The New Year has arrived! I hope everyone had fun ringing in 2025. I am down in Buenos Aires with some friends celebrating my 40th birthday and the New Year. Apologies for the late column. I came down with a bad cold and am just starting to feel better. I head to Juneau after I get back.

The start of the first session of the 34th Alaska Legislature is just over two weeks away. Representative Nick Begich (R – Alaska) was officially sworn in this week in D.C. And Governor Mike Dunleavy (R – Alaska) is headed to Dubai with several of his commissioners and staff. 

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 six years and head back late next week. 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 in 2024

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 2024. We produced our third installment in a now-five year documentary series on homelessness in Anchorage, “Somehow, This is Still Anchorage.” From the fallout over former Judge Josh Kindred’s resignation in July to leaked internal emails that culminated with Ellie Rubenstein resignation form the Permanent Fund Board of Trustees, here are the top ten Landmine articles of 2024:

1. Local attorney who sent “sexually suggestive text messages” to Judge Kindred is wife of Anchorage Superior Court judge
2. U.S. District Court Judge Josh Kindred’s resignation raises some serious questions
3. Dimond High School emails parents, locks down social media after Libs of TikTok uncovers teacher’s OnlyFans
4. Permanent Fund board member set up meetings between money managers and her billionaire father, records show
5. Feds send armed agents to raid Hillside home and arrest man accused of trying to sell snowmachines in Russia
6. Drugs, violence, and prostitution: A glimpse inside Anchorage’s largest homeless camp
7. State files scathing brief against ConocoPhillips over road access issue on North Slope
8. Two Alaska State Troopers charged with assault stemming from Kenai mix-up
9. Unexplained halt of Fish Creek Trail Connection project prompts confusion, outrage
10. Wild day on Alaska Airlines flights to Juneau ends with postponement of State of the State address

Other Happenings 

Representative Nick Begich officially became Alaska’s sole representative when he was sworn in earlier this week. He succeeded Mary Peltola, a one-term Democrat he defeated in November. Begich cast his vote for Speaker Mike Johnson (R – Louisiana), who was re-elected speaker on the first round after a bit of drama. 

Begich also announced additional staff this week. Josh Walton, who ran Begich’s campaign, will serve as his legislative assistant in D.C. Portia Babcock, who had been working as a legislative staffer for Representative Craig Johnson (R – Anchorage), will serve as regional director for Begich’s Anchorage office. And Leslie Hajdukovich, who recently lost a close race to Senator Scott Kawasaki (D – Fairbanks), will serve as regional director for Begich’s Fairbanks office. 

Earlier this week I got a tip that Governor Dunleavy and several of his commissioners and staff are travelling to Dubai later this month. I was dubious because it was the first I had heard about it. These kind of trips require quite a lot of planning and usually someone talks. But after some digging I confirmed that the trip is in fact happening. Dunleavy’s staff are being unusually tight lipped about the trip. Which is odd because I hear nearly a dozen people are going. This trip will surely cost a lot of public dollars. 

My best guess is they are all attending the World Future Energy Summit in Abu Dhabi next week. Martina Strong, the U.S. Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates, was a guest and speaker at Dunleavy’s Alaska Sustainable Energy Conference in May. So there is probably a connection there.

I don’t think there is anything wrong with him going (12 people in his entourage seems excessive), but I do think it’s a problem how everything the guy does is treated as clandestine. It’s a public trip and the public should be informed about it. It’s pretty loose that the public found out about it from a Landmine tweet!

This Week’s Loose Unit 

It was a slow week due to the New Year. I was going to skip this week but decided to do one and keep it short and sweet. This week’s Loose Unit is Governor Dunleavy and his staff. Keeping a trip to the United Arab Emirates – with an entourage of a dozen – secret is maximum loose behavior.  

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.