I love my presets. The preset features dynamite. Love it. And I've been telling all my friends about it. They're on the app. Get in on what everyone's talking about and get the new and improved free iHeartRadio app today. 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 KPNI. 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 Thursday, March 20th, the first day of spring officially. Not just Amy wishing it to be, but it is officially the first day of spring. And I got to tell you, Daryl, I drove home yesterday and I can already see I have a little late desk. covering as snow on my yard but i can already see brown grass peeking through so by the end of today i guarantee i'm going to be able to see my whole lawn so you have fire season i am ready for it
Bring it on. I'm very excited for it. I looked at my weather station this morning, 34.8. In Palmer. That's really nice. It was 28 here in Anchorage. I mean, some places were not even as low as 26. It's froze up. Everything that was melted yesterday has now froze up on us. But I got to say, you want to know how much of a geek I am? Okay.
Oh, I already know, but please do share. You and I are kismet twins. At 1 o'clock last night, my alarm went off. I got up, walked outside, looked up at the sky, welcomed the new... vernal equinox and spring and went back inside to go to bed because it actually started at 105 a.m. I love it. I love it. Look at you. I love that passion.
I love it. I love it. What can I say? Look, there's a reason we get along. I keep saying I'm Daryl in a dress. I'm sorry. No, I didn't. You say that. It reminds me of Hillary Clinton. You know, I have to say, you know, so today when I looked at the weather, I wanted to look at everybody's high temps for today. Okay, so let's run down the weather. Right now, it's now, oh, it just changed. Right now, it's 34.9 in Palmer.
And the high today is said to be about 43. Kenai is checking in at 24 with their high today said to be 43. Big Lake is 31 with a high today of 47. Wow. Fairbanks right now is negative 5, but their high is supposed to be 38. That's a huge. For one day, that's, what, 45 degrees in a few hours? Nice. Look at that.
Look at that. So what I'm saying is, see, I keep saying this too shall pass. The snow's going to melt. And you know what I did for, I know, people curse me when I do it. But I washed my car last night. I couldn't stand it. So you're trying to get Raina. I washed.
I literally, I almost did. I came really close. I was at the car wash. Well, I was next to the car wash. I wasn't actually at the car wash, but I was next to it, and I thought about it. So for me, that qualifies as actually washing the car. Otherwise, I don't even let that pass. Okay, let's use your theory for a minute.
If you're close to it, but you don't actually execute, I don't know that that counts. Because think about this. If you think about filing your taxes, but you don't actually do it, does the IRS consider them filed? I don't think. I was right next to it. Touche, touche, touche. So, yeah.
To prep you, though, on your melting theory, you are 100% right. Because my yard, remember yesterday I sent you those pictures of my yard and how much snow. Oh, my gosh. You had so much snow. Amy, I've got this much snow in my yard now. Like an inch? Like inch and a half. Oh my gosh. Well, you know, that's what I say. It's going to melt. It's going to be beautiful. It's going to be a glorious spring. I suspect it's going to be a little dirty.
Especially if we get some volcanic ash that, you know, falls this way. Hopefully the wind shifts. And I don't want to wish this upon my Kenai friends, but I don't want it. So I'm more than willing to share. How about we just send it to the Tortadella Mountains? We can send it back to the ocean. Like, just out that way. by the ocean oh wait i got distracted yeah yeah she's just like what
Well, you know, I have to laugh. Yesterday at the Senior Center we had a resident meeting to discuss, you know, operational. uh operational changes and responses should there be a volcanic eruption and ash land in anchorage and i laugh because uh one of our board members who actually lives at the senior center He brought down his Bluetooth speaker, and like a couple minutes before the meeting started, he was playing Jimmy Buffett. I don't know what I'm going to do when the volcano blows.
See, I like that guy. It was hilarious. It was really fun. And people got up and they were dancing. And, you know, I got to tell you. So, you know. Always do not panic. Have a plan. You know, the world's not going to end. There's lots of good information if you go to the state website, ready.alaska.gov. There's lots of information that you can go to.
You know right now we are hearing that there are every everywhere. Yeah, we're hearing is that there's you know there's been a run on car filters which we expected so i would recommend that you go online and probably get them online because supplies are short yes supplies are short apparently throughout South Central, at least in the Mat-Su and in Anchorage area. We're hearing supplies are short, so you'll probably have the best luck if you go online.
But as we watch the volcano observatory, you know, we see a steady and increasing trajectory towards a likely eruption. So we'll keep monitoring it.
letting everybody know but of course during times of active asphalt it's best if you can stay inside right and limit your exposure especially people with breathing issues if you're going to go outside you know if you wear contacts for example you probably want to switch to glasses or wear goggles you probably want to wear a mask and long-sleeved shirt make sure you know you're not getting
extra exposure to an irritant that could irritate the skin which of course is ash so it's just basic stuff really and uh like in our commercial building for example we will end up going through and turning off all of our air intakes And so the kitchen hood has to be shut. And all of our air intakes are going to be shut. So, I mean, it's just basic stuff, really. Make sure your windows and doors are closed.
If you have asthma, it's a good idea to double-check your prescriptions to make sure your inhalers are still good and you don't need refills on those. If you have other breathing issues, you want to make sure you are supplied on your medications or any medications, really. Say you have a heart condition, you probably don't want to go out driving to go refill your prescriptions during action.
of ash fall so it's all those kind of little things you think about and think about okay if I'm if I'm if stuck in my house for two or three days until the dust settles and in this case the ash settles You know, what would I like to have? And I recommend stocking up on ice cream. That's always a good comfort for many people. You know, so it's just the little things.
But we are hearing, too, from our outreach nurse yesterday, she said every place that she checked in Eagle River was out of pantyhose. It's a really important thing. I'm telling you, man. It really does help. It really does. Especially if it's going to be a Pompeii plan. Yeah, right. So for those that maybe didn't hear our discussion about pantyhose, Daryl, can you give us a quick rundown on what role pantyhose could play during a volcanic eruption?
Also, I always use pantyhose just because they're bigger and you can literally cut them in half and have two. But you take your pantyhose or your nylon and you wrap the air filter in your vehicle or any air ports in your vehicle with the nylon doubler.
triple wrap it but don't stretch it too far and then put it back into place it's an extra barrier for that ash to try to get through before it plugs up your filter because if it gets caught in the nylon you can tap the nylon and I just did a hand tap so that Amy could see it And the ash will fall out before it actually gets into your filter. So it gives you longer breathing life. And like I said, you just got to jump out, bop it.
Put it back in. You'll get a little bit of extra room out of it. But again, don't recommend a lot of driving because that ash will get into your system. It'll scar your cylinders. Not a good thing. Yeah. So, I mean, the reality is the... The quick lube type places are going to be busy after volcanic eruptions, right? They're going to be changing filters. They're going to be doing oil changes. And it's going to hit during tire changeover season.
make for a busy you know place if you're in the auto industry I'm sure so again it's just preparation is is one of those things that gives you comfort and obviously will make your life a little easier so they don't know exactly when, obviously, the eruption is going to occur. They don't know the intensity of the eruption. They don't know which way the wind is going to blow. So this could be preparation for nothing.
which I don't think that ever happens. I think preparation is always good because then you're ready for the next one. But you could have a scenario where it blows once and it doesn't hit Anchorage or it hits Anchorage completely because of the wind. And you could have an eruption that lasts a couple of days. So we just don't know yet.
