The opinions expressed on this show are those of the host and not of iHeartMedia or its employees. Thank you for listening to NewsRadio Tip 50, KENI. Amy Demboski. The show starts now. Our lines are open at 907-522-0650. This is The Morning Drive on NewsRadio 650 KENI. Good morning. It is Wednesday, January 22nd, 2025. It is a golden new era in Alaska, in America.
With President Trump at the helm, exciting things are happening. Liberal heads are exploding. I've got to tell you, it is one for the books. Daryl, I've got to be honest with you. I was a little tempted to watch The View yesterday, but I didn't. I was busy working. Some of us got real jobs, and we can't stand the caterwauling.
Oh, my gosh. Let's just say Joy Behar lost it seriously. I love it. I love it. I got to be honest with you. Some of these people, they've lost their ever-loving minds. Look. I lived through eight years of Obama, right? I got to be honest with you. I still don't think he was born here. I'm just saying it. Don't believe it. Do you really call that living? Just kidding. Just kidding. Little joke.
I just brushed my teeth and then tried to take a swig of an orange Gatorade. Not a pleasant experience. Not a pleasant experience, Daryl. Sorry. Gerald's drinking his coffee. Okay, that's it. At the break, I'm getting you some Black Rifle coffee. That's what's happening. I just had to get that taste out of my mouth from what you said. Eight years of Obama, that.
Oh, my gosh. You know, I got to be honest. I laugh because I started seeing some news headlines that said, Michelle Obama released a statement after not attending inauguration. Don't care. Didn't even click on the headline. Don't care. Don't care. Don't care what you have to say, Big Mike. Don't care. I was going to say, I didn't see that one there. But beforehand, I had seen her saying, I just don't want to be fake.
Okay, so I can't go because I don't want to be fake. You're fake. Whatever happened to when they go low, we go high? Oh, actually, Joy Behar and the rest of them had comments on that yesterday. No kidding. I was going to say, unless she's hitting a bong, I don't think she went high at all. No, no, no. Their new one is, you know, we need to say that when they go low, we go even lower, even to the crust of the earth.
Oh, come on. Look, here's the thing. You want to get dirty and roll with the pigs? You've got to have a little bit of a little...
Hey now, pigs are actually really clean creatures. Leave the pigs out of this, okay? They don't need that. Even though the little hats they wear do kind of look like piggy hats. Wasn't it... uh biden's a former attorney general what was his name eric something eric holder holder yeah wasn't it him who originally say when they go low we you know we basically get down and Kick them while they're down. I mean, I can't remember his quote. Somebody did that, yeah.
But I think it was Eric Holder. But you'll have to find that quote. I can't, I was going to say, I can't recall it. But I seem to, like in my mind, I can envision him saying it. But look, these people, these people, they have nothing. All they have is, you know, I laugh because a little bit later in the show, I have a couple of articles that came out.
Oh, they're beside themselves. You know, whether they're going to do the same thing. You know, America's racist. That's what they're going to tell you. They're going to tell you we're discriminatory. We're, you know. Islamophobic, Mexican-phobic, I don't know what you call it. South of the border phobic. You know, they're going to call us everything in the book. Just buckle up, look.
i've been on the receiving end many a times of the liberal media you kind of like honestly anybody who knows me knows like the crap they write like i just don't care I just don't care. I'm like thank you for the free press. All you're doing is you're solidifying my position. That's it. That's it. That's all you're doing. You're not swaying me to your side. I'm not going to see the light.
All I'm going to think is you're a raging lib and you're delusional, you know, and then what? I mean, I just get to the point, Daryl. I just can't take it with these people. I can't do it.
Did you find the quote I was talking about? I saw you over there feverishly on your keyboard. I've got it, but I haven't got it to that part. He's in the middle of a speech, and I've got to find it in the speech. All right, take your time. You know what I'm going to do? I'm going to do my community announcements because I skipped them yesterday.
because I wanted just to focus on the inauguration. So this morning, I will do my community announcements. This is a community-based show. So we'll start with the Matsu borough. If you're out in the Mattoe Borough for today, the Chase Community Council Board of Directors does have a meeting at 6 p.m. today at Latitude, let's see, Latitude 62 in Taukeetna.
Again, that's at 6 p.m. tonight. That's really the only meeting I see on the calendar for the Matsu borough. But if you do want to track their calendar, just go to matsugov.us and you'll be able to find it there. If you live in the city of Wasilla, there's nothing on the calendar for today.
So it's pretty straightforward. As far as Palmer goes for today, I don't see anything. The library is open, by the way, from 10 to 6 today. For the Municipality of Anchorage, January 22nd. Let me just take a guess. here I haven't pre previewed these, so we're doing it live. The Board of Adjustments has a meeting this morning at 10 a.m. via Microsoft Teams. The Watershed and Natural Resource Advisory Commission for the Municipality of Anchorage has been canceled today.
so their January regular meeting is not going to happen. The Anchorage Community Development Authority Finance and Operations Committee has a meeting today at 3 p.m. This is virtual only, so it's Microsoft Teams. If you need the link, you need to go to the website. Just go to muni.org, click on the Mayor's tab, and then click on the...
events tab and you'll be able to find it that way as far as the Anchorage Assembly goes Where liberty goes to die, the Legislative Committee of the Anchorage Assembly is meeting today, Wednesday, January 22nd at 110, Conference Room 155. at City Hall. Also today, the Quality Municipal Services Ethics and Election Committee meeting is today at 220, same location, room 155.
And that is all I have for the Municipality of Anchorage. If you want to track the Anchorage Assembly, just go to muni.org and then click on the Assembly tab, and you'll be able to find it that way. As far as our dear liberty-minded friends down on the Kenai, the only thing I see on the calendar for today is there's a Nikiski Senior Service Area Board meeting from 4 to 6 p.m. at the Nikiski Senior Center.
So that is the only meeting actually for the remainder of the week for the Kenai Peninsula borough. If you live in the city of Kenai, there is a Planning and Zoning Commission meeting today. I'm just going to peek at their agenda to see if there's anything really, really good.
Okay, so the City of Kenai Planning and Zoning Commission, their regular meeting starts at 7 p.m. tonight. It's going to be at the Council Chambers, which, of course, is located at 210 Fidelgo Avenue in Kenai. As I'm looking at their... resolutions today. It doesn't look like they have a super, they have a couple plots on their agenda. They have a conditional use permit for A hotel, it looks like. And then they have a couple reports. So they don't have a ton on their...
on their agenda today, but they do have an informational item just for people to know. The Airport Master Plan public meeting is going to be February 4th. 530 in the council chambers. So again, anytime we start dealing with some of these major infrastructure places around our communities, those tend to get a lot of attention. That's it for the city of Kenai.
As far as the city of Saldatna goes, there is a council meeting tonight in the city of Saldatna. I'm just pulling up the agenda now. That meeting starts at 6 p.m. It's going to be, of course, in the council chambers in Saldatna. And that is the only meeting I see on the calendar for Soul.net. For our friends down in Homer, there is a Port and Harbor Advisory Commission regular meeting that is scheduled for today.
