In a speech on the U.S. Senate floor on Wednesday, Republican Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said he will step down from the role of leading the Senate Republicans in November. He has the record of the longest serving Senate party leader. McConnell gave a copy of his prepared remarks to AP, which first reported the news.
“One of life’s most underappreciated talents is to know when it’s time to move on to life’s next chapter,” McConnell said. “So I stand before you today … to say that this will be my last term as Republican leader of the Senate.
“If you would have told me 40 years later that I would stand before you as the longest serving Senate leaderin American history, frankly, I would have thought you’d lost your mind,” he said.
“I turned 82 last week and the end of my contributions are closer than I’d prefer,” he said.
McConnell will remain in office, he said, until his term ends in January of 2027.
McConnell has had a number of health challenges this past year, including small-but-visible seizures of some sort, while speaking to the media.
The Department of Energy will spend $125.1 million for five energy development projects in rural Alaska. DOE awarded the funds under its Energy Improvement in Rural or Remote Areas program, authored in large part by Sen. Lisa Murkowski as part of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021.
The math is breathtaking: For the 1,000 Alaskans served by these hydro, solar, and battery projects, the federal government is spending $125,000 per rural resident.
The program is aimed at improving “resilience, reliability, and affordability of energy systems in communities across the country with 10,000 or fewer people.”
The Alaska projects selected for funding include:
Chignik Hydroelectric Dam and Water Source Project led by the Lake and Peninsula Borough (Chignik Bay)—up to $7.3 million. The project will replace 100% of the community’s diesel consumption with renewable energy, and reduce energy burden.
Clean Energy in the Northwest Arctic led by the Northwest Arctic Borough—up to $54.8 million. This project aims to install over 4 MW of solar PV, over 7.1 MWh of battery storage systems, and approximately 850 heat pumps across the Northwest Arctic region. This project seeks to replace a 10-mile, overhead, distribution tie-line between the villages of Kobuk and Shungnak, allowing for greater interconnection in this remote region. Each of the 10 solar and battery storage projects will be owned and maintained by 11 federally recognized Alaska Native Villages, who will act as Independent Power Producers (IPP).
Alaskan Tribal Energy Sovereignty led by the Tanana Chiefs Conference (Nulato, Huslia, Minto, Kaltag, Grayling, Anvik, Shageluk, Holy Cross)—up to $26.1 million. The project will strive to offset the region’s diesel consumption by 40%, which will lower energy costs and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by more than 1,550 metric tons per year over the project’s 25-year lifespan, the Department of Energy says.
Old Harbor Hydroelectric Project led by the Alutiiq Tribe of Old Harbor (Old Harbor)—up to $10 million. This project plans to construct a run-of-the-river hydroelectric facility with a diversion structure, pipeline, powerhouse, and electric transmission line in Old Harbor on Kodiak Island. It is anticipated that the project will be capable of generating about 3,470 MWh of energy annually and offset diesel fuel use at the local power plant by 95%, enabling a year-round reliable energy source.
Thayer Creek Hydroelectric Project led by Kootznoowoo, Inc. (Angoon)—up to $26.9 million. This project encompasses an 850-kilowatt, run-of-the-river hydroelectric project that has the potential to supply three times the community’s current electricity needs, providing additional power for heating, fish processing, electric vehicle charging, and tourism. Kootznoowoo, Incorporated (KI) is the Alaska Native Village Corporation for the community of Angoon, population 357 residents. The cost per resident is $75,630.
These projects will facilitate the development of more of Alaska’s abundant hydropower resources, solar energy, battery storage systems, heat pumps, electric interconnection, and more, the Department of Energy says. More information about the awards is available on DOE’s website.
While rural Alaska is getting hydropower, the Anchorage Assembly is trying to rip out the existing Eklutna hydropower project.
Rick Whitbeck, Alaska state director of Power The Future, noted the inconsistency, saying, “Hydro that replaces higher-cost energy in rural Alaska is wonderful but the lowest cost electricity in Southcentral is somehow evil? You’d think the eco-Left could be more consistent, but logic is not their strong suit.”
To date, roughly $7.4 billion from the bipartisan infrastructure law has been announced for Alaska, with over 1,600 projects identified for funding and investment around the state. That’s $10,100 of federal funding — and much of that is federal debt — for every Alaskan. Similar results can be found across the country.
Statista, a business data website, shows that in 2023, Alaska, even with its small population of about 733,000, did better than states with far larger populations in terms of obtaining these federal infrastructure dollars:
Another primary and another landslide for Donald Trump.
