Local elections occurred this week all over Alaska. Turnout was abysmally low in many areas. The big upset was in Fairbanks where Fairbanks North Star Borough Assembly President Mindy O’Neall defeated Fairbanks Mayor David Pruhs. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and President Donald Trump announced this week they are reversing a Biden era decision halting the long awaited Ambler road. And its been nearly two weeks since anyone has filed to run for governor or the Legislature.
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 returned from Juneau in May. I will be heading back this January. 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.
A Week of Peace
I spent the week in Rio Rancho, New Mexico visiting my parents. It’s a city of more than 110,000 people directly north of Albuquerque. I grew up here and it’s grown a lot since I moved to Anchorage in 2004. It’s been an extremely peaceful week as I have seen zero homelessness, public camping, or vagrancy – things that are everyday occurrences in Anchorage.
Albuquerque definitely has its share of these problems, but Rio Rancho is unbelievably clean and peaceful. I was in a coffee shop a few days ago. I asked the barista for the key or code to the bathroom. She replied, “There is no key or code, it’s open.” I was shocked to hear that and wished Anchorage could be like that.
The mayor of Rio Rancho since 2014, Gregg Hull, is a candidate for New Mexico governor. Like our governor, New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham, a Democrat, is termed out next year. Hull, a Republican, is one of the candidates for New Mexico governor. I was able to get a hold of him by calling his cell phone, which is listed on the city’s website. I was pretty surprised he actually answered.
We chatted for a few minutes about how clean and vagrant free Rio Rancho is. We are scheduled to have a call later this week and I am hoping I can get him on my podcast to talk about why Rio Rancho is so nice.
Week in Review
Democrat Mindy O’Neall, the presiding officer of the Fairbanks North Star Borough Assembly, defeated Fairbanks Mayor David Pruhs, a Republican, in an upset. Prior to Pruhs, Republican Jim Matherly was Fairbanks mayor for two terms. The Democrats and progressives are organized and dedicated significant resources to the race. Pruhs seems to have lost on turnout. Current results show turnout at just 15%.
Here is where Burgum and Trump announce the decision to move forward with the Ambler road. They also announced the Department of War will be taking a 10% stake in Trilogy Metals, a company pursuing projects in the Ambler Mining District.
Wow. At the beginning of this press conference, Interior @SecretaryBurgum announced a green light on the long anticipated 211 mile Ambler road, which will be a toll road. The Biden administration halted the road.
Burgum also said the Dept. of War is taking a stake in Trilogy… https://t.co/TbHqgF8oir
— The Alaska Landmine (@alaskalandmine) October 6, 2025
It’ pretty obvious that some people had prior knowledge of the Ambler announcement and the Trilogy Metals deal. The day after the announcement, the stock more than tripled. The day before the announcement, trade volume of the stock increased by 3,000%. As George Carlin used to say, It’s a big club, and you ain’t in it!” I hope anyone with prior knowledge of the deal who is discovered to have bought the stock goes to jail.
This is what insider trading looks like. Trilogy Metals stock more than tripled a day after the Trump administration announced the Dept. of War is taking a 10% stake. Trade volume increased by more than 3,000% before the announcement. Sure hope no Alaska officials with prior… pic.twitter.com/X9aIce0sjY
— The Alaska Landmine (@alaskalandmine) October 7, 2025
Check out Joe Plesha, Senator Lisa Murkowski’s (R – Alaska) communications director, absolutely manhandle this deranged climate lunatic in D.C. While it was not on the level of Matt Shuckerow’s takedown of another lunatic at a Senator Dan Sullivan (R – Alaska) campaign event in 2020, it was definitely an epic move.
BREAKING: We confronted climate criminal Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski AGAIN.
Murkowski can’t hide from her vile, murderous record. Can’t erase that she voted to drill the Arctic Refuge. Can’t bury that she took $3.2 MILLION in fossil fuel bribes. Can’t cover up that she opposed… pic.twitter.com/rodkfKKbyM
— Climate Defiance (@ClimateDefiance) October 6, 2025
Another candidate for governor suffering from the dividend delusion!
Republican gubernatorial candidate Matt Heilala, a doctor, is also suffering from the dividend delusion. He recently told a Republican group in Fairbanks that we need to “cut spending” in order to pay a PFD and it’s on the #akleg, not him, to figure out the PFD issue. 😂
— The Alaska Landmine (@alaskalandmine) October 12, 2025
This is pretty wild. Senator Sullivan is one of eight U.S. senators the FBI surveilled under the politicized Jack Smith investigation into Donald Trump.
