House Bill 57, sponsored by Democrat Rep. Zack Fields, is intended to create policies and mandates to prohibit cell phone use I’m schools in Alaska.
But in Senate Finance Committee on Wednesday, it became so much more — hundreds of millions of dollars more. The committee substitute for the bill stuffed in a $700 per student increase to education in the Base Student Allocation, which is the basis of the state’s contributions to local school districts.
But wait, there’s more: The committee also added in a 10% increase in transportation funding for schools.
The bill, when it was just about curbing student cell phone access in schools, passed the House on April 16 on a vote of 34-6.
The new version, howeve, is a fight with Gov. Mike Dunleavy, who earlier this week offered House Bill 204, which has education policy reforms and a beefy funding increase.
The Senate Democrat-led majority doesn’t appear to want the governor to have a win in education, so they’ve stuffed the funding they want, without Dunleavy’s policies relating to school choice and performance expectation, into a bill that originally had almost no fiscal impact, but was a Democrat policy bill relating to schools.
Notable is that the Senate Finance Committee had scheduled hearing the cell phone bill before it even left the House. The committee asked no questions of presenter Rep. Fields, and immediately brought forth the committee substitute.
But now, the Finance Committee doesn’t seem to be in a hurry to move it to the floor. In fact, the Democrat-led majority had two emergency caucus meetings on Wednesday, which indicates there’s trouble in the caucus.
Just days ago , the governor vetoed House Bill 69, the massive education funding bill from Democrats that would have added $1,000 per student increase to the school districts on a permanent annual basis. Dunleavy then offered a new bill that included a smaller Base Student Allocation increase and his policy proposals.
But in the Senate there seems to be two camps — one camp wants to get things done, and the other camp, led by senators like Sen. Bill Wielechowski, are taking a “burn it down” approach so they can have something to use in the 2026 election cycle to beat up Republicans.
Almost certainly, if HB 57 makes it to the governor’s desk in its current condition, Dunleavy will veto that bill, as he did HB 69.
Meanwhile, Dunleavy’s House Bill 204, with its $560 BSA increase and another $35 million for various programs, has yet to be even scheduled for a hearing. The legislative session ends on May 21, just 27 days away.
We fought, we argued, we disagreed, and we were more blessed to know each other than you can imagine.
Dan Fagan was a hero of mine. Heroes are funny in that most of the time, you are somewhat distant from them. You don’t really know them. That is what helps to make them your hero. Dan was someone I knew very well. Perhaps I didn’t perfectly understand him, but I always knew him. His heart, his courage, his drive. After years and years of doing shows together and having it out on the radio, I can safely say I loved Dan. He was worth my time. He gave me his time, and he cared for me.
Dan was a funny guy in just about every way. What set Dan apart and built the greatest talk show in Alaska’s history was his humor. This was especially true with women (Sharon Leighow and Charisse Millett etc.) Dan found the humor in the uncomfortable and drew us in like moths to a flame.
We listened to Dan because we were always in on the joke, and he knew how to play it for all it was worth.
After KFQD, Dan, Bonnie Voves, and I did a show together for a long time. I haven’t talked to Bonnie about this, but I always thought he asked her to be on the show for both a new and enlightened perspective, but also because he knew he and I would fight, and neither of us knew when to quit fighting.
I remember when we were having some trouble with an issue, Dan would remind me of several things: I was wrong. He was right. And iron sharpens iron. He knew that we were both invested in our positions. That we thought, prayed, and researched them to be ready for battle each day. He liked to test me. My ability to stick to a point was what he liked most about talking to me.
Dan and I were very different in our approach to gathering information. I didn’t trust others as much as myself. I always figured they either had something to hide or something to gain, so I would trust my own research and instincts. There is, however, only so much you can do on your own. Dan cast a wide net. He interviewed people, asked a lot of questions, and had a nose for duplicitousness that rivaled a bloodhound. He loved asking gotcha questions. That’s another reason he rose to the top.
Dan always had a side and a team, and it was his most profound sorrow when members of his team would betray him. This angst was a constant friction between Dan and me. It was also one of the most significant parts of his heart and soul. He wanted the truth more than friends, more than comfort, and he wanted people to live up to his high expectations more than anything.