You know, like I was very lucky because one of our residents is a retired geologist. He actually was a professor at the University of, oh, I think it was Ohio for a number of years. And so we had a big lesson on volcanic eruptions yesterday. And so as he was talking about it, he said the magma chamber within the volcano could collapse and you could get basically not very much.
But, you know, you just don't know. You just don't know how it's going to react. So, again, we don't know. But if you want more information, I like to just direct people to the Alaska website, which is ready.alaska.gov. And that's a great website for all Americans. preparedness starting points I know the Anchorage Emergency Operations Center at the municipality of Anchorage also has a page but again
I really just like to go to the state website because they have tons of great information on there. So, again, that's ready.alaska.gov. All right, I'm going to go ahead and take my break now. I know I used my time today as a PSA for... for the volcano. So we're going to go ahead and take our first break of the morning. If you'd like to call in, be part of the show, 522-0650. We'll be right back.
Looking at your Alaska total traffic cameras for this Thursday morning. Still light traffic inbound on the Glen Highway. Roads are a bit slippery out there. We are back under freezing again. So all that wins than TV, digital, even social. Learn how radio can help your business at iHeartAdvertising.
Happy first day of spring. We'll see some sunshine throughout the day, calling it mostly sunny to partly cloudy skies with those temperatures set to warm into the upper 30s and lower 40s. We'll stay with a stretch of 40s into the weekend and next week. meteorologist, Neera Morson. Welcome back.
Time 622 this morning. I would be remiss if I didn't give you a quick update on some of the community meetings that are happening. I know I said I used my PSA time for the volcano, but I'm doing this too. So it's really quick. There's not a lot of public meetings today.
There is a Platting Board meeting at 1 o'clock today in the Mat-Zoo Borough at the Borough Building. The South Connick River Community Council has a meeting tonight at 7 p.m. That's at the South Connick River Community Council Building. And then there is a, hang on, let me just get to it. There's a Westlake's local road service area advisory board meeting tonight at 7 p.m. in the Mat-Su.
It looks like it's going to be at Station 73, so the West Lakes Fire Department, and they have a Zoom link. If you need more information, go to the Matsu website, matsugov.us. Tonight, the airport advisory commission for the city of Wasilla has been canceled. No other meetings there. Tonight, there's also a planning commission meeting in the city of Palmer. That'll be at the council chambers, 6 p.m. If you need more information, go to palmerak.org.
in the municipality of anchorage today for the 20th we do have a couple of meetings there's a planning and zoning commission special meeting that's going to be via teams If you want more information, that'll actually be today, not tonight. It'll be at 10 a.m. today. So if you need more information, go to muni.org, click on the Mayor's tab, then click on the Events tab, and it'll bring you to planning. and zoning, all the boards and commissions actually.
At 1130 this morning, there's a Solid Waste Recycling Advisory Commission meeting for Anchorage. That will be at 1208 East 56th Avenue in the second floor conference room. There's an AMATS policy committee meeting today at 1 o'clock. City Hall in room 632. I mean, I'm sorry, 632 West 6th Avenue in the eighth floor conference room. So it's in the mayor's conference room. That'll be again at one o'clock.
Also for today in Anchorage, there's a Board of Ethics meeting via Zoom at 4 o'clock. Also today, there's a Historic Preservation Commission meeting in Anchorage at 5.30. That will be in the Planning and Development Center. That's 4700 Elmore Road in Anchorage, room 170. They also have a Microsoft Teams link if you're interested. Last but not least, for boards and commissions, the Anchorage Equal Rights Commission has a regular...
meeting today at 7 p.m. It's an in-person meeting. It'll be held at the Anchorage Public Library in the Moose Room. For the Anchorage Assembly, they have Anchorage's Coordinated Response to Homelessness Summit starting at 9 a.m. at the south central foundation in the nuka learning institute which is located at 4085 tudor center drive in anchorage then at 11 o'clock there's an infrastructure enterprise and utility committee meeting
That's going to be at City Hall Conference Room 155. And that does it for them for today. For the city of Kenai, there is a Kachemak Emergency Service Area board meeting from 6 to 7 at Kachemak Fire Station No. 1. If you need more information, just go to kpb.us. As far as the city of Kenai,
Kenai goes, there's nothing today on their calendar. Seldotna has an airport commission meeting tonight that looks like, let me just see if I can see, 5.30 p.m. It'll be in the city council chambers in Seldotna. And then last but not least, for the City of Homer, starting at 4.30, there's a Parks, Recreation, and Cultural Advisory Commission work session starting at 4.30.
followed by their regular meetings starting at 5.30. Of course, this will be in Cowell's Council Chambers, located in Homer City Hall. They have a Zoom and a phone participation link, so if you need more information, just go to City of Homer hyphen. a k dot g o v that's really it for our public announcements for this morning so let's go to the phones now and randy is with us good morning sir good morning young lady and bill
I've been up most of the night myself. I didn't want to... Anyway, I was trying to take a good basketball joke. It was really hard at this time because this is March Madness. But here goes. Why do you want a triangle on your basketball team? Why do you want a triangle on your basketball team? I don't know why. You want a lot of three-pointers. That's a solid basketball joke. Why do you want a triangle on your basketball team? Because you want a lot of three-pointers. I love it.
That is a solid basketball joke. You know, I played basketball all through my childhood. So for 12 years, 13 years, somewhere in there, I played basketball. So I can relate, and I appreciate that one. Great. I can understand the angle he came at for that joke, so I like it. Here he goes. You get a lot of hoops to jump through. Here it goes. It just keeps going. Y'all have a good day.
Happy pre-fight. Yeah, that's it. Happy first day of spring, Randy. Thank you so much for the call. I appreciate it. That was a solid basketball joke right there. Well, you know, Darrell, getting into some of the news, you know, I am one who believes if you hold a position of public trust, you should be held to a very high standard. And I will tell you, I was not...
I was not impressed when I read a Must Read Alaska article from yesterday. A former Alaska mayor sentenced for unlawful interference with elections. All right, the headline's not bad. But when you get into the nuts and bolts of it, former pilot station mayor Arthur Samary Heckman, Sr., 68, has been sentenced for a felony conviction for unlawful interference with an election. Heckman pled guilty on November 14th, was sentenced to 12 months of incarceration.
with all of the time suspended and five years of probation by a Bethes Superior Court Judge Nathaniel Peters. Peters emphasized that the sentencing aimed to support rehabilitation Deter future misconduct and restore public trust in local government. I'm telling you right now, sentence doesn't do it. when you're not even like basically you get a slap on the wrist no jail time you're an elected official you are the mayor and you're convicted of a felony felony campaign, and what did he do?
Heckman was initially indicted in July 2024 on eight felony and eight misdemeanor charges related to election misconduct in 2022 and 2023, pilot station municipal elections. The charges stem from his time as acting mayor. following the death of Mayor Nikki Myers in 2022. According to Pilot Station Municipal Code, Heckman was to serve as acting mayor only until October 22nd's municipal election, after which a newly-seeded council would elect a mayor.
