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Current Topics
National Unclaimed Property Day. State of Alaska
Saturday, February 1st is National Unclaimed Property Day! 1 in 7 Americans have property waiting to be claimed. Each state has a program that works to reunite property with its rightful owner, in fact, from July 1, 2023 – June 30, 2024, over $13 million dollars was returned by Alaska’s program. Nationally, over $4 billion dollars is returned to rightful owners each year. Use the link above to search for unclaimed property and file a claim.
Polar Bears' Slick Secret: How Greasy Fur Defies the Arctic Freeze. Sci Tech Daily
A team of scientists has discovered that their fur is coated in a unique sebum blend that prevents ice from sticking, helping them survive extreme cold. This discovery doesn’t just shed light on polar bear adaptations; it also has potential applications in developing new anti-ice coatings.
(My comment: I wonder how many Inupiats already knew this!)
How a warming climate is part of a shift in sled dog genetics. KYUK
Arctic Issues
Finland takes notice of US icebreaker plans. Eye on the Arctic
Trump’s announcement came during a visit he made to North Carolina on Tuesday. During his first term, Trump had already proposed commissioning the construction of new icebreakers for the United States. Finland naturally perked up at the ice-crushing news since Finnish companies have designed and built the majority of the world’s icebreakers.
Economy
Penny vs. Musk. Axios
Each penny, indeed, cost 2.72 cents to produce in the last fiscal year, the U.S. Mint reports. The 240 billion pennies lying around the U.S. collectively weigh about 600,000 tons — the weight of three Nimitz-class aircraft carriers. The overwhelming majority of them made their way after being minted to some retailer, where they were given out in change. After that, they just stopped being used, because almost no one spends pennies.
Limited state revenue foreshadows fiscal tug-of-war in Alaska Legislature. Alaska Beacon
A pair of cold-blooded financial hearings also showed that the request may have to compete with the Permanent Fund dividend and aid for aging state buildings. Spending would require the state to spend $1.5 billion from savings, and it isn’t too dissimilar from what the governor has proposed in each of the past two years. In each of those years, the Legislature took the governor’s plan and slashed his proposed Permanent Fund dividend in order to avoid spending from savings.
What's at stake if Canada and Mexico tariffs happen. Axios
A large chunk of U.S. imports come from Mexico and Canada, making up nearly 29% of the $2.97 trillion in goods the nation brought in last year. Why it matters: This isn't necessarily all stuff the U.S. can easily produce on its own. Billions of dollars worth of goods, from tomatoes to car parts to lumber, will be affected.
Alaska Legislature faces a $200M-plus deficit as it weighs school funding against the PFD. Anchorage Daily News
The nonpartisan Legislative Finance Division has projected that a status quo spending plan would see a $200 million-plus deficit. Added spending in areas like state firefighting could see the deficit balloon to well over $300 million, according to forecasts. That means this year’s Permanent Fund dividend could be reduced from last year’s $1,703 check, legislative leaders say.
Lawmakers press Dunleavy administration on salary study as worker shortage continues. Alaska Public Media
The calls to release the drafts come as the state faces an ongoing worker shortage — as of the end of last year, there were 2,905 unfilled positions across state government, according to internal records obtained by Alaska Public Media.
Federal funding freeze puts Alaska nonprofits under immense pressure, advocates say. Alaska Public Media
“Every Alaskan is a nonprofit beneficiary, because nonprofits are woven into the fabric of our communities,” Wolf said. Wolf said if taken as its own job sector, nonprofits would be the second largest in the state, behind resource extraction and ahead of fishing. She said services provided by the roughly 35,000 nonprofit employees in Alaska range widely from medical care and housing to fire safety and child care.
University of Alaska president highlights impact on workforce, research and economy in address. Alaska Beacon
The surge in Alaska Performance Scholarship awards is also helping Alaskans stay and study in-state, she said. Last year, 65% more scholarship-eligible students applied and enrolled in UA. Those awards were made larger this year, and can be used for any program, she added. “They can use it for any degree level they want – a traditional degree such as biology, fisheries, computer science, engineering, finance, nursing, pre-med, or a 1- or 2-year workforce credential in health care, welding, aviation, process technology, construction management, and many others,” she said. Pitney said these programs can help reverse the states’ population decline.
Raising tariffs would hit working-class Americans harder. Axios
The U.S. tariff system is skewed in favor of the wealthy. Cheaper items face higher tariff rates than luxury goods, as outlined in a report last year from the Progressive Policy Institute. There's a 4% tariff on imported cashmere sweaters, and a 32% tariff on acrylic sweaters, per the institute's analysis. That's because U.S. companies that make less-expensive products lobby for higher tariffs to keep out cheaper goods from overseas, while firms that sell luxury goods are less worried about price competition.
NORAD fighter jets monitor Russian aircraft north of Alaska. Alaska Public Media
Alaska is running a significant deficit, latest fiscal estimates show. Alaska Beacon
While Tuesday’s numbers appear grim, they may not be as bad as they seem. That’s because they rely on last fall’s estimate of oil price and production.(My comment: Should a child’s ability to read depend on the price of a barrel of oil? We are prisoners to the price of oil without another source of revenue.)
