The New Year has arrived! The start of the second session of the 34th Legislature is just over two weeks away. The Legislature is again complete after the two new Mat-Su Valley representatives were confirmed and sworn in this week. Lieutenant Governor Nancy Dahlstrom (R – Alaska) certified a ballot initiative that once again aims to repeal the open primary and ranked choice voting. Governor Mike Dunleavy (R – Alaska) held a press conference with Senator Dan Sullivan (R – Alaska) and Representative Nick Begich (R – Alaska) on even more federal healthcare money coming to the state. And some politicos are on the move.
A friendly message and reminder to all our readers. The Landmine is made possible by myself and a team of awesome Alaskans. I have been covering the legislative session in Juneau for the last seven years and will be heading back soon for my eighth session. If you enjoy the content we provide, please consider making a one time or recurring monthly donation. You can click here to donate. We have a system that makes it super easy. We would really appreciate it. And thanks to everyone who has been supportive.
Top 10 Landmine Articles of 2025
The Landmine has continued to grow since our founding in October 2017. Thanks to our readers, we had nearly 1 million page views on the website in 2025. From leaked Anchorage Police Department Internal Affairs records to the Native Village of Eklutna rushing to get a casino opened before Donald Trump took office, here are the top ten Landmine articles of 2025:
- Leaked records show APD mental health clinician resigned after 18-year-old used her handgun to make threats
- Leaked APD Internal Affairs tapes reveal major leadership schism on proposed DEI hiring practices
- Aloha: Crum caught cold on unauthorized Hawaiian vacation
- Tlingit & Haida President Richard Peterson’s history of intimidation tactics exposed
- Alaska media bombshell: Suzanne Downing out at Must Read Alaska
- Anchorage Assembly votes to rename Hotel Captain Cook (From the Landfill – Humor, Satire, and Parody)
- APD records show thousands of police calls made from Midtown Walmart over two-year span
- Alaska State senator’s wife wishes death on Trump, Putin
- Jet setter: North Slope Borough funded lavish travel for Mayor Josiah Patkotak and family
- Native Village of Eklutna rushes to open Birchwood casino before Trump takes office
New representatives sworn in
House Republicans met in Anchorage at the LIO on Tuesday (12/30/2025) to interview and vote on Republicans Garret Nelson and Steve St. Clair. Governor Dunleavy appointed them to fill the seats of now-Senators George Rauscher (R – Sutton) and Cathy Tilton (R – Wasilla). Dunleavy had appointed Rauscher and Tilton to fill the seats of Mike Shower and Shelley Hughes, who resigned to focus on their campaigns for lieutenant governor (Shower is Bernadette Wilson’s running mate) and governor.
After long interviews, both were confirmed and then immediately sworn in by Speaker Bryce Edgmon (I – Dillingham). This marked the first time the Legislature is again complete since Shower resigned his Senate seat on October 31.
With Nelson and St. Clair both now representatives, the Republican House minority is back to 19 members. It will be interesting to see how things shake out after the more conservative members expressed vocal frustration about Representative DeLena Johnson (R – Palmer) being elected minority leader. This happened in early December during a Zoom meeting where only ten members attended – the bare minimum she needed to get elected minority leader. Johnson said she is open to another vote if that’s what the caucus wants.
They have both been sworn in. The Legislature is whole again. #akleg https://t.co/tvLCIGYtWx pic.twitter.com/xfa72KiGfr
— The Alaska Landmine (@alaskalandmine) December 31, 2025
Second ranked choice voting repeal
Lieutenant Governor Dahlstrom certified a ballot initiative that again aims to repeal the open primary and ranked choice voting. This will be the second attempt at a repeal. The repeal barely failed in 2024. But this time the group running the repeal initiative is more serious and professional.
Lt. Gov. Dahlstrom says the group seeking to repeal the open primary and ranked choice voting got enough signatures for their initiative. This means the repeal question will again be on the ballot in 2026. Repeal failed by a narrow margin in the 2024 general election. #akleg pic.twitter.com/8x3PLCZ6mu
— The Alaska Landmine (@alaskalandmine) December 31, 2025
Right after the initiative was certified, a group opposing the repeal announced they had formed. It includes Senator Cathy Giessel (R – Anchorage). Giessel won her seat back in 2022 in large part due to the open primary and ranked choice voting. There’s been a lot of chatter that the big money that poured in to fight the repeal effort in 2024 won’t be there again. Around $15 million was spent fighting the repeal. This paled in comparison to what the repeal side had. If far less money comes in fighting the repeal, there’s a good chance the open primary and ranked choice voting could be gone in 2028.
