Back on April of this year I talked with members of the Anchorage Child Care and Early Education Fund implementation team. At that time they were doing research and hearing from the community about how to spend the $5 million dollars of marijuana tax money earmarked for Child Care and Early Education made possible by Proposition 14 in 2023. They ha…

There have been a good number of Major Leaguers to have their start in Alaska playing summer college baseball. Only two are in the Hall of Fame – Tom Seaver and Dave Winfield. But before there ever was summer college baseball in the state, one Hall of Fame player spent a part of their early career in Alaska. For that story we need to go back to 194…

The neighborhood of Fairview, on the Northside of Anchorage, is considered one of Anchorage’s original four neighborhoods along with Downtown, South Addition and Mountain View. However, what is less known is that Fairview was once its own individual town independent of Anchorage. Today most Anchorage residents don’t think about Fairview too much. I…

Anchorage has its first elected female mayor. In light of the election of Suzaane LaFrance as Anchorage’s mayor we are returning to a previous episode - S2:E10: Anchorage, Boston, Elections and All Male Mayors – which outlines the city’s history of electing only men to the Anchorage’s top office. #anchoredcity https://anchorageutc.org https://www.f…

In April of 2023 Anchorage Voters passed Proposition 14 by a 12-point margin. That proposition dedicates marijuana tax money to child care and early child care education – estimated to be between $4 & $6 million per year. These funds seem to come at just the right time. Due to the scarcity of programs as well as the cost of care and lack of high-qu…

Fentanyl is a dangerous drug that is killing Alaskans. In a report released in September of 2023 about drug overdose deaths in Alaska it was noted that “Fentanyl was involved in four out of five opioid overdose deaths, and many of these fentanyl-involved overdose deaths involved an additional substance, such as methamphetamine or heroin.” On this e…

Fentanyl is a dangerous drug that is killing Alaskans. In a report released in September of 2023 about drug overdose deaths in Alaska it was noted that “Fentanyl was involved in four out of five opioid overdose deaths, and many of these fentanyl-involved overdose deaths involved an additional substance, such as methamphetamine or heroin.” On this e…

St Francis of Assisi is quoted as saying, “Start by doing what's necessary; then do what's possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible.” On this episode we end season 4 by considering how each of us moves forward into doing the impossible. #anchoredcity https://anchorageutc.org https://www.facebook.com/AnchorageUTC @AnchorageUTC Resources U…

Chef Joe Hickel has created his last gingerbread village and it gives us a way to make our city a better place. https://www.captaincookchristmas.com/ https://www.facebook.com/pages/Hotel-Captain-Cook/121352828027525 @thehotelcaptaincook #anchoredcity https://anchorageutc.org https://www.facebook.com/AnchorageUTC @AnchorageUTC Resources Used to Make…

On this episode we ask “What is Possible?” in the area of homelessness and receive two creative, community-based responses from Pastors Undra Parker and Matt Shultz. https://www.shilohmbcalaska.org/ https://www.facebook.com/shiloh.alaska.5 https://firstpresanchorage.org/ https://www.facebook.com/FPChurchAnch @fpchurchanch https://christianhealth.or…

Driving through the through Anchorage it’s nearly impossible to not see our unhoused neighbors. In light of our current situation I wondered how long Anchorage has had people experiencing homelessness. To answer that question I dove into the Anchorage Daily News archives and began looking for the first reference to homelessness as we understand it …

The day after Thanksgiving in 2018 a bullet fired in a drive-by shooting struck Krystal Kompkoff while she was attending a party at a friend’s house. On this episode Krystal shares her journey of healing from violence. #anchoredcity https://anchorageutc.org https://www.facebook.com/AnchorageUTC @AnchorageUTC…

According to US News and World Report Anchorage, Alaska is the #3 most dangerous place to live in the United States. Alaska has had the reputation and reality of violence since the early days of the territory. On this episode we consider a couple of serial killers from Alaska’s past and Anchorage’s most violent year. #anchoredcity https://anchorage…

