FOUNDATION UPDATES

• We are taking recommendations for our next scholarship awardee. Please contact us with any potential Alaskan students that would benefit from a DC internship summer of 2027.

• August 1, 2026 Update: AKDC Foundation met with its rising senior scholarship recipient Owen that interned in the US Senate and will be returning to Marquette’s Milwaukee campus, via Anchorage, soon. More to come on Owen’s experience and future plans.

• December 2025 Update: To close out 2025 we made a donation to Marquette University’s Les Aspin Center for Government D.C. internship program covering tuition for one student to attend a summer program.

• Essay on Philanthropyby Laurene Powell Jobs 2025

  “…True generosity flows quietly to communities that already know what they need, building capacity not dependency…”

NEWS AND ISSUES

TOP STORIES

NOTUS: Trump Is Quietly Planning to Majorly Change How National Parks Are Run All Interior Department bureaus are considering major shake-ups under an edict from leadership.

Alaska holds the largest share of National Park Service land in the nation with more than 50 million acres.

"Two Dan Sullivans" set to share the U.S. Senate ballot

As the Aug. 18 primary count is finalized, Alaska's marquee U.S. Senate race is heading to November with a wrinkle that could scramble the outcome. Three candidates have locked in general-election slots: Democrat Mary Peltola (about 48%), Republican incumbent Sen. Dan S. Sullivan (about 43%), and — in a twist — a second Republican named Dan J. Sullivan, a first-time candidate from Petersburg whom state Republicans have taken to calling “Decoy Dan” out of concern that voters will confuse the two names on the ballot. The challenger insists he is not trying to deceive anyone, saying his frustration with the incumbent “just sort of hit harder” because they share a name.

The fourth and final ballot spot remained too close to call, with Democrat David Leslie and Republican Gerald Heikes separated by roughly two dozen votes in preliminary results. The contest has already drawn more than $30 million in spending and is rated one of only four true toss-ups nationally, with Senate control potentially in the balance. A Peltola win would make her the first Alaska Native woman in the U.S. Senate.

POLITICS

Governor's race — Democrats lead, and talk of consolidating the field

With the open-seat governor's race (Gov. Dunleavy is term-limited) now set for a ranked-choice general, Democrat Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins leads the pack coming out of the 17-candidate primary, with fellow Democrat Tom Begich also advancing and Republicans Bernadette Wilson and Dave Bronson taking the remaining top-four slots. Top candidates are publicly weighing whether to consolidate the field before November — a recognition that a split vote under ranked-choice voting could prove decisive. Expect coordination, endorsements, and possible withdrawals to be a running storyline into the fall.

POLICY · LEGISLATURE

Gasline compromise dies — third failed special session

Gov. Dunleavy's LNG/gasline compromise — which would have swapped the petroleum property tax for a tax on piped gas, capped in-state gas costs, and added a 2% corporate income tax on certain oil and gas firms — is now effectively dead, the third special session of 2026 devoted to pipeline taxation to end without action. Opposition was broad: the Alaska Chamber and business groups, oil producer Hilcorp (citing higher production costs), and both House caucuses. Senate President Gary Stevens questioned whether 2% was adequate and said the matter should be “turned over to the new governor”; Speaker Bryce Edgmon reiterated “the votes just aren't there.” Neither chamber plans to reconvene, leaving the gasline's tax framework to the next legislature and governor in January.

ECONOMY · ENERGY

Federal push meets uneven market appetite

Federal policy continues to tilt toward an Alaska oil-and-gas surge, but market appetite is uneven. The 2026 ANWR Coastal Plain lease sale drew only about $3.7 million in winning bids, with major oil and gas companies staying on the sidelines even as the federal government moved to limit legal and regulatory obstacles to leasing in the refuge.

MILITARY · ARCTIC DEFENSE

Polar Dagger 26 continues across the Bering Strait region

Polar Dagger 26 continues across the Bering Strait region and western Alaska coast through the end of August, with Nome as the logistics hub. U.S. Special Operations Command North (SOCNORTH) — including Naval Special Warfare operators — is running the homeland-defense exercise across air, land, and maritime domains at more simultaneous sites than the past two years.

ARCTIC · INTERNATIONAL

Alaska stays central to a sharpening Arctic security debate

Sen. Dan Sullivan has been pressing Arctic security themes — Russia-China joint incursions near U.S. airspace and waters and a “historic” Coast Guard icebreaker build-up. Analysts continue to weigh renewed Arctic diplomacy (including the fallout from this year's Trump–Putin Alaska summit) against persistent U.S.–Russia–China friction. Alaska's geography — its proximity to Russia and command of the Bering Strait approaches — keeps it at the heart of both the deterrence posture and any diplomatic opening.

Sources: Alaska Public Media, Anchorage Daily News, The Hill, Newsweek, Alaska Beacon, World Oil, High North News, Army Recognition, KNOM, Sen. Dan Sullivan's office, The Arctic Institute, Quincy Institute. Compiled automatically from public reporting on August 21, 2026.

ARCHIVE OF KEY ISSUES

Millions in federal funding shoveled into Alaska Railroad

Repairs needed for Alaska’s tallest rail bridge, by Joe Allgood

WSJ: China Is Opening the First Regular Cargo Route Through the Arctic

Sending containerships through northern passage now makes financial sense because of high oil prices and climate change

Energy Security for U.S. Allies, Courtesy of AlaskaBy Gov Mike Dunleavy

A new pipeline will make it possible to ship natural gas to Japan, Korea and Taiwan for decades.

Mission:

Promoting the value of Alaska in the Union, Arctic and world through research, exchanges and public education campaigns.

We are always interested in ideas to support our mission. We have multiple opportunities available.

CONTACT

907-764-2944

Anchorage, Alaska | Washington, D.C.