Instead, he took deliberate actions to obstruct the election process immediately after October 22nd's election. He directed the city clerk to lock away the ballots and prevent them from being counted. The following year, in October of 2023, he instructed the clerk not to hold an election at all, allowing him to remain in power. And he basically... got really, let's be honest, no significant punishment. So he basically wanted to stop elections from happening.
at all, whatsoever. He locked up the ballot and said, no, you can't hold the next election. Like, this is incredible. The misconduct was reported to the Office of Special Prosecutions and the Alaska State Troopers by concerned residents of Pilot Station, including late City Council member Anita Myers and local government specialists in the region the case was investigated
and prosecuted by the state, obviously. As part of the plea agreement, the remaining charges against Heckman were dismissed. He avoided immediate jail time and received a slapdown on the wrist probation for felony conviction. I mean, I will be honest with you. I have no sympathy whatsoever for judges and people that hold elected office that break the law. Zero.
why because i believe they should be held to a higher standard i think i've told this story on the air before but i was in a position where i used to be on the judicial conduct commission and there was a judge that came in front of us who falsified 13 affidavits. Intentionally, knowingly falsified 13 affidavits. Now you're a judge.
And I asked one of the judges on the council, you know, what would happen to me if I came into your courtroom and I falsified an affidavit? And they said, well, you'd go to jail. So in my view, I think judges... and elected officials should be held to a higher standard than the general public because they hold a position of trust and that should mean something it is a disgrace
It is a disgrace. You don't restore public trust by not actually holding them accountable and frankly giving them a stiff penalty. That's my opinion. There are some people that I have worked with that I have seen their behavior knowingly violate the law. And when that happens, I don't think they should be eligible ever.
to hold a public office. Period. I have no sympathy for people that are lawbreakers, especially when they're elected officials. And in this case, when I saw this penalty, I've got to be honest, I thought it was like it made my stomach turn. I thought it was pathetic. I don't care if you give them a six-month sentence. I don't care if it's a three-month sentence. Whatever it is, they need to do time behind bars. If you are going to knowingly violate the law when it comes, especially to elections,
An election was held, and they locked up the ballots, and they refused to let them be counted? I mean, you know, the crime has to fit the punishment. In this case, when you have somebody who's holding an elected office who blocks ballots from being counted and then refuses to hold an election for a whole year, I've got to be honest with you. I have a problem with this one.
And I think the punishment clearly should be he should never be able to hold another elected office, and he should have done some jail time. That's my opinion. That is my opinion. But I will tell you, I just saw. this one and i thought i mean he didn't i didn't see in here either like community service like he should get community service he should get there should be some sort of something literally clean your hands and you're good
Yeah, this is like, okay, you admitted you did something wrong. All right, we're going to call it good. I mean, basically, don't do it again. Well, he probably is not going to do it again because he's probably not going to hold elected office again. But that's it. I mean, no community service crazy. All right, we're going to take a quick break. We'll be right back. This is NewsRadio 650, KENI.
Anchorage. The University of Alaska is shutting down its diversity center and removing its chief diversity officer following President Trump's ban on federal funding for DEI programs. UA President Pat Pitney announced Monday the university is closing its diversity division in Fairbanks and retiring.
diversity officer in response to what it calls a changing federal landscape. The Alaska Department of Health is reporting an increase in flu cases in the state. The number of reported flu cases actually went down last week, but Alaska epidemiologist Dr. Joe McLaughlin says Alaska's numbers for this winter
season are higher than the previous three seasons and sitka voters will decide on a proposal limiting the number of cruise ship passengers in the city the president of the non-profit small town soul says the number of passengers on some cruise ships surpassed the population of sitka which is around That's the latest. I'm John Fink. News Radio 650 KENI, your pipeline to the world.
Lock in Fox Sports Radio is your number one preset on the iHeartRadio app. For the hottest takes, we're going to have a 72-team tournament in the next couple of years. And complete tournament coverage. Plus, binge on-demand podcasts with The Dan Patrick Show. The Herd with Colin Cowherd. and more. From tip-off to the final buzzer, search college basketball on the iHeartRadio app to stay in the know. Reach out to Amy now. 907-522-0650.
That's 907-522-0650. It's Amy DeBosky on NewsRadio 650 KENI. Welcome back. Current time, 640. We have to go back to this discussion about the pilot station issue. You know... As we look at this mayor, so effectively there is a mayor of Pilot Station. His name was Arthur Sammy Heckman, Sr. And effectively they had an election. and he had the clerk lock up the ballots so they couldn't be counted. And then it went a whole year, and then he tried to block the next election from happening.
So he could basically stay in power. And then, you know, the state, obviously, there were people, residents within, and the state opened it, you know. did an investigation and effectively charged him with four felonies, four misdemeanors, I think it was four, no, eight felonies, sorry, eight felonies, eight misdemeanors relating to it.
and effectively he got a slap on the wrist. No real punishment. It's basically he got a sentence, but his sentence was suspended, and it was put on five years of probation. That's it. The judge says, oh, no, this will be a deterrence. But you know the crazy part about this? He's done this kind of stuff before because in the article, it says right here, In a statement, Heckman apologized to the community but claimed he did not understand that his actions were wrong. Really?
You have an election. You lock up the ballots so nobody can tally the ballots. And then you try to block the election the next year from even happening. Come on now. But it says Judge Peters, however, found this assertion lacking credit. The judge himself acknowledged that in 2013 there was a public censure. by the Calista Corporation for similar conduct during Heckman's tenure on the board of directors at Calista. So this is a repetitive event.
He's done this before, and even the judge said he finds his apology lacking, but the judge still suspends the sentence and says, oh, I think he's a good candidate for rehabilitation. This is somebody who has shown this proclivity before. He's done it, like, to do this type of behavior. Like, this makes no sense to me. Now I'm looking at the judge saying, okay, Judge Nathaniel Peters, now you should explain to the public why you gave this public official a pass.
effectively you gave them a pass in amy's mind you gave them a like i gotta get off this story because this this is one of those things like i i just do i you know like i said i believe in following the law I believe public officials should be held to a higher standard than anybody else because you are holding a position of public trust. And if you violate that trust, I believe there should be significant consequence. And that's just...
That's my view. That is absolutely my view. But what do I do? What do you do? I mean, at this point, you know, obviously it's done. But there you have it. It's a good thing to remember. There is justice, though, because, Daryl, did you see the story about Greenpeace? Oh, yes, I did. Oh, baby. I mean, this is obvious. You know, look, when we see a lot of these riots and a lot of these events that happen on the left, clearly they're coordinated.
