, during which county leaders worked on ideas and plans to “realize a just and equitable LA County for all residents and all communities.” An official county website detailing its work with the Anti-Racism, Diversity and Inclusion Initiative states that the county “seeks to end structural racism and its consequences by working closely with all County departments, commissions, agencies, and advisory bodies to collaborate with all cities, unincorporated communities, school districts, state and federal agencies, community-based organizations, philanthropy and academic institutions.”

As of Wednesday afternoon, the fires were still out of control, consuming thousands of acres of land with the help of powerful wind gusts that have yet to subside.

The LAFD did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.

Win Gruening: Report shows how Eaglecrest Ski Area can be self-supporting

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Win Gruening: Report shows how Eaglecrest Ski Area can be self-supporting

By WIN GRUENING

A recently released report by the City and Borough of Juneau provides insight into efforts to increase summertime revenues at Juneau’s city-owned ski area which would allow it to become financially self-supporting.

To be sure, there are some uncertainties associated with this endeavor, and assumptions and projections will need to be examined to determine their validity. However, the basic premise of counterbalancing the ski area’s subsidized winter operation with a profitable summer operation is realistic and achievable.

Historically, much of the concern about Eaglecrest has centered around their uneven financial performance which, in large part, is due to unpredictable weather and their chronically underfunded maintenance and replacement program. This is why the summer program is so vital. It would stabilize revenues, eventually precluding the need for ongoing subsidies, and fund a replacement reserve that will provide for dependable equipment and facility operation.

It’s generally unknown but Eaglecrest’s taxpayer-funded subsidies, while seemingly sizable, are at a level far below those enjoyed by the city’s other recreation facilities. For example, the combined proposed FY25 budget of the Treadwell Ice Rink ($1.0 million) and that of Aquatics, the city’s two swimming pools ($2.98 million), approximately equals that of Eaglecrest Ski Area ($4.2 million). Yet their subsidies are vastly different.

Treadwell Ice Rink anticipates recovering 43% of its expenditures through user fees and charges. Aquatics only projects recovering 23%. Their combined subsidy totals $2.85 million. Eaglecrest, in contrast, proposes to recoup 78% of its expenses in FY25 requiring a subsidy of $930,000. (Later revisions to Eaglecrest’s budget reflect a 66% recovery rate which is listed in the CBJ report).

In fact, as the city report explains, Eaglecrest has averaged an expense recovery since 1997 of 70%, a record that is unmatched by any other city owned recreation enterprise, and a tribute to fiscally vigilant Eaglecrest board members, management, and staff, past and present.

So, let’s give them (and the Juneau Assembly) credit for pursuing a plan to erase the remaining 30% subsidy.

There has been some controversy surrounding the city’s purchase of a used gondola as part of this effort. Yet, the subsequent $10 million investment in the project by Goldbelt, Inc, Juneau’s urban Native Corporation (well-versed in tourism operations and the owner/operator of the successful Mt. Roberts Tramway) indicates this can be a viable and profitable enterprise.

A summer operation model has been proven successful in other ski areas – even without the advantage Eaglecrest has, in a location where 1.5+ million cruise passengers disembark every summer. 

Predictably, the installation cost of the gondola has ballooned over the initial budget estimates. Nevertheless, it appears that the costs will be contained within the total funds provided by Goldbelt assuming operations commence by the summer of 2027. 

As envisioned, the gondola would transport visitors to the top of the ridge at Eaglecrest, offering the opportunity to experience spectacular vistas and hiking in a pristine subalpine forest. 

The city’s report details a range of possible revenue options which would price gondola tickets at $45, $65, or $85. After adding bus transportation, cruise line commissions, and taxes, the tour could sell on a cruise ship for $118, $145, and $171.50, respectively. This compares favorably with other competing shore excursions offered by cruise lines. For example, the zipline adventure currently located at Eaglecrest is priced at $245 through the vendor’s website, markedly less than if purchased aboard a cruise ship.

