The Alaska Landmine

The Alaska Landmine provides unbiased news about Alaska that you might not find in other media sources. We present our stories in an engaging, lively, and enjoyable manner!

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The Sunday Minefield - May 25, 2025

1 week ago | alaskalandmine.com | Jeff Landfield

I hope everyone had a good Memorial Day weekend! I took the ferry to Haines from Juneau early Friday morning with some friends. I spent Saturday at the Haines Beerfest, which was a lot of fun. I spent the entire day yesterday driving back with a buddy. The drive took 12 hours! So the Sunday Minefield is a day late this week.
The Sunday Minefield - May 18, 2025

2 weeks ago | alaskalandmine.com | Jeff Landfield

There are just three days left until the end of the 121-day session! By all accounts, it looks like they may actually finish up a day sooner this year. The conference committee finished its work on the operating budget today, meaning it should be on members’ desks tomorrow. The Legislature met in a joint session this week to vote on Governor Mike Dunleavy’s (R – Alaska) nominees to boards and commissions. One vote was extremely loose.
The Terry Miller Naughty Nine: Where are they now

3 weeks ago | alaskalandmine.com | Jeff Landfield

On April 6, 2021 all hell broke loose in the Capitol after Must Read Alaska’s Suzanne Downing published a story, “Party Capitol: Beer pong, leg wrestling, and a terse memo from Legislative Affairs.” The story stemmed from a gathering of nine politicos (who were later dubbed the Naughty Nine) that had taken place at the Terry Miller legislative gym six nights prior.
The Sunday Minefield - May 11, 2025

3 weeks ago | alaskalandmine.com | Jeff Landfield

Just ten days remain until the end of the regular session. Surprisingly, things seem to be moving along rather smoothly. The House failed to concur with the Senate’s changes to the operating budget, sending it to a conference committee. The House is scheduled to hear amendments to the capital budget tomorrow. The House also spent all day on Saturday (5/10/2025) hearing several bills, including the pension bill.
The Sunday Minefield - May 4, 2025

1 month ago | alaskalandmine.com | Jeff Landfield

May the Fourth be with you! Only 17 days remain until the end of the regular session, and things finally look like they are starting to come together. First, after a small hiccup, the Legislature passed a new education bill and transmitted it to Governor Mike Dunleavy (R – Alaska). A veto seems likely, but the Legislature has the override votes this time. Both finance committees introduced committee substitutes for the operating and capital budgets.
Aloha: Crum caught cold on unauthorized Hawaiian vacation

1 month ago | alaskalandmine.com | Jeff Landfield

On Friday, April 4, then-Deputy Revenue Commissioner Fadil Limani got a call from Revenue Commissioner Adam Crum at the end of the workday. Limani did not know that he was about to be fired over the phone by Crum. Limani had worked as Crum’s deputy since March 2023, and had done much of the high-level finance related work at the department. What Limani – and the Governor’s Office – did not know was that Crum was in Hawaii on an unauthorized family vacation when he called Limani.
The Sunday Minefield - April 27, 2025

1 month ago | alaskalandmine.com | Jeff Landfield

We are approaching day 100 of the legislative session, which means there is just over three weeks left in the regular session. The annual Legislative Skits was held last night in Juneau at Centennial Hall. Minus some AV and tech issues, it was a fun and packed event. The House and Senate finally transmitted the operating and capital budgets to one another. The Senate is continuing to cut spending to avoid a savings draw.
Legislature should provide lobbyists with key fobs to bypass new Capitol security screening

1 month ago | alaskalandmine.com | Jeff Landfield

Let me start by saying I totally disagree with the recent decision by Legislative Council to require visitors to the Capitol to go through a metal detector. I think it was a huge mistake. It’s too bad Juneau can’t properly police their vagrant problem – the real reason this was implemented. The decision was not well thought out and will result in many unintended consequences – namely long waits to get into the Capitol when there are large groups of visitors like students, trade groups, or tourists.
Speaker Edgmon told Minority Leader Costello about controversial PFD amendment hours before it was offered

1 month ago | alaskalandmine.com | Jeff Landfield

On Friday, April 11, the House passed a floor amendment to the budget that lowered the Permanent Fund Dividend (PFD) from the statutory amount to an amount equal to 25% of the yearly draw from the Permanent Fund, referred to as 25/75. This lowered the PFD in the House budget to approximately $1,400 from $3,900. It also lowered the deficit from $1.8 billion to $238 million. This was the only amendment offered that day by the House majority.
The Sunday Minefield - April 20, 2025

1 month ago | alaskalandmine.com | Jeff Landfield

I hope everyone had a good Easter weekend! It was a short week in Juneau as many people headed home for Easter. Tomorrow is day 90 of the legislative session, which means another year of not finishing by the statutory deadline. The big news this week was Governor Mike Dunleavy’s (R – Alaska) veto of the education bill that increased the Base Student Allocation (BSA) by $1,000. A joint session to consider a veto override is supposed to happen on Tuesday, though it has not been scheduled yet.