Politics

Pete Kaiser, last year’s Iditarod Champion and Bethel’s own hometown hero, will deliver the Keynote Address at this year's Alaska Federation of Natives Convention. Kaiser is the first musher of Yup’ik descent to win the Iditarod and is a four-time winner of the Kuskokwim 300 Sled Dog Race.

The packets are in, and the Bethel City Clerk has finalized the list of candidates running for Bethel City Council. Two sitting members filed for re-election: Vice-Mayor Raymond "Thor" Williams and council member Fritz Charles. Former council member Mark Springer is also in the race this year, along with three new faces: Alyssa Gustafson-Leary, Haley Hanson, and Cece Franko.

Mayor Fred Watson called a special meeting Monday for a revote on the lighting projects at Pinky’s Park Boardwalk. Council unanimously approved the agreement with ONC. That will use Tribal Transportation funds to build part of the lighting. 

The Bethel City Council couldn't agree on how to pay for lights in Pinky's Park in their last council meeting on Aug. 13, 2019. They voted against two different plans to fund the project.

The Bethel City Council met for an ethics hearing regarding two complaints on Thursday, and made no findings. 

Discussion for the first complaint lasted three hours behind closed doors. When the public was let back in for the second complaint, Vice-Mayor Raymond "Thor" Williams surprised everyone.

Bethel's new planning director is a familiar face. Ted Meyer will return to the position he left in 2017. He served from 2015 to 2017 before resigning, and Wednesday was his first day back.

The City of Bethel released its budget for Fiscal Year 2020, and there are a few things that stand out. The city has allocated $1.5 million for a new roof on city hall. Acting City Manager Bill Howell says that the issue is simple: “The roof is leaking and we need to repair it.”