Michelle Theriault Boots

Michelle Theriault Boots

Reporter

Michelle Theriault Boots is a longtime reporter for the Anchorage Daily News. She focuses on stories about the intersection of public policy and Alaskans' lives. Before joining the ADN in 2012, she worked at daily newspapers on the West Coast and earned a master's degree from the University of Oregon.

4 people in ICE custody are being held at the Anchorage jail

Last year, the corrections department held 13 people for ICE. So far this year, state jails have held six — the four currently incarcerated and two released to federal agents in late January.

Michelle Theriault Boots February 7, 2025

FBI, DEA say they helped ICE with immigration enforcement in Alaska

Photos posted by federal agencies in recent days indicate immigration enforcement may be ramping up in Alaska, a state without the ICE presence of other more populated regions.

Michelle Theriault Boots February 5, 2025

With resignation offer on the table, what does Alaska’s federal workforce look like?

Alaska’s 15,000 civilian federal workers are paid close to $1.5 billion in wages annually.

Michelle Theriault Boots February 2, 2025
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‘Catastrophic for a state like ours’: Alaska governments and nonprofits react to announcement of federal grant funding freeze

From health to infrastructure, nonprofits and local governments are scrambling to understand the impact of the Trump administration’s announced freeze.

Michelle Theriault Boots January 28, 2025

Hey, New Orleans, please send some of your snow to Anchorage

The Gulf Coast city that rarely sees snowflakes has received more than double the snowfall that Anchorage has since Dec. 1, the start of the meteorological winter.

Michelle Theriault Boots January 22, 2025

Denali vs. McKinley: A brief history of the long debate over what to call North America’s highest mountain

President Donald Trump says he’s changing the official name of Alaska’s — and North America’s — tallest peak from Denali back to Mount McKinley. It’s the latest chapter in a long struggle over what the mountain should be called.

Michelle Theriault Boots January 22, 2025

Man shot by police near Midtown spa was out on bail for prior armed robbery

Michael Krischuk, 34, remains hospitalized but is expected to recover.

Michelle Theriault Boots January 16, 2025

State says partly collapsed South Anchorage pedestrian bridge will be rebuilt

It’s not yet clear why the bridge separated in the high winds, and if the wind alone caused the damage or if the structure was weakened. Age may be a factor. The structure was built in 1972, more than 50 years ago.

Michelle Theriault Boots January 14, 2025

Outside review of Easter Leafa killing by Anchorage police calls for changes in operations

The report stopped short of publicly disclosing whether officers violated policy.

Michelle Theriault Boots, Tess Williams January 10, 2025

New Orleans terror attack suspect lived in Alaska during Army service

Public records show Shamsud-Din Jabbar applied for Alaska Permanent Fund dividend checks between 2010 and 2012.

Michelle Theriault Boots January 2, 2025
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