I could go on for a long time about Dan and everything I remember. All the things he taught me, and how much I miss having more of him in my life. Ultimately, I pray that we remember Dan fondly, with the humor and passion he was so gifted to possess and share with everyone he met.
Dan continues to inspire me to be my best self. For that, I thank him and pray his journey to Our Father’s arms is swift. Thank you for being my closest ally when I needed you most. May God bless you, Dan Fagan, as he blessed me for knowing you.
Glen Biegel is a technology security professional, Catholic father of nine, husband to a saint, and politically active conservative.
As Alaska continues to grapple with fiscal uncertainty, the Alaska Permanent Fund remains at the heart of the conversation. Its performance and structure profoundly affect our state’s budget, the future of the Permanent Fund Dividend (PFD), and the long-term economic health of Alaska. Yet its structure – specifically the division between the Earnings Reserve Account (ERA) and the principal – is no longer serving us well.
In fact, it’s creating a slow bleed of our spendable savings. Proposals to merge the two accounts into a single constitutionally protected fund are not just about simplifying accounting. They are about correcting a dangerous flaw in how we draw money from the Fund and effectively creating a spending limit on the Fund.
To understand why, we need to briefly unpack how the Fund works today.
The Fund is divided into two accounts: the principal, which is constitutionally protected and cannot be spent without a vote of the people, and the Earnings Reserve Account (ERA), which holds realized investment earnings and is fully spendable with a simple majority vote of the Legislature.
Since 2018, Alaska has followed a Percent of Market Value (POMV) draw system to sustainably use Fund earnings. The formula allows for a 5% annual draw based the average total market value of the entire fund – both the principal and the ERA. However, there’s a fundamental problem: while the POMV is calculated using the full value of the Fund, themoney can only be taken from the ERA. The Legislature is legally prohibited from touching the principal, which means the full value of the Fund is theoretical when it comes to actual cash available.
This creates an imbalance that threatens the very sustainability the POMV system was designed to protect. Here’s why: realized gains from investments (like selling a stock at profit) flow into the ERA, where they become available to spend. But unrealized gains – paper increases in asset values – primarily remain in the principal. The problem is that most of the Fund’s growth has been in unrealized gains, which are locked away. Meanwhile, the Legislature continues to draw 5% of the average total fund value every year – but only from the ERA.
This means the ERA is being drawn down faster than in can be replenished. In years of market volatility or lower realized returns, this pressure becomes even more acute. And because the ERA is fully spendable with a simple majority vote, it’s vulnerable to political pressure. The temptation to overdraw is always there.
Merging the ERA with the principal into a single, constitutionally protected fund fixes this flaw. It doesn’t just simplify fund management; it changes how the Fund can be accessed. All earnings – realized and unrealized – would remain in the unified fund. The only way money could be withdrawn would be through a constitutional POMV draw.
This is not a minor shift. It would be the most significant fiscal reform in Alaska in a generation. It creates a hard cap on spending from the Fund, one tied directly to its performance and sustainability. No more treating realized gains as a checking account. Instead, the entire fund is protected, and spending from it is limited to what is sustainable over the long term.
In the end, this reform is about protecting the Fund, the PFD, and Alaska’s fiscal future. The Fund was created to turn a temporary resource boom into a permanent financial legacy. But that legacy only survives if we guard it against political pressure and short-term thinking.
This is more than a fiscal policy debate. It’s about protecting the Fund for future generations, ensuring the PFD survives, and building a system that supports long-term stability. Merging the accounts creates the discipline Alaska needs – and the legacy Alaskans deserve.
Angela Rodell of Juneau is a former executive director of the Alaska Permanent Fund.
Glenfarne, the company that has an agreement with the Alaska Gasline Development Corporation to move a gasline forward for Alaska, will not be needing the $50 million guarantee that the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority had offered.
That news was relayed in a House committee today by AGDC President Frank Richards.
Glenfarne, the new majority owner and lead developer of the Alaska LNG project, will proceed without the previously approved $50 million financial backstop, a development that takes that off the table as criticism of the project. Some critics had said that Glenfarne didn’t have enough skin in the game, if that guarantee was in place.
Glenfarne had inherited that $50 million backstop guarantee from an agreement with an earlier pipeline builder, a builder that was only interested in doing the narrower building portion of the project, which had a lot more financial risk associate with it.