Clearly, like we were talking about this yesterday with BLM and some of the different riots that you see, when you go through these towns and somebody has stage pallets of bricks, When you go through and you see some of these sit-ins and everybody has the exact same tent, somebody bought those tents. When you see everybody wearing the same T-shirt, somebody made those T-shirts and distributed those T-shirts. You don't just automatically.
show up with, you know, 150 T-shirts all saying the same thing. So clearly there's coordination at some level. And if you just follow the money, follow these purchases, you're going to find who's behind it. Well, Fox News has an article up, jury finds Greenpeace liable, ordered to pay hundreds of millions of dollars over the Dakota Access.
oil pipeline protest In this article, it says the environmental group Greenpeace has been ordered by a North Dakota jury to pay more than $660 million in connection with protests against the Dakota Access Pipeline's construction. Dallas-based energy transfer and subsidiary Dakota Access accused Netherlands-based Greenpeace International, Greenpeace USA, and funding arm Greenpeace Fund Incorporated of defamation, trespass, nuisance, civil...
conspiracy and other acts. Green PCSA was found liable for all counts while others were found liable for some. The damages owed will be spread out in different amounts over the three different entities. um you know as you look at this it just i gotta be honest with you it's about it's about time it's about time it says in here um greenpeace said
Here's a quote from Greenpeace. This case should alarm everyone, no matter their political inclinations. It's part of a renewed push by corporations to weaponize our courts and silence dissent. No, here's the thing. How about you can't trespass? How about you can't destroy other people's property? How about you can't disrupt business operations to the point where it costs people hundreds of millions of dollars? You could protest the building of a pipeline, do it on public.
property or your own property you don't have the right
to trespass, attack other people's property, and cause hundreds of millions of dollars of damage. You don't have the right to do that. I mean, and that's really what it comes down to. Energy transfer called Wednesday's verdict a win for Americans who understood... the difference between right to free speech and breaking the law hence my comments he goes on to say while we are pleased that Greenpeace has been held accountable for their actions against us the win really is for the people
of mandan and throughout north dakota who had to live through the daily harassment and disruptions caused by the protesters that were funded and trained by Greenpeace. Again, trained agitators, as we talk about this throughout this case, they went into detail and they outlined some of the different ways that That they could tell that it was organized like one of the things is on some of the rigs They had out there the construction equipment some of the locks were exactly the same
And they were pointing out to how, I mean, this is my point, is when you buy certain things, like you have a big protest and people are going to sit in on your property or whatever, and every single tent looks exactly the same. clearly somebody bought them in bulk, right? So you start following the actual details. If you follow the money of who purchased them, usually you'll be able to establish coordination. And one of the things that they were...
able to find in this particular case. I saw it not in this article, but I saw it in a news report. was the locks that they used to lock some of the equipment. You know, and this is my point, is when you have these that are very special locks, they were able to trace, like, basically where they came from. I'm just pointing it out. You guys need to be smarter. I think you're going to see a lot of the same stuff when it comes to Tesla.
I think you're going to see some of the same things. And I think it's appropriate, especially in the Tesla ones. Look, this is clearly politically motivated, which is one of the... which is one of the benchmarks for naming something terrorism, right? You are instilling fear in somebody by an action, and it's driven by a political ideology. That is terrorism. And seeing it domestically here in the U.S., the attack on Tesla and Tesla vehicles and Tesla owners and these different...
Tesla dealerships across the country. It's clearly politically motivated. Obviously, an attack on Elon Musk and trying to scare people. So I think it's appropriate the DOJ goes after these people for domestic terrorism. And, you know, you get caught. The reality is you're going to be facing federal charges. And unlike the state of Alaska, you're not going to get a sentence with, you know, the whole thing suspended and just be on probation. You get a federal rap. You're going to federal prison.
and you're going to do some serious time, so good on them. All right, let's go ahead and take a quick break. When we come back, we will take your calls, 522-0650. Looking at your Alaska total traffic cameras for this Thursday morning. Still light traffic inbound on the Glen Highway. Roads are a bit slippery out there. CA, a national nonprofit, offers more than 1,000 free online resources for youth and high school sports coaches, parents, students, and administrators. visit pcadevzone.org.
Well, happy first day of spring. We'll see some sunshine throughout the day, calling it mostly sunny to partly cloudy skies with those temperatures set to warm into the upper 30s and lower 40s. We'll stay with a stretch of 40s into the weekend and next week. For Alaska's weather, Source Sign Meteorologist. Now back to the boss, Amy Demboski. Call 907-522-0650 and be a part of the show on NewsRadio 650. KENI.
Welcome back. Our time is 6.54. I'm going to go straight to the phones. And Roland is with us. Good morning, sir. Good morning. Well, it's all about power. They take in... They go into these services, you know, politicians, and then they become multimillionaires in a short period of time, making $170,000 a year. And then our guys, they vote themselves a $20,000 raise. We can't say anything about it. And then not only that, the medical of the senators and all, that isn't Medicaid.
That isn't anything like that. They have their own thing. It's just rude the way they work things. You know, I still go back to the, we all remember those stories on AOC when she got elected. Here's the bartender from Queens, basically. I think it was Queens.
She gets elected to Congress. She goes to D.C. and there's all these stories, oh, woe is me, I can't even afford an apartment because D.C. is so expensive. And, you know, then all of a sudden, within three years, her net worth is... like 28 million dollars how is that possible without without something shady how is that possible unless she won the megabucks which i don't remember that story how is that possible
The thing is, they not only are corrupt because of what can happen. I mean, you know, insider trading and then just gifts that they should have to report. that buys their influence. But I'm sorry I stuttered so much, but I'm so... No, I, look, I get worked up over this stuff, too. I got to tell you, Roland, you and I are on the same page. Like, I get so irritated at that fact. Look, if you and I did half the shady stuff these people would do, we would be in the clink.
is when you're an elected office or your judge you should be held to a higher standard than the rest of the public not even If they held them to the same standard, I think some of us would be happy. I want to hold them to a standard, any standard. I mean, come on. That's much more standard. I agree with you. Because we put your trust in you. Exactly.
You are exactly right, sir. Thank you so much for your call this morning. I appreciate it very much. All right. Well, coming up next, we have Senator Mike Cronk will be joining us. I'm very excited to talk to him this legislative. session see what he's up to and see what's on his radar you're not going to want to miss this one he's one of the good ones stay with us we'll be right back
Doesn't get any better than this. Motor Trend's 2025 Truck of the Year, Ram 1500, and it wasn't even close. Engines beat KENI. Welcome back to live local and... insightful morning drive radio on NewsRadio 650 KENI. Welcome back to Hour 2 of the Amy Domboski Show, broadcasting live and local every weekday morning from 6 to 8 a.m. right here from South Central. I'm in Palmer. Daryl's in Anchorage. But between the two of us, we have a good swath of the state covered.
I want to thank everybody from listening. We have tons of callers. I mean, every day during the show, I get texts from Fairbanks to Sitka and every point in between. So we appreciate everybody who listens. You can listen live. at 6.50 a.m. if you're listening to the radio, or if you want to stream us, you can stream us at the website, 650KENI.
Or you can download the iHeart Media app. And I'll tell you what, that iHeart Media app, it takes music with you everywhere you go. Not just music, though. Also, talk radio. You can listen to Amy Demboski either in the morning, in the afternoon.
Heck, you can listen to her while you're taking your shower if you want. It's anywhere you want you can dig into. And don't forget, it's got presets now on it. They make it even easier. You put in your favorite podcast, your favorite shows, or even just your station. Click on it. It's one click. Boom. It's ready to go. Ready to go. And you know what else is ready to go? Our conversation with Senator Mike Kronk. I'm so excited to talk to him. Good morning, Senator Kronk. Good morning, Amy.
Hey, it's so great to talk to you. You know, I know it's been a busy session already. First of all, for those maybe who don't know you, you represent Senate District R, which is kind of the toke area. If you could explain to us, don't you have a little... bit of southeast fairbanks i mean your district is actually really big too yeah i mean it's the best way to describe it it's like
If you just look at one district, 36, it's like the largest district in America, the size of California. But I go from McCarthy up to Arctic Village, really down to Yukon, to Holy Cross, and then way out west towards McGrath. You know, so that encompasses Coke, Delta, Glen Allen, all the Yukon River down to Holy Cross. I got Ninana. And then West Fairbanks. So just West Airbanks is part of the district R.
