Rep. Ivy Spohnholz

We are now 11 years into annual net outmigration of Alaskans. It's time to start investing in Alaska and Alaskans so we can keep talented people here where we want them.

Alaska’s working population loss casts long shadow over legislative session - Alaska Beacon For an 11th consecutive year, more people moved out of Alaska than moved into the state, and the state's working-age population dropped.

Well that’s a wrap folks! Today a new legislature is sworn in and my time as Representative comes to an end. These last six and a half years representing my neighbors on east Anchorage have been amazing. I hope we did a good job of serving the community, set a high bar for personal accountability and integrity, and drove investments and policy that made Alaskans lives better.

However, there is a season for everything. Now it’s time for others to step into the arena. There are some truly amazing leaders who have stepped up to serve our communities. I wish them the best of luck and thank them for taking on the awesome privilege and responsibility that is public service.

This isn’t the end of service for me. My life has been about service to others and that won’t change. However, this next chapter takes me back to the nonprofit sector where I am working on climate change and sustainable community development at the Nature Conservancy in Alaska.

Thank you to everyone who helped support my public service over the last few years: the amazing staff who were truly my colleagues, my fellow elected officials from all across Alaska and in other states, the volunteers and donors who helped me win three elections, and the policy experts and advocates who helped us craft good policy. I say that “team work makes the dream work” a lot but it’s really true and I could not have done it without the help of literally hundreds of people. Thank you to each one of you.

The Anchorage Transportation Fair is coming up.

You can learn about road, rail, pedestrian, air, and safety projects being planned and designed near you

Date: Thursday, January 12, 2023
Time: 3:00 PM - 7:00 PM
Location: Alaska Airlines Center, Auxiliary Gym, 3550 Providence Drive, Anchorage

Snacks available while supplies last.

Featured Projects
1) Seward Hwy/36th Ave Interchange
2) Spenard Road Rehabilitation: Minnesota to Benson
3) Seward - Glenn Mobility Planning & Environmental Linkages Study
4) 42nd Ave Upgrade
5) Providence/University Dr Surface Rehabilitation
6) Municipality of Anchorage Traffic Engineering
And more.

You can learn more about the Anchorage Transportation Fair here: https://anchorage-transportation-fair-baker.hub.arcgis.com

East Anchorage neighbors,

Mayor Bronson has been indicating to community members an interest in reviving the “East Anchorage Homeless Shelter” at the corner of Tudor and Elmore. We need more low barrier shelter and permanent supportive housing in Anchorage, but this proposed shelter had not been designed with our homeless community members in mind or a fully fleshed out budget and operational plan.

If you are concerned about the effort to revive this poorly designed proposal for a mega shelter, consider:
1) reaching out to the Anchorage assembly at [email protected]
2) Getting involved in the University Area Community Council Tudor and Elmore Shelter committee.

You can learn more about the Tudor and Elmore Shelter and the UACC.

The Federation of Community Councils :: Download files Want to stay up to date with what's happening in your community? Then sign up with your email address and we'll make sure you're kept current with all the important happenings.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) recently released its draft National Broadband Map that shows broadband availability at the individual address level. The map will help calculate how over $1 billion in funds are allocated for broadband in Alaska.

Importantly, if the Alaska map is inaccurate, unserved and underserved areas may not receive the funding they need for broadband expansion. This is especially important in rural Alaska.

That’s where you can help. The current Alaska map is just a start and new maps will be created based on “Challenges” provided by you and your community.

The Alaska Office of Broadband is asking for your help. The new map is based on information from internet service providers, but we need Alaskans to participate to ensure that the map is accurate.

To check your address, go to the FCC's online map linked below. Enter your address, and a location summary of your address will appear with the speed and names of providers that are available.

If this information is incorrect, you can file a location, availability, or mobile coverage challenge by following the instructions on the FCC website.

Types of Challenges:

-Location Challenge: If you think the information about a location on the map (such as its address, coordinates, or building type) is inaccurate, you can submit a "Location Challenge" to dispute it.

-Availability Challenge: If you think the information reported by a provider (or multiple providers) about the fixed broadband services offered to a location is inaccurate, you can submit an "Availability Challenge" to dispute it. To do this, click the appropriate challenge link on the right side of the page and fill out the required fields in the pop-up window.

-Mobile Coverage Challenge: To challenge coverage information shown on the Mobile map, download the FCC's speed test app.

