Join host John Quick as he delves into the life and music of Zak Kirkpatrick, a fourth-generation Alaskan, whose journey from boat deckhand to licensed captain is as riveting as his soulful melodies.
In this episode of the Must Read Alaska Show, Kirkpatrick shares insights into his unique upbringing and the influences that shaped his musical career against the rugged backdrop of Alaska’s wilderness. Kirkpatrick was born and raised in Juneau and developed his brand of Alaska-themed indie-country music from a young age.
Zak Kirkpatrick
Discover what ignited Kirkpatrick’s passion for music and how his experiences working on boats and guiding through glacier wilderness informed his creative process. Gain valuable advice as Kirkpatrick offers pearls of wisdom for aspiring musicians looking to navigate the unpredictable waters of a music career.
“Gonna give Rich Men North of Richmond a run for its money!” commented one listener of his new song, “The Outlaws Might Save Us.”
From his humble beginnings to becoming a beacon of inspiration for fellow Alaskans, Kirkpatrick’s story is one of resilience, determination, and an unwavering commitment to his craft. Tune in to explore the melodies of the Last Frontier and embark on a musical journey unlike any other with Zak Kirkpatrick on the Must Read Alaska Show.
It’s been eight years since the Alaska Republican Party has had an in-person state convention during a presidential election year. The 2020 convention was held on a Zoom call due to the Covid pandemic, and, as with others around the country, was only memorable because it was forgettable.
In those eight years, the party has churned through four chairmen — Peter Goldberg, Tuckerman Babcock, Glenn Clary, and Ann Brown.
This year, the election of party officers was electrifying in that it trended younger. A new generation is taking over. At the Hotel Captain Cook in Anchorage, where some 300 delegates gathered this weekend to conduct party business, the younger generation answered the call to serve.
Anchorage Republican Women’s Club President Judy Eledge hugs new Alaska Republican Party Chairwoman Carmela Warfield, wearing a Ronald Reagan t-shirt. Warfield was five years old when Reagan was president.
The candidates for the chairmanship included Nikki Rose, who was the first of the four to declare her intention to run for chair last fall. Others were Carmela Warfield, party Vice Chairman Mike Robbins, and a few weeks ago former state Sen. Jerry Ward declared his nomination. But Carmela Warfield won in a landslide, with about 59% of the vote.
Warfield is 49 years old, one of the youngest party chairs to preside over the Alaska Republicans in years. She is a veteran of volunteer work at the grassroots level, and as a member and president of the Hillside Community Council. She is 20 years younger than outgoing Chairwoman Ann Brown and immediate past chair Glenn Clary. While Brown has been in party leadership for a decade, Clary left the state for career opportunity, allowing Brown, then vice chairwoman, to become chair for the past three years.
Zackary Gottshall, the newly elected vice chairman, is also a quarter century younger than outgoing Vice Chair Robbins, now in his 60s. Gottshall is a veteran of the U.S. Army, in which he served as an intelligence officer. He is the chairman of the Alaska Human Rights Commission. He’s newer to party politics, where Robbins has been involved for years, and was the inaugural chairman for the Trump victory party in 2016 in Washington, D.C.
Trevor Shaw of Ketchikan, who was elected as Alaska Republican Party secretary, is 28, having been born when Democrat Bill Clinton was president. Shaw has been serving as the party’s assistant secretary, and served as parliamentarian during the two-day convention. Shaw has been involved with the Republican Party for a decade and was once the youngest elected member of the Ketchikan School Board.
Brian Hove, the new National Committeeman, is a decade younger than outgoing committeeman, former Lt. Gov. Craig Campbell, who has served for the past two years after the retirement of Mike Tauriainen. Hove has been the party’s regional representative for the Region 4-Anchorage of the ARP and is on the State Executive Committee.
Cynthia Henry of Fairbanks, National Committeewoman for the past decade, was not challenged for her position, and will continue serving on the RNC. She will provide the continuity and historical perspective for all the young Republicans emerging in party leadership roles.
Ryan Sheldon, chair of District 30, led the convention in singing the Star Spangled Banner and the Alaska Flag Song at the Alaska Republican Party’s 2024 convention.
The youth movement was characterized by Talkeetna resident Ryan Sheldon, who is related to former party vice chairman Frank McQueary. Sheldon, 25, led the room in the singing of the National Anthem and the Alaska Flag Song at the outset of the convention, wowing the crowd with his confident and tone-perfect performance.
