Dear readers,
Happy New Year! We hope you had an excellent, fun-filled Christmas and New Years!
Heading into 2026, Must Read Alaska is geared up for a whirlwind year. Here are some things to look forward to:
Political shenanigans! The 34th State Legislature’s second regular session starts Jan 20. MRAK will provide key coverage and commentary on legislative actions.
New Exclusive Series! In March, we will release two MRAK-exclusive series: “An Honest Conversation” by Natalie Spaulding and “Alaska’s K–12 System: Structural Chokepoints and the Myth of School Choice” by Michael Tavoliero.
America 250! MRAK will highlight a plethora of events and celebrations honoring America’s 250th Anniversary this July 4th.
2026 General Election! Alaska chooses its next governor this November. Additionally, Alaskans will also vote for Lieutenant Governor, State Senators and Representatives, and the Alaska seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. The repeal ranked-choice voting (RCV) initiative will also be on the 2026 ballot. Find frequent updates on all the latest election news on MRAK!
MRAK innovations! We will be launching a series of innovations including sortable audio files for easy listening, paid subscription tiers with exciting benefits, the new Must Read Alaska store, and regular X Spaces for more civil dialogue!
God bless you this year and God bless our beloved state of Alaska,
The MRAK Team
We appreciate the generous Alaskans who keep this conservative voice alive! Thank you for being a subscriber to Must Read Alaska.
Visit our website at www.mustreadalaska.com. Also find us on X and Facebook.
Table of Contents
Alaskans’ PFD
Court Avoidance Erodes Constitutional Integrity
A Follow-Up to “All I Want for Christmas is… Constitutional Fidelity!” by Edward Martin, Jr. and Natalie Spaulding
By Edward Martin, Jr.
One of the quiet dangers to constitutional government is not open defiance, but judicial avoidance. When courts decline to interpret clear constitutional language, the result is not neutrality. It is erosion.
Alaska’s Constitution is not merely a collection of permissions for government action; it is a framework of restraints. Those restraints only function when they are enforced as written. When courts sidestep structural provisions—especially those designed to discipline spending and protect citizens—the Constitution is reduced from governing law to ornamental text.
This concern is not theoretical. It is visible in modern Alaska jurisprudence.
Alaska Industry
Alaska Department of Labor Publishes 2026 Jobs Forecast
By Natalie Spaulding
The January issue of the Alaska Economic Trends magazine, published by the Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development, shows modest job growth for the state, with industries such as mining, oil, gas, and healthcare seeing increased employment. This month’s issue of Trends also contains a letter from Commissioner Catherine Muñoz highlighting policy efforts for the second regular session of the 34th Alaska State Legislature, beginning Jan 20, 2026.
Railbelt Reliability Council Invites Alaskans to Join Jan 8 Info Session on Integrated Resource Plan
By Natalie Spaulding
Next Thursday, Jan 8, at 12pm, the Alaska Railbelt Reliability Council (RRC) will host a public webinar providing Alaskans with essential information about Alaska’s first ever Integrated Resource Plan (IRP).
Announced Dec 2, 2025, the Railbelt’s IRP is a “comprehensive strategy [that] aims to ensure a reliable, affordable, and future-ready electricity system across the 700-mile corridor from Fairbanks to Homer, which serves about 75% of the state’s population.”
Alaska Politics
Lieutenant Governor Approves Petition to Repeal Ranked-Choice Voting
By Natalie Spaulding
Following the Division of Elections’ review of the thousands of signatures submitted by Repeal Now, Lieutenant Governor Nancy Dahlstrom officially approved the petition to repeal ranked-choice voting (RCV) today, December 31. Alaskans will get to vote in the 2026 election to either keep or repeal RCV.
The Division of Elections verified 42,837 signatures (exceeding the required minimum of 34,098 signatures) and verified that the petition contained signatures from all 40 house districts.
The proposition will appear on the 2026 general election ballot as follows: …
Alaskan Independence Party Gives Up the Game, Officially Dissolves
By Natalie Spaulding
Alaska’s third largest political party, the Alaskan Independence Party (AIP) dissolved on December 7, 2025, after 41 years of advocating its “Alaska First” agenda as an officially recognized party of the State of Alaska.
How Was AIP Started?
AIP began as Alaskans for Independence, a political movement established by the straight-shooting goldminer, Joe Vogler, who wished to see an independent Nation of Alaska. Vogler, known to many as “Old Joe,” vehemently advocated for the secession of Alaska from the United States of America…
Sitka Assembly Approves Third Annual Update to 5-Year Strategic Plan
By Natalie Spaulding
Heading into the New Year, the City and Borough of Sitka (CBS) Assembly approved the third annual update to its 2022-2027 Strategic Plan. The plan identifies five areas of focus for Sitka: quality of life for Sitkans, community engagement and communication, economic sustainability, infrastructure improvement, and CBS employment.
The December update includes a checklist of “complete and ongoing” action items. The Assembly looks to the strategic plan as a compass to guide its 2026 decision-making.
Individual tickets $75 per person. Purchase here.
National Politics Impacting Alaskans
“Farm Security is National Security:” USDA Takes Action to Protect American Farmers
By Natalie Spaulding
Yesterday, December 30, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced several actions steps they are taking to implement Trump’s National Farm Security Action Plan. USDA has opened a portal for public comment on the Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act (AFIDA), seeks to improve regulation of USDA’s BioPreferred Program, and launch new research projects aimed at increasing the profitability of America’s farms and ranches and ensuring long-term productivity.
Faith Watch
The Civic Architects of Liberty
By Michael Tavoliero
Kevin McCabe, in his essay “Pastors, We Need You. Where Is Today’s Black-Robed Regiment?” in the Alaska Watchman, calls the colonial New England theologians “the civic architects of liberty.” Those pastors shaped how ordinary people thought about God, government, law, and resistance. They did not simply offer comfort to individuals; they provided a moral and intellectual framework necessary to American self-government. Today, most pastors in Alaska serve as cautious chaplains to a fragmented culture rather than as public teachers of a coherent vision of ordered liberty.
The preachers of the founding era did not skirt the political questions. They named concrete public sins: slavery, tyranny, corruption, cowardice. They applied Scripture to taxation, sovereignty, the authority of the king, just-war criteria, and the conditions under which resistance was justified. Their sermons were not vague; they were specific, local, and costly…
Facts and Figures
Southeast and Interior Break Weather Records
This winter, both Southeast Alaska and the Interior have broken decades long weather records.
Juneau’s official snowfall for December sits at 63.4 inches, approximately 9 inches more than 1964 record.
With highs staying around -30 degrees, the Interior continues to experience its coldest stretch since the 1980s.
Key Industry Numbers
Alaska Oil: ~$60.04 per barrel
Henry Hub Gas: ~$3.69 per mmBTU
Alaska North Slope Production: ~475,825 barrels per day
Permanent Fund (Principal + Earnings Reserve): ~$87.5 billion
In Pursuit of Wisdom
Better is a poor person who walks in his integrity
than one who is crooked in speech and is a fool.
Must Read Alaska Show
We hope to get our podcast back up and running in the near future. Plus, we are continuing to develop our sortable audio-files for easy listening of our stories.
Submit Your Feedback
Do you have story ideas? Do you want to submit an op-ed for consideration? Or perhaps you have feedback for us on how we can improve your experience. If that’s you, please reach out to us at [email protected]. We love to hear from our readers!
Thank you for reading! Until next time,
The MRAK Team
A Force for Good