Okay. Yeah, that's a huge district. I was looking at a map earlier of your district, and I'm like, I don't even know how you carry a district that big, how you, like, literally make it to the whole thing. But you make it work, but you kind of grew up out in that area. So I'm sure. you're very familiar with it and you know I'm interested to hear your perspective on the on a lot of topics today but first let's talk about what has gotten your attention to this legislative session
What are the big ticket items or the things that are kind of taking up all the oxygen in the room, so to speak, in Juneau this year? Well, obviously. education funding has taken, you know, the spotlight this year, you know, with the House passing HB 69 to send it over to the Senate. So that really is probably the spotlight.
It's the budget, right? It doesn't matter which way you look at the budget right now. We're upside down, minimum of $500 million. It's pretty much your minimum, up to $1.6 billion. Those two things are really the two spotlight items, you know, for the session. Yeah. Well, I know you sit on a lot of these committees where you talk a lot of money. And as I'm looking at this year's session, I mean, you have no shortage of important committees, whether we talk about...
natural resources, whether we're talking about fish and game, whether we're talking about finance, education. I mean, you kind of sit on all of them. So it sounds to me like you've had a busy session so far. Do you have any... legislation of your own that you're carrying this year or that you are tracking with great interest? I have a few bills in right now. One of them is a local boundary commission bill where
Right now, the Boundary Commission has no people from an unorganized borough on it, right? So I feel that, you know, no matter what, everybody should have some representation. So that bill's in the Senate right now. Hopefully we get that work through the finance. But, you know, I'm dropping a gun rights bill here. We just got right across the floor yesterday. So we'll try to work that through. And also, you know, I think I'm going to run Representative McCabe's goaltender bill.
here um so there's a few things but you know i'm my main focus is on making sure we identify legislation that's really not good for alaska um you know it just you know pop up quite a bit, and I want to make sure that we stay ahead of the curve on that kind of legislation.
Well, that makes a lot of sense. Well, I know we've had some discussion. We've had Representative McCabe on the show talking about HB. I think it was 89. I think that's Andy Josephson's bill, you know, basically his red flag law bill. So I'm happy to hear that you have. It doesn't surprise me either, actually, that you have a gun rights bill that you introduced. Because, look.
Alaskans, as you know, Alaskans are very tied to their right to bear arms and their right for self-determination in many areas. I really appreciate the fact that you are keyed in on that particular issue. I'd love to ask you a couple questions too about resource development in the state because this has become a big topic, especially with President Trump being elected. He has mentioned Alaska many, many times.
and talking about our right to develop resources and really not just for our own independence as a nation but for national security reasons. As you start to see the discussions line up in Juneau, So do you think the legislature will be in line with those goals of President Trump, or do you think that they're potentially – I know there's a lot of concern about potential new tax bills that are coming or that have been introduced.
How do you see Alaska's legislature's actions kind of aligning or kind of diverging from President Trump and the federal delegation's efforts? That's a tough question. I don't know. It appears that there's a lot of people that are just anti-Trump or pretty say anti-Governor Dunleavy when it comes to some of these issues.
And even if it's a good issue, they don't want to support it. But I do believe there's a will to make sure that we're developing our resources here, you know, across both sides, you know, especially when it comes to, you know, revenue generation, you know, for the state. And I think, you know, everybody, you know, really wants to get a firsthand, you know, view of it is listen to Senator Sullivan's joint speech today. I think he will hit it on the head of, you know, what.
President Trump has reversed and try to get our state to move forward in resource development. Yeah, I would suspect, especially in your district, I think there's probably a lot of people that either work for a resource development company or recognize the value of, you know, cheaper energy and the value to kind of be a little bit more... So I would suspect there's probably a lot of support in your district for resource development. Am I right about that?
Yeah, I mean, yeah, there is. We just recently opened a gold mine right outside of Choke called the Mansfield Mine on Tetland native land. You know, it's a big job creator. Yeah, you know, people can argue there's a lot of other people working those jobs, but you know what, if you're a local and you want a job, you pretty much have an opportunity to work.
And it wasn't really a fast-track mine because they weren't processing on site. They were trucking it. And so the trucking, you know, route obviously caused a lot of uproar of people not wanting trucks on the road. But, you know, we flipped the road. built for obviously but no matter what we we have to focus on cheap energy for all of alaska and really that comes through that natural gas pipeline if we don't if
I know the stars and moons are all aligning right now. If we don't get that done, what are we going to do? We're back to ground zero. Fairbanks will have the highest energy cost in the state of an urban area. we're really not going to fix anything. And so we really have to focus on cheap energy. With cheap energy comes opportunities, right? Absolutely.
Absolutely. Well, you know, and that's the thing, you know, I've tried to explain to different legislators that I've talked to, you know, if we want to attract business to Alaska, not only do we have to have a stable business environment, right?
We can't constantly, every two years, have whiplash with tax policy. But we have to have cheap, stable energy. You have to have a willing workforce. And when we look at our position on the Pacific Rim, I mean, we really are an great position for what you know to to tap into some of the Asian markets so it seems like strategically we have really a lot of opportunities here but energy is it seems like it is so core and so
essential to be one of the components to attract new business. It absolutely is. Again, I try not to... In the past, I didn't blame anybody, but we really, truly haven't had a real vision for this state of how we move forward. And cheap energy was the number one priority. Yeah, I know we talked about building this to sit in a Wantana Dam.
But it didn't get done, right? And so we have lots of great ideas. Or we start something, then we bail on it, right? And I think that's a very real... history of our past is doing that so we we really have to make sure that we get cheap energy because i mean you have people pushing back on the west to access road which opens up resources it opens up
land, whether it's for timber. It opens up the opportunity to build pretty much a major coal plant that would provide very cheap energy for the rail bill. And people are against it because, well, we don't want to affect, you know, one or two lodges, you know, across the river, right? And I'm like, we have to open up our minds a little bit more and, you know, do what's best for the whole state as a whole.
I agree completely. You know, Senator Kronk, I have to take a quick commercial. Can you stay with us for one more segment? Yeah, sure. Oh, perfect. Okay, next segment, I'd love to talk to you a little bit about education and whatever else you want to talk about because you were a teacher for 25 years, so I think you know a thing or two about education. So we'd love to talk to you about that.
kind of your thoughts on that. And then, you know, whatever else comes to mind, we'll get into that in just a second. We're talking to Senator Mike Cronk. He represents District R, which is up in the Toke area. We're going to take a quick commercial. We'll be right back.
Looking at your Alaska total traffic cameras on this Thursday morning. Steady traffic now inbound on the Glen Highway. No major stoppages or slowdowns out there. In town, C Street's getting a bit of a backup starting at International Airport Road. Traffic is backing up there past Dowling Road. Roads are a bit slippery out there.
so do be careful. From the Swickern Chevrolet Anchorage Traffic Studios, I'm Daryl Dean. This report is sponsored by Alaska Center for Dermatology. Providing world-class dermatology care since 2003, Alaska Center for Dermatology consistently ranks best in dermatology with thousands of five-star ratings. For all your dermatology needs, including medical, cosmetic, and most surgery, visit Dermalaska.com. It's the Marketer's Report. Coaches, parents, students, and administrators.