Of course, there's always multiple ways. I love Homer, how they participate. Because they always have a phone link, a Zoom link, and in person. For almost... All of their meetings. For a majority of their meetings. It's fantastic. But if you want to attend in person, all you have to do is go to the Cal's Council Chamber at Homer City Hall, located at 491 East Pioneer Avenue. There is a Zoom link and a phone participation link as well.
again for that meeting. The Port and Harbor Advisory Commission is going to start at 530 tonight. If you want more information, just go to cityofhomer-ak.gov. Just look to the right when you get to the website. Click on the meeting that's interesting to you, and it brings you to the home landing page that has the Zoom link and all that good stuff.
That really does it for our public announcements for today. If you have an announcement you'd like to plug or if you know of something fun going on, it doesn't have to be. you know, a public announcement. It could be something fun. We're always happy to plug it for you. All you have to do is give us a call. The number is 522-0650. No. No. If they go low, we kick them. See? I told you. Was it Eric Holder? It was Eric Holder. I...
Look at that memory, like a steel trap. Okay, I'll be honest with you. I'm not nearly as good as Bill Stoltz. He is my one friend. I swear to God, he's got to have an eidetic memory. He never forgets anything. And so he amazes me. But I told you, like, in my mind, I could see Eric Holder saying it. I could see it in my mind. I told you, these people are scumbags. They are scumbags. You gotta just know what you're dealing with. It's the new Democratic.
party look look and honestly you want to get in a pn contest with some of us i mean i gotta be honest with you if i'm in a war Are you going to bring a sissy liberal with you, or are you going to bring a patriotic conservative? I'm just saying, I have a feeling we're scrappier. I have a feeling we don't hide behind masks and throw little bottles and rocks at people. We walk up and whoop ass. That's what we do. So I'm just saying, thank God for conservatives.
Because, by and large, they're the ones you see serving in our military, serving in our law enforcement, serving in public safety. So thank God for conservatives, because you know what? Liberals are showing themselves to be what they truly are. Bunch of whiny, lying. I'm just going to stop there because Daryl's about to mute me. All right, we're going to go ahead and take a quick break. If you'd like to call in and be part of the show, 522-0650.
Amy Demboski, 628 Mornings on NewsRadio 650 KENI. Call now, 907-522-0650. I gotta be honest with you, this is one of those days it's dangerous for me to be on the air. When I'm in one of these moods and now I got my black rifle coffee in my trunk, Daryl, I want you on my side of the wall. I'm just saying. I appreciate that.
You can't go wrong with that black rifle coffee. I got to be honest with you. It just exudes American patriotism. You know, I got to I got to be honest with you. I think it'll put a little hair on your chest. Is that your Pithecus coffee or is it a different one? This is Tactusquatch. Gipithecus, yeah, Tactusquatch. Gigantopithecus. Everybody who listens to my show will learn the term Gigantopithecus. It is a bipedal primate. I'm telling you, it's Bigfoot.
That's what it is. It's a real thing. Google it. Oh, my gosh. I just don't get it. You know, I got to tell you, Daryl, last night I was doing my show prep, and you notice you got it kind of late, right? Well, I noticed it at like 2 o'clock this morning. Yeah, because Melanie Koff worked until, like, 8 o'clock last night. I got a bunch of board meetings this week. And so, you know, I have to do my duty. And for me, there's no such thing as failure. Like, I will not miss a deadline.
i can't think of deadline i've actually missed like i just will not miss it now i've come close i've gotten things in at 11 59 when it was due at midnight like i've come close but i've never missed i will i will kill myself trying to make a deadline and so you know last night I will tell you, it is very exciting actually working at the Senior Center. It is so much fun. I have done so many different jobs in my career.
You know, I've worked for the governor in multiple capacities. I've worked for a mayor. I have, you know, done business development. I'm really good at change management. That's really what I do. I come into a hot mess and I reorganize it. Get at making money, lots of money. I love making money. And then I move on, typically. I mean, that's, and it's so funny because I don't like change, Daryl. I am a rut person. But what do I do?
This is what I do. Why? Because I'm good at fixing things. And I just can't stand waste and I can't stand inefficiency. And so my OCD takes over. And it forces me. Yeah, exactly. It forces me to put things in order and get things like coming. Like, I just love it. But I got to tell you, this has been the most.
rewarding job of my entire career i absolutely adore it i love it because for years before i even ever worked here i volunteered at senior center years and years ago and anytime i would end a campaign see this is like one of the little boring nuances people don't know so what happens when you donate to a candidate
And then they finish a campaign with actually money in the bank. That doesn't always happen. Sometimes there's a death. Did that happen? It did, yes. Because, look, I was frugal. And so when I ran for assembly, I... you know i i ran my race and And I had money left over. I mean, not an insignificant amount either. And so whenever I would have balances left over, I donated that amount because you can donate it to a nonprofit or you can roll it over into a new campaign account.
And so a lot of legislators, if they think they're going to stay in public office, they'll just roll it over to the next account, which is totally acceptable, totally fine. You want those people's money to go towards what they intended, right? And for me, I've never planned on being a lifelong politician. When I got into it, I said, five years of public service and I'm out. Like, I'm in my prime earning years.
away from a substantial salary to make 30 grand a year on the assembly right now they've got it up to like 60 grand right but it's supposed to be a part-time job it's not meant to be a full-time like they are not legislators there it's not meant be a full-time job.
But anyways, I digress. So I used to roll my money. You know, a lot of legislators roll their money over. Well, I never planned on staying in politics. So I would close my campaign account and I would donate the money to the Chugak Senior Center. Because it's been a place in my heart.
But last night, you know, I was prepping. We have a big board meeting today. So I was prepping for my board meeting and putting some papers and stuff together, get my presentation dialed in. And so I was there until like 8. So last night I come home. And I start doing my show prep. And I'm getting more and more irritated. More and more irritated. Because here's the thing. Politicians...
will always do exactly what you really expect of them, and most times it disappoints you. I hate to tell you that. Now, for my political friends out there, there's always the exception to the rule. Always the exception to the rule. There are some great people that I've met in politics, and frankly, there's people that have changed my mind. There's people that I met that I thought I liked, and then I thought they were kind of a jerk, and then I was like, you know what, actually?
I really like them. And generally, the more direct somebody is, the more I like them. And so, you know, I go through this metamorphosis with legislators, you know, whether I'm trying to decide if I like them or I don't like them. And to me...
What is the measure of liking somebody? It's how effective are you, generally speaking. I mean, the more effective you are, the more competent I think you're going to be, the more I'm probably going to like you. But I kind of laugh because Democrats will consistently do what Democrats do. And what is that? Be exactly who they, you know, look, he just played that Eric Holder clip where they go low, we kick them. Wizard down. Okay.
All right. Well, of course, what do we expect? Again, you know, that's not what they say. Their words matter, right? But their actions matter more. And so you have to watch this. So I'm looking at my show prep lineup for today, and I have to just laugh. Because, again, it goes back to this. Double standard. Listen to this headline. Raskin, who I think is complete, you know.
Bad word. Raskin suggests Trump pardon January 6th defendants to reserve, to be a reserve army of political foot soldiers. Okay. Okay. Okay. This guy's a twerp. Representative Jamie Raskin. He's a Democrat from, I think, Maryland. said Tuesday on CNN's Outfront that President Donald Trump pardoning the January 6th protesters was to create a reserve army of political foot soldiers.
