On Thursday and Saturday of last week, some of the Alaskan state leadership came to visit Fairbanks. They made themselves available to sit together over hot chocolate and share experiences with members of the community.
Thursday at Alaska Coffee Roasting Co.
On Thursday, January 8th, 2026, a few of the state representatives and senators came to visit specifically Alaskan public-education teachers.
The meeting location was The Alaska Coffee Roasting Co. on Geist Road. I had not visited before, but I did enjoy the ambiance. The entrance has a whimsical windy path through the displays of food items and there’s a bay of coffee tables where people can sit and relax.
At this meeting, leadership members attending included Senator Tobin, Senator Kawasaki, Senator Kiehl, and Representative Dibert.
One of the aides directed me to sit at a table where I waited for the event to begin. They offered to let me purchase a “steamer” (which I think is a frothy type of hot milk with whipped cream?) on their tab, but I didn’t want to lose my spot at the table, so I never got around to taking them up on their offer.
The senators spread out throughout the tables to chat with the various groups of teachers. After about ten minutes, the aides interrupted our conversations and moved the senators between the tables, giving all the teachers a chance to talk with each senator/representative in turn.
Being able to meet them in person was a positive experience. I appreciate the time each senator spent listening to teacher concerns as educators. The table groups were small in number, mine being only three to four members. This provided a valuable opportunity for direct communication.
After about an hour and a half, we departed for the evening. I walked out with a new friend that I made who works at Tanana Chief’s Conference.
Saturday at McCafferty’s
On Saturday, various leadership figures came to another coffee shop: McCafferty’s on Cushman Street.
I arrived around fifteen minutes after the conversation began and sat with another attendee while we waited for a turn for a leadership member to come to our table.
This attendee and I wound up chatting about blockchain technology, as he is in the healthcare business and has found relevant use cases. (For readers who are unfamiliar with my work, I spent several years exploring blockchain technology as a professional technical-documentation writer.)
Fairbanks City Mayor Mindy O’Neall
The first member of the leadership team with whom I was able to meet was Mayor Mindy O’Neall. She is coming fresh off her election victory in October of 2025.
One of the priorities that Mayor O’Neall shared with us include that she is leading the decisions over how the City of Fairbanks will utilize the site of the old Polaris Building. This building was torn down recently due to structural concerns. The now-available land is on 1st Ave, right across from the court house and the Chena River, making it a highly desirable location.
She shared her developing thoughts about potentially reaching out to the Fairbanks community to learn how citizens would like this land to be utilized. I appreciated her citizen-focused approach.
Senator Kawasaki
Our next visitor was Senator Scott Kawasaki.
Our pictures were a little blurry due to the lighting. I’ll go ahead and upload them anyway. (A.I. will eventually be able to fix that, right?)
Senator Kawasaki helped me obtain a better understanding about what’s happening right now at the state-level in Alaska. He shared with me an explanation of his view of the budgetary process, and we also discussed various large projects happening in Alaska. Some of those projects include the adoption of A.I. anti-pornography legislation, research on predictive road planning, and the development of the Alaska spaceport.
I did a little research as I was writing this blog post to see if I could find information about the topics he discussed.
A quick search on Google showed me that there is a conversation about artificial intelligence happening in the Alaska legislature. Here is the link. Perhaps this is related to the thoughts he shared?
The AIDC Projects website at the University of Alaska – Fairbanks might be the team of researchers who are doing the predictive road design. I couldn’t find any specific articles, however.
The Pacific Spaceport Complex is the spaceport that we discussed, I believe. Senator Kawasaki shared with us the fact that this was an extremely expensive complex to build, costing the state approximately fifty-million dollars. We are fortunate that the port is now operating within its own financial means. There are thoughts about how to expand further, but we didn’t get a chance to discuss many specifics.
One leadership trait that I appreciated noticing with Senator Kawasaki was that when he was not engaged in a conversation, he was always cleaning. When people left the event, he rearranged their chairs for them, so that the restaurant aides would not need to do so. When people left their empty paper coffee cups and mugs on the table, Senator Kawasaki took them to whenever they needed to go.
Representative Maxine Dibert
The final person with whom I was able to meet was Representative Maxime Dibert.
Representative Dibert shared with me some of her priorities in her position. She is working to pass a bill that will provide breakfast and lunch for all K-12 public-education students. This sounds like quite a challenge, but she seems motivated to accomplish the task.
In addition to her work in various education-related positions, she also works on the Tribal Affairs Committee. This involves managing relationships between federal and tribal entities.
She has a kind way of speaking and making her conversation partner know that she is genuinely interested in their concerns.
A Cookie and a Cup of Hot Cocoa
As I was getting ready to leave, this time I took up the leadership on their offer to have a cup of hot cocoa and a cookie on them. I had McCafferty’s White-Chocolate Macademia cookie and, feeling thirsty, ordered a large-sized drink. The restaurant attendant put a lot of effort into making the cocoa; the company had several mix-ins and an involved stirring and whipping process. The end result was a tasty treat.
Artificial Intelligence Transparency Report
No artificial intelligence was used for the writing of this blog post.
How You Can Help
I need your help to become established as a teacher and storyteller.
Here is a link to a blog post that describes how a supportive reader can help me in my quest.
In short, you can…
Buy a copy of my children’s novella, Westly: A Spider’s Tale
Like, comment and share.