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A federal grand jury on Sept. 19 indicted Rosalina Mavaega, 41, and Esau Fualema Jr., 44, on five felony charges including major fraud, wire fraud and money laundering. An Anchorage city commissioner and her husband have been charged with fraudulently obtaining $1.6 million in COVID-19 recovery money for their charity. [Extracted from the article]

The Kotzebue police department in Alaska has stated that they will not reopen the investigation into the death of Jennifer Kirk, who died in 2018 on the property of a former mayor. The case had been the subject of an investigation by the Anchorage Daily News and ProPublica. The police chief's open letter to the community contradicts previous information released by the department. The police department has faced criticism for their handling of the case, including allegations of failure to properly communicate with the family and failure to interview certain witnesses. The death of another woman on the same property in 2020 is currently being investigated as a homicide. [Extracted from the article]

Bronson spokesperson Corey Allen Young said investigators contacted the city in February and have requested information about Mavaega and at least six of her affiliated businesses and nonprofits. Bronson kept Mavaega on the city commissions even after the Anchorage Daily News and ProPublica first asked about her Medicaid ban in March. Asked if the mayor has removed Mavaega from the two city commissions, Young said no. "The Mayor doesn't have the unilateral ability to remove members from commissions", he wrote in an email. [Extracted from the article]

When the same library worker who recorded the chat tried to file a complaint against Eledge with the Alaska State Commission for Human Rights, an investigator told her in January that because some of Eledge's discriminatory remarks were directed against LGBTQ+ people, the agency would not investigate. When the Anchorage Library Advisory Board next met, on June 15, 2022, Human Resources Director Tshibaka sat beside Eledge wearing a T-shirt that said "I'm with Judy." Cole is one of at least three library employees who quit while Eledge served as the de facto director, and who later filed complaints with the city. Alaska governors and mayors have at various times appointed Judy Eledge to the state Board of Education, the Anchorage Health and Human Services Commission and the Alaska Juvenile Justice Advisory Committee. [Extracted from the article]

Former Iditarod champion Brent Sass has been disqualified from this year's race due to allegations of sexual assault made by multiple women. The decision was made in accordance with the race's personal conduct policy, which aims to prevent behavior that harms the race or its participants. Sass maintains his innocence and believes the accusations are an effort to damage his career. Additionally, the Iditarod board has reversed its decision to disqualify musher Eddie Burke Jr., as the domestic violence charge against him was dropped by the state Department of Law. [Extracted from the article]

One of White's former teammates said White confided in her about the sexual encounter with Sniffen while the team was still in New Orleans. Acting Alaska Attorney General Ed Sniffen's abrupt resignation was announced Friday as the Anchorage Daily News and ProPublica were preparing an article about allegations of sexual misconduct with a 17-year-old girl three decades ago. In addition to helping coach the mock trial team at West Anchorage High School, Sniffen also volunteered for the nonprofit Anchorage Youth Court, said White, who said she dated Sniffen for about two years from 1991 to 1993. One teammate, who asked not to be named for fear of retribution given Sniffen's prominent position, said White confided in her after White and Sniffen first had sex at the hotel. [Extracted from the article]

"I have my rough edges, there's no doubt about that", Keppel said when asked about his own court records and the conviction of Fansler and the felony sexual abuse charges against Anderson-Agimuk. After an hour at the bar, Fansler and the woman parted ways, but they met up later that night at the hotel where Fansler was living while in Juneau for the legislative session. "The Colonized World Teaches Us to Become Aggressive" Upon Fansler's resignation in early 2018, Alaska Democrats in the Bethel region selected Anderson-Agimuk to become the district party chairman and to begin looking over applications for a replacement. PHOTO (COLOR): From left to right: Former Alaska state Rep. Zach Fansler, his aide Benjamin AndersonAgimuk and Willy Keppel, who is running for Fansler's former seat. [Extracted from the article]

This article examines the deaths of Jennifer Kirk and Sue Sue Norton, two Indigenous women who were victims of domestic violence in Alaska. The article raises concerns about the lack of action taken by elected leaders and the flawed investigations into their deaths. It also discusses the leniency shown towards individuals accused of domestic violence and the need for better support and prioritization of cases involving missing and murdered Indigenous people. The article provides a detailed account of the investigation into the death of Emily Mesner, highlighting the challenges faced by law enforcement in solving cases with limited evidence or witnesses. [Extracted from the article]

This article discusses the issue of unsolved killings, unexplained deaths, and suicides in Kotzebue, Alaska. The author interviews Saima Chase, the mayor of Kotzebue, who believes that her friend's death was not a suicide but a murder. The article highlights the lack of police investigation and transparency in these cases, as well as the suspicions and frustrations of the families involved. The article also mentions the high suicide rate in Alaska and the need for further investigation into these cases. [Extracted from the article]