The question is why pardons have generally been used when people are actually innocent or there was some procedural miscarriage of justice nobody is claiming that these people were innocent we got them on tape you know hitting the police officers over the head with pipes and bats and Confederate battle flags and all of that has been established. Most of them pled guilty. The others have been convicted. There was no procedural miscarriage of justice. On the contrary, they've had every benefit.
of due process. Okay. And then we have this other quote from Cory Booker. Trump pardoning January 6th defendants, creating a pretext for more political violence. Senator Cory Booker, a Democrat from New Jersey, said on MSNBC's All In that President Donald Trump's pardoning the January 6th Okay. These people, man. Does anybody even take them seriously? Look, here's the reality.
Almost 1,500 people that got imprisoned over January 6th. It was nonsensical. And let's not pretend they had due process where some of them were held. Some of them weren't allowed to see their families. They weren't allowed to see their lawyers. Let's be honest. Some of them just walked through the Capitol. They didn't...
They didn't hit people with pipes and bottles. Yeah, they sat at Nancy Pelosi's desk. Some of them did do some vandalism. Maybe they trespassed. But when they're walking by, Capitol Police getting... spumps and cops were sitting there jawing with their hands in their pockets. I mean, give me a break. The only person that was murdered on that day was a Trump supporter who was unarmed and shot by a Capitol Police officer.
That's what happened. She wasn't attacking anybody. She was climbing through a window. Should she have done that? Probably not. Did she deserve to die? Absolutely not. But when the left is coming out now, claiming that somehow this is a massive miscarriage of justice because the January 6th protesters were put in prison. They were incarcerated. Many of them lost their life savings. Their lives were destroyed because they walked through the Capitol. Now, let's juxtapose that.
with burning cities from BLM rioters who were never even charged. If you actually want to talk about what this means, it demonstrates the double standard of justice. What do you think? When Kamala Harris, you know, the vice president of the United States, was sitting there saying, you know, and advocating for a bail fund for those few that were actually arrested during the BLM riots. were burning down cities and actually hurting people and actually destroying property. So on the left,
Let's not prosecute them and make sure they get out of jail, and let's raise money to get them out of jail. But when it's people who walk through the Capitol on January 6th, they should be in prison for life. I mean, their lives are already ruined. I mean, and now, I mean, the double standard, I've said it many times, and I will continue to say it.
not for a double standard, there would be no standard on the left. That's it. That's it. All right, let's go ahead and take a quick break. We'll be right back. Reach out to Amy now. 907-522-0650. That's 907-522-0650. It's Amy Demboski on NewsRadio 650 KENI. welcome back current time 637 you know I have to tell you quickly becoming one of my favorite people is Scott Jennings because he's on CNN oftentimes he's a commentator
And he is just going toe-to-toe with many of these lunatics. And I don't know how you do it. I've thought about this. Have you ever thought about, you know, if I was the one conservative on a CNN panel, or if I was the one conservative on The View? I would lose my crap every day. Like, I would look at these people and be like, are you a complete idiot?
Like, have you lost your mind? Like, I'm editing severely what I would want to say. But these people are nuts, man. They're nuts. And Scott Jennings is always like, like, he embodies what I wish I could be. Because he is very, like, calm, and he is magnanimous, and he is just so kind. And they're having this whole debate about these genuine...
six pardons and the world is coming to an end and Trump's getting his own little foot soldiers and all this nonsense. And Scott Jennings, this is an article from the Daily. panel or the daily caller on this panel he really just puts it into perspective for him it says republican strategist scott jennings told cnn panel on monday that many black lives matter rioters avoided punishment in 2020 after liberal commentators complained about the pardons of president trump
After the January 6th event, Trump issued a blanket pardon Monday for more than 1,500 people convicted of crimes surrounding the Capitol during the certification of the electoral votes on January 6th. Jennings reminded former Obama administration... officials, David Axelrod and Ban Jones, who kept saying they received insufficient punishment, that many of the participants of the Capitol riot
had their lives ruined by many of the Black Lives Matter rioters, but many of the Black Lives Matter rioters escaped punishment. Here's a quote from Jennings. Here is what I think. Were these people punished? Yes. Were they ruined financially? Yes. Did they spend time in jail? Yes. Have their lives been ruined? Absolutely.
That you think it sends a terrible signal you can get away with things like this. As though we've never had a moment in recent American history when people were not punished for rampaging around when it shouldn't have been. It was the summer of 2020. I see it a little different than you do, Jones said. Of course he does. Why? Because if it's conservatives, they want to lock you up. They want to ruin your life. They want to never let you out of prison.
But if it's Democrats and liberal activists, you can burn down cities and there should be no punishment. I mean, Jennings really did a masterful job, like I said. Far more effective than I could have, because I would have looked at them and like, yo, I've lost your ever-loving mind. Well, they did more than just burn down cities, though. So they literally tried to burn...
in property damage during that summer. A billion with a B. They literally looted and raided, so stole all kinds of stuff. Killed at least 24 people. They tried to burn alive a whole... station of police officers in Seattle and in Portland, they were throwing firebombs at the courthouse there and assaulting the officers there. Yep. This is why I say these.
Daryl won't let me say this one word on air. But I really, the only fitting word, I'm not going to say it, Daryl. I promise. I won't say it. I won't say it. I'm trying to find a creative way to say it without saying it. I won't say it. But these. Dipwits. Can I say that? You can. That's a dipwit. I heard you. I heard you. You know, these guys, these dips, we'll just call them dips. These dips.
I mean, come on, does anybody with a working brain actually take them credible? When you defend rioters that actually torch cities, that actually put people in the hospital or kill people, when you defend that, and no, other than Ashley Babbitt, nobody died on January 6th, other than Ashley Babbitt, a Trump supporter. So no, there weren't all these six Capitol Police officers that were killed on the day. That's a lie. That didn't happen. It just didn't happen.
So again, when they're making these arguments does anybody actually find them to be credible? Well, what about the four days, no wait, six days of literal in Portland, the riots where they literally day and night, day and night were crowds of them chanting, throwing rocks. In fact, we had the ladies coming out to protect them from the tear gas that they were being forced to.
used to stop them from invading the buildings. It is crazy, and that's why I have such a challenge with some of these commentators on the media. It's because they're so blatantly obviously... You know, when it's my side, it's okay, but when it's your side, it's not okay. And our side, I don't remember the last time that Republicans went around torching cities. Like, I don't remember it. I want to say it was 1863, 1865 maybe. I think Sherman did that. A little before my time.
But that's my point, though. I mean, I think the American people see it for what it is. We have a whole, you know, hypocrisy, you know. discussion scheduled for later too but let's first go to the phones and randy is with us good morning sir good morning miss sunshine and daryl um a little deviation from your discussion this morning First off, a joke and then an observation of what happened at the Borough meeting last night. Sure.
Why did a french fry cross the road? Did you say a french fry? Yes Why did a french fry cross the road? I don't know why Wanted to catch up with the burger? Wanted to catch up with a burger. That's beautiful. That's beautiful. I like that one. Okay, that one I will repeat today. That's solid dad joke, Randy. Gold star for the day. All right, so what happened at the Burrow Assembly? meeting last night my observation is one it was a massive discussion about using machines that count the boats
And we passed the ordinance of, what do you want to call it, that you use hand counting only for the magnitude of voting. Yep. And for the last two years, they used it. Especially in this last election, the machines were brought out and kept breaking down. which gave everybody more time, extended time for the counters to report their business. Because all the hand counters was done.