Have further questions? You can contact our State Broadband Office at: 907-269-4048

National Broadband Map

Happy New Year! There is so much to look forward to with the turn of a few year. The chance to reset and focus on improving our lives through a new year’s resolution is something many of us do.

If your New Years resolution is focusing on improving your health in 2023 the State of Alaska has some free resources to help you do it.

The Fresh Start programs can help you:
-lose weight,
-move more,
-lower blood sugar
-lower blood pressure, and
-stop smoking, chewing to***co or va**ng.

All of these programs are free. Many match you with a coach so you don't have to do it alone. Many can be completed online, over the phone and at your pace — wherever you are in Alaska.

Thousands of us have already joined and are experiencing great results—losing weight, lowering blood pressure, quitting to***co products, controlling diabetes and more. Check it out for yourself and pass it on to your friends and family too!

Department of Health Fresh Start: Free Programs for Better Health

Thanks to Caroline Storm a former legislative candidate, an Anchorage parent and a member of Great Alaska Schools for writing a solid editorial about the need to address education funding in Alaska.

What the State of Alaska provides to pay for education through the Base Student Allocation isn’t enough to cover the basic cost of providing education. Additionally, most local communities throughout the state, including Anchorage, are already contributing the maximum local match allowed by law.

Local communities have been making do Storm writes, by “eliminating teacher and support positions, increasing class sizes, closing schools, eliminating cafeterias and meal programs and simply exhausting teachers to the point that thousands have quit the profession or left the state. These issues have also been compounded by the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact upon our schools and students over the past three years.”

We’ve all become acutely aware of the impact of inflation on buying power for just about everything. Schools are no different. To illustrate the scale of the problem Storm shared that, “To keep up with the rate of inflation, since 2011 the BSA would need to have been increased by about $1,300 per student over the last decade instead of the only $250 that was actually funded.”

Add your voice to the growing chorus of Alaskans who want to solve this problem by:

1. contacting Great Alaska Schools on Facebook or emailing [email protected], and
2. asking your legislators and the governor to reinvest in our kids and our public schools.

It’s time to take action for our children and the health of our communities.

Alaska needs to reinvest in education COMMENTARY The commentary in the ADN on Dec. 18 penned by Gov. Mike Du

Over the past months Anchorage School District had considered proposals to close six elementary schools to address a $48 million budget gap. The School board considered all of them but by yesterday’s December 19th meeting only one remained on the list for possible closure: Abbott Loop Elementary.

Last night the School Board voted to:
1) recommend closing Abbott Loop Elementary saving about $1 million.
2) use $28.34 million in one-time funds from district savings.
3) raise the pupil-to-teacher ratio by one student to save $7.1 million.
4) cut a virtual learning program saving $690,000.
5) make $2.1 million in administrative cuts and $1 million in operations reductions.
7) move sixth grade to middle school in a phased timeframe.

These are not final decisions but guidenanc to the ASD staff as they work to prepare final budget recommendations to the ASD board in February when it has to pass a preliminary budget in February

The district faces an budget crisis of around $48 million dollars and is still considering other options to reduce the deficit including cutting programs and moving 6th grade into middle schools.

If you want to reach the Anchorage School Board with recommendations about how to approach the fiscal gap you can email them at [email protected].

If you are interested in learning more about what you can do to advocate for more funding for public education sent me an email at Rep.Ivy.Spohnholz@akleg.

Anchorage School Board green-lights closure of Abbot Loop Elementary, among other cuts Anchorage School District board members on Monday finalized budget priorities and guidance for the district, making up for $40 million of a $48 million deficit next year.

As we prepare for the holidays and family gatherings, it's great that the US government is providing more free COVID-19 home tests. All residential households in the U.S. can order one set of four free at-home tests from USPS.com.

Here's what you need to know about your order:

-Limit of one order per residential address
-One order includes #4 individual rapid antigen COVID-19 tests
-Orders will ship free starting the week of December 19, 2022

(COVID.gov/tests has more details about at-home tests, including extended shelf life and updated expiration dates)

COVID Home Tests | USPS COVID Home Tests | USPS

Russian Jack Community Council is hosting their annual potluck meeting tonight at 6:30PM! You can attend in person at Zion Lutheran Church or on Zoom. Join the meeting here https://bit.ly/3WmHMcN

Rep. Sara Rasmussen and I just published an editorial in the Anchorage Daily News about the need to extend the federal child tax credit.

In Alaska, the average annual cost of child care for a toddler is $11,300. That means that a two-parent household in Alaska, on average, needs to spend 14% of their income on care for each child every year.