Tuesday’s Michigan primary gave him yet another decisive win against Nikki Haley. With 18% of the precincts reporting, Trump is at 65.6% and Haley is at 30% The results will change as the vote continues, but AP has called the race for Trump.
Michigan Republicans have 55 delegates to the national convention. Some will be awarded through Tuesday’s primary, while others will be at the party convention, which is Saturday.
In the Democrat primary, with 15% reporting, Biden won with 116,778 votes, or 79.5%. Some Democrats didn’t vote for Biden because Michigan is a state with many Muslims, most of whom do not support the U.S. policy for Israel. There was a Muslim movement to vote for “Uncommitted.” They account for more than 15% of Democrat primary voters in Michigan.
Striking is that Trump, even though he had competitors on the ticket, appears to have received more votes than Biden, who was only running against “Uncommitted,” Marianne Williamson (withdrawn), and Dean Phillips.
In the Republican primary with 18% reporting:
Trump: 128,700 votes
Haley: 59,012 votes
Uncommitted: 4,208 votes
Other Republican candidates received a smattering of votes, even though they had dropped out. For instance, Ron DeSantis received 2,103 votes.
In the Democrat primary, with 16% reporting:
Biden: 116,778 votes
Uncommitted: 22,177 votes
These numbers will be updated as results continue to come in.
Republican primary update: With 99% reporting, Trump has 68.2% and Haley has 26.5%.
Democrat update: Biden has 81.1% and Uncommitted has 13.3%. Marianne Williamson has 3%, Dean Phillips 2.7%.
With thousands of names to spare, Alaskans for Honest Elections has won the right to have its repeal of ranked-choice voting on the ballot this year.
The Division of Elections has certified 36,841 signatures, and those came from every House district but six, easily making the needed threshold for statewide support. The group needed to have 26,705 registered voters to sign the petition, which was handed into the Division of Elections in January.
With dark money from outside the state, ranked-choice voting was presented to Alaska as a way to clean up elections. Instead, it has only made them more muddy and less trusted, critics say.
Proponents of ranked-choice voting kept their organization alive to fight any attempts to repeal it. Alaskans for Better Elections will have massive amounts of dark money at their disposal to persuade voters to keep the system, in which there are no separate party primaries, and where general elections are done by ranking who voters prefer, followed by their second choice and third choice.
Whether the question goes on the August primary or the November general election is determined by when the Legislature adjourns.
In Alaska’s legislative budgeting cycle, nothing is final until the last gavel slams down, and the bill goes into law — or not.
The controversial Senate Bill 140, passed by the House and concurred with by the Senate, was rejected by Gov. Mike Dunleavy on Tuesday, and that means the Alaska Legislature must either come up with a better bill, or the governor will veto SB 140. The Legislature has 14 days to send him a new, improved bill — one that has at least some of his priorities — or he said he will veto this one.
He wasn’t bluffing. A headcount shows that he has the votes to sustain a veto. The Legislature would need 40 votes, and is short at least three to override his promised veto.
There are other bills can serve as vehicles for some of the good measures that were in SB 140, Dunleavy said today.
Speaking of slamming, Dunleavy lit into the NEA teachers’ union for killing the teacher incentive bonuses he had wanted in the bill. He criticized the educational establishment for not supporting the great outcomes now being proven in charter schools, another aspect that was axed by the final bill version.
Dunleavy said the section of the bill that was to help improve reading was wholly inadequate, since reading scores in Alaska schools are at crisis levels. Alaska ranks 49th in education, and Dunleavy was hoping for major education reforms in the bill that went sideways before it got to his desk.
Dunleavy spent much time at the podium reading parts of an Anchorage Daily News editorial that supports his approach to education funding and reform.
After holding forth for nearly an hour in his Anchorage conference room, Dunleavy said that he appreciated the House and Senate for working on education so early, but that they send hm a three-legged horse that is “not going to run very far.”
While the governor did not actually put the veto pen to the bill on Tuesday, he made it clear he will do so, rather than let it go into law. If the education establishement wants an increase to the basic funding formula, he said, they are going to have to “help get these items across the finish line.”
He thanked the House for putting together the omnibus bill.
“I understand why the House voted to pass this bill out, because many believed it was the best thing they could get. I get that,” he said.
The final bill version voted on had been negotiated by Rep. Jesse Sumner of Wasilla in secret meetings with the Senate and Democrats, and sprung on the unsuspecting House majority.
