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
The Latest in Alaska Elections
“Ready to Rock and Roll:” Shelley Hughes Resigns from Senate, Launches Full-Time Gubernatorial Campaign
By Natalie Spaulding
At 5pm today, Shelley Hughes takes her leave of the Senate and transitions to launching her full-time gubernatorial campaign.
Hughes focuses her campaign on unleashing Alaska’s wide array of natural resources. “As your Governor, we will unlock Alaska’s potential, responsibly and boldly,” Hughes stated. “We will return Alaskan lands to Alaskan hands…”
Alaska’s Citizen-Only Voting Initiative Mirrors Trump’s Election Security Focus
By Todd Lindley
In a move that resonates with President Donald Trump’s emphasis on safeguarding American elections, a new Alaska ballot initiative seeks to explicitly bar non-citizens from voting in state and local races. The “Alaskans for Citizen Voting” (ACV) measure, sponsored by prominent former lawmakers, aims to amend state statutes to clarify that only U.S. citizens meeting age, residency, and registration requirements can cast ballots. This comes amid ongoing national debates over voter integrity, a hallmark of Trump’s tenure.
Juneau Assembly Set to Vote on Ranked Choice Voting for Local Elections
By Todd Lindley
The Juneau Assembly is scheduled to decide Monday whether to implement ranked choice voting (RCV) for municipal elections, potentially making the city the first major Alaskan municipality to adopt the system locally. The vote on Ordinance 2025-13(c) comes after months of deliberation, with a public hearing set for 6 p.m. at Centennial Hall or via Zoom, allowing residents to weigh in before the final decision. If passed, the ordinance would take effect January 1, 2026…
Alaska Law and Order
Air Force Vet from Eagle River Nominated to Serve as Judge on Federal District Court
By Natalie Spaulding
Yesterday, Nov 12, President Trump announced the nomination of Aaron Christian Peterson to serve as Judge on the United States District Court for the District of Alaska. Senator Sullivan, who played a key role in Peterson’s nomination, lauded the announcement, highlighting Peterson’s “demonstrated commitment to the rule of law and federalism.”
Peterson was contacted on January 1, 2025, by an attorney working on Governor Dunleavy’s federal transition plan. The attorney encouraged him to apply to Senator Sullivan’s Alaska Federal Judiciary Council. The Council serves as…
Alaska Industry
Expansion of 2025 U.S. Critical Minerals List Spotlights Alaska’s Untapped Riches
By Todd Lindley
The U.S. Department of the Interior’s release of the final 2025 Critical Minerals List on November 7th, has expanded to 60 essential resources, adding 10 new entries—boron, copper, lead, metallurgical coal, phosphate, potash, rhenium, silicon, silver, and uranium—amid escalating concerns over supply chain vulnerabilities. This update, based on U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) modeling of over 1,200 trade disruption scenarios, underscores America’s heavy reliance on imports: fully foreign-dependent for 12 minerals and over 50% for 29 others, with China dominating production of 30.
EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin has previously emphasized the state’s role in energy dominance stating, “Alaska is rich in critical minerals…”
Education in Alaska
A Welcome Apology: Anchorage School District Offers Explanation for Exposed Anti-American Mishap
By Natalie Spaulding
Last week, widespread outrage erupted over ASD’s placement of a non-endorsement sticker on America’s founding documents. Must Read Alaska broke the story and demanded, “ASD must answer for this action.” MRAK and our community of readers now have ASD’s explanation both about the non-endorsement fiasco and also ASD’s renaming of Veterans Day as “student release professional development day” on the school calendar. Corey Allen Young, the Assistant Director of Communications, Publications, and External Affairs for Anchorage School District, provides the answers.
Regarding the non-endorsement sticker on a booklet of the U.S. Constitution and Declaration of Independence, ASD openly apologizes to the community, stating: …
Alaska Politics
Parties and Primaries: Integral to Our Past, Present and Future
By Jon Faulkner
Political parties represent the aspirations of the people within them. They are the backbone of democracy, both a catalyst for change and a bulwark of tradition. Citizens can choose to be in or out; but the latter course defers our country’s fate to the few. A robust democracy is restless, subjecting societal values to constant attack…
The Plan to Avoid Gelding Part 2
By Michael Tavoliero
Remember the last two of Alaska’s largest administrations, the State of Alaska and the Municipality of Anchorage, and you will certainly remember the gelding experienced through the “struggle sessions” of both the first term of Governor Michael J Dunleavy and the only term of Anchorage Mayor David Bronson. I went over them in Part 1.
Today, we are greeted by a dozen Republicans who have declared or are preparing to declare their intent to run for governor in 2026…
Alaska Culture Highlight
Russians in Alaska: History of Exploration
By Alexander Dolitsky
The most important aspect of the high north’s ethnohistory was the exploration and colonization of Siberia and Alaska by Russian empire officials. The process of exploration of the northern territories in the seventeenth century caused a significant transformation of population, strengthened conflicts between local ethnic groups, and changed modes of production and material culture of the aboriginal population, among other effects. Russian officials did not wish to exterminate the aboriginal northern population, but rather, in cooperation with local native leaders, to reform them into meticulous suppliers of valuable furs.
Facts and Figures
Unique Tax Modifications
H.R. 1 Sec. 70305: Business meals now deductible, but only for fishing vessels and fish-processing facilities north of 20° latitude.
H.R.1 Sec 70429: Deduction cap for charitable contributions in support of Native Alaskan sustainable whaling practices increased by $40,000.
Key Industry Numbers
Alaska Oil: ~$62.06 per barrel
Henry Hub Gas: ~$4.65 per mmBTU
Alaska North Slope Production: ~466,722 barrels per day
Permanent Fund (Principal + Earnings Reserve): ~$86.5 billion
For the Love of Wisdom
Reality cannot be ignored except at a price; and the longer the ignorance is persisted in, the higher and the more terrible becomes the price that must be paid.
Must Read Alaska Show
Coming soon: sortable audio-files of all our stories for easy listening!
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