Other Happenings
It will be very interesting to see how and where this $272 million a year in federal money (for five years) will be spent, and to what actual effect. Mark my words: when the money is gone in five years, many people will scream that if it is not continued, people will die!
.@GovDunleavy is holding a press conference with @SenDanSullivan and @RepNickBegich on increased rural healthcare money for Alaska that was part of the Big Beautiful Bill. He said the only state that got more than Alaska is Texas. #akleg pic.twitter.com/AQenhMjjw8
— The Alaska Landmine (@alaskalandmine) December 29, 2025
Kim Kovol left her job as the commissioner of the Department of Family and Community Services to take a job with the Trump administration. Congrats to her! This also means that at least five commissioners will need to be confirmed by the Legislature by the end of session.
Family and Community Services Commissioner Kim Kovol is out. She's taking a job with the Trump administration.
This leaves new people in charge of DEC, DFS, Revenue, Natural Resources, and AG. All will all need to go through the confirmation process during session. #akleg pic.twitter.com/jfdzmDZuBF
— The Alaska Landmine (@alaskalandmine) December 31, 2025
Forrest Wolfe will soon start as the new deputy legislative director. Congrats to him in his new role! He replaces Crystal Koeneman, who became the deputy commissioner for the Department of Environmental Conservation earlier this year. Wolfe is leaving his role as legislative liaison for the Department of Administration. He is a longtime legislative staffer with a lot of experience in the Capitol.
This Week’s Loose Unit
This week’s designee became clear early in the week. This week’s Loose Unit is Anchorage Mayor Suzanne LaFrance and APD Police Chief Sean Case. On Tuesday, LaFrance and Case held a press conference on the retail theft problem in Anchorage. Case and LaFrance claim they are taking the problem seriously, citing a new retail crime unit. But she’s been in office 18 months (half her term) and these problems are not new.
.@MayorLaFrance and APD Chief Sean Case are holding a press conference on the serious retail theft problem in Anchorage. Interesting timing after this Landmine article came out last week. She’s been in office a year and a half (half her term). https://t.co/MfcJWH0bn1 pic.twitter.com/3yXYtU1AGm
— The Alaska Landmine (@alaskalandmine) December 30, 2025
The press conference happened four days after this Landmine article came out, “APD records show thousands of police calls made from Midtown Walmart over two-year span.” So that’s interesting timing!
It’s wild just how bad the theft problem has gotten in Midtown. Go to Carrs or Walmart or Fred Meyer and you will find everything from lotion to soap to shampoo to batteries behind locked metal and glass casing. Even the ice cream is locked up! Maximum loose. People need to get employees to unlock all kinds of items just to go shopping. And Midtown stores are now checking receipts when people leave the stores. It did not used to be like this. The whole situation is beyond loose.
Rather than crack down and stop letting these people to run roughshod over our city, they hold press conferences and make it seem like they are dealing with the problem. Instead, this problem continues to worsen because they continue to tolerate and allow bad people to go without consequences.
If you have a nomination for this week’s Loose Unit, or if you have any political news, stories or gossip (or any old pics of politicians or public officials) please email me at jeff@alaskalandmine.com.
LaFrance held her press conference in the Loussac Library near the Ann Stevens room. Obviously the area was “sanitized” for this purpose. Somebody must have removed the guy who likes to hang out there with a large bottle of vodka. I don’t know who would have removed him because library staff believe confronting somebody about prohibited behavior is not their job *and* paid security personnel are told only to “observe and report” what’s going on.
Wow! Look how crowded it is at that press conference!
Prioritizing Public Safety is one of my key priorities in running to replace Felix Rivera on the Assembly in Midtown Anchorage. Safety – Schools -Streets We need to restore Common Sense to City Hall and focus on the fundamentals of local government.
donleyforalaska.com
Dave Donley
I remember the Good Ol’ Days when you were a Democrat.
I remember the Good Ol’ Days when being a Democrat was as honorable as being a Republican. The Good Ol’ Days were a long, long time ago, no?