Richards told the House Resources Committee that Glenfarne is going to seek private financing for the entire project and won’t need to be reimbursed for the front-end engineering and design portion if the project does not reach a final investment decision.
The Alaska LNG project has received all major federal permits, and may eventually deliver up to 3.3 billion cubic feet of gas per day, some for Alaska and some for export. With Glenfarne’s leadership and financial commitment, the project is moving quickly toward that prized “final investment decision.” That decision is expected later this year.
Time now to discuss “papabili.” Or, Catholic cardinals who might be the next pope.
Pronounced, pa-PA-bee-lee. Please do not offend my sensitive Italian ears by mispronouncing this, like so many do in regards to a favorite pizza cheese. (It is NOT “provolone” with a Long O and Silent E, but pro-vo-LO-nay.)
Alexander Dolitsky, a superb conservative columnist whose essays have regularly appeared here, has revealed his Russian biography to the readers. I will now do so briefly here.
Despite my last name, I am very Italian. My mother Hedda was a spy and scout for the Italian underground, known as partisans. My Uncle Mario, as a teen, blew up a truck of SS troops with a grenade, on its way to slaughter a village that was hiding partisans.
My dad, Robert was an American GI, an Intel & Recon officer. He met Hedda while he was on patrol, in the final six weeks of the war. I have his pocket diary with many details. He became the commander of the CID/Mediterranean Theater and remained in Italy for two years after the war, prosecuting Americans soldiers who were guilty of crimes.
They were married in Pisa. My Mom was quadri-lingual. On my first trip to Italy, I sailed on the ill-fated Andrea Doria in 1955, and remember it well. A year later, the ship was T-boned in fog, and sank. I myself speak Italian quite well. I visited many Catholic shrines in Italy with my wife in 2023. We saw the Shroud of Turin in 2010.
The media will come out with various and contradictory assessments about who the next pope might be. All of us will have to chew and digest them, and think for ourselves. But what difference should it make? This is not something the world gets to vote on, right?
Catholics and non-Catholics might all have similar reactions. “Nothing I can do about it, so whatever happens, happens.” Or perhaps, “Who could care, anyway?” This might be fitting responses for atheists and agnostics, but not for Protestants, Evangelicals, Catholics, Jews and Moslems, all of whom pray to the God of Abraham, our “Father in Faith.”
They might even detest or fear the Catholic Church, misunderstand it or ignore it, but none can deny its importance. It is the world’s largest religion. And despite its apparent loss of influence, that influence is still there, and admitted to be so, even by its open enemies, who have long wanted to destroy it.
And while millions have left it, there is an awareness, backed by solid data, that a new seed is sprouting once again. The Church is ever-ancient, and ever-young. This renewal is visible, and depending on your perspective, it is either a new hope or a new threat.
Only a fool thinks that a man who will claim to be “The Vicar of Christ on Earth” does not possess influence. He does. He will. And another confused and contradictory pope will serve the entire world ill.
My stomach has turned in reading the characterizations in the mainstream media regarding the legacy of Pope Francis.
He was anything but humble. He was crude, impulsive and contradictory. Like so many Catholics, he was poorly instructed in Church dogma, and the long-established limits on his own power. He was a tool of globalists. He gave man-made climate change, anti-Americanism, leftist sympathies and Covid-vaxing his priorities, all of which are propped up by the diminishing influence of the globalists, who controlled him.
His confusion was ignored and his better comments emphasized, by priests and bishops who actually knew better, but they played along, mostly out of fear. He banished the truly humble and tradition-minded priests and bishops to the Church attic, suppressed religious orders and institutions who were founded on the same plane, and appointed those who shared his false compassion that would pander to the sins of adultery and homosexuality.
The smart money is that his intentional packing of the College of Cardinals will ensure that this sort of papacy will continue. But smart money is often wrong.
So, how does the humblest worshipper of the God of Abraham, Catholic or not, vote for pope? Well, all of them understand that you can pray. And prayer is effective. Just how it works is a mystery, but there is an old saying that says, “Prayer is man’s strength, and God’s weakness.”
To keep this column short, here is a list of papabili. The first list would be Cardinals who would continue the Francine Legacy of confusion and destruction.
Pietro Parolin, Vatican Secretary of State.
Mario Grech, from Malta.
