Alaska Man Monday – Heroes, Migrations and Tunnels

This week we have some good, some bad, and some… I don’t know.

First – a real Alaska hero.

A dream over two years in the making is finally coming true for 10-year-old Owen Ningeulook.

Through the Make-A-Wish Foundation, the Ningeulook family will travel over 2,200 miles from their home of Shishmaref to Orlando, Florida where a week at Disney World awaits. 

But before boarding the jet in Nome on Friday, Ningeulook was treated to a hero’s send-off by Alaska Airlines. Cardboard cutouts of R2-D2 and C-3PO graced the waiting area of the Nome airport. Alaska Airlines also gifted Ningeulook a Spiderman backpack packed with travel goodies and let the family of six board first.

Once in Orlando, the Ningeulooks will stay at the 89-acre Give Kids the World Village. There, families of those dealing with critical illnesses are invited to stay for free. 

I’ve had my differences with the folks at Make-A-Wish before; they denied a few kids whose last requests were for a hunting trip with Dad. But in this case, they did good. Their primary purpose is, after all, to make the dreams of sick kids come true, and if that kid wants to go to Disney World, more power to him.

Alaska Man Score: 5 moose nuggets. Well done to all involved.

See Related: Big Win for Students and Parents in NC – State House Overrides Governor’s Veto of School Choice Bill

This is a matter of some concern: More people are leaving the Great Land than are moving in.

Alaska is losing its residents to Texas, Oregon, Washington and Florida.

That’s according to 2023 American Community Survey results, an annual demographics survey conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau.

From 2022 to 2023, Alaska lost more residents than it gained, maintaining a trend that has existed for more than a decade.

Though Alaska has long led the nation in annual population turnover — typically, about 45,000 people moved both into and out of the state annually, said Alaska Department of Labor & Workforce Development demographer, Eric Sandberg — “what has changed is that the number leaving is now consistently higher than the number coming in.”

About 35,800 residents left the state between 2022 and 2023, while only about 30,676 arrived, data shows.

I’m not sure what to think of this. People leaving will lower property values, not that this affects us much, as we never plan to leave this place unless it’s feet-first, and we may be able to snag up some land if the trend accelerates. But Alaska does need people, and it would be bad if this trend accelerates. Granted, Alaska isn’t for everyone, and plenty of people come up in the summer, think, “Oh, how beautiful” (they’re right), and buy a house – and don’t make it through their first winter. The Great Land is vast, wild, clean, and free, but while our summers are short, mild, and pleasant, our winters – while likewise beautiful – are long, cold, and dark. Winter here is not to be taken lightly, and plenty of people have been defeated by them. A friend of mine is fond of telling people, “If you make it through two winters, you’ll never leave,” and plenty of people don’t make it through that first or second winter – the cheechako years. 

And, as I look out the window, it’s snowing right now. They’re predicting 3-6 inches of white stuff in the next 48 hours.

Alaska Man Score: 2.5 of 5 moose nuggets. There’s good and bad here, and I’m not sure which worries me more.

See Related: Perspective: A Walk in the Woods

And finally: The state of Alaska is planning to spend a bunch more money studying a Knik Arm tunnel. My thoughts? NOOOO!

A new state study will examine whether to build a tunnel under the Knik Arm to create a second highway connection between Mat-Su and Anchorage.

The study is the latest in a series of similar proposals commissioned by the Alaska Department of Transportation over the past 20 years. It was prompted by recent advances in tunneling technology and increased traffic along the aging Glenn Highway between Mat-Su and Anchorage, according to contract bid documents released Wednesday.

The proposed tunnel would run under the Knik Arm and connect the largely undeveloped Point MacKenzie area to the Government Hill neighborhood in Anchorage, the documents state.

The study will examine tunnel costs, construction methods, engineering challenges, economic benefits and environmental impacts, among other factors. It is expected to cost at least $1 million and is set for completion late next year.

This would result in more and more housing up KGB (No, not that KGB; up here that means “Knik-Goose Bay) and eventually up the Susitna Valley, possibly turning us into a suburb of Anchorage. Sure it would cut some time off our drive to the airport – but that’s OK, we’ll make the drive!

Alaska Man Score: 0 moose nuggets. Alaska, please please please don’t do this. We like the Susitna Valley the way it is – and we don’t want to become a bedroom community for Anchorage.

Now then, let’s talk about the final results of Alaska’s election – and what will happen next.

This post was originally published on this site