Yeah, now being a Republican means “honorable” things like clinging to sore-loser election lies, worshiping a felon, and looking the other way at pedophilia. Real honorable stuff there, Reggie the Anonymous Coward.
“Reggie the Anonymous Coward” Don’t like the name calling…from anyone. And that is name calling. I don’t care what side does it. Just my opinion.
Thanks for the laugh. Your capacity for sociopathic gaslighting is impressive.
Thanks for the additional example of your hatred. I’m amazed you aren’t actually accusing CalvinDewey of being me. I suppose now you can add him to your list of pedophile supporters?
“………now being a Republican means “honorable” things………”
I’m not a Republican, and your bullshit “election”, “felon” and “pedophilia” lines only chain you to your eroding pillar of salt.
What does lying about your party affiliation and being okay with election-denial, felon-worship, and pedophilia-protection, and plagiarism chain you to, anonymous coward?
So does Donley’s long-gone integrity.
The democratic and Republican party in 1997 didn’t disagree on much outside of how to balance the national budget. Not sure what point you are trying to make. Falls flat with anyone who even glanced CSPAN occasionally back then.
“………The democratic and Republican party in 1997 didn’t disagree on much outside of how to balance the national budget………”
They did if you compared the documented platforms instead of believing the lies.
Oh please please moralize some more about believing lies!! There’s nothing funnier or more ridiculous than an election denier trying to claim moral high ground by lecturing about truth. Reminds me of your buddy’s recent AI-assisted Substack essay.
“Rather than crack down and stop letting these people to run roughshod over our city, they hold press conferences and make it seem like they are dealing with the problem.” -Landfield Objectively untrue. This for-profit gossip site doesn’t fairly report the truth, when there’s money to be made. But it does do a good job of allowing comments. Here’s some truth. In Anchorage, theft is prosecuted by the Muni Prosecutor’s Office. 18 months ago, that office was all-but defunct. 19 of the allocated 38 prosecuting attorneys positions were vacant, a 50% understaffing rate. Serious criminal cases, many involving retail theft,… Read more »
Sorry for the double post. More than 14 hours passed while this site reviewed my initial version, above, probably because I included clickable links. So I posted a new version.
Rather than crack down and stop letting these people to run roughshod over our city, they hold press conferences and make it seem like they are dealing with the problem. -Landfield Obviously false. Before LaFrance, Anchorage’s prosecution office was down from 38 staff to just 9. The office, which prosecutes all misdemeanor theft like shoplifting, was so broken that cases were being dismissed by the hundreds due to lack of people to prosecute them. Since LaFrance, the office has been built back up to full staff. Cases that her predecessor was abandoning are now being vigorously prosecuted. Moreover, under LaFrance,… Read more »
Hi somebody from the LaFrance administration that’s continuing to comment online under a pseudo-name to defend all criticism against her!
Do you think using a fake name to make a scurrilous accusation gives your comment more credibility, or less?
Does using your legal name somehow give your scurrilous accusations more credibility?
List one scurrilous accusation I’ve made, anonymous coward who admits to being here just for “obsessive heel biting”. Go ahead. I bet you can’t list a single one.
But it’s clear you’re still sore that you can’t comment with the honest people.
“……..List one scurrilous accusation I’ve made……..”
“……….Big Lake Rep. Kevin J. McCabe skated for nine years on paying his fair share of property taxes. While the borough’s honest taxpayers were paying full fare on their properly assessed properties, McCabe and his third wife enriched themselves by around $20,000 on an old assessment that did not account for all the new construction and other enhancements on their parcel. During that time, and despite not paying his fair share into borough coffers, McCabe also abused his position by trying to redirect already allocated public roads money to his road. Shameless self-dealing………..”
“……..List one scurrilous accusation I’ve made………”
“………Sounds like Reggie the Anonymous Coward projecting again………..”
You should look up the definition of “scurrilous”. The word has nothing to do with your hurt feelings over true things you don’t like. Scurrilous is you hurling a baseless accusation about the other poster, from behind the cowardly safety of your fake-name account. That’s the opposite of the well-documented incidence of McCabe being a property-tax deadbeat while trying to steer public money he didn’t pay his fair share into to his road, all while dishonestly pretending he had no personal interest in the matter. There’s nothing in that excerpt you posted, like the obsessed sociopath you are, that isn’t… Read more »
“……..You should look up the definition of “scurrilous”………”
I did, and it doesn’t match your definition , Editor:
“making or spreading scandalous claims about someone with the intention of damaging their reputation.”