Using the more conservative midrange estimate, Eaglecrest would reach operational breakeven in 2029 based on a projected summer visitation of 55,000 riders. This represents approximately 3% of cruise passengers and is well below the number of skiers that visit Eaglecrest during the winter season.

It is desirable and beneficial for city leaders to maximize utilization of the ski area in every way it can. This, not only to preserve a valuable city asset, but so thousands of residents and visitors alike can enjoy the health benefits and recreational opportunities that Eaglecrest provides.

Eaglecrest is on the cusp of achieving financial independence. Year-round operations and an expanded customer base can guarantee its future for many years to come.

After retiring as the senior vice president in charge of business banking for Key Bank in Alaska, Win Gruening became a regular opinion page columnist for the Juneau Empire. He was born and raised in Juneau and graduated from the U.S. Air Force Academy in 1970. He is involved in various local and statewide organizations.

Win Gruening: What does it mean to be part of a community?
Win Gruening: Mired in bureaucracy, Juneau’s long-term flood fix advances at glacial pace

Slap in the face? Nobody bids for BLM’s economically unviable ‘1002’ Coastal Plain oil and gas leases

Suzanne Downing
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Slap in the face? Nobody bids for BLM’s economically unviable ‘1002’ Coastal Plain oil and gas leases

As expected, the Bureau of Land Management received no bids for the congressionally mandated oil and gas lease sale for the Coastal Plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. The private sector apparently no longer trusts the Biden Administration to follow through.

The deadline to submit bids was Monday, Jan. 6. On Jan. 7, the State of Alaska sued the federal agency and the Department of Interior, saying the tracts were not viable and the Biden Administration was defying a congressional mandate.

“This is no surprise,” said Sen. Dan Sullivan of Alaska. “From Day 1, Joe Biden and Deb Haaland have sought to illegally shut down any chance of developing ANWR and have said as much. They and their eco-colonialist allies have made every effort to delay, and ultimately kill, any chance of successful ANWR lease sales and have canceled the voices of the Iñupiat Native people of Alaska in the process. This latest lease sale was yet another attempt to circumvent the federal law Congress passed and President Trump signed mandating two lease sales in ANWR. Closing off nearly 75 percent of the 1002 area, including lands that are projected to have substantial resources beneath them, is clearly an attempt to stymie interest from industry. Don’t forget: Companies had already witnessed the Biden-Harris administration brazenly and illegally cancel leases from the first sale.”

Sullivan continued on a hopeful note: “The good news is we will soon be working with the Trump administration which, unlike Biden-Harris, has a proven track record of responsible Alaska resource development, faithfully implementing the laws passed by Congress, and respecting the voices of the Iñupiat people of the North Slope who strongly support the ANWR leasing program. January 20th can’t come soon enough.”

Days before, the federal government took away a lease it had granted years ago in the Beaufort Sea. With a government that can make it impossible to develop mineral and petroleum resources, it comes as no surprise to industry observers that companies are now reluctant to take the risk.

Congressman Nick Begich III commented, “The federal government has behaved more like an adversary than an ally when it comes to responsible development in Alaska. Making a lease sale so uneconomic in its construction that no party is willing to place a bid is not evidence of a lack of interest, but rather it is evidence of a keen understanding that these lands under the current regime have not been offered in good faith.”

Begich said, “Alaskan lands should be in Alaskans’ hands, and I look forward to working with the Trump administration and my colleagues in the delegation to ensure greater self-determination of Alaska’s resources than has been available as of late.”

Biden to ban all offshore oil and gas; Congressman Nick Begich calls him out as a ‘son of a b—-‘

The expired deadline to submit bids concludes the second congressionally mandated sale required by the 2017 Tax Act, which directed the BLM to hold two lease sales in the Coastal Plain within seven years of enactment.

The first sale similarly demonstrated low interest, yielding a total of $14.4 million in high bids on 11 tracts.

