Alaskans have been getting Permanent Fund dividends for 37 years. But for the last few years those checks have been cut, because lawmakers want the money to pay the state’s bills.
Alaska’s new governor wants to change all that. And he wants to make good on a campaign promise to pay the money the government kept, and keep those oil money checks coming. His plan? Deep cuts to the state’s budget. But the state has a lot of expenses. And the Legislature will have its own say in how the money is spent.
On “Paying Dividends,” from KTOO and Alaska Public Media, we’ll follow the money through the Legislature and talk to the people in power and the Alaskans affected by their decisions.
Annie Feidt is the Managing Editor for Alaska's Energy Desk, a collaboration between Alaska Public Media in Anchorage, KTOO Public Media in Juneau and KUCB in Unalaska. Her reporting has taken her searching for polar bears on the Chukchi Sea ice, out to remote checkpoints on the Iditarod Trail, and up on the Eklutna Glacier with scientists studying its retreat. Her stories have been heard nationally on NPR and Marketplace.
Annie’s career in radio journalism began in 1998 at Minnesota Public Radio, where she produced the regional edition of All Things Considered. She moved to Anchorage in 2004 with her husband, intending to stay in the 49th state just a few years. She has no plans to leave anytime soon.
afeidt (at) alaskapublic (dot) org | 907.550.8443 | About Annie