Before, long before, the machines were actually used. Mm-hmm. Actually finished. That's one thing, observation. So I like for everybody to call their assembly person. and express to them when we pass a rule or law or what do you want to call it, that hand counting should be used in the borough. Hand counting should be used. not supplemented with a machine or use a machine.
And counting, period. So let me ask you, this must be an ordinance. Did somebody, is it just a discussion or did somebody introduce an ordinance to be able to use machines to count ballots? An ordinance was put in. Who put it in? I don't want to say. Okay, well, I'll look it up. But, you know, here's the thing. Out here in the Matsu borough. And then remove it. Oh, so they withdrew it. Okay. Okay. You know, here's the thing. I'm not...
I'm not directly against machines counting ballots, but I think the real issue came with the Dominion machines and people were questioning were the vote tabulations accurate or were the machines, you know, could they be manipulated?
in such a way where they were not accurate. I think if you're going to have any sort of machine counting, I think you need to have a robust audit counting or an audit process for each of them. So for example, if I were were the lieutenant governor of the state of Alaska or the director of the Division of Elections, I would say, OK, let's just say, for example,
We have 100 different districts. Actually, we have 40 districts. We'll use that example. We have 40 different districts in the state of Alaska, house districts. Out of the 40 different house districts, what you would do, if you actually want to take a data metric to make sure...
that you don't have any issues you would say out of these 40 districts we are going to spot check and i would actually do because there's been so much issues around trusting the machines i would actually choose more than 50 of my districts so i would say out of 40 districts let's say 25 districts
we are going to do an audit of those 25 districts, and we run all the ballots through those machines, and then we sequester those ballots, and then we hand count 25 of the 40 districts. Because that way, you know, they're going to say, oh, we're going to do that. We don't have the resources. We don't have the people to do it. Blah, blah, blah. You always get election workers. You can make it happen if you want to make it happen. So if you hand count a certain majority of your districts.
then if there's any irregularities, then you go back through and you do a hand count of 100% of your districts. I mean, that's the way you do it. I mean... Honestly, I mean, anybody who's ever dealt with data, I mean, you know how to do sampling. And if your sampling shows any irregularities, then you have to widen the net. That's typically how it goes.
So I'm not one of those ones that says, oh, we should only ever hand count. I think there's a time and a place. But if you're going to use machines, I think you have to have a robust auditing process in order to ensure that the count's accurate. Now, for me personally, I'm very supportive of the Mat-Su's hand count. I'm very supportive, because why? They can actually do it very efficiently, very quickly, with their volunteers, as we've seen in past elections.
So that's kind of where I come down on it. Does that make sense? Absolutely. And that's what we're asking for, just following the rules. Next observation is last night was a discussion of the... rural tax of the property tax and a big thing he stood out this last two years we We've increased the property tax up to now $20 million. And they're not taxing 38%. I'm sorry, 28%. of the property taxes they could go for. So they're taxing less. And it's shown the last few years, it's been 38% less.
or 20% less what they could tax. Mm-hmm. They were given a lot of exemptions and stuff. Mm-hmm. Also has shown we have a great influx. Thank you, Anchorage. People are fed up with what's going on in Anchorage. They're moving out here to freedom. Yeah, hopefully they leave the Anchorage politics in Anchorage. But I think I have a number of friends that just, frankly, got sick and tired of the Anchorage Assembly, and they said, that's it, we're done, and they moved to the Valley.
People that didn't have to move, people that were living in Eagle River or other parts of Anchorage for years, you know, they just had it and they said, that's it, we're moving. So I think you're going to see that trend continue. So it'll be interesting. Maybe, you know, what I'll do is I'll reach.
out to mayor edna and see if i can i love having her on the show she's somebody that i look up to and just get kind of a borough wide kind of update and kind of thoughts of 2025 from her so i'll reach out to her and see if we can get her on the show sound good
That would be great. All right, we'll do it. All right, Randy, thank you for the update on the Matsuboro Assembly meeting last night. We appreciate that insight. Have a good day. All right, you too. We're going to go ahead and take a quick break. We'll be right back. Now back to the boss, Amy Demboski. Call 907-522-0650 and be a part of the show on News Radio 650. KENI. All right. Well, we've already rearranged our show lineup for today. So.
You know, we just roll with it. We just roll with it. But since Randy went on local government issues, I want to switch for a second before I come back to national issues. Because, look, I love getting Daryl all worked up first thing in the morning.
him on the edge of his seat because I was teasing him pretending I was going to swear. I really wasn't going to swear on the air, I promise. But he was all nervous. He gets all fidgety and jumpy and stuff. And I started sweating in here. I'm telling you, he's all... He's on the edge of his seat right now, so now I want to get him worked up. Hey, Daryl. Hey, Daryl, what do you think about the new casino in Birchwood?
I can't believe you went. Okay, so I'm going to start with a story, but this is really Daryl's segment. Temporary gambling hall opens in Birchwood as a Clutnam village opens doors on gravel pad by Cree. This coming from Mustard, Alaska. After a weekend of working furiously.
Through the nights to open a gambling operation in a trailer parked in a money construction zone, the village of Ocludna says it now has gambling up and running near Peters Creek in the city of Anchorage. The action was taken quickly to prevent the new trial. administration from delaying the operation, which is already facing a lawsuit from neighbors who object to the impact on the residential area. Two trailers pushed together are a casino, and a couple of more are on-site
to house 24-hour security guards. According to Aaron Leggett, the president of the Cluton, a native village, today it is official. I don't know if I'm saying that right. Gaming Hall has begun operation. This represents a historic milestone in the journey towards true self-determination for our native village of Oklutna. Chinon means thank you in Dinaina Athabaskan, he said.
So, Gerald, what are your thoughts? So this is where I have my biggest problems. Self-determination, and they want literally to be sovereign. They are not sovereign. Here's a political discussion. Some people are going to be triggered by this discussion. The native village of Kluna is not a reservation. It is not Indian country. They do not have police powers. It is not sovereign country. I mean, look, here's the thing. This is the whole thing with the nail cut. I mean, there was...
Like, there was literally an opportunity to give billions of dollars of cash. These native corporations chose to take the money and some of the land in exchange, effectively, for Indian country. So a few years ago, the city of Anchorage, it was really led, I think, largely by Forrest Dunbar at the time. They were trying to create Indian country.
They are trying to create government-to-government relations with the native village of Aklutna. The native village of Aklutna is a native, you know, they have their village, but Aklutna is a corporation. Now, there's a difference between the corporation and the village, yes. But they are not a reservation. But this is an attempt to try to create that. So through BLM.
Bureau of Land Management nationally under the Biden administration, this is how they were trying to get their gambling type thing. Look, in Alaska, gambling is not allowed unless you're a nonprofit. Correct. Right? gaming is allowed but they're trying to get around it this way and the reason they did it under the cover of darkness and as fast as they possibly could they were trying to beat the inauguration day of trial
to make sure that the feds don't basically rescind their ability to do this. Again, this has legal lawsuits written all over it. If the state of Alaska actually has the cojones to say, wait a second, this is an Indian country. Popular political position? Probably not. But this is exactly what this fight is really about. And that's why. You're going to have 240 sovereign nations in the state of Alaska that you can't use their land. I mean, it's just, it's crazy.