Congress included the two lease sales in the Tax Act on the grounds that they would generate approximately $2 billion in revenue over 10 years. 

Of the nine leases sold during the previous sale, the two held by oil companies were canceled and refunded at the request of the lessees. The remaining seven are held by the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority, but those were canceled by Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland for what she said were “multiple legal deficiencies.”

There are currently no leases in the Coastal Plain, which was originally set aside for oil and gas. At statehood, Alaska was promised the right to develop revenue from oil and gas. President Jimmy Carter broke that promise by locking up massive amounts of the Arctic. Through the efforts of Sen. Ted Stevens and Congressman Don Young, the 1002 area was released from that lockup in the Alaska National Interest Lands and Conservation Act, so it could provide oil, gas, jobs, wealth, and revenue for the state.

Gov. Mike Dunleavy predicted this outcome back on Dec. 9, writing on X, “The Biden administration has cloaked its latest sanction on Alaska as a lease sale in ANWR. The truth is this lease sale is designed to fail. It limits exploration to the largest extent possible while trying to pass it off as following the law passed by Congress to offer leases that have a legitimate chance of success. The upside here is that in a matter of weeks the Trump administration will come into office and prioritize safe oil and gas development that provides stable and secure energy. Alaska’s four yearlong nightmare ends January 20th.”

In the Tax Act of 2017, Congress demanded that the BLM put leases up for bid, but what the federal government did was only put up nonviable tracts.

The Biden Administration on Jan. 8 has taken no responsibility for the failed leases, nor did it mention the fact that these leases are subject to a state lawsuit over the administration’s bad faith actions.

“The lack of interest from oil companies in development in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge reflects what we and they have known all along – there are some places too special and sacred to put at risk with oil and gas drilling. This proposal was misguided in 2017, and it’s misguided now,” said Acting Deputy Secretary Laura Daniel-Davis, who came from the environmental industry’s National Wildlife Federation before joining the Biden Administration. “The BLM has followed the law and held two lease sales that have exposed the false promises made in the Tax Act. The oil and gas industry is sitting on millions of acres of undeveloped leases elsewhere; we’d suggest that’s a prudent place to start, rather than engage further in speculative leasing in one of the most spectacular places in the world.”  

“The Arctic Refuge sustains people, wildlife and fish in the northeastern corner of Alaska, a vast landscape of rich cultural traditions and thriving ecological diversity. The lands and waters are a critical home to migratory and resident wildlife, have unique recreational values, and contain the largest designated Wilderness within the National Wildlife Refuge System. The Refuge is located on the traditional homelands of the Iñupiat people of the north and the Gwichʼin people of interior Alaska and Canada,” the Department of Interior wrote in a news release, deciding that it is now also responsible for the people of Canada.

This story will be updated.

Alaska sues feds over oil, gas in ANWR’s 1002 area

 

Shootout: Officers fire on active shooter in Anchorage

Suzanne Downing
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Shootout: Officers fire on active shooter in Anchorage

Editor’s note: Details updated at end of original story.

In the Government Hill neighborhood of north Anchorage, an Anchorage Police officer shot someone just before 6 a.m. on Wednesday, police reported today.

The incident followed a bizarre crime scene in downtown Anchorage on Tuesday afternoon, during which a suspect was shot after he was believed to have bound the wrists and mouth of a female victim at a business and proceeded to try to rob an ATM. An officer intervened and the man, who had a gun, would not follow commands.

Anchorage police shoot armed robber in midtown

The second incident happened in the 700 block of Hollywood Drive, where a large police presence has gathered to investigate. This story will be updated as police release information.

Update: Six callers called starting at about 5:44 a.m. to the police 911 line, including four who called in at the same time, said Sean Case, police chief for the Anchorage Police Department. The callers said they heard shots fired around the 700 block of Hollywood Drive.

“There was a lot of information coming from different sources at the same time,” Case said, adding that it created a more complex situation.