On July 11, the commission received a briefing on the status of LGBTQ protections in Alaska at the request of Gottshall. Asked why the commission changed its policy based on a brief communication from the attorney general, Corbisier said, "The attorney general is counsel to the agency. Within the next few weeks, the director for the state human rights commission received a new email about the Bostock ruling and LGBTQ rights law in Alaska. Categories of discrimination, and it began refusing to investigate complaints. [Extracted from the article]

As a result, any lawsuit settlements or judgments against the city of Anchorage, based on Baker's actions on behalf of the mayor, would be paid by the public rather than Baker himself. A Business Partner Accused of Domestic Violence Though Baker and Bronson are close political allies, Baker's closest business associate is Brandon Spoerhase. Demboski alleges that with the mayor's "support and blessing", Baker tried to get the city attorney to drop domestic violence charges filed against Spoerhase. Bronson and Baker are so close that the mayor boasted to employees that he personally drove to Baker's home with a gun to help with a trespassing call on Nov. 26. [Extracted from the article]

Administration officials also said that the utility's manager had asked the mayor to shut it off -- which the manager denied in a public statement to the Assembly and in an email to the city manager. Since Anchorage Mayor Dave Bronson took office in July 2021, he and his administration have been criticized for their words and their deeds. [Extracted from the article]

Within the next few weeks, the director for the state human rights commission received a new email about the Bostock ruling and LGBTQ rights law in Alaska. On July 11, the commission received a briefing on the status of LGBTQ protections in Alaska at the request of Gottshall. Asked why the commission changed its policy based on a brief communication from the attorney general, Corbisier said, "The attorney general is counsel to the agency. Categories of discrimination, and it began refusing to investigate complaints. [Extracted from the article]

Sniffen replaced former Attorney General Kevin Clarkson, who resigned after the Daily News and ProPublica reported he had sent hundreds of questionable texts to a female colleague. Under an Alaska law enacted in 1990, months before Sniffen and White traveled to New Orleans, it was illegal for an adult to have sex with a 16- or 17-year-old whom he or she was teaching, counseling or coaching. [Extracted from the article]

Her Story Brought Down Alaska's Attorney General. A Year Later, She Feels Let Down: Nikki Dougherty White came forward to say Alaska's acting attorney general had an inappropriate relationship with her when she was a teen, and he resigned. Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy, who appointed Sniffen to the role, has said through a spokesperson that he was unaware of the allegations against Sniffen until the newsrooms began investigating White's story. [Extracted from the article]

School District That Employed Principal Despite Sex Abuse Complaints Will Pay $3.8 Million to His Victims: An Alaska school principal who abused young girls kept his job despite years of complaints. Carmichael's actions also prompted two civil lawsuits brought on behalf of a total of four children against the Lower Kuskokwim School District, which employed Carmichael for nearly 20 years. The Lower Kuskokwim School District settlement is among the largest payouts for a sexual abuse case in the state in the last two decades. [Extracted from the article]

Alaskan Law Requires DNA From Accused Criminals, but Officials Failed to Collect Samples From 21,000 People: Alaska authorities neglected to collect DNA swabs from nearly a quarter of qualifying arrestees since 1995, the state said. The requirement was supposed to help solve sexual assault cases and put serial offenders behind bars The news organizations filed a public records request on May 20 asking for any preliminary estimate of the number of missing or owed DNA samples and for the names of those from whom the state had not yet collected a DNA sample. [Extracted from the article]

The woman, Savanah Evans, who is 27, delivered her own resignation letter on Feb. 23, describing workplace abuse, harassment and intimidation at the hands of Teuber, who is 52. A Sexual Relationship Soon after she started work as Teuber's special assistant in October 2019, Evans said she received a request for an "inappropriate photo" while on a work trip to Kodiak with Teuber, which she refused to provide. [Extracted from the article]

Dec. 30, 2020, 11 a.m. EST LAWLESS In the state with the highest rate of sexual assault in the nation,testing the backlog of rape kits may not be enough. In even more cases, the sealed rape kits wereopened to reveal no usable suspect DNA at all. In Washington state, federal Sexual Assault Kit Initiative grantspaid for the testing of 5,096 backlogged rape kits as of Nov. 30,but the state attorney general's office and a state patrolspokesman could not say how many charges had been filed as aresult. [Extracted from the article]