Alaska Democratic Party took credit for the bill passing with a large increase to the Base Student Allocation. Posting on X/Twitter, the party wrote: “This major victory would not have been possible without the unwavering and unequivocal support of Democratic elected officials. Republicans in the Alaska State House fought us every step of the way until they saw it as a political win – but we never stopped fighting.” They didn’t mention Rep. Sumner’s work or give him credit.
However, it was the Republicans in the House that voted for the BSA increase of $680 per student, with the exception of two legislators, who balked at the flawed bill — Rep. David Eastman and Rep. Mike Prax.
Dunleavy said, “The bill is incomplete. Why not fix it? I think there were a number of legislators who thought this was the best they were going to get. I don’t think so.” He suggested his office and legislators work together and get a much better bill, and that there are two weeks to do so.
During questions from reporters, Dunleavy said, “There’s going to be a substantial BSA, there just is,” signaling that he is willing to add to the basic formula for spending, but he also is demanding the support for reading programs, charter school options, and teacher incentive pay.
Adam Trombley, who served on the Anchorage Assembly and also as a chief of staff in the Anchorage mayor’s office, has been named the incoming state director for Sen. Dan Sullivan. He will take over for Chad Padgett, who announced his departure last month.
Trombley served as an Anchorage assemblyman from 2011 to 2014 for East Anchorage. He moved to the Sand Lake neighborhood and later ran again for Assembly, but this time didn’t win. Later, he served as director of economic development, real estate director, and building official in the Bronson Administration, and then as chief of staff, before returning to the private sector in April, 2023.
Until just recently, he has worked as a senior network planner for Alaska Communications Systems. A 1998 graduate of East Anchorage High School, he graduated from Lewis and Clark State College in Lewiston, Idaho.
Starting March 11, Trombley will be Sullivan’s point person in Alaska. He will coordinate the senator’s in-state schedule, and travel with the senator across the state. He will keep the D.C. office apprised of significant occurrences in Alaska and will be the first person many Alaskans will reach out to. A state director has several key roles, according to the description at the U.S. Senate, including:
Representing the senator in all areas of the state, including meeting and maintaining professional relationships with federal, state, and local elected officials and agencies; staff from congressional delegation offices; community business leaders; and constituents.
Directing state office staff including supervision, assignments, and workflow; implementing office policies and procedures for state office operations; including recruiting, hiring, and training new employees; scheduling and chairing state office staff meetings.
Accompanying the senator on visits throughout the state; occasionally giving speeches, remarks, or awards at events in-state when the senator cannot be present.
Performing other special projects assigned by Sen. Sullivan.
Padgett, who has served as state director for three years, is moving to a job at Arctic Slope Regional Corporation, an Alaska Native corporation.
Sen. Dan Sullivan is now in his 10th year serving Alaska in Washington, D.C. Before running for office in 2014, he was the Commissioner of the Alaska Department of Natural Resources and also had served as Attorney General for Alaska.
Last month, the state director for Sen. Lisa Murkowski also announced he was leaving. Steve Wackowski is headed for a job at Santos, Ltd., an Australian-based oil company doing business in Alaska.
As we close out Black History Month, I was reflecting on how America’s black history is present in many aspects of our lives, even in areas we don’t typically associate with it. One such place is in the National Basketball Association.
On a recent episode of STAND with Kelly & Niki Tshibaka, Pete Babcock, the former general manager for the NBA’s Denver Nuggets, Atlanta Hawks, and San Diego Clippers, explained how the history of the NBA is extremely important to the league.
“I was always interested in…how the league went from being an all-white league to now a predominant African-American league,” Babcock said, “…and how the civil rights movement benefited from the National Basketball Association, and the game of basketball benefited from the civil rights movement. There’s so much overlap between the two.”
Although the civil rights movement is likely the furthest thing from one’s mind when watching NBA basketball games, the two are inextricably linked together. Each impacted the other in critical ways, and the lasting mutual effect the civil rights movement and the NBA have had can still be observed in the league today.
Babcock managed NBA teams during the NBA’s process of desegregation and retold the story of the NBA’s sometimes-painful journey on the show. In fact, Babcock pointed out that the desegregation of the NBA has had lasting positive effects on the players.
A critical aspect of the civil rights movement was breaking the false image of the “uneducated vagabond” that was so strongly perpetuated against the black community. With the emergence of leaders like Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, and Booker T. Washington, this stereotype was shattered. It is here we can see one of the subtler parallels between the NBA and the civil rights movement.