Sheldon is the newly elected chair of the District 30 Republicans. His district stretches from Port MacKenzie to Healy and Anderson. Overheard among convention-goers were comments about Sheldon being a rising star in Alaska politics, someone who has what it takes to make a great governor some day. Sheldon led the Campaign and Finance committee at the convention and will be involved in fundraising going forward.
Jason Warfield, husband of Chairwoman Carmela Warfield, stepped down as Finance chairman but he will raise money for candidates and will stay involved.
Kevin Fimon, longtime campaign treasurer for candidates such as Gov. Mike Dunleavy, is the new treasurer for the party, replacing Rhonda Boyles, who will serve as assistant treasurer.
Ryan McKee, of Alaska Young Republicans, is the new Finance chairman. He has been leading the state’s grassroots youth efforts in Alaska for a decade, beginning with College Republicans, Anchorage Young Republicans, and Mat-Su Young Republicans. He also was state director for Americans for Prosperity and serves on the national board of Young Republicans.
The Saturday keynote speaker was Nick Begich, candidate for U.S. House, and he was another example of the younger generation of the Alaska Republican Party who are ascending.
Begich, 46, received an overwhelming level of support from the convention, with people cheering and clapping repeatedly during his 45-minute address and question-and-answer period, all given without notes or script.
The youth movement at Alaska Republican Party convention included young parents and their children.
Nancy Dahlstrom, Alaska’s lieutenant governor, age 66, had been the keynote speaker on Friday night, and was received with a polite and respectful response from the party, even though she is endorsed by House Speaker Mike Johnson, Majority Leader Steve Scalise, Gov. Mike Dunleavy, and others.
The convention positive energy was exemplified by Nick Begich at the Alaska Republican Party convention, as members of the convention wore Begich campaign hats and pins during the entire three days.
The convention approved the slate of 29 delegates who will attend the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in July, where Donald Trump will presumably be formally nominated as the party’s nominee.
Those delegates include: Cynthia Henry, National Committeewoman, Craig Campbell, National Committeeman, Sheryl Yelsley, Barbara Tyndall, Cheryl Markwood, Patty Wise, George Hall, Kevin Hall, Leona Oberts, Robert Wall, Bryan Scoresby, DeLena Johnson, Earl Lackey, George Rauscher, Robert Hall, Ryan McKee, Dave Bronson, Dave Donley, Dawn Linton Warren, Jamie Allard, Jason Warfield, John Powers, Loran Baxter, Mikaela Emswiler, Portia Erickson, Robin Billet, Tetyana Robbins, and Zack Young. If any of those cannot attend, there are alternates in the queue. Chairwoman Warfield is an automatic delegate as well.
Portia Erickson will chair the Alaska delegation to Milwaukee.
Portia Erickson, who is vice chairwoman of Anchorage Republican Women’s Club, is the delegation chairwoman. Trevor Shaw is the aide for the delegation going to Republican National Convention.
Trevor Shaw will be the delegation aide to Milwaukee.
Also chosen during the convention were the three electors for the Alaska Republican Party. Those are the three who will cast the Electoral College vote for Alaska, after the November election is certified. The electors are Ron Johnson of the Mat-Su Valley, Rick Whitbeck of Anchorage, Eileen Becker of Homer, and alternate elector Gloria Shriver of Anchorage.
The delegates on Saturday voted on numerous resolutions that came out of committees that had met the day before. They included everything from the sanctity of life to the support for commonsense energy policy.
ARP Chairwoman Carmela Warfield said the positive energy that built during the convention was one of its most notable characteristics.
“I feel like we’ve worked hard to bring our young Republican alongside our more experienced Republicans to bring our party together and move into the future,” she said, adding that one of her goals when she ran for party chair is to follow President Ronald Reagan’s 11th commandment: Thou shall not speak ill of a fellow Republican.
From her website set up earlier this spring to promote her candidacy for chair, Warfield says, “The Alaska Republican Party must focus its efforts to expand its reach and membership, including recruiting new and younger members who share our core values and principles …”
On Sunday morning, Must Read Alaska reached out to Warfield, who expressed her appreciation for everyone who participated in the convention and said that she will work hard to bring the party together in a positive way.
Alaska Republican Party convention delegates elected a new slate of leaders at its convention in Anchorage this weekend. The new officers are:
Chair: Carmela Warfield of South Anchorage, who won overwhelmingly in a race that had three other candidates that included Jerry Ward, Nikki Rose, and Mike Robbins.
