DONN LISTON

I am an Independent Journalist and retired teacher. I resided over 60 consecutive winters as an active Alaska witness of events from optimistic new state (1959) experiencing steep decline to today. The theme is: How did we get here and how bad does it have to get before people who want to call Alaska home DO SOMETHING? I invite your respectful participation in the discussion.

The Big Picture of EaglExit

 Looking Back, And A Vision for the Future (2021©donnliston.co) Anyone who has lived here any length of time knows the region of the state that includes Eagle River/Chugiak/Peters Creek is a unique part of Alaska. Dan Kendall once represented this area on the Anchorage Municipal Assembly and has experienced the effort to preserve the qualities […]

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Alaska has Food Security Options

Addressing Alaska’s Hierarchy of Needs This is an update of a story that first appeared February 10, 2021. Alaskans are generally stuck at the bottom of the 5-level pyramid of human needs defined in Abraham Maslow’s 1943 paper, A Theory of Human Motivation. His 1954 book “Motivation and Personality” expanded on this theory and remains a

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Alaska Chalet Bed & Breakfast: What Happened to Anchorage Hospitality?

  It has often been said that the best thing about being in Anchorage is that it isn’t too far from Alaska. Anchorage hasthe largest airport, the most used dock, the most medical providers, the tallest buildings, the most traffic, and unfortunately attracts more social problems than anyplace in the state. As Alaska’s transportation hub

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PAST Legislative Hopes

Elections Have Consequences Reflections In December of 2021 on what we hoped might be possible after the election. The Alaska Legislature in recent years has become a spectacle. We have voted for people who we thought understood what Alaskans want: Safety and Security, Limited and efficient State Govern-ment, Protection of the Permanent Fund with use

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Who is Making a Difference?

 Realities of Alaska Food Security (2020©donnliston.co)   Familywith food on the table have many problems. Familywith no food on the table have one problem.                                                                                                                        

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Pandemic Business Survivor

  The Wonder of Small Engines   John Trescott cleans up his workbench at Eagle River Small Engine Repair. (2020©donnliston.co) Small engines can do big jobs, but when they don’t work they are infuriating. Because they power many kinds of tools and toys, when we want them to work we want them to work. For

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Alaska’s Economic Sweet Spot

  The Mat-Su Valley   State Economist, Neil Fried recently explained the impact of theChina Virus Pandemic to a Mat-Su audience. (2020©donnliston.co)   The Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development announced on October 16 that September jobs in our state are down 11.0 percent from last September; a loss of some 37,600 jobs. A

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