Visit pcadevzone.org. Well, happy first day of spring. We'll see some sunshine throughout the day, calling it mostly sunny to partly cloudy skies with those temperatures set to warm into the upper 30s and lower 40s. We'll stay with a stretch of 40s into the weekend and next week. For Alaska's weather source, I'm meteorologist Neera Morson. now by calling 907-522-0650. Welcome back. Current time is 721. We're talking with Senator Mike Cronk.
Senator Cronk, you know, you're an actually very interesting fellow. You have a very interesting background. You grew up in Northway. And I remember the first time I ever saw you publicly, you actually had just gone through a very traumatic event. I mean, you were at that Vegas concert where many people were killed.
I can't even imagine what that was like. And, you know, you spent 25 years as a teacher. I mean, what actually led you? Obviously, public service is in your blood if you spent 25 years as a teacher. What led you to decide to run for the legislature? Yeah, great question. Well, I obviously... I will have to say the Vegas shooting actually was definitely a part of it. You know, when you go through something like that and you see so many people that even today, you know.
almost eight years, it'll be eight years after it, it's still affecting people in different ways, right? And you've seen so many people that just were helpless and they didn't know what to do. And I think that probably was the main driver. I did run for our regional school board right after that because I just retired, you know, and that was 2017. I just retired that school year. And so I ran for regional school board and got on there, and it came down to Juneau, you know, too.
Not advocate and ask for money, but to show the legislature what we were doing as a school district at the time with our money, right? And I met my representative, Dave Tallarico from Healy. um at the time and we actually really hit it off and he was the point in his life where he served 10 years as the mayor of the denali borough and he's like my god i'm
I'm ready to get out of here. And he goes, you're my guy. He goes, you know, we think a lot alike. We agree on a lot of things. And so with his encouragement, that's pretty much, you know, he decided to run. And here we are, you know, at the behest of many of, you know, probably my family and people in my life. Oh, God, you know. But, you know. I'm a firm believer in Alaska. I love Alaska so much and the people, and you truly want to be part of making sure that we have a place.
to live, you know, for our kids and our grandkids. It's really not, I honestly don't, you know, focus on tomorrow or today, actually, I should say, but it's for the next 10 years, 20 years, 30 years. What are we doing today that is going to, you know, pave the... paved the way for them. So, you know, that was probably a main driver. But yes, I was in public service. 25 years of teaching really is public service.
Well, and that's why I look at it, and I think you might be one of the best people to talk to about it because, you know, as I look at our education here in Alaska, and my experience is in Anchorage. I graduated from Chugak High School. My first two degrees are from the UAA. And I watched my own experience and then my kids' experience as they went through public schools here in Anchorage.
And what I see is, you know, I understand money is a component, and obviously to be able to fund these schools and do these things, and we have some real bright spots. You know, when we look at the studies that have come out showing and highlighting how great some of our charter schools are here at all,
Alaska. I think there are great brick and mortar schools here in Alaska too. But obviously there's more than money that's going to make a great experience for our kids. And what I mean is a great outcome. We want to make sure kids can read and write. You know, as you look at this debate, I have been arguing that there needs to be some sort of policy change to ensure that the money that we're spending
is getting us a good return on our investment. As you look at the education discussion, what are we missing? What really do you expect or you think would make... would make the difference when it comes to education and here in Alaska? Obviously, that's a tough question. During my 25 years of teaching, you've seen a lot of changes and a lot in the education system.
quit focusing on the three you know reading writing and arithmetic right and you know we started seeming like we just want to get over here and do this and let's try something new and And, you know, I'm a firm believer in what works really does work, right? And so my philosophy is to get back to the basics because if you can read and you can write and you can do math, you can succeed in pretty much anything you want to do in life.
Kids that are going to go to college are already going to college. But what about those kids that aren't going to college? And I think that's what we failed to really focus on because a majority of kids aren't going to college. um for me i was going to college because i you know i played basketball i was going to get a scholarship i i knew that was my my path forward but what about those other kids and you know especially when you start looking at remote alaska
are we giving them the skills to be successful in whichever village or city or town that they're staying in? And I don't think we've done that, right? And so I think the focus on CTE programs... in education is definitely a positive step forward. But we really, really need policy that focuses, like, you know, read by 3F. I do believe that's going to reap benefits. You know, do we need a math by 3F, you know?
I don't know. I think we should refocus what we're doing in schools to make sure that the kids are getting it. Kids aren't the same either. No one wants to talk about the social issues that per se are probably highlighted more now today than they were, whether it's with phones and social media and all this stuff.
So no one wanted to talk about those issues, and I just think, you know, I don't think as many parents were involved in education, because I know, I'll just use an example, when I was like in fourth grade, you know, Didn't do my journal, right? Simple journal for a year, and I got an F. And my dad looked at that, and he goes, yeah, you'll never get it.
one of those again and i'm like you know you're right i won't you know and that's all it took right it wasn't a it wasn't a spanking or anything it was just like yeah you're never gonna ask again um and it's those expectations and are we building a society that truly wants to get out there and work, you know, and provide and be a good person in society. I don't know if that's our end goal, because my end goal in school was to, you know, to hopefully...
have a well-rounded person that was going to contribute to society. And I didn't really care what they were going to do. Their job is whatever job they want to do. But are you contributing to your state, your community, and are you paying taxes? Those are kind of my three things I wanted to focus for. So I just think we really need to refocus on the students again. You know, they have to be the priority of students.
Yeah, I think that's exactly right. And, you know, as I look at these discussions in Juneau, I get annoyed when I hear people just talk about the money rather than talking about the outcomes because I think.
If we're really focused on the students, we're going to talk about the outcomes, and we're going to talk about how to get them. Because I've always believed if you hold high standards for kids, they will reach them. The vast majority of children will reach them. If you have very low standards, for people, they will reach those standards too. And so I think it's in all of our best interests to have high expectations and put the resources in place. And I'm not just talking about money.
know give the teachers the tools to do the job how do you teach us class of you know of 40 fourth graders when when when you know you have like you said there's these societal pressures whether it's phones whether it's behavioral issues whatever I mean it makes it very difficult for the teacher to so I get that you know the other part of the conversation and I asked this question to every legislator as I look at HB 69 past right if you start talking about we're going to raise the BS
say $1,000 per student. And then I'm seeing this return to a defined benefits plan that's being pitched as well. My first question is, how are we going to pay for all of this? absolutely right now and again minimum whatever however you look at the budget minimum we're 500 million dollars upside down right now and that's minimum and that's that could be like with a super super small pfd right so
That has to be our driving question. And, you know, when people ask, hey, are you supporting whether, you know, the S-curb tax or the per-barrel tax or any sort of tax in it, I just had a constituent meeting in Fairbanks, you know, and my answer was no, I'm not supporting any tax until we have a fiscal plan in place.
And we have a constitutional spending cap in place that limits the spending because there will be no limit on spending if we don't. And right now, these taxes that are proposed are already pre-spent. That should be concerning to every Alaskan. They're pre-spent. There is no end to spending. So, you know, I told people, you value education. You want to be a thing. I get you. I understand.
How are you going to pay for it? What's just as important is to make sure we're fiscally stable over the next 20 years, right? Exactly. If we can't pay for it... then we can start talking about those taxes that you want to talk about. I'm very open to those conversations. But until we have something in place that limits what we're doing, It's not a good thing for any Alaskan or Alaska as a state.