Underground crime is not a thing of the past in Anchorage. One of those crimes is human trafficking. Join me on this episode as I talk with Josie Heyano of Signify Consulting, about what is possible in the area of human trafficking. Heyano is a Presidentially appointed member of the United States Advisory Council on Human Trafficking, a formal plat…

Anchorage has always had an underground of illegal activity. Those activities might have literally taken place underground in tunnels or basement bars, or they could have figuratively been underground thinly veiled behind words like “resort” or “boarding house.” On this episode we explore some of Anchorage’s underground past. #anchoredcity https://…

On this episode we consider what is possible in the area of substance misuse as we talk about recovery with Tiffany Hall. She shares with us her story of addiction and recovery. Hall is the Executive Director of Recover Alaska and the vice chair of the board of the U.S. Alcohol Policy Alliance. https://recoveralaska.org/ https://www.facebook.com/re…

On this episode we will turn our attention to two different historical stories about mind altering substances…one the legal sale of beer, and the other, Alaska’s long history of semi-legal and legal marijuana. #anchoredcity https://anchorageutc.org https://www.facebook.com/AnchorageUTC @AnchorageUTC Resources Used to Make This Episode: Hear Bill Ho…

It can often feel like racism and racial bias are impossible to overcome. Rev. Dr. Patricia Wilson-Cone joins us on this episode to help us consider what is possible in the area of racism and racial bias. Wilson-Cone is a pastor, scholar, chaplain trainer, and author. Her book Multicultural Diversity: Opening Our Hearts was released in 2019. https:…

When Lin-Manuel Miranda said of his hit musical “This is a story about America then, told by America now” he could not have known how much that connects with the history of Anchorage. When Alaskans packed the Alaska Performing Arts Center to see Hamilton recently many did not know how that building represents the city’s resistance to the diversity …

Over the past three years we have explored the issues facing Anchorage, the places where things are, or are becoming, the way they are supposed to be for all people, and the hydra that is homelessness. In season 4 we will consider “What is possible?” #anchoredcity https://anchorageutc.org https://www.facebook.com/AnchorageUTC @AnchorageUTC Resource…

I recently flew to Seattle, on one of the routes Alaska Air flies known as a milk run. It was a long, slow, and interesting way to fly to Seattle. But the connection between Seattle and Alaska has always included long, slow, interesting journeys. #anchoredcity https://anchorageutc.org https://www.facebook.com/AnchorageUTC @AnchorageUTC Resources Us…

On the third floor of the UAA/APU Library are boxes lining row after row of shelves filled with bits of Alaska’s history. On this episode we visit the UAA/APU Consortium Library Archive with our host Becky Butler. https://archives.consortiumlibrary.org/ https://www.facebook.com/ConsortiumLibraryArchives https://www.facebook.com/ConsortiumLibrary @ …

What likely springs to mind when one thinks of women's baseball is the 1992 movie, "A League of their Own," starring Tom Hanks and Geena Davis. Yet the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League was neither the beginning nor the end of women's baseball. On this episode we'll explore women's baseball in the city of Anchorage. #anchoredcity http…

Back in February of 1921 Anchorage’s first Police Chief was found in an alley with a gunshot wound after just 51 days on the job. For 100 years the death of Jack Sturgus remained a mystery. Have Dr. Laura Koenig and Rick Goodfellow solved this century-old cold-case? In this episode we find out. Dr. Laura Koenig: Artistic Director for the Anchorage …

Perhaps the most prominent statue in downtown is the one of Captain Cook at Resolution Point. A lesser-known statue stands at the Ship Creek Boat Launch and depicts Grandma Olga. Join us on this episode for the story of these two statues. #anchoredcity https://anchoredcity.podbean.com https://anchorageutc.org https://www.facebook.com/AnchorageUTC @…

When I travel to other cities I often play a little game. I ask, how does this city connect with Anchorage? So what is the connection between Montreal, Quebec and Anchorage, Alaska? #anchoredcity https://anchoredcity.podbean.com https://anchorageutc.org https://www.facebook.com/AnchorageUTC @AnchorageUTC Resources Used to Make This Episode: https:/…