February issue of Trends magazine. Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development
Nonresident worker counts rise across industries, especially construction, as demand increases. Also inside: Hoonah carves its own niche in Southeast.
Education
Teens' screen time eats into school day. Axios
The teens spent an average of 1.5 hours on their smartphones during a 6.5-hour school day over two study periods in 2023, the researchers wrote in JAMA Pediatrics. 1 in 4 teens spent more than two hours on their phone during the school day. The top five most-used apps were messaging, Instagram, video streaming, audio and email.
Fisheries
Yukon government warns that trump tariffs will make Alaska life more expensive. Alaska Beacon
Seven years ago, heavy tariffs levied by President Donald Trump against China triggered a trade war that crimped Alaska’s seafood exports and left fishermen with less money for their catches. A second round of Trump tariffs is scheduled to take effect, and the impact on Alaska is expected to be even bigger than it was in his first term.
Energy
Exclusive: Japan weights Alaska LNG pipeline pledge to win Trump's favour. Reuters
Japan has doubts about the viability of the proposed 800-mile pipeline – intended to link fields in Alaska's north to a port in the south, where gas would be liquefied and shipped to Asian customers – because of the overall costs of the gas relative to other sources. But it is prepared to offer to explore a deal if asked, the officials said. Tokyo may include such a commitment among other concessions, such as buying more U.S. gas and increasing defense spending and manufacturing investment in the U.S., to reduce the $56 billion bilateral trade deficit and stave off the threat of tariffs, one of the people said.
1 big thing: What to watch as Trump's energy tariffs arrive. Axios
New tariffs on Canada and Mexico could raise gasoline and home heating costs in places — even though 10% Canadian energy tariffs are lower than the 25% applied to other goods. Canada is by far the largest source of U.S. crude oil and natural gas imports. And more broadly, the three nations have a deeply interconnected energy relationship that spans oil, hydropower from Canada, and more.
How much crude comes from Canada and Mexico. Axios
Canada is by far the largest source of U.S. crude oil imports, and Mexico is the second-largest.
Politics
Charted: Fentanyl realities. Axios
Trump's order imposing tariffs on Canada specifically cities the flow of fentanyl from our northern neighbor. Yes, but: There's very, very little fentanyl actually being intercepted at the Canadian border. For fiscal year 2022 through the first quarter of fiscal year 2025, U.S. Customs and Border Protection seized more than 66,000 pounds of fentanyl at the southwestern border with Mexico. In that same period, it seized just 70 pounds at the Canadian border.
A major Alaska mind could end up in the crossfire of Trump's trade war with Canada. Alaska Beacon
Red Dog — a huge open-pit operation in Northwest Alaska — is the largest zinc mine in the world, and a major U.S. source of both zinc and a little-known but essential byproduct, germanium. But before those materials wind up in American products, they get refined in Canada, then sent back to the U.S
Nearly all of the germanium exported by Canada — some 89% in 2022— goes to the United States. Canadian leaders have cited the importance of that supply as a buffer against Trump’s tariff threat.
Bill would give Idaho governor veto power over voter-approved ballot initiatives. Idaho Capital Sun
State lawmakers on Wednesday introduced a bill that would let the Idaho governor veto laws passed directly by voters. The bill by Rep. Bruce Skaug, R-Nampa, would let the governor veto successful ballot initiatives — similar to how the governor can veto laws passed by the Idaho House and Senate.
North Dakota House passes bill to adopt standard time. The Dickinson Press.
House Bill 1259 would eliminate daylight saving time in North Dakota, instead having the state observe standard time year-round. The only U.S. states that do not observe daylight saving time are Arizona and Hawaii. The Canadian province of Saskatchewan -- North Dakota’s northern neighbor -- also chooses not to observe daylight saving time.
(My comment: So many Alaskans want to abandon the crazy time change, that doesn’t “save” any time! Sadly, when this has been attempted in the past, groups like the Alaska State Chamber strongly opposed it. If you’d like to stop the time changing for Alaska, contact your Chamber of Commerce and tell them!)
Social media experts are skeptical about the power of new state laws. Stateline
Ritika Shroff had the typical Gen Z experience with social media. At 13, she signed up for Instagram, then Snapchat. Later, she downloaded TikTok and worked her way through other popular platforms. But in high school, she began to see downsides, feeling pressure when comparing her number of followers, test scores and experiences with those of her peers online. “They’re doing X, Y and Z with their lives, and I think I got pulled into it,” Shroff said.
Health Care
Why is it so hard for Alaskans on Medicare to find health care providers? Alaska Public Media
Woofter isn’t the only person in Alaska on Medicare struggling to find the care they need. Some providers are worried about the lack of access for Medicare patients and say it’s only likely to get worse as Alaska’s population ages. Jeanne Larson, who coordinates the Medicare information offices for the state’s Department of Health, said access to Medicare providers throughout the state can be challenging. In Anchorage, she said, people have trouble finding primary care doctors in private practice.
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