Sergio Rocha, from Brazil. An Odds-on favorite.
Luis Tagle, Philippines. Another favorite of the odds-makers.
Carlos Retes, from Mexico.
Next is a list of those who would make the cleansing and corrections needed to reform the Church and its tarnished reputation. They belong to the Pope John Paul II and Benedict XVI school of adherence to timeless truths. None of them are favorites in the sense of the odds, but odds are often wrong.
Pierbattista Pizzabella, Patriarch of Jerusalem.
Peter Erdo, Hungary.
Freddin Besungo, Congo.
Robert Sarah, Guineau.
Gerhard Muller, Germany.
The list is incomplete in both categories, and of the 266 popes, the dark horse has often been selected.
So, whether you are Catholic or not, if you want a good pope, pray for it. There is no Dominion voting machine, or paper ballots. My guess is that the Almighty will be even more impressed with prayer emanating from non-Catholics than from Catholics.
And do something that only cheaters do, and in this case, is perfectly legit:
Vote early, and vote often.
Bob Bird is former chair of the Alaskan Independence Party and the host of a talk show on KSRM radio, Kenai.
William “Bill” Sharrow, a decorated brigadier general in the Alaska National Guard and the longtime state director for the late Congressman Don Young, died April 11, 2025, with Margaret, his beloved wife of 69 years, by his side. He was 92.
Born Aug. 19, 1932, in the iron mining hamlet of Witherbee, NY, Bill’s life was defined by duty, service, and deep commitment to both his country and community.
After working as a hard-rock driller in an iron mine following high school, he was drafted into the Army during the Korean War and stationed in Anchorage in 1952 with the 867th AAA Battalion. Alaska would capture his heart, and shape his future.
While in Alaska, a sergeant enlisted Bill and three fellow soldiers to help build a log cabin near Palmer. It was there that he met Margaret, who was a nurse at the Palmer Hospital. The connection would define the rest of his life. After his discharge in 1954, he returned briefly to New York and joined an Army Reserve unit, but soon realized Alaska, and Margaret, were where he truly belonged.
He returned to Alaska, joined the Alaska Army National Guard, and was commissioned as an officer in 1956. Over the next two decades, Bill rose through the ranks, serving in an array of vital roles including radio repairman, supply officer, personnel officer, and Command Administrative Assistant to the Adjutant General. His leadership culminated in his appointment as Chief of Staff for the Alaska National Guard in 1972, and later that year, his promotion to Brigadier General.
In 1974, after more than 20 years of distinguished military service, Bill transitioned to a new kind of public service as the state director for Congressman Don Young, a position he would hold for 24 years. He served the state through the heady days of the building of the Trans Alaska Pipeline System, the boom and bust economic turns, and during the Exxon Valdez oil spill, and the signing of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA) into law by President Jimmy Carter.
In a 2007 Congressional Record tribute, Rep. Young called Bill Sharrow “a truly great American” and praised his unwavering dedication to the people of Alaska. “When I was unable to attend an important function or meeting,” Young said, “it was Bill that I always trusted to represent me.”
Congressman Nick Begich noted that his family played a large role in all of this.
“Bill Sharrow served the state of Alaska for nearly a quarter of a century as Don Young’s trusted right-hand man in the state. It takes a team to be Alaska’s only US representative, but it takes a team at home, as well. Thank you to Bill’s family for allowing him to serve all Alaskans for so much of his life,” Begich said.
Bill Sharrow and Chad Padgett shake hands in this 2019 photo. Padgett followed Sharrow as state director for Congressman Don Young from 2009 to 2019, when Padgett joined the Bureau of Land Management. Sharrow was attending Padgett’s swearing in ceremony at BLM in Anchorage.
Outside of his professional life, Bill was committed to his community and faith. In 1958, he helped found St. Bartholomew’s Episcopal Church in Palmer, and later became deeply involved at St. Mary’s Episcopal Church in Anchorage after the family relocated there.