BTS 18 – Winter Sports 5: From the Trailer Park to the World Cup w/ Naomi Kiekintveld We have all heard the stories of Anchorage kids who have grown up skiing in the city and ended up racing at the highest levels of the sport, but what about those that chose a different route – coaching? On this episode we are talking to Naomi Kiekintveld who took …

BTS 17 – Winter Sports 4: The History of the Nordic Skiing Association of Anchorage w/ Alice Tower Knapp In a recent review of the book “On Track! The Nordic Ski Association of Anchorage” Chris Bieri wrote in the Anchorage Daily News: “There aren’t many people better positioned to tell the story of the growth and expansion of cross-country skiing i…

Is there a better way to follow up an episode about curling in Anchorage than a conversation with the city’s most famous curler? We don’t think so. On this episode we talk to 2 time Olympian and 3-time national champion curler Jessica Schultz. #anchoredcity https://www.curlak.com https://www.facebook.com/curlAK @curlalaska @rockthis1life Info. on C…

Ever wondered about the sport of curling - you know, the sport that throws rocks at houses and includes brooms and a fair bit of shouting? Our second episode on Winter Sports dials in on the experience of curling at the Anchorage Curling Club in Government Hill! #anchoredcity https://anchoragecurling.com/ https://www.facebook.com/anchoragecurlingcl…

The Westchester Lagoon area has been the home for winter sports since before the Lagoon even existed. Near Westchester Lagoon, just up the hill to the south was a hot spot for sports and social life in Anchorage during the years following World War II. Winter sports – both competitive and social - bring people together in the dark cold winter month…

On this between the seasons episode we are celebrating Black History Month by talking with Ian Hartman and David Reamer who authored the book “Black Lives In Alaska: A History of African Americans in the Far Northwest.” Ian C. Hartman is Associate Professor of History at the University of Alaska Anchorage. David Reamer is a public historian and jou…

On this special between the seasons episode we look at Anchorage’s Christmas’ past, present and future. #anchoredcity Resources Used to Make This Episode: https://www.adn.com/opinions/2021/12/23/in-times-old-and-new-christmas-reminds-us-were-here-in-alaska-together/# https://clarkyerrington.wordpress.com/2014/01/06/empress-theater-1916-2013/ http:/…

In our last episode of season 3 we consider the beautiful question “So What?” in an effort to respond to the Hydra that is Homelessness. Resources Used to Make This Episode: Nicholas Wolterstorff: On the Moral Significance of Poverty https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=89Ph-9oyoBI Cummings, E.E., 1968, Poems, 1923-1954, Harcourt, New York, pp. 332. htt…

On this episode we talk with three experts from outside Anchorage about the hydra of homelessness. We consider creative responses, philosophy, social artistry, compassion, relationship, and the self-care practice of drag. Joining us are: Sparrow Etter-Carlson (Seattle, WA): Subregional Specialist, King County Regional Homelessness Authority Founder…

People facing homelessness are in a vulnerable situation that makes them susceptible to human trafficking. On this episode we are talking to FBI Victim Specialist, Erin Terry about human trafficking in Anchorage and Alaska. @FBIAnchorage #anchoredcity Where can a victim of human trafficking go for help? People who are or believe they may be victims…

On this episode we talk with Jasmine Boyle (Chief Operating Officer, RurAL Cap, Inc.) and Brian Wilson (Executive Director, The Alaska Coalition on Housing and Homelessness) about the rural / urban divide in Alaska. We talk about how those experiencing homelessness in the largest city in the state are not Anchorage’s homeless population, but Alaska…

Grab a cup of coffee, pull up a chair and listen in to our conversation with Samuel Johns. On this episode we are thinking about racism and the legacy of colonialism as one of the heads of the hydra that is homelessness. https://www.facebook.com/AKREBELUTION https://www.facebook.com/groups/forgetmenotak Music Video: AK Rebel (Samuel Johns) - Rise f…