Chief Case provided information that the police knew at the time the incident went down:

A female caller was inside the “victim location,” he said, which was a residence. She reportedly heard gunshots, and mentioned a bullet ricocheted or another object grazed her on the head. It was later determined she not need to go to the hospital.

A second caller called from outside the residence, reporting he heard gunshots.

A third caller was also inside the residence. This one was a male caller who heard gunshots and screaming, which he believed to be coming from the first caller, who was in another end of the house.

Meanwhile, the female was telling police dispatch that the house was being fired upon. She took cover and laid on the ground.

One of the callers observed a man with a long gun.

Officers arrived and contacted the three complainants. Another set of officers went to victim residence.

The two callers inside the house to police said they now heard smashing glass, and believed the shooter was trying to enter the home. Officers then observed the suspect with a long gun, but he disappeared around the residence.

At one point the male victim tried to exit the house and officers told him to go back inside, but he was shot by the suspect, and bullets struck him “multiple times.”

Officers then shot at the suspect and their bullets also hit him multiple times.

Chief Case called the scene chaotic and difficult to parse through since there was so much happening at once, and he would provide more details as they become known. He said the police actions were in the “heroic category,” since there was a victim being shot at by the perpetrator and police had to act quickly to save a life.

The suspect and victim were both transported to a hospital. Chief Case said they were both alive at the time, as far as he knew.

As of Wednesday, Mayor Suzanne LaFrance has not issued an apology to the active shooter for the actions take by police. In August, she issued an apology after police shot a dangerous person wielding a knife, and she opened up a third-party investigation into the police.

Mayor apologizes for officer-involved shooting before her own investigation even starts

Greenland: Another ‘Seward’s Icebox’ that William Seward recommended the U.S. purchase in 1868

Suzanne Downing
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Greenland: Another ‘Seward’s Icebox’ that William Seward recommended the U.S. purchase in 1868

A light dusting of humans freckle the southern edge of the ice-bound island of Greenland, which President Donald Trump has proposed buying from the Kingdom of Denmark.

Trump, once criticized for being “isolationist,” is now drawing criticism from the Democrats and their media members for being “expansionist.”

Greenland is hardly green; it’s mainly a large sheet of ice with a green fringe in the south, thanks to gradual melting of the icecap that covers it. What does Greenland offer, other than fish and minerals?

Greenland is larger than Alaska, but would likely be granted the status of territory. With such a small population of 56,000 people, it’s the least populated country … except that it is not a country. It is an autonomous territory within the Kingdom of Denmark, meaning it has self-governance but is still part of Denmark, which is ruled by King Frederik X, who took the throne as head of state on Jan. 14, 2024, when the previous monarch Queen Margrethe II abdicated and passed the crown to her son.

The relationship with the United States goes back to post-Civil War days. In 1868, Secretary of State William Seward commissioned a report outlining the possibility of buying Greenland and Iceland. Seward had just arranged for the purchase of Alaska from Tzarist Russia.

The report concluded that the minerals and fisheries of Greenland would be a benefit to America.

But there were other reasons to buy the 836,300-square-mile island with an ice sheet the size of Texas:

“In considering the future of Greenland, we cannot confine ourselves entirely to materialistic considerations. Nations have other resources besides those which figures can express to us by statistical tables. If a country has in it the means of developing man in any way, physically or mentally, it may be said to be rich to that extent…Even if we had no hope of finding there a place for settlement or new roads to profit, there are still strong reasons why civilization should strive to reach and explore them. They possess, as it were, the key to many problems of science, and the answer to many questions which are at present discussed by geographers. Certainly, new truths are as precious acquisitions as new mines or new fishing grounds, and a country which has supplied them has enriched the world as much as one which sends us the means of indulging our tastes or satisfying our appetites.”

Congressman Nick Begich III seems open to the idea:

“In 1868 US Secretary William H. Seward, the architect of the Alaska Purchase, identified Greenland as an acquisition target that could stabilize our nascent supply chain w/critical minerals like cryolite, while bolstering US naval reach. Today, we know that Arctic routes in the waters off Greenland are more crucial than ever and that a strengthened US presence in the region enhances global security. Further, an inclusion of Greenland as a U.S. territory would substantially expand the national portfolio of critical minerals and other important resources while enhancing the way of life for local Greenlanders. Concepts like these are history defining, and despite being ridiculed at the time, Alaskans are thankful for the vision of William Seward in architecting the Alaska Purchase,” Begich wrote on X on Wednesday.

The population of Greenland is largely Inuit and financially poor, with a poverty rate of over 16%. The island is now is largely subsidized by the Danes, and fishing is the main industry.

The island may be compared to Alaska, which is 20% smaller than Greenland: The lowest latitude of Greenland is at Latitude 59, which is just north of where Juneau, Alaska is situated. The highest latitude is at Latitude 83, further north than Alaska’s city of Utqiagvik, which is at 71.29. Greenland’s capital city is Nuuk. home of about 19,000 people.

Initially, it was explored and settled in 986 AD by Norwegians and Icelanders, through Erik the Red. Later, the Norwegians left due to the harsh climate and it became part of Denmark. But that was not quite settled until a negotiation in 1933 at the Permanent Court of International Justice decided the matter for Denmark.

During the Nazi occupation of Denmark, Greenland severed its connection and in 1941, the United States occupied Greenland to protect it against Nazi Germany. The U.S. military stayed until 1945 and established a few air bases, some of which are used as commercial airports today.

After World War II, the United States offered to buy Greenland from Denmark for $100 million, but the monarch rejected the offer.

In 1953, the Danish government advised the United Nations that Greenland was now an integral part of the Danish kingdom and that Denmark no longer had responsibility for Greenland under the UN Charter.

After further steps toward autonomy, Greenland gained self-rule in 2009 for some aspects of governance, and Greenlanders were recognized as a separate people, with an option to exercise independence from Denmark, by the international community.

The Danish king recently changed the royal coat of arms to feature Greenland and the Faroe Islands, as what is seen as a message to Trump that he intends to keep Greenland as part of Denmark, which is a U.S. Ally.

Anchorage police shoot armed robber in midtown

Suzanne Downing
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Anchorage police shoot armed robber in midtown

Anchorage Police reported an officer-involved shooting at the 500 block of W. Northern Lights Blvd shortly before 2 p.m. Tuesday. A male suspect was taken to a hospital with life-threatening injuries after an officer who responded to an armed-robbery-in-progress call fired 5 to 8 rounds at the man, who refused to follow police commands and attempted to flee. The suspect was stopped by two of the bullets that stuck his upper body.

The incident happened at a business where the suspect is believed to have bound a woman with tape on her wrists and across her mouth. The suspect, who had a handgun, was breaking into the ATM at the business.

“Enormous police response. Felt like the entire on duty shift. They closed Northern Lights,” said a Must Read Alaska source who was on the scene.

The name of the suspect and the officer involved in the shooting will be released in coming days, said Chief Sean Case at an afternoon press conference, which can be viewed here.

Case also said that the incident was captured by the officer’s body camera, but portions of it were obscured.

One week into 2025, this was the first officer-involved shooting in Anchorage for the year. Last year there were eight, with five resulting in the deaths of the suspects.

As of publication time, Mayor Suzanne LaFrance has not apologized to the suspect for the behavior of the officer. Last summer, she apologized to the family of a young woman who was threatening people with a knife and ended up dead from an officer’s bullet. LaFrance called for an independent investigation of the officer and the department itself. LaFrance later apologized for apologizing.

Mayor apologizes for officer-involved shooting before her own investigation even starts
Anchorage Police Department releases 15-year look-back at officer-involved shootings
Final report: Two Anchorage officers were justified in shooting Damien Dollison at Circle K on Bragaw
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