Yep, we're going to take a quick break. We'll be right back. The opinions expressed on this show are those of the host and not of iHeartMedia or its employees. Thank you for listening to NewsRadio 650 KENI. Welcome back to live local and... Insightful Morning Drive Radio on News Radio 650 KENI.
Welcome back to Hour 2 of the Amy Naboski Show, broadcasting live and local every weekday morning from South Central Alaska, right here in the heart of the Mat-Su. I am in Palmer. Daryl is in Anchorage. Together we have... A big swath of the Alaska population covered. We have listeners from Sitka to Homer to Fairbanks and every point in between. And we appreciate each and every one of you. North Slope. Don't forget North Slope. Yes, yes. Good morning, Harold.
I think that's, my husband has been telling me as he's worked up there, he's like, hey, so-and-so's like, hey, do you know that Amy chick? You guys have the same last name? Yeah. He's like, I know her. The enthusiasm. Yeah, exactly. So we appreciate it. You know, I went to the gun show out here at the Wasilla High School this weekend. And I want to say a special good morning to Keith because I met. him at the
Alaska Machine Gunners Association booth. Yep. Look at those guns. Daryl's got guns. I was giving her a gun show here in the studios. Yeah, yeah. But it was great. I saw so many people that I knew out there at the gun show. I saw my friend Donna Anthony from Point Blank.
So I've taken multiple firearms courses from Point Blank. We're going to have Donna on the show in another month or so. They're opening a new facility out here in the Mat-Su. If you want to do tactical firearms training, whether it's a concealed carry quarry, course or some specialty courses. Donna is a fantastic instructor, and she has a bunch of good instructors out there. She's been in law enforcement for many, many years, and she's awesome.
When I used to have my old radio show, she used to come on frequently, and we'd talk about firearm safety and firearm different things related to firearms. I am a bit of an enthusiast, shall we say. All right, well, if you want to listen to us live, of course, we broadcast from 6 to 8. You can listen to us on the radio dial at 6.50 a.m., or you can stream us online at 650KNI.iHeart.com. You can download the iHeart Media app.
as well. You can find us on podcast, either through the app, through our website, Spotify. There's lots and lots of ways you can listen. And we appreciate each and every person that listens to the show. We are kicking butt and taking names. I am so appreciative for the opportunity to be able to talk about issues that are important to Alaskans. So, Daryl, I have to go back to this issue that I know is important to Daryl.
I keyed it up in the last segment, and I talked about what was going in to the new casino in Birchwood. It's a couple of trailers they push together. They work through the night to get it up and running before Trump was inaugurated. I mean, really what they're trying to do is they're trying to basically establish it so they can claim some sort of grandfather rights or get it established so it doesn't get rescinded. Now, Daryl, I would love to know your opinion on the new...
And I'm saying that with, you know, just with big air quotes, casino in Birchwood. So when I looked at the pictures and read the story on it, they were saying that they're allowing eight people in at a time and that those eight people are by invite only. So don't show up at the door. They're going to invite you. So in other words, family and friends.
This sounds like a private club to me is what this sounds like. And I would have pretty sure that we're not allowed to have private club gambling, let alone the casino gambling. So, again, they're skirting laws. And for the area.
Why are they putting it in the birchwood area on that little tiny property there? They've got a huge giant gravel pit They have a giant gravel pad where they park police officers cars on they have Well, gosh, they have all of the Eklutna village area, including going up Eklutna River Road or the road to the lake.
But they're not using any of that. They're going to put it over to the side there. They're going to smash it in, like you said. And this creates sovereignty issues. Because if they're allowed to do this, that then makes it Indian country. If it becomes Indian country, now we've got all kinds of fun stuff. going on because, A, no taxes. Remember, City of Anchorage is not going to get any taxes out of this. No building rules and regulations, okay? None of that. Police services?
They're going to either have to contract with the troopers or start their own police force. Wouldn't that be great having to go to the valley back and forth through a whole nother... Country, I mean that's what it is a sovereign country is what it would be and then I had a caller really make an astute very astute observation That would also open up cigarette sales, marijuana sales, alcohol sales at cheaper than regular rates because they would be paying no taxes on any of those things.
Couldn't this be a moneymaker instead of the valley having to go in to Keynight Peninsula to buy the tax-free cigarettes? Now you can just stop on your way to Anchorage and grab your 10 cartons. Yeah, I mean, look, the whole thing, when you've got to rush something under the cover of night, it lends to the appearance that you're doing something wrong. And the complicity of our local elected people who gave basically the people of Anchorage support this on official letterhead without ever asking.
Look, I got to tell you, the Birchwood Community Council, I don't think is supportive of this. And I know I've talked to a number of people that are very concerned because in Alaska, charitable gaming...
is allowed, but not otherwise, right? So that's why we don't have casinos. Look, I'm a huge fan of Powerball. Like, I wish we had Powerball in this state. I'm, like, all about it. I am not an anti-gambling type of person. But I understand that charitable... gaming here in Alaska is a real, I mean that's how many non-profits and service type organizations fund and that's how a lot of community philanthropy is done is through charitable gaming.
So there's a very strong charitable gaming coalition here in Alaska that is very opposed to this casino. And because they are concerned that this is like... a toe in the water to basically destroy charitable gaming gaming absolutely will you know that one other thing with this also that i i left out of there is when you brought up the charitable gaming it came to my mind is
All you progressives, all you Democrats, all you independents out there who want to raise our BSAs and fully fund our schools. Tell your legislators, get us in on the Powerball. Because, you know, most of the states in the lower 48, that is how they actually pay for their education departments is through the Powerball lottery that's linked into all the other states. I got to be honest with you. Great idea. Do it that way.
Like, I'm a huge fan of Powerball. Like, whenever I go to a state and they have Powerball, like, I always buy Powerball tickets. I'm guilty, too. Like, I do it for a novelty because I think it's just fun to do. And when I go to Vegas, like, last time I went to Vegas, I think I... I think I spent 20 bucks. Like, I'm not somebody who's, like, a big gambler. That's just not my thing. I'd rather spend my money on a show and a nice dinner than, you know.
Put it in a slot machine. But I always do it for a novelty because it's kind of fun. So I'm like, oh, okay, I'll put $20 in. And I'm like, okay, I'm done. I'm good. Let's go shopping now. And you find it fun. I find it embarrassing because I always have to ask how to do it.
do it and literally everybody stands there I mean literally everybody will stand and turn and go did he just ask how the push the button how many times and can I pick up myself and and literally people are just like you've never it's like no where are you from like under a rock like no alaska oh alaska and then we get back into the you know the two-story igloos and the that kind of stuff so yeah so i have a friend i'm not going to out who it is but it's somebody in the know
Who has an answer for you, Daryl? It says right here, okay, I'm going to read you this text I just got. The answer to Daryl's question about the gravel pit and the police car parking is both Oklutna, Inc., not Native Village of Oklutna. The land the casino is going on is native village of land, so two separate things completely. When we started the conversation earlier, I said there is a difference between the corporation and the village.