Damn. @SenDanSullivan is on the list. #akleg https://t.co/uOugZe2NP7
— The Alaska Landmine (@alaskalandmine) October 6, 2025
This Week’s Loose Unit
There were a few candidates this week, but one really stood out. This week’s Loose Unit is the Southcentral Foundation. The Southcentral Foundation recently announced they were renaming several buildings to traditional Native names to “honor the original caretakers of this land.” But they left out one minor detail.
They forgot to mention they are probably renaming the Gottlieb Building due to Dr. Kevin Gottlieb’s guilty plea to fraud while he was a Southcentral executive. Maximum loose! You have to read the story about what this guy did. It’s hyper loose behavior for a doctor and executive.
Gottlieb’s wife, Katherine Gottlieb, resigned as CEO two weeks after he was fired in 2020. She’s also a Loose Unit. Several people told me that she insisted on being referred to as “doctor” when she was CEO even though she is not a doctor. Her “doctor” title stems from an honorary doctorate she received from APU. It’s no wonder her husband got caught falsifying medical records.
The Southcentral Foundation says they are renaming buildings to Native names to “honor the original caretakers of this land.”
They left out that they are probably renaming the Gottlieb Building due to Dr. Gottlieb’s guilty plea to fraud while he was a Southcentral executive. The… pic.twitter.com/XfAwnrKnr4
— The Alaska Landmine (@alaskalandmine) October 7, 2025
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.
I knows its an old topic…but take a look at Australia’s steady growth towards 90% renewable energy (5% from hydro currently).
Always love when Landfield pretends not to know why homeless people gravitate from small towns to big cities.
“Why don’t they just eat at the soup kitchen in Chickaloon?”
-Landfield, eventually
“Why doesn’t this affluent community 25 minutes outside of Albuquerque not have a homeless problem?”
“Why doesn’t Birchwood have a homeless problem?”
JFC.
Do you live in Birchwood? I did just this last year, if you leave your house and drive around the community enough you’ll see there are homeless people there too. Homeless people still have legs like you and I buddy.
It was tongue in cheek. I’m sure there are homeless in Birchwood – just as there are homeless in Rio Rancho .
Well clearly the governmental policies of Rio Rancho (which is nearly half the population of Anchorage) has figured out how to take care of what homeless peoples they do have, and all Jeff is trying to say is we should take note of that. Fair enough no?
Rio Rancho, NM: 104,000 people
Albuquerque, NM: 565,000 people
Homeless ALWAYS gravitate to the larger cities.
In New Mexico, that’s Albuquerque.
In Alaska, that’s Anchorage.
(Landfield didn’t write ANYTHING about Rio Rancho’s “governmental policies” lol.)
“We chatted for a few minutes about how clean and vagrant free Rio Rancho is. We are scheduled to have a call later this week and I am hoping I can get him on my podcast to talk about why Rio Rancho is so nice.” – Dan did you legitimately not read the article?? The implication is that Rio Rancho (comparable in scale to Anchorage) has figured out how to manage homelessness much better compared to us, and we’ll know more about those government policies thereof at a potential podcast with the Mayor. Holy cow its tiring to debate someone… Read more »
You’ve now written two posts claiming that Landfield wrote about Rio Rancho’s “governmental policies”, policies that you claim have improved homeless management in that city.
So which of Rio Rancho’s anti-homelessness “governmental policies” did Landfield write about, above?
Did Mayor Hull move Rio Rancho directly next door to Albuquerque? I admit, that would be any impressive “governmental policy” lol.
I said it was “implied” based on what he wrote, do you know what that word means? Fact: Landfield visited a city in another state that’s 40% of the population of Anchorage, and profound homelessness and public waste was NOT something he immediately observed in his travels across the city. Fact: Anyone who visits Anchorage will tell you that homelessness and public waste is quite profound and clearly one of the first things one observes while just making a simple traverse from one part of town to the other. Takeaway from his anecdotal experience: the City of Rio Rancho obviously… Read more »
Oh neat. Lots of words, arranged in some order.
Where in there did Landfield write about Rio Rancho’s successful anti-homelessness policies? I can’t find them.
I guess you get a special secret copy of the Sunday Minefield each week!
Fact: you did not say “implied”
Anchorage is about 3x the size of RR.
“……..Why doesn’t Birchwood have a homeless problem?……..”
No liquor stores in Birchwood.
I am aware of two liquor stores in Birchwood.
I’m not, and you’d better keep it quiet, or they’ll show up.
Always love when bleeding hearts like you Dan pretend that Anchorage’s homelessness problem is really just a big nothing burger being over hyped by radical people *conservative* you don’t consider your equal.
Sorry you never get that “love,” since I and people like me regard Anchorage’s homeless problem as real, serious, and worth reducing.
Hope you have other sources of “love” in your life.
