Alaska appeals court dismisses noncitizen voting case against Whittier woman
Prosecutors could seek a reindictment, but the decision also sets a high bar for future noncitizen voting prosecutions in Alaska
By James Brooks
Alaska Beacon
A three-judge panel of the Alaska Court of Appeals ruled Friday that state prosecutors misled grand jurors who indicted a Whittier resident for allegedly voting illegally.
Had jurors received accurate information, the court said, “the grand jury likely would have declined to indict.”
Tupe Smith, the plaintiff behind Friday’s decision, is one of 11 people — all American Samoans — whom the state of Alaska has accused of criminally violating state law.
Smith had filed a motion to dismiss the case against her, but a state superior court judge ruled against that motion.
In Friday’s 20-page ruling, the three-judge panel reversed the lower court’s rejection and in the process, it also defined a high standard that prosecutors must meet in order to convict someone of voting illegally in Alaska.
“The state’s prosecution against me and my family has been extremely difficult,” Smith said in a written statement provided by her attorneys on Friday. “I feel vindicated by today’s court decision. But at the same time I worry it will not mean the end of the state’s criminal targeting of the American Samoan community in Whittier.”
A spokesman for the Alaska Department of Law said in a statement that the department is “reviewing the Court’s decision and evaluating our available options for how to proceed.”
That could include an appeal to the Alaska Supreme Court.
If Friday’s ruling stands, it has the potential to affect the cases of the 10 other Whittier residents accused of voting illegally — and any other noncitizen voting cases that arise in Alaska.
People born in the U.S. territory of American Samoa are Americans, but they’re not considered U.S. citizens by law and are thus ineligible to vote in Alaska.
Read the entire story at the link below:
Artist Crowley kicks off TNews artist series
By Soren Wuerth
TNews Editor
Artist: Kevin “Kc” Crowley
Parked on the end of a row of vendors selling glitter and hoodies, cannibus merch and fair food Kc Crowley's booth gives pause to the revelor.
Prints display images in cut from woodblock, art made by carving away "negative space" with ink applied to the raised surface.
Crowley's work is deeply personal and potent: a salmon appears to twist to the surface of the print. Black lines swirl and ripple with a sense of depth, as if looking at the surface of a river, stripped of its negative space by dappling sunlight, revealed by shades of leaves.
We begin a monthly artist feature with Kc's print and words. Each month, Kc will help curate an artist feature while sharing his own prints and poetry. TNews hopes the feature sparks a deeper dive into local, Alaska art. We will continue to feature full articles and photos of our local artists doing their thing (yo, Tommy!), and want to open this section to anyone with creative ideas and imaginings.
By Kc Crowley
Artist Statement
As a kid I guess the whole art thing really started with comic books, I grew up loving comics (especially the black and white indie comics of the 80's ) and this love naturally sort of grew into tattooing and then eventually into the carving and designing woodblocks. Most of my inspiration comes from my time in the mountains or on the water. I never went to art school or took any classes so my process for printmaking is very circuitous and self taught, I have relied heavily on the local library for instructional guides but mostly just learned from my mistakes.
DOG WALK, PART 1
She’s a sled dog
A full bred dog
A sleek and round well-fed dog
A leader, not a led dog
Go roll in something dead dog
Track mud up on the bed dog
Fall asleep on top my head dog
Cover sofas with fur shed dog
In spite of all I’ve said dog
There’s none I’d have instead dog
Read and view the entire series of poems and art
https://www.turnagainnews.org/articles/crowley-kicks-off-tnews-artist-feature
Test Results Give Downtown Water System All Clear
By Soren Wuerth
TNews Editor
When notices appeared on doors in downtown Girdwood last week cautioning users to boil their water for sanitation, some worried about the dependability and safety of water from a 61-year-old well system run by a cooperative.
It was the same water system, after all, that froze last winter forcing residents of Skiview Condos to rely on a hose from a nearby restaurant for water.
Read the entire story at the link below:
https://www.turnagainnews.org/articles/test-results-give-downtown-water-system-all-clearnbsp
Whittier natural gas shutdown shows vulnerability of communities outside the Anchorage bowl
By Chase Berenson
TNews Staffwriter
Whittier residents may have to wait until Sept. 5 or later before the flow of gas resumes through a pipeline connecting the port town’s gas supply to Anchorage.
Read the entire story and more photos at the link below:
Local Firefighters Recognized for Trainings and Service
By Soren Wuerth
TNews Editor
A sunlit ceremony held Saturday for Girdwood firefighters began with an almost unwavering rendition of Star Spangled Banner by 10-year-old Madison Woods, a fifth-grader at the local school.