Chad Padgett wrote this tribute to him:
“Just before his passing, I had the opportunity to speak with him. I was undergoing cancer treatment in Houston, TX and was feeling a bit down. I heard Bill was having a serious health issue so I called him to say hello. As always, Bill was strong. He knew his fate was sealed but because of his faith in God, he was not sad about passing as he absolutely knew where he was going, to heaven. Once again, as Bill had done many times throughout the 30 years I have known him, he cheered me up, made me laugh, and I forgot all about my woes. So even from his literal deathbed, there was Bill, guiding me and making me stronger in my belief in God and humanity. Since that day, not only do I have an even stronger faith in God, but know that Bill is by his side, likely arguing (in a good way), as he was known to do, with Congressman Young. Now with Bill, Congressman Young and Ted Stevens all in heaven, we have many Titans watching what we do with their legacies.
“Bill Sharrow wasn’t just a boss—he was a mentor, a friend, and a rare kind of leader who left a lasting imprint on everyone lucky enough to know him. He led with quiet strength, unwavering kindness, and an innate sense of humanity that shone in both big decisions and small, unnoticed moments.
“One memory that stays with me is on a cold (subzero) day in January Bill saw a woman who was cold and, without a second thought, took off his own coat and handed it to her. That was Bill: always paying attention, always ready to help, no matter the circumstance. It wasn’t for show—it was just who he was.
“And then there was his laugh—deep, warm, and unmistakable. You could hear it from down the hall or across a crowded room, and it had a way of making everything feel a little lighter. His presence brought comfort; his humor brought joy.
“Not many people know that Bill played a quiet but pivotal role in helping bring the Alaska Military Youth Academy to life. He believed deeply in the potential of young people and was always looking for ways to help them build full, productive lives. Whether it was creating new opportunities or encouraging service to the community, he understood the power of investing in the next generation.
“Bill’s legacy lives on in the people he believed in, the lives he touched, and the way he made all of us feel seen, heard, and valued. He will be deeply missed—but never forgotten.”
A devoted husband, father, and grandfather, Bill took immense pride in his family. He and Margaret raised three sons — David, Philip, and Steven — and delighted in their six grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. After retirement, Bill and Margaret cherished their time together traveling, particularly enjoying river cruises and warm holidays in New Zealand with family.
A celebration of Bill’s life will be held at 4 pm on April 24, at St. Mary’s Episcopal Church in Anchorage.
Bill Sharrow served with honor, humility, and heart, and he leaves behind a legacy of leadership and familial love that will be remembered by all who knew him.
Last week, the governor of North Dakota signed into law a ban on the use of ranked-choice voting in state elections.
North Dakota is now the 15th state to disallow the practice, which is used in Alaska elections after a 2020 ballot initiative passed with the backing of tens of millions of dollars in outside dark money.
“Now more than ever, we need a consistent, efficient and easy-to-understand voter experience across our entire state to maintain trust in our election system,” Gov. Kelly Armstrong said. “This is one more in a series of proactive, common-sense steps our Secretary of State and Legislature have taken to support election integrity.”
As a second attempt at repealing ranked-choice voting is under way in Alaska, here are the 15 states that have banned the novel voting system that was created by liberals to help Sen. Lisa Murkowski keep her seat in the Senate:
Alabama
Florida
Idaho
Kentucky
Louisiana
Mississippi
Missouri
Montana
North Dakota
Oklahoma
South Carolina
South Dakota
Tennessee
West Virginia
Wyoming
North Dakota, West Virginia, and Wyoming are the latest additions, with their bans signed into law this year. Only three states — Alaska, Hawaii, and Maine — use ranked choice voting, as does the District of Columbia.
In Alaska, the petition to repeal RCV and jungle primaries was certified on Feb. 17, allowing sponsors one year to collect over 34,000 signatures for a 2026 ballot measure. To get on the 2026 primary ballot or general election ballot depends on when the Legislature adjourns in 2026.
To get onto the 2028 ballot, the group has until the first week of March, 2026 to turn in the needed signatures.
The new Alaska effort, Repeal Now, follows the narrow defeat of the first repeal effort in November, which lost by just 743 votes, despite millions of dollars in dark money from liberal entities outside the state fighting to convince Alaskans that ranked-choice voting gives them better results.
The two main political parties in Alaska are split on the voting method, with the Alaska Democratic Party supporting it and the Alaska Republican Party opposed.
Kenai Peninsula residents recently received a letter addressed to Rep. Sarah Vance, urging them to contact her about increased funding for public schools.