Babcock explained that the NBA works to not only train the players physically, but also to improve them as people as well, stating, “the total human being is more important than just the plain skill of the player.”
Thus, the emphasis on character that was encouraged by leaders of the civil rights movement has lasted past the civil rights movement and is still seen in the attitude of NBA players, managers, and coaches today.
Perhaps just as important as his emphasis on the civil rights movement, Babcock also discussed how an accurate history is critical to the foundation of the NBA. He spoke at length about Black History 365 (BH365), a comprehensive history curriculum that he contributed to with Dr. Joel Freeman.
Founded and created by Drs. Joel Freeman and Walter Miltion Jr., BH365 was created with collaboration and input from a diverse and broad spectrum of voices, including Dr. Alveda King, Andrew Young, Smokey Robinson, NBA leaders, and many more. BH365 is a curriculum that teaches black history in full.
Unlike other curriculums that push critical race theory and encourage African Americans to embrace a victim mentality, BH365 is a truth-centric and inclusive account of black history.
Dr. Freeman discussed the importance of emphasizing the creativity and genius of Ancient Africa before diving into the darker side of black history. “We talk about the slave rebellions, because we wanted to show that hardly anyone was docile. There were a lot of passive aggressive ways of fighting against this [slavery].”
This Black History Month is a time to reflect on the lasting impact the civil rights movement has had on hearts, minds, and character. This impact has notably given us the strong players we can see in the NBA today. It’s also a time to underscore the importance of having a comprehensive view of history, for if we forget what we have learned, we are surely doomed to repeat it.
If you’d like to hear more about how the civil rights movement has given us the NBA we know today, or learn more about BH365, you won’t want to miss Pete Babcock and Dr. Joel Freeman’s interview on STAND. You can also view the episode on YouTube, Rumble, and your podcast streaming platform.
Kelly Tshibaka is the host of the podcast, TV, and radio show STAND, and the 2022 Alaska Republican candidate for U.S. Senate. She co-hosts the show with her husband, Niki Tshibaka.
Dennis Prager, conservative radio host, prolific author, and founder of Prager U, gave two public presentations in Fairbanks on Saturday, and he was blunt in his opinions on a wide range of topics, from the Israel-Hamas war to failure of American universities.
Prager’s appearances were sponsored by Alaska Family Council, the organization that hosted him in Anchorage two years ago. He had two motivations to return to our state: 1) See the northern lights, and 2) Help Alaska Family Council raise funds to continue supporting Faith-based principles in the public arena; the former being used as a lure to help with the latter.
The two events were sold out with over 200 people hearing Dennis speak during lunch, and a more intimate gathering of 52 showing up for dinner. (By the way, the dinner took place at the Fountainhead Antique Auto Museum, one of the premiere automobile displays in the country and a worthy destination if you’re looking for something really cool but rather unexpected for Alaska’s interior.)
Dennis Prager is known for his reasoned on-air discourse. Not all of us enjoy bombastic radio commentary, so Prager is a welcomed voice of calm. His explanation for asking tough questions of those who oppose him – and whom he encourages to call – is that he is seeking clarity. This is not just a tactic; it is his nature.
While sitting with a small group of Prager supporters at the Rat Pack Cigars shop on Friday night, Dennis led the conversation by asking questions. It was obvious that he was interested in learning why people live where it’s face-hurting cold and far removed from the rest of the population, so he asked straightforward questions in a search for knowledge and clarity.
That is how he handles matters on the radio, and it is how he likes others to treat him. Saturday’s Q&A sessions resulted in some pointed questions, including one about his Jewish faith, but he handled them well and without taking or offering offense.
It’s the type of straightforward yet unoffending talk most of us lack, and elected politicians tend to avoid.
Being an unabashedly observant Jew and defender of Israel, much of Prager’s talk focused on the Israel-Hamas war. Bottom line: the barbarity of the October 7th massacre requires a full scale, relentless response because to do anything less jeopardizes the very existence of the Jewish state. He pointed out the differences between the savagery of Hamas and the much-maligned response by the Israeli Defense Forces.
Hamas terrorists shouted “Allahu Akbar” (God Is Great) while raping Israeli women, and telephoned their parents to brag about the Jews they killed that day. The major difference, Prager argued, between Nazi Germany and Hamas is that Nazi Germany hid their crimes against Jews while Hamas openly celebrates them.