Exactly. And as I'm listening to you and thinking about an actual spending cap that actually means something, really what you're saying is the government has to prioritize the money that it has. than just putting out their hand saying, give me more, give me more, give me more, because if you do that, there will be no end to it. Correct.
And, you know, and I think, you know, I'll say this, the frustration of being down, this is my fifth year, four years in the house, is it's, you know, continually do business as usual, right? And I didn't really want to come down here to do business as usual. we need to step out of the box and do business right. And that means having a fiscal plan in place because all we do is look at, wow, oil revenues here, POMB draws here.
Okay, here's where we can spend it. And when oil drops, and it's going to drop, and it's going to stay low for the next three years. That's predicted. how we're going to pay for things, right? And I think we need to build our budget. That spending cap keeps you in place and you fit things in there.
I think that's what Alaska deserves and Alaskans want. They don't want a spending spree. No one wants money out of their pocket taken away. And they think that, hey, the oil companies are the best way forward. It's not enough. I'm just kidding. It'll never be enough. I totally agree. Well, Senator Mike Conk, I am hitting my hard break here, so I've got to let you go. But I am so grateful for your time this morning. Thank you so much.
much for calling in and sharing with us a little update from Juno today. Anytime. All right, sir. It was great talking to you. We'll talk to you again, hopefully before the end of session. I'm good. Take care. All right. Bye-bye. All right. We're going to go ahead and take a quick break. We'll be right back. Turn up your radio. Here's the Sean Hannity Morning Minute. There are these protesters showing up at these town halls for Republican congresspeople. And then the media picks up on it.
Republican congresspeople get an earful because they support Elon Musk. This is not organic. We're now discovering that those protesters are part of... Organizations, radical left wing organizations that are sabotaging these town halls instead of giving questions to the real constituents. And they're designed to create as much trouble and confrontation as they possibly can.
So if you see that on TV and the fake news media and the state-run legacy media mob is lying to you, just know that the odds are very high that it's not real. Check out the Sean Hannity radio show later today, right here. Artificial intelligence, AI. It's all you hear about, but how far away is it? And what are the potential threats from AI that could totally upend the way Americans live their lives?
What will it do to the job market? What will the unemployment rate be? What does it mean for data privacy or cybersecurity? How about the banking system or national security? Could this spread to other sectors? If you have $50,000 or more saved for retirement, this may not be the time to wait and find out. Learn how you could help protect your life savings using precious metals like gold and silver. a free gold and silver kit from the top-rated precious metals company, Goldco. On top of that...
You could get up to a 10% instant match in bonus silver with a qualified account. Visit HannityGold.com or call 855-815-GOLD. One more time, visit HannityGold.com or call 855-815-GOLD. This is News Radio 650, KENI, Anchorage.
A preliminary report from the NTSB says the Bering airplane that crashed last month was more than 1,000 pounds overweight for the weather conditions. In its report, the agency said the plane's total weight, including baggage and cargo, was around just under 9,900 pounds. All 10 people on board... Bering Air Flight 445 were killed in the February 6th crash about 34 miles southeast of Nome.
A Republican senator says her fellow GOP colleagues are worried to speak out against the Trump administration and Elon Musk because they fear they'll be, quote, taken down. Alaska lawmaker Lisa Murkowski told reporters that Republican senators are afraid of the attacks she and others who have spoken in opposition to Trump.
And officials continue to monitor volcanic activity at Mount Spur. The Alaska Volcano Observatory says there has not been any significant increase in activity at the volcano within the past week. The observatory issued a code yellow last week after significantly elevated volcanic gas emissions were observed. from the 11,000-foot peak. That's the latest. I'm John Fink. NewsRadio 650. KENI. Depend on it.
Looking to see Alaska total traffic cameras on this Thursday morning. Traffic's now picked up all around the Anchorage Bowl. A few slowdowns out there. Currently, DeBarre Road's got a slowdown starting at Airport Heights. 40% of adults. can't explain what a tax deduction is? I can't either. Well, we're here to help. I'm Leah Palmieri. And I'm Matt Stillo. And this season on Grown Up Stuff, we're making taxes way less scary.
There's no other time in life where you're like, am I going to get back $4,000? Or am I going to owe $10,000? It's like the crappiest casino. Listen to Grown Up Stuff on America's number one podcast network, iHeart. Follow Grown Up Stuff and start listening on the free iHeart Radio app today. 907-522-0650. Welcome back. Current time, 741. I want to thank Senator Cronk for calling in this morning.
I've got to tell you, you know, it's fun having people from different areas of the state because, look, not all areas of the state are the same when it comes to policy, when it comes to representation. I mean, they all have a little bit different of a flavor and they all have different backgrounds. And I love the fact that I see, you know, somebody who was a teacher for 25 years, you know, step into the ring and say, wait a second, let's have like a rash.
discussion about education because I think at the end of the day most voters would say okay we're spending you know this amount of money you know hundreds of millions of dollars On education, what are we getting for our money? I mean, it makes a lot of sense to me to measure ROI. You know, what is our return on our investment?
measure that and have that conversation because again just throwing more money at something isn't going to just necessarily make it better and the fact of the matter is I think it's true what he said I mean if you don't have a spending limit on the government The amount of money will never be enough. They will just keep taking and taking and taking. All right, joining the show now is one of our education gurus, Mr. Bob Griffin. Good morning, sir.
Hey, good morning, Amy. Good talking with you. Great segments there with Mike Kroc. I'm still a huge fan. He was largely responsible for getting the last reads passed in 2022.
He wrangled the votes, and as some of the listeners recalled, that passed on the last hour, the last day of the session by one vote. Wow. It's going to turn out to be probably the... the top education reform that we've had for several years, and we're still holding out hope that the governor will be able to push a few more good reforms across the line there.
Yeah, exactly. I love the fact too that he brought up CTE, you know, when we start talking about... you know technical training every not every kid is meant to or wants to go to college so what we we need to set those kids up for success that maybe you know want to have a technical education too i think that makes that makes a lot of sense and
And, you know, spoken like, I know he taught, I think it was kindergarten and first grade, but then he also taught, like, middle school math. So I like the fact that he's not only talking about the Reads Act, but he mentioned we need to have kids proficient in math, too. Spoken like. a math teacher. No, absolutely. And just a quick change of subject, but change of direction, too.
I wanted to give your listeners a preview on a piece I'm working on for Must Read Alastair. Hopefully I'll get to the ADN again there. There is kind of responding to a recent opinion piece that was in the ADN. about comparing Alaska K-12 spending to Mississippi and the fact that Mississippi Sun spends a higher percentage of their budget on K-12 education than Alaska does.
Simplistic really avoids the huge difference between the Alaska state spending and Mississippi state spending. In 2023, Alaska spent about $21,500 per person. That was the highest in the country, 44% above Delaware, which was number two, and 2.7 times more than the $8,000 that Mississippi spent per person. When you look at the size of our budget and other things that we spend on, Mississippi doesn't pay for a permanent fund dividend and a lot of different factors that are dialed in there.