These expenses are wearing on Alaska parents. In fact, 20% of mothers, often the primary caregiver, quit their jobs to stay home with their children. Parents increasingly dropping out of the workforce due to child care issues has resulted in an estimated $165 million loss annually for our state. Often, the parent leaving the workforce is the mother because women are often paid less for their work than men. This means this issue disproportionately impacts women’s careers.

The federal child tax credit needs to be extended to help working families meet this growing challenge. There are proposals to do this in congress right now that can make a difference in working families lives now.

As two state representatives who have worked together across the political aisle in the past, we know our national leaders can compromise on a proposal to enhance the CTC in a bipartisan way to help families across the country when they need it most. You can write our federal delegation and urge them to urgently support extending the CTC.

Reach out to Sen. Lisa Murkowski at:
https://www.murkowski.senate.gov/contact/email

Reach out to Sen. Dan Sullivan at:
https://www.sullivan.senate.gov/contact/email

Reach out to Rep. Mary Sattler Peltola at:
https://peltola.house.gov/contact/

OPINION: Child care tax credits help working families Parents increasingly dropping out of the workforce due to child care issues has resulted in an estimated $165 million loss annually for our state.

The legislature is hiring nonpartisan floor staff for this upcoming session! This is a great opportunity to see learn how the legislature works, support the legislative process and is a great stepping stone for people who are interested in public service or becoming legislative staff. Many people who work for the legislature got their start as pages.

To apply or for more information contact Micaela Bradner, Sergeant at Arms, at [email protected] or call 907-465-3854.

Anchorage schools and state offices are closed again today due to snow. Stay home if you can.

If you can’t and are driving be safe and be sure to look out for pedestrians. Many Anchorage residents rely on the busses to get to and from work and home and don’t have the luxury of staying home.

The Affordable Care Act Open Enrollment period is November 1, 2022 – January 15, 2023 which means you can get signed up for low cost or free health insurance depending on your income.

In Anchorage, United Way of Anchorage Healthcare Navigators can help you by providing free and confidential assistance with:
1) Finding the right healthcare plan for you and your family
2) Applying for coverage at HealthCare.gov, including applying for financial assistance
3) Renewing or updating your current plan
4) Medicaid and Denali KidCare enrollment
Language translation services are available as needed.

Navigators will be available at community events at the Loussac and Mountain View libraries. The schedule is available at: https://www.anchoragelibrary.org/about/about-apl/library-news/navigating-your-healthcare-options-apl/

Get 2023 health coverage. Health Insurance Marketplace® Official site of Affordable Care Act. Enroll now for 2023 coverage. See health coverage choices, ways to save today, how law affects you.

University Area Community Council meets TONIGHT! December 7th at 7:00pm on Zoom. Join the meeting here: https://bit.ly/3BgJHaB

Are you interested in watching the ranked choice tabulation for the fall general election?

It is is scheduled for 4 p.m. on Wednesday, November 23rd and will be live-streamed by Gavel Alaska on KTOO 360TV linked below. Pass it on!

2022 Alaska Ranked Choice Vote Count Gavel Alaska - November 23, 2022 4:00 pm - Special coverage of the 2022 Alaska Ranked Choice Vote Count from the Alaska Division of Elections headquarters in Juneau. ...

Concerned about closing schools? Ask questions at upcoming town halls. In person town halls will take place at the schools in question. Virtual town halls will discuss all 6 potential school closures. All town halls wills start at 6pm. For more information visit: https://www.asdk12.org/Page/19459

Northeast Community Council meets Thursday at 7pm in the Centennial Village multipurpose room and on Zoom. Doors open early at 6:30 for a potluck if you’d like to bring something to share. For more information visit https://www.communitycouncils.org/servlet/content/23.html

You can see the current elections results of the first choice votes can look at the State of Alaska’s Division of Elections website here—>https://www.elections.alaska.gov/results/22GENR/ElectionSummaryReportRPT.pdf

The Divisions of Elections is now waiting the legally required 15 days for the complete vote count on Wednesday, November 23 to ensure that we have all of the absentee ballots in hand. You can see the official report of absentee and early voting at the Division of Elections report here—>https://www.elections.alaska.gov/doc/info/Combined%20Ballot%20Count%20Report_11.7.2022.pdf

Both of these reports are updated periodically and are the best source of accurate information about specific races and the number of ballots yet to count.