Prager also spent time discussing the deterioration of America’s institutions of higher education, calling them out for their near-universal support for all things leftist – not liberal, Prager likes to point out, but leftist. It’s the college educated, indoctrinated by professors enamored with Marxism but offended by all other things western, who buy into notions that white people are racist by nature and men can give birth. And that leads to one of his most telling statements . . .
If we hear a person say, “Men give birth,” we can be virtually certain that person also sides with Hamas. The two beliefs are equally absurd and have nothing whatsoever to do with each other, but are held by the same groups of people.
Prager is frustrated with the state of American society, and the world at large, but is able to smile and not let it get him down. And there’s a lesson there for many of us.
Dennis brought his wife and two stepsons with him but the Aurora Borealis didn’t cooperate, leaving them disappointed but with a desire to return in the future. That’s good news for Alaskans and Alaska Family Council.
Tim Barto is vice president of Alaska Family Council and a regular contributor to Must Read Alaska.
House Bill 368 was introduced on Feb. 20, and it looks like a Renewable Portfolio Standards bill with dates extended from earlier dates in previous RPS bills, requiring 35% “clean energy” by 2036 and 51% by 2051.
There are, however, some things to pay attention to in this bill.
There is requirement to begin reporting about the progress for “clean energy” beginning March 1, 2026. This Act takes effect July 1, 2024 and there are a number of requirements that are to be met soon.
The greatest failing of this bill is that there is no provision to control or limit the cost of energy that is added to the Railbelt. Cheap energy should be the goal. Rather than an RPS bill, it would be more profitable to all to have a bill that has the Railbelt utilities map out a plan that would be a guide for the future development. Without energy storage in the Railbelt, this clean energy bill is much less important than securing additional Cook Inlet natural gas.
This guide should investigate first the ability to add pumped hydro to the system as an energy storage mechanism, which would benefit the wind and solar energy sources to allow all excess energy generated to be stored. atteries would not be effective storage devices for Alaska, but are very effective for Kauai, Hawaii as the sun is there every day for about the same amount of time all year, and it will be warm enough for no one to be at risk to freeze if the power is interrupted.
Alaska is a different sort of place; a place in which people can suffer and die when the energy sources are not present when the days are dark and cold.
The next step would be to identify stable base energy sources such as hydroelectric dam, geothermal source or nuclear reactor which would be likely candidates to add to the system. Each of these energy sources must be estimated for size and for the timeline for when each can be brought on line and estimate the cost/kwh for each. These are all non-CO2 sources so should eliminate decarbonization discussions. In the course of this effort, the Railbelt utilities need to consider the amount of expansion to the energy sources that is required to accommodate whatever additional electrification will be needed.
Then the entire Railbelt needs to be evaluated for where the system needs to have microgrids formed to provide resilience to those portions of the Railbelt transmission and distribution which could be without power upon disruption of the transmission lines during earthquakes, fire, or wind and ice. Each of these microgrids would probably contain wind and/or solar sources supplemented by a battery energy storage system and then some base source of power such as a diesel generator, methanol fueled generator or maybe even a small geothermal generator. The identification of these microgrid locations would be sites made available for utilities or IPP to propose installation of necessary equipment some of which would be wind or solar (variable energy sources.)
At this stage, the Railbelt utilities will be able to work out what transmission line additions and changes are necessary to build out for the future system. To install the transmission lines to upgrade the system required by HB368 could well be a waste of time when a full understanding of where the energy sources will be installed is not yet known.
As we develop our long term energy plan, the first thing that is needed is to secure future Cook Inlet natural gas production and distribution. From comments I have read, those working on solutions to get more Cook Inlet natural gas is that the natural gas is subject to pricing as a commodity on the world market.
Some way to decouple Cook Inlet natural gas from the commodity market and ensure future price to the Railbelt utilities through contracts, using reduced royalties, streamlined permitting and favorable taxation to bring all parties together in mutual agreement, must be found. This will help secure our energy reliability and resilience, and allow proper engineering for whatever the future Railbelt system needs to be.
Encourage you legislators to find solutions to our Cook Inlet Gas supply problem and to resist entanglement with a renewable portfolio standard for our Railbelt Electrical utility.
Wind and solar would not provide “sustainable” energy without an energy storage. Cook Inlet natural gas will ensure continued energy for life safety and a growing economy. Let’s do what is sensible.
Robert Seitz is a licensed PE Electrical Engineer and lifelong Alaskan.