And that doesn't really even include the fact that Alaska gets the most federal money per person, about $8,600, where Mississippi was below $7,000 per person. start adding all the resources that are available. We actually contributed an awful lot to K-12 education, and that was confirmed by a study that came from Rutgers University last year, the fact that... On their scale, we scored 95 out of a possible 100 for funding adequacy for K-12 education. We were second in the nation.
Mississippi scored a 23 out of a possible 100 and was ranked 40th for funding adequacy. So just comparing a raw percentage of how much of our budget goes to K-12 education. really doesn't tell the difference. The big difference is, the stunning difference, of course, the poverty rate in Mississippi is essentially double that.
of Alaska, but the fact that in the 2024 NAEP fourth grade reading, Mississippi was number one in the country, and fourth grade reading scores for NAEP in Alaska was 50th. So I think the... We're replacing the money as a way bigger deal than the resources that we have available.
Well, those are staggering statistics. I always laugh when I hear people talk about percentage of budgets because at the end of the day, I want to talk about raw numbers. What are the actual dollars that we're putting in and what are the results that are... coming out. I never talk about dollars without talking about results. Like what are we actually getting for our money? And when you give us a statistic of we're spending about $21,500 per student and Mississippi is right around $8,000.
for a student, but somehow they're number one in fourth grade reading and we're number 50, clearly throwing money at the problem isn't the issue. Clearly funding adequacy is there. Alaska but the results aren't there so then I go back to the basic question is What are we doing to actually improve the results? And, you know, I know you were very instrumental in the Alaska Reads Act when you were on the Board of Education. You guys really supported it.
And I think I'm hearing from school board members in the MATSU that they think this is making a big difference. So that is one step. But what is the next step is the question I have for a lot of legislators because, you know, If charter schools are working and they're doing great and they're some of the best in the country, why aren't we investing in more charter schools or expanding the charter schools we have? I mean, that to me seems like a logical...
a logical path, and I don't think there's one path. I think there's probably multiple things we should be doing. Am I wrong? Definitely there's multiple things that we should be doing, but at the top of my list is multiple authorizers. for your charter schools. We're one of only five states in the United States that leaves the charter school authorizations only to the local school boards. And the problem with that is it creates this huge asymmetric power relationship.
where the parents who want to organize a charter school don't have any other option other than to bend the knee to whatever the demands are of their local school district. There are some states where there's five different charter authorizers, and the parents can shop around and get the best deal that they can. And it really comes down to adult agendas.
trumping kids' agendas. You really are worried about kids' agendas. And if your process for processing charter schools at your district is... is a good process you should not have any fear of having other competing with other um exactly i think Competition is good for everybody. I think it drives the quality of the outcomes up, actually. So I think that's a good thing.
Well, Bob, I need to go ahead and take my break, but I appreciate you weighing in this morning. We will talk to you again. I can't wait to see this article when it comes out. I will be watching Mustry Alaska because I think it will give us some good intel and some good comparisons. Thank you so much for giving us preview this morning. Hey, thanks, Jamie.
All right, we'll talk to you soon. All right, that was Bob Griffin. We're going to go ahead and take a quick break. We'll be right back. Looking around your Alaska Total Traffic cameras on this Thursday morning. Traffic is now steady and heavy pretty much all around the Anchorage Bowl. Most of the slowdowns are around our local area grade schools and high schools.
Watch out for those kids. Roads are a bit slippery, particularly at the intersections and some of the side streets. From the Swickard Chevrolet Anchorage Traffic Studios, I'm Daryl Dean. forefront of inflammatory bowel disease research and care for over 50 years. Learn more about research, education, and support at Crohn's Colitis Foundation dot org.
The legislature's House Education Bill 69 is a vehicle that's lost its brakes, is burning oil. But instead of a tune-up, some legislators just want to pump more gas in the tank. What parent wants that? Governor Dunleavy was a teacher, principal, and superintendent in Alaska for two decades. He wants our education vehicle tuned up. So it gets students where they need to go. What parent wouldn't want that?
The governor has studied the remarkable success stories of states spending far less per student and producing the best educated kids in the country. He believes Alaska students deserve no less. Governor Dunleavy introduced an education funding and reform bill, and Alaska's parents should demand the full focus of the legislature on the governor's bill. Pumping money into a vehicle stuck in the slow lane is simply education discrimination. Paid for by Alaskans deserve better.
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Well, happy first day of spring. We'll see some sunshine throughout the day, calling it mostly sunny to partly cloudy skies with those temperatures set to warm into the upper 30s and lower 40s. We'll stay with a stretch of 40s into the weekend and next week. For Alaska's weather source, I'm Meteorologist. Welcome back to live, local, and insightful Morning Drive Radio on News Radio 650 KENI. You know, Bob highlighted for us...
a trick that is played often. And I've been watching it on an international scale. But, you know, there's something, you know, there's something to this saying, there's lies, damn lies in statistics. Because as my statistics professor once said, who used to actually professionally testify in court, I can make the statistics say anything you want. It depends on who's paying me. That's literally what he said in class.
And he was somebody who was hired professionally to testify in court. Oh, I can't believe it. He was a statistics professor at UAA. Many of you who had him know exactly who I'm talking about. But I kind of chuckle because as Bob... was talking about this, rather than them talking about the actual dollar amount, they'll say, well, the percentage of the budget spent is this much. The percentage of the budget spent is that much. I don't care how much the percentage is. I want to know the actual.
dollar amount. Okay, then the second question is, what did we get for that dollar? We see the same argument. I was watching some European commentators talk about the war in Ukraine, talking about the percentage, and they were trying to talk about the top ten countries. that are contributing to the war in Ukraine. And they had the US at, like, number 10. And really, what were they talking about? They weren't talking about actual dollars. They were talking about percentage of GDP, right?
The U.S. by far has sent the most money to Ukraine. So I have this article up from U.S. News right now. And this is numbers put together by, let's just see here. Global aid to Ukraine since 2022 has reached staggering $400 billion. Let's do it in U.S. dollars. $430 billion, according to the Kiel Institute for the World Economy. So when we look at numbers today,
to Ukraine when they try to say their percentage, as soon as somebody says that to you, say, no, no, no, what's the actual dollar figure? Because what they're trying to do is they're trying to, again, statistically, shake things up to hide, to confuse, to change things. I want to know the actual dollars. The United States, by far, according to the Keel Institute, $128 billion, right? We know it's more than that. But $128 billion.
$28 billion is what they said, funds committed by the U.S. Germany is the next one. Funds committed by Germany originally was $27.5 billion. They've added another $26.6 billion. They're the next close. I mean, the US by far, by triple, more than triple, has committed money to this war. And that's, again, so again, when they start talking about percentages.
change that and say, no, no, no. We want to talk raw data. We want to talk about, especially when we're talking about funding, you want to actually talk about the dollar amount because otherwise it's all just smoke and mirrors, my friend. It's all smoke and mirrors.
All right, well, again, I want to thank Senator Mike Kronk for calling in today. It was a great conversation with him. If you missed it, you can catch it on podcast. We will be back with you tomorrow morning. Daryl and I will be back with you at Bright-Eyed and Bushy-Tailed at 6 a.m. forget mike mike is on live and local from 4 to 6 p.m every weekday every weekday afternoon we will see you tomorrow morning until then stay safe god bless
He's back and he's got even more to say. Hear the O'Reilly Update with Bill O'Reilly. Only on News Radio 650 KENI. Why pay more for prescription?