Firefighters in sharp, pleated outfits, some donning white dress caps, waited through commendations to receive badges recognizing milestones in their training.
Read the entire story at the link below:
https://www.turnagainnews.org/articles/local-firefighters-recognized-for-trainings-and-service
Two ‘Leggeds’ Not Only Customers Addicted to Girdwood's Sunday Market
By Soren Wuerth
TNews Editor
Once you hear the flavors of cookies arranged neatly on three trays, you're tempted to pluck a free sample.
"Rolled Oats Pumpkin Tahini", "Wild Blueberry", and "Savory Sesame with Seaweed."
Ah. But wait.
These are treats for the four-legged grazers at Girdwood's Sunday Market. And though the snacks sound delicious, Mountain Mutts owner Gus Brewer has local dogs in mind.
"Dogs are addicted to my ingredients," says Brewer, who started making his dog treats four years ago and is a regular vendor at the market.
The lucky guinea pigs for Brewer's recipes are Betty and Marley, his boxers.
"They are addicted to the treats," he says.
A booth or two down, a poodle sniffs at a table, a two-legged leashed to her.
Before the eager future Mountain Mutt junkie approaches, Brewer is saying that though the business takes up much of his time, it's a side hustle. He has a winter gig at the Resort. ("I learned I'm a natural teacher," he says.)
"Mountain Mutts is more than a dog business," Brewer says, lifting a brochure. Proceeds help the Food Pantry and Friends of Pets.
"We like giving back to the community," he says.
Along comes the poodle. Look out! One Mountain Mutt treat disappears. She's addicted.
Mountain Mitt treats can be found locally at The Grind, Alyeska Resort and Mother Hubbard's.
Tiny Green Bugs Hop Into Town
Leafhoppers Suddenly Everywhere
By Soren Wuerth
TNews Editor
They flecked car windshields, flitted clumsily into doorways, flung themselves into hair and sucking sap from anything from willow to cottonwood.
Leafhoppers descended into Girdwood valley like a green snowfall during the past week. There were especially numerous in the Crow Creek's upper valley, a "plague" not seen in years, or ever.
Their larvae coated roads like grains spread by sand trucks. The little creatures speckled windows and screens. They were everywhere all at once.
Read the entire story at the link below:
https://www.turnagainnews.org/articles/tiny-green-bugs-hop-into-town
Whittier Weighs Future of Waterfront Leases Amid Growth
By Soren Wuerth
TNews Editor
Kelly Bender sat on a table outside her cafe, the Frisky Mermaid, on an overcast day last month and worried about the future of her business.
Finley, her German shepherd, chased a ball on the deck while patrons ducked inside the narrow shop for coffee, pastries or the cafe's signature homemade fudge. A few travelers nestled in chairs at the back of the shop gazing out at Whittier's boat harbor below.
A fixture on the community's oceanfront, the coffeehouse is in danger of losing a coveted city lease during a moment when the tiny coastal town is undergoing profound change.
A new port that opened last year at the head of Passage Canal has more than doubled the number of cruise ships and Whittier's harbor has seen a 50 percent increase in boats moored temporarily at its docks.
In March, when Bender sought to expand her business to include an Avis car rental, she learned her lease was expiring. Phillips Alaska Cruises, which leases the adjacent lot, also held an expiring lease, she said.
Read the entire story at the link below:
FVCS led the state with Alaska’s first and only snow classic
By Chase Berenson
TNews Staffwriter
One of Girdwood’s beloved winter traditions is the Mount Alyeska Snow Classic, hosted by Four Valleys Community School (FVCS). Almost everyone in Girdwood knows that the premise of a snow classic is to purchase a ticket, guess how much snow will have fallen by a certain date, and then win half the pot of money if the guess is right. But outside of Girdwood, snow classics are unknown to many Alaskans. When Alaska legalized snow classic betting in 2012, they only legalized one snow classic in the entire state. Alaska Statute (AS) 05.15.690(47) reads: “‘snow classic’ means a game of chance in which a prize of money is awarded to the closest guess of the total snow accumulation on the ground at a specific location on Mount Alyeska on a specific date and time and is limited to the Alyeska Snow Classic operated and administered by Four Valleys Community School, Inc.”
Read the entire story at the link below:
https://www.turnagainnews.org/articles/fvcs-led-the-state-with-alaskas-first-and-only-snow-classic
Walk and Talk Series Ends with Lichens
By Andrew Gates
TNews Contributor
In late July, Four Valleys’ “Walk and Talk” series held its final session—a lichen nature walk, headed by Howard Earl. It started at the Winner Creek Trailhead at Alyeska around eight, and there were around 20 people there.