This is exactly what you do, and all day/night long. It was what you did professionally. You are a manipulator. Scurrilous.
Merriam/Websters:
“using or given to coarse language
: vulgar and evil
… scurrilous imposters who used a religious exterior to rob poor people …
—Edwin Benson
: containing obscenities, abuse, or slander
scurrilous accusations”
You still fit like a glove.
“……..You should look up the definition of “scurrilous”………”
I did, and it doesn’t match your definition , Editor:
“making or spreading scandalous claims about someone with the intention of damaging their reputation.”
This is exactly what you do, and all day/night long. It was what you did professionally. You are a manipulator. Scurrilous.
Merriam/Websters:
“using or given to coarse language
: vulgar and evil
… scurrilous imposters who used a religious exterior to rob poor people …
—Edwin Benson
: containing obscenities, abuse, or slander
scurrilous accusations”
You still fit like a glove.
Cry some more, anonymous coward. You supplied exactly zero proof, as usual, of anything even remotely scurrilous. Again, just because the truth hurts your feelings doesn’t make it scurrilous. Let me know when you actually have something of substance.
“……... You supplied exactly zero proof, as usual, of anything even remotely scurrilous………”
Like all the “proof” you’ve provided on McCabe’s lawlessness. Did my quotes from AI and Webster’s constitute “proof” on the definition of ‘scurrilous’, “Editor”? Again:
“……..making or spreading scandalous claims about someone with the intention of damaging their reputation……….”
Strange how obsessed you are with McCabe. You should maybe seek help. I know it’s difficult to be specific when you’re as dishonest as you are, but which McCabe “lawlessness” — your word — are you talking about? I’ve provided plenty of proof of his loose affiliation with property-tax payment. There’s also plenty of proof of his shenanigans with that Big Lake road money he tried to redirect to his road. Same goes for all the times he lied, while under oath, in two different courtrooms. It’s all backed up by public record which has never been refuted. Am I… Read more »
“…….. I’ve provided plenty of proof of his loose affiliation with property-tax payment……..”
He either paid his legal tax bill, or he didn’t. “Loose affiliation” with a property tax payment? I’m going to write a check for my property tax bill soon. I’ll look at the amount due, write the check, and mail it in. Did he do that, or not?
Did he pay what he should have, or did he look at his tax bill for nine straight years, knowing it was wrong, and pay what his buddies at the borough told him to pay? Another way to put that is, while the borough’s honest taxpayers were paying full freight on their properties for nine years, did McCabe and his third wife dishonestly continue to pay taxes on a finished home appraised and taxed as just 42 percent complete, while they added other taxable buildings and property upgrades, and profited by a five-figure amount by avoiding a full proper assessment… Read more »
“……..Did he pay what he should have, or did he look at his tax bill for nine straight years, knowing it was wrong, and pay what his buddies at the borough told him to pay?……..”
If he didn’t pay the amount on the bill, he would have faced default. He paid his tax bill. If it was not correct, that’s an issue with the assessor, not the taxpayer, regardless of your “scurrilous” accusations, Editor.
Again, anonymous coward, stating facts can never be scurrilous. We agree that the McCabes did not pay their full fair share of property tax for nearly a decade. Borough records show that meant a profit of around $20,000 to them in taxes they avoided. Just because that makes you uncomfortable, for some strange reason, doesn’t change that it’s true. It also doesn’t mean it’s wrong for honest taxpayers to consider them tax cheats. I’m trying to imagine how loudly you’d be howling if you discovered that Mayor LaFrance had done the exact same thing. Again, I also appreciate that you… Read more »
“……..stating facts can never be scurrilous……..”
The Oxford definition again:
“making or spreading scandalous claims about someone with the intention of damaging their reputation”
No mention of “facts” there, Editor. It’s all about intent, which is clearly what you make obvious; you work to damage his reputation with non-crimes. Non-offenses. Innuendo.
You’re just a scurrilous kind of guy.