You and people like you regard Anchorage’s homelessness problem as real and worth reducing? How’s it going with the Mayor (who you voted for) handling it? All those annual grants to NGO’s and lack of enforcement of existing ordinances seem to be going a long way so far huh
And don’t worry about my sources of love, that’s just creepy Don, I know you’re a democrat and that’s your MO but still, just gross.
Yes, I and people like me regard Anchorage’s homeless problem as real and worth reducing. I wrote those words, above. If you just want to assume I’m a liar, just say that, no need to waste your time elaborating. Anchorage’s mayor is doing a good job reducing homeless and their negative impacts. Here are some details on her city’s progress in the first year, details for you to disregard out of hand: Established a predictable year-round shelter system for the first time in the Municipality of Anchorage. Identified and received $2.5 million in pass-through community grant funding from the state… Read more »
“……..Established a predictable year-round shelter system for the first time in the Municipality of Anchorage. …….”
Obviously, you’re new to Anchorage. Thus is an old and recurring problem. Ever hear of the Brother Francis Shelter and adjoining Beans Cafe? That’s a thirty year old “solution” right there, it’s VERY predictable, and it’s year round. It featured the same seasonal game, established by the clientele, not the facility, and for all the same reasons.
You’ve ignored the word “system” in the term “shelter system”.
Brother Francis is a shelter, no question. It is not a shelter system.
So define “shelter system” for us. The definition of “system” is:
“a set of things working together as parts of a mechanism or an interconnecting network.”
Would that be like Mayor Bronson’s plan for an orientation center to send people to the best recovery center?
Nope.
Anchorage now has a new system of three municipally-contracted shelters, each maintaining 100 beds year-round:
Bronson’s unbuilt $15+ million orientation center was not a shelter system run by the Muni.
After Bronson spent $4.9 million on the project, without any Assembly oversight, LaFrance managed to recoup $2.4 million by selling the steel sprung building to the Port.
Bronson’s orientation center was killed politically because the communists refuse to support substance abuse treatment. They insist that a person has the right to pollute themselves to the point of death. I’ve been told that in a proceeding by an Anchorage magistrate. Any attempt to “orient” a substance abuser to treatment will be fought tooth and nail. Three separate “year-round” facilities does not a “system” make. Eventually, substance abuse in the facilities will invite disaster, and the clientele will leave said facilities when the climate allows to camp and get polluted in peace and with the glory of self-determination……………..to the… Read more »
lol
“……..Anchorage now has a new system of three municipally-contracted shelters, each maintaining 100 beds year-round:……..”
The most recent Point-in-Time (PIT) count for Anchorage, taken in January 2024, identified 1,707 people experiencing homelessness. This figure includes 346 people living unsheltered (sleeping in tents, vehicles, etc.) and 1,425 people staying in emergency shelters or transitional housing. So does this mean that we have just 46 beds left to provide, or 346? Obviously, the number of clients will be greater in January than July when substance abusers will be camping with their intoxicant of choice.
Oh neat, lots of random overexaggerated government centric points copy and pasted from somewhere on the Muni’s convoluted website, in a certain order to paint a rosy picture that doesn’t exist of the reality of homelessness and vagrancy in Anchorage. A couple million here, couple million there, fancy lil dashboard over here… and guess what – there are STILL encampments in every square corner of this town and there are STILL people nestling up in business entryways like Club Paris for thousands of us driving in on 5th ave. to see EVERY day. This isn’t about the prior Mayor, that’s… Read more »
Billy E (“Billy?”),
So long as we have state and federal constitutions that extend civil rights to people (rights of travel, privacy, and due process) and limits the ability of governments to corral people away from impressionable virgin eyes like yours, America will ALWAYS have homeless.
You accept that, right? We have always had homeless, and we will always have homeless, so long as the constitutions we now have still apply.
The issue is what steps will be taken to legally discourage the choice some make (or make due to mental health difficulties) to be homeless.
First name Bill, initial of last name, E – make enough sense for ya or I repeat it 10x like you do when it’s not easily understood the first time? It’s funny you say that, there would’ve been absolutely NO grace or acceptance for a response like that had I mentioned that while Bronson (or someone like him) was in office, you and your ilk would’ve tar’d and feather’d that thing in big bold letters as an “EXCUSE” but it’s okay to reduce the severity of something that has been allowed to get WAY worse than it is in most… Read more »
Not challenging anything I’ve written, just anger that your eyes are sometimes assaulted by the visibility of homeless.
Anchorage hosts the most homeless in Alaska for the same reasons it hosts the most homed in Alaska.
Enjoy.