You could immediately tell Howard was incredibly passionate about the topic, at the very start explaining how lichens were a hybrid of fungi and algae growing in a symbiotic relationship. People started walking, but a few minutes in, he stopped the group to give a lecture on the different types of lichen, giving “Fairy Barf” as an example of crustose lichen, a variety found growing on rocks, flush to the surface.
The group then stopped on a boardwalk where he took time to explain lichen age.
“There are lichens that are 50, even 100 years old,” he said, before pointing out a rock with a lichen that had been there since the 1970s, to nearly everyone’s fascination.
Read the entire story at the link below:
https://www.turnagainnews.org/articles/walk-and-talk-series-ends-with-lichens
New Childcare Center Opens Doors to Community
By Soren Wuerth
TNews Editor
The crowd that formed to toast, with cups of sparkling cider, Saturday's grand opening of Girdwood’s new early learning center had something more in common than many likely knew.
"If you've gone to Little Bears [Playhouse], have a child who's gone or have a grandchild who's gone please raise your hand," the center's director asked the crowd.
Read the entire story at the link below:
https://www.turnagainnews.org/articles/new-childcare-center-opens-doors-to-community
Portage Visitor Center Closes During Mid-July Rainstorm That Raised Landslide Threat
Public Notification of Risk Limited
By Soren Wuerth
TNews Editor
For a pair of Swiss travelers standing on a beach opposite Portage Glacier the German word for "landslide" sounds like something harsher: "erdrutsch".
Informed about the threat of "erdrutsch" and tsunami, a menace now widely reported, the couple took a last look at the glacier across the lake and quickly began their hike out.
On a Monday in late July there were dozens of hikers on an out-and-back, two-mile trail that crosses an 800-foot pass to Portage Lake. It was just over a week after a torrential rainstorm raised concerns about a looming landslide abutting the glacier.
Read the entire story and more pictures at the link below:
AWWU updates Girdwood infrastructure under residents’ feet and roads
By Chase Berenson
TNews Staffwriter
One of the most important elements of water utility infrastructure is what removes the wastewater from our homes after we have used the water in our kitchen sinks, showers, and other plumbing fixtures. Wastewater infrastructure isn’t generally thought about too much, but Anchorage Water and Wastewater Utility (AWWU) is investing in improvements in Girdwood’s wastewater system.
Read the entire story at the link below:
‘Photonz’ Bring It Home
By Soren Wuerth
TNews Editor
Girdwood's Cosmic Party (formerly known as The Photonz) returned to Southcentral Alaska after three years playing gigs in Eagle River, Anchorage, Hope and Girdwood. The group even played on a boat in Prince William Sound.
The band played original songs—jams and "psychedelic funk"— to an enthusiastic crowd Monday at the Raw Market in Girdwood.
Although the band began in Glacier City nearly 30 years ago, its music is still familiar to locals.
On Monday night a crowd of teens gathered near the front of the stage, some of whom are children of band members, and sang aloud to Cosmic sounds.
When a call came out for a show of hands from those who travelled from out-of-state to see the band, dozens of arms went up.
The six-member band includes singer/guitarist/drummer Ben Robinson, Peter Townsend (mandolin and electric guitar), Tony Restivo (bass), Steve Norwood (guitar, drums), Romero Begay (electric guitar) and Benjamin Trocki (percussion).
Forest-Bog Walk & Talk Daylights Wonder
By Soren Wuerth
TNews Editor
For most people, let's admit it, a walk through our local meadow reveals beauty writ large—the way light suffuses the field, yellow-green, distant blue-gray ridgelines, or the warped netted planks replacing a muddy track.
Rarely do we crouch for a closer look, except to search for a blueberry patch.
Read the entire story at the link below:
https://www.turnagainnews.org/articles/forest-bog-walk-amp-talk-daylights-wonder
Tiny Alaska Port Town designs Transportation Plan to handle huge crowds
By Yereth Rosen
The western Prince William Sound town of Whittier is small, with only about 250 residents packed into a narrow slice of land between the mountains and the sea. But it accommodates a huge number of travelers who move in and out by cruise ship, ferry, railroad, car, bus and truck.
In recent years, according to city officials, Whittier has gotten about 700,000 visitors annually: tourists, recreational users, seafood workers, cargo shippers and others. That number is expected to increase substantially in the coming years.
Read the entire story at the link below:
Get Ready for a Cosmic Party
Iconic Girdwood Band Returns for Summer Shows
By Soren Wuerth
TNews Editor
I had to look no further for old friends from the Photon community than the car right in front of me on the way to the venue.