An enthusiastic crowd welcomes the new Alaska Republican Party Chairwoman, Carmela Warfield, who won by a landslide on April 20, 2024 in Anchorage.
National Committeewoman: incumbent Cynthia Henry, Fairbanks.
National Committeeman: Brian Hove, Anchorage, replacing outgoing National Committeeman Craig Campbell
Secretary: Trevor Shaw, Ketchikan
Assistant Secretary: Cheryl Markwood, Fairbanks
Over 300 delegates have been meeting for two days at the Hotel Captain Cook to vote of platform and resolutions, rule changes, delegates to the Republican National Convention, and to hear from candidates for Congress Nick Begich and Nancy Dahlstrom.
A federal grand jury in Alaska has indicted a South African national with unlawfully procuring naturalization in the U.S.
According to court documents, between June and September 2019, Brian Smith, 52, applied for and obtained naturalization in the U.S. by making false statements in connection to his naturalization application.
Smith falsely responded to questions asking whether he had been involved in killing, badly hurting or sexually assaulting someone and if he had ever committed, assisted in committing or attempted to commit a crime he was not arrested for. Smith answered “No” to all these questions, when at the time of the application, he had committed related crimes, including two murders that involved torture and sexual assaults.
Smith was convicted of these crimes in February in Alaska Superior Court.
Smith is charged with one count of unlawful procurement of naturalization in violation of 18 U.S.C. §1425(a) and one count of unlawful procurement of naturalization by an ineligible person in violation of 18 U.S.C. §1425(b). The defendant will make his initial court appearance on a later date before a U.S. Magistrate Judge of the U.S. District Court for the District of Alaska. If convicted, he faces the revocation of his certificate of naturalization.
A handful of vulnerable House Democrats, have celebrated their alignment with a left-wing advocacy group ahead of 2024 that supports policies such as decriminalizing prostitution and abolishing cash bail, according to Fox News.
Alaska’s Mary Peltola is among the vulnerable Democrat candidates who have aligned with Voters of Tomorrow, which is described by Influence Watch as a leftist group that supports the defunding of police.
“VoT claims that conventional law enforcement methods do not lower crime rates and supports reducing police department budgets in favor of funding other government programs which the group claims will reduce crime. The group also supports decriminalizing most drugs and regulating them like alcohol or tobacco and erasing the prior criminal records of drug offenders. In addition, VoT has demanded that border security and immigration law enforcement be significantly curtailed, and that presently illegal immigrants be granted American citizenship,” Influence Watch says.
Voters of Tomorrow has a particular focus on “justice” issues such as decriminalizing prostitution, dismantling “racist” institutions — including those that carry out “racial profiling in education and policing” and ending “racist voting laws” — as well as calling for stricter gun control, and ending “the abusive practices of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection.”
“Fox News Digital found that a handful of the House members who took the Voters of Tomorrow pledge are located in swing-districts, including Cartwright, Rep. Greg Landsman of Ohio, Rep. Mary Peltola of Alaska, and Rep. Susan Wild of Pennsylvania,” according to the report.
“Self-proclaimed moderate House Democrats are once again showing the American people where their true priorities lie: abolishing cash bail, defunding the police, ending ICE & CBP, and decriminalizing sex work and drugs. It’s dangerous, and exposes how Cartwright, Landsman, Peltola, or Wild are complete frauds that should never be reelected,” said National Republican Congressional Committee’s Macy Gardner.
Alaska Attorney General Treg Taylor and attorneys general from 24 other states are suing to block a Biden administration emissions rule imposed on vehicle manufacturers.
Led by Kentucky, the 25 states petitioned the U.S. District Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit to block an Environmental Protection Agency rule, “Multi-Pollutant Emissions Standards for Model Years 2027 and Later Light-Duty and Medium- Duty Vehicles,” from going into effect.
They argue the final rule “exceeds its statutory authority, is arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of discretion, and not in accordance with the law.” The lawsuit asks the court to declare it unlawful.
The EPA proposed the rule through the Clean Air Act to require car manufacturers to create “zero-emission vehicles and plug-in-hybrid electric vehicles in compliance with calculations, medium-duty vehicle incentive multipliers, and vehicle certification and compliance.”
The rule also implements regulations related to controlling “refueling emissions from incomplete medium-duty vehicles, and battery durability and warranty requirements for light-duty and medium-duty electric and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles” as well as aftermarket fuel conversions, importing vehicles and engines, evaporative emission test procedures, and test fuel specifications for measuring fuel economy.
It’s set to become effective June 17.