Anchorage being the biggest city in the state isn’t an excuse for having a disproportionate amount of homelessness and vagrancy compared to other cities of like scale and population, sorry if that hurts to read for you Dan. If you don’t think I’ve challenged anything you’ve written, I’d encourage you to read over my last sentence again, implying that you get your eyes checked buddy… If you think anyone’s eyes are only “sometimes” assaulted by the sight of atrocities of human decency when driving through Anchorage, I applaud you for fighting through the many walls of denial that you did… Read more »
Anchorage being the biggest city in the state isn’t an excuse for having a disproportionate amount of homelessness and vagrancy compared to other cities of like scale and population. It absolutely IS the reason. Communities throughout the state produce homeless people. But very few communities have the infrastructure that Anchorage has to accommodate them. You seem to think that Anchorage people who, for whatever reasons, become poor or sick people and then homeless in Anchorage often consider their plight and migrate to Shaktoolik, King Cove, and Angoon. Name one state where that’s the pattern, where homeless people leave the biggest… Read more »
“…….Communities throughout the state produce homeless people. But very few communities have the infrastructure that Anchorage has to accommodate them……..” You don’t think that these people are run out of their villages? Don’t you see what you’ve actually typed? They flock to Anchorage because (1) Anchorage serves them with “infrastructure” (liquor stores, narcotics, free food, free winter warmth, community service patrols to pick them up from the snow, etc), and (2) they’re pushed out of their home communities both by ostracization and a lack of “infrastructure” (dry villages, no or sporadic narcotics availability, social pressure, no free food or warmth).… Read more »
You don’t realize you’re agreeing with me.
“………You don’t realize you’re agreeing with me………”
You don’t realize that I’m not. You simply only see one vision, and everything is attracted to it like magnetism in your mind. It’s a form of mental disease.
“…….. just anger that your eyes are sometimes assaulted by the visibility of homeless……..”
What a line of woke bullshit. If you don’t consider your eyes “assaulted” with what I’ve seen on the streets of Anchorage, you’re as sick as they are.
“……..You accept that, right?……….”
I don’t. Criminals have their “rights” voided by their illegal behavior. Substance abuse should be no different. But if you want to live with these miscreants, Dan, be my guest. But don’t tell us that we do in other areas with your failed, sorry interpretations of “state and federal” constitutions. I want these people corralled, whether it’s in an appropriate place (rehabilitation) or not (prison).
So you think mayors nationwide are just dumb and could easily solve homelessness by rounding them all up and throwing them in prisons or hospitals. Wow!
You should tell America’s mayors about their secret power! What a hero you would be! So easy!
“………solve homelessness by rounding them all up and throwing them in prisons or hospitals……….,”
Obviously, yes. If they have a hospital or prison roof over their heads, they have a home. America’s mayors haver subjected themselves to fools like you for political reasons. They aren’t stupid. They need your vote to maintain power. You’re the stupid one.
lol
Can’t believe you’re posting here. You ran for mayor, lost and immediately moved out of state. You gave up. You have no say in how Anchorage is run.
In fairness to him, I am not that Bill Evans you’re referring to, but fair assumption.
Areola, you nippleless tit. It’s an open forum for all. Censor much?
Why don’t they have a soup kitchen in Chickaloon? They seem pretty proficient at generating all kinds if different monies from the feds.
Well it’s good thing you stayed out of Albuquerque. Your bubble world of New Mexico would had bursted Your right though. to taken a rest from Anchorage. I drive north or south to take my rest from Anchorage madness only to return and be faced by my muni’s residents depressed looking sad faces You all deserve to live so much better than how the current leaders will have you live while you are made to accept the poorly maintained streets you all go bumpity bump over I tell you! there is more than enough Anchorage taxpayer money in the budget… Read more »
Happy Indigenous Peoples Day, Jeff !
EVERY losing candidate “lost on turnout.” Duh! Pruhs lost because of insensitive public statements he made and subsequent non-apology and, more hopefully, perhaps, a growing national decrease in support for the MAGA/Revenge philosophy and practices of Trump. Pruhs has turned his live radio show into a MAGA platform which, to me, exposes more about him than his official statements.
Alaska Beacon has an interesting article on Dan Sullivan’s phone logs and something it said got my attention.
Update: This article has been updated to explicitly state that Sullivan is not under investigation himself.
Now how is that true? The documents released so far don’t corroborate that. And an investigation named Arctic Frost with Sullivan listed as one of the surveilled would certainly point to Sullivan being the dead center of interest. Something is about to be revealed about the fake elector case. Something big.
Let’s start buying the homeless one way tickets to New Mexico.
Thousands are without homes and basic necessities in western Alaska and all that Jeff can do is whine about changing the name of a building. Do us all a favour and stay in New Mexico.
What are doing for Western Alaska, “Reverend”? Is your whining about Jeff accomplishing anything?
He came to preach about the King of Kings and attend No Kings day
Fire and Brimstone. I’m sure the situation will be fine when he finishes his closing sentence.