They passed the brewery. I passed the brewery. They turned. I turned.
An hour later we were all sweating with other long-lost friends on the dance floor to a "Space Tornado" of a song.
The Cosmic Party (formerly known as The Photonz) are back for local gigs with jam music of such mystical effect, it moves one, almost helplessly, to boogie.
Returning after three years, the iconic Girdwood band is playing four shows of original music that lead singer and songwriter Ben Robinson describes as "psychedelic funk" (writer Jay Stange labelled the sound, in 1998, as "jangly folk rock").
It was the Creekbend concert venue in Hope that called them back this time.
"Steve Thomas reached out to us and gave us a solid guarantee so we could make this happen," Robinson said in an email. "He believed in us and he believed in the crowd that loves and supports us."
Read the entire story at the link below:
https://www.turnagainnews.org/articles/get-ready-for-a-cosmic-party
UPDATE: On Your Mark, Get Set, Crow!
By Soren Wuerth
TNews Editor
Around 108 runners stampeded off a bridge Saturday's rainy morning on their way to Eagle River, 22.6 miles away.
Confronting them was a three-mile, 2,000-foot climb to the top of Crow Pass, a 10-mile descent through an overgrown trail to eventually cross thigh or waist-high Eagle River, then another nearly 10-mile slog to the Eagle River Nature Center.
Prior to the start, runners had received a warning: it's going to be a cold one. A steady drizzle made the 50-degree morning feel downright chilly.
And with a capacity for 150 racers, only 108 bibs were picked up.
This year the 41st-annual race is going to be a little "longer and slower", Race Director Matias Saari said as he packed up gear below a tent at the start.
Later he sent a text: "two come from behind wins".
Crossing the finish line three hours and 33 minutes later, Allan Spangler had a five minute lead over 18-year-old Zan Griffis. Spangler "caught and passed" Griffis with three miles to go, Saari said, and Christy Marvin "chased down" Shauna Severson to be the first woman to cross the tape. The two took 8th and 9th overall.
A new trail section adds nearly a half mile to the run. The time limit for completion was increased to seven hours.
Read the entire story at the link below;
https://www.turnagainnews.org/articles/one-your-mark-get-set-crow
Developer Presents Idea for New ‘Boutique’ Resort in Girdwood
Editorial Update, July 6, 2026
In correspondence sent to Turnagain News since initial publication of this story, a Monarch Hospitality Group representative indicated that the specific site of the proposed hotel and spa would be outside of the avalanche hazard zone. This is a developing story. Please check back for updates. Below is the article originally published.
—————————————
By Soren Wuerth
TNews Editor
A "global hospitality group" is eyeing land in Girdwood to build an estimated $150 million luxury hotel next to Alyeska Resort, a developer announced Monday at a Land Use Committee meeting.
The group's point person, Nathan Braun, 32, told local residents the "boutique" hotel would have 80 rooms with another 60 for its workers, and that an "alpine coaster"—a type of mountain rollercoaster—could supplement the new resort.
Though he has yet to speak with Pomeroy Lodging, Alyeska's owner, Braun said, "let me make it clear this is not a competition" with the Resort.
Braun, who is from Brooklyn, said he is working with "Monarch Hospitality Group". The company's website has few details and, though Braun said he has a team of nine people, he would not disclose with whom the group is planning to partner, the names of investors or his company's net worth. He said his group has not developed any hotels and is based out of New York.
As its sole agent, Braun registered Monarch Hospitality Group with the State in late February.
The "Glacier Creek Resort" has a single-page website but is little more than an idea at this point, Braun said, and the area he is targeting, a bench just up-valley of the Alyeska Hotel, is unsurveyed. He said he's only been to Alaska once as a child.
When asked how he chose Girdwood for a hotel, Braun said he is "passionate about travel". "I'm good at geography," he said. "This is what I do."
"I don't know what grabbed me to look at it," he said. "I don't have the right answer. I just thought of it. Is that a good answer for you?
Read the entire story at the link below:
https://www.turnagainnews.org/articles/developer-presents-idea-for-new-boutique-resort-in-girdwood
What is a 'Corn Dolly'? An Irish Tradition Hangs as Tan Ornaments at the Fair
By Soren Wuerth
TNews Editor
Across decades and hundreds of vendors, the Forest Fair has had its share of knitted, cross-stitch, embroidered, and crocheted patterns and fabrics.
Weaving with wheat may be a first of its kind at the fair, but it certainly isn't a new craft.
Read the entire story at the link below: