Her Addiction Landed Her in a Prison Segregation Wing. The Man She Says Abused Her Lives Free.
Ricki Dahlin turned to a life of crime and drug addiction after being sexually abused as a child. “We’re broken. We’re trying to fix ourselves.”
by Kyle Hopkins, Anchorage Daily News,
Local Reporting Network
Trapped at Sea, Alone With Her Assailant, He Told Her “You’re Mine for the Week”
Cathleen was raped five hours into a multi-day fishing trip, where she and the captain who assaulted her were the only ones on board. She begged to be taken back to shore, but he said no, they had work to do.
by Kyle Hopkins, Anchorage Daily News,
Local Reporting Network
Unheard
Alaska has the highest rate of sexual assault in the nation. Yet it is a secret so steeped into everyday life that discussing it disrupts the norm. These women and men did not choose to be violated, but they now choose to speak about what happened.
by Adriana Gallardo, Nadia Sussman and Agnes Chang, ProPublica, and Kyle Hopkins and Michelle Theriault Boots, Anchorage Daily News,
Local Reporting Network
An Elementary School Repeatedly Dismissed Allegations Against Its Principal. Then, an FBI Agent Pretended to Be a 13-Year-Old Girl.
The principal for one of Alaska’s largest rural elementary schools, in a region with some of the highest sex crime rates in the country and a state with a history of failing to protect students, was allowed to remain on the job until the FBI got involved.
by Kyle Hopkins, Anchorage Daily News, and Greg Kim, KYUK,
Local Reporting Network
In This Remote Town, Spring Means Salmon — and Thousands of Fishermen From Coronavirus Hot Spots
A remote fishing region will soon be flooded with seasonal workers. The hospital is equipped for only four COVID-19 patients and its chief operating officer is out of a job after emailing a coronavirus conspiracy meme. Welcome to Dillingham, Alaska.
by Kyle Hopkins, Anchorage Daily News,
Local Reporting Network
Remote Alaska Villages Isolate Themselves Further in Effort to Shield Against Coronavirus
Alaskan communities that are accessible only by plane or snowmobile are cutting off the outside world in response to COVID-19 rather than risk elders’ lives.
by Kyle Hopkins, Anchorage Daily News,
Local Reporting Network
A Congressman Skipped the Coronavirus Relief Vote. Instead, He Went Home to Tell Senior Citizens to Blame Mass Media.
Rep. Don Young of Alaska isn’t the only politician to downplay the threat of coronavirus, in direct contrast with his state government’s public efforts. He may be the only one to do so at a gathering of senior citizens, though.
by Kyle Hopkins, Anchorage Daily News,
Local Reporting Network
Sex Offenders Were Becoming Cops. After Our Stories, Alaska’s Governor Wants That To End.
Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s proposed law comes after Anchorage Daily News and ProPublica found that dozens of rural Alaskan police officers had been hired despite criminal convictions.
by Kyle Hopkins, Anchorage Daily News,
Local Reporting Network
Alaska’s Public Safety Officer Program Is Failing. Can It Be Saved?
A big part of Alaska’s law enforcement crisis is a program that recruits residents of remote villages and trains them to work as police. Now, a group of state legislators is proposing nine ideas to rescue the program.
by Kyle Hopkins, Anchorage Daily News,
Local Reporting Network
We Found Villages That Hired Criminals as Cops. Now Officials Want It To Change.
The Anchorage Daily News and ProPublica found small Alaska cities have employed police whose criminal records should have prevented them from being hired. Now, the state board is working to ensure they meet basic hiring standards.
by Kyle Hopkins, Anchorage Daily News,
Local Reporting Network