Alaska Requires DNA Be Collected From People Arrested for Violent Crimes. When announcing the indictment, the state Department of Lawsaid Mosley's DNA was collected under Alaska's DNAidentification law following his arrest in a2018 case unrelated to the sexual assaults. After police identified Mosley as a suspect in a 2017 rape duringtheir investigation, his DNA was finally collected and enteredinto the database in 2018, according to the Department of PublicSafety, leading to "hits" on DNA taken from rape victims in2009 and 2012. Dion had pleaded no contest to violent crimes such as robberyand assault in Alaska in the early 1990s, before the state enactedany DNA collection laws. [Extracted from the article]

Trapped at Sea, Alone With Her Assailant, He Told Her "You're Mine for the Week": Cathleen was raped five hours into a multi-day fishing trip, where she and the captain who assaulted her were the only ones on board. At 24, Cathleen, who asked to be identified here only by her middle name for fear of retribution, had already launched herself on countless Alaska adventures. Cathleen underwent a sexual assault exam. [Extracted from the article]

Unheard: Alaska has the highest rate of sexual assault in the nation. A grand jury handed up 11 felony charges against the alleged perpetrator: four counts of first-degree sexual assault, five counts of second-degree sexual assault, and one count each of third-degree assault and theft. In December 2017, the same defendant pleaded guilty to an attempted sexual assault charge in the second degree, after another victim reported him. A community advocate for Alaska Native survivors of sexual assault, especially missing and murdered indigenous women, Smith intimately knows the scars of child sexual abuse. [Extracted from the article]

The Man She Says Abused Her Lives Free: Ricki Dahlin turned to a life of crime and drug addiction after being sexually abused as a child. He denies the allegations.) Dahlin was allowed to leave segregation for a short time to talk with other inmates and a reporter about their experiences. "Not to say that doing drugs is right, because I did stupid shit when I was high on drugs all the way", one of Dahlin's fellow inmates said. [Extracted from the article]

Then, an FBI Agent Pretended to Be a 13-Year-Old Girl.: The principal for one of Alaska's largest rural elementary schools, in a region with some of the highest sex crime rates in the country and a state with a history of failing to protect students, was allowed to remain on the job until the FBI got involved "Please be aware that Carmichael had been an incredibly popular principal with students, staff and parents and had a solid reputation as a principal", Walker wrote in a statement for this story. In order to determine if Carmichael paid for gifts using his school district credit card, or if he ever traveled on school-paid trips out of town with students, the Daily News and KYUK have requested Carmichael's spending records beginning Jan. 1, 2014. The same day the newsrooms made that request to the district, current Gladys Jung Elementary Principal Joshua Gill, who was the director of personnel when Carmichael was still principal, sent an email to advisory school board members telling them to keep quiet. [Extracted from the article]

In This Remote Town, Spring Means Salmon -- and Thousands of Fishermen From Coronavirus Hot Spots: A remote fishing region will soon be flooded with seasonal workers. The hospital is equipped for only four COVID-19 patients and its chief operating officer is out of a job after emailing a coronavirus conspiracy meme. Clark, the health corporation chief executive, said the Dillingham hospital is seeking more equipment to meet the potential for coronavirus patients among the local and visiting fishing industry patients. [Extracted from the article]

Most small Alaska villages can be reached only by plane or snowmobile. The travel and visitor bans go beyond travel restrictions imposed by the state of Alaska to further protect villages that are too small to have emergency rooms. [Extracted from the article]

Instead, He Went Home to Tell Senior Citizens to Blame Mass Media: Rep. Don Young of Alaska isn't the only politician to downplay the threat of coronavirus, in direct contrast with his state government's public efforts. Brown emailed a statement saying: "Congressman Young continues to be concerned for populations particularly vulnerable to COVID-19, including seniors. Update, March 26, 2020: Rep. Don Young, R-Alaska, who this month told a group of seniors that fears of the "beer virus" have been overblown by the media, on Thursday delivered a very different message. [Extracted from the article]

Sex Offenders Were Becoming Cops. Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy is proposing changes to statelaw that would improve police hiring standards andoversight after some villages hired police officers that weresex offenders or had been convicted of domestic violence. Dunleavy has introduced legislation that wouldprohibit domestic abusers and sex offenders from beingvillage police officers. [Extracted from the article]

Alaska's Public Safety Officer Program Is Failing. Public Safety Commissioner Amanda Price hasquestioned whether the VPSO program is the right toolfor providing more law enforcement in Alaska villages,given it has failed to thrive after decades of effort. "Essentially, the current VPSO statute provides virtuallyno mission, vision, or statutory law enforcement dutiesfor the program or the VPSO personnel", the task forcereport says. [Extracted from the article]