We are taking a break from Season 3 – The Hydra of Homelessness – to celebrate our 50th Episode. We’ve covered a lot of ground over the past couple years. In this episode we are considering the threads that run through it all and the question we ask most often. #anchoredcity Link to the 700+ Responses from the IMAGINE Project https://www.anchorageu…

S3:E8 - The Hydra of Homelessness: Foster Care w/ Kim Guay & Naomi Davidson A story about homelessness that is often told is that young adults exiting the Foster Care system make up a large amount of the homeless population. On this episode we are talking to Kim Guay (Director) & Naomi Davidson (Independent Living Program Coordinator) from the Alas…

S3:E7 - The Hydra of Homelessness: Mental Health w/ Faith J Myers Mental Health and homelessness are closely intertwined. On this episode we hear from Faith J. Myers a mental health and psychiatric patient rights activist who draws on her personal experience to seek better care for Alaskans. Myers is the author of the book “Going Crazy in Alaska: A…

S3:E6 - The Hydra of Homelessness: LGBTQ+ and Homelessness w/ Laura Reijns LGBTQ+ youth risk homelessness at a rate that is 120% higher than other youth. Join us as we talk to Laura Reijns, the Co-Director of Operations for Choosing Our Roots, about LGBTQ+ youth experiencing homelessness in Anchorage. facebook.com/choosingourroots @choosingourroots…

On this episode we look at a head of the Homelessness Hydra that might not be the first thing one might think of: public health. Join us for a conversation with Dr. Emily Mosites, Senior Advisor on Special Populations at Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. facebook.com/cdc @cdcgov www.cdc.gov #anchoredcity Resources Used to Make This Episod…

The stereotype that is often voiced about those experiencing homelessness is that they are substance abusers, but it’s not that simple according to our guests Jen O’Neal (Clinical Supervisor for Supportive Housing) and Catherine Smith (Peer Support Specialist for Supportive Housing) at Volunteers of America. Join us in learning more about how subst…

My co-worker’s daughter asked her recently, “Why don't homeless people who get money save it for housing?" Our guest on this episode, Meg Zaletel has the answer. Zaletel is the Executive Director of The Anchorage Coalition to End Homelessness and represents Midtown (District 4) on the Anchorage Assembly. We are talking about affordable housing with…

S3:E2 - The Hydra of Homelessness: Anchorage’s Homeless History w/ Nancy Burke Anchorage has been dealing with complex social issues like homelessness for a long time. In this episode we learn more about how the city has responded to homelessness over the years from my guest Nancy Burke. Burke has been involved in responding to homelessness for man…

S3:E1 - The Hydra of Homelessness: Roses Are Red, Violets Are Blue, Solving Homelessness is a Hard Thing To Do A pope, a mayor, and an archbishop walk into a podcast. That sounds like the set up for a joke. It’s not. However, in this episode you find out what a Pope, a mayor, and an Arch Bishop – not to mention a rose garden and the mythical beast …

BTS 11: EMERGENCY - BACK TO SCHOOL – ENCORE: A Long Drive To School: A Trailer Park And Its School Zoning The distances that the youth from the Dimond Estates neighborhood travel to school has been inequitable for years, but in light of the current bus driver shortage in Anchorage it has become a matter of discrimination. Here is our encore present…

BTS 10: Summer Music Special Songs are one way to tell a story. In this episode we will talk to a couple musicians (Andy Ball of Rival Dads & Hollis Bryan) who are telling stories through song in Anchorage. For More: Rival Dads: https://www.facebook.com/Rival-Dads-100769102397143 @rivaldadsmusic https://www.instagram.com/rivaldadsmusic/ https://www…

BTS 9: Turning the Tables w/ Julia O’Malley: The Imagine Project On our last episode we heard from Julia O’Malley about the stories of Anchorage’s pandemic year that she is compiling. On this episode we turn the tables and Julia interviews Joel Kiekintveld and Jessica Louwerse about the Anchorage Urban Training Collaborative’s Imagine Project. For …