East Anchorage Book Club with Andrew Gray

Will Stapp (R-Fairbanks) on education funding, veterans' court reform, & the effort to overhaul AK elections

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/1875228/fan_mail/new] The Alaska State House Representative for East Fairbanks is Will Stapp. This is his second appearance on the podcast. To learn more about Will's early life and military service (including his Purple Heart), check out his first appearance [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2119966/episodes/12389174]. Today, Will and I talk about the chance for increased public education funding this year, Alaska's therapeutic court system, and the elections bill (Senate Bill 64 [https://alaskabeacon.com/2026/03/25/alaska-house-passes-elections-overhaul-bill-amid-national-debate-around-voter-access/]) that just passed the Alaska State House and Senate.

AK MEDIA: Wil Courtney, political reporter at KTUU Channel 2 & host of Political Pipeline Podcast

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/1875228/fan_mail/new] Wil Courtney is a Political Reporter and Multimedia Journalist for KTUU Channel 2 Alaska's News Source [https://www.alaskasnewssource.com/] and host of the station's Political Pipeline podcast [https://embed.audiocdn.com/?feed=aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkLmNkbnN0cmVhbTEuY29tL3pqYi9mZWVkL2Rvd25sb2FkLzI3Lzc0L2M1LzI3NzRjNWUxLWU2M2UtNDMzNi1iNGJmLTAxNTA5NGM2YmE1Zi54bWw=&pbg=EFEFEF&lbg=F9F9F9&pt=353D58&st=676E85&bbg=FFFFFF&bi=353D58&limit=10&dl=1&rss=1]. This interview is part of the Alaska Media series. Wil never planned to work in Alaska but in less than a year's time our state has had a profound impact on him, particularly his reporting from Kipnuk and Kwigillingok shortly after Typhoon Halong.

Sen. John Fredrickson (D-Omaha): first gay man elected to the Nebraska state legislature

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/1875228/fan_mail/new] Nebraska State Senator John Fredrickson was first elected in 2022 by a margin of only 82 votes. He is the first openly gay man to be elected to the Nebraska state legislature. We discuss Nebraska's unicameral non-partisan legislature and its term limits. We also talk about John's youth, how he and his husband adopted their son, and his journey into politics.  This conversation was recorded in Chicago at the Council of State Governments Convention in December 2025. This is part of a series on the first gay men elected to state legislators around the country. To listen to the episode with Glen Maxey, the first elected to the Texas state legislature, click here [https://www.buzzsprout.com/1875228/episodes/14097824].  Upcoming episodes will include the first gay man elected to South Dakota's state legislature and to Iowa's state legislature.

Jeremy Bynum (R-Ketchikan): on a Pentecostal childhood, the Air Force, being accepted in Ketchikan, & the over-the-top politics of Juneau

Send a text [https://www.buzzsprout.com/twilio/text_messages/1875228/open_sms] The Alaska State House Representative for Ketchikan is Jeremy Bynum. We discuss his childhood growing up in a devout Pentecostal household, his escape to the Air Force, and his struggles being accepted as a newcomer to Ketchikan. We also talk about the drama of the Juneau Capitol, specifically his fraught relationship with my chief of staff Kyle Johansen (a previous Representative of Ketchikan) and the heated rhetoric around recent attempts to draw from the legislative savings account. We address a podcast episode from last week [https://www.buzzsprout.com/1875228/episodes/18843299] with Rep. Zack Fields of downtown Anchorage where inappropriate language was used to describe the House Minority.

Domestic Violence Protective Orders: Laura Booch & Dr. Ingrid Johnson

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/1875228/fan_mail/new] Laura Booch and Dr. Ingrid Johnson both appeared at the Alaska State House Judiciary Committee's informational hearing on Civil Protective Orders [https://www.ktoo.org/gavel/video/?clientID=2147483647&eventID=2026031089] that happened on Monday, March 9th. Civil protective orders are also called restraining orders and there are several types, but the most common type is the Domestic Violence Protective Order, and that's what today's episode is about. Right now a long term domestic violence protective order is good for one year, and then the petitioner needs to file for an extension. At each extension, the respondent can appear in court and make the case for why the protective order should not continue. For someone leaving an abusive relationship, this revisiting of that relationship every year can be traumatizing.  Laura Booch is a brave survivor of Domestic Violence who is sharing her story today. Dr. Ingrid Johnson is a criminal justice professor at The University of Alaska Fairbanks who specializes in gender-based violence.  She will discuss the alarming statistic that 70% of adult women in Alaska report having experienced domestic violence at some point in their life.  To apply for a civil protective order, click here [https://courts.alaska.gov/shc/dv/index.htm].  If you need help with an abusive relationship, call Alaska's 24 hour crisis & support line at 907-272-0100, someone is waiting for your call.