The coalition argues the rule “imposes unworkable emissions standards on passenger cars, light-duty trucks and medium-duty vehicles” and the EPA is “attempting to use the weight of the federal government to force manufacturers to produce more EVs.”
The rule’s stated goal is for manufacturers to produce enough electric vehicles to account for nearly 70% of cars available for sale within 10 years. The mandate is being pushed as the U.S. does not have the electric grid or infrastructure to support it, critics argue, and as the majority of Americans oppose purchasing electric vehicles. Last year, EV sales in the U.S. were 8.4% of total vehicle sales despite millions in federal rebates and subsidies offered.
Forcing a transition to EVs would “devastate the American economy, threaten jobs, raise prices and undermine the reliability of the electric grid,” the coalition argues.
“The Biden Administration is willing to sacrifice the American auto industry and its workers in service of its radical green agenda,” Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman said. “We just aren’t buying it. Demand for EVs continues to fall, and even those who want to buy one can’t afford it amid historic inflation.”
The lawsuit was filed as 50% of likely voters surveyed say the Biden administration should reduce its electric vehicle sales target and car dealers say consumers’ interest in buying EVs has waned, a recent The Center Square Voters’ Voice Poll found.
It also comes after more than 4,000 dealerships from every state sent a letter to President Joe Biden asking him to “tap the brakes” on his proposed EV mandate. After receiving no response, in January, more than 5,000 dealers sent a second letter urging the president to “slam the brakes,” The Center Square reported.
The EPA’s push comes as car manufacturers’ profits have dropped, with many announcing layoffs and scrapping their proposed EV production plans.
Ford Motor Company lost roughly $4.7 billion on EVs in 2023 and is projected to lose between $5 billion and $5.5 billion this year, Fox Business reported.
Tesla announced it is cutting 10% of its global workforce after reporting an 8.5% year-over-year decline in first-quarter deliveries. Its stock price also dropped over 30% so far this year, “erasing billions of dollars in market capitalization,” The New York Times reported.
GM also scrapped its plan to build 400,000 EVs, delayed producing its EV pickup trucks at a Michigan plant by one year, and dropped a $5 billion plan to jointly develop EVs with Honda Motor, Reuters reported.
According to a new Gallup poll, only 35% of Americans say they might consider buying an EV in the future. Interest among those who were seriously considering purchasing an EV dropped from 55% in 2023 to 44% today; opposition to purchasing an EV increased from 41% to 48%.
Joining Coleman are attorneys general representing the states of Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia and Wyoming.
The middle school student who was viciously attacked by a gang of girls at Clark Middle School, returned to campus on April 11, after ending up in the hospital and then on bedrest for a few days.
With community supporters by her side, she bravely walked through the doors where staff and the principal had ignored the warning signs that led up to the beating earlier this month. After school, she and her mom were picked up by a new community supporters driving a yellow Lamborghini.
But by the end of that first day, Peyton Guthrie said she felt unsafe at Clark. The bullying had started anew in subtle ways, just as it had started before that fateful day when she was targeted while in class and kicked dozens of time by the posse of students who had menaced her leading up to the attack.
So she took up the offer from the principal of her prior school, Hanshew Middle School, and is finishing out the year there.
Natasha Guthrie, her mother, shared with Must Read Alaska that the day back at Clark started well, but that her daughter sensed that she was being subtly menaced. Family and friends are now helping out with transportation to and from Hanshew.
Peyton Guthrie was comparatively lucky. A 16-year-old girl in St. Louis, Missouri was also savagely beaten this spring, and had her head repeatedly banged against concrete, while others stood by cheering, leaving her with severe brain damage. After two months, Kaylee Gains is still in the hospital, although she has started to relearn how to walk. This attack, too, was a minority student attacking a white student — both were girls.
Kaylee Gains was beaten in St. Louis at a school and now has permanent brain damage.
In an Anchorage courtroom this week, the arraignment for two of the three girls accused in the Clark Middle School attack was completed. One alleged attacker is apparently still on the lam, along with her parents, who are being sought by police.
The alleged attackers were all about age 14, and all were girls of Pacific Islander heritage, while their victim was light skinned, someone who had endured racist taunts for being an “albino” at the school, which has a student body made up of 97% minority.
Natasha Guthrie, meanwhile, has set up a Facebook page to help parents of children bullied or beaten in Anchorage schools find each other and work toward creating safer schools by having their voices heard and their stories told.That page is “Take A Stand” at this link.