“Even if the legislature passes a modest funding increase, the school district is looking at increasing class sizes, taking away extracurricular sports support, reducing staff, closing pools, and reducing support to homeschool families,” the document states. “This is why we can’t understand why our representative, Rep. Sarah Vance, is one of the leading voices in the legislature against supporting our schools.”
The letter was paid for by the 907 Initiative, a dark-money political group known for championing progressive causes. The group has a history of organizing aggressive campaigns across the full spectrum of media and advertising to attack politicians in a way that avoids tripping over finance laws.
As a 501(c)(4), its donors do not need to be disclosed, but it is also restricted from engaging in primarily political activity, such as attempting the influence the outcome of an election.
In 2023, the 907 Initiative went to the mat against Dave Bronson, then the mayor of Anchorage, deploying a flurry of hostile ads. Earlier this month, it also produced ads against Anchorage House Rep. Mia Costello for the same reason it attacked Vance.
The line between influencing public opinion and electioneering is fine, but the 907 Initiative knows just how to avoid crossing it amid its latest campaign.
On April 17, Gov. Mike Dunleavy vetoed a proposed $680 increase to per-student funding. In a column for Must Read Alaska, Vance said she supported that veto because the bill “did not include the necessary reforms to improve education outcomes for Alaskans.”
However, Vance noted that she was open to supporting additional funding for education and raising the BSA under the right conditions.
“The question isn’t just how much we’re spending but whether we’re getting the best results for our investment,” she wrote.
Proponents of raising the BSA argue that the per-student amount has not kept up with inflation. They also point to low academic outcomes that show Alaska lagging behind the rest of the nation, a problem that they say boils down to insufficient funds.
But it might not be that simple. Alaska spends more than any other state on K-12 education as a percentage of taxpayer income and is sixth in the nation for per-student spending.
Republicans who are willing to boost spending on education, like Vance, say that there are tough choices ahead and have proposed measures such as school consolidation. Above all, they stress the importance of deliberation in navigating the challenges confronting Alaskans. In contrast, dark money groups prefer to simplify narratives while concealing their own agendas.
The Montana Republican Party formally censured nine Republican state senators for repeatedly aligning with Democrat lawmakers during the 2025 legislative session, which undermined the elected Republican majority in the state Senate, just as some Republican lawmakers have done in Alaska.
According to a statement released by the Montana Republican Party, the party’s executive committee voted unanimously to censure Sens. Jason Ellsworth, Butch Gillespie, Gregg Hunter, Joshua Kassmier, Gayle Lammers, Denley Loge, Wendy McKamey, Russel Tempel, and Shelley Vance. The censure vote took place during a meeting on March 27.
The rogue Republicans had had advance warning. The party issued a press release on March 13 criticizing the nine, stating that the senators “frequently aligned with Democrats, creating obstacles for the Republican majority in the Senate.” The release referenced actions beginning on Jan. 6, the first day of the 69th Legislative Session, when the senators joined Democrats to overrule Republican leadership and create a coalition government.
“The MTGOP calls on these senators to cease obstructing key Republican priorities and return to the faithful representation of their constituents and the Republican platform. If their actions continue to damage the integrity of the Republican majority, the party will consider additional steps to address the situation,” Montana GOP wrote in its warning. The nine ignored the warning.
As a result of the censure, the party said it would no longer recognize the senators as Republicans and would not provide them with political funding in future campaigns.
In response, eight of the nine censured senators — all except Sen. Jason Ellsworth — issued an open letter to the citizens of Montana, which said, in part, “We were elected to serve you, not to follow orders from political insiders… Let’s be clear: this censure is nothing more than a distraction — meant to cover up the fact that party leaders have failed to deliver on the core priorities you sent us here to address… This censure changes nothing. We’ll keep showing up. We’ll keep delivering. And we’ll keep putting Montana first.”
The coalition in Montana mirrors Alaska Legislature’s problems. Although Alaskans elect a majority of Republicans, since 2023, the Alaska Senate has been governed by a majority-democrat coalition, with a few Republicans joining in — Sen. Cathy Giessel, Sen. Bert Stedman, and Sen. Gary Stevens, and Sen. James Kaufman, who eventually left the Democrat coalition and rejoined the Republicans.
In the Alaska House, a couple of rogue Republicans joined with the Democrats to create a majority. They are Rep. Louise Stutes and Rep. Chuck Kopp.