And so that thing, I think this conversation gets commingled with a lot of native corporations. A lot of people are always saying, why aren't the corporations paying more for the social services in their village? And, I mean, that's a...
debate and a discussion many of my friends who are native had have conversations with me and they've explained the tension and the rub because a lot of people believe that the corporation should be investing more in the village but they are two separate organizations and remember the corporate corporations exist to make benefits for their shareholders. So they're not into social services often. And so this is interesting. I mean, this is kind of.
I would say within Native politics, this is an interesting dynamic and tension that you see often that many of my friends have explained to me over and over again. But there's the question. That is the big debate that is going on right now in... The Chuyak, Birchwood area is this casino that they put in. Basically, a couple trailers that they pushed together and called a casino.
On a mud pad. I mean, on a mud pad. If you look at that pad that they're on also. So then that makes me wonder how many actual native allotments are in the included area because it being separate things, that tells me because the allotments. you picked your allotment, you went, I want that piece of land, I want that piece of land. If they didn't pick them in that area, makes me wonder again. You know, it's a far more...
robust discussion than I think we have time for today. But it is an interesting one. So if you live in the Chuggiak-Birchwood area, that is what's going on right now. Yes, they have claimed they've opened their casino. But they have no running water. They are not hitched up to a sewer system, apparently. So it's unclear how they're going to dispose of their wastewater. It looks like porta-potties for now. and it's only by invitation, and they're only letting eight people in at a time. Again,
What does this have to do with? This is clear what this has to do with. This has to do with them getting a foothold in so they can say it was established. That way it's harder for it to be stopped. I mean, that's... That's the reason they did it, let's be honest. I mean, it's obvious. So there we have it. All right, we're going to switch gears a little bit, and we're going to take a quick break. But when we come back, I know you have missed audio from Nancy Pelosi.
So I feel like she has words of wisdom that she could share with us that we're going to play with you, play for you, with you, for you, whatever, next. Stay with us. You're listening to live, local, and always insightful Morning Drive Radio with Amy Demboski on NewsRadio 650 KENI. Get on the show now by calling 907-522-0650. Welcome back. Current time, 720 on this glorious Wednesday morning. Under the leadership of Donald Trump, we are about to embark on a golden new age, and how do we do that?
by President Trump's nominees being confirmed so they can take the helm of money of these departments and get the ball rolling, right? It's time to get to work. Roll your sleeves up, get to work. So we've been tracking a lot of these confirmation hearings, and we said this when it first started. So Pete Hegseth, you know, started to run the tables. He was the first one out of the gates, and he was getting a lot of resistance, you know.
The resistance is strong, so they think. And what do they come out with? They come out with the same typical tired Kavanaugh crap, right? Oh, he assaulted this person. Oh, wait a minute. They had consensual relations. I'm making up new words now. But then they try to say, okay, he's a womanizer. Okay, he's a drunk.
Okay, he's a this. They're just trying to make things stick. So I started thinking about this last night. And I think, you know, really, Nancy Pelosi has some wisdom for us. And sometimes, you know, Even a blind squirrel can find a nut. So we've got to look around and say, OK, well, what does Nancy have to say about this issue? What does she have to say in general about politics? Let's listen to this, Daryl.
down hospitals and the rest of it so they don't want them to see that contrast so they focus on something else and it's a diversionary tactic it's a self-fulfilling problem you demonize and then you it we call it the wrap-up smear if you want politics called the wrap-up smear you smear somebody with falsehoods and all the rest and then you merchandise it and then you write it and they'll say see it's reported in the press that this this this and this
So they have that validation that the press reported the smear, and then it's called the wrap-up smear. Now I'm going to merchandise the press's report on the smear that we made. And it's a tactic. And it's self-evident. But I think I'm worth the trouble. Huh. So they have something called a wrap-up smear. So imagine that, Adam Schiff, you pack a fake story.
into the media, you leak it, right? We've seen multiple politicians do this over the years, right? Multiple politicians. You plant a fake story. And then the media reports on it. And then the politicians refer back to the media story without any evidence. And they use the media story that was planted. as the evidence of wrongdoing to demonize, to weaponize, and destroy your opponents. Huh. Who do we see this happening to right now? Pete Hegseth. Yep.
Article this morning, actually it was last night, Hegseth's ex-wife disputes claims from a strange ex-sister-in-law that there was no physical abuse in my marriage. Okay, so here's what has happened. Pete Hegseth, ex-sister-in-law, has come out now and circled to some of the senators that are voting in this that Pete Hegseth used to abuse his wife, his ex-wife.
Now remember, all these people were interviewed by the FBI, right, for his background check, and the FBI investigation came back unremarkable. You know what that means? Yeah, there's nothing. There's nothing. He didn't sexually assault that woman that he slept with. It was consensual years ago. He's not a drunk at work. He didn't beat his wife.
But now NBC News is starting to report, oh, well, you know, according to this Breitbart article, Pete Hegg says, Alex's wife has now disputed claims made by an estranged ex-sister-in-law that she was abused during... the marriage, a fact now being downplayed by mainstream news media and Democrats in a last-ditch effort to tank Hegs' confirmation as defense secretary. Samantha Dearing, Hegs' ex-wife, said in an email to NBC...
who first reported the ex-sister-in-law's claims, quote, I do not believe your information to be accurate, and I have CC'd my lawyer. There was no physical abuse in my marriage. This is the only further statement I will make to you. So the ex-wife was like, yeah, I wasn't abused. Didn't happen. There was no abuse in my marriage. Didn't happen. But I saw further in another article, the ex-sister-in-law has come out and said,
Well, in fact, you know, I'm making this because I've been told if I come out and say this statement that it'll probably, effectively, I'm paraphrasing, tank his confirmation because there's some senators that are still on the fence. Lisa Morgowski. Right? So, again, nonsense. This is the same crap Kavanaugh went through. They make stuff up. The news reports it. Like, it's this big sensational thing. Not true. It's all meant to spear.
Pelosi's own words, right? You demonize somebody. You smear them with falsehoods. Then you merchandise it. You run it through the mainstream media. And then the senators will refer to the media story as their basis for why they're going to tank somebody or why they're not going to vote for something or whatever. Now, there's an opposite side to this also to the wrap-up smear. There's a flip side of it. Think about this.
But Joe Biden daughter had a diary that specifically said in it that her dad did things that were not I'm not even going to say them on the air but things that were not to be done it was in her diary they sued the person who stole the diary so in other words it was a real diary and yet the media did not talk about it they hid that
Fact. Also, the Hunter Biden laptop. One place to put out the story. Everybody else, it's a lie. It's a lie. It's a lie. It's the exact opposite of the smear. Take the truth and tell everybody it's a lie. And then, oh, what do you mean? No, look, they already reported it was a lie. You know, but we've got this information. So there's that two sides of the same coin that they use. You're exactly right. I'm looking at Senator Sheehy. He's from Montana, I think. I really like him.
Yeah, he's a strong supporter of his stuff, and he posted on... On X, this is a desperate last-minute attempt by Dems and the media to smear Pete Hegstaff and tank his nomination. Pete's ex-wife is on record saying the claims are false, but the media doesn't care because it hurts a Republican. Nobody should fall for it. for this. Rachel Bade, it goes on to say, she has a post on here that says, curious, hmm.
She adds that part of her reason for coming forward is because, here's a quote, because I have been assured that making this public statement will ensure that certain senators who are still on the fence will vote against Higgs as confirmation, end quote. So this is from the ex-sister-in-law. That part is from the ex-sister-in-law. It was reposted by, again, Rachel Bade. That's where I pulled it from, that quote. But again, I look at it, and I'm like, okay, again.