Guthrie has also appeared and spoken to the Anchorage School Board about the violence at Clark.
Other parents attended the meeting and wanted to speak but were told by School Board President Margo Bellamy that they would not be allowed to address the board because she had not signed up and followed the procedures for giving testimony. Watch Bellamy tell parents they could not testify at this video clip of the meeting:
For victims of crimes in schools, it’s experienced as the school system protecting the perpetrator and forcing the victim to enroll in a different school.
How many more property tax exemptions on “for profit” developments can our tax bills stand? I’m not talking about the familiar senior citizen, veteran, residential, or the nonprofits, (though there are thousands of nonprofit exemptions), but the newer Ethan Berkowitz-era exemptions for the wealthy and politically connected.
Some people assume that the property tax on an exempted property is lost to the tax collector. Not so. The same total amount (the budget) is collected from the remaining taxable properties. The rate for everyone goes up accordingly when someone else doesn’t pay. Just like dining out with a group of friends; if someone leaves the table and doesn’t pay their share, the remaining diners must pay their share of the bill.
It costs the Muni treasury nothing to grant exemptions, but it costs us.
Here are some egregious recent examples of the new Berkowitz era exemptions:
The new multimillion dollar neon building at 5th and F. It’s the newest and nicest, great highly profitable lease to an oil company owned by very wealthy developer/owners. It is exempt for 10 years. Millions in tax dollars, plus anything else that developer builds on that whole block and his property on Northern Lights Blvd is slated for exemption.
The hotel at 4th Avenue and C Street is exempt for 10 years. Wouldn’t the other hotels like a break like that, not to mention that they will pay more in property taxes because of the Mark Begich deal?
SpanAlaska Trucking, a subsidiary of a $4.5 billion Manson Lines built a $26 million warehouse – exempt.
In the MLS listings of new downtown $840,000 condos, the Realtor touts that the new buyer will be exempt for 12 years!
How did that get by legal scrutiny? Although the Muni carefully crafted ordinances to exempt developers, they must realize that creating a legal right for a property not to be taxed, regardless of ownership, creating additional value for the developer to sell, is beyond hard to swallow for the rest of us. All other exemptions of all types expire upon change of ownership or use.
The public hasn’t heard much about this, but how could they? The assessor contends that exemption information is confidential, even after freedom of information requests. Administration approval bypasses the Assessor and goes solely to the CFO (a political appointee). Meetings are private. Assembly approval is by resolution, rather than ordinance, thus no public hearing, and is buried in a consent agenda. The dollar amounts involved are never shown, and these exemption issues are handled with Assembly in private work sessions. The truth is that there is nothing in an advalorum tax system that is not subject public review. Tax rolls are supposed to be open, reviewable, and verifiable.
Although there are thousands of exemptions totaling $18-20 billion out of a $57 billion tax roll, the recent abuse of the system warrants a review of at least the new exemptions on FORPROFIT entities. Full disclosure and transparency including financial impact, legal review, and expiration upon sale are needed. I suspect that some of the Assembly has been “compromised”, but we will wait to see if anyone even wants to have a conversation about it.
Expect to hear only crickets.
Larry Norene is a real estate broker and retired real estate appraiser.
The Air National Guard will delay the implementation of reductions planned for Alaska that would impact or eliminate nearly 80 Active Guard Reserve positions and threaten the United States homeland defense mission in Alaska and beyond.
The delay moves implementation from Oct. 1, 2024 to Sept. 30, 2025, allowing for the Air National Guard to complete a more comprehensive assessment of the impact the proposed changes will have on critical Alaska missions, and decide whether the proposed changes should occur at all. The delay will provide reprieve for the members assigned to Alaska Guard missions that include missile warning, air refueling, and combat rescue, according to an announcement from the Alaska congressional delegation.
“When I heard about the National Guard’s proposed, ill-advised cuts, my team and I demanded meetings with National Guard Bureau senior leadership, including the Director of the Air National Guard,” said Sen. Dan Sullivan. “During those meetings, we explained that Alaska’s National Guard is composed of highly skilled service members who respond to state emergencies, conduct combat search-and-rescue missions, execute air and missile defense missions, support space domain awareness, and serve as a critical link in the defense of the American homeland. These missions are unique in the nation given Alaska’s strategic location and require National Guard members to be on alert 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. These cuts would have undermined not only our state’s security, but our national security as well. While I am heartened by the decision to delay these misguided cuts until October 2025, I will continue to work relentlessly on this issue to keep Alaska National Guard positions secure.”
