President Obama is expected to take the stage at the GLACIER conference after landing at JBER in Anchorage about 1:30 this afternoon and greeted a few hundred Alaskans waiting for him on the JBER runway, including Mayor Ethan Berkowitz and Senator Dan Sullivan.
“Thank you so much, it’s great to be here. how are you? Thanks… appreciate you guys, thanks for your service.”
Ninety-four-year-old Poldine Carlo of Fairbanks said sang a song to Obama in Koyukon Athabascan to mark the administration’s decision to change the name of North America’s highest peak from Mt. McKinley to Denali.
Governor Bill Walker flew with the President on Air Force One to Anchorage. He says he got a full tour of the plane. And all together spent about an hour and a half with the President:
“It was really enjoyable. I had a good chance to visit with the President and with member of his key staff. I’ve arrived in Alaska a lot of ways and I’ve gotta say that was the most enjoyable. So it was really fun, a good experience, a good opportunity for me to have some very meaningful discussions with the President.”
Obama spent the afternoon meeting with Alaska Native leaders.
Annie Feidt is the broadcast managing editor at Alaska Public Media. Reach her at afeidt@alaskapublic.org. Read more about Annie here.