Why is anybody trusting the media these days? Well, same reason that everybody has a Nazi salute. Right, right, right. So I look at, again, this is propaganda. This is propaganda designed to throw off a nominee. I mean, the Dems are going to play these games, and it's really going to tick me off if Republicans don't get it together. Because if Republicans just vote in a block, it's not going to matter. It's going to be done.
We have 53 Republicans. There is zero reason all these nominees should be confirmed. Just this morning, I was just listening to John Thune just a few minutes ago. the majority leader in the Senate. And he is not happy. Why is he not happy? Because Democrats now have blocked the CIA director's confirmation hearing. Thune vows to hold weekend votes. What have they done? Senate Democrats on Tuesday blocked the final vote.
confirmed President Donald Trump's nominee for CIA director. That's John Radcliffe. This is coming out of JustTheNews.com. On Tuesday, they blocked a quick final vote for Radcliffe after the Chamber's Intelligence Committee approved his nomination in a 14- three votes, forcing a roll call vote on procedural motions that are typically approved with less than a formal voice vote. According to Punchbowl News, South Dakota's Governor
Mike Rounds says the move was payback for Senate Republicans doing the same to Democrats when they had a chamber majority. You know, again, when you look at, Radcliffe was not one who people thought was going to be controversial. They thought, okay, CIA Director Radcliffe, he's going to probably just zoom through confirmations. He is not one who is going to fail. He is going to pass.
This is just like one of those procedural annoyances just to irritate people. And you're going to see this over and over again. Look, there will be people that are desperate with some of these confirmation hearings. in order to try to block people. They are going to be desperate to try to block Kash Patel. There's no doubt about it. They will do everything in their power to try to block Kash Patel. Make no mistake about it. Why?
Because Kash Patel is going to be able to actually uncover deep state secrets. And they know it. Why? Because he knows the game. He used to be a DOJ prosecutor. He played the game. He's the one who uncovered the whole Russia conclusion dossier. He followed the money, the whole abuse of the FISA court. Kash Patel, he's the one who was able to uncover it.
Do you honestly think they want him in charge of the FBI? Not a chance. They're just warming up with Hegseth and Radcliffe. Radcliffe is just to annoy Republicans. They know they're not going to tank his confirmation. But now Thune is saying, you know what? You're going to do this. We're going to be here this weekend, and we're going to vote on it this weekend. Okay, cool. You know, if Thune was serious, he could actually just, you know.
Like, bring them through in a tranche together. He could just whisk them through. But again, is Thune one that we totally trust? No. No. No. So, again, you've got to watch some of these squirrely Republicans, too. But Thuna's going to stand strong on Radcliffe.
Right. There's no question he's going to stand strong on Radcliffe. Hicksteth, I think, is going to get through. Just wait. The fun is really going to start when Kash Patel is up. All right. We're going to take a quick break. We'll be right back. Amy Demboski, 628 Mornings on News Radio 650, KENI. Call now, 907-522-0650. You know, we've had a lot of discussion about Trump's executive orders and his policy direction to put America first to unleash.
energy and development and security for the United States of America. And Alaska is central to his strategy. And when we unleash Alaska's energy resources, not only Are we getting Alaska jobs? Not only are we filling Alaskan coffers, but we are strengthening the country because we are becoming energy independent versus being dependent on a hostile foreign actor. And it's interesting to me because as you look at Trump's executive orders, his executive order relating to Alaska is broad sweeping.
It is everything we have been saying for the past 20 years we're wanting. It is to develop oil and gas resources, mining potential, timber potential. All of these things. It's to have control of our waterways. It is all of these things. And you would think this is something Republicans and Democrats could get together with in the Alaska legislature.
I've got to be honest with you. Again, I started the show today, and this is kind of what got me fired up a little when I read this last night. Alaskan legislators. I feel like... At times, you are given the golden goose. And you could just squander it away. You know, there's a great bumper sticker about just give us one more oil boom. We promise we won't waste it this time. I'm cleaning it up a little for radio.
But Susanna has an article up in Mustard, Alaska. Senator Giesel throws cold water on Trump's historic Alaska orders. Quote, we aren't a colony to be pillaged. End quote. I can't even. Like, I can't even. What happened to her? What happened to her? I don't even recognize her anymore, to be honest with you. She used to be a hardcore resource development, pro-resource development. Republican. And she's been assimilated by the board.
Senator Kathy Giesel of Anchorage, once considered a pro-energy, pro-mining, small-government Republican, had some words for President Trump after his executive order opening back up Alaska's economic building blocks of energy, mining, and timber. In response to a question from a reporter about the Trump announcement, Giesel didn't have one good word to say. Quote, I think it's important for us to think about the fact that we're not a colony to be pillaged.
And by throwing open all of the regulations related to resource development, we could be jeopardizing our lands and waters." Alaska has some of the strictest environmental rules and regulations. We develop resources more responsibly in Alaska than I would argue any place on earth. Who do you think does it better? Alaska or China? Alaska or Russia? Alaska or Ukraine? Who do you think does it better? If you really care about the environment.
What has happened to Kathy Giesel? Like, it's mind-boggling to me. I remember Judy Elledge going door to door. For Kathy Giesel when she was running against Vinnie the Union boss. I remember Kathy grabbing that wallet from her husband saying, this is your PFD money. Like, again. Please don't fit the stereotype and make us once again be disappointed in an Alaska politician. Now, I'm not saying I'm the biggest Kathy Giesel fan, but what I am saying is...
She is unrecognizable from 10 years ago. As a politician, she has completely gone to the dark side. All right, we're going to go to the phones. Let's start with Dr. Farr. Good morning, ma'am. Hey, good morning. Hey, it's really, really important that we put pressure on Senator Murkowski and also Sullivan to confirm all of these appointments.
I'm really excited about RFK. I think he could do a tremendous amount of good here in this country exposing some of the fake studies and different things like that, not only on medicines but vaccines. environmental law, all the different things that are contaminating our food supplies. And I think he could have tremendous good results for the country. And so I really do not want to see his appointment blocked.
And then I do have a few questions about this Jeanette Niswatt that was Surgeon General nominee. She apparently was really in favor of vaccines and lockdowns, and so I think she needs to be asked some hard questions. Her social media and information on the Internet has basically been wiped, so it's very difficult to tell her stance.
I think that we need to take a really hard look at her. The other thing that I wanted to mention was that when Trump was introducing Stargate yesterday, One of those big CEOs, I think it was Larry, was saying that he wanted to integrate all medical records across the United States So a person in one state could look and see what people in other states and cities were, how they were treating people. And my antennas were raised. I mean, what happened to HIPAA? What happened to privacy?
I'm just really concerned about national integration of medical records. I mean, I am in favor of getting information out on Internet about different treatment protocols and not having them censored like they were during COVID. I'm 100% in favor of that, but I'm really concerned about national integration of medical records. So of all the different things that Trump was involved in, that's one that kind of...
raised my hackles a little bit. And the other thing that I am concerned about was I know this hostage deal was kind of forced through. I'm glad the hostages are being released, but the release of almost 2,000 murderers and terrorists. really concerns me. You know, Syria was taken over with about 10,000 trained men, primarily from Turkey, that are al-Qaeda, ISIS-trained. They're introducing Sharia law into this country and releasing 2,000 terrorists back into Gaza, Samaria.
is going to be a real problem for Israel, and I'm afraid it's just going to prolong the war. So we really need to pray for the people of Israel that they do get their hostages out. also that, you know, these people do not return to terrorism and can learn to live in peace with other people. Yeah, great point. Then the other thing I wanted to mention was...
