Year in review: My favorite stories from 2018

It’s that time of year again, the end. This article is a list of my top five favorite stories of the year. It’s always difficult to narrow down my list to just five stories but these choices reflect a diverse snapshot of the community I grew up in.

I picked these stories because they not only resonated with me on a personal level, but also show the ongoing narrative of the fastest growing area in Alaska — the Mat-Su Valley, with all its growing pains, history and reoccurring themes of resilience and close-knit community moving forward.

Stories start in many different ways. This selection begins with a candlelight vigil and ended with a ride along with Alaska State Troopers; stories inexorably tied together in a community trying to keep up with the times.

1) Posted January 13: “Amazing Grace Candle Light Vigil in Nunley Park sparks hope for grieving families”

January 10th was a cold and windy night. Despite the bitter weather conditions, a few dozen people from across the Valley gathered to honor the life of Kellsie Green and the hundreds of Alaskans who have died in the midst of their struggle with addiction.

I found something while covering this story: compassion and understanding. The highly controversial SB 91 crime bill was a hot button issue that came up around almost every corner as I unearthed stories even when they seemed to have nothing at all to do with the matter at hand.

This story showed me hope that people from all walks of life could finally start to understand each other and address this ceaseless problem of addiction. Regardless of how anyone feels about addicts, criminals or whatever label you want to use, this story showed how many people are affected by a common issue.

2) Posted March 24: “Breaking Williwaw’s Bad: Concerned citizens plea for help, prompting letter to Governor from the Borough Assembly”

This story was a significant milestone for my evolution as a reporter and a poignant symbol of the Valley’s continued efforts to figure out just how to deal with the ever growing struggle with drug and alcohol abuse and the effects it leaves behind. This four-part series was my first delve into what, in the biz we might call, ‘enterprising journalism.’

I got very familiar with Williwaw’s history and challenges and, In the end, I learned a lot about how our local government operates and how the people can determine their futures within those systems.

3) Posted August 13: “‘Interesting History’: Butte, back in the day”

This story was the first of a four-part series regarding the area known as Butte — not ‘the Butte’ because that’s the land mass. That high-reaching, not-quite-mountain, not quite hill overlooks the whole area and I had many trials and errors trying to report the past, present and future of the historic community.

4) Posted October 25: “HOMECOMING: Portugal. the Man performing first Alaska concerts since winning Grammy”

Okay so I have to admit, the Wasilla-raised band Portugal. The Man holds a very dear connection to my nostalgic past. My best friend Corey Adams introduced me to them when they were fresh in the Portland scene trying to make a name for themselves. I instantly fell in love with their unique style that was unafraid to break Alaskan music norms.

When they got the Grammy win for Best Record with their smash ‘Feel it Still’, my coworker Tim Rockey beat me to the punch and got that early interview. His was a great story, but when the band was set to return to Alaska after a long hiatus, I got my chance to interview bassist and founding member Zachary Carothers. I tried my best not to geek out but I still did a bit.

5) Posted October 31: “NIGHT SHIFT: Troopers stay busy long after dark”

Last but not least is my ride along story. I eagerly awaited my chance to ride along with AST since I first started with the Frontiersman. I finally had a ripe opportunity: Halloween Weekend. I had all kinds of expectations but my 6-plus-hour ride with Trooper Scott Corino was very eye-opening.

First off, the older I get, and the older my child gets, I respect law enforcement more and more- especially the AST. Reporters and cops should always have a respectful and dutiful relationship towards one other. While neither of us are supposed to give each other special treatment, we both are bound together and will always work together.

Witnessing just one slice of the day in a life of an AST officer was not only interesting, but it showed me that in the end, most of us are all just trying to do the best at the jobs we think we can do best for the betterment of the community we’ve learned to call our own.

Happy new year and thank you for reading the Frontiersman!