The ranked choice tabulations will be done on Wednesday, November 23rd at 4pm. At that time we will have final election results.

www.elections.alaska.gov

Tuesday, November 8th is Election Day. If you haven’t already voted, make a plan to vote tomorrow! The Division of Elections has a list of polling locations throughout the state here: https://www.elections.alaska.gov/election-polls/.

No sure about the status of your registration or your ballot? You can look it up here:
https://myvoterinformation.alaska.gov/

You can visit the Division of Elections website linked below for this and lots more information about how to vote and the elections.

Finally, don’t forget that the ranked choice tabulation of second, third and fourth choice votes won’t take place until Wednesday, November 23rd at 4pm. That’s to give absentees votes, including those from our overseas military members, the legally required 15 days to come in. You will be able to watch the tabulation live that day if you want. More details to come!

Alaska Division of Elections - Voter Information State of Alaska Official web site for Alaska Election Information.

Russian Jack Community Council meets Wednesday, November 9th at 6:30pm. You can attend in person at Zion Lutheran Church or stop by on Zoom: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/81834037697

Join me tonight for the University Area Community Council meeting from 7-9pm on zoom! https://us06web.zoom.us/j/82765778493

You can still request an absentee ballot for the November 8th election. It’s easy to do with your drivers license or state identification card at the Division of Elections website linked below. The deadline to apply for an absentee ballot is Saturday, October 29th!

Alaska Division of Elections State of Alaska Official web site for Alaska Election Information.

Northeast Community Council meets Thursday at 7:00pm! Doors of the Centennial Village multipurpose room will open at 6:30 to the public. You can also Zoom in using this link https://bit.ly/3yMJevk

To learn more about the Northeast Community Council including the agenda, board members, area map, meeting schedule and lots more you can visit it’s website at https://www.communitycouncils.org/servlet/content/23.html

The U.S. Board on Geographic Names unanimously voted this week to rename North and South Su***de Peaks in the Chugach mountains to North and South Yuyanq’ Ch’ex, a Dena’ina Athabascan name that translates to “breath from above” or “heaven’s breath.”

Yuyanq’ Ch’ex, pronounced “you-yonk chekh,” was chosen by Helen Dick, an elder and one of the only fluent Dena’ina speakers currently alive in Alaska, according to Pagaran.

The change was the result of a two-year effort that included an online petition with hundreds of signatures, a letter of support from Alaska Legislators that I joined in signing, and persistent efforts by Bill Pagaran, president of a local nonprofit dedicated to su***de prevention among Alaska Native teens called Carry The Cure.

My deepest thanks go to Mr. Pagaran for his persistence and leadership in pursuing this important change and to Carry the Cure for working on su***de prevention! Thanks to Rep. Sara Vance for coordinating the legislative letter. Finding new ways of celebrating our resilience—including the thousands of years of vibrant Alaska native cultures and peoples in Alaska—is an important part of changing our culture for the good.

Su***de was the leading cause of death for Alaskan young people aged 15-19 in 2019–but it doesn’t have to be that way. The work to help people find other ways of addressing their pain is key. If you or someone you know needs support you can call 988 to get connected to resources.

Su***de Peaks receive new Dena’ina name of Yuyanq’ Ch’ex ANCHORAGENew name, which means ‘breath from above’ or ‘heaven’

Great news! Thursday the federal Board of Geographic Names unanimously voted to rename North Su***de Peak and South Su***de Peak will now be officially known as North Yuyanq’ Ch’ex and South Yuyanq’ Ch’ex, respectively. Pronounced “you-yonk cheh,” the name means “Heaven’s Breath” in Athabascan.

The new names are already on display in the official online register!

You can read more about it here: https://alaskabeacon.com/briefs/a-two-year-drive-successfully-renames-two-southcentral-alaska-mountains/?eType=EmailBlastContent&eId=359f8a6c-3250-44ae-aeb1-27af38fd119d

The Forest Service recently received $14.4 million from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law for the construction, reconstruction, relocation, and repair of cabins in Alaska.

More than 50 cabin proposals have been gathered from previous community engagement efforts. The Region wants the public’s help in narrowing down which proposals should move forward.

You can submit comments online using an interactive Alaska Region Cabins comment site through Oct. 31. If you have questions or difficulties with the web map, or if you’d prefer to email your comments you can email [email protected].

Region 10 - Recreation Secure .gov websites use HTTPS A lock ( ) or https:// means you've safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Russian Jack Community Council meets tonight at 6:30pm! You can stop by Zion Lutheran Church or call in by Zoom here: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/81834037697

This is great news for Alaskans interested in attending law school!