It's kind of interesting because the assessed value on our properties really, really increased, which means the city gets a whole heck of a lot more money. And I tried to go on my phone to the municipal website to see how much my property had increased because... I was talking to a friend that their property value increased to $100,000. Apparently on a Girdwood Facebook post, all their property increased about 40%.
And so they've kind of blocked it, at least on the phone. You can't look back and see what your assessed value of your property was in the past. So there's some sneaky little things that are going on here in Anchorage. to raise our taxes. And then, of course, they want to add a sales tax on top of that. And it's like they're going to drive the homeowners, you know, at taxes. If they get too high, you start to have people sell their homes.
Yeah, there's no doubt about it. As I start looking here, hang on, I won't say it out loud. I'll text you. I'm looking at your property value right now. No, I was going to say, so on the website it's still up, but I'll have to see if I can find the historical. I know a couple back end ways to look, but I won't say it on the air. I'll text you if I can find it. Okay, that sounds great.
All right. Sounds good. Thank you so much for your call, Dr. Afar. I appreciate you. Okay. Thank you. All right. Bye-bye. Bye. All right. Well, you know, here's the thing. Look, this is how property tax happens, right? And, look, you'll get your assessment from the borough, wherever you live, or the municipality of Anchorage if you live in Anchorage, Fairbanks, you know, city of Fairbanks, borough.
You will get your assessment from the governing, you know, government body, whatever it is, wherever you live. And then your tax assessment, obviously, there's two ways property tax. Property tax bill goes up. One, if your assessed value goes up and your mill rate stays the same, you're still going to pay more in taxes. Or two, your mill rate goes up.
right so those are the two ways your property taxes typically go up is if the mill rate is raised or your assessment goes up and so you people have to take a critical eye on their assessments and they have to pay attention to those because If you don't, you don't have an opportunity after the fact. There's a certain window of time when your property assessment comes out that you can dispute it. So, for example, and when I was on the assembly, I helped people navigate.
the appeal of the property assessment many many times Sometimes in Anchorage, I think you have to pay a nominal fee to do an appeal, but if you win your appeal, I think it's $100. You get your money back. Sometimes you have to have actual property abrasial done.
on your property and it might cost you 500 bucks to get it done but have a realtor come out do a property appraisal and then you can dispute your property so that's like the easiest way to do it so if you get an assessment on your property and you feel like it's inappropriate it's too high you can take your property appraisal
go in and appeal it, and then most times they will reduce your property to whatever your appraisal says, right? That's typically how they do it in Anchorage. And I dealt with one resident. I'm not kidding you. Three years in a row. They kept trying to bring his property up like $200,000. It was ridiculous. And he kept having to produce that, you know, two years in a row they used the same, you know, realtor assessed value.
And then the third year, he had to get another one because they're like, oh, it's too dated. But he fought it three years in a row, and he won. And then the fourth year, they didn't come back at him. The reality is you have to be, you are your best first line of defense. So when you get your property assessment, if you look at it and you say, that is not what my property is worth, if you don't fight it,
It's going to be the standard moving forward. So I recommend that everybody watches your little green card come in the mail. When you get your property assessment, if you do not think it's appropriate, appeal it. Like, I sit on the Board of Adjustments out here in the Mat-Zoo borough, and that's what we do. For a whole month after the property taxes come out, we hear appeals for a whole month.
There's a whole bunch of people that will come and say, you know, this isn't right, and these are the reasons why I think your assessment is incorrect. Sometimes the property owner wins, sometimes they don't. But you have to make your case as to why the assessor's got it wrong. All right? So that's just, again,
Property assessment, if you go to their website, every borough has one. If you want to appeal your property assessment, I recommend you do that. But you have a very short window. You have like 30 days. Typically, you have a short window. to do it. And if you miss the deadline, you miss the deadline. All right, we're going to take a quick break. We'll be right back. Welcome back to live, local, and insightful Morning Drive Radio on NewsRadio 650 KENI.
All right, so for all of our friends that live in the municipality of Anchorage that are now piqued their curiosity relating to property tax assessments. Okay, when you go to muni.org, there's all these little graphics. Scroll down to property tax information, and there's a little house with a dollar sign on it. You click on that, and then you click on property appraisal division.
You click on that. And then once you click on that, you'll click on Search Properties. And then it brings you up to a screen where it says owner name. So then you put in the owner's name.
when you get in the owner's name, hang on, I'm doing it, then when you come to a certain page, it'll pop up a whole bunch of names, and then you click on the right property, and when you get to the property tax information page, to the left there's a whole like ticker of options that you can pick pick values history when you pick values history it shows you the history of all your properties so you can see you know from 2017 to 2025 every single year with
They valued your land at and your building at. And then you can see the rise in it. So that's kind of how you find it if you're still listening. All right. Well, Daryl, as we kind of wrap up today's show. I have to tell you, we were just talking about the Alaska legislature and we were talking about potential
What we expect this year, look, the legislature is going to do the same thing. The Dems are in control of the Alaska legislature, but they don't have super majorities, which means they're going to have to work with the minorities, the Republicans in the House. 19 strong in the Senate they're six strong which means to get that
CBR vote, the Constitutional Budget Reserve vote, they're going to have to pull the Republicans along. Otherwise, they're not going to be able to break into the CBR. So that's good. The governor has enough Republicans to uphold any veto he issues. That's good. So the reality is they're going to pass a ridiculous increase based on allocation, likely with no accountability. That's going to happen. They're going to pass a return to defined benefits.
that is in a system that's already $6 billion in the hole. But they're going to pass it. They probably won't tell you how they're going to pay for it, but Daryl did give them an idea earlier. Sign us up for Powerball. That's one idea. Powerball making millions. That's better than an income tax. I'm just putting it out there. So those things are all going to happen, and there will be lots of drama, and we will talk about the Alaska legislature as things kick off this year.
Look, they're in session. They've gaveled in. We'll see what comes of it. But Donald Trump has given them an outrageous opportunity to make Alaska not just competitive, but dominant on a global stage when it comes to our energy production, our opportunity for Alaskans. If the legislature messes this up,
I don't even know what to say anymore. Like, this is a golden opportunity. I feel like it's Willy Wonka and we've gotten the golden ticket. I like that analogy. Please just don't screw it up. Please just don't mess it up. Like, let's get on board. Let's get on board. Let's control our own destiny. Let's drill baby drill. That's what I'm saying. Let's drill baby drill. Watch out for Veruca Giesel. Oh, my word.
Kathy Giesel. I can't even believe. Again, I don't even recognize this politician. It's not the politician that I knew years ago. But what are you going to do? I mean, time will tell. Hopefully days are numbered. We'll see. We'll see. All right, that does it for Daryl and I today. We will be back with you bright-eyed and bushy-tailed tomorrow morning at 6 a.m. Until then, stay safe. God bless.