Nope. Not a single mention of “facts”. But it doesn’t change that I have facts on my side, anonymous coward. Did you notice the mention of “scandalous claims”, dumbass? By definition, something that is provably true cannot be a “scandalous claim”. Something that is provably true is not “innuendo”. And for the umpteenth time, your hurt feelings over something that is true don’t qualify as reputation damage. You’re pathetic. Know when to cut your losses and quit. The only scandal is taking advantage of the system for personal gain. If you want to believe that’s okay because no laws were… Read more »
“……..something that is provably true cannot be a “scandalous claim”………”
Focus on “scandalous”, and ignoring “claim”. Give me “judgement”, and not by you, but by an official authority, then go parade with it. If no laws were broken, no laws were broken. Just like you with your outrageous behavior, you’re free to do so…………and I’m free to turn my nose to it.
The definition does not come with instruction to “ignore” part of it. You can’t be that stupid. Pathetic that you’re so weak, even while cowering behind the safety of your fake name, that you can’t concede how corrupt the McCabes might appear to honest taxpayers. Again, you’d be howling endlessly if Mayor LaFrance — or any Democrat — was caught in a similarly compromising situation. Hypocrite.
https://law.alaska.gov/press/releases/2024/101524-Prosecutors.html
“………At the time of researching the aforementioned article, the State had not been asked for help by the Anchorage Municipality on its backlog of cases. Shortly before the article was published, however, the Muni reached out and asked for our assistance. Given the crisis at hand, the State is rapidly reviewing how it can best support the Muni by temporarily taking on the prosecution of some misdemeanor cases. The Department of Law also extended an invitation for Muni prosecutors to attend upcoming prosecutor trainings……….”
https://alaskapublic.org/news/2024-10-16/anchorage-prosecutor-shortage-leads-to-hundreds-of-criminal-cases-dismissed
“………at the heart of the hundreds of dismissals, is the defendants’ right to a speedy trial……….”
I love how Reggie thinks he found a “gotcha.”
(Yes, the defendants demanded speedy trials. So the prosecutors dismissed because they didn’t have the staff to go to trial.)
“………I love how Reggie thinks he found a “gotcha.”………” Thanks for your love. Enjoy. I again point out that your defense of the failure is just an attempted defense of the La France administration and her allies on the Assembly, and I find no relief in it. Your further claim that the revelation of the problem by the media and now the public resulted in the administration going on a hiring spree and raising salaries to attract lawyers as if that will solve the crime plague in Anchorage. I again point out that Alaska’s jail/prison system is at capacity, and… Read more »
Why is a valley resident so emotional about something going on in Anchorage?
It’s the Valley’s favorite white whine
Calling me a white boy? How would you know? My dad’s race was listed in his military service record, and it wasn’t white. Neither was my mother’s birth certificate.
It’s funny how people like you vomit things that you have absolutely no clue about………..and has no effect on anything. I guess it’s just some sort of attempted insult that has no basis in fact. “Scurrilous”………..
Simmer down Pappy, it’s a joke.
Racial innuendo is a joke? But only against whites?
Don’t be fooled. He’s as white as they come. If I had to bet, I’d say he’s probably as racist as they come, too.
“………He’s as white as they come. If I had to bet……….”
Obviously as lousy a gambler as an editor. You’re placing as foolish a bet as can possibly be imagined and displaying your stupidity for all to see. You have no clue of who I am or where I come from.
Yes, you demonstrate regularly how easy it is to make outrageous and dishonest claims when you hide like a coward behind a fake name because of all you have to hide.
“You have no clue of who I am or where I come from.”
You’re the prototypical MAGA male — old, white, racist, and prone to dishonestly playing the victim while weakly denying even the most obvious truths. You’re not nearly as clever as you believe yourself to be, anonymous coward. Not by a long shot.
Because this is about crime, and since I go to Anchorage for business on occasion, I’m exposed to the crime. I also have children and grandchildren living in Anchorage, and this crime epidemic affects them personally and directly. And
“emotion” is not an issue here, nor does it have any role in my political position. It’s called “common sense”.
Which Mike are you? The sign guy?
Emotion is totally an issue. It always is with you, anonymous coward. Anyone with functioning eyesight can see that nearly every time you post.
As for common sense, do you also expect us to believe that condoning pedophilia demonstrates common sense? How about worshiping a convicted felon, or embracing his childish sore-loser election lies? Is that the kind of “common sense” you’re talking about?