Articles written by mark thiessen


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  • Delta Junction resident pleads guilty to death threats against U.S. senators

    Mark Thiessen, The Associated Press|Jan 13, 2022

    An Alaskan who threatened to kill the state's two U.S. senators in a series of profanity-laced voice messages left at their offices in Washington, D.C., has pleaded guilty to making the threats in exchange for having other charges dropped. Jay Allen Johnson, 65, entered his guilty pleas on Jan. 3 in federal court in Fairbanks to two counts of threatening to kill a U.S. official. U.S. District Judge Ralph Beistline accepted Johnson’s pleas and set sentencing for April 8. Johnson, who has been in custody since his arrest Oct. 4, has asked for a...

  • Delta Junction man charged with threatening to kill Alaska senators

    Mark Thiessen, The Associated Press|Oct 14, 2021

    A Delta Junction resident upset over the impeachment of former President Donald Trump, illegal immigration and the direction he thinks the country is headed is accused of threatening the lives of Alaska’s two U.S. senators in a series of profanity-laced voicemails that included saying he would hire an assassin to kill one. “Your life is worth $5,000, that’s all it’s worth,” the message left at the office of Sen. Lisa Murkowski said. “And as you let in these terrorists, assassins, guess what? I’m going to use them. I’m going to hire them.” Som...

  • Man places swastikas on windows of Jewish museum in Anchorage

    Mark Thiessen, The Associated Press|Jun 3, 2021

    A tall, thin man wearing a hood and a mask was caught on a security camera plastering Nazi stickers on a Jewish museum in Anchorage on May 25. He drove a scooter to the Alaska Jewish Museum, placed one sticker on the door and jumped to place three more symbols of hate on windows before driving off, Rabbi Yosef Greenberg, the president of the museum’s board of directors, said of what their video cameras showed happening at 2 a.m. About 45 minutes later, another sticker was placed on the main entrance door to Mad Myrna’s, a gay bar in dow...

  • State discriminated against same-sex PFD applicant couples

    Mark Thiessen, The Associated Press|Apr 22, 2021

    Alaska discriminated against some same-sex spouses for years in wrongfully denying them benefits by claiming their unions were not recognized even after courts struck down same-sex marriage bans, court documents obtained by The Associated Press show. The agency that determines eligibility for the annual Alaska Permanent Fund dividend denied payments for same-sex spouses or dependents of military members stationed in other states for five years after a federal court invalidated Alaska’s ban on same-sex marriage in 2014 and the U.S. Supreme Court...

  • Perseverance pays off with seal oil approval for elder homes

    Mark Thiessen, Associated Press|Mar 18, 2021

    Seal oil has been a staple in the diet of Alaska’s Inupiat for generations. The oil — ever-present in households dotting Alaska coastlines — is used mainly as a dipping sauce for fish, caribou and musk ox. It’s also used to flavor stews and even eaten alone. But when Inupiat elders entered nursing homes, they were cut off from the comfort food. State regulations didn’t allow seal oil because it’s among traditionally prepared Alaska Native foods that have been associated with the state’s high rate of botulism, which can cause illness or de...